The first trading psychology book to focus on stress management for traders, author Ari Kiev explains how stress causes traders to make poor decisions, and he describes a variety of methods traders can use to handle destructive emotions and out-of-control feelings. A practicing psychiatrist who works extensively with traders, Kiev describes a variety of traders and shows how stress robs them of their ability to perform at their best. Kiev emphasizes that traders experience and react to stress in different ways. He uses a number of examples drawn from real, hedge fund traders, including a previously successful trader who suddenly lost his touch following 9/11; a trader who abandoned risk control techniques in pursuit of an unrealistically high profit goal; a trader who consistently sabotaged himself after every period of success; and a trader who limited his success because of an unwillingness to challenge himself. Kiev points out that the stressors for all of these traders were different. Accordingly, he asserts that aspiring traders need to identify their own particular stressors and learn to deal with them in order to succeed. Stress cannot be eliminated. Traders need to differentiate between healthy stress that can be used to keep them alert to changing market conditions and unhealthy stress that causes them to make bad decisions. He describes a variety of conventional techniques to handle stress, including exercise, breathing exercises, and creating a balanced life. But most importantly, traders need to commit to a vision of themselves and their goals and learn to experience stress without losing their ultimate focus.
Book Details:
- Author: Ari Kiev
- ISBN: 9780470181683
- Year Published: 2008
- Pages: 224
- BISAC: BUS036000, BUSINESS & ECONOMICS/Investments & Securities / General
About the Book and Topic:
The first trading psychology book to focus on stress management for traders, author Ari Kiev explains how stress causes traders to make poor decisions, and he describes a variety of methods traders can use to handle destructive emotions and out-of-control feelings. A practicing psychiatrist who works extensively with traders, Kiev describes a variety of traders and shows how stress robs them of their ability to perform at their best. Kiev emphasizes that traders experience and react to stress in different ways. He uses a number of examples drawn from real, hedge fund traders, including a previously successful trader who suddenly lost his touch following 9/11; a trader who abandoned risk control techniques in pursuit of an unrealistically high profit goal; a trader who consistently sabotaged himself after every period of success; and a trader who limited his success because of an unwillingness to challenge himself. Kiev points out that the stressors for all of these traders were different. Accordingly, he asserts that aspiring traders need to identify their own particular stressors and learn to deal with them in order to succeed. Stress cannot be eliminated. Traders need to differentiate between healthy stress that can be used to keep them alert to changing market conditions and unhealthy stress that causes them to make bad decisions. He describes a variety of conventional techniques to handle stress, including exercise, breathing exercises, and creating a balanced life. But most importantly, traders need to commit to a vision of themselves and their goals and learn to experience stress without losing their ultimate focus.
Active trading of the markets is extremely stressful and oftentimes traders even those with years of experience make irrational decisions as a result of stress and thus fail to achieve their potential as traders. Many traders become over-confident following a series of successful trades and begin taking foolish and reckless risks. Other traders become paralyzed by failure and are unable to follow their system. Still other traders are prone to following the opinions of others and end up dismissing their own convictions. To some degree, all traders fall victim to one or more these traps and the education of any trader involves understanding and overcoming these negative propensities.
The author is well-known and highly respected in the professional trading community. He works extensively with SAC Capital, one of the largest hedge funds in the world. The author will hire a publicist to promote the book. On prior books, the publicist generated coverage on a number of print and online trading sites, international publications, and appearances on CNBC. Because all traders face stress and performance issues, the book will appeal to a broad cross-section of professional and active individual traders. The book deals with topics faced by professional traders responsible for large client portfolios. Well-written books on trading psychology generally sell well.
About the Author
Ari Kiev (New York, NY) is a psychiatrist who specializes in stress management and performance enhancement. Kiev has had a distinguished career in psychiatry. He is president of the Social Psychiatry Research Institute and is recognized worldwide for his pioneering work in transcultural psychiatry, suicidology, and psychopharmacology. Kiev has counseled Olympic athletes on how to achieve states of peak performance in athletic competition. In recent years, Kiev has worked with many traders on issues of stress management, goal setting, and performance enhancement. He has worked extensively with Steve Cohens multi-billion dollar SAC Capital Advisors. Kiev has his own Web site: www.arikiev.com.