Other Peoples' Money

Those who've been following the developments over at The Sultan's place will be aware that he was hoping to get an investment from a pro gambling syndicate to fund a trading bank that he would work in return, presumably, for a cut of any profits. It would seem that negotiations have stalled, and the poor chap is really quite down about it, to the extent that he is thinking of quitting trading. I hope he finds the resolve to keep going, as it seems to me that he trades his chosen sport well enough, and his blog is one of the more thought provoking and interesting ones out there imho.

Despite my views about the Sultan's trading and blogging I must admit I am puzzled by his apparent despair at being unable to secure a funding deal. A while ago a friend of mine, interested in the potential upside of trading but unwilling to go to work at the coalface, gave me a few hundred quid to work on. The deal was that I would trade that as a separate bank from my own, but do the same trades from both, keeping 50% of the profits but bearing no loss. 'I don't really care if I don't see it again, but if we can make some money all well and good!' were his words. I somehow didn't believe him totally. It was a short lived experiment, the sums relatively small all round, but if someone said to me 'Dave here's ten grand to trade with, you keep 50% of the winnings  and if you blow the lot we'll put it down to experience' I'd tell him to jog on. Seriously. And if a similar offer were made with some kind of joint responsibility for any loss, I'd tell him to sprint on. I really don't need a pile of someone else's money, and neither do I see any mental value in having it either. If I lose my own money on a trade I'm not happy, but it's my money, my decisions that caused the loss and I feel aggrieved enough as it is without having to explain myself to a third party. Likewise, I don't really want to be handing over 50% of any winnings - I pay tax at work thank you, and there's always the outside chance that I'll make Super PC one day - although I doubt it!

Everyone trades for different reasons and with different end games. It is, honestly, a hobby for me and I treat it as such. The Sultan openly says his trading profits don't really contribute to his general living expenses but are pursued with another, undivulged, purpose in mind. Fine and dandy. But I reckon he'd be better paddling his own canoe personally.

I've made no secret of the fact that I belong to www.tradingfootball.eu and have been a member since day one, whenever that was. The chatroom is fantastic - good banter, knowledgeable traders, keen newbies and a generally pleasant place to be especially when working a busy card. Occasionally I 'lead' a trade in there which means I am responsible for, effectively, investing other peoples' money. In a way this is a good thing in that it externally forces discipline on me. I try to make sure that any trades are well reasoned, well explained and have some kind of a 'Plan B' if the carrier pigeon entrusted with the scripts can't find the dressing rooms in time. It's a great feeling when a trade is successful and makes people money. It's far from pleasant when you know that a failed trade has cost those people money. No one complains, I think most realise that I (and other trade leaders) are not in possession of magical powers, but it is still a responsibility that weighs heavily with me even though those people enter the trade willingly and (big assumption here!) are trading with money that isn't needed to put food on the table. But that's as far as I want to go.

Looking at the matter from another angle, would I entrust my hard earned to The Sultan, Cassini or anyone else willing to take an investment? Errrr ....NO! I'll stand or fall on my own, ta very muchly.