Five epic fails in trading
Trading is always a risk. Inattention to forecasts, all-in transactions and a thirst to win the money back - not only beginners but also experienced investors make mistakes in trading. Today we tell about five failures that cost traders money, careers and freedom.
Julian Robertson — $17 billion
By 1998, trader Julian Robertson managed to earn $ 22 billion for six funds, and then he suffered a series of setbacks. As Julian himself admits, he no longer understood the market and its needs, so he lost his touch. He conducted several major transactions, which cost $ 17 billion in losses. After his failure, investors began to take money from funds and had to close it. Today, Julian only manages $ 3.4 billion.
George Soros — $6,5 billion
In 1997, George Soros invested $ 2 billion in Svyazinvest, and in 1998 the company declared bankrupt. Its shares fell in price twice. In 2000, he lost another $ 3 billion when NASDAQ stocks plunged in value. And in 2016, he lost $ 1 billion due to an incorrect forecast. According to Soros’s calculations, Trump’s victory in the presidential election will cause the stock market to fall, but the opposite happened - the market went up and the trader lost money.
Brian Hunter — $6 billion
The story of Brian Hunter cannot be considered completely disastrous. He earned nearly $ 6 billion on higher natural gas quotes conducting fundamental analysis. In 2005, due to natural disasters, gas prices rose, and that allowed Hunter to make several successful deals. But, having missed the latest news about the threat to gas fields, Hunter suffered losses and lost all his earnings.
Nick Leeson — $1,3 billion
Nick became well-known in trading as a trader who bankrupted Barings Bank. He started with a position of a check sorter and became the head of the financial operations department at the bank. He showed good results, but gradually lost his touch. Nick made several hundred unsuccessful transactions, but hid this information from the bank's management and provided a fake report.
To recover part of the losses, Nick each time increased the amount of the transaction, and as a result, lost $ 1.3 billion. Due to his actions, a bank with a century-old history went bankrupt and was later sold for just one dollar.
John Rusnak — $691 million
John Rusnak worked in an Irish bank as a currency trader. At some point, John became so excited and made several risky transactions - all of them turned out to be unprofitable. To hide losses, he conducted another series of losing trades. The desire to win the money back cost Rusnak $ 691 million and seven years in prison.
We hope you never get on such a list. Good luck and profits!