You are an...
Adventurous Trader
As an Adventurous Trader, you have one of the
top three core qualities of successful traders. You
have the ability to be analytical in making decisions.
However, you may not grasp the big picture well or
be orderly in your way of doing things. If you manage
these parts of yourself, you have potential to do very
well in the markets because you have one of the three
core qualities. But your success depends on your
willingness to do a few things.
First, are you willing to take complete responsibility for
your trading results? There is no room to blame the
market, your broker, your education, or anything else.
Second, can you change your thinking so that you
treat your trading as a business? Initially, this means
writing a thorough business plan. Third, could you
develop a trading system that fits you? Most people
want to start here, at the technical side and back end
of trading; however, I recommend saving this until you
have completed the other tasks first. My studies have revealed that your psychological biases
and issues will affect your trading system development if you have not taken the time to work
on yourself first as the core of your trading.
All those things just mentioned are what you can read about in our weekly newsletter. Thank
you for signing up for it. Should you find it less than useful, you can click on the unsubscribe
link at the bottom of the newsletter anytime you desire.
Helping traders become their best is our mission at the Van Tharp Institute and we’ve
helped thousands of traders do that for over 25 years. We offer excellent educational and
training programs designed for both beginning
and advanced traders/investors. If you have
Top Three Core Trader Qualities: questions or would just like more information,
please visit our website at www.vantharp.com.
1. The ability to see the big So let’s get to your report. The next page
picture, new possibilities and describes your trader type based on your answers.
connections between things. Look for what rings true for you and keep in mind
that no individual will match up exactly with a
2. Making decisions based on profile. Next, you’ll discover how to leverage your
logic and analysis. strengths and challenges to become a better
and more profitable trader. And finally, we list the
3. Being decisive, orderly and trader types and their potential for success in the
doing things sequentially. markets.
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Adventurous Trader Type
As a Trader... you are good at determining what makes things work and going through a large
amount of information to find out what is important. This quality will help you immensely as a
trader. You are not easily persuaded by anything that is not based on fact.
SUMMARY Example Trader:
Jimmy Rogers
YOU are a quiet and flexible observer until a problem appears and then you quickly act to find a solution.
You are good at determining what makes things work and going through a large amount of information to
Jimmy Rogers started the
find out what is important. This quality will help you immensely as a trader. You are not easily persuaded by Quantum Fund with George
anything that is not based on fact. However, if your orientation tends to be external, then you are probably Soros, but retired in 1980 after
a big risk taker. You like to plunge into things and just do it. And if it involves risk, you probably are even helping the fund gain 3,365%
more intrigued by it. in ten years.
As a result, if you are taking this test, it’s probably because you’ve already jumped into the markets without Traders like Rogers want
thinking or planning. You’ve taken lots of risk, and you are now wondering why you lost so much money. adventure in their trading; the
And, if this hasn’t happened, feel grateful and take the steps that are necessary to protect yourself now. You result is usually disastrous.
are probably flexible and pragmatic, focusing on immediate results. Theories and conceptual explanations Rogers solved this problem by
tend to bore you because you are a practical realist. As a result, you’ll probably struggle with the things that
making his life an adventure.
are important to trading success.
You are probably very good at following through with things and tying up loose ends, which really helps you
He did a motorcycle trip
as a trader. In addition, you are good at figuring out cause and effect situations and analyzing details into
around the world with
logical principles. However, you may put off making decisions and fail to follow through. his girlfriend in pursuit of
investment information. He
You have a real sense of adventure and you love action. You could easily be into extreme activities like sky then drove around all the
diving, motorcycles, and surfing. However, this could be dangerous to you as a trader because you’ll tend major continents going to
to be obsessive with trading and take unusual risks just for the adventure. As a result, I strongly suggest places in which the mere entry
that you master the art of position sizing before you even attempt to trade or invest. would be considered suicidal
by most people.
While you are good at details, you may have problems seeing the big picture and this could hurt you as a
trader. As a result, you may have trouble grasping what is really going on in the markets as you get trapped To be a great Adventurous
by the minutia of what is happening in individual market positions.
trader, use Rogers as an
example, and not our second
TRADING STRENGTHS TRADING CHALLENGES model, Stu Ungar.
• You’re great at analyzing details to • You might have problems with self- Stu Ungar is the only three
determine what makes things work. analysis, which is critical to eliminating
mistakes in trading.
time winner of the World
• Once you understand how to do it, you Series of Poker (WSOP).
would be great at evaluating what makes • You have a need to be right and you Over his career he is said
a good system. tend to be overconfident, which can be
detrimental to good trading.
to have made over $30
• If someone hands you a system that million. Unfortunately, the
works, you can follow through with it as you • You like adventure and excitement. If you “adventurous type” can also
look for it in the markets, it would be a
love to pull the trigger and execute trades.
disaster.
be quite compulsive, and he
died penniless. It only took
him about 2 months to lose
his winnings from the 1997
WSOP.
102A Commonwealth Ct. Cary, NC USA T 919.466.0043 F 919.466.0408 www.vantharp.com
LEVERAGING YOUR
STRENGTHS AND
ADDRESSING YOUR
CHALLENGES AS AN
ADVENTUROUS TRADER
LEVERAGING YOUR STRENGTHS AND ADDRESSING YOUR CHALLENGES AS AN ADVENTUROUS TRADER
As an Adventurous Trader you like to trade exactly as your name suggests, jumping in for the experience and then
reeling from the effects if things don’t go your way. However, you are good at finding solutions to problems although
you may not want to do what it takes to ensure trading success, simply because you prefer immediate results.
LEVERAGING YOUR STRENGTHS
Strength #1 – Strong Analytical Skills Strength #2 – Strong System Developer Strength #3 – Execute a System Well
You are strong in the analytical capabilities Potential Typically, Adventurous Traders types
area which is highly supportive of great Do you know what a complete love action and in trading they love
trading. However, that’s not all that’s trading system entails? If not, to pull the trigger, to put trades on.
required for trading well. Do you really your trading results would benefit Execution speed can be a great asset,
understand what it takes to succeed greatly by understanding that. As especially when you are in tune with
in the financial markets? The following an Adventurous Trader with your the markets. When you are out of
article might help. Read the Article analytical skills, you can excel at touch with the markets, however, your
“What Is Involved in Peak Performance systems development. Read the love of action can generate a sense
Trading?” Article “What Is a Trading System?” of struggling and get you in trouble
quickly. Learn how you can use your
strength in this area to tell quickly if
you are flowing with the market or
struggling against it. Read the Article
“The Flow of the Markets”
102A Commonwealth Ct. Cary, NC USA T 919.466.0043 F 919.466.0408 www.vantharp.com
As an Adventurous Trader, you like to trade exactly as your name suggests, jumping in
for the experience. You are good at finding solutions to problems although you may not
want to do what it takes to ensure trading success, simply because you prefer immediate
results.
ADDRESSING YOUR CHALLENGES
Challenge #1 – Inability to Self-Analyze
You might have problems with thinking about and understanding how you operate
internally. This is critical to eliminating mistakes in trading, which you will need to do to
keep you in the game. The following article is an introduction to this fundamental area for
successful trading.
Read the Article “Make an Honest Self-Appraisal”
Challenge #2 – Need to be Right
You may feel the need to be right all the time based upon your encyclopedic knowledge.
In trading, thinking you are right once you are in a trade though can lead to big trouble as
the position may get worse even while you think it will work out. I call this the loss trap
and this article describes what it is and how to avoid it.
Read the Article “The Loss Trap”
Challenge #3 – Need for Adventure
You like adventure and excitement, but if you look for it in the markets, it would be a
disaster. You might even show compulsive tendencies. If you bend the rules to force
trades and get action, you’ll get it but that kind of approach to that in the markets will
cause you to blow up at some point.
Take our “Compulsive Trader Test”
Read on for Additional Resources....
102A Commonwealth Ct. Cary, NC USA T 919.466.0043 F 919.466.0408 www.vantharp.com
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
First, if you choose not to become a serious trader, that’s OK. You
are certainly doing lots of interesting things in this world and trading
might just not fit in. One suggestion that may work for you is to find a
financial newsletter with a good track record with a kind of trading you
can understand and believe in. Alternatively, you could find someone you
can trust with your money and let them manage it for you. If you have
someone else manage your money, there are some principles to follow
so that you don’t find yourself dealing with someone like Bernard Madoff.
This article was actually written by a money manager to help people
avoid getting ripped off by unscrupulous advisors and managers. It’s from
the book Panic Proof Investing by Tom Basso. Please keep it for future
reference. Read the Article “How to Evaluate Money Managers”
If you do choose to pursue trading excellence, the Van Tharp Institute has
numerous books, courses, and aids to help Adventurous Traders
become better. As an Adventurous Trader you may experience set
backs due to lack of self analysis which could prohibit you from
eliminating mistakes in
trading. In my book, Trading Beyond the Matrix, you will learn tools and ideas for self analysis that
someone with your temperment will find both interesting and useful. These are not the same old boring
ideas you’ve heard before, but rather imagative and creative exercises to explore your inner-workings!
As an Adventurous Trader, you look for proven approaches. I have provided a lot of tested trading
ideas in my book Super Trader: Make Consistent Profits in Good and Bad Markets. The five sections
of the book delve into the key areas for every trader to focus on for success: working on yourself,
business planning, trading systems, position sizing, and monitoring your psychology. Whether these
terms are familiar or brand new to you, Super Trader’s fifty chapters are all short and each has one
or two actionable ideas to help you improve your trading. There are a lot of fun parts in it you would
probably enjoy.
Most people don’t have a good understanding of how they operate and that’s trouble for any trader.
Because Adventurous Traders are motivated by being correct, it’s paramount that you understand
this aspect of yourself before you can trade well. I highly recommend the Peak Performance Home
Study Course. Adventurous Traders will find value in all five volumes but I’d like to point out two of
them in particular. Volume 1 covers the topic of risk. You tend to invite risk to the point of danger. If
you were able to learn to manage your desire for risk, you will be able to trade successfully for a long
time. Volume 3 on attitudes would also be very valuable for you. As you can find strong motivation
in excitement, it’s important that you understand that your attitudes, values, and feelings play an
important role as well at a deep level. There are numerous exercises that help bring out your hidden
attitudes—ones that might cause behavior and actions you might not understand sometimes. Knowing
yourself, what you believe, and how you’ll react in different situations is critical in trading before you
put money on the line. Learn how to identify, understand, and manage your attitudes and feelings and
trading will be a rewarding experience.
Learn how to use your analytical skills to understand risk and how to put risk to work for you. Along
with Peak Performance Home Study, you can also take Investment Psychology Inventory Profile to
examine in even further detail your strengths and weaknesses.
To view and learn more about our entire line of products, please visit www.vantharp.com/products.asp.
102A Commonwealth Ct. Cary, NC USA T 919.466.0043 F 919.466.0408 www.vantharp.com
LIST OF THARP TRADER TYPES AND THEIR POTENTIAL
FOR SUCCESS IN THE MARKETS
HIGH POTENTIAL FOR MARKET SUCCESS:
Strategic Trader
Planning Trader
GOOD POTENTIAL FOR TRADING SUCCESS WITH SOME WORK:
Detailed Trader
Facilitative Trader
Innovative Trader
Spontaneous Trader
Independent Trader
Administrative Trader
Values Driven Trader
Socially Responsible Trader
Accurate Trader
Adventurous Trader
POTENTIAL FOR TRADING SUCCESS WITH LOTS OF WORK OR
HAVE OTHERS MANAGE THEIR MONEY:
Supportive Trader
Artistic Trader
Fun Loving Trader
102A Commonwealth Ct. Cary, NC USA T 919.466.0043 F 919.466.0408 www.vantharp.com
THANK YOU for taking the Tharp Trader Test, which evaluates psychological tendencies relating
to how you gather, store, comprehend and act upon information and input. After modeling and
studying thousands of traders, I’m able to help you understand a little about yourself with just a few
questions, based on a much lengthier profile that we use to evaluate traders. This test was designed
simply to introduce you to some of the issues that affect your trading.
After all, YOU are the single most important factor in your trading performance but how well do
you understand that? How well do you know yourself, and what kind of internal forces are at work
when you trade? The Tharp Trader Test helps you identify strengths that should help you trade and
challenges that may interfere with your trading. It also helps evaluate your possession of the three
core qualities of top traders:
1. The ability to see the big picture, new possibilities and connections between things.
2. Making decisions based on logic and analysis.
3. Being decisive, orderly and doing things sequentially.
For more information, click on the links in this report or visit our website at www.vantharp.com.
You will start receiving your newsletter sometime in the next month (or sooner). Until then you can find issues (current and for
many years back) on our website under the Newsletter link at the top of the home page.
Also, be sure to read each section of the Tharp Think Concepts if you have not already. These concepts take the mystery out of
trading by helping you understand who you are as a trader, how your personal psychology can work for you instead of against
you, how to think about and manage risk, and how to develop winning trading systems.
Again, thank you very much for taking the Tharp Trader Test and good luck to you.
Sincerely,
Van K. Tharp
Trading Coach
Founder and President,
The Van Tharp Institute
www.vantharp.com
!
What if you have read this report and only some of it or even very little of it seems to apply to you? That’s possible. To make this test
fast to take (and very low cost!), I kept the sampling questions to a minimum; the resulting trader profile is merely a rough estimate of
who you are. If it seems off-base, you could consider taking the test again or simply just be aware that the results in this profile are not
you; they are an extremely simple model of you. In most cases, however, I have found it to be fairly accurate. If a more scientifically
rigorous psychological profile interests you, we offer that on our website in the products section.
102A Commonwealth Ct. Cary, NC USA T 919.466.0043 F 919.466.0408 www.vantharp.com
