Portrait of a Day Trader

Of all the cast of characters on Wall Street, day traders are perhaps the least well understood. Most people understand the role of CEOs, financial planners and mutual fund managers, but fewer people understand day traders. Most media stories suggest that day trading is a fast track to bankruptcy, so the public is often left with a dim view of the strategy.

Properly speaking, day traders are individuals who buy and sell financial instruments within the same trading day. Of course, few trade exclusively on such a short term timeline, but the term is also often used more generally to refer to people who trade frequently with a short term time horizon. Many have lost gobs of money in short term trading, but others – notably William O’Neil of Investors Business Daily – have made large fortunes using this strategy.

Since we don’t trade often we asked Jefferson Krull, a web publicist and active trader, to share his personal experiences with you. Jefferson was kind enough to complete a Q&A with the DINKs, which has just gone live. The interview reflects Jefferson’s irreverent style but does give you one traders views on personal finance and offers some insight into how active traders conduct their business.

Click the gif below for the interview.

or go here.

Enjoy!

James