Interview with Mike Hamilton
Could you tell us a little about yourself?
I’ve worked in financial services all my life; I was 19 when I traded on the non-marine floor of Lloyds (insurance trading floor). That’s not the same as stocks and futures but it gave me a taste of what an open market is all about – finding the price level of that market. I also think it’s important to have a wide range of interests so you when you do trade you are fit, alert and focused, so I have a lot of outside interests.
How did you get started trading?
I started trading stocks on a simple ‘value’ set up in the early 80’s; it was a market in the early stage of a strong bull run so it was easy.
How long have you been trading now?
26 years in stocks and 8 years in futures.
What do you like best about trading?
I like the teaching side of trading; it was only when I started to write courses I realised just how vast my knowledge and skill base was.
What markets do you trade?
At the moment I prefer forex closely followed by oil and grains. With the US$ so volatile stocks have been tough to trade but the currency and commodity markets have been very liquid for day and swing trades since this commodity boom started. I use to trade oil in the Europe session in 07/08 and make my days money by 10am GMT! Oil has changed and I have updated my set ups since then.
What style of trading do you use?
I have only 3 set ups for swing trading, mainly trend trading, and these transfer to smaller timeframes for momentum day trading.
What have been the biggest influences on your development as a trader?
Watching other traders over complicate trading. And back testing until I was confident I had the edge to survive and thrive in the markets using very simple price action..
What is the one biggest lesson that you have learnt since starting trading?
The key skill you need is planning and management. Trading is easy, the recording, tracking and back testing is boring but as in many businesses it is the key. You need to be able to constantly assess your performance.
How did you get interested in coaching other traders?
I started to get invited to talk on courses and really enjoyed it, especially meeting other traders and seeing how they trading.
Do you focus on coaching of one particular area of trading, e.g. risk management / psychology or finding trades?
I teach beginners – an A-Z approach, but once they have found their feet with the help of one2one follow up I give, then I offer them specialist forex and commodity training.
How do you work together with your clients? E.g. phone / email / screen sharing?
Mainly screen share but I will be doing more travelling next year. My clients are worldwide, Toronto, Melbourne, Kazakhstan etc
What sort of results do your clients get after coaching with you?
Follow up is a big part of my work and I advise they trade small size until they reach their trade plan goals but I expect clients to start to grow their accounts by 5% in the first month and target 100 points a day by the 3rd month for full time day traders or 500 points a month for swing traders.
What is the most satisfying part of coaching traders?
Meeting new people online or face-to-face and building a good sociable trader community.
What is the biggest but most easily fixed mistake that you see traders make?
Over trading.
Do you recommend journals or other record keeping as an important part of trading?
I can’t support them if I don’t know how they trading.
What are the most common issues that you see in your clients that prevent them from becoming better traders?
New traders try and trade with their ego; I try and rewire traders so they accept losses based on a type of business model that is needed for trading.
What advice would you give traders who are just starting out?
Don’t start trading with your capital unless you have a very tight plan and have proved to yourself you really appreciate the skill set you need to go into the market and survive. Many people don’t realise trading is hard work until they start losing money.
What 3 books do you recommend traders read?
- Tharp – Trade your way to financial freedom
- Douglas – Trading in the zone
- Hamilton – Trade the easy way – (not published yet)