The Mixed-Up Files of SEMI Collective (Part 2)

I’ve been going through my “drafts” folder this year trying to finish partially-written blog posts and get more organized. This is another series of unfinished posts.

From October 2016, I have a post about the SEMI group concept. I also had four other incomplete drafts. I have cursorily looked over these drafts along with the actual post. The content is different.

This particular draft is from October 14, 2016, and has 20 revisions. I therefore worked quite a bit without ever getting it done! I resurrected Part 1 here. In the longshot case that someone out there could possibly benefit from any of this, here is what I believe to be Part 2.

———————————-

What can you expect to get out of this group?

If you are a beginner then you should get a solid financial foundation on which trading strategies can be built. I have a good idea about what gets taught in premium courses. My presentation material would overlap and this can serve as a good starting point. I say “starting point” because to be successful, I believe you must always do the work of tailoring any strategy to your own individual personality.

If you are advanced then you will have the opportunity to collaborate with others in developing trading strategies. I believe even advanced traders should work with others to keep heuristic thinking in check. Not only is collaboration very difficult to find, it is the ultimate goal of this group.

The overbearing ego resides in the know-it-all (KIA): a variant of trader I periodically encounter. The KIA claims to be advanced. He has an arrogance about him and speaks in certainties that imply some familiarity with the Holy Grail. He describes trades as “ATM machines” and occasionally brags about his profits. The KIA is often selling a trading system, a newsletter/advisory, or a premium website.

I need overbearing egos and KIAs to steer clear of this group. Collaboration requires us to leave egos at the door, maintain open minds, and attempt to look past biases and focus exclusively on the data. I reserve the right to ban any KIA who has leaked into the group.

The most important thing to me is that this group be actionable. Directly actionable may be a trading strategy that I can implement right now with reason why it is likely to profit. Indirectly actionable may involve pre-requisite concepts upon which an actionable idea is built. Topics that are not actionable include discussion about market or economic trends because the crystal ball for prognostication is broken. Also not actionable is discussion about corporate fundamentals and/or earnings in the absence of robust evidence to suggest significant correlation with predetermined market moves.

Finance is full of ideas that sound good on the surface and make great logical sense. Without supporting evidence, though, good ideas amount to little more than gambling.

Gambling, in my eyes, does not make good business sense.