Planning My Next Meetup [hopefully not MIS] Adventure (Part 4)
Posted by Mark on July 25, 2019 at 07:26 | Last modified: January 23, 2019 13:38After some effort, Meetup finally admitted that my group idea does not fit their guidelines.
Nevertheless, their ambivalent tone (first sentence of this first excerpt) makes me think the opportunity exists to start a group with some caution. I want to avoid obvious red flags such as the phrase “online work group” (see sentences 3-4 of excerpt just linked). I will avoid charging a large upfront fee (see here), which might be viewed as a product sale. I will omit reference to a selective interview process and small number of members, which may suggest limited revenue for Meetup.
The time has come to compose a rough draft of what I have in mind:
The purpose of this group is to teach, to analyze data, and to develop option trading systems.
We will teach through use of simulated trades that we design and monitor. We will couple our observations with discussion and analysis. We will rinse and repeat. By practicing a finite number of option trading strategies over and over, my goal is to become comfortable with common approaches that can be used to invest real money for those interested in doing so.
Lots of ideas from financial professionals and investment gurus sound good, but I believe the only way to understand what has truly worked is to analyze the data. I have many research questions that cater to spreadsheet analysis. If you have spreadsheet expertise and want to learn about investing, then this group is calling your name.
Development of option trading systems–the third area of focus—will depend on available programming skill in the group. I have specifications for what I seek in an automated backtester. I also have a detailed research plan. Results from this backtesting will help us to create (modify) the simulated trades mentioned two paragraphs above and offer a much broader context than following one trade after another in real-time. If you have programming expertise and are interested to learn about option trading, then this group is calling your name, too!
Advanced option traders can benefit from this group. You’re only as good as your last drawdown. To that end, you probably seek improvement just like I do. As an experienced trader myself, we can discuss various facets at a very high level.
Beginners can certainly benefit from this group. I could never guarantee profitability, but I can promise the potential to learn a great deal about the fundamentals and intricacies of option trading and investing. The information from this group will be shiny arrows for your financial quiver(s).
Regardless of your experience level, I want all members to participate. As I think back across the many trading groups I have attended over the years, most members lurk in the shadows with the hope of gaining free knowledge for themselves. In this group, even beginners can participate through things like daily trade tracking and/or data collection, monetary contribution, or IT support. I want us to be a community—a team of which everyone is an integral member.
And let me reiterate: if you have expertise with spreadsheets and/or programming, then I want you! We can do beautiful work together, and you can walk away with the skills to become a self-directed investor. Few can escape the fetters of the financial industry (i.e. AUM fees, expense ratios, etc.). This group has the potential to provide those essential tools.
My vision for this is like no other trading group I have seen in 15 years. Since prediction is an endeavor that sees professionals fail time and time again, we will spend little time discussing events pertaining to world economies or debating stock selection. Instead, we will spend our time planning actionable trading strategy to prepare us for whatever the market throws our way.