The Artistic Trader

The next psychological profile in Van K. Tharp’s trader personality series is the Artistic Trader.

This type of personality — while possessing certain creative qualities that can prove useful for a trader — can also tend to be more challenged when trading because of other personality traits which are not among those best suited for the successful trading mindset.

Artistic Trader Qualities

The Artistic Trader can often be flexible and open minded. These personality traits add to their ability to adapt to different market situations, and so can be excellent qualities for traders.

Furthermore, being attuned to the market and trading from an independent perspective tend to make up an important aspect of the artistic trader’s personality as they approach their trading activity.

Nevertheless, many traders that fall into this category may be challenged by more mundane trading work like detailed record keeping and other less exciting aspects of trading.

Artistic Traders tend to rely heavily on gut feeling and intuition to initiate and liquidate trading positions.

Unless they are following an objective trading plan strictly, Artistic Traders have an unfortunate tendency to take a “seat of the pants approach” when caught up in the forex market and its movements.

Trading Strengths

Artistic Traders have great potential for being in tune with the market and the ability to ride the ups and downs of the market — much like a surfer rides the waves.

This type of trader would do best to follow a viable and profitable trading plan closely and to keep a watchful eye out to suppress any of their emotional urges to trade.

Trading Challenges

Artistic Traders — much like many artistically inclined people — tend towards the emotional and generally need to work on keeping emotions out of their trading activities.

In addition, strictly following a course of action and analyzing its strengths and weaknesses may prove challenging to the Artistic Trader.

The Artistic Trader also tends to get bored easily and may well be challenged in keeping the good records that are necessary for trading successfully.