Business

Life as a Professional Multi-Asset Trader & Portfolio Manager: Meet Elliot Hewitt

Published

3 years ago

October 20, 2020

The profession of trader is often portrayed in Hollywood with references that go from the Wolf of Wall Street to The Big Short or even Wall Street. But what is it really like to live as a professional trader in 2020? We’ve asked Multi-Asset Trader and Portfolio Manager Elliot Hewitt.

Elliot Hewitt is a full-time trader based in London, living between Monaco, London and Panama that gathered experience in the institutional side of Finance (Investment funds in London) and on the retail side. His career as a pro trader started from a passion for Finance at a very early age and he reached his first major success at the genesis of Brexit where he profited big from short selling the British Pound which crashed more than 12% in a single day. In this recent interview, we look into the life of this professional trader, the myths, the ups and the downs.

Do you enjoy being a trader and do you find it fulfilling?

“I could honestly not wish for a better job. This is what I wanted to do as a kid, and it is how my life turned out to be. I could talk about financial markets for hours if you let me. The way I see my job as trader is similar to that of a pirate but with more financial data and mathematics: You see I basically spend my days looking for clues and hints into where trading opportunities could be, like a treasure hunt. Once I have gathered all the information and have made my research I can go ahead and take that risk to earn that potential reward. Now, the downside that I recognise being a trader is you need to be comfortable with loneliness. Trading is a very solitary practice; you may feel disconnected from your entourage, but you need to stay strong because stability of mind is key to success in this field” explains Elliot. “Now in order to break the loneliness of my job I have actually created a community of profitable traders that have gone through my rigorous training and with whom I exchange on a daily basis on a virtual trading floor. This has made my career as a trader so much more fulfilling knowing that I have impacted many lives through my programs and through my social media @youngtraderwealth. Reading testimonials from student traders is something I am very proud of.”

Is being a trader stressful and could you lose everything you have?

“Emotions and psychology are a key part of trading that you need to master. In fact, the emotional side is more important than the technical knowledge of trading. The reason why so many traders lose usually comes down to psychology and an incapability of managing one’s emotions. This can of course lead to stress especially when you start mixing other emotions such as managing OPM (other people’s money) or getting into a losing streak that affects your mind. However, the image most people have of traders is that it is a very risky job where you could essentially lose everything you have in a single day and then jump off the highest building in New York. Well sorry to break the myth but that’s not how things work. A major part of being a trader is managing risk. My job is really about finding opportunities that offer positive risk to rewards. So, for me to lose everything I have I would need to ignore all my risk management knowledge and essentially break all my established rules to go all in on a single trade. Professional traders generally don’t do this. This is a mistake beginner make and at that stage you most likely don’t have much to lose. This is why starting to trade financial markets with no real training is so dangerous.”

Do you have a lot of free time and/or take many vacations?

“When it comes to free time, I must say there is a huge difference between working in a financial institution and trading for yourself. Trading for a financial institution such as a fund is very time consuming; you need to be at the office to prepare for the London session open so generally that means 7am at your desk and you end the day between 6pm-9pm depending on the day knowing that you will always have a colleague that stays longer than you do. You see when you work for an institution, there will always be something to do as you are literally getting paid for your time there so the company will try to squeeze as much juice out of you” explains Elliot. “However, working as an independent retail trader is another story. You get to be your own boss which has so many perks but in exchange you need to be self-motivated and self-disciplined to succeed. As of right now, I trade independently and thus can take some time off whenever I wish depending on my earnings of course. My career allows me a level of freedom that is hard to grasp and understand for the majority. I can essentially move residency whenever I want, I can go to Bali and continue working from my hotel, I can arrange my week to only work 2 days, I can make last minute plans in the middle of the week and I can spend my week ends however I want as financial markets aren’t even opened. This is the reason why I am able to live in between residencies in Monaco, London and Panama City and avoid any winter months haha.”

How much money do you make and in your opinion is Hollywood’s caricature of traders accurate?

“My earnings will vary depending on the month’s profit but is on average nicely positive every month. Consistency is key as a trader and I would usually only have one losing month in the year and maybe two mega months where the real cash is made. In terms of how much money I make every month, I prefer to stay discrete, but I can say that I don’t have to worry much about my finances and am able to satisfy my desires and impulses. Now caricatures made by Hollywood movies are exactly that, caricatures. So, the wild parties, the eccentric hobbies and the drug addiction issues are simply some vices and excess people with money can get into, but I don’t think it is specific to traders. Excess is a rich person’s weakness. Just turns out traders generally do make quite a bit of money.

Instagram: @youngtarderwealth

Twitter: @youngtraderwlth

Website: www.youngtraderwealth.com

Business

Turning Tragedy into Triumph Through Walking With Anthony

Published

6 hours ago

April 18, 2024

Rosario Farell

On the morning of February 6, 2010, Anthony Purcell took a moment to admire the churning surf before plunging into the waves off Miami Beach. Though he had made the dive numerous times before, that morning was destined to be different when he crashed into a hidden sandbar, sustaining bruises to his C5 and C6 vertebrae and breaking his neck.

“I was completely submerged and unable to rise to the surface,” Purcell recalls. “Fortunately, my cousin Bernie saw what was happening and came to my rescue. He saved my life, but things would never be the same after that dive.”

Like thousands of others who are confronted with a spinal cord injury (SCI), Purcell plunged headlong into long months of hopelessness and despair. Eventually, however, he learned to turn personal tragedy into triumph as he reached out to fellow SCI victims by launching Walking With Anthony.

Living with SCI: the first dark days

Initial rehabilitation for those with SCIs takes an average of three to six months, during which time they must relearn hundreds of fundamental skills and adjust to what feels like an entirely new body. Unfortunately, after 21 days, Purcell’s insurance stopped paying for this essential treatment, even though he had made only minimal improvement in such a short time.

“Insurance companies cover rehab costs for people with back injuries, but not for people with spinal cord injuries,” explains Purcell. “We were practically thrown to the curb. At that time, I was so immobile that I couldn’t even raise my arms to feed myself.”

Instead of giving up, Purcell’s mother chose to battle his SCI with long-term rehab. She enrolled Purcell in Project Walk, a rehabilitation facility located in Carlsbad, California, but one that came with an annual cost of over $100,000.

“My parents paid for rehabilitation treatment for over three years,” says Purcell. “Throughout that time, they taught me the importance of patience, compassion, and unconditional love.”

Yet despite his family’s support, Purcell still struggled. “Those were dark days when I couldn’t bring myself to accept the bleak prognosis ahead of me,” he says. “I faced life in a wheelchair and the never-ending struggle for healthcare access, coverage, and advocacy. I hit my share of low points, and there were times when I seriously contemplated giving up on life altogether.”

Purcell finds a new purpose in helping others with SCIs

After long months of depression and self-doubt, Purcell’s mother determined it was time for her son to find purpose beyond rehabilitation.

“My mom suggested I start Walking With Anthony to show people with spinal cord injuries that they were not alone,” Purcell remarks. “When I began to focus on other people besides myself, I realized that people all around the world with spinal cord injuries were suffering because of restrictions on coverage and healthcare access. The question that plagued me most was, ‘What about the people with spinal cord injuries who cannot afford the cost of rehabilitation?’ I had no idea how they were managing.”

Purcell and his mother knew they wanted to make a difference for other people with SCIs, starting with the creation of grants to help cover essentials like assistive technology and emergency finances. To date, they have helped over 100 SCI patients get back on their feet after suffering a similar life-altering accident.

Purcell demonstrates the power and necessity of rehab for people with SCIs

After targeted rehab, Purcell’s physical and mental health improved drastically. Today, he is able to care for himself, drive his own car, and has even returned to work.

“Thanks to my family’s financial and emotional support, I am making amazing physical improvement,” Purcell comments. “I mustered the strength to rebuild my life and even found the nerve to message Karen, a high school classmate I’d always had a thing for. We reconnected, our friendship evolved into love, and we tied the knot in 2017.”

After all that, Purcell found the drive to push toward one further personal triumph. He married but did not believe a family was in his future. Regardless of his remarkable progress, physicians told him biological children were not an option.

Despite being paralyzed from the chest down, Purcell continued to look for hope. Finally, Dr. Jesse Mills of UCLA Health’s Male Reproductive Medicine department assured Purcell and his wife that the right medical care and in vitro fertilization could make their dream of becoming parents a reality.

“Payton joined our family in the spring of 2023,” Purcell reports. “For so long, I believed my spinal cord injury had taken everything I cared about, but now I am grateful every day. I work to help other people with spinal cord injuries find the same joy and hope. We provide them with access to specialists, funding to pay for innovative treatments, and the desire to move forward with a focus on the future.”