Carley Garner is an experienced commodity broker with DeCarley Trading in Las Vegas where she has authored several futures and options trading books and is a frequent contributor to Jim Cramer’s Mad Money on CNBC.
Best Choice Software recently checked in with Carley to get her trading insight. Here’s what she shared:
Can you talk about your background and interest in trading?
My original intention was to be a stock broker or financial advisor, but with ETFs emerging and failure for me to see value in high-load mutual funds, I felt like I wanted to go in another direction. I opted for the road less traveled, and I’m grateful I was willing to take the plunge. I jumped into the commodity futures and options industry with both feet in 2004 after graduating from college and never looked back.
The commodity markets are exciting, but they are also treacherous. This is particularly true for those who fail to prepare for the volatility or have a tendency to abuse leverage. Accordingly, I’ve made it a point to provide a plethora of educational material for traders aimed at encouraging them to reduce leverage and risk as a means of increasing the odds of success in trading.
What are the most important lessons you’ve learned during your time as a trader?
There are no shortages of valuable lessons taught by the markets, but the most valuable lesson I’ve learned is that it is better to be on the sidelines wishing I was in the market than in the market wishing I was on the sidelines. In short, it is far less painful to miss a trade than it is to enter a market prematurely. In order to keep destructive emotions at bay, it is imperative to remain patient.
