Is It Rational to Settle For 10% Returns per Month?

“One of the secrets few know and fewer implement when it comes to trading success is that you have to really care about doing well. These days, I see a lot of traders not caring enough, not prioritizing learning about trading, and making pathetic weak-willed excuses.” – Chris T.

Perfectionism – a bane of the trading world
When people look for a solution to their trading problems, they tend to look for the solution in the wrong places, having the wrong mindset. One problem with most traders is perfectionism. For instance, we tend to go to those who promise us 50% to 100% per week or month. If someone gives an estimate of 5% profits per month, we would think that is too small. If an investment salesperson promises huge returns in a short period of time, we’re drawn to them.

What if I tell you that 5% per month is good returns on your trading or investment, would you agree with me? Is 60% growth per annum not good enough?

Many years ago, one of my mentors in the financial industry told me that, even 20% growth per annum is good.

In schools, we tend to ridicule those who make average grades and praise those who make excellent grades. The same is true of the world of sports. Do you think great sports teams win all their matches always?

No! But they do well over time.
Are 10% gains per month too low?

Now let me ask these questions:

How much percentage do you earn on your savings account per annum?

How much do you earn on your fixed deposit account per month?

How many people can pay off their mortgages within one year?

If you buy a bus, to use for commercial purposes, is it easy for you to recover your money in one year?

Can you buy a property and sell it for 100% profit within 10 months?

If you found a startup, how long do you think it would take you to start making profits?

Please attempt to answer these questions yourself, based on real-life experiences.

Now, back to the question that makes the last subheading: Are 10% gains per month too low?

Why do we tend to be unrealistic and fallacious when it comes to online trading?