Hey folks, Timothy Sykes is here with his last post of the
contest. We appreciate his efforts and again, he received no compensation for his work. And if you agree with his picks or not, he really did help liven things up. Here he is: This contest has been a wild ride. It’s fun to look back at all your biggest winners and losers and if you didn’t make it to the finals, you’re probably wondering “what if” on a more than a few of your plays. But even if you came away without winning anything, having spent hours upon hours researching potential plays for seemingly no pay off, this contest has helped you.
Whether you realize it or not, if you put any serious effort into this contest, you better understand what drives certain stocks. More importantly, you understand how difficult it is to predict these big moves with any accuracy. Welcome to the world of trading, there’s a reason why the vast majority of amateur traders lose money; it ain’t easy!
Trading is counterintuitive so the more you practice it, the better you become. Of course, if you practice too much, your eyes begin to hurt and you risk losing your sanity. There’s a fine line! This contest is great because it allowed you to practice real life trading skills without having to risk real life capital. Granted, the rules of this game are incredibly different than the real world and it’s HIGHLY advisable not to risk real world capital in the same fashion as contest capital, but in the end, the same skills you used to find plays every day are the same skills we traders use, too.
I’ve been trading now for over nine years and from these efforts, I’ve become a multi-millionaire, but I’ve had some wild swings along the way. The greatest lesson I’ve learned is that knowledge and practice are key to my success. With that in mind, I’ve posted my entire financial library onmy website as these books are the foundation of my business knowledge. There are so many thousands of variables in every market niche that you have to know as much as possible to give yourself a better chance at predicting the future. Sure, you can get lucky and win big without knowing much, but a fool and his money are soon parted. Learn from these books because the next best thing to real world experience is the experience of others.
With that in mind, my book, “An American Hedge Fund,” is scheduled for release this fall. It details how I turned $12,000 into a fully audited $1.65 million from 1999-2002, while still in college, and created a hedge fund. It sounds all rosy, but I can assure you that it’s not. I’ve worked incredibly hard to get where I am and as I will repeat, the keys to my success have been knowledge and practice. This is no “How To” book, instead I share all my experiences, for better or worse. Like this contest, I want to help you increase your trading acumen to give you a better shot at future profits. I can’t say it enough, real world trading is so incredibly difficult and risky that you really need all the help you can get. Of course with great risk, comes the possibility of great reward. Trading is not an exact science, it’s an art, so study up and in time, you just may become a master.
Hopefully CNBC will host this incredible contest again in 2008 and if so, hopefully they’ll have me back. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed being a part of this contest and hopefully you’ve gotten something out my take on the markets for I know my thinking goes against many people’s conservative instincts. Remember, whether you agree or disagree with me, or with anyone for that matter, in trading and life, it never hearts to hear all opinions and get as much information as possible to better understand the situation and make the most informed decision possible.
I welcome all comments and questions; you can reach me at tim@timothysykes.com.
Timothy Sykes is a hedge fund manager, star of the reality show Wall Street Warriors, and author of the upcoming book, “An American Hedge Fund” He can be reached at www.timothysykes.com.
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