Many people want to day trade from home. Trade for a couple of hours a day, maybe even less, and then hit the golf course or fill the rest of the day with other activities.
No commuting, no bosses, and more time for family, friends, and errands that are usually crammed in while going to and from work.
But what is the day trading success rate and how long does it take most people to become profitable?
Cory Mitchell, CMT, an analyst for Trading.biz and day trader for nearly 20 years (a prop. firm trader for seven of those years) has studied this and compiled statistics on thousands of traders.
Day Trading Success Rate is 4%, Except For Women
The percentage of traders who can make a living from day trading is 4%. This is based on more than 1000 traders who came to the prop firm (with physical-location trading floors) but couldn’t make enough to justify sticking around. Nearly all these traders were men.
Roughly 10% to 15% made some money, but not enough to justify doing it for a living.
All traders who came to the firm were there all day, learning and practicing, and had access to successful traders and risk managers. For those dabbling in day trading, or only putting a few hours of research or practice every once in a while, the success rates would be lower.
Only a handful of women attempted to become day traders; their success rate was closer to 50% for making a living. This was a very small sample size, yet highlights that women are likely organically better suited to trading than men. With a larger sample size that percentage would definitely shrink, but would likely remain higher than the men.
It Takes Most Traders 1 Year or More Before Consistent Profitability
Of the traders who were profitable, some were able to become profitable, and stay profitable, after six months of dedicated practice to a strategy of their choosing.
It takes most day traders at least one year—focused on only one or two strategies that entire time—to become profitable and stay profitable for at least several years after.
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