In recent months, trading on the stock market has looked a lot like the California Gold Rush: insanely popular, profitable for some, but disappointing for others.

New and novice traders have rushed to capitalize on hot tips and meme stocks. Some believe they can disguise their inexperience by jumping on quick-cash impulses sprung from social media. But all too often, they see their revenue flat-lining or even disappearing.

It’s something Paul Scolardi has seen before.

Scolardi started trading stocks during his college years in the late ’90s. He continued trading as he held a 9-to-5 job in corporate finance. During that time, he devised a strategy for swing trading that ultimately earned him $1 million in revenue, enabling Scolardi to leave his job and pursue trading full-time.

Scolardi’s strategy has paid off, to put it mildly. He earned over $5 million from trading in 2020 and has topped $3 million so far in 2021.

But Scolardi’s investing adventure had its setbacks in the beginning, such as his losing $1 million in profits in one year. Today, he sees raw, unschooled traders having the same misfortunes he did — and many of them won’t emerge with their finances intact.

That’s why Scolardi launched SwingTrades. Much more than a tip-sheet or stock alert service, SwingTrades emphasizes the most crucial elements of Scolardi’s strategy: education, patience, and emotional control.

“Most new traders today do not respect the market and view it as a quick and easy way to make money,” Scolardi says. “If new traders do not take the time to learn the market and a good risk management strategy like the one I teach, chances are they will lose all of their money.”

Scolardi’s approach counters the hyper-instinctual attitude driving much of the retail investor community at the moment. But his enduring success speaks for itself.

The Real Pillars of Stock Market Success

Part of the problem with the current trading environment is a basic misconception about the stock market. Rather than understanding it as a financial instrument with technical complexity, many new traders approach it like a cash machine.

To master his strategy, Scolardi says, one has to commit to learning about the stock market at a deep level — and to keep that commitment even after they’ve found success.

“I lost everything I made when I first started,” Scolardi says. “Now, I teach my strategy because if I can save even one new trader from making the devastating typical mistakes that cause traders to lose all of their money, then it is worth it.”

Just as important is mastering trader emotions — especially unchecked greed and reactionary fear. Running with those feelings has led to “fatal mistakes,” Scolardi says.

For that reason, he emphasizes a rational understanding of market psychology. “Controlling greed and fear are critical to success in the stock market. I teach a course on trading psychology to emphasize this with my students.”

Education and psychology both feed into the third pillar of Scolardi’s strategy: discipline. It’s a trait that social media-driven traders tend to overlook, or even disparage.

“Ridiculous slogans like ‘stocks only go up’ have caused traders to take undisciplined risks that are deadly to stock accounts,” Scolardi explains.

By understanding the practical principles of risk management and rational stock assessment, Scolardi believes his students can resist impulsive, mob-driven trades, and build true wealth that leads to real financial independence.

Three Questions

Before any investor starts trading as a side hustle, Scolardi says, they need to ask themselves three questions:

• Are they willing to spend time on stock market education?
• Can they work to control emotions, especially greed and fear?
• Can they resist the urge to execute a trade when the situation isn’t right?

For those willing to take that serious, sound approach, Paul Scolardi’s SwingTrades may be the answer.