From A Lucrative Job To Professional Trader And Fund Manager
In episode 135 of the Desire To Trade Podcast, I sit down in Hong Kong with professional trader, fund manager, author, and educator Ray Barros.
A lawyer by profession and training, Ray gave up his lucrative law practice in the 1980s to focus on his first love – trading. His initial attempts at trading failed miserably and he suffered heavy losses.
But, after making all the mistakes in a trader’s manual and then some, Ray finally hit on a trading approach that gives him the market edge.
This approach has proven effective in both trending and congested markets, allowing him to trade profitably and consistently.
Thereafter, he was highly sought after by major banks to manage their funds.
At the same time, he was also very much sought after as a trainer to train other institutional traders based on the strategies and techniques he developed.
In the early 1990s, he became an outsourced FX Trader and this gave him the flexibility to focus his next great passion – teaching.
Topics Covered In This Episode
- A quick introduction to Ray Barros [0:22]
- How Ray Barros first got involved in trading [1:05]
- How Ray recovered from blowing up an account [2:40]
- The best way to improve in trading & learn what the market does [4:21]
- How to create a proper trading plan [5:45]
- How Ray Barros started to manage funds [8:00]
- What Ray thinks of a $100,000 account (and up) [9:30]
- How to get capital to trade (when you're profitable) [11:10]
- How to know if a fund is a scam or not [12:23]
- Chris asks: do you need to show a track record to investors?[13:47]
- Should you keep your losing period on your track record [15:52]
- How Ray Barros handles drawdowns as professional trader (BIG lesson!) [17:13]
- How Ray managed to keep his investors over time [19:00]
- Kimo asks: what's your approach to the market? [23:00]
- Taking partial profits or moving stops with discretion [25:38]
- How Ray manages being a professional trader & running a fund [29:35]
- What timeframe Ray Barros focuses on and when [31:15]
- How to scale up your trade size [33:12]
- How much to risk per trade (rule of thumb) [34:20]
- How to build up your account size [35:20]
- Why Ray Barros applies the same process to all markets [37:50]
- Advice to start in discretionary trading [38:27]
- Ray's maximum drawdown rule [39:50]
- What traders do wrong these days [41:00]
- Why trading is the hardest job in the world [42:50]
- Why Ray Barros meditates [46:34]
Resources Mentioned
- Trade Journaling: Edgewonk
- Book: The Nature Of Trends (by Ray Barros)
DesireToTRADE Top Resources
- Desire To TRADE Forex Trader Community (free group!)
- Complete Price Action Strategy Checklist (free checklist!)
- One-Page Trading Plan (free template!)
- DesireToTRADE Academy (exclusive training program)
How To Find Ray Barros?
What is one thing you are going to implement after listening to this podcast episode? Leave a comment below, or join me in the Facebook group!
