Trading for a Living

Gary Portugal talks to Agnieszka about his core beliefs on finding success in trading, and it has nothing to do with quick wins large amounts of capital. For Gary, trading is a process that requires an honest look at yourself, learning from mistakes, and evolving the process over time. Everyone makes mistakes when they first start trading. It's how you handle those mistakes and grow from your experience that sets the professionals apart. 

With decades of experience in trading and working for large financial institutions, we hear Gary share the valuable lessons he learned and his philosophy on getting better at trading: train, learn from your mistakes, get a second opinion on your process, work on your  confidence and patience, and continuously refine your system. Gary's biggest advice is to embrace changes and make peace with being wrong.

About Gary Portugal

Gary Portugal began his FX journey in New York in the 1980s as a spot G10 Market Maker, before specializing in European Monetary System currencies in the 90s. After the creation of the Euro in 1999, he transitioned to trading emerging market currencies and to developing a spot FX e-commerce business at a major financial institution in London. He then spent a decade at a proprietary trading group as a market-maker in emerging market currencies to various electronic currency networks. He now trades and invests independently across all asset classes.

Resources discussed in this episode:

• Oliver Velez

—

Contact Agnieszka Wood | Ahead Coach: 

• Website: aheadcoach.com
• Twitter: @Ahead_Coach
• YouTube: @aheadcoach
• Facebook: Agnieszka Wood
• Instagram: ahead.coach
• LinkedIn: Agnieszka Wood

Contact Gary Portugal:

• LinkedIn: Gary Portugal

—

Transcript

Agnieszka  0:00  

I'm Agnieszka Wood and on today's show, I'm very excited to introduce my very special guest, Gary, Portugal. Gary has been a professional trader for 35 years. And now he's still trading mostly on a swing basis, and also managing his investments. I asked Gary to join us today to discuss his point of view on the topic that most traders are wondering about all the time. Will I ever make it? Welcome to episode number three, Trading for a Living. Hi, Gary, and welcome to my podcast.

Gary  0:35  

Thank you so much, Agnieszka, I hope that I pronounced that right. Yes, I think, yes. 

Agnieszka  0:38  

Yes, you absolutely did. Wonderful. 

Gary  0:42  

First attempt, wow.

Agnieszka  0:43  

Yeah, you're very good at it. Gary, you started in 1983, as a commodity and foreign exchange trader in New York, worked all the way up to become a head of European Monetary System, currency trading desk in London. And finally became a wealth management consultant. Not long before you decided not to work for anyone else, and trade for yourself. That's pretty much the dream of most traders, right, to quit their job and trade for a living.

Gary  1:14  

Absolutely right, to be able to pick and choose when you work. 

Agnieszka  1:19  

Exactly how to spend your time, right? Nobody's gonna tell me what to do. Tell me with all your professional experience in trading, I