I wanted to start a trading forum, where professionals could discuss all things Eurodollars – trades, markets, economic data, positioning, the FOMC, etc. Currently, there does not appear to be a good source on the internet for high-level discussion. This project would be separate from my newsletter, but I may occasionally post small delayed excerpts. There are countless things that can be discussed in the main forum: a beginner’s area, the basics of looking at EDs, a discussion of trade ideas, current market developments, technicals, psychology, seasonals, algorithms, or whatever people are interested in.
The biggest challenge to sustaining a collegial and collaborative forum is that trading futures is a zero-sum game. There is plenty of room in the markets for a group of traders to collaborate and profit together. That is my belief. I’m not sure if we’ll get 10, 100, or more users, but one thing I know from working on a big trading desk is that there usually is never a unanimous consensus – even after going through all the facts together. So discussion does not always equate to similar positioning.
It is becoming clear that there is a large demand for an educational forum on how to look at curvature. As such I have spent a lot of time discussing the basics, from trading philosophies, to developing basic spreadsheets, to estimating the year-end turn, to looking at historicals, to determining value, to looking at what is priced into Fed meetings, to anything else the members want to discuss. Eventually, I would like to start beefing up more practical current market content, such as a discussion of trades and markets. I generally try to post something useful at least 3 days a week, so there will always be new material.
I do not believe it is possible to have a high-quality free forum:
* I will moderate the forum to make sure all posts and replies are high quality. Just think of the forum as very inexpensive but high quality group consulting. I used to spend a lot of time developing the junior traders on the desk at JPM. I may decline to comment on excessive queries, or a topic I do not have an opinion on, but I will attempt to reply to as many posts as I can.
* The monthly fee is a barrier to entry. I have no interest in spending time with people who are not serious about the ED markets. I also have no problems banning users for being unprofessional, annoying, rude, etc., if that should arise.
* As with most other social communities, the more you contribute, the more you are likely to get back. A fee would encourage activity, to make the most use of the forum.
* The regular fee will probably be between $50 and $100 per month. However, for at least the rest of 2015, the fee will be $50 per month. I will give a prorated refund if you are not satisfied or if I decide not to continue with the forum. You would not have to subscribe to the CA newsletter to participate.
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