I have noticed over the last few years that I have been increasingly approached by Veterans interested in learning how to trade financial markets either as a post service career or something to challenge themselves during their down time. I have been very fortunate to have met (and mentored) several of them over the last few years. They're always a pleasure to work with.
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A while back I heard a former fund-manager, and now fintech CEO, talk about the three key core competencies seen in consistently good traders. She said that in all her years there were three elements that kept showing up time-and-again in all the successful traders she worked with. They were:
- Process
- Discipline
- Self-Awareness
I would agree with her findings. It also struck me that those three competencies are seen time and again during the training and behaviour of military personnel.
As an ex-military guy some of you may know that I've been developing a trading course to help give Veterans an introductory head-start in understanding and trading Financial markets. It’s called The Veterans' Trader Project and has been running this year.
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What I realised was that blending Veterans and civilian students together was beneficial to both groups. Those three core competencies have been deliberately included into these courses in order to a) help veterans leverage their existing skill-sets and b) allow every-day guys and girls the chance to develop these skills and create their own Tactical Trading Plan.
The aim is to help teach new traders to navigate markets safely. Most amateurs focus on reward whereas professionals are always focusing on risk. Veterans by their very nature tend to be instinctively good at assessing and managing risk. This is another benefit that everyday guys and girls can learn and build into their own trading style.
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I've run the courses for 3 years now and the feedback has been wonderful, and it's given me great pleasure to see these traders grow and develop.
What will you receive? Well it will be based upon understanding and managing the 4M’s of Trading: Markets, Method, Money & Myself. The training is blended between group sessions on a London trading floor and online sessions.
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The idea will be to introduce people to analysing financial markets (whether it be for trading, investing or managing your pension) and then moving people towards longer term trading. It will be about teaching people to understand and operate safely in markets using process, discipline and self-awareness.
If you're interested in joining us, or would like to help out in the future, then please feel free to drop me a line here or check out the attached Veterans Trader Project blog.
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Trade well