Day trading: 'I lost £200,000 in a day' - from Telegragh

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Martin Hickman, who became hooked on spread betting after retiring, has had some spectacular gains – and losses.




Spread betting was meant to be just a hobby to keep Martin Hickman busy while his wife was out at work, but now it dominates his life.

"I was going to be a house husband, I was going to look after the dog and do a little trading on the side," he said. "But then things escalated. I am hooked – it has taken over my life."

Mr Hickman's alarm goes off every day at 6.30am. "I switch the computer on straight away – before turning on the kettle – and it stays on until well after midnight. I will sit there all day watching and waiting," he said. "I bore my wife silly about it, but she understands."

Mr Hickman has made some serious money spread betting. He claims to have made about £300,000 last year alone. The cash has allowed him to build up a substantial property portfolio and take his family on luxury cruises and high-class breaks at the Waldorf hotel in London.

"I have been a trader nearly all my life," he said. "I was a futures trader trading sugar for 17 years before it became computerised, then I traded oil." In retirement he decided to give spread betting a whirl.

"I've always been a bear market trader. I only sell the FTSE," he said. It meant he made almost straight losses for the first three years in the early Noughties as the FTSE 100 index soared. He was still shorting the FTSE in 2007 when it neared 7,000 points. But then came the crashes of 2008.

"In January 2008 I made £70,000 in one month. All in all, 2008 was a fantastic year for me. I made about £300,000," he said. Despite the FTSE's gains at the end of last year Mr Hickman, who trades through WorldSpreads.com, continued to short the FTSE.

He claimed to have made a further £173,000 in the first three months of 2009 when the FTSE slid to just above 3,500. Since then things have not been so rosy, as the FTSE has come back. He said daily profits and losses could easily swing from £40,000 down to £40,000 up.

"On the worst day this year I lost about £200,000," he conceded.

But the 54-year-old won't even consider giving up. "What else can you do that is this much fun and you can make so much money from?" he asked. "The real beauty is you can do it when you want, from wherever you want – I often place trades while on the deck of cruise ships with a drink in my hand."

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