Prop Trading Secrets

14 revealing interviews with some of the world's best proprietary traders

In Prop Trading Secrets of Successful Funded Traders: How Individual Traders are using Proprietary Trading to Achieve Financial Freedom, Kathy Lien, author and managing director of FX strategy at BK Asset Management, and Etienne Crete, full-time trader and founder of Desire to Trade, deliver a collection of 14 revealing interviews with proprietary traders successfully making a living off the markets.

You'll explore insights from veteran traders with over 10 years' experience in the markets, winners of a variety of trading championships, and contemporary prop traders using methods like funded accounts to trade other people's money. You'll also find:

• A thorough introduction to the different kinds of prop trading, including funded trader programs
• Ways to get started with prop trading, trading methodologies, specific trading tips, and the most useful indicators of price movements
• What the world's best prop traders have in common and what sets them apart from the rest of the pack

Perfect for new traders, Prop Trading Secrets of Successful Traders is an incisive look at the discipline that belongs in the libraries of anyone with an interest in proprietary trading.

Preface vii

About the Authors xi

Chapter 1 The Shift in Prop Trading: From Big Banks to Everyday Traders 1

Chapter 2 Prop Trader Secrets: Discover What the Best Have in Common 5

Part I Prop Trading Champions 11

Chapter 3 Rob Hoffman 13
Won over 30 Domestic & International Real-Money Trading Competitions

Chapter 4 Davide Biocchi 29
10-Time Real-Money Trading Champion

Chapter 5 John Bannan 49
Top Three Robbins World Cup Futures Trading Champ

Part II Prop Traders Turned Fund Managers 65

Chapter 6 David Floyd 67
Running a $7 Million Fund with over 30 Years of Trading Experience

Chapter 7 Sunny Harris 87
Ranked Number One Commodity Trading Advisor in the US for Two Straight Years

Chapter 8 Ali Crooks 101
From Failing in Business to Running a Regulated Fund

Chapter 9 Aatu Kokkila 119
From Best World of Warcraft Team in the World to Best Systematic Currency Fund Two Years in a Row

Chapter 10 Andres Granger 129
The $10 Million Crypto Fund Manager’s Story to Success

Part III Prop Trading Pros 147

Chapter 11 Jean-Francois Boucher 149
Losing It All Trading Options, Fighting Leukemia, and Becoming a Profitable Funded Scalper

Chapter 12 Austin Silver 167
The Multiple-Times Funded Trader Who Is Not Afraid to Fail

Chapter 13 Alyse Amores 189
From Single Mother with a Few Hundred Dollars of Capital to Trading $8 Million

Chapter 14 Matthew Miller 203
From Penny Stocks to Withdrawing $309, 000
in 85 Trading Days on Funded Accounts

Chapter 15 Nick Syiek 223
Made $3 Million by 23 Trading Forex and Indices

Chapter 16 Vince Koehn 241
Funded Futures Prop Trader with $1 Million in Profit

Chapter 17 Ultimate 10-Step Checklist to Jumpstart Your Prop Trading 257

Index 263

KATHY LIEN is an internationally published author, Managing Partner of BKTraders, and the former Director of Currency Research of DailyFX.com and FXCM. At BKForex LLC, a firm that she co-founded in 2007, her experience in developing trading strategies using cross-market analysis and predicting economic data surprises serve as key components of BKForex’s analytical techniques. A seasoned FX analyst and trader, she also has experience trading a number of products outside of FX, including interest rate derivatives, bonds, equities and futures.

ETIENNE CRETE is a swing trader from Montreal, Canada, and has been trading full-time since 2017. As the founder of Desire To Trade, he assists aspiring traders in developing profitable strategies and achieving financial independence. Etienne’s platform provides educational videos, a podcast, and various programs to help traders become profitable and scale up their trading. Through the Desire To Trade Podcast, he has interviewed over 400 successful traders and experts, sharing valuable insights on trading for a living.

In Prop Trading Secrets: How Successful Traders are Living off the Markets, internationally published author and experienced trader Kathy Lien, along with full-time trader and founder of Desire To Trade, Etienne Crete, explain what prop trading is and how to take advantage of the opportunities it provides. The book also features detailed interviews with 14 highly successful prop traders, illustrating key concepts and sharing important lessons learned through their trail-and-error experiences.

Ideal for new traders eager to understand prop trading, Prop Trading Secrets provides a comprehensive guide to the different kinds of proprietary trading and offers actionable advice and methods for beginners starting their prop trading journey.

This book takes a deep dive into what makes prop trading so appealing, including lower capital risk, greater capital control, and the potential for self-employment and autonomy— as well as what makes it a highly risky form of trading, such as the often-strict rules enforced by prop trading firms. Readers will be inspired by the real-life stories from traders and learn what the world’s best prop traders have in common and what sets them apart from the rest of the pack.

Prop Trading Secrets: How Successful Traders are Living off the Markets earns a well-deserved spot on the bookshelves of traders at any level looking to improve their skills or kickstart their successful prop trading journey.

Get ready to dive into the world of prop traders and discover the secrets to their success

Two years ago, there were just a handful of prop firms; now there are more than 200 worldwide, with thousands of newly added traders per day. Prop Trading Secrets: How Successful Traders are Living off the Markets provides a complete overview of this unique form of trading and enables readers to make an informed decision as to whether it’s worth pursuing themselves.

Written by Kathy Lien, founder of BKTraders and Prop Trader Edge, and Etienne Crete, founder and host of the Desire To Trade Podcast, this book provides practical advice to kick start a successful prop trading journey. Inside, readers will find interviews with seasoned proprietary traders, a comprehensive guide to different kinds of proprietary trading, tips to getting started, trading strategies and tools, and more.

Throughout the book, readers will gain insight into the shared traits and strategies of top proprietary traders—from fund managers to individual traders—and will get an insider look into their costly mistakes and biggest successful trades to help navigate the learning curve.

Prop Trading Secrets: How Successful Traders are Living off the Markets is an essential read for traders considering or currently involved in prop trading seeking to understand the field in its entirety and maximize profit potential.