Gary Stevenson trader advice
Someone once asked Gary Stevenson, Citibank's most profitable trader in the world who was closing one trillion dollar deals every day when he was only 24, a simple question: how do I become a trader? His response is harsh and direct. He explains that if you are not from a wealthy family, it is nearly impossible to break in. This holds true even if you have perfect grades. The full 25 minutes of his unfiltered insights follow.
Transcript (en)
There's two kinds of traders nowadays, right? There's like professional traders that work for a bank, or there's this kind of stay-at-home trader, which has become more and more popular. I think this stay-at-home trader, like do-it-yourself on your kitchen laptop, is super, super, super, super dangerous. There's like loads of terrible advice about how to do it on the internet. I would advise like really stay away from doing like your own personal day trading. If you want to be a professional trader, you need to get like a super top degree from a super top university, probably in something numerical like maths or economics. The truth of the matter is, if you don't come from a rich family and you don't have connections in that industry, it is not impossible, but incredibly difficult to get these jobs. That doesn't mean you can't try to do it, especially if you are very talented at maths or something. You can try and get into that top university, get that top grade and get that job. But even with the top grades, you're competing largely with rich kids from rich families who have connections you don't have. So, yeah, try your best, but good luck. It's extremely, extremely difficult if you're not from a rich family.
