One trait every good trader has

Every investor wants to make smart decisions, but if investing were easy, no one would ever take a loss.

In this episode of Stocks in Translation, Markets and Data Editor Jared Blikre and Producer Sydnee Fried are joined by Nick Colas, co-founder of DataTrek Research.

Colas, who has spent most of his career in institutional investing, agrees that professional investors have more information than retail investors. But he argues that the real distinction between “smart money” and “dumb money” isn’t just access to information. “It’s the process by which you make decisions,” he says.

Recalling his time at SAC Capital under Mets owner Steve Cohen, Colas shares how he met weekly with an in-house psychologist to discuss his mental and emotional state when executing trades.

Colas soon realized the purpose of these check-ins.

“What he was trying to get us to understand was, past a certain level of knowledge, your intuition's very powerful, and that intuition is really your secret sauce. It is what makes you a good versus bad trader. It isn't just what you know, it's how you execute on it. And it's that process that makes for great investors,” he explains.

Yahoo Finance's Stocks in Translation, with master statistician Jared Blikre and voice of the people Sydnee Fried, is your guide with essential conversation cutting through the market mayhem, noisy numbers and hyperbole to give you the information you need to make the right trade for your portfolio. 

Find this episode's transcripts and more episodes of Stocks in Translation at https://finance.yahoo.com/videos/series/stocks-in-translation/

Thoughts? Questions? Fan mail? Email us at yfpodcasts@yahooinc.com.

Yahoo Finance's Stocks in Translation is hosted by Jared Blikre and Sydnee Fried, and produced by John Tejada.

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