Who is Steve Norman (Snorm) ?
Here are some answers to questions that I’ve been asked by traders. They seemed like a good basis for an introduction, so here goes …
Where do you live?
I was born in London, grew up in the Wiltshire and emigrated to South Africa, at the age of 21. Whilst there, I became a South African citizen just so I could vote in the referendum that resulted in the end of apartheid. I returned to England, after a fantastic 15 years, with my South African wife, living in Milton Keynes: the town of many roundabouts and concrete cows – google them if you want a laugh. In October 2020 we returned to SA, to live by the sea and enjoy year-round warm weather.
Are you a full-time trader?
Yes.
How long have you been a trader?
I first discovered the buzz of trading as a teenager in college - where I was studying computer science and economics. One of the big UK banks sponsored an annual competition for trading the stock market and I was captain of a team at my college. With only the newspapers for data - no ready access to computerised share prices in those days - I diligently plotted the price movements of the FTSE100 shares and made my own graphs. From there I was able to make trading decisions and my team eventually came third in the competition. I really got into regular trading when I returned from South Africa - initially doing position trades on equities. The tragic events of 9/11 saw markets crash and, like a fool, I closed all my positions for a massive loss. With the benefit of hindsight, I should have just held out for the inevitable recovery. It took me a little while to regain confidence but got back on the trading horse with CFDs. From there I moved on to trading pretty much everything and anything; spending (wasting) a fortune on courses, mentors, indicators and EAs along the way. Eventually I settled on just trading Forex then added DAX and DOW a good few years ago.
So, a long answer to a short question but to summarise: a very long time; decades.
What are the key things that you learned, from all your years of trading?
Anything can happen! So be prepared for all outcomes.
The most useful things that I use for trading today are what I discovered for myself, by time spent looking at charts; very little has been gained from the money that I’ve wasted on the scammers.
If you’re trading the lower timeframes, just stick to a few instruments on a single platform - I went through a spell of trading futures, equities, forex, indices, commodities on daily, hourly and one-minute timeframes and several different platforms. Needless to say, that was doomed to failure. Now I only really need a couple of instruments on the one-minute timeframe - that’s stress-free trading at its best.
Don’t flip between systems and don’t spend a fortune on the countless scammers in this business. Learn to read price action and use as few indicators as possible.
Only risk money that you would be prepared to burn. I was trading 'scared money' (I couldn't afford to lose) on my first attempt at full-time trading - that will never work.
The rest has probably been covered in my blog posts.
How many hours do you spend trading in a day and what does your typical day as a trader look like?
I’m normally at my computer by around 6am. I take care of any admin first – such as emails – then look at the higher-timeframe charts. I’ll share my analysis on DAX and DOW, and sometimes other instruments, with my friends in the Skype Trading Group and have a couple of cups of coffee before the London Open – when trading really starts. I usually stop trading by around 10am to do some gym (very important for us desk-bound traders) or take care of other things.
Between 2:00 and 2:30pm, I’ll do another higher-timeframe analysis of DAX and DOW, as well as checking for anything on other instruments, and get ready for the fun to begin at NEO – when the New York Stock Exchange opens and the DOW springs to life. I’ll be looking for trades until around 4pm, half hour before London Close, which is a very important time for us traders – there can be some great trades to be had after the close. By around 6pm, I am usually done for the day and had enough of computers. I might look for a trade when the main FOMC comes out and very occasionally will do an evening trade on DOW, particularly if price looks like it’s going to my previously determined target price. If I’m up for it, I’ll check the daily charts around 10pm.
Total actual trading time is usually about 4 hours but I will also be doing other things during that time, like coding, chatting to my Skype friends, answering emails, etc. Having something else to do, when the markets are not doing much, is extremely important; it stops you from trading out of boredom/frustration.
How much money do you make from trading?
I never discuss financials, it’s just not the right thing to do. You wouldn’t ask a stranger how much he earns in his job. I find it rather distasteful when people brag, in a public space, about how many dollars/euros/pounds they made on a trade. I’m happy enough to make 5% profit in a week – occasionally you can do that, and more, on a single trade; some days the trading gods just aren’t on your side and even the best-looking setups don’t work out. I’m not greedy when it comes to trading and don’t have unrealistic expectations.
How much do you risk per trade?
Usually about 1% - that’s perfectly adequate and something that I have no fear of losing. I only keep a small percentage of my available funds in a trading account, in case of disaster, as happened, for example, to Alpari in 2015 with the Swiss franc’s crash; although there are far more protections in place since that happened. I’ve found a ‘sweet spot’ with what I’m prepared to risk and how much I’m looking to earn.
How many trades do you do per day?
5 or 6, is more than enough. Some days more, some days less – all depending on what the price action is like, in a particular session. There are plenty of good setups during the day – I don’t beat myself up if I miss any as another will be just around the corner.
Do you ever meet other traders?
I’ve met some of the UK-based traders from my Skype trading group, which has been great. In the summer of 2019, my wife and I flew to Portugal for a holiday and met a very good trading friend there. I enjoy meeting traders from my Skype group – we spend a lot of time with each other during the day, so it’s always a pleasure to meet in person.
I am often asked to organise a meeting for traders – I will try to get something organised, one of these days.
Why do you sell what you’ve coded and not just live off your trading profits?
Well, to be fair, I give away far more than I sell, such as TheHarmonicIndi and Trader Training Course, which each took many months to produce. I’m happy to give some things away for free, although I’m not sure that many people appreciate the effort that went into them; too many expect every trading resource on the internet to be free – that really annoys me. There has to be an exchange-factor for some products, like eWavesHarmonics and the Advanced Trade Manager. So much of my life has gone into coding those that I think I deserve something back for my efforts, if anyone wants to use the same tools that I use for my trading.
I'm not a fan of bombarding people with marketing hype; nor do I go for 'Black Friday' type deals- that's not fair to people who have just paid the full price for something. I'd prefer new traders found my site through reputation and recommendations and hope that everyone recognises the difference between www.for-exe.com and the scammers.
How long does it take to become a successful trader?
That all depends on the individual and what their definition of success is. If traders can’t make a profit each month with eWavesHarmonics and after doing my course, they really need to do the course again, with full attention and intention; and/or get in touch to see where help is required. The course covers pretty much everything that I know about trading and succinctly presents decades of trading experience - massively reducing the learning curve for new traders.
I am at a loss as to why some traders add squiggly line indicators (clutter) to their charts, after doing the course. I am delighted that many others find the success that they’ve yearned for by just applying what they’ve learned. The most important factors for success reside within the individual; no amount of expenditure will guarantee success in trading: you can’t buy patience and discipline.
You can do my course, with the suggested ‘homework’ and back-testing, in a couple of weeks – so, you could, in theory, be a successful trader after that time, if you adopt the right mental approach and don’t trade with ‘scared money’. In reality, you should allow at least a couple of years to gain the invaluable chart time and experience.
Every day at the charts is another day in the school of trading - we never stop learning.
Do you share your trading results online?
No.
I don't see how an "oooh look what I can do" would be helpful to anyone. If you'd like to see what/when/how I trade, you can apply to join the Skype Trading Group (details at the end of the Trader Training Course).
What are your hobbies?
Trading, coding and gym – no surprises there. I love the creative aspect of coding (us humans really need to find time to be creative). In the evenings, I relax (whilst still keeping an eye on my emails) and enjoy watching off-the-wall programs like Preacher, Love Death & Robots, Black Mirror; as well as international programmes with English subtitles. At weekends, I usually find some more time for coding when other household chores have been taken care of and, of course, I make sure I have some quality time with my very supportive wife and get to the beach whenever possible.
What car do you drive?
In the UK I had a Tesla Model S – I had two of them; not at the same time of course. I love the tech in those cars and the 'green' factor. I also owned a Triumph Thunderbird - no green factor there though - which came out of the garage on sunny days. In SA, I've had to get an SUV for practical purposes and, due to lack of charging points, have begrudgingly gone back to fossil fuel power.
What football team do you support?
I'm not telling :D
If there is anything else that you’d like to know get in touch and I’ll consider adding it,
Here are some answers to questions that I’ve been asked by traders. They seemed like a good basis for an introduction, so here goes …
Where do you live?
I was born in London, grew up in the Wiltshire and emigrated to South Africa, at the age of 21. Whilst there, I became a South African citizen just so I could vote in the referendum that resulted in the end of apartheid. I returned to England, after a fantastic 15 years, with my South African wife, living in Milton Keynes: the town of many roundabouts and concrete cows – google them if you want a laugh. In October 2020 we returned to SA, to live by the sea and enjoy year-round warm weather.
Are you a full-time trader?
Yes.
How long have you been a trader?
I first discovered the buzz of trading as a teenager in college - where I was studying computer science and economics. One of the big UK banks sponsored an annual competition for trading the stock market and I was captain of a team at my college. With only the newspapers for data - no ready access to computerised share prices in those days - I diligently plotted the price movements of the FTSE100 shares and made my own graphs. From there I was able to make trading decisions and my team eventually came third in the competition. I really got into regular trading when I returned from South Africa - initially doing position trades on equities. The tragic events of 9/11 saw markets crash and, like a fool, I closed all my positions for a massive loss. With the benefit of hindsight, I should have just held out for the inevitable recovery. It took me a little while to regain confidence but got back on the trading horse with CFDs. From there I moved on to trading pretty much everything and anything; spending (wasting) a fortune on courses, mentors, indicators and EAs along the way. Eventually I settled on just trading Forex then added DAX and DOW a good few years ago.
So, a long answer to a short question but to summarise: a very long time; decades.
What are the key things that you learned, from all your years of trading?
Anything can happen! So be prepared for all outcomes.
The most useful things that I use for trading today are what I discovered for myself, by time spent looking at charts; very little has been gained from the money that I’ve wasted on the scammers.
If you’re trading the lower timeframes, just stick to a few instruments on a single platform - I went through a spell of trading futures, equities, forex, indices, commodities on daily, hourly and one-minute timeframes and several different platforms. Needless to say, that was doomed to failure. Now I only really need a couple of instruments on the one-minute timeframe - that’s stress-free trading at its best.
Don’t flip between systems and don’t spend a fortune on the countless scammers in this business. Learn to read price action and use as few indicators as possible.
Only risk money that you would be prepared to burn. I was trading 'scared money' (I couldn't afford to lose) on my first attempt at full-time trading - that will never work.
The rest has probably been covered in my blog posts.
How many hours do you spend trading in a day and what does your typical day as a trader look like?
I’m normally at my computer by around 6am. I take care of any admin first – such as emails – then look at the higher-timeframe charts. I’ll share my analysis on DAX and DOW, and sometimes other instruments, with my friends in the Skype Trading Group and have a couple of cups of coffee before the London Open – when trading really starts. I usually stop trading by around 10am to do some gym (very important for us desk-bound traders) or take care of other things.
Between 2:00 and 2:30pm, I’ll do another higher-timeframe analysis of DAX and DOW, as well as checking for anything on other instruments, and get ready for the fun to begin at NEO – when the New York Stock Exchange opens and the DOW springs to life. I’ll be looking for trades until around 4pm, half hour before London Close, which is a very important time for us traders – there can be some great trades to be had after the close. By around 6pm, I am usually done for the day and had enough of computers. I might look for a trade when the main FOMC comes out and very occasionally will do an evening trade on DOW, particularly if price looks like it’s going to my previously determined target price. If I’m up for it, I’ll check the daily charts around 10pm.
Total actual trading time is usually about 4 hours but I will also be doing other things during that time, like coding, chatting to my Skype friends, answering emails, etc. Having something else to do, when the markets are not doing much, is extremely important; it stops you from trading out of boredom/frustration.
How much money do you make from trading?
I never discuss financials, it’s just not the right thing to do. You wouldn’t ask a stranger how much he earns in his job. I find it rather distasteful when people brag, in a public space, about how many dollars/euros/pounds they made on a trade. I’m happy enough to make 5% profit in a week – occasionally you can do that, and more, on a single trade; some days the trading gods just aren’t on your side and even the best-looking setups don’t work out. I’m not greedy when it comes to trading and don’t have unrealistic expectations.
How much do you risk per trade?
Usually about 1% - that’s perfectly adequate and something that I have no fear of losing. I only keep a small percentage of my available funds in a trading account, in case of disaster, as happened, for example, to Alpari in 2015 with the Swiss franc’s crash; although there are far more protections in place since that happened. I’ve found a ‘sweet spot’ with what I’m prepared to risk and how much I’m looking to earn.
How many trades do you do per day?
5 or 6, is more than enough. Some days more, some days less – all depending on what the price action is like, in a particular session. There are plenty of good setups during the day – I don’t beat myself up if I miss any as another will be just around the corner.
Do you ever meet other traders?
I’ve met some of the UK-based traders from my Skype trading group, which has been great. In the summer of 2019, my wife and I flew to Portugal for a holiday and met a very good trading friend there. I enjoy meeting traders from my Skype group – we spend a lot of time with each other during the day, so it’s always a pleasure to meet in person.
I am often asked to organise a meeting for traders – I will try to get something organised, one of these days.
Why do you sell what you’ve coded and not just live off your trading profits?
Well, to be fair, I give away far more than I sell, such as TheHarmonicIndi and Trader Training Course, which each took many months to produce. I’m happy to give some things away for free, although I’m not sure that many people appreciate the effort that went into them; too many expect every trading resource on the internet to be free – that really annoys me. There has to be an exchange-factor for some products, like eWavesHarmonics and the Advanced Trade Manager. So much of my life has gone into coding those that I think I deserve something back for my efforts, if anyone wants to use the same tools that I use for my trading.
I'm not a fan of bombarding people with marketing hype; nor do I go for 'Black Friday' type deals- that's not fair to people who have just paid the full price for something. I'd prefer new traders found my site through reputation and recommendations and hope that everyone recognises the difference between www.for-exe.com and the scammers.
How long does it take to become a successful trader?
That all depends on the individual and what their definition of success is. If traders can’t make a profit each month with eWavesHarmonics and after doing my course, they really need to do the course again, with full attention and intention; and/or get in touch to see where help is required. The course covers pretty much everything that I know about trading and succinctly presents decades of trading experience - massively reducing the learning curve for new traders.
I am at a loss as to why some traders add squiggly line indicators (clutter) to their charts, after doing the course. I am delighted that many others find the success that they’ve yearned for by just applying what they’ve learned. The most important factors for success reside within the individual; no amount of expenditure will guarantee success in trading: you can’t buy patience and discipline.
You can do my course, with the suggested ‘homework’ and back-testing, in a couple of weeks – so, you could, in theory, be a successful trader after that time, if you adopt the right mental approach and don’t trade with ‘scared money’. In reality, you should allow at least a couple of years to gain the invaluable chart time and experience.
Every day at the charts is another day in the school of trading - we never stop learning.
Do you share your trading results online?
No.
I don't see how an "oooh look what I can do" would be helpful to anyone. If you'd like to see what/when/how I trade, you can apply to join the Skype Trading Group (details at the end of the Trader Training Course).
What are your hobbies?
Trading, coding and gym – no surprises there. I love the creative aspect of coding (us humans really need to find time to be creative). In the evenings, I relax (whilst still keeping an eye on my emails) and enjoy watching off-the-wall programs like Preacher, Love Death & Robots, Black Mirror; as well as international programmes with English subtitles. At weekends, I usually find some more time for coding when other household chores have been taken care of and, of course, I make sure I have some quality time with my very supportive wife and get to the beach whenever possible.
What car do you drive?
In the UK I had a Tesla Model S – I had two of them; not at the same time of course. I love the tech in those cars and the 'green' factor. I also owned a Triumph Thunderbird - no green factor there though - which came out of the garage on sunny days. In SA, I've had to get an SUV for practical purposes and, due to lack of charging points, have begrudgingly gone back to fossil fuel power.
What football team do you support?
I'm not telling :D
If there is anything else that you’d like to know get in touch and I’ll consider adding it,