The All-American TraderQ: Would you do yourown research and meet with management?
A: Yes, I did my own. I think personally, just my opinion, for what
it’s worth, analysts don’t know much. I mean a perfect example
was when I worked at R.J. Steichen & Co. and they were telling us
to sell this company called Insignia Systems and we could deal it
out with a dollar in it. I think it was about a$4 stock as I remember.
Then about two weeks later they came out with bad numbers
and I have come to find out in my schooling that it was just the
big guys at our firm. They just needed liquidity in the markets.
They were just selling it to us. So they wouldn’t screw up the
market.
Q: There was no liquidity, so they’re selling it back to you.
A: They were selling to us, so then we’d sell it back to all of our
clients. I said enough of this and went on my own. That way I could
blame no one but myself.
Q: Was that the straw that broke the camel’s back? Was that
when you had enough of being a broker?
A: That was one of them, and I also just thought that I could
trade these stocks in my own account.
Q: At that point you were already in the business for about six
years, right?
A: Yes.
Q:Youbuiltabook,whatkindoftricksoftradedidyoupick
up in your six years as a broker? What was your methodology like
then?
A: It’s more fine-tuned today but it was just technical analysis,
big fat technical analysis. I didn’t care what the company did.