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

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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

The idea of Bigtime Daily landed this engineer cum journalist from a multi-national company to the digital avenue. Matthew brought life to this idea and rendered all that was necessary to create an interactive and attractive platform for the readers. Apart from managing the platform, he also contributes his expertise in business niche.

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Business

The Ultimate Guide to the Essential Social Skills in Business

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Effective communication and strong relationships are essential for success in the workplace. One factor that can greatly influence these qualities is emotional intelligence, often abbreviated as EQ. EQ refers to the ability to identify, understand, and manage one’s own emotions, as well as the emotions of others. Research has shown that individuals with high levels of EQ are better equipped to handle stress, communicate effectively, and work collaboratively with others (Chamorro-Premuzic & Sanger, 2016).

Research has consistently shown that emotional intelligence (EQ) is an important predictor of job performance and success in the workplace. EQ is comprised of a set of skills that allow individuals to recognize, understand, and regulate their own emotions, as well as the emotions of others. In addition, individuals with high EQ are better able to communicate effectively, build relationships, and navigate complex social situations. As a result, they are often viewed as effective leaders and collaborators, and are more likely to achieve their personal and professional goals.

In fact, a number of studies have demonstrated the significant impact that EQ has on job performance and success. For example, one study of 85 upper-level managers found that those with higher EQ scores were rated as more effective leaders by their subordinates (Law, Wong, & Song, 2004). Another study of 151 employees found that those with higher EQ were more likely to be promoted within their organization over a five-year period (Carmeli, Brueller, & Dutton, 2009). These findings highlight the importance of EQ in the workplace and suggest that developing these skills can lead to significant benefits for both individuals and organizations.

According to a study conducted by TalentSmart, a leading provider of EQ assessments, EQ is responsible for 58% of success in all job types (Bradberry & Greaves, 2009). In contrast, IQ only accounts for about 4% of success in the workplace. This suggests that EQ is a crucial skill set for individuals in any professional field. Fortunately, EQ is a skill that can be developed and honed over time with practice and awareness.

There are several key components of EQ that are particularly important for success in the workplace. These include: 

Self-Regulation: This refers to your capacity to recognize and control your emotions. Sometimes treating them when they arise may be necessary. Understanding how to manage your anger is essential. However, it can also cover how to control the feelings you’ll experience.

Self-Awareness: This implies recognizing and understanding your own feelings. Do noisy places make you nervous? Do other people talking over you make you angry? Knowing these truths about yourself shows that you are working on your self-awareness. Being conscious of yourself is necessary for this phase, which can be more complex than it sounds.

Socialization: This category focuses on your capacity to manage social interactions and direct relationships. It doesn’t entail dominating others but knowing how to work with others to achieve your goals. This could entail presenting your ideas to coworkers, leading a team, or resolving a personal disagreement.

Motivation: Strong motivators include external forces like money, status, or suffering. Internal motivation, however, plays a significant role in Goleman’s concept. By doing so, you demonstrate your ability to control your cause and initiate or continue initiatives of your own volition rather than in response to external demands.

Empathy: It’s equally critical to be sensitive to others’ feelings. This may entail learning to identify different emotional states in individuals — for example, can you tell the difference between someone at ease and someone anxious? — but it also requires comprehension of how other people may react to their current situation. Empathy is one of the essential traits in business and business leadership.

A thought leader in this space, Michael Ventura has built a career advising organizations on the importance of emotional intelligence in the workplace. In his book, Applied Empathy, Ventura highlights the value of empathy in business and provides strategies for developing and applying this skill set. With two decades of experience as a leader, facilitator, and educator, Ventura’s work has made impact in with prestigious institutions such as Princeton University and the United Nations as well as corporate clients such as Google and Nike.

Through his work, Ventura advises leaders to focus on the development of EQ in order to help individuals improve their communication, collaboration, and leadership skills, ultimately leading to greater success in the workplace. Experts like Ventura continue to support the growing body of research on the value of EQ in business, and the evidence that organizations who invest in the EQ of their teams help to create a more empathetic and successful professional environment.

And it’s worth noting that EQ isn’t just important for individual success in the workplace, but also for overall organizational success. A study by the Center for Creative Leadership found that EQ was a better predictor of success than IQ or technical skills in the workplace, and that teams with higher levels of EQ tend to be more effective and productive (Boyatzis, Goleman, & Rhee, 1999). By cultivating a culture of empathy and emotional intelligence, organizations can improve their overall performance and create a more positive work environment for their employees.

In conclusion, emotional intelligence is a crucial component of success in the workplace, and individuals and organizations alike should prioritize the development of these skills. The ones that do not only develop a leading edge in their category, but also become a meaningful place to work for their teams. And in today’s rapidly changing talent landscape, the retention of highly capable, emotionally intelligent leaders is one of the greatest keys to unlocking success.

References:

Boyatzis, R. E., Goleman, D., & Rhee, K. S. (1999). Clustering competence in emotional intelligence: Insights from the emotional competence inventory (ECI). In R. Bar-On & J. D. A. Parker (Eds.), Handbook of emotional intelligence (pp. 343-362). Jossey-Bass.

Bradberry, T., & Greaves, J. (2009). Emotional intelligence 2.0. TalentSmart.

Chamorro-Premuzic, T., & Sanger, M. N. (2016). Does employee happiness matter? Journal of Organizational Effectiveness: People and Performance, 3(2), 168-191.

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