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Middle-Class in India to $1 Million Trading Profits In The UK: Student Sandeep’s Story

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Written by Timothy Sykes
Updated 1/26/2023 11 min read

Sandeep’s International Trading Adventure: Key Takeaways

  • Do engineers make better traders?
  • After blowing up two accounts, my student turned $2K into over $1 million in trading profits in less than two years*…
  • How he reverse-engineered Grittani’s strategy to gain an edge in the market…

From Risk-Averse Engineer to Millionaire Trader

Growing up middle-class in Bangalore, India, Sandeep was raised to be careful with money. So the idea of trading and potentially losing money seemed risky and didn’t appeal to him much.

But in 2019, everything changed. Here’s the incredible story of how he persevered through two account blow-ups and turned $2,000 into over $1 million in profits in about 18 months*…

Sandeep: The 411

First, let’s look at some important deets.

Sandeep’s Go-To Trading Patterns

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  • Morning panic dip buys. By far, this is his top pattern.
  • Multi-day runners. When a stock has had multiple runs and shows signs of a first green day, Sandeep keeps watch. Often, on the second or third day, there’s an opportunity for a dip buy…
  • Breakouts. But usually with small size because he’s been faked out before…

Sandeep’s Trading Stats

  • Trading superpower: Reverse-engineering trading strategies to give himself an edge.
  • Favorite Trading Challenge resource: My videos + my top students’ lessons.
  • When he’s not trading … Sandeep plays cricket, tennis, or Fifa on Xbox and travels with his family.
  • How he splurged after passing $1 million*: Bought his wife a luxury handbag and took a family holiday in Yorkshire.

Sandeep’s Trading Timeline

  • Early 2019: Discovers my Trading Challenge. Starts with PennyStocking Silver and studies for two months without trading.
  • March 2019: Opens first $1,500 account. Blows up within a month. Takes time off to study.
  • Fall 2019: Opens second $1,500 account. Blows up within three months. Takes time off to study.
  • February 2020: Starts again with a $2,000 account and focuses on one key pattern: the morning panic dip buy. By the end of March 2020, his Profit.ly total is over $7,000.
  • December 2020: His Profit.ly total tops $300,000.
  • January + February 2021: His Profit.ly total is over $500,000.
  • March 2021: Quits his job and goes full time as a trader.
  • September 2021: Passes $1 million in trading profits.*

Sandeep’s Trading Story

Here’s Sandeep’s trading story in greater detail…

More Breaking News

A Cautious Start

In India, Sandeep studied engineering — a solid career that would eventually take him to the U.K., where he’s been based for the past decade or so.

A steady guy with a steady career, he’s always been fairly risk-averse. In fact, he admits that years ago, he had the opportunity to buy into his company’s stock before its initial public offering (IPO).

But he was too cautious and decided against it. Meanwhile, several colleagues made a lot of money…

Then, Sandeep changed his tune about trading…

Changing Priorities

Image credit: Sandeep

Sandeep is married and has a kid. He’s got a mortgage. Despite liking his engineering job, expenses were piling up.

When a friend mentioned they’d started trading, Sandeep decided to explore it as a potential secondary income stream.

That’s how he found me…

Learning + Exploring

When Sandeep found me on YouTube, he initially thought my Trading Challenge was “a money-making scheme.”

But as he watched the videos and saw my top students’ results, he realized that I was legit.

In 2019, he became a student, first via PennyStocking Silver, and hit the books. He read a ton and watched my videos.

It was a challenging balance: In addition to having a family, he also had a full-time job. He’d study on his lunch breaks and commute. He’d stay up late studying — sometimes until 2 a.m.

Eventually, it began to make sense…

On Blowing Up His First Two Accounts

Sandeep opened his first trading account in March of 2019.

He started with $1,500. Like many new traders, he lost money…

Blowing Up Account #1

Cue a montage of holding and hoping, cutting losses too quickly, and an ongoing series of papercut losses. Typical newbie mistakes.

Within about a month, that $1,500 account was nearly gone. He stopped trading and hit the books…

Blowing Up Account #2

In fall 2019, Sandeep started trading again with a fresh $1,500 account.

He was feeling confident, but there were new mistakes to make this time around. In retrospect, he admits he was trading too many patterns and strategies. He had no focus.

And he lost money again. Although, this time it took longer — about three months.

After demolishing his second account, Sandeep took another few months off. He wanted a break to regain his confidence. He’d already lost $3,000.

Blowing up two accounts sucks. But the experience taught Sandeep a lot about how NOT to trade. He was vigilant about tracking his mistakes — he reviewed them daily so he didn’t repeat them.

Finding a Go-To Pattern + Strategy

Image credit: Sandeep

Sandeep decided to zero in on one single pattern: the morning panic dip buy.

In addition to hitting the books, he delved into my top students’ lessons. He wanted to deepen his understanding of trading psychology and the right trading mindset.

It wasn’t about following trades. He wanted to apply their lessons to his chosen pattern. Here’s what he learned:

Sandeep felt prepared to focus on his pattern and repeat it over and over until he mastered it…

(Note: Profits recorded as of late September 2021.)

Third Time’s a Charm…

In February 2020, Sandeep began trading again with a $2,000 account. But this time, he only stuck to one pattern: the morning panic dip buy.

With international stay-at-home orders in place, Sandeep was working from home — which allowed for more trading.

This time, Sandeep knew what he was doing. By the end of March 2020, his Profit.ly page reflected profits of over $7,000. By the end of the year, his recorded profits topped $300,000.

He recorded over $500,000 in January and February of 2021. Just a few months later, in September of 2021, he passed $1 million in trading profits.

Sandeep never thought he’d make $1 million so fast.* He doesn’t have any lofty goals for the near future other than continuing to stick to his go-to pattern, continuing to refine, and enjoying his newfound career.

The Engineering Mindset + Sandeep’s Top Trading Lessons

Image credit: Sandeep

In trading, you’ve got to make many small calculations on the fly — how many shares, potential risk, profit goals…

As a former engineer, Sandeep acknowledges he’s good with numbers in this way. He can quickly make decisions and solve problems.

Can you adopt the ‘engineering mindset’ in your trading?

Don’t worry, you don’t have to go back to college. But think about how you could zero in on a single pattern and channel some of Sandeep’s insight every day.

And consider these parting tips from Sandeep…

  • Learn patience and discipline. They both go hand in hand.
  • Be honest about your mistakes … and don’t repeat them.
  • Follow what you know.
  • Don’t take trades you don’t need to.
  • Always have a plan.
  • Keep practicing and don’t lose hope!

Remember: Sandeep lost his account twice. Then he came back and made over $1 million in trading profits.* Don’t give up!

How does Sandeep’s ability to persevere through two account blow-ups inspire you? Leave a comment … and congratulate him on his milestone!  

Disclaimers

*Results are not typical and will vary from person to person. Making money trading stocks takes time, dedication, and hard work.  Most who receive free or paid content will make little or no money because they will not apply the skills being taught. Any results displayed are exceptional. We do not guarantee any outcome regarding your earnings or income as the factors that impact such results are numerous and uncontrollable.

It takes years of dedication, hard work, and discipline to learn how to trade. Individual results will vary. Trading is inherently risky. Before making any trades, remember to do your due diligence and never risk more than you can afford to lose. I’ve also hired Tim Grittani, Jack Kellogg, Roland Wolf, Matthew Monaco, Mike “Huddie” Hudson, and Michael Goode to assist in my education business.


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Author card Timothy Sykes picture

Timothy Sykes

Tim Sykes is a penny stock trader and teacher who became a self-made millionaire by the age of 22 by trading $12,415 of bar mitzvah money. After becoming disenchanted with the hedge fund world, he established the Tim Sykes Trading Challenge to teach aspiring traders how to follow his trading strategies. He’s been featured in a variety of media outlets including CNN, Larry King, Steve Harvey, Forbes, Men’s Journal, and more. He’s also an active philanthropist and environmental activist, a co-founder of Karmagawa, and has donated millions of dollars to charity. Read More

* Results are not typical and will vary from person to person. Making money trading stocks takes time, dedication, and hard work. There are inherent risks involved with investing in the stock market, including the loss of your investment. Past performance in the market is not indicative of future results. Any investment is at your own risk. See Terms of Service here

The available research on day trading suggests that most active traders lose money. Fees and overtrading are major contributors to these losses.

A 2000 study called “Trading is Hazardous to Your Wealth: The Common Stock Investment Performance of Individual Investors” evaluated 66,465 U.S. households that held stocks from 1991 to 1996. The households that traded most averaged an 11.4% annual return during a period where the overall market gained 17.9%. These lower returns were attributed to overconfidence.

A 2014 paper (revised 2019) titled “Learning Fast or Slow?” analyzed the complete transaction history of the Taiwan Stock Exchange between 1992 and 2006. It looked at the ongoing performance of day traders in this sample, and found that 97% of day traders can expect to lose money from trading, and more than 90% of all day trading volume can be traced to investors who predictably lose money. Additionally, it tied the behavior of gamblers and drivers who get more speeding tickets to overtrading, and cited studies showing that legalized gambling has an inverse effect on trading volume.

A 2019 research study (revised 2020) called “Day Trading for a Living?” observed 19,646 Brazilian futures contract traders who started day trading from 2013 to 2015, and recorded two years of their trading activity. The study authors found that 97% of traders with more than 300 days actively trading lost money, and only 1.1% earned more than the Brazilian minimum wage ($16 USD per day). They hypothesized that the greater returns shown in previous studies did not differentiate between frequent day traders and those who traded rarely, and that more frequent trading activity decreases the chance of profitability.

These studies show the wide variance of the available data on day trading profitability. One thing that seems clear from the research is that most day traders lose money .

Millionaire Media 66 W Flagler St. Ste. 900 Miami, FL 33130 United States (888) 878-3621 This is for information purposes only as Millionaire Media LLC nor Timothy Sykes is registered as a securities broker-dealer or an investment adviser. No information herein is intended as securities brokerage, investment, tax, accounting or legal advice, as an offer or solicitation of an offer to sell or buy, or as an endorsement, recommendation or sponsorship of any company, security or fund. Millionaire Media LLC and Timothy Sykes cannot and does not assess, verify or guarantee the adequacy, accuracy or completeness of any information, the suitability or profitability of any particular investment, or the potential value of any investment or informational source. The reader bears responsibility for his/her own investment research and decisions, should seek the advice of a qualified securities professional before making any investment, and investigate and fully understand any and all risks before investing. Millionaire Media LLC and Timothy Sykes in no way warrants the solvency, financial condition, or investment advisability of any of the securities mentioned in communications or websites. In addition, Millionaire Media LLC and Timothy Sykes accepts no liability whatsoever for any direct or consequential loss arising from any use of this information. This information is not intended to be used as the sole basis of any investment decision, nor should it be construed as advice designed to meet the investment needs of any particular investor. Past performance is not necessarily indicative of future returns.

Citations for Disclaimer

Barber, Brad M. and Odean, Terrance, Trading is Hazardous to Your Wealth: The Common Stock Investment Performance of Individual Investors. Available at SSRN: “Day Trading for a Living?”

Barber, Brad M. and Lee, Yi-Tsung and Liu, Yu-Jane and Odean, Terrance and Zhang, Ke, Learning Fast or Slow? (May 28, 2019). Forthcoming: Review of Asset Pricing Studies, Available at SSRN: “https://ssrn.com/abstract=2535636”

Chague, Fernando and De-Losso, Rodrigo and Giovannetti, Bruno, Day Trading for a Living? (June 11, 2020). Available at SSRN: “https://ssrn.com/abstract=3423101”