Successful Traders Size Their Positions - Why and How?

Starting with purchases of mutual funds as a newspaper delivery boy at 12, through a brief chemical engineering career and a stock portfolio, then through 28 years as a professional money manager with securities, futures and currencies, and currently as an individual investor of our retirement funds, I have seen a lot of things across the world of trading investments. I’ve seen academics and money managers make the investment process mysterious and complicated, intimidating many individuals attempting to manage their own portfolio. It need not be overwhelming to get started.

The concept of right sizing your position is not a new one and there will be some simple math in this book, but nothing more than you learned in 8th grade. Computers might be useful, but certainly not necessary. Great books like Dr. Van K Tharp’s very heavy tome: The Definitive Guide to Position Sizing Strategies – How To Evaluate Your System And Use Position Sizing To Meet Your Objectives, cover it all, with lots of examples, lots of math and really do prove to anyone reading it that sizing your individual positions really does matter in the markets. These books have their place for those really wanting to dig into the topic, but most traders I am in contact with just want “the bottom line.” This book covers my thoughts on practical ways to deal with sizing your positions and I will try my best to keep it as simple and practical as possible.