A somewhat
frustrating month, but I have to
say that it has been a remarkable
twelve (if not longer).
The month was difficult because
I got caught early on, just after
the RBA (the Australian Central
Bank) held interest
rates. I had been
sitting out of the market for the
announcement, but when it came it
was completely benign - the market
didn't even move a
pip. As a consequence
I resumed trading early, only to
get hit with a major move 40
minutes later - and ended up
losing about 5% on the
day.
Things then remained unsettled
for about a week after that, and
I've been patiently creeping back
since. My turnover for the
month was only a little over USD
100 million, which is a fraction
of my normal volume.
Nonetheless, I'm up 320% for
the calendar year and 470% on a
rolling 12 month basis - both with
0% drawdown - which, I reckon, in
classic English understatement, is
OK.
It's taken me a while to get to
this place, but I have to
say that it's been worth it.
In fact, I'm reminded of Thoreau's
wonderful words:
If
you advance confidently in the
direction of your own dreams
Endeavour
to live the life you have imagined
You
will meet with a success
unexpected in common hours
Right! Now for a reality
check. Of course, a zero
percent drawdown is an
impossibility, and I'm just having
a bit of fun here. However
this is how the funds report it -
drawdown based upon monthly
returns.
Doing the same calculation from
daily returns (which is a lot more
telling), the real maximum
drawdown for the whole reporting
period (from Dec 2003) is about
15%, which is still pretty good,
particularly when you think all
these figures are
marked-to-market, and have no
hidden time-bombs.
Pretty good when you are not in
drawdown; not so pleasant when you
are in one!
