Relocating to Swansea from Leeds was in some respects made easier for James. He joined OSTC in September 2012 with a fellow student from Loughborough University who was originally from Swansea. At OSTC our office culture means most graduates and traders often end up sharing apartments, enjoying hobbies and time out of the office together. There’s even an annual office skiing holiday.
“My mates sometimes tease me about working in Swansea when they’re all in London. But ultimately they’re the ones escaping the city every weekend when I’m only ten minutes away from some of the best beaches in the UK. Cardiff is only 40 minutes away on the train if I want a big night out or live music. Plus Cardiff and Bristol airport make getting to places like Ibiza for a long weekend easy too.”
Outside of work James spends a lot of his time training for triathlons and running events. He has an impressive 10km time of under 34 minutes. The rigorous approach James applies to his training provides the fitting characteristics needed to develop in trading; discipline, organisation and determination. James has a reputation in the office for being one to look after the pennies.
“I don’t mind admitting I’m quite frugal when it comes to money. I like to make sure I’m always getting a good deal on something or avoiding unnecessary expenses. Thinking about it that’s probably true about my trading. I think Swansea has to be one of the most reasonable cities in the UK to live.”
Most traders at OSTC lose money in their first few months of trading. The company encourage traders to look at this as an investment, the cost of learning the market. Success in this industry doesn’t happen overnight. With OSTC providing 100% of the trading capital, we look for individuals that understand our training model and can not only accept these early losses but are geared up for the learning curve ahead. James however was an exception to this rule, profitable in his first month of live trading. There were lessons still to be learned however, and plenty of losing trades to start with. The reality is that a good trader never stops learning or adapting to new markets or conditions.
“I knew the bigger picture when I first started. A few good trades don’t guarantee a bonus and I’m not here just to earn a salary. You have to build consistency. I’m still working on it 4 years later. Ultimately my aim is to earn enough trading so that eventually my money works for itself in the years to come. I don’t think there are many careers where you can achieve that at such a relatively young age.”
