The AlphaMind Trader Performance Coaching Programme.

The AlphaMind Trader Performance Coaching Programme (TM) acts as a catalyst for significant improvement in trading and risk performance. 

The AlphaMind Trader Performance Coaching Programme (TM) is based on the same programme we have been running inside some of the world’s leading Hedge Funds, Asset Management Firms, Investment Banks, and Energy Trading firms over the past decade. 

The coaching programme is an opportunity for people to invest in themselves to cultivate improvements in their trading behaviours, processes, mindsets and related aspects. The programme helps people develop the key human processes which significantly increase the likelihood of success for traders when engaging in their trading and investing activities in Financial and Commodity markets.

Why Investing in Coaching?

When people invest in coaching they invest in themselves and their own performance. Quite Simply better performance equals more profits and great returns.

Many people enter trading with the fallacy that calling the market right is the step towards making more money. In reality getting your mindset, behaviours and attitudes right are more crucial to driving your success.

The programme is aimed at traders who are committed to improving their process, accelerating their performance and making or prolonging their career in trading. This includes people who have been in trading for many years and are looking to catalyse their performance to a higher level or move past a place where they may be stuck. 

The programme can be thought of as akin to how a professional sports person would use coaching to help them strive towards excellence: The analogy to sport is however limited to that comparison, the coaching is very specific to the needs of traders and investment professionals and is delivered by coaches with extensive trading experience and market knowledge who are also extensively trained and qualified in powerful techniques endorsed by some of the world’s leading coaching and psychotherapists. 

Who is the Programme Aimed at?

Individuals who participate in the AlphaMind Trader Performance Coaching Programme (TM) usually have a minimum of 3-4 years behind them, and often far more depending on what they are seeking.

Our clients include:

• Early career traders who have shown they have the potential but want to make their potential work for them on a more consistent basis.

• Mid-career traders looking to up their game and progress towards great levels of risk and productivity or move on past levels they are stuck at.

• Seasoned traders, some into their second or even third decade of trading, looking to adapt or adjust or to stay ahead of a changing game. 

We Coach the Person Behind the Trader.

The AlphaMind Trader Performance Coaching Programme (TM) is not specific to any form of trading or any asset class. Participants come from all backgrounds including private and retail traders, hedge fund portfolio managers and investment bank traders, market-makers, proprietary traders, asset managers, analysts, systematic traders, quants, day traders, spread traders, swing traders, relative value traders, long-term macro, options and vol traders, equity, forex, rates, fixed income, credit, energy, commodity traders, etc. We cover the entire spectrum of method, approach, style, market, asset class.

Programme Benefits and Outcomes:

Our clients have reported many powerful outcomes and benefits which the programme catalysed for them. These include:

• Significantly greater performance and results. 

• Improved and sustained consistency.

• Less volatility in profits and performance.

• Finding and sharpening trading edge. 

• Developing ways of working which are more congruent to personality and values. 

• Making changes, transitions or transformations with a positive impact. 

• Far more self-aware, risk aware and market aware.

• Greater market savviness.

• Development of self and presence and the ability to bring the best of themselves more often to the game. 

• Improved risk intelligence, more able to think probalistically about markets and risk.

• Sharpened techniques and analytical practices.

• Adjusted to, or adapted to, changes in their environment, circumstances of new market realities. 

• More disciplined and focused approach to work.

• Revealed blindspots and hidden causal behaviours of sub-optimal practices. 

• Cultivated better habits and reduction in sub-optimal behaviours. 

• More aware of strengths and how to leverage these for their advantage. 

• More aware of the impact of ego and negative outside influences. 

• Reduction in ego-driven trading behaviours. 

• Less emotional, more balanced and the development of greater resilience. 

• Less fear-based and more objective decision-making. 

• Working in ways more conducive to the environment of risk, better able to deal with loss, failure and setbacks. 

• Created development plans they were able to follow which had a significant impact.

• Reduced stress and anxiety in taking and managing risk.

• Able to increase risk size and more fully optimise capital. 

• Cultivate money management practices more optimal and personal for oneself and one's growth.

• Improved reading of the market, development of intuition and sensemaking capabilities.

• Created a more business-like mindset to trading and investing.

• Construction of process and practices which drive better behaviours and reduce impact of biases.

• Improved work-life balance, better relationships with loved-ones, family and friends.

• Significant career advancements in organisational environments.

• Adapted to new roles, e.g. Market-making and Execution to Taking and Managing Risk. Promotion to desk manager/head. Sell-side to Buy-side.

• Supported to make a more robust system and to work with systematic approaches. 

These are just some of the many and often multiple benefits. We do not make any promises on outcomes, it is very much up to the client to use the coaching and make it work for themselves. The onus is always on the client

In you are interested or would like to know more please email: steven.goldstein@alpharcubed.com or info@alpharcubed.com 

Frequently Asked Questions:

Q: Is the the Programme delivered globally?

Coaching is delivered face-to-face if based in London or via audio-visual conference call facility if based outside London or overseas. If the overseas clients involves multiple individuals, (E.g. In an organisation, then we will travel for some of the delivery).

Q: Is the the Programme akin to a Mentoring Service or Training Programme?

No, the Programme is NOT Mentoring NOR Training or Teaching and is thus NOT ideal for New traders.

Mentoring differs from coaching in that it is more about 'showing a person the ropes', and usually delivered by someone currently active in a role. Mentoring is essential for new traders, whereas coaching is more suitable for the various stages beyond initial development. 

As for training and teaching, we do not produce source material or interactive content, the programme is not teaching or instruction. We do run workshops which would be considered as teaching/training, but these are separate classroom/seminar style programmes.  

Q: Do you work with new and novice traders. 

This programme is not intended or ideal for new and novice traders. New/novice traders require mentoring and teaching of basic practices and principles, systems, methods, forms of analysis or system development, risk and money management practices, tools and techniques. 

Q: Would I be suitable for the programme, these are my challenges.

We talk to clients before a programme to check out their suitablity and whether it is viable for them. 

However we would not consider:

• People with under two years active trading experience. Clients must have learned the basics and be committed to trading for the long-haul.
• Traders who we deem as undercapitalised: No amount of coaching will help people who are trading with amounts relative to their risk which are not viable.
• Those who seek instruction or are looking to learn about methods, systems, analytical techniques.

Q: What is the cost, can I pay in installments, can I stop if the programme does not turn out to be suitable for me.

• We do not publicise the cost, since costs vary depending on the client. E.g. We have different fees for people in organisations which require extra work, and may have a different price structure due to the additional amount of work required. We will inform you of the cost on a direct inquiry.
• We do offer installment payment to clients.
• Clients can cease or leave the programme at any time. We are aware people's circumstances change, or they may find that the programme is not conducive to their needs. There is a small admin charge for early termination.

To listen to Steven Goldstein, creator of the the AlphaMind Trader Performance Coaching Programme (TM) and lead deliverer, talk about his work on the AlphaMind podcast, click on the advert below.

If you care curious about our method, approach, or the programme structure, please continue reading. 

Method:

Our approach is based on a style and method which we have developed, evolved and finessed over many years working with traders and investment professionals.

This approach has delivered significant success in helping catalyse major improvements in personal trading and risk performance.

The approach involves coach and coaching participant engaging in a series of ‘dialogical’ discussions over several months which explore various aspects of a person’s work as trader.

We use various high levels techniques, many taken from psychotherapy, to help uncover the factors which are subtly and often unconsciously controlling the levers on a person’s decision-making.

We term our approach ‘non-linear development’. A ‘non-linear’ approach is neither directive, instructional, nor agenda based. Instead it involves a collaborative exploration of all areas of how a person works. This includes understanding the impact of their working environment, the markets environment, their relationships, their values, belief systems and philosophies, their financial situation, how they relate to others, how they cope with risk and uncertainty, their fears and desires, and many other factors that influence their decisions, behaviours and actions. 

Whilst the programme is not agenda based, we do look to set objectives which provide a direction of travel for the coaching. However, focus is on process rather than outcomes. We term this a 'process orientation'.

The coaching’s power is in how it helps the participant to become more self-aware and brings unconscious and hidden aspects of how a person works and functions to the surface. Clients find huge benefit in talking aloud about their work to a neutral person who understands what they are going through, their challenges and nature of the job. We say 'the coach does not come with solutions but with questions which helps people find the solutions which suit them and work for them'. This catalyses a person to start making subtle but powerful adjustments to their working behaviours, processes and practices.

The coach supports the person through this process, holding them to account to ensure they are making use of these new discoveries and applying them to their work.

Typical Performance Coaching Process:

Pre-Coaching chemistry meeting or call. This allows the participant to assess the programme before deciding to commit and helps ensure they are comfortable working with the coach. - If and once the person decided to proceed a non-refundable deposit is required. 

Pre-Coaching Analysis: Questionnaires, Psychometrics and Third-Party Feedback.

• A short reflective online questionnaire.

• An online risk profile (Risk Type Compass)

• Objective 3rd Person Feedback (Optional): We seek to obtain discrete 3rd party feedback from reliable references. These may include colleagues, friends, spouses or partners, managers. – The purpose of this is to gain objective perspective on the individual being coached.

Coaching Delivery

• 8 face-to-face sessions between coach and participant lasting 90 minutes.

• Sessions take place away from where the person is trading. If it is in person, then they occur in meeting rooms away from the trading floor. If the coach and participant are in different geographical locations, then the session takes place via a secure audio-visual connection. 

• Sessions 1 and 2 occur a couple of weeks apart, other session occurs approximately 1 month apart. – Earlier sessions may be closer together; latter sessions may be further spaced apart.

• Often the last 2 -3 sessions become well-spaced apart. This allows time for the participant to internalise aspects and changes explored in their coaching. It also enables them to apply them to their work and to assess and reflect on how they are progressing with the coach. 

• Allowing for holidays, the typical programme is held over an 8 to 10 month duration.

• All coaching sessions are private and confidential. 

• The coach will provide occasional email support, subject to time and availability, plus they are available for up to two 20-minute scheduled calls if the participant would like. (These are not mandatory).

The AlphaMind Trader Performance Coaching Programme is administered by AlphaRCubed Ltd. AlphaRCubed is a coaching business which provides coaching and learning services to Financial Market organisations. You can learn more about AlphaRCubed's services, programmes and philosophy in their brochure here or on their website. 

One-to-One or Group Coaching

The AlphaMind Private Trader Performance Coaching is typically offered as a one-to-one programme. The one-to-one approach is direct, personal, and recommended for a more powerful outcome. We also offer group coaching to pairs or small groups. The group coaching involves up to 3 participants on AV, or up to 8 individuals for in-person coaching offered, which can only occur in or close to London. Larger groups of 4 to 8 would be co-facilitated with an additional coach and would involve a different structure to that described above. 

The benefit of group coaching is it provides a more economical option for people. It also offers the chance to learn with and from others, which adds an additional and valuable element. 

Programme Investment Fee:

We have different price structures depending on the type of programme, aspects of delivery, needs of the clients, whether it is private or organisational, amount of time needed to devote to the clients. Please contact us and we can arrange an interview or conversation to provide you with more information. 

In you are interested or would like to know more please email : steven.goldstein@alpharcubed.com or info@alpharcubed.com or visit alpharcubed.com