Friday Feature: Lessons in Volatility – 1st Time Experiences
March 13, 2020
In life we remember those significant moments in our lives that we went through for the first time that we’ll never forget. Some of those moments created excitement, some created tears, some created humility, some created learning lessons that can turn us into better individuals and ect.
Prime example, I remember my live first trade I ever made. I was at work and I bought my first 100 shares of GDX and wrote a covered call right away and I’ll never forget the excitement it brought me that morning after all the training I did, I was finally ready to take action towards my trading career.
A lot has changed since then obviously, we were in strong bull market of 2016 and it seemed like you could throw a dart at any chart you looked at and you could be profitable.
The following year I remember my first taste of volatility in 2017, not too long after Fed Chairman Jerome Powell came into office and after one of his first press conferences stated that the Federal Reserve would be raising interest rates. That turned the market around on a dime and it was an experience I was unprepared for that without question humbled me real quick not knowing how to properly respond to what was going on because all I’ve ever seen was a surging market.
Back then I thought the S&P being down 1% was a big deal and I remember Matt Justice saying if people think the market being down 1-2% in a day is a big deal, then they don’t know what volatility is and I was that guy who didn’t know what volatility was.
Fast forward to our current market conditions in 2020, we have the market fluctuating up and down on a daily basis 1-3% overnight almost as if it’s a regular day in trading. Oil opened down 20% during Sunday night futures and the market hit it’s 5% circuit breakers before the market opened(twice this week). Then we have a global virus now labeled a pandemic, that has been the major catalyst for the strong selling we have witnessed in the market and major sports leagues have suspended or cancelled the remaining of their seasons.
Warren Buffet said it himself, that if you trade long enough, you’ll see everything, and I can say for myself I’ve seen a lot just in the last year and a half. There have and are moments currently that have created opportunities from a positive perspective but also fear for some of my friends and family rather that be financially or just their general health. Right now seeing the market move the way I was told it could in the past from people like Tim and Matt, it’s a lot different when you experience first hand just how quickly price depreciation takes place and knowing that I would not have been prepared years ago for something like this makes me incredibly grateful for learning the skill set that I have for me to trade through these moments with no fear and ready to attack the day when I’m prepared.
In present time right now, this year has been one of the worst starts that I can remember as a society just knowing that our daily lives can be affected by the coronavirus that has vastly spread across the globe into the United Stated and has caused businesses and schools to close.
Even though it has crossed my mind about my well-being considering how many individuals I’ve interacted with on a regular basis and I’m sure there’s a large amount of us in the community feeling the same way, what has provided me some form of a peace of mind is knowing that I have the ability to turn a negative into a positive for myself and that’s trading through this volatile market that I have been constantly thinking about in the back of my mind wondering when will be my first experience trading a bear market and what can I make out of it. It’s early in the process right now and as we’ve all witnessed, the markets can turn quickly in one direction or the other but again it’s an opportunity that doesn’t come around very often or every year even to turn this experience into something positive that I’ll always remember.
It’s been ten years since the S&P closed below the 200ma on the weekly chart and it appears to want to end this current week with a statement that we’re in different market decisions that we haven’t seen in some time.
Marques Johnson. Full-time Trader.
I’m from Virginia and I grew up in a military home where I was raised by two parents who provided me the best of both worlds from how to be a good person and how to be self-sufficient in life. I’ve been trading for three years now and each year there’s always something significant I learn because the markets are changing all the time. I particularly focus on trading stock and futures options but trading isn’t the only thing I’m passionate about. Fitness is a significant aspect of my life and personal training is what I do throughout the day, so the balance of trading and fitness is a great mix for me mentally and physically which keeps me motivated every day.
Financial freedom is a journey
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