How different P J Lal is from Professional licensed traders?

I have been exposed to seemingly unrelated disciplines but the passion for trading has made me blend the experiences acquired and I have developed my own way of discretionary trading . I have yearning for learning that has helped me gain an edge in trading that baffles even me.

I am my own boss.

Since I am trading for self with my own capital, I am not bound by Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) regulations and compliances. Nor am I answerable to any internal risk guidelines set by an institution or hedge fund.

20 years in daily journalism

• 7 years in reporting news, doing instant research and filing stories to meet daily deadlines; It helped me become a deadline-oriented person.
• 7 years in business journalism which is where I developed a sense of history that helps me predicting probabilities and visualise and project targets. It helps my financial trading immensely.

35 years in trading and manufacturing of consumer and industrial goods in Asia as a Merchant-Exporter

• Started business with no substantial capital resources . "Sell First, Buy later" after getting confirmed order was practised for a long time. A zero to hero kind of business model.
• Selection of products that can sell and generate more profits. Without doing this exercise, today I never choose any financial instrument for trading. I look for Daily Average Range generated by any trading instrument. Basically, I look at risk vs reward.
• Taking huge risks in extending unsecured credit to long-distance customers without taking any collaterals and suffering from bad loans taught me a life-long lesson. Now I define risk in advance and use methods that can protect me in case of adverse situations. I don't mind even if I lose. In any case I don't trade naked options most of the time.
• Operating with limited capital resources and not so liberal bank facilities taught me the importance of using leverage. Maximum use of margin extended by the exchanges is preferable than to depend on broker for leverage. Spent 5+ years to practise buying of options and acquired the skill to limit risks without sacrificing unlimited profit possibility. Dice are loaded against an options buyer who has to start with negative 25% of probability of returning to profit but with LIMITED RISK. Sellers, on the other hand, start with a positive 25% of probability of returning to profit though with UNLIMITED RISK

39 years in financial trading (includes hands-off trading through private bankers and hands-on self-directed online trading )

Using wholesale/private banking facilities for obtaining cheaper loans to invest in portfolios pledged with them. Leverage enjoyed from 95% to 40% depending on the ratings of the fixed-income instruments like bonds, interest rate swaps, certificates of deposits, etc and purchase of rent generating properties.

22 years in online financial trading

• Started online spot currency trading as a news trader using Metatrader 3 trading platform while trading currency options with private banks.
• Shifted to Interactive Brokers in 2004 and continued with them on and off for more than 14 years.
• Finally, on the advice of my daughter, I started trading regularly from January 21, 2019 after the account was set up in October 2018 and used Fund Seeder for generating analytics.
• Have an uncontrollable urge to confront crises and financial disasters. Have always learned to take the bull by the horns and gain exposure on how to handle pressure, stress, fear and greed. You can call it an exercise in extracting value from disasters
• Choice of products is restricted to those that generate high momentum rather than volatility. Volatility spoils Margin leverage maximization efforts. Love products that mean-revert in 4 months time.
• No fixed trading tactics. Become a price follower when reacting to momentum while trading futures or in the spot market. Turn into a price forecaster when buying options. This is the activity I enjoy most. It requires less capital and has scope for non-linear returns.
• Most of the times, act as a conservative trader by going for spreads with all defined - risk,breakeven and profit.
• Always experimenting on how to maximise margins offered by the exchange by using same instruments and same expiration period but different strike prices. Have paid huge costs in terms of less profits but has helped the overall performance.
• Hedging solutions are the one I am constantly experimenting with. It gives me an intellectual satisfaction. Releasing locks and locking up again is something that fascinates me. I use averaging for recovery and keep an eye on drawdown exerting pressure on margin deposit load. Unfortunately a one man band can do things up to a point.
• Using a combination of futures, futures spreads (like a strangle) , covering puts and calls comes naturally to me. Spot currency, currency options are another dependable money spinners for me.