Embrace the Mayhem: An evidence based approach to trading success

Contents
PREFACE
Nothing in or about the markets is “obvious”.
Some personal experiences
How this book is organised
Why should you listen to us?
CHAPTER 1 DECEPTION AND CONFUSION
The consequences of false assumptions
Subtle yet dangerous false assumptions
Coming back down
Main points
CHAPTER 2 WHAT DOES IT TAKE TO BE A TRADER?
What does it take to be a successful trader?
Time
Obsession
Skills and knowledge
The top-down approach
Applying the top-down approach to trading
Experience, humility, and dealing with uncertainty
Capital
Ways to bypass capital limitations
Opportunities outside the office?
So how can you actually get started trading?
Main points
CHAPTER 3 WHAT’S YOUR TRADING TRAJECTORY?
Can you get the lifestyle you want through trading?
What success in trading looks like
That’s my story, what does James credit for his success in the markets?
The independent trader
The professional equities fund
Proprietary trading
What does this all mean for you?
Main Points
CHAPTER 4 TRADE WHAT WORKS, DITCH WHAT DOESN’T
Learning to trade is not learning technical analysis.
Is technical analysis really 100% useless?
Technical analysis is, at best, a sub-optimal tool for modeling the markets.
What really generates profit in the market?
Risk premia
Market edges
Instruments
Factor styles
Other inefficiencies
Strategies
Trade small, trade broad, trade lots and trade humble
Useful tools for trading
What about training neural networks so you can set it and go to the beach?
Main points
CHAPTER 5 HOW TO EMBRACE THE MAYHEM AND WIN
Leverage your greatest edge
Embrace the Mayhem! Get Comfortable with Uncertainty
Your reason to trade
Robustness counts for more than backtest performance
The Lure of Complexity
Finding and Evaluating Trading Ideas
The Recipe for Trading Success
Main Points
CONCLUSION
FINAL WORD
Appendix - Backtesting the RSI Strategy from Chapter 1