A Day in the Life of a Full-Time Trader in Cyprus

So, a very good day to you all. My name is Tom Voelwald, and today I'm going to take you into my world as a trader. How is my entire daily routine organized? What do I do from morning until evening? How do I spend the day with my colleagues, employees, and above all, How do I live my life outside of trading? Because that too, I think, is very, very exciting and important for many people to see. I can promise you one thing: this world as a trader is fantastic if you're well organized and have set up your structure so that you can afford to spend a little free time. Because many traders, they're always just at the desk, at the desk, at the desk. And today you'll learn how you'll be able to do exactly those things you need to work wonderfully As a trader, very efficiently. I'm looking forward to the day with you, and now first there's a coffee, and then we'll see. We're having a coffee together, Annika and I, and sometimes more relaxed, sometimes with more gas, depending on when we get up, because the next step is driving my kids to school, and I always do that myself because I love spending the first 30 minutes in the morning, yeah, with the family, sometimes wilder, sometimes calmer, depending on how it fits at the moment. Yes, dear ones, I live here in Cyprus, but before I start my day like this, I really like to go for a swim first, just to be fresh for the day. Towards the evening, it's not quite as cooling, but in the morning it's cool because everything always cools down during the night. Just like in the markets, you have your peace and quiet at night there too. And that's exactly what, uh, we're going to do together now. A round of swimming, a round of having fun. Yes, we made a decision about 1.5 years ago to emigrate to Cyprus. Germany somehow became more and more oppressive in terms of energy, the people very dissatisfied. That's certainly related to the fact that there's very little sunshine there, but also that people are simply at a level where you notice there's not much left that satisfies people at all. And that's completely different here in Cyprus. The people here, they're just incredibly friendly. Nobody here cares if you have a Lambo or if you're someone who is perhaps Yeah, very, very simply structured. Here everyone is somehow very, very equal, and that's how they're treated, and that's really, really great. By now almost all of my colleagues are here too, and I can promise you one thing, if you really want to change something, that can be a game changer for you. Just change locations to go where you get a little more vitamin D, it's going to be really incredibly good. And for me, the main reason was simply this oppressive heaviness, this lack of creativity. And that has changed fundamentally here, and I'm incredibly happy about that. The stock exchanges will open soon, or rather the cash session in particular starts in a good 1.5 hours, and I'm going to check in with my boys now. Is everyone doing well? Is everyone in a good mood, perfectly prepared? And are we also fully briefed on all the fundamentals so that we can start the day now? And then let's see how the day will start on the stock markets. And that's fun. Today is going to be a special day. We have visitors again because we love it here. We have students visiting us. Sometimes other traders just come to visit. Yesterday I had someone here from Limassol whom I had met. Super cool here. And we at Trade the Traders, we love it. So just coming by for a coffee is always doable with us, but let us know beforehand, otherwise the place will be packed. In that sense, let's go. So here you see Gabriel. Gabriel is one of our, yes, wonderful assistants who has, yes, gone through the complete stock market package with us. And meanwhile, he really likes to visit here in Cyprus and just trades together with the other people because it simply brings him joy. That's nice because 2 eyes often see much, much less than many. And I think, Gabriel, you're enjoying this, right?

Definitely, yeah.

Then let's move on to my absolute high performer and assistant, Serge. Serge is, uh, for us, of course, well, there's not much to describe. He's simply a machine, and I was able to learn an incredible amount from Serge myself, especially with regard to market profiling, dynamic pattern concepts such as footprint charts, order flow, I think he is order flow, so there's not much to say. The way he lives the markets and the processes, um, yeah, there's a whole lot of wild stuff behind it. Then of course Fritz. Fritz is, uh, the relaxation tool for our traders, and, uh, wherever Fritz is, that's where the greatest stress in the room is right now. You can imagine he likes to sit with Serge, and, uh, jokes aside, it's just really, really great to see how the whole market can be, yes, penetrated and understood in a lively way. That's something that is far too neglected by many people who just stare mindlessly at some charts, because markets are a completely different concept. Then, dear Henrik. Henrik has been with us for a good year and a half now, and yeah, the performance Henrik delivers here is already great. And is it going well today, Henrik?

Yeah, open a position.

Open position. Whether that goes well, we'll see about that. We'll find out when the trade is finished. Are you long or short?

I am long.

You're long. That's a good sign, because then it always goes up. And here, last but not least, my workplace, where I simply spend my time when I want to act on the markets together with the other colleagues. Yes, I think, very manageable. Henrik took my big workplace away from me. He thought that with many more monitors you could achieve much more. Nowadays I know that you only need a few monitors to achieve a great deal. As you can see, he's smirking. That's just a joke, of course. But let's move on. Then we have dear Nicolas here. Nicolas is also very busy right now, and I think he's also scouring markets like, yeah. And dear Kevin. Well, everyone's in their own world, whatever. And then there, that's my oldest friend and companion, dear Carsten. Carsten knows more about the stock market than I do. I'm convinced of that. And yeah, as you can see right now, the two of them are currently looking in depth at how the market actually works in its deepest logic. And that's something that we sometimes, as you can see here, just work through in our small halls with our, yeah, students. It's very rare that someone gets to enjoy individual coaching here, but we do it every now and then, and it gives us a lot of pleasure. But let's move on for now and take a closer look to see what else there is for us to discover here. Which one there? And here is my place where I can retreat, where I can carry out my analyses in peace. Immerse myself deeply in the markets with my workflow, and then of course have opportunities to yeah just find some peace and quiet. And that is very very important. I also like to do my webinars here, and some of you will recognize this background with my beautiful picture and world's best dad. I have five children, and that's simply I think the greatest thing I've been able to create in my life. I get an overview here, and every morning Lars is the first to give me my nice info on everything that has happened globally on the financial markets. During the night, the day before, and what is to be expected for today. And, um, I think it's still exciting to see what we're actually looking for here at TTT. What are our ideas for designing markets constructively so that it's exciting? Maybe you could come over here, I can show you something else directly. This might be quite interesting because it's already happened. The market ran wonderfully from here to here, but how do we get to such levels? What are the ideas behind it? I'll give you a bit more info on that in a moment so you can get an idea. What you see down here, yes, that's the Living Book. That means here I can see how traders are currently acting on the markets. Yes, and then I also like to look over into the world of crypto markets, where I always have Bitcoin in view first. By the way, you can see all these wonderful lines that you see there. I had prepared them all, and that has all worked wonderfully in recent weeks. I published it all on YouTube beforehand, How we expect the markets to take shape. Currently, a beautiful W profile, which means the markets are still weak, and we'll wait and see what happens next. Otherwise, if you have a moment, I think it's high time we take a closer look at how we actually handle our daily market prep with our clients in the morning, so you can get an idea of how we plan the whole thing. Because this planning is extremely important to be properly prepared at all. What kind of technical ideas do we have for the markets? And when we implement them, we go over to the trading office and see how we handle the implementation phase for ourselves. But let's go ahead and get started right now and just take a comprehensive look at what that can actually look like in practice. The very first thing that we always do here without fail is take a quick detailed look at our wonderful market profile structures, which really help us understand the bigger picture of the current trading environment, where we then simply look and now also check together with the relevant people What is there to do today? Would you say that you can get rich quickly with trading? Well, let me put it this way. There is a wonderful saying that goes, how do I make a small fortune on the stock market? By starting with a large one. And there is really a lot of truth behind that, because many people think they can just earn their money on the side with stock trading. The truth is, understanding this in depth is one thing. Implementing all of that is a whole different league, because then emotions come into play and you have to bring these 2 building blocks together. And that takes time. You cannot buy experience. Experience takes time. And learning the tools of the trade to achieve quick wealth, you can pretend to many people that it is possible. But the most important thing is to guide people in integrating exactly this implementation into, well, reality. And that is absolutely crucial. And therefore, I can say, no, you cannot get rich overnight with stock trading or the profession of a trader unless you have huge, huge luck with some lucky shot. But that is not the true profession of a trader. Nonetheless, if you stick with it, stay disciplined, and do your job reliably, you can of course earn a lot of money with this. But for that, you also have to learn this profession as such accordingly. Let's go into the podcast studio and take a deeper look at my world there. Yeah, here's the lovely Fanny Hart at work. Fanny's in charge of helping people here at Trade to Traders gain a much deeper understanding of their own unique characteristics. That might sound a bit funny, but I can tell you one thing: as a trader, you have to work in the capital markets using the skills you intrinsically carry within And yeah, Fanny is simply our— how should I put it— lead expert who shows people the way forward through our potential analyses. What is actually the right trading style for them, and which topics should they perhaps focus on a bit more to make things run better on the stock market? And yeah, I'm very happy about that.

Thank you.

And now we come to our centerpiece. This is our podcast studio, and in here you can also do some really great live trading sessions. As you can see, there's a very, very large monitor visible in the background. Here is my wonderful machine notebook, and here I can also just talk to people in peace with many cameras. I often have guests here with whom I just get into conversation, and maybe on the far left you can see all the beautiful trophies that dear Patrick Knell won at the World Cup Championships of Trading. And I think that's something that unfortunately isn't often present, so we decided to build a podcast studio in our office. So, we have the opportunity to spend our time here with many great conversation partners, and that gives me a lot of joy. If you feel like taking a look at Trade to Traders, you are always cordially invited here, for a coffee, for lunch, or even in the evening for a delicious tea. Maybe a beer too, we will see. We always enjoy being able to welcome people here, to give them the opportunity to see a real trading floor, to see how this office vibe actually really happens. And if that's exciting for you, come by. So, what else is happening today? We're going to follow the American markets now, do a bit of live trading with all my colleagues and participants from our mentoring program, and after that, go for a nice meal, you know, and enjoy the evening. That's what's planned for the rest of today. It's like a cold start on the stock market. Just sit down and go for it. It works perfectly, completely without planning, without any of that stuff. It's the same in training. You really should warm up. It is definitely super important. Without a coach, you will never be able to develop well because you usually learn things the wrong way from the start, and then you learn them half-heartedly. And that is never good in the end. Well, I can tell you one thing: even as you get older as a trader, you have to move; otherwise, you'll rust away at your desk. And exercise now and then, like today, is just essential to stay strong. And no matter how little or how much exercise you do, just do some. It just helps you stay fresh. Afterwards, you go back into the markets, and you're really cool and clear-headed. And I love that, and I really enjoy doing it. And most of All with my kids. My friends, the guests are on their way again, and now it's time. So let's take it a step further. All right, everyone. Let's please gather together for a moment. We're planning our afternoon now. It's almost time for the American futures markets to open, at least the cash session. Let's just take a quick look at what we're doing today. The New York session is about to start. It's always very important for us that we're all well briefed on how we evaluate the afternoon futures markets, and there's no one better for that than dear Sergey. Serge, tell us, what are you expecting for today? What do you think is the move here? Well, if you just look at the basic structure, it's because you can see how it's building these bases, meaning sideways phases, building ranges, and those are being built further up. Being built half rooms through increasing volume, so there's corresponding acceptance. And as a first step, we'd be looking more for longs. Okay, where's Henrik? Henrik? Henrik? Henrik is our absolute swing trader. Henrik, for you, only the following is important right now: As long as this support area here holds, you can book your swing trades after further up moves. If it goes down here, I think it'll be really exciting again, especially for our hardcore scalper Karsten to trade the entire market downwards. And, uh, yeah, that is accordingly what we can do there. Raphael will surely also find a few nice positions in similar markets where he can then let all the long positions run, and everyone else knows exactly what to do. Therefore, let's go. Yeah, markets are really cooking again today. I see a lot of big orders here, and I hear someone coming.

Hey!

Ah, here comes good old Patrick. Patrick, come over here for a second. No time for slacking off.

Huh?

How's it going? Get here okay? Yeah, it went well. Wonderful, wonderful. Come over here quick. Take a chair, just grab that one from Serge. We've got some great setups today, and I'm wondering why you're not at the market. You need to make money fast.

Oh, I was already getting worked up, yeah.

Look at this, full of big orders, and, uh, I don't think there's an easier way to make some cash. How do you see it today? I haven't looked that closely yet. Yeah, it's totally easy. Easy money. Maybe just briefly for everyone who doesn't know him, this is Patrick Knell, my colleague. We've been working very closely together since 2017, 2018. Patrick was at the World Cup Championships of Trading, where I also showed you those beautiful light trophies today. You've been in the top 3 for 6 years in a row now, is that right? And this year again, you're doing really well. Are you going to win this year, Patrick?

Depends on how hardworking the one in first place is. So I've caught up well now, but it's, it's, yeah, still a bit of work.

Yeah, I think you'll do it. Yeah, definitely. If you don't know him, just check the standings at the World Cup Championships of Trading. And Patrick simply decided when he sold his business back then, he just wanted to show people that what you're doing there is also a reproducible thing. And I think by now no one asks anymore, right?

That's over, right?

That's over, yeah. So Patrick, What's it like for you when you're on the road? How do you handle your trading? How do you do it? What does your daily routine look like?

Well, for me, if I sit at the computer in the morning and get my overview, then it's also possible to trade on the side or manage the trade when I'm then away. But like 1 or 2 hours, it's worth it if you have the preparation time. Yeah, I try it every now and then on vacation or when I'm When I'm away for longer, but that's usually not such a good idea.

It's refinancing the vacation, right?

Yeah, I mean, that's always been the basic idea, but it's not quite that simple.

No, so it's really, really important for you out there too. You have to take all of this seriously. You can't just fiddle around on your phone and think, oh yeah, I'll just do a little bit. There's a candle that looks nice right now. You really need a few more features to properly create your plan. At least for the day. The execution, well, you don't have to sit there the whole time for that. There are many who watch every single trade, but yeah, you can also do it as relaxed as you do, right?

Yeah, because I do more swing trades. It can go 2 or 3 days where you're not at the computer. So when you have your zones where you then wait for the price to get there, it works. But yeah, you need the time then.

Yeah. So, you know, the deal and So we're going to have a nice day now, heading over to the hotel in a bit, to the Mercure. Are you going to freshen up quickly or not in the mood?

I'll just go ahead and hop in now.

Quick shower.

It's already warm, the shower.

Exactly, then we'll go for a nice meal and then we'll see. So, dear friends, here at the Lanika Beach Resort is where we usually hold our wonderful workshops. And yeah, it's just a great time that we can always spend here together. Now we're calling it a day for today. We're going out to eat together now. A nice meal with my friends Patrick, Sergei Hoffman, and of course my family, who in the end are the most important part of it all. And I think for you, it's wonderful to explore all of this in depth and maybe leave us a like if you enjoyed the whole thing. We look forward to your feedback and say see you soon.