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If you were starting out in your career now, where would you want to work?
In an entry level job at a hedge fund.
What is your favorite career accomplishment/best trade ever?
My best trade ever was in 2003 I bought 60,000 shares of IVAN at .85 and sold between $3.50 and $4.00
Who are your heroes or role models, fictional or real?
That’s a tough one, can’t really think of anyone off the top of my head.
What is the most important quality a trader should have?
Patience.
What is the worst character fault for a trader?
Aggression.
Tell us about the lowest of low points, the time you thought should just give it all up and take
a simpler, easier job?
From the end of 2004 to the beginning of 2005 I couldn't put together a winning streak and the bills
kept piling up. I was taking loans out just to pay the bills...eventually I got ahead.
What job would you have taken? What's your 'exit strategy'—how long until you retire or move on?
An entry level hedge fund position. If trading fails I'll sell my house and move out west and be
a lift operator at a ski slope...no stress.
What is your motto?
Keep hitting singles and doubles and only go for a homerun when you LOVE your entry.
Whose teachings are most useful in your business—Machiavelli, Sun Tzu, Jesus Christ or Marquis
de Sade?
Sometimes when I loose a lot of cash trading I honestly think, "I must've killed Jesus Christ in a
past life."
(If you missed the last installment, featuring Jeb Molony, click here. And if you think you’d make a good subject, or want to nominate someone else, please email us at tips (at) dealbreaker (dot) com--subject line: “Better Know A Trader”).
Posted by They Call Me Tubbs , Dec 06, 2006 5:36PM
How bizarre. Something tells me he would make an excellent lift operator. Go for it, dude.
Entertainment value: 4/10
Posted by Babs , Dec 06, 2006 5:38PM
Hey Chad, Che Guevara called, he wants his shirt back!
Posted by Pelham , Dec 06, 2006 5:50PM
If posters continue to rip into profiled traders, I wonder if DealBreaker.com will be able to find anyone willing to submit to 'Better Know A Trader.' Unless of course they offer a large sum of cash...
Posted by John Carney , Dec 06, 2006 5:58PM
It certainly isn't easy to get these guys to do the interviews, since there is essentially nothing in it for them. We're grateful they do it, and we think it does some good by helping people better understand the world of traders.
Chad seems to be a very nice fellow. His answer to the hero question is honest and earnest. And his dream of being a ski bum, is, well, who doesn't want to be a ski bum if all this finance stuff doesn't work out?
Posted by David , Dec 06, 2006 6:52PM
I agree, and might I add that Trout Bum is a close second (when it comes to plan B).
Posted by John Carney , Dec 06, 2006 6:57PM
Definitely trout bum. Oh God yes.
Posted by The Corner , Dec 06, 2006 8:15PM
I'm with Carney. Go get 'em Trading Chad. At least he wasn't dressed by his mother like the last guy.
Whoops there I go making fun of a BKAT installment. Sorry guys
Posted by They Call Me Tubbs , Dec 07, 2006 8:23AM
What is the significance of the butterfly in the upper left-hand corner of the photo? Can't believe I didn't rip into that the first time around.
Posted by John Carney , Dec 07, 2006 10:38AM
If you look closely, you'll notice the photo was taken outside. The butterfly is on a tree behind Chad. This probably explains the shirt too. This isn't a "trader sitting at his desk" shot. It's a "life of action" shot.
Posted by Kool-Aid Contrarian , Dec 07, 2006 10:53AM
Can't you guys at least ask these people what they're trading? That would be, you know, actually relevant to the topic at hand.
Posted by John Carney , Dec 07, 2006 11:08AM
We try to provide backgrounds for most the the BKAT interviews. But asking what their particular trades are is tricky. For the most part, traders aren't going to tell you what their trading at any given moment. And if they did, they'd immediately get accused of pumping up the stock that they've got positions in. So we try to stay away from that.
Posted by Kool-Aid Contrarian , Dec 07, 2006 11:45AM
Hi John, I wasn't suggesting that you ask the traders to reveal their positions or strategies. But it's fairly common for traders to explain what asset class they trade. Is he trading live hogs? Wheat? Options? Bonds? You are what you trade.
Posted by John Carney , Dec 07, 2006 11:59AM
Yeah. We usually try to do that. I'm pretty sure that Chad mostly trades equities. Hope that helps!
Posted by Chad Sersen , Dec 27, 2006 6:37PM
The picture was taken at an outdoor restaurant in Interlaken, Switzerland. A few fellow traders and I took a trip out there. I suppose I should have photoshoped the butterfly from the background, but who really has the time. I trade mostly large cap equities and futures. As for "dreams of being a ski-bum," I've been actively trading stocks since 98' and the ups and downs do take there toll on your psyche. Naturally I'll have bought my own ski mountain to run :) Any other questions? comments?