I will start this piece by saying that I am not bullish or bearish, I don’t make market calls, or predictions and I don’t have opinions about the markets that I trade. I just follow my process, which is based on risk management, money management, price and moving averages. I lead off with this statement so that readers do not think that I am making some type of a market call by talking about risk management and downside protection while we are at all-time highs. I follow core concepts:

Respect price, respect risk and always be prepared for any outcome. 

With Global markets at or near all-time highs, and the money flowing in for many, now seemed to be an opportune time to remind ourselves that every day is a good day to focus on risk management. All of the greatest traders, Soros, Druckenmiller, Tudor Jones and Kovner, to name just a few, have a laser-like focus on capital preservation and risk management. They have all publicly stated that risk management and their ability to cut losses short is the cornerstone of their success. Paul Tudor Jones, a Billionaire Trader, is frequently the most quoted and has said:

“…at the end of the day, the most important thing is how good are you at risk control. Ninety-percent of any great trader is going to be the risk control.”

“Don’t focus on making money; focus on protecting what you have.”

“I am always thinking about losing money as opposed to making money.”

Bruce Kovner, another Billionaire Trader, said in Market Wizards: “First, I would say that risk management is the most important thing to be well understood”.

With that being said, here are 10 key concepts regarding risk management that I focus on:

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