After reading the responses on the Stevenson High School blog post, we got to thinking…what is the average age of today’s trader? Of course, we started our research with, where else, but Google search. We were shocked at how difficult it was to find any statistical information on traders in general. So, we thought further. Why not use the very database that our Trader’s Blog is so closely connected with…us. Or better yet, YOU!
INO.com receives over 1 million unique visitors every month. Now, we don’t like to assume, but we are a website based on trading, and on the individuals that make those trades. So, for statistics sake, let’s assume that out of those million viewers, everyone is either an active trader, or would like to become one.
Turns out, the majority of viewers that visit our site are 50 years of age or older (52.9% to be exact). Thirty of our viewers are 35-50, 15.6% are 21-34, and 1.2% of our viewers are under the age of 21. This is where your comments come in:
“I came late to the party at 43, and am now 44 and just catching up.”
-Bob
“IF more of us had been educated (at least to the extent of some basic exposure) to the markets, we’d all be a lot smarter today.”
-Rick
“Would that as a youngster I had been introduced to “trading” and shown the benefits of knowledge in this fantastic game of calculated risk. I would be much better off today had I been instructed and tested but it is never too late.”
-Jo
You’re right Jo, it is never too late - unless you’re missing MarketClub’s buy/sell signals right now, that is!
So why do we wait so long before jumping into trading and the markets? Perhaps a more important question is, why do so many traders fail while just a few succeed? Maybe those questions go hand in hand. Do you enjoy doing something that you’re not necessarily “good” at? Do you enjoy losing your hard earned dollar in an attempt to “figure out” the markets? Once again, we don’t like to assume, but we will take that risk here and assume that your answer is no. How do you get “good” and “figure out” the markets, you ask?! Simple…PRACTICE!
Did you know that the average lifespan of a trader is between 1-5 years? Perhaps if traders had a little more education and guidance, they could expand their lifetime (in trading years, that is!)
We all (us old fogies) like to believe that wisdom comes with age, but perhaps the bright young students at Stevenson High School already have a leg up on us…learning at a young age, but like Jo said, “It’s never too late.”
See how the youth at Stevenson High is taking control of their futures in trading!
Click here and let MarketClub help you extend your trading career...
Best,
The MarketClub Team
The internet and certainly discount brokers radically changed the trading landscape. I remember filling out a load of postcards to various mutual funds back in 1971, requesting their prospectus' and enrollment forms. Now the data is available instantaneously.
For better or worse, though, I view trading (as opposed to investing) as legalized gambling. If you don't have a disciplined approach, which I'm still working on at 63, I doubt the attention deficit generation has any at all. Generally speaking, teens today demand instant gratification and have the attention span of a gnat.
I am 63 and have been seriuos about investing and trading for only a couple of years. Market club, only about a month and greatful to have it. It's the best ever.
Anyway, about 8 months ago I got my 10 year old grandson involved in investing and
trading. I called the initial shots, but he has the say so even though I am guardian. He likes making money, hardly sqeezing out a $5 loan to grandpa. If I had his attitude when I was his age, I wouldn't be writing this; I would be spending it!
Never too old or too late to invest and trade. Schools should be teaching basic
life strategies and real living skills.
Ron
2011/04/24
Tell me more of your program @ Stevenson High. I have a friend who write curriculum for Jr. and High School districts and would like to pass this info along. I agree w/ some of the above post that such education should be offered at least on a basic level. You may contact me directly.
Yes, I think this would be a good course for all high schools.... It should also include the following: how to handle a checking account, open and manage a saving account, the plus and minus of using a credit card, how interest works both on savings and credit cards, and open an investment account where they learn the art of buying and selling stocks, I never understood why these items were not included in an economics course in high school...
I did not want to do something as "boring" as investing in stocks when I was younger nor did I have much money to invest or to risk. I remember hearing investing involves risk...I just had no clue how to manage risk or that it could be managed. But than again we did not have the internet or all the tech anaylsis that we do today either. I guess if we had that info then I would have been more involved at an earlier age.
I'm 67 and did not start trading until I retired and converted my 401-K to an IRA. I was always afraid to "gamble" with what little money we had although I would pick stocks after some study of the companies and it fascinated me to see whether my picks would do well or not... they usually did. I suppose I should have been scared of taking the money out of the mutual funds they were in and investing in equities and a little in bonds but at that time... 2008/9 the mutual funds were on a downward slide and I could see all these bargains that most people were ignoring. So I took the plunge and have not regretted it. My wife even thinks I'm a genius! I hope to soon be able to purchase some tools to work with rather than just going with my study of the companies I invest in and gut feel. So far it has worked fairly well though. Makes me wonder what I could have done if I had started with the kind of education that the Stevenson High School kids are getting! Hopefully this will catch on and other schools will follow their excellent example.
There is no doubt in my mind that trading, like every skill, can be learned, and obviously the younger you start the sooner you will gain that skill and its refinements. However, I also believe that it is a complex skill and requires more than average discipline, which would explain why the average life of a trader is 1-5 years. In addition there is an art to understanding the economic factors that move markets, and that is, perhaps, where years of experience might give advantage to folks who have been at it for awhile. I love economics and finance - all of the factors that make trading interesting and challenging, and that certainly helps one to persevere during the tough periods that every trader encounters.
Bonjour Adam,
What you are doing with the Stevenson High School is just fabulous. I wish I had myself been introduced to the market when I was much younger ..... in high school that is. I am a firm believer that children ought to be great traders because to them, money does not have that "emotional" impact as it is the case with us, adults.
My daughter is only 14 months right now but I can assure you that as she gets a little older I will get her to trade. The idea will be for her to consider trading as a fun game. I do have the feeling that she will be great at it beacause investing money will not make her emotional. I hope to make it sounds like a fun game to her.
Keep up the great work with the Stevenson High School, what you do with them is truly fantastic and I do hope that those kids realize how lucky they are, to be introduced to the world of investing at a such a young age. I wish I had been !!!!!
Hope that the weather in your area is as nice as it is in Marseille.
Say Hello to the team from me.
Hope to see you soon.
A bientot :-))
Loic