About
Larry Levin
Larry Levin is the Founder & President of Secrets of Traders® a commodity educational firm dedicated to helping traders succeed in the futures markets.
Levin trades the S&P 500 at the Chicago Board of Trade, now known as The CME Group; the world's largest and most diverse financial exchange. Larry has been trading his own account or company's proprietary accounts since 1993, trading an average of 2500-3000 E-mini S&P contracts a day.
Larry Levin has been in and around the S&P 500 futures pit at the CME for almost 20 years, where he started as a runner for Lind-Waldock. He quickly moved up through the ranks from runner to phone clerk to desk manager of the S&P desk.
Levin began trading his own account in 1994.
In 1998 he formed Trading Advantage, a publishing company enabling him to distribute his self-authored trading course, The Secrets of Floor Traders. In 2000 he sold the rights to the course Secrets of Floor Traders to Secrets of Traders, LLC to market the products on his behalf. This transaction has allowed him to trade full-time for a living while continuing to distribute his message.
Levin recently developed his newest trading course; The Secrets of an Electronic Futures Trader. This Program is designed to give the electronic futures trader the competitive edge needed to succeed in the markets today.
He is a trusted source of information and appears regularly on CNBC, Fox Business News and other major media outlets.
Larry Levin's lifelong vision is to teach people how to trade the right way.
Larry Levin's Story to Trading Success
Before I began my trading career, I did what most people do when they graduate high school; go to college.
I figured I owed it to my parents to give college a try, but instead of going to class, I decided it was much more exciting to go to the Chicago Cubs games at Wrigley Field.
It didn't take too long for my parents to figure out I wasn't going to class, and they decided it was ultimatum time. I had three choices:
Luckily a few of my friends were working at a 'financial exchange'; The Chicago Mercantile Exchange; where futures contracts (also known as commodities) are traded.
Back in the late 80's the trading floors in Chicago were bustling with activity! The futures markets were the place to be if you wanted action in the investing world. And the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (the CME) had the S&P 500 futures contract, the busiest stock index contract in the world at the time.
I was lucky enough to get a job as a runner with one of the biggest firms on the trading floor back then; Lind-Waldock. The pay was $3.35 an hour (minimum wage at the time). My job was simply to bring futures orders; pork bellies, Swiss Francs, T-Bills, etc.
I didn't really understand what was going on around me when I first started, but I learned fast.
As my career continued at the CME, I was promoted to Trading Floor Manager. As Floor Manager, I was in charge of all the employees for Lind-Waldock within the S&P 500 futures pit. That was when I realized something was missing.
As a manger on the floor, I talked to customers all over the world. And they always wanted to know the same thing; What are the floor traders doing now? Do they have long positions or short positions? Are they big positions or small positions?
Who could blame them? Floor traders were always making the most money and everyone wanted to duplicate their trading results. Keep in mind; this was almost 20 years ago before we had electronic trading in the futures markets!
The next year I quit my job at Lind-Waldock to become a full time floor trader. I felt I was ready; I had been working at the exchange for about 3 years and had learned a lot.
Wow, was I in for some tough lessons!
Like the majority of beginning traders out there, I thought trading would be a breeze. I'm a smart guy, and I figured if others could do it, I'm sure it would be no problem for me either!
Unfortunately my friends, trading doesn't work like that. There is no business in the world that can humble a man like trading the futures markets. In fact, I busted out (or in other words lost all the money in my account) four separate times. But over time, I figured out what it takes to be successful trader and it's not what most people think.
To be a successful trader you need to learn in a very specific manner if you want to have any chance for success. If you deviate from this approach, your chances to become successful in the trading world are almost nonexistent. This is really the key to financial success in the trading game.
When my customers were calling to ask what the floor traders were doing, they weren't really asking if the floor traders had a long or short position in the market. They were truly asking how the floor traders knew whether to be long or short. They were looking for clues on how to know where the market was going.
That's when it dawned on me; most people don't have a clue as to what the floor traders or professional traders know and how they know it. The solution can be found in how you look at trading, not in some magical indicator or method. That is the key difference. Professional floor traders (and now many professional electronic traders) look at the market in a completely different way than most other traders.
It was then I realized I could solve a lot of problems that many struggling traders have. I could teach them to look at the market the way I was taught as a beginning trader. Most people will never have access to the professional traders at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, and that is why they may never learn the real secrets to trading success. Until now.
I was lucky enough to be in an environment (the trading floor at the CME) where those trading secrets are readily available. Now, I can finally give back to others what I learned that led to my trading success.
I've was given the tools necessary to make a fortune in the markets and have a lot of fun doing it. How can I not share my successful methods so others (like you) can do it too? I certainly have nothing to hide, in fact, just the opposite; I have an abundance of knowledge to share!
Thanks & good trading to you.
Larry Levin
President, CEO
Secrets of Traders, LLC ®
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DISCLAIMER
The risk of loss in trading commodity futures contracts can be substantial. You should, therefore, carefully consider whether such trading is suitable for you in light of your circumstances and financial resources. You should be aware of the following points:
(1) You may sustain a total loss of the funds that you deposit with your broker to establish or maintain a position in the commodity futures market, and you may incur losses beyond these amounts. If the market moves against your position, you may be called upon by your broker to deposit a substantial amount of additional margin funds, on short notice, in order to maintain your position. If you do not provide the required funds within the time required by your broker, your position may be liquidated at a loss, and you will be liable for any resulting deficit in your account.
(2) Under certain market conditions, you may find it difficult or impossible to liquidate a position. This can occur, for example, when the market reaches a daily price fluctuation limit ("limit move").
(3) Placing contingent orders, such as "stop-loss" or "stop-limit" orders, will not necessarily limit your losses to the intended amounts, since market conditions on the exchange where the order is placed may make it impossible to execute such orders.
(4) All futures positions involve risk, and a "spread" position may not be less risky than an outright "long" or "short" position.
(5) The high degree of leverage (gearing) that is often obtainable in futures trading because of the small margin requirements can work against you as well as for you. Leverage (gearing) can lead to large losses as well as gains.
(6) You should consult your broker concerning the nature of the protections available to safeguard funds or property deposited for your account.
All Of the points noted above apply to all futures trading whether foreign or domestic. In addition, if you are contemplating trading foreign futures or options contracts, you should be aware of the following additional risks:
(7) Foreign futures transactions involve executing and clearing trades on a foreign exchange. This is the case even if the foreign exchange is formally "linked" to a domestic exchange, whereby a trade executed on one exchange liquidates or establishes a position on the other exchange. No domestic organization regulates the activities of a foreign exchange, including the execution, delivery, and clearing of transactions on such an exchange, and no domestic regulator has the power to compel enforcement of the rules of the foreign exchange or the laws of the foreign country. Moreover, such laws or regulations will vary depending on the foreign country in which the transaction occurs. For these reasons, customers who trade on foreign exchanges may not be afforded certain of the protections which apply to domestic transactions, including the right to use domestic alternative dispute resolution procedures. In particular, funds received from customers to margin foreign futures transactions may not be provided the same protections as funds received to margin futures transactions on domestic exchanges. Before you trade, you should familiarize yourself with the foreign rules which will apply to your particular transaction.
(8) Finally, you should be aware that the price of any foreign futures or option contract and, therefore, the potential profit and loss resulting therefrom, may be affected by any fluctuation in the foreign exchange rate between the time the order is placed and the foreign futures contract is liquidated or the foreign option contract is liquidated or exercised.
This brief statement cannot, of course, disclose all the risks and other aspects of the commodity markets.