Our People - Dmitry Stepanov

Dmitry Stepanov, in 2008 graduated with honors, in the same year went to work in a brokerage company as an analyst of the Russian securities market, since 2009 began offering recommendations on the commodity market and the market for clients in an accessible version.

At markets and stock from 2003-2004, when the market structure was just forming.
Interesting: business analysis and evaluation, macro processes, coin and stamp collecting, markets.

J.A.: If it's not a secret, Dmitry, by what specialty did you graduate?
D.S.: There are no secrets. Graduated from St. Petersburg State University of Service and Economics with a degree in Economics and Management at Service Enterprises.

Y.A.: Now that many people are aware of the attractiveness of trading on exchanges, it is understandable that the public is interested in this sphere of activity. What attracted you to exchanges when they were just beginning to develop in Russia?
D.S.: I was head of the student scientific society for a year and a half.
When I graduated from high school, financial advertising started to appear actively. But it looked rather clumsy, because even then I had already seen banners on Yahoo for large American firms. It was clear that our market was lagging far behind. I felt that it could grow with me, and therefore it was worth exploiting. What attracted me was the unknowns in the broad sense to the population and the great prospects for growth.

J.A.: So it was a well-considered, serious step?
D.S.: I made my choice consciously, because the stock market includes all my interests - business valuation, speculation, macro and micro economy. That is, it is a world of its own, living by its own rules.

Y.A.: It's been quite a few years, have you ever been disappointed in your choice?
Д. С.: I have never had to regret my choice. I can't imagine if there could have been any other way? I chose what I live by. I have plans scheduled for several years ahead, I am afraid that I will not have time for something in the allotted period, so there is a lot of room for development.

Y.A.: Would you share your plans with us?
D.S.: To become the first trader-cosmonaut (laughs). Joke. I want to show people that it really is possible to make money in the markets. For some people, it's not just possible, but necessary - they have the ability to do it. Look, there's hardly a single successful domestic trader to speak of. The situation has to change. Also plans for internal improvement.

J.A.: Do you plan to become a guru?
D.S.: Guru - no. Market gourmet... Let's instill the right taste for markets, as if in a good restaurant.

J.A.: Apparently, if you're planning a serious reform in people's minds, you don't like the current situation in any way, right?
Д. С.: The latent position of the creation of the masses. The level of penetration of the population into the markets and the markets into the minds of the population is extremely low. In fact, there are only a few thousand professionals, no more than that, "banging" with each other on liquid securities at the MICEX right now. There are about 120 departments of stock market in Moscow, but many graduates have not even seen a trading terminal. This state of affairs will be corrected.

J.A.: What are your goals in this matter? What can we expect after your reform?
D.S.: We make educational products, help to create trading systems, modify them. We teach how to understand the market. In the market there are always sellers and buyers, the first assess the price in terms of the interest of selling goods at it, and the second - the opportunities and benefits of buying. But the price is common for all, you have to learn to understand it and see it through the eyes of buyer and seller at the same time, without getting completely confused and lost in the market. At the stock exchange, each trader is the guide of his own success.

Y.A.: Are you a practicing trader?
D.S.: A trader can only be a practitioner. Yes, I am a trader.

Y.A.: Tell us, please, what is the path you take to opening a deal on a daily basis?
D.S.: It is necessary to prepare for tradingI prepare my workplace by clearing it of all unnecessary things and prepare myself internally, gathering my thoughts. I open a chart, run my eyes over the previous trading sessions and place orders. I trade by pending orders only. Then I just watch what is happening and correct volumes and order levels. This kind of trading practically does not subject me to stresses and that is very important.

J.A.: And how long do you usually stay at the monitor watching the price? Is it a clear schedule or free?
D.S.: I am not a supporter of constant spending time at the monitor, because the main events are still developing outside it, and you can understand them only by switching your attention. Therefore, I think it is quite normal to place orders in the market and go skiing, especially in such an unusually snowy year. If possible, I always watch the end of the session, because in this period the key, major participants enter the market.

J.A.: You don't worry about warrants when you travel? Are you not drawn to look at the positions while riding?
Д. С.: Of course, it pulls. I call on the phone, I ask about the behavior of the instrument. However, if possible, I try to refrain from such curiosity. There are no worries, if I do not let them go.

Y.A.: How often do you enter the market?
D.S.: 2-3 trades a day, some days there are no trades at all. I trade on the channel system, so I do not like it when the markets have strong movements, pronounced news background interferes. I can hold a deal from some hours to some days, I almost never carry through the profitable deals, except bond positions - I always buy and hold them till the maturity.

Y.A.: Do you prefer to rely on technical analysis?
D.S.: For such relatively short-term trading, one can only find support in technical analysis, because long-term fundamental factors are revealed on longer time horizons. But there are securities that I bought with a long time horizon, six months or more.

Y.A.: Some technical analysts reject the fundamental approach to forecasting altogether. Do you follow the news backdrop? Do you make adjustments accordingly? Or is it always just technique?
D.S.: The news background adds dynamics to assets, so it is impossible to ignore it, I just try to trade on calmer days when there are no Fed and ECB heads speaking and no very important macro statistics. I trade expectations.

Y.A.: Tell us a secret, is your trading tactic borrowed or did you invent it yourself?

J.A.: Working in a range does not in principle involve taking a large number of points of profit. What is your average profit per trade?
D.S.: I work on wide ranges, this moment is one of the criteria for selecting instruments. I usually have a target around 1.3% to 1.7% for an instrument.

J.A.: Have you often changed your trading tactics drastically during your practice?
D.S.: We constantly have to refine something, to agree with some ideas, to reject others. I think that there is no such mechanism on the market, which allowed to get stable profits from the markets of the Forex level, European and American stock exchanges. There is no grail, and the human factor is always present.

J.A.: Do you have a criterion for determining whether an idea works or by feeling?
D.S.: Intuitive trading is where I started in the market. However it is risky to trade by intuition, they are only as one of the indicators. The idea is considered interesting if it shows an acceptable result on historical data, workable if the conclusions are confirmed by online work.

Y.A.: The conversation about historical data brought to mind, what is your attitude to automated trading and testing?
D.S.: I have never used trading robots. There are a lot of criteria in my system, it would be quite difficult to formalize it. If MTS can make a profit, so they have at least the right to exist.

J.A.: What is more important in a trading tactic: entering or exiting a deal?
D.S.: If the trade turns out to be erroneous, a timely exit can save losses. Related parameters: "entry" and "exit". I, for example, at the entrance, immediately outline for myself quite definitely the exit levels. Entry and exit are two ends of one stick, one trade.

Y.A.: Does your strategy have capital management rules?
D.S.: Yes, it is impossible to achieve success without a money management system. I use some elements of Martingale.

Y.A.: What would you advise our readers to focus on when trading on exchanges?
D S.: When trading in the market, you have to be guided by the market, to feel, to study. People work in the market, so you need to understand the specifics of the masses, their interests.

J.A.: What about the "crowd effect" in the market?
D.S.: To be in the crowd is to lose to the crowd. No one wins in a crowd. It is better to settle down on a good observation deck, watch the proceedings, and have patience.

Y.A.: Well, and finally, your advice to newcomers to exchanges.
Д. С.: Start by studying yourself. I recommend reading the Book of Changes and the works of Seneca. Practice, experiment, and be sure to work on your mistakes

Y.A.: Thank you for an interesting conversation. I wish you success in trade and in all your endeavors.
Д. С.: Thank you. Good luck to you in creating an interesting magazine.