19d ago in Introduction
Background Story
My Journey into Trading: The Foundation of the Triad Method
I first fell in love with the markets in 1995, during my junior year of college, following them daily with the eagerness of someone who’d found a new passion. Right after graduation, I joined a young finance company, just a year old and headquartered in the beautiful Tahoe City on the shores of Lake Tahoe. We financed business equipment for small to medium-sized businesses across the country, and I became the 12th employee. Over the next two years, we expanded to over 200 people, with a benefits package that included an annual ski pass to Squaw Valley. My friends couldn’t believe I had a real finance job in Tahoe while skiing or snowboarding at least 50 days a year. Powder days even had a rule: if there was at least a foot of snow and you hit your numbers, you could hit the slopes in the morning and come to work after lunch.
Over three years, I saved up $10,000 annually and grew it into a $50,000 brokerage account. By 2000, my desire to trade was so strong that I left my dream job and moved to the Bay Area to trade full-time. I joined Bright Trading, needing a $25,000 capital post to access 10:1 margin and earn my Series 7 license. I read widely—technical analysis, option pricing models, Van Tharp, Trading in the Zone—and even enrolled in a program on technical analysis and the Wyckoff Method at Golden Gate University, completing coursework on weekends while trading all day at Bright’s small, gritty office.
However, Bright Trading had limitations: despite their roots as former options market makers, they restricted us to equities, as they prioritized the high turnover stock trading generated. Determined to diversify into equities, options, and futures, I decided to go out on my own. I wrote a business plan and partnered with a fellow trader, Suneel, from a farming family near Sacramento. Together, we aimed to launch a trading arcade under a Joint Back Office (JBO) agreement with Sage Clearing, requiring $1 million in collateral to operate. I found space in San Francisco’s Exchange Building, set up desks, monitors, and PCs for ten terminals, and we became the first arcade in the city to offer equities, options, and futures with cross-margin capabilities.
In 2003, however, Suneel’s family couldn’t support his capital requirement, so I pivoted. A market maker contact upstairs had a small JBO with a few traders but was struggling. We struck a deal: he’d handle back-office logistics and take a 30% cut, while I’d grow the trading floor and remote division. We quickly expanded from 50 accounts to 425 by 2007, with offices in Chicago, Incline Village, NV, Boulder, CO and New York, managing nearly $45 million in pooled accounts.
But in 2008, fate took a harsh turn. Merrill Lynch’s Pro Trading Division was set to acquire our operations, merging us with several similar firms, with a $6 to $7 million payday in sight. Then the financial crisis hit. Merrill’s team was laid off, and the deal collapsed. Six months later, a trader introduced by my partner brought in 1.5 million shares of a $20 stock in an illiquid industry. The position grew to $60 million as the price surged, only to collapse when the company missed a filing and the SEC halted trading. We suffered a $30 Million loss The loss was catastrophic, and the firm closed.
Reeling from the fallout, I took a five-year break from trading and turned to real estate, launching a construction company focused on custom homes and outdoor living spaces. In 2016, a friend mentioned Bitcoin, prompting me to re-engage with the markets, but this time with no partners or pooled capital. Crypto gave me some success, and I rediscovered my passion, particularly in the index futures market, where liquidity and volume provided clearer insights.
In November 2020, my life took another twist. While working on a construction project, I fell from a height of 16 feet, shattering my pelvis, hip, and elbow. Five months in the hospital and extensive physical therapy followed, leaving me with limited options. Trading, my first professional love, was the answer.
This experience inspired me to develop the Triad Method—a culmination of my trading experience, knowledge, and lessons learned. Over four years, I’ve refined this automated trading system to operate across major assets like ES, NQ, CL, and GC, utilizing insights from two decades in the markets.
1
0 comments
Background Story
skool.com/triad-trade-group-4420
Futures Trading Group and Automated Systems Development
powered by