The answer to 1 is a bit evasive though. Who cares what your dollars are because you could be making $10/trade or $10M/trade.
What percent of your trading portfolio did you make in 2023, for example? VTI made 26.05% in 2023, for example. What'd you make?
None of us will know if you're lying so you don't need to worry.
I don't think in percent I don't track them, I don't care. That's the truth of it do what you will. That is not something I've seen in full time traders I've spoken with (
Jysin
do you set your goals by percent?) People who make their living using other people's money, now those people talk about it all the time because they are competing with your other options. So if I've given you wrong impression, I'm not interested in managing your money Cad
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Now it's a legitimate question to say "Why don't you think in percent" , for me its an idea that sounds good in theory but doesn't hold up the nuance of RL at least for me. All I can speak to is what I do, I don't really spend my time thinking about what others should be doing. Every year I set a dollar goal that meets my families needs and wants within the bounds of our risk tolerance. Let's say I have a good spring then take the entire summer off how would you have me handle that?
Priority #1 protect capital
Priority #2 Seek a good return for the risk taken
How do you determine the denominator? If I choose to not invest cash is that being calculated or not, you don't measure your VTI performance by including your net worth not in it. For the period I am in the market I'm pretty confident that I'm well ahead of it.
I did calculate % the best I could and posted to this forum my percent return for almost 20 years of returns, its in the thread but again that will include periods where I simply wasn't putting capital in harms way.
If I assume you aren't just being an asshole I'd guess your angle is "Why not just invest in the market and be done?" I think I'd have that perspective with a salary (Current Wage Income) and to me that makes sense. I have achieved some of my major life goals, I have the home the land I want, my wife is happy. I don't want for much else. I make the amount of money I need and I do it as efficiently as I can. The beta of the market is not something I'm willing to expose my entire livelihood to. I manage risk, I've made a few million, is it some super impressive % return compared to the market, I don't know I doubt it, the market has put up some pretty impressive numbers over the period. I have made it by just consistently grinding it out. I have very rarely been red. That's my win.
And I don't think I have ever given any other advice to others besides dollar cost avg into a broad index. I'm pretty confident in my ability to make a good beta adjusted return and that's what I'll continue to focus on.
My assets are far messier than you looking at a 401k which is usually rather straightforward. I use capital to buy SPY I use it to buy a tractor, sometimes I'm saving it to buy land etc (and thus obviously won't expose it to a potential 50% decline) It would be like asking why don't you include your Au pair cost against your VTI performance.
I made $154,592.46 last year, should I include dividends/interest? I don't know you didn't lay out the rules of this contest I'm in. If I include passive gain I made $191,275. I had and used capital varying from $800k to $1100 to do that, I had two red months ($20,251.76) Sept and ($7,811.91) Oct. My best month was Nov $51,269.76. Now how much did I use to make that Nov gain, surprisingly little and to me that's the managing risk part. Probably 10% return on invested capital that month. Waiting for a play and taking it.
We have had this discussion so many times I'm starting to really feel like an old man repeating myself. You're probably wealthier than me and if you still have a healthy income it makes more sense to not fear the impact of a significant drawdown and the loss of time for it to recover but that does not work for me at this time. What could I do if I was a horse out of the barn? I honestly don't know, I do wonder at times and would enjoy the challenge of that but it's not my reality. Building my homestead sucked about a million of my liquid capital if I can get back to a safe buffer I may get to enjoy a period down the line where I can more cleanly just invest a sum of money for pure performance with less capital preservation concerns.