Anyone Tried Day Trading After Retirement?

[gauss]

I think quite a few people did exactly that, late 90s and early 2000s.

I deliberately chose a low volatility investing plan that required minimal effort so could it be mostly left alone. Pretty much just once a year withdrawal and housekeeping most years.

Perhaps with all the 'amateurs' involved during that time frame, it may have been easier to make money than when they aren't there.

Whats that quote about looking around the room and trying to figure out who the "fish" is and if you can't tell then it is probably you!

-gauss

 

[Zathras]

If I am going to gamble I’ll stop by the blackjack tables. At least there I get free drinks ;-)

 

[RetiredAt49]

I made money and retired early by working hard and working smart at what I knew best.

I am not a stock market guru, financial guru nor do I have a 'system'.

I do not want to risk any of the equity I have on a day trading career learning curve.

Besides....I am not looking for work.

I made money and retired early too (age 49)… not planning to draw down my long term retirement portfolio - just play around with a fraction of 1% of my NW and day trade as a hobby

 

[Dtail]

Not another job and in general probably a losing proposition, even though you may hear otherwise.
The same types of folks come home from Vegas and state that they actually won money. Of course this is how all the casinos stay in business......

 

[MarieIG]

I made money and retired early too (age 49)… not planning to draw down my long term retirement portfolio - just play around with a fraction of 1% of my NW and day trade as a hobby

Regarding the day trading, I would put that in a separate (day trading) account to avoid any temptation to dip into additional funds in the event of either a down turn, or an "opportunity too good to resist."

 

[RetiredAt49]

Regarding the day trading, I would put that in a separate (day trading) account to avoid any temptation to dip into additional funds in the event of either a down turn, or an "opportunity too good to resist."

It’s already in a separate account… funny how so many here getting caught up on this topic. My NW is about $4.5 M and my day trading account only has $500 in it…. Again, just testing out the waters using paper money on simulators… and not staring at the screen all day so most likely more of a swing trader style. Ideally would like to write software to monitor market and perform trades automatically.

 

[old medic]

YUP... Just yesterday I traded a gallon bag of figs for an 18 pack of farm eggs...

 

[ncbill]

I think quite a few people did exactly that, late 90s and early 2000s.

I deliberately chose a low volatility investing plan that required minimal effort so could it be mostly left alone. Pretty much just once a year withdrawal and housekeeping most years.

Yep, knew a guy who while not retired quit his job to day trade with the $600k he had saved.

Lost it all over a six month period & went back to work.

This was closer to 25 years ago...how much would he have now if he had put even HALF of that into the stock market? or real estate rentals?

 

[Car-Guy]

Yep, knew a guy who while not retired quit his job to day trade with the $600k he had saved.

Lost it all over a six month period & went back to work.

This was closer to 25 years ago...how much would he have now if he had put even HALF of that into the stock market? or real estate rentals?

Just eyeballing it, but at 2% compounded interest, 600k over 25 years should be close to a million now.

 

[youbet]

Regarding the day trading, I would put that in a separate (day trading) account to avoid any temptation to dip into additional funds in the event of either a down turn, or an "opportunity too good to resist."

+1

That's what I do. Plus, at least at Schwab, that makes it easy to compare results with my main account and a hypothetical 60/40 index fund account over various time frames. Over the years, I've withdrawn money from the "special" account several times (camper, 50th anniversary bash, fly-in fishing trip, etc.) but never added to it from other sources such as the main account, RMD's, etc.

I'll again mention, I'm not really "day trading" to any great extent. I hold almost everything far longer than just hours. But that account is where I try new things, speculate on early "opportunities," hold some high beta micro-caps, and, yes, infrequently pull off an actual "day trade."

So far from the comments, it doesn't look like anyone here is a "day trader" unless you really stretch the definition of the term. OP is looking at the possibility, but that's about it.

 

[jollystomper]

"Retirement" and "Day Trading" just do not seem to go together for me. Too much work and mental gyrations .

Though I guess spending my days golfing, working out, recreational activities, special time with DW, and traveling may strike others as being lazy and not using my brain.

There is a balance in there, somewhere .

 

[youbet]

"Retirement" and "Day Trading" just do not seem to go together for me. Too much work and mental gyrations .

Though I guess spending my days golfing, working out, recreational activities, special time with DW, and traveling may strike others as being lazy and not using my brain.

There is a balance in there, somewhere .

There's a lot of space between true "day trading" and true "buy and hold" investing. I agree that putting a big chunk of your assets into stocks held less than a full trading day would wear a fella out. But there is a lot you can do and try with a side account without making it a chore.

Yeah, full involvement with daily trading of a high percentage of your assets doesn't seem to fit with "retired."

 

[mh]

I made money and retired early by working hard and working smart at what I knew best.

I am not a stock market guru, financial guru nor do I have a 'system'.

I do not want to risk any of the equity I have on a day trading career learning curve.

Besides....I am not looking for work.

Whenever I hear about someone’s “system” I always think horse racing junkies on tv shows who are convinced they’ve got the final touches on their system and are going to start hitting it big

 

[Car-Guy]

Whenever I hear about someone’s “system” I always think horse racing junkies on tv shows who are convinced they’ve got the final touches on their system and are going to start hitting it big

I see that all the time in Casinos in real life. Some of these gamblers swear they have a system for just about every game in a Casino. Funny thing is, after a year or so of playing their system, these folks seem to quit gambling... (Or at least I don't see them anymore) Or maybe they won enough they just don't need to play anymore.

 

[Dtail]

I see that all the time in Casinos in real life. Some of these gamblers swear they have a system for just about every game in a Casino. Funny thing is, after a year or so of playing their system, these folks seem to quit gambling... (Or at least I don't see them anymore) Or maybe they won enough they just don't need to play anymore.

The only casino game which could be "beat" was when they were using one deck for blackjack, not anymore.

 

[Bamaman]

I have a close friend that was a CEO of a company with 1000 employees. He's always had an investment "kitty" separate from his regular retirement accounts, etc. used for day trading.

When he retired early, he went to work for Merrill Lynch for a couple of years--mainly to get more knowledge of the investment world.

He's been very successful day trading. But he's smart enough to keep it separate from any funds he'll ever need later in life. It's more a source of entertainment.

My cousin was in her late 40's when she divorced a completely narcissistic but very successful man. We're talking living in a palatial mansion in Woodland Hills and driving a Bentley convertible. She had all the money she could ever spend--until she began day trading. Flash forward and she's living in someone's guest house in Palos Verdes Estates and living off social security disability. Day trading didn't work for her--someone with no common sense or knowledge of the stock market.

 

[Car-Guy]

The only casino game which could be "beat" was when they were using one deck for blackjack, not anymore.

I'm not a big BJ player but there are still a few casinos around that allow single deck BJ play. It seems to me that they are slowly going away and all have rules in place that increase their odds as well as max bet limits. The Casinos where I still see them usually only have their single deck tables open on the weekends or by special request.

And of course there was these guys who could beat a multi deck shoe.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MIT_Blackjack_Team

 

[GravitySucks]

I see that all the time in Casinos in real life. Some of these gamblers swear they have a system for just about every game in a Casino. Funny thing is, after a year or so of playing their system, these folks seem to quit gambling... (Or at least I don't see them anymore) Or maybe they won enough they just don't need to play anymore.[emoji23]

They even post the previous Roulette outcomes. It's like they're trying to give the money away.

I had a coworker retire to day trade back in 04. The folks who stayed in touch with him were coming in with stories of days of huge wins. All that money must of bored him as I got a call asking for an employment reference in 05.

I'm to lazy and not smart enough to be a successful day trader.

 

[Car-Guy]

They even post the previous Roulette outcomes. It's like they're trying to give the money away.

Total waste of time looking at that board or tracking the numbers of the past hits. I know some folks that have tracked thousands of spins trying to identify a wheel bias.... Extremely unlikely to find one. In my experience, what has happened in the past on a Roulette wheel is nothing but history and has absolutely nothing to do with the next spin. If you want to increase your odds playing Roulette, play a European Wheel rather than an American Wheel. One less number to lose on. Or better yet, don't play!

 

[Running_Man]

Here are the four facts that come to mind every time I hear about day trading:
These are not FACTS these are opinions of someone who most likely has correctly come to the decision to never day trade, whatever that definition even means. If it means buying and selling only on the same day, that is a very narrow definition of trading for profit. If it means every day analyzing and buying when you think you see something of value and at a later date determining it is best to sell then that is another. The time limitation really makes zero sense.

-I never hear about the money losing trades that must exist. If I only hear about the good and none of the inevitable bad from people who actually trade, that's a red flag. ACTUALLY mostly individuals (portrayed mostly as deranged) with losing trades are posted on this thread -People say they like doing it, but never seem to do it for very long.
-Short term buying and selling is trying to predict what your fellow man will do (to investment prices). When I look at the people around me in this world, I can't predict practically anything that they'll do. I struggle to think anyone can.

Really George Soros doesn't come to mind? Michael Burry? Kyle Bass? Tim Gritttany? this is just a few people who made millions starting with next to nothing. My friend, a former VP of a stock market exchange is working with a small 30 person group that day trades every day, he is just an employee helping write code but they make multi millions a year and his last bonus was 300K.

They all have one thing in common, they would never come to this forum and offer advice, which would be mocked anyway if they would even do so, because unless one believes in something for yourself you will never be successful.

-If you're successful doing anything (like gambling) for a short while, it can be easy to believe it's skill and not luck giving those results. If you can consistently be successful over long periods of time, fantastic! I don't think you really mean this as in the next sentence you immediately question that assumption. But those stories are rare and always feel questionable at best.

While I do believe this quite accurately describes the fundamental value and beliefs of this forum, again these are not facts but opinions.

 

[arcyallen]

While I do believe this quite accurately describes the fundamental value and beliefs of this forum, again these are not facts but opinions.

Re-read my post. Every point I made was fact.
-People say they like doing it, but never seem to do it for very long. -FACT
-I never hear about the money losing trades that must exist. -FACT
-Short term buying and selling is trying to predict what your fellow man will do (to investment prices). -FACT
-If you're successful doing anything (like gambling) for a short while, it can be easy to believe it's skill and not luck giving those results. -FACT

You may disagree with my commentary, that's fine. But the above are facts, despite you telling me their not in red italics. Take a breather. No one is attacking you.

 

[JoeWras]

My neighbor started day trading in 2006 after retiring from IBM. He told us all about it, and how successful he was, and secure with a pension.

In 2010, they were locked out of their house by Fannie Mae. They had less than 24 hours to get whatever they wanted. A few weeks later, an auction house came and took all the rest of the remaining goods.

It didn't go well for him. Just sayin'

 

[Dogpeace]

My take is that Day Trading requires one to be intensely focused on the computer during parts of the day, and for me, that would interfere with the freedom to do what I want.

I lean toward "Swing Trading" where a trade is a little longer but still short enough to make things interesting and have the potential for a bigger return than "buy and hold".

 

[RetiredAt49]

My take is that Day Trading requires one to be intensely focused on the computer during parts of the day, and for me, that would interfere with the freedom to do what I want.

As the OP of this thread, my passion is not to sit in front of monitors all day… plan to use my software engineering skills + prior patents/algorithms to build a fully automated trading platform. Looking at it more as a hobby and something to keep my mind sharp as I’m only 50 years old.

 

[ERD50]

As the OP of this thread, my passion is not to sit in front of monitors all day… plan to use my software engineering skills + prior patents/algorithms to build a fully automated trading platform. Looking at it more as a hobby and something to keep my mind sharp as I’m only 50 years old.

So do it, and please report back - weekly updates here?

-ERD50