For February’s Futures Masters we sat down with Senior Futex Trader, Adam Percy Whiting, who took time out from his trading and watching his beloved Manchester City to bemoan the rise of computers and discuss what he thinks makes a successful trader. Adam has been trading at Futex since 2006 and currently trades FTSE and DAX.

What made you decide to get into trading?

I have always been interested in business and the financial markets, an interest I pursued at University. Having graduated in 2006 and following a chance meeting with the Chairman of Futex, Paolo Rossi, I seized the opportunity to gain work experience at Futex’s Head Office. Within my first week on the Trading Floor I knew I wanted to stay. The atmosphere is always exciting and the markets constantly changing. There is always something new in the markets to comprehend and exploit to your advantage.

Tell me about your personal approach to the markets and what you trade today.

I predominantly trade short-term. I’m heavily involved in the markets looking to job or scalp with the occasional long-term trade. Employing a short-term trading style really works for me by preventing me from becoming too stubborn. I don’t get married to any trading ideas and reassess quickly when conditions change. I’ve traded numerous markets over the past few years but currently focus on European Equity Indices. The opportunities within these markets for locals like us are excellent.

Were you successful right from the beginning?

Not at all! It took me a long time to employ different strategies in a wide variety of different markets before I found something that I felt comfortable with. I firmly believe that you need to be aware of your personal strengths and (hopefully few) weaknesses and only then can you find your niche in a suitable market. One of the benefits of trading at Futex is being given the time and support to experiment and uncover your true potential.

What has been your secret to consistent success in the markets?

There are a few things that I believe are integral to trading consistency. Firstly, you have to be incredibly focused during the trading day and continually researching the news and views that are relevant to your market. There is no excuse for not being prepared and for not having a view on the markets you trade. Secondly, you have to review on an ongoing basis what is working for you and what is not; this takes great self-awareness and honesty. Finally, you need to know when to push yourself aggressively and also when to stop.

What kind of misconceptions do people have about trading as a career?

There is definitely a perception that it is easy and an underestimation of the amount of hard work that is required to succeed. You need to be dedicated to your trading all day, every day, with a constant focus on what the global financial markets are doing around you, why they are doing it, and an instinctive understanding of the implications of any such developments for your trading. Being able to do this and make trading decisions quickly, under intense pressure, takes huge dedication.

How have the markets changed since you began trading?

Enormously! Even though I have only been trading since 2006 I have witnessed a dramatic rise in automated computer trading. Not only do you compete daily against traditional participants such as other locals, but more and more you are interacting with black boxes! They are able to react more quickly than humans and don’t suffer from emotions. The challenge is in working out how to compete knowing that they represent an ever increasing proportion of the market.

What in your experience makes a successful trader?

You have to be intelligent. This doesn’t necessarily mean you need multiple University qualifications, but you need to be able to make effective decisions quickly, when under extreme pressure, and on the basis of multiple information sources. You must also be prepared to work hard and establish and maintain discipline every day. Finally, you have to learn from your mistakes. We all make mistakes but what separates the elite traders is the ability not to repeat them.

Futex Investment & Trading Academy

“The Ultimate Futures Trading Education”

Tags: Dax, dedication, FTSE, locals, pressure, scalp, Trading Floor

This entry was posted on Monday, March 22nd, 2010 at 3:36 pm and is filed under Futures Masters - Interviews with Futex Academy's elite traders, Inbox Education. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.