Option expert and fund manger Kerry Given discusses how he prepares for the trading day and what markets he reviews prior to the start of US trading.
SPEAKER: I'm here with Kerry Given talking about the process of a successful technician or an analyst or a trader. What's your daily process, Kerry?
KERRY: Well, the first thing I do when I get up is check the futures, and I want to see how the trading has gone in Asia the night before, and also at that point in the morning, they've opened the markets in Europe, so I check and see where that is, and that gives me an idea of what is going to happen when the market opens here. Most of my trading is delta-neutral, non-directional trading, and so thereafter throughout the day I'm simply watching to see where the market goes, and if it trips one of my triggers, to adjust my positions.
SPEAKER: How early—I know this sounds like it's a really basic question—but it's fascinating. How early do you get up before the market opens, and are you watching it all throughout the day?
KERRY: Yes, I'm watching it all day long, and I get up about 6 a.m. in Chicago, Central Time, so about two and a half hours before the market opens, and what I'm doing after I basically monitor my non-directional trades and see if I need to adjust something. The other thing I look for is just simply opportunities for small directional trades. It might be an earnings announcement or something that I think would present an opportunity.
SPEAKER: You mentioned you're watching it throughout the day. Are you trading from home? Do you watch this from home? Do you go to the office? What do you do?
KERRY: I have two different offices. One's at home, but we also run a hedge fund, and so that's my formal office that I go to, and so I'm in one of those places all the time.
SPEAKER: Do you try to avoid the 'office' office as much as possible?
KERRY: I do, actually. Mostly when I go there, it's when I have clients coming in.
SPEAKER: That's fascinating information about the process of a very successful options trader. Thank you, Kerry.
KERRY: Thank you.
SPEAKER: You're watching the Money Show video network.
