Are We Living in the Golden Age of Day Trading?

Feb 27, 2025 11:30 PM - 3 weeks ago 32805

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

It's communal for group to lament that the past was the "golden age" for 1 point aliases another, and really our existent times person gone to the dogs. That whitethorn sometimes beryllium true, though for day trading, I'm beautiful judge that the past and early cannot lucifer the opportunities we person correct now.

Not that agelong ago, it was virtually intolerable for individuals to time trade. Before 1971, you needed to beryllium physically coming connected the level of a banal speech to waste and acquisition securities. The Securities and Exchange Commission eliminated fixed brokerage commissions a fewer much years later, lowering trading costs.

Things yet became much applicable successful the 1990s, erstwhile individual computers sewage much sophisticated, and the internet became a family word. Still, it took immoderate clip earlier broadband didn't costs a fortune. For example, a megabit of information successful the twelvemonth 2000 costs $28, and by 2020, it had dropped to 64 cents.

As a applicable matter, it's only been a fistful of years since the astonishing devices we person coming arsenic time traders were moreover invented. Charting systems person go highly blase and customizable, truthful I tin spot exactly the clip intervals and ratios that I wish for aggregate stocks successful existent time. Just arsenic important, I tin study to waste and acquisition successful a realistic day trading simulator and build my skills for arsenic agelong arsenic basal until I've proven that I will not beryllium a mortal threat to my slope account. Oh, and arsenic I wrote successful a recent article, I tin transportation this computing powerfulness pinch maine successful a backpack and waste and acquisition while walking anywhere.

It gets better. In the aged days, only the richest group had entree to caller information. Andrew Carnegie, who astatine 1 constituent was the richest personification connected earth, began his profession arsenic a telegraph clerk. He worked for group successful Pittsburgh who utilized a telegraph statement that ran to New York truthful they could get accusation and make commodity trades earlier the newspapers were printed and delivered. Now, we're successful a world wherever moreover governments will rumor charismatic statements complete societal media, and institution news arrives simultaneously to everyone who wants it.

Minimum relationship sizes person dropped, truthful I tin time waste and acquisition pinch a US-based relationship for arsenic small arsenic $25,000. If I want to waste and acquisition successful the US via an overseas account, that minimum tin beryllium arsenic debased arsenic $500.

That brings america to the present. Don't get maine wrong: I'm not saying that day trading is now easy. On the contrary, I've made much than 20,000 trades successful my profession and I'm sorry to opportunity that I regularly get humbled by this profession. The markets reset each day, and for immoderate reason, they do not attraction successful the slightest that they're dealing pinch Ross Cameron, a Professional Day Trader.

If it's a awesome clip to waste and acquisition today, you whitethorn reasonably wonder: If time trading is truthful good, why haven't Warren Buffett and Wall Street noticed? Why haven't they stroked checks for a fewer cardinal dollars truthful they tin predominate the full market?

Fair question. The reply is we're excessively small. If there's a curse to becoming excessively successful, it's that you everlastingly request to hunt elephants. When you negociate money measured successful 12 aliases 13 digits, you must attraction connected spectacularly ample opportunities successful bid to move the return needle astatine all.

Now see the emblematic day-trading transaction. I tin quickly bargain and waste shares worthy a fewer 100 1000 dollars aliases possibly a million. But if I effort to put overmuch much than that, the prices will move, and my fleeting opportunity will beryllium lost.

This is each to opportunity that, for now, time trading flies nether the radar of the large dogs. But will it enactment that way?

I deliberation not. Consider what's happening pinch AI. Just a fewer years ago, AI was immoderate research housed successful labs, handled by researchers successful achromatic coats. No,w it's everywhere. Not a time goes by erstwhile AI doesn't connection to summarize our emails, constitute reports for us, reply our questions, and moreover make our photos look nevertheless we want. Some AI systems successful the US walk astir $100 cardinal to "train" their models, and now China's DeepSeek claims it tin train its exemplary for $6 million. Competition is driving down the costs of moreover this otherworldly artificial intelligence.

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I've dabbled successful training AI systems to do time trading, and truthful far, they're not up to the task. Just for illustration afloat autonomous self-driving cars, we still person to drawback the instrumentality sometimes successful bid to debar a catastrophe. But it's beautiful clear wherever things are headed.

Later, aliases possibly sooner, those systems will beryllium smart capable to retrieve each azygous norm I tin propulsion astatine them, and they'll propose caller ones. That intends that the cozy small niche that we telephone time trading whitethorn move into the crosshairs of traders who've lowered their costs truthful that they tin now attraction connected america ankle biters.

Related: The Smart Entrepreneur's Guide to Thriving successful Uncertain Times

Lots of group are making bold predictions of AI, but of course, nary 1 knows erstwhile the adjacent large frontier will beryllium crossed. If my kids determine to travel successful my footsteps, chances are they won't request to retrieve each the rules I person successful my caput erstwhile I measure a awesome trading opportunity. They'll person immoderate different challenging tasks, for illustration deciding which AI models to blend to optimize their holdings connected the Mars Stock Exchange.

Fortunately, I don't person to interest myself pinch those lofty issues. If you're truthful inclined, I propose that you and I return advantage of this existent opportunity successful time trading, go arsenic bully arsenic we perchance tin astatine it, and make hay while the sun is still out.

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