Review of TheTradingWife.net

Now that enough time has passed and hindsight analysis becomes 20/20, it's clear that joining Danielle's TheTradingWife.net chatroom had a big impact on my overall swing trading performance, as discussed in my prior two blog posts here and here. 

This is my unsolicited review of her service.

BACKGROUND

I had been a follower of Danielle via @thetradingwife on Twitter for a while and knew she also had a credit spread options service.  So when I started exploring various credit spread services around the end of 2012 and contacted her for more details, I found out she was no longer at that website. 

She said she was planning on starting her own service, so I got on her trial when it opened up.  In hindsight, it was a good serendipitous series of events.

Since launching her service earlier this year, Danielle has been positively mentioned by @the_real_fly on his ibankcoin.com website back in February, as well as profiled in this month's (October) Active Trader magazine.

IT CLICKED FOR ME, BUT...

My belief is that there are no secrets with successful trading.  Everything you need to know is already out there in the public domain.  I believe one of the biggest challenges of successful trading is to "simply" discover what methodology works for you, as well as having the proper mental attitude.

One way to find out is to just keep trying various techniques and/or chatrooms in a methodological fashion until you find something that works -- but before you run out of financial and/or psychological capital.

I had studied many swing trading methods thru the years, so I am very much aware of the many different variations of trading.  However, I had yet to package up a method that I felt comfortable with, which also aligned with my personality and style and produced consistent results. 

After joining TheTradingWife.net and learning her overall process and methodology, I was surprised to learn how well her methodology resonated with me and with my own particular preferences I've picked up along the way.  And after nearly a year, my performance trading her method speaks for itself.  Note that my results are not based on her alerts -- I wanted to learn how to fish, not simply be given it.  As mentioned earlier, my actual results are here and here.

Will it work for you?  I have no idea.  And no one, except for yourself, will know for certain until you give this or any other trading methodology a fair shot.  If the overview below seems interesting to you, then it might be worth investigating.

MORE DETAILS ABOUT THE METHODOLOGY

You can see many blog posts and charts on TheTradingWife's website to give you an example of her swing trading method.  In a very simple nutshell, the swing setups are based on a combination of these criteria:

• Going with the daily 8 ema trend.
• Candlestick patterns such as left-right, belt hold.
• Chart formations such as rounded bottoms, J-hooks, and frying pan bottoms.
• Riding that trend until an appropriate signal appears to exit the trade.
• "Trade small and often"
• Position sizing no more than 10% of portfolio (sometimes half size), and generally, risk per trade much less than 1% of portfolio.
• Importance of staying out of the market during unfavorable conditions.
• Understanding emotional and psychological control when trading.
• For example, she will pass on a trade if she feels "emotions" about a particular stock. The way she explains this as it happens really hits home with me.

THE CHATROOM

This is not your typical chatroom full of emotional chest pumping daytraders shouting out boom at every opportunity.  So if you're looking for that kind of excitement where everyone is hi-fivein' and hootin' and hollerin' after "nailing" a few penny scalp, this is not the place for you.

TheTradingWife's chatroom is a much more relaxed and congenial place for those looking to learn how to trade for bigger % gains on a swing trading timeframe.  There's a good mix of content in the conversations -- heavy on trading obviously, but also open to current affairs, music, humor, etc. during slower periods.  It's like a friendly neighborhood pub.

BENEFITS FROM THE CHATROOM

• First of all, access to Danielle in the chatroom throughout the trading day (and often into the night) regarding any question you may have.
• In addition to live interaction via the chatroom, receiving realtime email alerts on stock entries and exits are great for those not glued to their computers.
• On occasion, she'll launch a video chat so that you can view her charts and comments.
• Great contributions from other members, but especially from the prolific and very knowledgeable "G.G.", who posts relevant and timely comments/charts throughout the day -- from very early morning to often late into the night. 

These days, I'm not around as much to monitor the chatroom in real time, but having a transcript to review is very valuable, especially since Danielle does a great job commenting the reasons why she took (or didn't take) a particular entry or exit.  If you take the time to study this the transcripts, there are usually some solid lessons.

THE BOTTOM LINE

Check out her closed P&L performance on her blog here.  And her open positions are listed on the top of her homepage.  I've watched enough of her trades in real time over many months to know these results are realistic.  She prides herself on transparency.

I'm not sure if many are even aware of the service she offers, since she doesn't really market or hard sell her chatroom -- it's just not her style to boast with tweet after tweet after booking a +30% trade, to join her room.  But maybe she should do just a little more self-promoting so that others could learn and benefit.

So if you're truly interested in working hard to learn how to swing trade based on her successful methods, she is a willing and capable mentor who will take the time to teach you in a congenial and supportive environment.  I'm just one of many who have had the privilege of benefiting from her mentorship.