Are you on the naughty list?

• A special Christmas “bonus” from Trader’s Bulletin.

• Is trading fundamentally “naughty”?

• “Home for Christmas” – the story of Angelina.

With Christmas now just around the corner, markets will be going into holiday mode until the New Year. If you are planning to be in the markets over the festive period, then please watch your step – with such low volumes they can be more volatile that usual.

I’d also like to give you heads-up about a very special offer Trader’s Bulletin will be running over the holidays. Please watch out for my email on Boxing Day, which will contain all the details.*

Naughty or nice?

It’s that time of year again when we come to reflect on the past 12 months.

What have we achieved?

And what value do those achievements have?

A comment that I come across about trading again and again is that it lacks any intrinsic virtue. Traders don’t make anything … they don’t serve any purpose … they just move money about in the economy …

Interestingly, the people who say this to me aren’t outsiders looking in at what we do (perhaps they are too polite) – instead, they are usually angst-ridden traders who question their “value”.

As traders, we might worry that others see us as greedy and as failing to produce anything worthwhile.

I know that when I wrote my first book, the pride I felt in being able to hold something in my hands that I’d actually made.

And I know that running the Trader’s Bulletin website gives me acres more fulfillment these days than simply making money from the markets for my own benefit.

But I’m not about to give up trading – no way!

So, does trading for a living (or as a hobby) lack any intrinsic value? Are we a bunch of good-for-nothing, profit-hungry leaches?

Well, it really depends on how we measure what’s “good” and “bad”. To be good, do we have to contribute to society? If so, then an heiress who distributes a small proportion of her fortune to the poor and needy is “better” than a self-sufficient smallholder, who thrives in a remote outpost meeting his own needs.

This altruistic gold standard doesn’t really give us a complete picture. Life is more complex than that.

Why do we trade?

I expect that “a noble desire contribute to market liquidity” is low down on the list of reasons!

Sure, to make money is going to be there – yet, let’s face it – most traders will go through lengthy dry patches (especially in the early days) when that money seems a long way off.

What I hear from traders again and again is a deep love of trading – a love of the intellectual stimulation and meaningful activity it brings.

To me, trading the markets is like mastering the Times crossword – with bells on. And the bonus is that I can earn a living doing the thing I love.

Surely we shouldn’t get assigned to the naughty list for that?

Until next week,

Mark Rose

P.S. For the past few years Trader’s Bulletin have been proud to support Street Child Africa as our Christmas charity. As an illustration of the kind of work this small but fantastic charity does, they have asked that I share the story of Angelina with Trader’s Bulletin readers …

Angelina was trafficked from Ghana to Senegal, when she was 4 years old. She lived in fear, working long hours for a woman who beat and abused her. She escaped this life but was left terrified, hungry and alone.

Moussa first met Angelina as a small, vulnerable and violently abused 8 year old child. ‘She was just a little girl, too young for the streets and too young to be so alone and so very, very afraid’.

With nowhere to go Angelina was without help and without hope.

She was fortunate enough to be taken to Moussa, Director of our partner in Senegal who brought her to the residential centre for shelter, counselling and care. Efforts to trace Angelina’s family in Ghana proved difficult and so she was enrolled into primary school where she quickly showed herself to be a motivated and hardworking pupil.

This summer, after many years searching Angelina’s family was found. Angelina, now a confident and well educated 15 year old, said she wanted to return to Ghana to be with her family. Thanks to Street Child Africa supporters, Moussa was able to take Angelina on this journey home. ‘Words cannot describe the joy I witnessed when Angelina’s mother embraced her lost child’, said Moussa. ‘Their joy was a gift to behold and a gift that they will continue to share with their family, as Angelina continues her life and education in Ghana, safely back in her village community’.

Angelina’s journey took nearly 10 years, but it was a journey that ultimately brought her home for Christmas.

If you would like to make a donation to Street Child Africa, I’ve set up a JustGiving page here.

Trader’s Bulletin pledge to match any donations made. Thank you for taking the time to read this.

*PLEASE NOTE THAT THE BOXING DAY OFFER IS NOT AVAILABLE TO PREVIOUS PURCHASERS OF MRP STRATEGY.

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