Today’s guest is Fernando Chague, a financial academic based out of Sao Paulo. Fernando is best known for authoring a study called Day Trading for a Living? in 2019.
The study reviewed the day trading activity of thousands of Brazilian futures traders and found that a very small portion of them reached consistent profitability. Even of those that were profitable, none of them earned a living much better than a bank teller.
Needless to say, the study sparked debate and discussion in both the trading community and the wider world of finance.
Fernando joins the show to talk in detail about the study’s findings and how it shaped his thinking around short-term trading. We also talk about Fernando’s other academic research, much of which is focused around the behavioral biases of investors and the dynamics of short selling.
Do note that I don’t mean to throw any shade at day trading or day traders here. Nor does Fernando. It’s just a very interesting study with real implications for the act of day trading. Around 20% of my own trades are intraday trades, so I’m not sitting here being one of those people telling you to stay away from it, but I think it’s worth digging into the study regardless.
Listen to the Episode
There’s a podcast player at the top of this post, but if you want to listen on your preferred platform, here are some links:
Links Mentioned
- Day Trading for a Living? study
- Fernando’s study on the Brazilian OTC securities lending market
- Fernando’s study on the strategies of skilled short-sellers
- Fernando’s Twitter account
- Fernando’s website
- Bloomberg’s coverage of Fernando’s study: Day Traders in Brazil Would’ve Done Better With a 9-5 Job
Follow the Podcast
Follow the podcast on Twitter: @StockPodcast
Subscribe to the email newsletter:
0 Comments