Successful day traders come in all shapes and sizes. They may be full-time or part-time traders, forex traders or stock traders.
They also come from all walks of life and all corners of the globe.
However, despite this diversity, all successful day traders have traits in common.
It’s these characteristics we’re going to look at today.
We’re also going to look at other interesting trading statistics, such as:
- how many day traders are successful
- what percentage of day traders are successful
- who are the most successful traders world-wide
- what these successful traders have in common.
Traits of successful day traders
These are the key traits that many successful day traders and forex traders have in common:
Determination
Successful traders understand it takes time, patience, and determination to achieve their goals. It’s not something that will happen overnight.
They know it’ll be hard sometimes, and they’ll have times when they may feel like giving up.
But successful day traders never give up – they are determined to achieve their goals.
Discipline
All successful traders are disciplined. They plan how they are going to trade, and then stick to their trading plan.
This can be very hard sometimes, when feelings such as fear and greed threaten to take over.
However, successful traders are not only highly disciplined, but they don’t let their emotions get the better of them.
They stay calm and don’t get carried away or make rash decisions.
Organisation
Being well organised is important for successful day trading. Good day traders stick to their trading processes.
They are fully prepared at the beginning of the trading session, and monitor their positions frequently.
In addition, they make sure they complete all important tasks that are needed to help them execute their trading strategy to perfection.
Attention to detail
Successful forex traders pay close attention to small detail.
They study their trading charts closely, and take careful note of the important price movements and events related to their positions.
Check their trade entries carefully, successful day traders make sure they don’t make typos, or enter the incorrect details.
Focus
Successful day traders don’t sit on the sofa with the TV on.
Because they take their trading very seriously, they develop a quiet trading environment, such as a separate area or room where they can calmly execute their trading plan without distraction.
They totally focus on their trading, and don’t get distracted by anything else going on around them.
Strategic planning
Every time a successful trader places a trade, it is the result of careful planning.
They know exactly why they are placing the trade, how they are going to manage it, and how they are going to exit that trade.
Nothing is left to chance – different possibilities have been planned for, and the successful trader knows exactly what to do in changing situations.
Life balance
Good traders learn to maintain a healthy life/work balance.
They ensure they get sufficient sleep, even if they trade a financial market that is open in another forex time zone.
They know that they need time away from the markets to maintain perspective, and to continue to enjoy healthy relationships with friends and family.
Emotional control
Traders are exposed to every conceivable emotion – joy, disbelief, rage, elation, fear, excitement. It’s like stepping into the ring every time they switch on their computer.
However, successful traders stay calm and in control when under pressure.
They don’t let strong emotions like fear or greed get the better of them, and use their trading plan to make sensible and well-planned trading decisions.
Self-assessment
Honest self-assessment is crucial for growth as a trader.
Successful traders embrace their common trading mistakes, learn from them, and use them as opportunities for improvement.
Often they keep a journal of their trades and review them to see how they can improve.
Self-awareness
Good traders only trade when they are feeling well, confident and clear-headed.
They don’t trade when they are feeling sick or if they are distracted by other life issues.
They have the self-awareness to only trade when they are physically and mentally at their best and ready to fight the good fight.
How many day traders are successful?
It is difficult to find reliable statistics about successful day traders specifically.
What is the definition of a successful trader? Or how do you define a day trader?
However, a recent report from the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) concluded that 74-89% of retail CFD account-holders typically lost money on their investments.
This is in line with additional reporting data to ESMA by forex brokers, which revealed that on average, 72.2% of forex traders lose money.
What percentage of day traders are successful?
An interesting statistic is quoted by Quantified Strategies, who conducted their own research on X (formerly known as Twitter.)
They concluded that:
- Only 13% of day traders maintain consistent profitability over six months
- 72% of day traders end the year with financial losses, according to FINRA (the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority in the US)
- Reports of day traders earning millions are outliers, with the median profit from day trading around $13,000
Who are the most successful traders world-wide?
The most famous study of successful traders was carried out by trading expert Jack D. Schwager.
He published his findings in a series of books, the first of which was called ‘Market Wizards: Interviews with Top Traders.’
This best-seller was followed up by three more books in the series:
- The New Market Wizards: Conversations with America’s Top Traders
- Hedge Fund Market Wizards: How Winning Traders Win
- Unknown Market Wizards: The Best Traders You’ve Never Heard Of
Naturally, opinions vary about who are the world’s most successful traders, but here are some of the top traders interviewed by Jack Schwager:
Paul Tudor Jones: A macro trader known for predicting and profiting from the 1987 stock market crash. He combines fundamental and technical analysis, focusing on large-scale economic trends and market turning points.
Bruce Kovner: A global macro trader who founded Caxton Associates. He trades based on global economic trends, using leverage cautiously and cutting losses quickly.
Richard Dennis: A trend-following trader and co-founder of the Turtle Trading experiment, proving that novices could be trained to trade using a set of simple rules. He focused on price movements in commodities and financial instruments.
Michael Marcus: A commodities trader who turned $30,000 into $80 million. He emphasised risk management, patience, and emotional control in his trading decisions.
Tom Baldwin: A bond trader who made over $2 billion trading U.S. Treasury bonds. He was a pit trader known for reading market sentiment and making quick decisions, often using leverage.
Larry Hite: A systematic trader who co-founded Mint Investments. He applied a rules-based approach that emphasised risk management, probability, and diversification over prediction.
Stanley Druckenmiller: A global macro trader famous for managing George Soros’ Quantum Fund and shorting the British pound in 1992, earning $1 billion. He combines macroeconomic analysis with tactical trading, using leverage strategically.
Jim Rogers: A global macro and commodities trader who co-founded the Quantum Fund. He focuses on long-term macroeconomic trends, especially in commodities and emerging markets, often taking a contrarian approach.
William O’Neil: A growth stock investor who developed the CANSLIM strategy. He blends fundamental and technical analysis to find high-growth companies, focusing on earnings, price momentum, and institutional support.
What do these successful traders have in common?
MarketMates’ co-founder Sam Eder completed his Master’s Thesis studying everything he could find about the world’s most successful traders.
The results from his study have formed the basis of his own trading approach, which he shares for FREE here in ‘The Advanced Forex Course for Smart Traders 2.0.’
In this course you can find out a lot more about what these successful day traders have in common, and how they think and act.
Final thought about the most successful day traders
Developing the habits of a successful day trader will not happen overnight. If you’d like more information on the beliefs of top traders, you can find out more in my colleague Sam’s lesson on this subject.
The main thing you need to do is make a commitment to trade in alignment with these habits.
With patience, perseverance and practice, these traits will become easier to model until they become ingrained in you as a trader.
Then you will be well on your to becoming a successful trader!
Till next time, happy trading!
If you like this article then sign-up for our newsletter or join over 42,000 traders and get The Advanced Forex Course for Smart Traders 2.0. It’s 100% free.
Sources
Marketmates uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read our editorial guidelines to learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
- Dr Van K. Tharp – Super Trader: Make consistent profits in good and bad markets. https://www.amazon.com.au/Super-Trader-Expanded-Van-Tharp
- Sam Eder – The Consistent Trader. https://www.amazon.com.au/Consistent-Trader-Winning-Trading-Psychology/
- Jack D. Schwager – Market Wizards: Interviews with TopTraders. https://www.amazon.com.au/Market-Wizards-Interviews-Traders-Updated/dp/1118273052/
