The Little Remora Fish

How many of you have been diving? I love diving! I first learned how to dive in 2003 when I was living in St. Thomas, part of the US Virgin Islands. It was a great experience. I love all the outdoor activities. Boating, sailing, golf, hiking, camping, biking, and of course, diving. St. Thomas has some of the best diving in the caribbean. Tons of wrecks dives and deep dives. We had a chance to swim with sharks (nurse sharks that is, they don’t bite) on a few dives. It was intimidating and a little scary at first but after I while you start to realize that they aren’t going to hurt you and you start to relax and enjoy the views. After closer inspection, my dive buddy noticed the little fish swimming with the sharks. After the dive, he asked our instructor why the shark didn’t eat the little fish swimming with him. This is when I first learned of the remora fish.

The Remora Fish

A remora fish(pronounced /ˈrɛməәrəә/), sometimes called a suckerfish or sharksucker, is an elongated, brown fish. Their distinctive first dorsal fin takes the form of a modified oval sucker-like organ with slat-like structures that open and close to create suction and take a firm hold against the skin of larger marine animals. By sliding backward, the remora can increase the suction, or it can release itself by swimming forward. Some remoras associate primarily with specific host species. Remoras are commonly found attached to sharks, manta rays, whales, and turtles; just to name a few.

The Mutualism Relationship

The relationship between remoras and their perfect hosts is most often taken to be one of mutualism. The remora cleans bacteria and other parasites from the host, while the remora benefits by using the host as transport and protection and also feeds on materials dropped by the host.

This Mutualism Relationship is the same for us traders and the market. We (the remora fish) clean the market (the shark) of any bacteria and other parasites. We do this by making the market. Without us traders (remora fish) the market could not exist. We keep it alive and moving. The market (the shark) transports and protects us and also feeds us. This is a mutually beneficial relationship, for the right traders that is. The right traders know about this relationship and how to use it to their advantage.

The Safest Fish in the Ocean

The remora fish is the safest fish in the ocean. Why? Because it rides on the shark. It’s the shark’s little buddy. The shark isn’ t going to eat it’s little buddy and other fish in the ocean aren’t going to mess with it because it is too close to it’s bodyguard.

The remora also gets to ride on the shark, meaning it can travel the ocean without using very much of it’s own energy. This concept is the same for traders that know how to ride the market. If we just ride with the market and flow with it where it wants to go, we will be successful. Remember, the market is never wrong! So if we just flow with it, we will reap the benefits.

The remora fish also gets to eat for free. In fact, the little fish gets a smorgasbord of delightful treats. All the remora has to do is swim with the shark to eat all of the shark’s bacteria and other parasites. And if that’s not enough, the little buddy gets to eat all of the shark’s leftovers that escapes it’s powerful jaws. Its the same for us traders. If we just ride with the market, we can constantly be fed profits. A smorgasbord of profits!

If we learn from the little Remora Fish, we can be successful in the trading markets. Not just the ETF market but all of the markets. So cheers to the little Remora Fish!

To Your Trading Success,

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Batting Practice (Don't miss the video blog at the end of this post!)

Baseball season is back! Baseball, America’s Favorite Pastime. I used to play baseball just like every other kid growing up. I loved it, games, practice; it didn’t matter to me as long as I was out there playing the game. One of my favorite parts of practice was batting practice. I’m sure most of you know what a normal batting practice consists of; basically a coach pitching a bunch of balls to his players to hit. It was great, hitting 40+ balls in just a few minutes. But now that I think about it, it was the worst practice that a player could achieve. Why, you ask? Simple, the players aren’t really learning anything. In fact, they are actually regressing! Why? Because they are swinging at every pitch! To put it another way, come game time, they’ll be swinging at pitches they shouldn’t be swinging at.

To swing or not to swing

When I have a son/s, I hope to coach his/their little league team/s.  I will make sure that batting practice is done the right way. What is the right way, you ask? Well, first of all, I will take my time with batting practice. Second, I will make sure that my players only swing at the best pitches. This will ensure that they are learning properly. They not only need to learn how to hit the ball, but also when to swing and when not to swing at the ball. Batting practice should be used to:

• Learn how to hit effectively
• Learn how to swing the bat efficiently
• Learn how to differentiate the difference between balls and strikes
• Learn how to hit the ball to different areas of the field
• Learn how to bunt effectively
• Learn how to take a walk
• Even learn how to get hit by a speeding pitch, aka take one for the team!

These are just a few invaluable lessons that can be gleaned from batting practice.

To pull the trigger or not to pull the trigger

The same principle applies to trading. Everyone reading this has traded a demo account! This is always recommended to my clients. However, there are rules to trading a demo account. Practice does not make perfect. Perfect practice makes perfect! Trading a demo account wildly with no discipline will not help you one bit; in fact, it could be very detrimental to your trading success. When trading a demo account, you need to trade it as if you were trading own live account. This will ensure that you’re not swinging at every trade, but only the best trades! You must use your demo account to:

• Back-test your system
• Learn how to use your indicators properly
• Learn when to trade and when not to trade
• Learn how to use entry and exit strategies
• Learn how to use position sizing techniques
• Learn how to use pending orders
• Learn how to let your losing trades get stop out without caring
• Learn how to let your winning trades keep going without caring
• Learn how to use discipline when losing and winning
• Just overall learn how to effectively trade your system

These are just a few invaluable lessons that can be gleaned from using a demo account; but only if you use your demo account properly. Don’t underestimate the power of your demo account! I hope this simple but invaluable article helps you in some way. For more awesome articles and helpful videos just go tohttp://fusiontradinglive.com. I hope to see you in our exclusive member’s only live trading room!

To Your Trading Success,

5 Characteristics of Successful Traders

As a money manager, I associate with a lot of other money managers. Some of them were successful, some of them were not and none of them ever taught their systems. They all said I was crazy when I said I was going to teach my system. But knowing what I know about volume and liquidity on the daily charts I knew I wouldn’t be hurting myself. No trader worth their salt would ever share their system if it hurt their own fills and performance; no matter how "nice" they seem. With that said I want to share with you five characteristics of successful traders. All the successful money manager I know have these traits.

1. Successful traders don't "makethingshappen". If you try to force the market and enter too early because "you know it's going to go up" you will get burned. The key is to be a follower, not a leader. Follow your system (if it's a proven system like mine that is) and don't make things happen outside of it. If you have a trigger finger and can't help clicking your mouse, then do it on a demo account. Just don't think when you get lucky a few times that it's ok to "make things happen'. That is the whole reason for using a system and milking the slight edge it gives you. My favorite quote is “Learn to do nothing!”.
2. Successful traders are prepared. I have 7 steps that I take before every trading day. It's also very important that you have a trading plan and that you stick to it. I will show you how to plan each trade quickly and easily each night in only 10 minutes after you learn my system.
3. Successful traders remain emotionally detached. Once you enter a trade, are you willing to forget about it until your pre-determined exit strategy is met? I admit that it's fun to watch your trading account soar in a matter of days, but watching it too closely can be dangerous. My after market trading planning eliminates 99% of emotion because all decisions are made while the market is closed and not moving.
4. Successful traders expect to become rich. Can you picture yourself wealthy? Successful traders can. Don't limit yourself. Prosperity must be on the inside of you before it is on the outside. If not you will self sabotage your trading account when it starts to get too high because of a subconscious hang up that you don't deserve to be rich. I will teach you how to think and overcome any hidden physiological obstacles that are hindering you from success. That is part of my mentoring program.
5. Successful traders all have a mentor. Warren Buffett looked up to and learned from Ben Graham. Jim Rogers learned from George Soros. My personal mentor is still in the business (and no he doesn't teach his system). Sure Warren Buffet modified his system from Ben Graham to make it his own. All good traders "make it their own" after learning all the system trade rules. That is why my system has three sets of trading rules. One set for those who are conservative, another for moderate, and another for aggressive traders.

This lets you take ownership of your trading. Taking ownership could be listed as number six. Why would you be any different in the respect to needing a mentor? It's a fact and if I have to "sell" you on this part I'm not sure you understand how life works. For example, on your current job did anyone teach you anything so you could do your job effectively? Yes, that’s what I thought! Mentorship is the only way to learn, this is why college grads without internship experience have a hard time finding a job and why college grads with intern experience find jobs easily.

To Your Trading Success,