What Should I Trade? By Victor Niederhoffer

What Should I Trade?


Lyrics by Victor Niederhoffer and Laurel Kenner. To the tune of

“What Is a Man?” from Pal Joey by Richard Rodgers and

Lorenz Hart.

There are so many, so many ways to trade

But baseball is the model that’s for me

It tells the Average Joe

How he can make some dough

The times change far too much to trade without it

1. What’s a good trade?

Should I buy stocks now?

Am I a bull? Am I a bear?

Am I the value or the growth kind?

Am I the old or the tech kind?

What’s a good trade?

Trading’s like baseball
 
Win with a bat, or win with a glove.


Value has lagged since the world began

What should I buy? What should I sell?

What makes a winning trade?

2. First, runs expand

Stocks set to fall then

Next, runs contract—bull’s horns are sharp

It’s all so easy after the fact

Vol first goes down, Bulls are set to frown

When balls are dead, Time to steal bases

When balls are live, Swing from the heels

Cycles have changed since the world began

Offense at times, Defense at times.

That makes a winning trade.