Introduction
Welcome to Part 3, of my review of the "How to Achieve God Like Trader Status" seminar by Anton Kriel at The Institute of Trading and Portfolio Managment.
If you are not aware the speaker Anton Kriel, is a former professional trader at Goldman Sachs, he established ITPM (Institute of Trading and Portfolio Management) in 2011. ITPM is known as the world's premier education company in the field of Financial Markets Trading and Portfolio Management.
ITPM stands out among other trading education platforms due to its focus on bridging the gap between retail and professional trading. Kriel's vision was to provide retail traders with the tools and resources necessary to compete on a level playing field with institutional traders. Through ITPM, individuals gain access to a comprehensive curriculum that covers various aspects of trading.
Since its inception, ITPM has garnered recognition for its innovative approach to trader education. The institute's success can be attributed not only to Kriel's expertise but also to his commitment to continuously adapt and refine the curriculum based on market trends and feedback from students. This dedication ensures that ITPM remains at the forefront of trading education, providing its members with the most relevant and up-to-date knowledge.
Much like this seminar “How to Acheive God Like Trader Status” Anton Kriel is again creating and making available infromation that is not readily available to retail traders.
Within Part 3 of this review of the “How to Acheive God Like Trader Status we will go over:
Market direction shouldn't impact your ability to make returns
Chaotic Retail trader mistakes; and
How to Achieve God Like Trader Status.
How to Achieve Gold Like Trader Status?
1. Make Money Consistently
The main point of the seminar is for students to understand how professional traders operate and the structures, trade ideas and manner in which they do this. The trade examples presented within the semiar being a hedge, pain trade, tail risk trade are perfect examples of how massive risk reward scenarios can be implemented into ones Long Short Porftolio. However there are also some other factors that need to be considered to Achieve God Like Trader Status. Anton Says:
So overall you know obviously trade ideas are important, structuring is important, preemptive and reactive risk management is important. Okay but you got to think about like how you make your money… when you're a Trader …. we want to become top of this game right all the time we want to get to the top and stay at the top. So how you make your money is very important it's not just good enough to make money in aggregate.. it's how you make your money that's important as well.
Your job is to make as much money as possible all the time and be consistent. Where do we get that? in the US Stock Market. It's got the largest opportunity set and the best consistent volatility out of all the asset classes and actually in our video series the IPLT (Introduction to Professional Level Trading) video series we prove it! We show you the areas that you need to concentrate on to get consistent returns.
You need to make money efficiently again how you make money is important! You can't be sloppy. You can't be messy. You have to be tight. You have to make money efficiently.
Being consistently profitable is the absolute goal of retail traders. Obviously this is hard for many reasons. However the main premise is that 90/90/90 rule of retail traders still holds true to this day. Getting a proper trading education, implementing the teachings and being consistent are the main concepts that Anton is trying to reiterate.
Market Direction shouldn’t impact your ability to make Returns
Anton Further explains:
You've got to be consistently profitable you can't be lumpy where you make money one year lose money the next year making money in a period of two months …lose money for five months …you've got to make money consistently to achieve that Godlike Trader status you’ve got to have the ability to make money in up and down markets and by the way also sideways markets.
We know this to be true… the vast majority of retail Traders lose money. You can't make money once in a while and then overall lose and you can't just make money in Bull markets. You've got to make money in bear markets and sideways markets okay you got to concentrate on making consistent absolute returns regardless of Market Direction.
2.Make Money Efficiently (RAR)
The second key to acheive god like trader status within the seminar is by making money efficiently through Risk Adjusted Returns. Within this section Anton is explaining how ITPM students are instructed to set up long short portfolios and how these are then leveraged with Option structures to achieve risk adjusted returns.
Risk Adjusted Returns
Anton Explains:
Okay of course making as much money as possible takes precedent but it has to be controlled. How do you get those absolute returns?
Your risk adjusted returns are obviously very important okay so when we look at sharp ratio and we're using options taking a 20% risk to make a 60 to 80% return that's a sharp ratio of 3 to 4. Okay so you make three to four times the amount that you're risking! If you trade options you're leveraging up that 20% with volatility and you're going to land (*make money) . As long as your trade ideas are good, you're going to land somewhere between 50 to 100% . If you do what we do on smaller account sizes!
What do we mean by that ? 25 grand, 50 Grand, 100 grand, 250, half a million?
Anything under $2 million is a small account. you thought a small account was 5 grand? No, under $2 million is a small account.
Portfolio Volatility & Leverage Through Options
Then Anton goes onto explain how you can leverage your portfolio volatility with options strucutres to achieve risk adjusted returns.
I have clipped this area for you as its one of the most important parts of the seminar:
So if you're taking typically underlying portfolio volatility (if you're forgetting about the options) and you just look at that stock portfolio right you say I've got 5x Longs & 5x shorts and through correlation you're looking at the an annualized portfolio volatility of…that portfolio …. 20 to 25% is about right.
You don't want to be taking too little risk but you don't want to be taking too much. And Then you overlay that using options. So instead of having long stock positions and short stock positions you have long calls and long puts and you stagger your expiries. What do we mean by that? this is preemptive risk management okay you can't have too many options expiring in one month. It's expiring risk. too much risk where you've got too many options expiring in one month. Okay if there's too many of them out the money you're going to take a big hit.
So we leverage that up because if we've only got a 25% portfolio volatility on our underlying stock portfolio if we didn't trade options. what's our expected return?
we shouldn't expect to make more than 25%. But if we're amazing Traders and during the year we sell everything near the high and buy everything near the low then we can make more than 25% but we shouldn't expect it. So we can make probably 25 to 35% but again it should not be expected. If we leverage it up with options 50 to 100% you should land somewhere between there.
If you get a tail risk trade like Credit Swiss (Tail Risk Trade - explained in Part 2 of this seriees) on top of that boom ‘God like Trader status’.
If you you get a CVNA (Pain Trade - explained in Part 2 of this series) on top of that ‘Godlike Trader status’.
It is clear that the primary goal is to make as much money as possible, but with an emphasis on control. Anton is advocating for a balanced approach that considers risk management. The focus is on risk-adjusted returns, indicating a consideration of the level of risk taken within a traders long short portfolio. Then leveraging that risk with options structures for potentially higher returns relative to the risk taken. The Education here is critical to understand and once a trader realises the potentail with the ITPM structured process then their risk managment and opportunity set open up dramatically.
3. Utilising a Systematic Process
Consistent Input = Consistent output.
Here Anton describes the faults that retail traders have and how these faults cause them to have chaos in there brokerage accounts
Chaotic Retail Traders Mistakes & Why You have to have a Systematic Process.
To get to this Godlike Trader status level you've got to utilize a systematic process. You can't be chaotic. You know one of the things that retail Traders are really guilty of is that they have no process that's repeatable. A high quality process that's repeatable that gets them results, on a consistent basis. It's very straightforward if you have a consistent input that's high quality what are you going to get out? Consistent output that's high quality, That means making a lot of money!
Yolo Trades & Copy Trading Forums
Some examples of the things that Anton is describing here are all the things that you hear through social media, circle of friends etc. These are headline stories making the rounds that make you feel like “you need to get in now while you still can” type of narrative.
Anton explains:
Retail Traders are chaotic they're guilty of not having a high quality systematic process. What do we mean by chaotic.
What's a what's a chaotic retail Trader doing in the last few years?
Yolo trading! Where did they go to YOLO trade?
Chat forums, Wall Street bets.
Who's on the other side?
Who does it benefit to have millions of retail Traders on Wall Street bets all losing money?
Hedge funds! they are the plumbing in the options market for Retail and the Brokers. Okay so they encourage it, of course they do!
That's chaotic retail trading.
What else is chaotic where do they where do they get their trade ideas from?
Do they sit do they sit down in their office and work for three hours and find their own trade ideas themselves? No! Talking Heads in media give them trade trade ideas, paid advertising on Bloomberg CNBC where they do long form interviews but the who's selling the next crypto coin is being interviewed he's paying them 100 grand for the interview! It's advertising. You get sucked into doing these stupid things right because they know your pain points.
You're short on time, You're short on intellect of how things work in financial markets and you want to make as much money as possible quickly.
All retail traders are guilty of it and especially when a trend occurs like the wall street bets example. It is hard for people to control their emotions and irrational fear of missing out.
Holding the Bag.
It is common for retail traders to get confused between trading and investing. Anton Explains:
Look at those charts I showed you earlier right our job is to make money in those little areas. 20 to 60-day time Horizon make big money in the 20 to 60 day time Horizon.
Retail Traders think trading is investing (no it's not). So they go into something “thinking oh yeah this is a good stock, good company, I'm going to buy it” and they don't even know what their time Horizon is. Let's say they go and think “I'm going to buy this stock for earnings” and they get it wrong and it goes against them by 10% what are they doing next? “Well it's a good company so I'm just going to hold it, it'll come back at some point”. One year later it's down another 30 40%. “Well it's a good company it'll come back at some point, I'll buy some more and stick it in my pension”. Then it goes down another 50% . “Yeah it's not such a good company but I can't sell it now so I'll just keep it in my pension, maybe it'll come back one day”. That's chaotic process.
We don't do that! Professional Traders do not engage in these activities. So just think of how ridiculous it is to think to yourself “what I'm doing now” in any of those scenarios “surely this is what professional Traders do”. No we don't, we run away from any of that behavior!
So consistent input, consistent output process! You got to have a process for generating high quality trade ideas on repeat, rooted in fundamentals, with technical analysis and price action in the minority okay that's just for timing.
The Institute of Trading and Portfolio Managment is about teaching students about a structured professional approach to retail trading. The typical mistakes made by retail traders are often enividable, however straying from the beaten track doesnt mean you should stay there. Commit to improving your trading education and making a conscious effort to get better.
Trade Structures
Trade structures are the lifeblood of a traders ideas. A trade structure is the way that ITPM teaches its students to execute their ideas. They allow us to control risks, diversify our portfolio and enable us to be agnostic. Anton explains the reason why below:
We replace just owning stock and shorting stock with trade structures, that give us massive ROI and allow us to be agnostic. So we can sit back and just relax we have these ratio trades where we say “okay if it moves now I make money, if it moves later I make money, if it goes against me and I get it completely wrong I lose a small amount of money”.
That's how you want to be sitting in every position completely relaxed knowing what you're going to do from the outset okay you know all the outcomes of every trade at every price it's going to trade at every moment
So if you know that how can you ever Panic..if you know it up front you… you literally can't… you will never Panic if you know what you're doing.
We were having these conversations…. about what people were doing during covid and you can see in like March April 2020 the panic and the craziness going on in financial markets.
Risk management & Trade Structures
The normal bread and butter Long Short Portfolio is a manner in which a retail trader can implement risk managment and diversification into there trading. The addition of pain trades, tail risk trades and hedges are implemented along side of your Long Short Portfolio to assist with absolute returns as well apreventative/reactive risk managment techniques.
So the structures that you've seen…. actually there's an overlap between the trade structures and risk management. The structures that you've seen so far today that is really part of preventative risk management. Another part of that is diversification. So not having one or two positions and doing yolo trades. You're putting less than 10% of your money in a position.
When we're doing mentoring programs we start guys off with a net spend of 6 to 7% in each position so they're totally relaxed they know that if goes wrong they can't lose more than 7% in their portfolio but if they win they're making 20, 30, 40 % on a position.
Reactive risk management, that can't be taught in a video series. It can only be taught in a mentoring program so when something moves and you have a position whether it's against you or in your favor how you're going to deal with the position. What's your next action that you're going to take. How to limit losses and then this overlaps into the next one which is managing your business properly, you've got to go for certain statistics which make you an efficient really good Godlike Trader.
4. Managing the Business Appropriately
The next section of the seminar Anton clearly explains to the room that in order to achieve God Like Trader Status you need to achieve what is known as the efficientcy frontier of ITPM. These are the benchmarks that you should be looking to achieve in your stats as you trade.
You've got to manage the business to make sure you get those stats. So we're targeting 50 to 100% return, usually on 20 to 25% underlying volatility. Leveraging up with options which means we're going to land somewhere in that 50 to 100% gate. Of course we can make more because if we get a credit Swiss or a carvana we get the Godlike numbers. Win loss rate 60/40 if you can 65/35 R score which is the ratio of the dollars that you make on your winners divided by the dollars that you lose on your losers minimum 1.5 .
You obviously want to be making more money on your winners than you lose on your losers consistently okay that makes you efficient yeah sharp ratio minimum of three if we're trading options. Average days in a trade we're looking at the 20 to 60-day time Horizon but 20 to 25 days as an average why because we're going to have lots of credits that are one month out and there's 20 to 21 days in a trading month so if we get a credit quickly it brings down the average right so 20 to 25 days is about the right number.
From a first timer coming in and reading this information it could be quite daunting to understand what Anton is trying to say. However, with concsious competence coming from the teachings of ITPM this information becomes clearer. Bascially Anton is giving guidance on what students should be aiming to achieve in order to be consistently profitable.
ITPM Student Example - Gunter
ITPM proudly presents engaging online webinars that unveil the path to success through the firsthand experiences of students who have thrived with the ITPM teachings and mentoring. Other Retail Traders can gain valuable insights as these webinars provide a unique perspective on trading success from the students themselves, offering an informative journey into their trading achievements.
Anton goes over one of these presentations which is on youtube Meet Gunter & Phil:
"Lets look at some examples of real guys in itpm now. This is Gunter you might have seen this guy, I mentored him last year, he was on the Thailand program. Gunter got very good returns over his mentoring program. So he started with.. 100 Grand. Over his mentor program he booked 280K of winners 200K of losers and 80K profit (Net 76). So 60/40 win loss rate bang on there. Because he's booking 54 winners, 36 losers, 90 trades so he takes his equity from 100 to 177K after commissions. So he gets like an 80% return pretty amazing right."
"Would you say that's Godlike Traders status well it's pretty good for the time period that he was doing it's amazing and he's learning during that time. So you got to remember these guys are coming in and they don't know in the beginning. They do their online programs and then they do a mentoring program okay so that progression over a six-month period is insanely good for a retail trader right, but is it Godlike Trader status? not yet!
Statistical Significance to obtain God Like Trader Status
Anton is adamant that students need to complete at least 150 trades over a year to reconise if they have been successful implemented in the teachings from ITPM
"So we need statistical significance he's only done 90 trades so what do we consider statistical significance it would be a year of trading and at least 150 trades so it's too early to tell with this guy if he's a god yet!"
The Key statistics that students are aiming for are the following:
Each of these might seem daunting, yet they are achieveable with a systematic process. It is obviously key that a good education and mentoring programme will assist students acheive these stats.
Getting A Good Education
Anton then explains that in order to be competence and efficient in financial markets its important for retail traders to get a proper education and meet a efficientcy frontier of stats to be able to obtain god like trader status.
"So how do we get this Godlike Trader status well you got to get the right information obviously you've got to start off with a good education and good process but you’ve got to implement and you have got to be consistent okay."
"If you're going to do this properly it needs to be done to like a professional standard. So these key statistics absolute return 50 to 100% plus, but you've got to have those trades those types of trades in your portfolio the Godlike trades, the hedges at the right times. The tail risk trades that you find, the pain trades to get max results and be on the other side of the pain, you get these big returns in your portfolio on top of the regular monthly bread and butter returns."
"That's how you get over 100% win loss rate at least 60/40 R score minimum 1.5 sharp ratio of trading options minimum three and you'll probably have an average days in a trade 20 to 25 trade ideas rooted in fundamentals with technical analysis and price action, efficient ROI from your trade structures like you've seen , very very good standard of preventative risk management and reactive risk management. You got to be very disciplined and stick to those disciplines don't deviate from the path."
Common ITPM student mistakes
"It's interesting to observe that numerous students pass through ITPM. The critical juncture where things tend to go awry is when people deviate from the path we teach them. This deviation marks a departure from proper process implementation, as individuals begin to engage in practices they used to follow or get influenced by media-driven activities"
"When students stray from the instructed path, issues arise, prompting us to advise them to revert and realign with our teachings. It's essential to cease any activities causing the deviation and focus on managing the business appropriately. Key statistics must be diligently handled to ensure optimal position management and to achieve the desired outcomes"
"In the context of options trading, particularly approaching the options expiry on the third Friday of each month, strategic planning becomes paramount. Planning for this expiry should commence weeks in advance. During the week of options expiration, the primary objective is to secure profits. The non-negotiable aspect is avoiding losses—precisely why managing positions and the overall business becomes imperative. In essence, you are not permitted to incur losses; the emphasis is on prudent management to ensure positive outcomes"
Speaking from my own experiences, I am definetly guilty of going off the path. Trading in and out, not following a proper structure. During these periods I am inconsistent and patchy at best. It vital that all retail traders understand that this is not a stop and go type of system it requires diligence and effort in order to obtain the rewards.
How to Get a Proper Trading Education
"So where do we get this education? Well hello welcome to the Institute of trading and portfolio management it's all there for you. If you want to do an introductory program – the IPLT video series, it is very digestible, 10 videos you can do it in less than a week. The professional trading masterclass (PTM) and the professional options trading masterclass (POTM) if you do all of those three you're very very well set on your way combined that's going to take you three months even with a full-time job".
I definetly agree with this statement, I have had students purchase the IPLT video series through my discount links and they have done the IPLT course in a quick turn around. I myself did the IPLT in just over a week.
Best way to go through ITPM’S Courses
Anton explains the best way to go through the courses at ITPM is at a fast pace, and then slowly going back over them to digest the content in a bit more in depth.
The best way to digest these programs is to watch them all through first as if you're binge watching a Netflix series and then go back and go through slower. Do the spreadsheet work and the modeling at about 20% of the pace that you did binge watching and then just make sure you make progress, don't get stuck!
Anton believes one of the biggest issues with students is the lack of progress they make once they purchase the course:
You know we get a lot of guys come into ITPM and they for example do one program in 2018, their next program in 2020, their next program in 2022 and then come to us in 2023 and say we can do should we do a mentoring program. now that's fine if your circumstances are you don't really have the money and you have to save up to do things, you should do that. if you have to save up to do things right . But if you got the money don't wait 5 years you can make significant money in 60 days if you just do a mentoring program. You've seen it here. If you come on the Thailand program $100,000 in your account I will teach you directly we'll make serious money so supervision and mentoring programs what are we doing really it's it's advanced stuff because when you're supervised you can do things that you wouldn't normally do if you were out there on your own even if you did the online programs.
Retail Traders have to make a Choice to do this properly
"So statistical significance that we touched on how you acheive the Godlike Trader status. You've got to get your Equity curve going up all the time. So you've got to commit to this, this isn't “I'm coming to ITPM, I'll try to make money in June, I'll disappear for six months and then I'll try and make money next year”. If you want to do this you've got to do it properly. In one year you can achieve a really high level of status.
"You have to commit to it and you have to get it done, it's a job that you just have to get done. There's no substitute to learning how to do this yourself and even if you don't do it yourself but you have the right education and you give your money to other people to invest on your behalf at least you can call them out every month and say what the hell is this because you know what you're doing"
"There's no substitute to knowing how to do it, so we set the bar High we don't lower it and tell you what you want to hear. We keep the bar high at the professional level and say you have to come to our standard and if you can't that's fine at least you tried it right. You have to get up to our standard"
Prioritising Trading
Everyone's got choices obviously in life to make most people what what's trading on their list of priorities it's way down okay but that's why people take shortcuts the first thing you need to do is raise it up the priority list.
1. what's number one priority for everybody probably family
2. what's number two career
3. what's number three maybe hobbies and interests where's
Trading trading needs to be above hobbies and interests it's not a hobby. It's not an interest you're not playing a game here you have to make money okay it's got to be right up there with family .
If you're winning all the time in trading, probably your home life is going to be good if your home life is good you're probably going to be winning and trading if you one of those up the other one gets up. too so but overall just get it up the priority list.
Conclusion
The "How to Achieve God-Like Status" seminar is genuinely enlightening. Whether you're a novice retail trader, someone who's been associated with ITPM for an extended period, or an alumni student, this seminar offers substantial value. Anton Kriel, the presenter, is undeniably authentic. He is not a fraudulent educator; the educational program has a longstanding history of over a decade. Numerous students, including myself, have successfully completed the entire process, attaining remarkable outcomes.
The choice to complete this process and be consistent to its teachings is ultimately up to you.
Discounted ITPM Courses
Embark on a journey to financial mastery with the Institute of Trading and Portfolio Management (ITPM). Join the exclusive Society Discord channel led by Anton Kriel, where transformative trades and advanced strategies are unveiled. ITPM offers unparalleled education, mentorship, and real-world insights, empowering you to become a successful, God-like trader.
Enroll now to unlock the secrets of consistent profitability and join a community dedicated to mastering the art of trading. For exclusive discounts on each course, Head to www.theinstitutetrader.com and seize a limited-time offer of 50% off. Your path to a professional trading education starts with ITPM—where knowledge meets opportunity!
Frequently Asked Questions
What is "God Like Trader Status"?
"God Like Trader Status" refers to a term used in the trading community to describe an exceptional level of skill and success in trading financial markets. Traders with this status are often regarded as highly knowledgeable, consistently profitable, and possessing a deep understanding of market dynamics.
Who is Anton Kriel?
Anton Kriel is a renowned trader and educator known for his expertise in the financial markets. With years of experience, he has gained recognition for his successful trading strategies and ability to teach others how to become proficient traders.
What can I find on Anton Kriel's resume?
Anton Kriel's resume showcases his extensive background in trading and education. It includes details about his professional experience, achievements, qualifications, and any notable contributions he has made to the industry. This information provides valuable insights into his expertise and credibility as a trader.
What is ITPM Society Discord Trades?
ITPM Society Discord Trades refers to a platform offered by the Institute of Trading and Portfolio Management (ITPM) where traders can share their trade ideas, discuss market analysis, and collaborate with other members. It serves as a community-driven space for traders to exchange knowledge and insights related to trading strategies.