Meet Jason

Hi, I'm Jason McIntosh.

My career began in 1991 at Bankers Trust — a Wall Street investment bank.

I remember the head-of-trading’s first words to me. He said: "Jason, you've made it to this side of the revolving door. The hardest part is staying here."

That was my introduction to trading. You either make money or move on.

The markets have been part of my life ever since. Most of it has been as a trader. I’ve also co-founded a successful stock advisory and fund management business.

Nowadays, I develop and trade my own algorithmic systems. This helps me trade with a level of consistency that I could only dream of when starting out.

Another thing I enjoy is providing the Motion Trader service. Helping everyday traders like you is one of the most satisfying things I do.

People often ask how I got my start. They typically what to know how I became a ‘system trader’ — it’s not the sort of job you hear about at a school careers night.

I also get asked what it’s like to work on a trading floor. Is it really like a scene from Wall Street?

Well, in a moment I’m going to tell you.

If you want to see my full bio, jump over to my LinkedIn profile.

But here's the fun stuff...

Let me take you back to where it all began.

Level 40

It was the summer of 1991. Australia was thumping England in the Ashes series, and Bart had just seen home his eighth Melbourne Cup winner — Kingston Rule.

I remember this time like yesterday. Not so much for its sporting highlights, but rather for the life-changing door through which I was about to pass.

You see, it was two days before my 21st birthday, and I was nervously entering the foyer of the Australia Square Tower in Sydney’s CBD.

Awaiting me on level 40 was my shot at the big time. I was about to start work in the trading room of Australia’s then leading investment bank — Bankers Trust.

Entering the room was like setting foot on a new world. The sprawling area was full of bustle and noise. Some traders had a phone to either ear, others were yelling prices to colleagues. 

To say it was intimidating puts it mildly.

"The average salary was said to be higher than anywhere in the country. Bankers Trust was the original millionaires’ factory." 

This was a group of very smart people at the top of their game. The average salary was said to be higher than anywhere in the country. Bankers Trust was the original millionaires’ factory.

And I soon understood why…

The rewards for success were huge. I remember my bonuses doubling almost every year. There aren’t too many jobs where your pay packet rises so quickly. 

A rare photo of the Bankers Trust dealing room — circa 1995.

There were several departments within the dealing room: Foreign Exchange, Options, Money Market, Bonds, and Futures. My entry role was on the Bond desk as a dealer’s assistant.

Now, you might think that traders have a certain personality type. This is true to an extent. But I soon saw it could vary greatly between the trading desks.

For instance, the most raucous in the room were the spot foreign exchange dealers. It wasn’t unheard of for a dealer to smash a computer screen after a bad trade!

At the other extreme was a trading group called ‘Positioning’…

These guys weren’t loud like the foreign exchange dealers, they didn’t wave their arms about like the futures floor traders, and they weren’t on the phones like the money market dealers.

No, this group was different.

The traders at this desk would sit quietly at their screens. These were the ‘quants’. This small team of about 10 people were one of the bank’s most profitable divisions.   

Rocket science

So how did Positioning make so much money?

I can sum it up with two words: algorithmic trading.

Positioning’s job was to identify recurring patterns in the markets. Their algorithms, or trading system, would do this by analysing huge volumes of price data.

The group would trade anything from currencies to commodities. Once a trade was on, it was a case of letting winners run and cutting losses — just like Motion Trader.   

These guys weren’t like most traders. They had no time for gut feel, and they didn’t crave an adrenaline rush. Every trade had a statistical underpinning. This was my first taste of algorithmic trading, also known as quant trading.

And this struck a chord…

You see, I’m a bit of an introvert. The thought of yelling across a busy room didn’t thrill me. I’d much rather crunch the numbers on a new trading system.

Algorithmic trading was like nothing I’d seen before. Forget the seat-of-your-pants stuff. This was all about using a computer to consistently identify high potential set-ups.

What is algorithmic trading?

I’d describe algorithmic trading as a ‘thinking’ trader’s strategy.   

I’ll tell you what I mean…

I remember listening to the head of Positioning talking to a colleague. He was explaining how he could statistically prove that markets move in trends.  

And he wasn’t just saying this. I saw him put his strategies into action.

It was the early 1990s, and Australian interest rates were falling. The dealing room had a huge bet that rates would fall further at the next Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) meeting. 

Sure enough, rates fell — big time.

The RBA cut rates by more than the market was expecting. The dealing room was up $10 million dollars that morning alone. This was a huge amount of money back then.

Senior management was anxious that prices may pullback. Their go-to man was the head of Positioning. They gave him the job of using his statistical edge to decide when to cut the trade. 

The outcome by days-end was a massive $15 million win. To put this into perspective, Westpac’s profit in 1991 was $476 million — or $1.3 million per day.

"I was hooked. It was an introduction like no other."

I was hooked. It was an introduction like no other.

There was no doubt in my mind: algorithmic trading was a gold pass to make a lot of money.

My transition to fully-fledged system trader would take time. I had a lot to learn about markets before I could start designing my own trading systems.

But I was in the perfect place to develop my skills. The opportunity before me was huge.

People talk about being in the right place at the right time. They say good fortune can happen to you by accident — simply due to your timing and location.

Well, that’s true of me to an extent…

I didn’t know Bankers Trust was an algorithmic pioneer when I first got a job. My early exposure to systematic trading was purely by chance.   

Maybe I would have been successful at another bank. I’ll never know.

But I can say this: I’m the trader I am today due to algorithms — they are by far the greatest find of my career. Hopefully, I can help you benefit from them like I have.   

****

A professional trading room is a mystery to many people. The banks and hedge funds that operate them are notoriously secretive and highly selective about who enters their realm.

I hope this glimpse of my early career gives you a taste of what it was like. And through Motion Trader, you can experience the trading style that made the bank millions.

If you'd like to know more, then be our guest at a FREE online Workshop. You'll learn 5 core tactics to potentially profit from some of the ASX's best performing stocks... steps you could start using yourself. 

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