In February 2009 my father called me while I was standing on the trading floor.
He told me he was buying stocks.
Heavily.
Here's what he was buying into:
- The S&P 500 dropped 11 percent that month on top of an 8.6 percent drop in January.
- The Dow finished February at its lowest close since 1997, down more than 50 percent from its record high.
- Financial stocks lost another 18 percent in that one month alone.
Every professional I knew was in cash or hiding under a desk. My retired father was on the phone with his broker.
The market bottomed days later, on March 9.
He could make that move because he never stopped paying attention.
And that goes back to something he told me over and over as he approached retirement in the early 2000s:
"I am not retiring from something. I am retiring INTO something."
His belief was simple: If he sat at home watching TV and playing tennis and golf all week, that would not keep him sharp.
So he became a deacon and volunteered at the hospital twice a week. He wasn't working full time anymore. But he was meeting new people and doing work that fulfilled him.
He stayed an active deacon into his 80s. He didn't quit until his health made him.
I Don't Plan On Stopping Either
As I think about my own retirement, I'm realizing I may never want to fully retire from what I'm doing.
I love talking to people about markets and trading. I love being part of a group of traders, support staff, and members this good.
You might ask me: "Mark, won't you get bored of markets?"
The short answer is yes, I probably will.
The long answer is no, I won't. Like my father retiring into something instead of away from it, my trading keeps evolving.
Eight Years Ago I Called Charting Voodoo
If you asked me eight years ago what I thought of technical analysis (reading price charts to figure out where a stock is likely to go next), I would have told you it's voodoo.
Then I met Licia.
She started introducing me to charting, and at first I just stuck my toe in. I added the 200, 100, 50, 21 and now 9 day moving averages to all my charts
Next thing I know I'm learning Japanese candlesticks. I'm proud to say I can spot a doji as well as just about any trader.
Then she taught me pitchforks. This is a charting tool so old it's new again, drawing three parallel lines that map where a stock tends to find buyers and sellers. I use them on my five-minute charts and my dailies, and outside of options pricing itself, they're the most useful thing I've added to my trading.
The point: I might never retire at all.
By pushing myself to get better, trade new products, test new strategies, and add new techniques, I expect trading to stay fun, exciting, and new for as long as I'm able to do it.
Charting is something I needed to learn to get better. It also made trading more fun.
Retire into something, or have so much fun at what you're doing that you have no reason to leave.
That's why I'm watching Licia and Hannah tonight at 7 PM ET. Licia is always learning new ways to trade and I intend to be a sponge.
Your only option,
Mark Sebastian