The Mental Strategies of Top Traders: The Psychological Determinants of Trading Success

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John Wiley and Sons, Nov 13, 2009 - Business & Economics - 208 pages

An honest depiction of the challenges of trading and a clear explanation of what it takes to succeed

Trading tends to be a winner-take-all activity where a small number of traders are very successful, while the majority either lose money or generate relatively small profits. In The Mental Strategies of Top Traders, author Ari Kiev identifies and analyzes the characteristics of successful traders and shows you how to cultivate these same characteristics.

Successful trading, Kiev asserts, requires an unusual and sometimes contradictory blend of intellectual and psychological abilities, including the willingness to take risks, but in a very controlled manner; the discipline to develop high-conviction trading ideas in the face of unpredictable markets and incomplete information; as well as a strong drive to win, but also accept failure. Here, you'll discover how to achieve all this, and much more.

  • Provides advice and solutions for traders struggling with today's volatile and stressful markets
  • Authoritatively identifies key mental strategies of top traders
  • Written by Ari Kiev, a highly respected figure in the professional trading community
  • Analysis is supported by comments from contemporary traders and portfolio managers, many of whom struggled with the markets of 2008

Designed with the serious trader in mind, this book will put you in a better position to excel in today's tumultuous markets.

 

Contents

A HISTORY OF SUCCESS
THE ABILITY TO TAKE RISK
CREATIVITY AND ORIGINALITY
SELFAWARENESS SELFCONTROL AND RESILIENCE
TEAMWORK AND LEADERSHIP
PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER
THE PERFECT CANDIDATE?
MAKING A PLAN
THE SOURCE OF FEAR
CASE STUDY ON TRADING STRESS
SELFESTEEM AND SELFDISCIPLINE
LEARNING FROM DRAWDOWNS
CASE STUDY ON SELFASSESSING DURING DRAWDOWNS
GETTING COMFORTABLE WITH THE UNCOMFORTABLE
CASE STUDY ON BEING COMFORTABLE WITH DISCOMFORT
MANAGING STRESS WELL

CASE STUDY ON SETTING A GOAL
CASE STUDY ON HAVING A VARIANT PERCEPTION
PERSONALITY FACTORS AND GOALSETTING
RECOGNIZING GOALDIRECTED INDIVIDUALS
CASE STUDY ON RECOGNIZING GOALDIRECTEDNESS
GOALDIRECTEDNESS IN TURBULENT TIMES
A PICTURE OF SUCCESSFUL RISK MANAGEMENT
LEARNING TO UPGRADE YOUR PERFORMANCE
CASE STUDY ON THE SATISFACTION OF CREATIVE THINKING
THE STRATEGIC THINKER
CASE STUDY ON LEARNING TO BE CREATIVE
IDEA CONSTRUCTION
CASE STUDY ON CREATIVE THINKING
DEFINING EXPECTATIONAL ANALYSIS
CASE STUDY ON KNOWING THE BUSINESS
CASE STUDY ON EXPECTATIONAL ANALYSIS
IDEA VELOCITY
IDEA TIMING
THE PSYCHOLOGICAL DIMENSION
CASE STUDY ON COMMUNICATING EFFECTIVELY
CASE STUDY ON THE EMOTION OF DRAWDOWNS
CHARACTERISTICS OF A TEAM PLAYER
FINDING COMPLEMENTS TO YOUR TEAM
CASE STUDY ON A COMPARISON OF TRADERS
THE IMPORTANCE OF COMMUNICATION
EMPOWERING A CULTURE OF CHANGE
ENCOURAGING RESPONSIBILITY
EXPLORING POTENTIAL LEADERS
ENDEAVORING FOR SUCCESS
CASE STUDY ON A FAILURE TO LEAD
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About the author (2009)

Ari Kiev (Park Ridge, NJ)?is a psychiatrist who specializes in stress management and performance enhancement. Kiev has had a distinguished career in psychiatry. He is president of the Social Psychiatry Research Institute and is recognized worldwide for his pioneering work in transcultural psychiatry, suicidology, and psychopharmacology. Kiev has counseled Olympic athletes on how to achieve states of peak performance in athletic competition. In recent years, Kiev has worked with many traders on issues of stress management, goal setting, and performance enhancement. He has worked extensively with Steve Cohen's multi-billion dollar SAC Capital Advisors.

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