Chat With Traders

Tessa Dao

Chat With Traders is your key to the minds of trading's elite performers. Start listening to learn how a diverse mix of traders went from zero to hero, how they successfully trade markets today, and get their best tips 'n pointers for profitable performance, plus much more. Note: You are responsible for your own trading decisions—this is not financial advice. read less

Our Editor's Take

The Chat With Traders podcast offers helpful information on diverse trading ventures. It's a fantastic podcast for learning about and keeping updated on financial markets. The show provides analysis of topics ranging from forex trading to hedge funds. Discussions address the fundamentals of stock markets, equities, and portfolio risk management. Guests include many talented traders, hedge fund managers, and venture capitalists, among others.

Tessa Dao and Ian Cox cohost Chat With Traders. Before the duo, founder Aaron Fifield hosted the podcast from 2015 to 2022. Tessa and Ian do a fantastic job presenting the show after Aaron's exit. Tessa went from a listener of the show to becoming the host and producer. She also hosts the Affirmations for Traders podcast. Full-time trader Ian brings decades of trading knowledge to the podcast.

The stories shared on Chat With Traders are compelling and aspirational. The hosts and guests know how a bad trade can become a life lesson. They also know that learning the intricacies of a market is crucial to any level of success. Tales of struggle and triumphs after disappointing trades are all over the podcast. On the show, the hosts and guests share trading insights and strategies. They provide thorough insights about what works and what doesn't work concerning stocks.

Industry leaders from diverse backgrounds are regular guests on Chat With Traders. One such guest is Gabriel Bullo. The Philippine-born successful trader shares how he taught himself to trade stocks. He discusses leaving an accounting career to become a trader. Gabriel's story is one of discipline and determination. He asserts that these traits were the catalyst for his success. The podcast has many more engaging and informative interviews.

How to become a day trader and the best trading strategies to fit different markets are two of many topics on the show. If million-dollar bonds or bull markets interest a listener, Chat With Traders could become their favorite.

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279: Saad Filali - Front-Running News Flow Trading

279: Saad Filali - Front-Running News Flow Trading

Saad Filali, worked for Goldman Sachs, specializing in Mergers and Acquisitions, then left and became a Trader. Understanding the thinking and trading styles of the many different market players is key to his trading, including those of institutions, sell side brokers, CTA’s, retail, and meme stock traders. Studying how they trade the volatility and news releases helps Saad to predict market movements and calculate suitable entry and exit points in his trades. Saad now manages his own fund, called Fiat Elpis Macro Fund, and relies on news flow and research. He looks for discrepancies between market pricing and fundamental valuations and considers the impact of different market participants. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Episodes

279: Saad Filali - Front-Running News Flow Trading

279: Saad Filali - Front-Running News Flow Trading

Saad Filali, worked for Goldman Sachs, specializing in Mergers and Acquisitions, then left and became a Trader. Understanding the thinking and trading styles of the many different market players is key to his trading, including those of institutions, sell side brokers, CTA’s, retail, and meme stock traders. Studying how they trade the volatility and news releases helps Saad to predict market movements and calculate suitable entry and exit points in his trades. Saad now manages his own fund, called Fiat Elpis Macro Fund, and relies on news flow and research. He looks for discrepancies between market pricing and fundamental valuations and considers the impact of different market participants. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

278: Ben Greenfield - Elevate Your Mental Game With Better Brain Power

278: Ben Greenfield - Elevate Your Mental Game With Better Brain Power

Unlock the secrets to superior mental sharpness and explore groundbreaking strategies to boost your cognitive function, from nutrition hacks and exercise tips to innovative biohacking techniques. Ben Greenfield, a renowned expert in the health and fitness sphere, reveals his top methods for optimizing brain health. Whether you seek to enhance focus, memory, or overall brain power, this discussion offers valuable insights and practical advice to elevate your mental game for peak performance. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

277: Garrett Drinon - Musician Turned Trader Trains Algos to Find Unicorns

277: Garrett Drinon - Musician Turned Trader Trains Algos to Find Unicorns

The lure of the markets seduced a successful musician into full time trading at a prop firm. Collaborating with other traders, Garrett Drinon learned the market signals, and other ingredients which go into great setups. Wanting to expand his reach, he uses his programming skills to create new algos which help him and his colleagues find the Unicorns and manage a larger portfolio than he could normally handle. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

276: Will Gogolak - Contextualization Within a Framework of Conditional Probabilities

276: Will Gogolak - Contextualization Within a Framework of Conditional Probabilities

As a risk officer with the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, Will Gogolak was setting margin requirements and saw a wide variety of traders’ accounts and what separated the winning traders from the losing ones, before leaving to pursue his own trading and obtaining a PHD in finance and share his knowledge of quantitative analysis and market experience with students at Carnegie Mellon University. Combining his market experience with knowledge of statistics helps William create his custom buy the dip strategy with futures and leveraged ETFs, and focusing on probabilities and determining market direction for informed trading decisions. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

275: William Lam - The Best Operating System for Elite Performance: Our Minds

275: William Lam - The Best Operating System for Elite Performance: Our Minds

Experiencing the noticeable communication differences between his childhood culture and his new home in the U.S., William Lam was driven to become aware of how his limiting thoughts imprinted from his family drove unhealthy unconscious actions. Learning how to shape his mental thought process played key roles in fulfilling big desires and creating a richer life. Hear how our minds are like operating systems to which we can influence for better or worse. We’re just scratching the surface in this episode, but it’s enough to get us to reconsider our thoughts and behaviors from a fresh perspective. About William Lam: William is an expert in strategic mental and micro behavioral programming and founded UPGRD. He provides support to elite investors, traders, entrepreneurs, and sales professionals, assisting them in visualizing and organizing the data and functionalities of the human mind which can lead to improved mental efficiencies and optimal performance. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

274: Gary Norden - Keeping the Lost Art of Order Flow Trading Alive

274: Gary Norden - Keeping the Lost Art of Order Flow Trading Alive

A humble beginning as a gopher in the intense trading pits of Japanese warrants was shocking for Gary Norden when he was a teenager. As this volatile market was beginning its meltdown, Gary saw how easily star traders lost immense amounts of money as past overconfidence and sloppy risk control undid their previous gains. This impressed upon Gary the importance of a risk averse stance to keep himself in the game. Practicing Order Flow Trading, hundreds of times per week, gives Gary the edge in this lost art. About Gary Norden: Gary’s trading career has spanned more than three decades. From being given his first derivative trading book by a Japanese Investment bank at the age of just 18, Gary went on to become a senior trader at a number of Global Investment Banks including NatWest Markets and ING Markets. In the mid 1990s he also spent many years in the trading pits of LIFFE as a ‘local’ option market maker. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

273: James Fishback - THIS TIME It’s Different…or Is It

273: James Fishback - THIS TIME It’s Different…or Is It

James is the co-founder and Chief Investment Officer of Azoria Partners, a global macro investment firm. Prior to Azoria, he served as the Head of Macro at Greenlight Capital, a two-billion-dollar hedge fund led by David Einhorn. He is also the founder of Incubate Debate, America’s fastest-growing high school debate league. As a former national high school debate champion and volunteer debate coach, he launched Incubate in 2019. James was fortunate to have the opportunity to display his talent and strategies to the well-known billionaire hedge fund manager David Einhorn, which also resulted in James getting exposed to new ideas and ways of looking at economies and markets. Unwilling to repeat the same mantra commonly put out by the financial media, James presents a fresh look at why the economy and the markets have multiple silver linings. Please note, Chat With Traders does not endorse any specific political viewpoint on our podcast. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Chat With Traders End of 2023 Message

Chat With Traders End of 2023 Message

Chat With Traders End of 2023 Message Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

272: Erik Smolinski - Marine Corps Discipline Crushes the Markets

272: Erik Smolinski - Marine Corps Discipline Crushes the Markets

Growing up poor and living in violent neighborhoods didn’t stop Erik Smolinski from being motivated and curious. Erik only needed to hear a few words about investing including the power of compounding from his high school instructor to light the passion and determination to take ACTION. The discipline, responsibility, accountability, and patience he cultivated as a Marine Corp officer strengthened his ability to stick with his well thought out trading plans and persevere. His use of derivatives strategies help him to minimize painful drawdowns while creating consistent, long term market-beating returns. About Erik Erik is a Marine veteran, options trader, real estate and angel investor. He is a strong advocate for authentic investing information. Erik became a first generation millionaire before 30 through hard work and unwavering dedication to his Outlier mindset. He started investing in 2007 and has spent more than 30,000 hours honing his skillset. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

271: Tom Basso - The Sweet Balance Between Risk and Reward

271: Tom Basso - The Sweet Balance Between Risk and Reward

Experiencing the brutal bear market of 1973-74 impressed upon Tom the necessity to find ways to hedge risk. This began a multi year long quest to find the right combination of uncorrelated assets, technical indicators and adjust the weightings as needed to provide enough protection to fill in the potholes of equity drawdowns while retaining the bulk of upside potential. Having a sweet balance between risk and reward both in the financial markets and in his personal life has enabled Tom to maintain a serene disposition. Tom Basso’s Background: Tom Basso is an American hedge fund manager. He was president and founder of Trendstat Capital Management. He has authored two books, Panic-Proof Investing and the self-published The Frustrated Investor. In 1998, he was elected to the board of the National Futures Association. Basso graduated from Clarkson University in Potsdam, New York in 1974, where he majored in chemical engineering. Prior to his career in trading, Basso worked as an engineer for Monsanto Company. He became a registered investment advisor in 1980 and a registered commodities advisor in 1984. Basso established Trendstat Capital in 1984 and served as its CEO until his retirement. Having retired from active trading in 2003, he now manages his own portfolios and provides guidance to aspiring traders. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

270: What Keeps You in the Game of Trading?

270: What Keeps You in the Game of Trading?

Every now and then, we like to switch things up and take a break from our usual program. Today, we present a special episode for that purpose. So, what keeps you in the trading game? The voices you hear in the podcast introduction belong to our listeners from all over the world. We share these voices with you because we believe you will be able to relate to them, just as we do. These voices mirror those of many traders like us who are on similar paths. They also serve as a reminder that we are not alone on this journey. We also reflect on the key messages and valuable lessons learned from the amazing guests we have interviewed, as well as the common threads that distinguish them from the rest. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

269: Rob Hanna - Reducing Anxiety and Drawdowns through Quantifiable Edges

269: Rob Hanna - Reducing Anxiety and Drawdowns through Quantifiable Edges

The shock of his first major losing year in 2004 as a discretionary trader, propelled Rob Hanna to find quantifiable statistical advantages that would help mitigate the fluctuations in his equity curves. Knowing the dangers of curve fitting, in trying to find that ‘perfect’ system, Rob zeroed in on simpler approaches that would combine seasonality, overbought, oversold and Federal Reserve days. The result is a system that helps minimize anxiety and drawdowns while keeping him invested for the bulk of bullish moves. Rob Hanna’s Bio: Rob is a Registered Investment Adviser Representative for Capital Advisors 360. He has worked as a full-time market professional since 2001. Prior to joining CA360, Rob managed his own private investment fund from 2001–2019 and has also run Quantifiable Edges since 2008. Quantifiable Edges offers a subscriber letter and other services focused on quantitative market analysis. Over the years, Rob has spoken at major conferences for the Market Technicians Association (MTA), the National Association of Active Investment Managers (NAAIM), and the American Association of Professional Technical Analysts (AAPTA) among others. Rob is a 1992 graduate of the Boston College Carroll School of Management. He lives and works in Massachusetts but serves institutional and individual clients across the US and Europe. You can find Rob through Quantifiable Edges, or on X (Twitter) @QuantifiablEdgs Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

268: Bryan Holdford - Is Loss Control All It Takes to Become Consistent?

268: Bryan Holdford - Is Loss Control All It Takes to Become Consistent?

Paying to take and pass the Series 7 license as a teenager in the 1980’s led Bryan Holdford into the high commission world of stocks and options without mentors or the internet. Starting with investment newspapers Bryan tried many trading ideas without any risk controls. Despite frequent and numerous losses, he was hooked on the game of trading. Obsessive determination drives him to stay in the game despite a boom bust performance. Recently he seems to have found the right balance. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

267: Dan McDermitt - An Edge with Correlations Across Time Frames

267: Dan McDermitt - An Edge with Correlations Across Time Frames

Stinging losses with mutual funds in 2008 drove Dan to become an active manager of his portfolio. Enticed by the legalization prospects of marijuana, he dived into learning the fundamentals and technicals of the sector. Learning how these stocks traded relative to each other, he cultivated an awareness of the correlations between these companies. These interrelationships would later be applied to large cap stocks, Commodities and Crypto across different time frames to give insights on when to participate in Bull and Bear runs, and when to back away. Feeling the pain of big early profits evaporating over months, Dan was forced to cultivate a mental flexibility in trading by considering both Bull and Bear signs in every stock he follows. Combined with correlations over multiple time frames with other stocks in the same sector, influences from Commodities, the dollar and various sectors, he flushes out nuances with scalpel-like precision and is ready to flip bullish or bearish without attachment. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

266: Mark Bennell - Mind Your Business: Be Like An Employee

266: Mark Bennell - Mind Your Business: Be Like An Employee

An engineer at the core, Mark Bennell, a Private Trader who has been trading full-time for 15 years breaks down what it really means to “Treat Trading As a Business” and why this mindset was incredibly important in turning his trading around and why it has kept him in the game for this long. About Mark Bennell Mark Bennell is a Private Trader who has been trading for the last 18 years, 15 of those being as a full time trader. He holds a Diploma in Technical Analysis, a Diploma in Share Trading and Investment and the International Accreditation as a Certified Financial Technician (CFTe). His trading preferences include discretionary swing trading, scalping Australian equities, and swing trading and scalping the Forex markets. Mark is also a trading mentor and enjoys utilizing his knowledge and experience to conduct live daily analysis on the Forex, Commodities and Indices markets, weekly workshop sessions and assisting others on their journey to become consistent traders. He has also been on stage and presented for the Australian Technical Analysts Association – Victorian Chapter and National Conference, and appeared in Trader’s Edge magazine in Australia, ‘Traders Story’ article. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

265: Peter Stolcers - Taking a Top-Down Approach to Day Trading

265: Peter Stolcers - Taking a Top-Down Approach to Day Trading

Seeing and feeling the intensity and chaos of the trading pits back in the 1980’s, Pete knew immediately that trading was the career he had to have. Starting as a floor runner making $5/hr to later trading full time for a living Pete discovered the importance of finding stocks with relative strength during the bear market of 2002. Pete uses a top down 3 step methodical process which helps him zero in on stocks to go long or short. From longs to shorts, conservative credit spreads, high leverage options to occasional Lotto trades, Pete fine tunes his versatile strategies to match current market conditions. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

264: Gabriel Bullo - Contest Winner: One Trader's Unwavering Dedication

264: Gabriel Bullo - Contest Winner: One Trader's Unwavering Dedication

Growing up poor in the Philippines, Gabriel sought a way to supplement his income. Dealing with the emotional challenges of giving up his profits in his long-term positions, he switched to trading to have a sense of greater control of the outcome. Starting out using many technical indicators, he later switched to just price action as it gave less false signals. After blowing up several accounts, he honed his skills to become the winner of the 21-Day Trading Challenge Contest inside the Chat with Traders Community and become a funded trader. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

263: Andres Granger - Making it in South Korea & Exploiting Market Inefficiencies in Crypto

263: Andres Granger - Making it in South Korea & Exploiting Market Inefficiencies in Crypto

Seeking financial opportunities overseas just before the Great Financial Crises, Andres Granger was motivated to learn how to trade after falling victim to a Ponzi-like trading scheme. He worked hard and diligently studied order flow and scalping while trading Futures in different markets. Later, he was introduced to crypto through a prop firm, where he honed his skills to exploit large market inefficiencies through market neutral trading. Emboldened by these incredible opportunities, Andres then went on to create a crypto strategy fund. He’s the Co-founder and Head of Trade and Strategy Development at Active Digital Funds, one of the very few Crypto funds that runs all of their strategies fully automated, and one of the few audited crypto funds to make a positive return for clients in 2022. Recently, they won the award for Best Market Neutral Fund under $25m from HedgeWeek European Digital Asset Awards. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

262: Henrik Johansson & Patrick Petersson - Recap: Beginner Trader to Funded Trader in 60 Days

262: Henrik Johansson & Patrick Petersson - Recap: Beginner Trader to Funded Trader in 60 Days

This is a special episode of a recording of a recent discussion that occurred within the Chat With Traders Community on a Zoom call. The discussion centers around Henrik Johansson, a beginner fellow trader, who embarked on a journey to obtain funding from a proprietary trading firm within a 60-day timeframe. Patrick Petersson leads the conversation with Henrik. If you recall, Patrick was a guest on episode 260. Patrick and Henrik traded together during this period with the goal of helping Henrik to achieve the goal of getting funded. They provide an overview of these 60 days for the CWT Community and offer valuable insights. We learn about their process of selecting a suitable prop trading firm that catered to Henrik's requirements, strategies that helped him to overcome psychological barriers, factors behind Henrik's decision to modify his trading style, and the tools and indicators he incorporated in his trading practices, and about the three most significant lessons Henrik gained while trading alongside Patrick. This episode is especially enlightening for traders interested in the route of getting funded. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

261: Humbled Trader - Lamborghini Money Quest Teaches Valuable Lessons

261: Humbled Trader - Lamborghini Money Quest Teaches Valuable Lessons

First seduced by advertisements of easy money, Shay a.k.a. Humbled Trader learned that she had to find her own way of trading. Taking the skills she learned as a special effects artist in Hollywood, she created the popular Youtube channel for traders to share her trading wisdoms in a humorous creative way. Join us in the story of how Shay was able to quit her full time job to trade full time. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices