Professional Trading vs Retail Trading
Market Structure & Fundamentals first. No hype at all
Most people believe professional traders succeed because they predict markets better.
That belief is false.
Professional trading is not about prediction.
It is about data analysis and controlling volatility.
Retail traders are exposed to volatility.
Professionals design their portfolios around it.
That difference explains almost everything.
1. Volatility: enemy vs raw material
Retail traders experience volatility as something that happens to them:
Sudden drawdowns
Emotional decision-making
Forced exits at the worst moment
Professional traders treat volatility as a variable to be controlled:
Defined risk per position
Portfolio-level volatility targets
Structures designed to survive adverse moves
The goal is not to avoid volatility.
The goal is to remain solvent and rational when it appears.
2. Why retail traders lose control
Retail traders typically:
Oversize positions
Trade without defined downside
React to price instead of planning for it
When volatility rises, decision-making collapses.
At that point, the trade is no longer managed.
The trader is.
3. The myth of fast money
This is where the get-rich-quick industry enters.
Financial markets are full of:
Snake oil salesmen
Trading gurus
Hype merchants
“Turn $5,000 into $1 million” promoters
They all sell the same illusion:
No drawdowns
No volatility
Fast, effortless wealth
Real professionals know the truth:
Volatility cannot be removed
Risk cannot be eliminated
Shortcuts do not exist
Anyone promising otherwise is not trading markets.
They are marketing fantasies.
4. Professionals slow down to survive
Professional trading looks boring from the outside:
Smaller position sizes
Repeatable processes
Incremental gains
Ruthless risk limits
This “boring” approach is what allows survival when volatility spikes.
Retail trading looks exciting.
Until volatility arrives.
Why ImGeld Exists
ImGeld was built to remove hype from decision-making and to help with the tedious data acquisition and statistical analisys prior to identify Long & Short portfolio candidates.
Not to promise fast wealth.
Not to sell predictions.
Not to exploit impatience.
But to provide:
Structured market context
Curated industry and stock fundamental data
A professional starting point for decision-making