Fed attorney --> day trading --> broke --> doc review

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=4725729&forum_id=2#41657569)

the other cause is day traders get slowly killed by commissions, spreads, and other transaction costs. if you're constantly turning over your portfolio and have no edge you bleed to death.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=4725729&forum_id=2#41657626)

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=4725729&forum_id=2#41657770)

and nobody ever wants to drop down in stakes, and even if they would, if you're playing lower stakes to begin with, there isn't very far to go before you hit the bottom or can't make enough to live and build back.

From what I've heard, and backed up by the ribbing from Doyle, David Benyamine has his whole roll on the table and is possibly getting extra backing from Patrik Antonius in this first hand. Insane. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Do-PwfFX-qs

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=4725729&forum_id=2#41658660)

Thankfully most of them in my personal life learned their lesson early and didn't lose huge amounts of money - but a few really fucked their lives up.

However over the years I have seen some truly depressing things online.

I remember one time I found a blog of some guy who was posting about how he started currency trading with all of his savings because he just had a daughter and wanted to give her a better life - the blog posts grew increasingly despondent and depressing as he got eaten alive. I couldn't even read them after a while.

Then another one that shook me up was that company that was going to make sapphire glass for Apple a maybe five or so years ago which was a huge cult stock and had forums full of people blogging about it.

The sack of shit CEO scheduled a "Big Announcement" on a Friday for Monday and that caused a bunch of traders to take a huge speculative position in the company before the Friday close hoping for an acquisition or other hugely positive catalyst - but it turned out to be a bankruptcy announcement.

One forum post was how a mom had a disabled kid and put all of her money into it to give him a better life and the care he needed - practically lost it all. Fucking hearbreaking.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=4725729&forum_id=2#41657604)

I learned really early to never "bet the farm" - because I "bet the farm" and lost, but when I had that event happen to me I was a kid and lost nothing in practical terms.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=4725729&forum_id=2#41657690)

We may see something like that in really popular meme stocks again in the near future.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=4725729&forum_id=2#41657695)

I'd wager that most daytraders eventually have it as a goal to become long term investors - but need to hustle up the capital for it first.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=4725729&forum_id=2#41657932)

If someone literally wanted to "daytrade," why wouldn't they just do it with a small amount for a LONG time to prove that they somehow have a "system" worth betting larger sums?

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=4725729&forum_id=2#41657793)

The trader in question was a guy who was basically used to winning his whole life: a high level athlete with a nice family, high paying jobs in finance on the sellside his whole working life, super successful with many hot women and had like an MBA or CFA or something (can't really remember - some letters, definitely not a PHD though) - but in the end the stock market, Mr. Market, destroyed him.

I worked with him in the same office, but since I was the most junior guy on the team - I would get hazed and he would shit talk me constantly. Even worse, I have that damn Value Investing disease where if I know I'm right about something I don't give a fuck about what anyone else thinks - it just doesn't bother me. The confidence I had in my ideas deeply disturbed him. He'd keep trying to poke holes in my ideas and I'd be so autistically oblivious that I thought me explaining the most granular details of why he was wrong would magically cause him to cease shit talking my names (I took it personally, which was stupid and a sign of my own youthful inexperience) when I realized he just hated me because I made him look bad and I was right when he was wrong - no rationality there, just typical bully bullshit.

In time I realized that he literally knew jack shit about how the market actually works despite all his sellside activities over the years, and for that I began to pity him, as I knew what was likely to eventually happen. All those conferences and lunches scheduled, those pointless meetings with management teams, those research reports composed of diatribe and doggerel that meant nothing in the face of long term investing fundamentals; and he was slowly, for the first time, in the process of realizing it. All of his connections, his work experience, his credentials - they didn't mean shit and weren't the least bit transferable to this game.

I could see that the deck was heavily stacked against him before he even started to play his hand. All the things that made this man successful in his life, that he had grown to rely upon, to take solace in, were working against him. His arrogance, his foolhardy confidence, his sports acumen - it was all worth nothing in the face of the market. It even worked against him - his team sports and his frat house shit - all that those institutions are designed to do is to encourage teamwork, which is basically herd following and compliance at the expense of the independent thinking and distant insight that you truly need to survive.

Even though I didn't have the background or credentials he did, or that coveted "work experience" - I literally grew up on the stock market and had to learn to survive, lesson by lesson, until I became a professional. No theory, all practice. The market teaches lessons and you get your grades back quickly: if your right, you make money - if you lose, you lose money. It's that simple.

He hated me for being a walk on. I never really had much against him personally - as I was used to getting treated like shit by bullies because of my time in school (and had not yet realized that they're just cowards). The only thing I resented was that I would ask him about companies in his industry sector that he specialized in and make the mistake of thinking he had any real knowledge on the subject, or worse, having to deal with him shit talking my trades constantly.

In retrospect, that cost me probably close to a quarter to half a million dollars (however I can't complain too much because I did make at least one or two good investments during that period - you get what you get) - but he fucked with my money in a major way and for that, I hated him.

The losing itself happened over probably a six month period and ramped up towards the end. During that time I would notice personality changes in this guy that were gradual, yet detectable to someone who didn't have anything better to do.

Since he had a lot of short positions open in winning stocks, he had to deal with the psychological stress of being wrong every single day and had to see his mistakes magnifying in magnitude right in front of him, all the while this asshole has to pay the vig to his own bank for shorting the stock.

This is why I typically don't short sell stocks or play options - I can deal with being wrong, but I hate to be wrong when a timeline is involved - it causes anticipation for events that never come and magnifies the response of the limbic system which will erode the capacity of a trader to make cold and calculating decisions over time - causing him to go on tilt if he has a cold period, which inevitably happens to all of us who spend enough time on the market.

First it was the booze. Always a drinker, the more he lost on the market the more he hit the bottle. I could tell because this guy would have those foul reeking red wine shits in the bathroom before the market open and would come in visibly hungover more frequently. I don't care what people say - you can't make your best decisions if you abuse alcohol heavily - it fucks with you sleep and your brain chemicals. You need both on the market.

I could detect subtle personality changes that were becoming more evident in other areas. An adrenaline junkie, he began to ride his motorcycle in versus his sports car, stopped shaving regularly, moved to a different neighborhood (to a bigger house, no less) and eventually started going to more and more industry events and conferences - all on the companies dime of course. I think that he just hated to be in the office towards the end, because it was obvious that he was losing his motherfucking ass and his brash confidence and shit talking worked against him when the chickens finally came home to roost.

By then I knew exactly what was going to happen sooner or later. If there is one thing the bosses hate more than their prop traders or fund managers that they have an equity investment with losing money - it's having to foot the bill for their generous salaries and expense accounts while they keep on losing year in and year out.

The amount of money the bank wasted on this guy was truly appalling in my mind: a big salary, full benefits, travel budget, expense account, the whole package. For fucking nothing but losses! This stung especially hard since I was a junior making very little and just because this guy knocked some bimbo up and had kids he got paid well while he lost his ass in the midst of me finding gems that went ignored by the bosses.

One day, maybe Tuesday or Wednesday after the guy came back from an industry conference in Vegas (read: horse shit money wasting for his drunk ass), HIS boss (the guy who hired me) got a call from HIS boss right before the market Open. This is rare.

He comes back half an hour later, tells the losing trader to come with him into a conference room and told him that he was fired, done, whacked out. That was it. No two weeks, nothing. They closed out his positions and liquidated his account by Friday. He came by a little later to pick up a box of all his shit and move onto the next scam, which was another random sellside job he got through his connections.

Even though it was entertaining on some level, I didn't lose the lessons from having to work with this guy: Don't give a fuck about what people say on the market, don't tell people what you are investing in unless you are prepared to have your opinions influenced by them flapping their gums, don't drink and expect to make rational decisions or do well, don't short, don't make it a competition or do anything to "prove a point" in the market - and don't abuse the fucking expense account - especially when your losing your ass.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=4725729&forum_id=2#41657874)

damn, 10 years? i guess now that you mention it, i've been here almost 14 years. holy shit.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=4725729&forum_id=2#41658274)

why did this guy ever bother to even try the buyside?

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=4725729&forum_id=2#41659103)

I think a lot of sellside people want to end up on the buyside and he somehow got his shot - only to get housed.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=4725729&forum_id=2#41659193)

its only getting worse sellside and buyside more and more different by the day

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=4725729&forum_id=2#41659261)

He was living rent-free in your head it sounds like. Was this your first time experiencing bullying in a professional setting?

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=4725729&forum_id=2#41662404)

I experienced a bit of bullying before - but ended up getting revenge on that guy pretty bad. Then after this happened I started working for myself a little while later.

I was always a loner by nature - you kind of have to be on the market.

I talked a good bit of shit back to him that got his goat as well and probably contributed to him going on tilt - apparently my boss (his boss too) said that he was close to fighting me as well - this I don’t believe as much.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=4725729&forum_id=2#41662985)

I tried it. Didn't fail spectacularly but got eaten alive by commissions and the strategy I was working on could never be perfected. On the bright side I was in my 20s still and landed a stable job after. I saw a lot of depressing stories of other traders in my office though. I learned a lot about coding, risk management and chart reading too.

I have tons of opinions on investing now. If I had to sum it up, it would be stay humble, nothing is absolute, markets change, don't quit your day job until you have enough cash to live off 5% interest. Oh, and I'm starting to suspect real estate investing is better for tax purposes.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=4725729&forum_id=2#41658235)

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=4725729&forum_id=2#41658265)

you can sell the asset and go into a new asset without recognizing any gain (1031)

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=4725729&forum_id=2#41658453)

Cost Segregation is a tax strategy that allows real estate owners to utilize accelerated depreciation deductions to increase cash flow, and reduce the federal and state income taxes they pay on their rental income.

This is done by breaking down and reclassifying certain interior and exterior components of a building, which are typically depreciated over 39 or 27.5 years for commercial and residential properties, respectfully, to personal property or land improvements that are depreciated over 5, 7, or 15 years.

This is all handled in what is known as a cost segregation study. These studies are often conducted by a team of qualified engineers and/or CPAs.

Benefits of Cost Segregation

As mentioned above, cost segregation can reduce taxes, and greatly increase the cash flow of a property, especially in its early years of operation.

Thanks to the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, used personal property placed into service after 9/27/17 is eligible for 100% bonus depreciation. That means real estate investors can deduct 100% of 5, 7, and 15 year property all in the first year.

This is what makes cost segregation so powerful and can lead to significant tax savings!

Of course, the building itself will have to still be depreciated over 27.5 or 39 years, and land remains undepreciable.

Example:

Scenario A

Jane Doe, who is in the 24% tax bracket, buys a 24 unit apartment building for $1,000,000, places it into service in 2018, and does not utilize a cost segregation study.

Her CPA determines the following:

The building is then depreciated over 27.5 years, allowing her to take $29,090.91 as an annual depreciation expense.

Her income and expenses were as follows:

Jane will have to pay taxes on the $90,909.09 received from the property. However, the depreciation expense reduced her tax liability by $6,981.82, and since depreciation is a noncash expense, Jane will still have the $29,090.91 in cash.

Pretty cool right?... Just wait it gets better.

Scenario B

Now, let’s say Jane decided to have a cost segregation study performed on her property.

The study finds that the value of the property is broken down as follows:

Thanks to the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, Jane can take 100% bonus depreciation on the 5-year property, and land improvements in the first year.

The building is still depreciated over 27.5 years, allowing for an annual depreciation deduction of $13,090.

This gives her a total depreciation deduction in year one of $453,090.

Let’s take a look at how this affects her income this time around:

As you can see, Jane will show a net loss of $333,090 in year one. That means she will not have to pay any federal or state taxes on the $120,000 of net income. That’s $28,800 ($120,000 x 24%) in tax savings!

Plus, the remaining $333,090 loss will be carried forward and offset income in future years.

Now, how much cooler is that?

The additional cash flow can be distributed directly to Jane, or her investors. Alternatively, it can be retained for improvements and renovations that can increase the value of the property, or be used as a down payment to purchase additional properties.

https://www.therealestatecpa.com/blog/costsegregation

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=4725729&forum_id=2#41658897)

Still have? What? That makes no sense. It wasn't cash in the first place. WTF are they trying to say that they didn't already say better?

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=4725729&forum_id=2#41659416)

Fast forward to summer of 2018 and I discovered Bitmex. This did not end well and went broke very fast.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=4725729&forum_id=2#41658276)

Good experiment to confirm that buy low/sell high is not really a viable strategy for me, even if a rising market makes it easier to generate return. Going forward, I’m just going to keep buying into the sp500 and maybe just put a little bit more in when I can if there are significant dips.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=4725729&forum_id=2#41658482)

there's a reason why market makers pay money to robinhood to get their flow

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=4725729&forum_id=2#41659118)

i got about an 1800% return this year. made the right picks. in 2018, i lost about 80k.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=4725729&forum_id=2#41659322)