Success Stories 

Finding the right ingredients to make a successful trader

Peter Haywood's Share Trading Story, October 2007

In July last year, Peter Haywood, a pharmacist living in the heart of Victoria in a town called Maryborough, decided to take the first step towards becoming a share trader. Initially his motivation to learn to trade shares was driven by a desire to find his son a computer based interest. Instead and quite unexpectedly, Haywood found himself swept up in the world of share trading.

After three months designing his mechanical systems and then another three months paper-trading them he put his money into the market to try and recoup the money he had spent on his HomeTrader education.

Haywood said, “I was surprised to find that after eleven months trading I had done much more than recoup the money I had spent on education, instead, I had turned my float into six figures.”

Working in a pharmacy all his professional life, Haywood at 53 years of age has decided to farewell full time working and plans to trade two days a week.

The market correction in July was Haywood’s first true taste of a downward trending market and while it was unnerving at times, he has come out the other side on top. Haywood said, “Patience is the biggest challenge. You must trust your system and stick to it to be successful in both a falling and rising market. It is also extremely important that you seek education otherwise you are vulnerable in the market.”

Haywood trades two systems and may have up to 12 trades open at any one time. “I started with a small trade size of $4,000 and continued to increase over time.  Now my trade sizes are between $40,000 and $50,000 per stock. The key to my success is having a reasonable size position in each trade and following my system no matter what,” said Haywood.

“While the correction in the market in July and August was an uncomfortable experience the down trending market tested my system and has given me faith that my systems are good. I have strict risk management rules which protect my capital.”

For the moment Haywood describes himself as an apprentice and a trader wearing L plates. If his current success is anything to go by he may also be calling himself retired much sooner than he first thought.

All testimonials are provided voluntarily, without payment, inducement or other benefits.

*Past performance is not a guarantee of future performance.