4 Secret Habits Of Winning Traders

Every trader has a phase where they obsessively study the most successful traders of our times. Whether it be Warren Buffet, George Soros or Ray Dalio or even traders who got famous by using the internet to showcase their successes – studying the big names has become like a rite of passage to pass trading 101 nowadays.

It’s well established by now that there are things that set successful traders apart from others. While some may cry that it’s a matter of luck, there is tangible proof to show that certain traders are more successful than others because of their mindset, tactics or an endless combination of other factors.

Every trader worth their salt will have read books and articles going in depth on becoming successful in this line of work. What many of them fail to mention are there are some unspoken similarities in behavior among the most successful traders in the game.

1) They All Think From A Hedge Fund Perspective

Regardless of position size and available capital to trade, the most successful investors take the same hedge fund approach regardless of whether they’re trading with $1000 or millions. Account size means nothing to them.

The hedge fund mentality is to always trade properly. They don’t care about fast profits or making money overnight. They focus on improving their trading behavior and sticking to their trading plans because they’re much more concerned about their year end yields rather than their daily trades. This mentality is what’s given them the patience to strike when the iron is the hottest.

2) They Don’t Care ForYour Opinion

The most successful traders are successful for a reason, and they certainly didn’t get successful by doing what everyone else is doing. Herd mentality is very prevalent on many trading forums and discussion boards, where everyone is suddenly an expert or guru. Real experts or gurus aren’t online to spread their opinion, they’re busy making money instead.

Don’t follow the crowd. Follow your instincts, your research and your own plans. That will make you more money than anyone else’s opinion.

In fact, many successful traders will go against the herd in their trades. There are such a thing as contrarian traders who simply go against the herd and find themselves often in more favorable positions down the road.

3) Most Aren’t Day Traders

Surprisingly, a lot of the most successful traders aren’t the ones trading in high volumes every day. Most trades for a day trader end up being a loss. As a day trader, it isn’t necessary to have a high volume of winning trades, but many successful traders are swing traders or position traders.

These traders will hold onto a position for longer periods of time, from several days up to several weeks. They understand that the market will swing and make profitable trades during those periods. This approach requires more patience and research but will often result in higher levels of profit on winning trades.

4) They Focus On Trading, Not Profit

What may surprise many is that often, successful traders aren’t trading because of an innate desire to be rich. They’re more likely to trade due to a fascination with the markets and because they want to win. They often treat the market as game to be beat, a set of challenges to overcome and parameters to account for.

They get their excitement from going into a trade with a underdog, them against the world type of mindset. They prioritize winning trades over everything and will go to significant lengths to research and prepare for what they believe will be a big winner. To them, risk is the key metric as it measures a different type of success for them.