My name is not important but it’s also not a secret, we’re simply people who value privacy & know that, in the business of trading & Social Media, a name is not important – actions & transparency are. Legacy_Trades is a pseudonym for the CIO of a private Washington, DC based Family Office that actively trades equities, options & futures.
WHAT WE DO & DON’T DO
There are many poseurs in Social Media (we do the “unthinkable” & highlight them – with their own tweets) and, for four years & counting, we’re trying to help you cut through the “noise;”
What we DON’T do or have is; i) a history of problems with the NASD (as noted & available per the NASD-R broker ‘report card’), ii) a need to represent ourselves as someone we’re not (we’re not “Bond traders doubling as douche bags trying to day trade options” for food, doctors, CPAs, lawyers or licensed financial planners), iii) proclaim proficiency in Biotechnology, Drug Development, Bond, Oil or Forex trading (we’ve watched more traders than we can count, “pretending” to be specialists in these fields, blow up) , iv) post in hindsight to look ‘successful,’ (this is the way of the Internet troll – can’t make a living trading – typical Social Media paid service operator) or v) some ‘frail person’ with a need to be popular (this business is ALWAYS about performance > popularity & we don’t give a damn how many “followers” we have).
Trading is a business of risk management, a PnL statement, an audit & driven by motivation to grow wealth, done so on MERIT, not an ‘I want to be funny, blog for a ton of page views & maybe get on TV while I under perform benchmarks & competitors while fleecing / collecting a check from clients or LPs.’ The business of performing as a trader is, most assuredly, NOT for those dedicated to the “How to Win Friends & Influence People” reading ilk.
What we DO is i) trade equity, options & futures with our own money, an 8 figure asset base, providing symbol, thesis, buy or short scale range, risk/stop, target & % AUM dedicated to the trade, ii) provide valuation & fairness opinions as well as Investment Banking type consulting services to select Micro Cap deals, iii) invest in a small number of VC opportunities, iv) spend time serving on public Company Board of Directors, in some cases as Audit Committee Chair & v) view Social Media as a platform to log / document all of our trade actions & in doing so, giving it to you straight; sharing honest & transparent trades that you’d only otherwise see sitting on the desk right beside us. The Twitter has become our electronic trade journal & it’s important for all to realize that a) it’s an elective & for us, b) it’s wildly efficient when compared to our “old school,” long hand “notes in journals.” We hope you find some value in what we share.
BACKGROUND
Following a brief stint as Clinical Psychologist & Teacher in Southern California, Legacy_Trades first taste of Wall Street came in 1996, as a broker at The Boston Group, LP (TBG), an LA based, “boutique Investment Bank,” which was code for penny stock & Micro Cap IPO firm. The “boiler room” mentality & deplorable professional ethics weren’t a fit but the introduction to stock & option trading was. Despite a dubious introduction to it, The Street set it’s hook.
Following a short, year & a half stint at TBG, Legacy served, from 1998 – 2002 as Director of Trading & Analyst at hedge fund & market maker (Mezzanine Capital, Ltd). In 2002, following the tragic events of September 11, 2001, an onshore mirror fund was established, (Trymetris Capital Fund I, LLC), where Legacy served as co-founder & seed investor. Parallel operations were established aside the Fund, including Institutional Brokerage (Monico Capital Partners, LLC) & Investor Relations (The Liquid Group, Inc.), to expand Sales & Trading, Distribution, Market Awareness & Channel Research.
The desire to be closer to friends & family motivated a 2006 move from Southern California to Washington, DC. Leaving Trymetris in the capable hands of co-managers, while maintaining a role as adviser, Legacy co-founded & seeded the private Family Office where he presently serves as CIO. Legacy_Trades is presently spending time in the sunny golf haven of southern South Carolina.
TRADE STYLE – STRATEGIES – FOCUS
- SWING TRADING – Equity & Options (holding period / time horizon typically 1 – 12 months) is the primary focus & largest capital allocation, representing @ 45% – 55% of Assets Under Management (AUM), at the firm. Fundamental analysis (FA) always drives our stock selection with technical analysis (TA) used as a compliment.
- SCALP TRADING – Equity & Options (holding period / time horizon typically 1 day – 3 months) is a secondary focus & receives a moderate capital allocation of 15% – 25% AUM. FA screens are still paramount in our SCALP equity selection, however, TA is the driver for price executions on this shorter time frame.
- SPECIAL SITUATION TRADING – Equity & Options (holding period / time horizon typically 1 – 6 months) often times in under followed, under valued Small & Mid Cap equities, is another secondary focus & typically makes up trades equal to @ 7.5% – 15% of AUM. Fundamental analysis (FA) is the core for stock selection in this asset class with technical analysis (TA) serving as a minor compliment.
- INSIDER PIGGY BACK TRADING – Equity (holding period / time horizon typically 7 days – 3 months) is a proprietary insider trade tracking & scoring strategy that identifies high probability “piggy back trades” alongside notable insider actions. The system flags insider activity with a high statistical & probability skew favoring the trader, done by pairing a success score generated by an acting insider to TA without reference or review of FA. The typical allocation to this asset class is @ 5% – 10% AUM.
- SWING TRADING – Futures (holding period / time horizon typically 1 – 3 months) is a high risk, leveraged component of the firm. Given the risk, the capital allocation is commensurate @ 3% – 5% AUM. A MACRO view rooted in FA shapes the trade plan / thesis & TA over lays are used to trigger order executions.
- SCALP TRADING – Futures (holding period / time horizon typically intraday – 30 days) is a high risk, leveraged component of the firm. Given the risk, the capital allocation is commensurate @ 1% – 2% AUM. News/Data & TA are the sole drivers that trigger trades for this allocation of capital.
SECTOR STRENGTHS & TRADING FOCUS - Whether it be for SWING or SCALP trading, includes Application Software (core competencies; Gaming & Mobile Payments), Independent Oil, Gas & Exploration, Industrial, Manufacturing, Scientific Instruments, Semiconductors, Steel & Trucking.
EDUCATION
- Mercyhurst College – B.A., Psychology
- Pepperdine University – M.A., M.F.C.C., Clinical Psychology