The mentor dilemma in trading: Weighing the benefits and drawbacks of seeking guidance
If you can start by defining good mentoring, you can determine if it's feasible and weed out what's unhelpful.
I traded at a professional futures trading firm, which is as good a template as any for developing trading.
Mentor benefits?
Training - Expertise you can't get from YouTube. (more on that later).
Feedback - you might have an intellectual grasp of something until you execute and balls it up. Think golf coach providing feedback on your swing. Some might split hairs and say, "That's coaching". But if it's meaningful change you seek - you'll rely on feedback to point out what you're not seeing and what to do differently.
In-the-field experiential learning - It's a proven model for advancement in numerous fields, not just professional trading. You want to immerse yourself in someone's live trading. Observe and attempt to replicate.
Incubation period - The process needs to run long enough for you to evolve. It's not a 6-week project.
To elaborate
When you hear "You don't need a mentor," often it precedes "expect to spend years before you reach profitability." Pro trading firms will only carry a trader for a while. But they accelerate development through training, mentoring, exposure to successful trading and strategies with edge.
And because firms require you to sign an NDA, that stuff isn't on YouTube. I came from trading for a book of clients at a stock broking/asset management firm. You learn plenty when surrounded by your peers doing similar across numerous asset classes. These roles require various accreditations, so your knowledge is sound.
However this paled in comparison to the skills and knowledge gained trading at a firm that specialised in intraday futures.
Oh, and those peddling "it's all in your psychology"... An incomplete understanding of trading (the game, relative value, edge) and insufficient trading skills/no edge spawns psychological issues. Treating the outcome instead of the cause won't improve trading results.
A mentor who can offer similar to a professional firm accelerates the learning curve. But it will come at a premium — the reality, therefore, is that it's not within reach of everyone. Conversely, it's wasteful and likely to set you back if you outlay money on poor mentoring.
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