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

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.

Trading tends to be a winner-take-all activity where only a small number of traders are truly successful. Nobody understands this better than author Ari Kiev. Over the course of his career, this respected psychiatrist and trading coach has seen firsthand how challenging the financial markets can be. Now, with The Mental Strategies of Top Traders, Kiev identifies and analyzes the characteristics that can improve your trading endeavors and shows you how to cultivate them to gain that much needed edge.Filled with in-depth insights and expert advice, this reliable resource carefully examines the issue of successful trading by looking across a broad range of skill sets that are an essential part of this discipline—including, among other things, a goal-oriented strategy, risk management, creative thinking, and a capacity for collaboration and leadership. Kiev supports his approach with interviews from contemporary traders and portfolio managers—many of whom struggled during the financial crisis of 2008, but survived—as well as case studies that provide a real-world picture of what it really takes to make it in today’s markets.

Page by page, Kiev explains how aspiring traders can develop the qualities that lead to trading success by establishing “stretch” goals; cultivating a sense of variant perception in order to develop unique trading ideas; avoiding emotional decisions; maintaining a sense of urgency about producing results; and increasing effort in times of mental stress and market volatility. Along the way, Kiev also examines:

• What you must do to become aware of your own psychological makeup and counter the hardwired inclinations of risk aversion
• How you can function in the realm of probabilities—which is a significant part ofthe trading and investing world
• How to build on existing personality strengths so as to develop the ability to function in a goal-oriented way, learn to cut losses, and maximize winning bets
• Which psychological traps interfere with becoming a better trader and how you can overcome them
• And much more

Whether you’re a seasoned financial professional or an active individual trader, understanding the connection between trading and psychology can increase your chances of success. With The Mental Strategies of Top Traders as your guide, you’ll quickly discover how to improve your chances of winning in today’s increasingly unpredictable markets.