Martin (Marty) Schwartz, also known as Buzzy, is a well-known Wall Street trader who has amassed a substantial fortune trading futures, stocks and options.
He is also an author of the day trader’s ‘must read’ book “Pit Bull: Lessons from Wall Street’s Champion Day Trader”. As a multiple award winner, many people consider Schwartz to be one of the most successful traders in the world.
Early Life – Starting Small
His early life was relatively modest. He attended Amherst College in the U.S. and went on to study at Columbia University Business School. Following his draft to the US Marine Corps Reserves, he returned to Columbia in 1973 to complete his M.B.A. He then joined E.F. Hutton & Co., at that time a highly respected American stock brokerage company, as a financial analyst. Subsequently, Schwartz moved to Edwards and Hanly, a small retail brokerage firm where he met Bob Zoellner, a successful trader who later became Schwartz’s mentor.
At the time, Schwartz was also playing the markets. However, for all the time he was doing so, he had been continuously losing money. It was a mystery. He would tell himself that he was smart, that he had a good education, and that he had been a winner for most of his life, so why couldn’t he make money on the markets?
The Big Turnaround
Then came a big turnaround. After taking various positions with Mesa stock, and at one time several thousand dollars down, with encouragement from Bob Zoellner, he made the perfect call. He ended up around $8,000 in profit.
His good fortune and hard work continued. Through them, he was able to accumulate $100,000, at that time a lot of money which would be worth around $400,000 today. That was his pivotal moment. He decided to quit his day job and go out on his own to become a trader. His next step was to buy a seat on the American Stock Exchange which took most of his capital leaving him with just $20,000. To bolster his working capital, he borrowed an additional $50,000 from his family, but he vowed to himself he would never touch it; the money was there just for extra security.
Making the Big Bucks
It didn’t start well. In his first few hours at the exchange, Schwartz lost 10% of his working capital. His strategy was to go for many small profits rather than big wins; thus, he could manage with a relatively low stake. He quickly improved his form and started making the “big bucks.” After four months he was $100,000 in profit, and in the following year, he made $600,000.
Things then went from good to even better, and from 1981 he could count on making at least $1 million a year. That isn’t to say there weren’t tricky moments. From time to time, Schwartz did encounter losing streaks, but he knew from experience how to handle them.
In addition to trading on the floor, he began trading futures, which proved to be another successful venture. Eventually, he had amassed a substantial fortune of over $20 million.
Later Life – Slowing Down
Now 73 years old, Marty Schwartz is also a successful racehorse owner and today leads a quiet life as a financial advisor investing other people’s money. He says that the primary reason he has become so successful is hard work, and he describes himself as a gambler with a good feel for numbers. He says that he hates losing. He describes himself as a “scalper” in that he is always in and out quickly, usually five minutes and never longer than a couple of hours.
He believes that separating your ego from your trading is vital. “The sole objective of trading,” he says “is not to prove you’re right, but to hear the cash register ring”.
You may not be able to emulate Marty Schwartz and make millions trading, but you can check out list of winning trading systems here.
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