February 10, 2025

Some statistics that we managed to get

  1. 80% of day traders quit within the first two years.
  2. Among traders who trade all day, about 40%day trading lasts only one month. Over the course of three years, only 13% continue to day trade. After five years, only 7% remained.
  3. Traders sell winners at a rate 50% higher than losers. 60% of sales are winners and 40% of sales are losers. 2
  4. The average individual investor underperforms the market index by 1.5% per year. Active traders underperform by 6.5% annually. 3
  5. Day traders with good past performancecontinue to make good profits in the future. Although only about 1% of all day traders can predictably make a profit minus commissions.
  6. Traders with a negative track record of up to 10continue to trade for years. This suggests that day traders even continue to trade when they receive a negative signal regarding their abilities.
  7. Profitable day traders make up a smallshare of all traders - 1.6% on average per year. However, these day traders are very active, accounting for 12% of all day trading activity.
  8. Among all traders, profitable traders increase their trading more than losing day traders.
  9. Poor people tend to spend more of their income on lottery purchases, and their demand for the lottery increases as their income decreases.
  10. Investors with large differences between their existing economic conditions and their aspiration levels hold riskier stocks in their portfolios.
  11. Men trade more than women. And unmarried men trade more than married men.
  12. Poor young people who live in urban areas and belong to certain minority groups invest more in lottery-based stocks.
  13. In every income group, players are inferior to non-gamers.
  14. Investors typically sell winning investments while holding onto their losing investments.
  15. Trade in Taiwan fell by about 25% when the lottery was introduced in April 2002.
  16. During periods with unusually large lottery jackpots, trading by individual investors declines.
  17. Investors are more likely to buy back shares they previously sold for a profit than shares they previously sold at a loss.
  18. Increased search frequency [in a particular instrument] predicts higher returns in the next two weeks.
  19. Individual investors trade more actively when their last trades were successful.
  20. Traders don't learn to trade. “Trading to learn” is no more rational or profitable than playing roulette for the individual investor.
  21. The average daily trader loses money with a significant margin after adjusting for transaction costs.
  22. [In Taiwan], individual investor losses account for about 2% of GDP.
  23. Investors are overweight in the industry in which they are employed.
  24. Traders with high IQs tend to hold more mutual funds and more stocks. Therefore, there is more benefit from diversification effects.