Sylvia Marshall may have started her career as a TV expert on DIY and home renovation, but when she discovered trading over 30 years ago, everything changed. Realising that women were seriously underrepresented in the trading world, and finding that she was completely underwhelmed by the hype that trading mentors were spouting, Sylvia decided to learn by discovery, finding out what she needed to know by herself.
Key Takeaways
Great traders are definitely made, but not all have the personality for it
Trading can be one of multiple income streams
Following the trend is something that has worked for Sylvia Marshall
Has learning by herself worked for Sylvia?
Yes it has! Sylvia Marshall is now a highly successful trader who has published a best-seller entitled “Zero To A Million”. She has mentored hundreds of women, teaching them how to become successful traders. She even gives her students money to trade with – that’s how confident she is in her system! Sylvia’s success has been down to a number of different reasons, the main one is the freedom day trading gives her. She knows that she only needs a laptop and she can trade anywhere at any time that suits her, whether it is at home or abroad. It is a way of earning a living that works around your life, rather than having to move heaven and earth for your job to work.
Why women outperform men
Sylvia Marshall is not surprised that women outperform men (by an average of 0.81%, according to Hargreaves Lansdown) when it comes to trading. She does not think that women are necessarily better traders than men. It is just that women do things differently, and those different tactics work well for the most part.
Over her 30 odd years as a mentor, she has seen that men are much more likely to just want to get started, perhaps even rush things, whereas women are more reticent, wanting to know as much as possible first. It is different styles of trading.
Why the differing styles give different results
The problem with the male trading style is that they crash and burn much more easily, and more quickly. They want to build the biggest portfolio they can, and this can lead to taking unnecessary risks.
Women are more likely to take the cash out and start over again. The biggest difference between men and women in trading is the attitude to risk. women tend to have more patience.
Income solely from trading is tough
Getting from zero to a million was due to a number of different things. Sylvia believes that you need multiple income streams, and trying to make an income solely from trading is hard.
This is why Sylvia runs various different businesses, and each one started at zero. She then grows them until they are worth a million and sells them. This was how she was able to find the funds to start trading in the first place.
What is Sylvia’s trading style?
Sylvia Marshall’s trading style is to be a trend follower. She does not go in at the beginning of a trend, but waits to see what it is like before making a decision. This proves the point she made about women being more patient.
She would rather see what is happening within the tradethan risk her money right at the start. Some of her trades might even have been on for years before she gets involved. She also trades anything – she does not care what it is.
if it is trending, Sylvia’s trading!
Another tactic Sylvia Marshall uses is to never trade the news; she does not even look at it. If there is something she needs to know, her charts will tell her, This is what she relies on. It seems to have worked well so far.
Sylvia Marshall estimates that her trading members make at least 20% per year. This is the target that Sylvia suggests her members aim for. They might make a lot more, but she thinks it is best to aim lower and have a nice surprise if more is made.
How Sylvia approaches each trading day
On a typical trading day, Sylvia does not have to do much at all. She makes a watch list over the weekend when the markets are closed (which takes around two hours). She then trades for about half an hour at the end of day every day. That is it.
She has a life to live and does not want to be in front of her screen 24/7. Less is more, and the reason people lose money most of the time is over-trading. She doesn’t do that, and it has worked well for her.
How did the Zero to a Million Club start?
The Zero to a Million Club was originally started for women over the age of 40, but men were interested too. In fact, they started to complain! So a pilot group of men was introduced. Although the men and women do not meet – they are two separate groups – they are both trading equally as successfully.
There is even a bit of healthy competition between the two. It is fascinating to see the differences between how each gender trades. There is still a way to go for women to become traders, but the gap is closing. This will happen as more women realise they can earn a passive income through trading. Indeed, they will soon realise it does not have to take up hours in their day.
How the club works
In the Zero to a Million Club, learner traders are given strategies and rules to follow as well as a £50,000 account. They trade with it, and the profits are split (although the trader gets to keep a higher percentage of those profits).
As long as they don’t break the rules, any losses are picked up by the Zero To A Million Club. If the rules are broken, the money needs to be repaid. Funnily enough, people don’t tend to break the rules.
Conclusion
Great traders are made. Anyone with the right mental attitude can trade, but most people do not have the right mental attitude or want to learn it. This is why people rush or lose so much. It is also important not to trade out of desperation.
Trading is not a ‘get rich quick’ scheme. Anyone who trades because they are desperate for money will make bad trades and lose more than they should. You should only trade what you can afford to lose.
Now what was the allure for you with trading, given it is both an industry where so many so many have a go and fail, and is historically underrepresented by women?
The gender imbalance is kind of ironic, isn’t it, considering Hargreaves Lansdown, which recently analysed data from its one million clients, found women investors outperformed men by an average of 0.81 per cent over the previous three years?
How did you get from zero to a million? Tell me the story and the mistakes you made along the way.
Now you and I subscribe to the same KISS (keep it simple) and “less is more” logic. But how would you describe your trading style?
Describe your typical trading day.
Did you have any specific books or mentors which helped you?
Now your online venture Zero to a Million Club, was, according to your website, launched to help other like-minded women achieve trading success. As our audience listening to this are disproportionally men, inevitably they’ll be asking whether it’s also open to them.
Do you think that trading is becoming increasingly popular for women or is there still a way to go?
So, you put your money where your mouth is – unlike many trader educators, you give your students a pot of money to trade… what conditions do you have attached to this (ie maximum allowable draw down rate, profit split and risk per trade)?
Do you believe that great traders are born or made?
So where can people who want to discover more find you?
A prolific writer in her own right, Lisamarie brings to the team her unique ability to vividly turn dry and often complex subjects into life, making financial education a more fun and accessible experience for all
A prolific writer in her own right, Lisamarie brings to the team her unique ability to vividly turn dry and often complex subjects into life, making financial education a more fun and accessible experience for all
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Yes it has! Sylvia Marshall is now a highly successful trader who has published a best-seller entitled “Zero To A Million”. She has mentored hundreds of women, teaching them how to become successful traders. She even gives her students money to trade with – that’s how confident she is in her system! Sylvia’s success has been down to a number of different reasons, the main one is the freedom day trading gives her. She knows that she only needs a laptop and she can trade anywhere at any time that suits her, whether it is at home or abroad. It is a way of earning a living that works around your life, rather than having to move heaven and earth for your job to work.
