Let’s be honest — trading gets a bad rap sometimes. Movies love to paint traders as adrenaline junkies shouting into phones, fueled by caffeine and chaos — and that is how it was in the 90s on the trading desk at Lehman Brothers. However, times have changed and the real art and science of trading is far more disciplined, strategic, electronic and efficient than Hollywood ever shows. (It no longer takes 2+ minutes to get an order down to the floor of the exchange— you can trade immediately in an algorithm without “talking to” or “yelling at” anyone.)
I’ve been at this for a while — through bull markets, bear markets, commissions moving from 1/4 per share to 1/8 to 1/16 to decimalization, high touch to algorithms, Long-Term Capital collapse, the dot-com bubble burst, the Great Financial Crisis — and I can say without hesitation: trading is my sweet spot. It’s where market theory meets human psychology, and where data, instinct, and experience collide.
Trading Is Not Guesswork. It’s Judgment.
The biggest misconception is that trading is about “timing the market.” In reality, it’s about having a long-term disciplined approach that can withstand market drawdowns and take advantage of mispriced stocks.
At SGI, we don’t rely on luck; we rely on process. Our Portfolio Managers use a quantitative framework designed to build portfolios that can weather volatility and generate alpha. When we trade into those rebalanced portfolios, we factor in liquidity, execution costs, market movements, and depth-of-book — elements most investors rarely think about but always benefit from.
That’s where the “science” part comes in: algorithms, trade cost analytics (TCA), and technology help us see and react to market movements with precision; but don’t mistake precision for perfection. Even the best traders can’t account for macroeconomic data, geopolitical curveballs, earnings surprises, unexpected company or competitor announcements that the market loves to throw at us.
That’s where the art takes over.
The Art of Knowing When Not to Trade
One of the hardest things for new traders — or even seasoned investors — to learn is restraint. The urge to “do something” in a fast-moving market is powerful. But often, the best move is no move.
There’s a subtle beauty in stepping back, letting the market noise fade, and focusing on fundamentals and discipline. Many times, the stocks will revert to more reasonable level. Sometimes being a great trader is less about pressing the button and more about knowing when not to.
What Trading Really Does for Investors
At Summit Global, our trading team serves two distinct audiences: outside investors, both institutional and individual wealth clients, as well as our internal Portfolio Managers, who rebalance the funds and ETFs monthly. The mechanics might differ, but the mission is the same — execute intelligently while minimizing market impact.
For institutional and HNW individuals, the trading team blocks orders, places limits where needed, will do a “request for quote” if the size of the order outsizes the liquidity and monitor the progress of the orders.
For our mutual fund rebalances, we closely look at liquidity, determine the best algorithms for the list (i.e. for illiquid stocks, placing the order in a hidden algorithm might minimize stock movement), closely monitor performances vs. the chosen benchmarks, pause orders that we think will revert, etc.
ETF rebalances are a little bit different as the first step is to analyze the PnL of positions to determine whether a “custom rebalance” is needed. (this will be a topic for another day)
Trading is the bridge between strategy and results. Every basis point saved in execution matters. And that’s not theory — it’s real, tangible value for clients.
Markets Have No Mercy (But They Teach You Everything)
Here’s something every good trader learns early: the market doesn’t care how you feel. It doesn’t reward confidence, it rewards discipline. It doesn’t forgive impatience, it punishes it. But it’s also an incredible teacher. Every day is a masterclass in humility, pattern recognition, and adaptability. You learn to think probabilistically, to plan for multiple outcomes, and to always — always — respect risk.
Final Thoughts
Trading isn’t just about buying and selling. It’s about understanding the markets and being able to adapt to market movements in a disciplined approach.
For our clients and our internal strategies, trading is the quiet engine that drives results. When done well, it’s almost invisible — but the impact is tangible.
As for me? I wouldn’t trade it (pun fully intended) for anything.
Disclosure
Awards and recognitions are based on independent evaluations using criteria such as investment performance, firm growth, adviser expertise, and breadth of services. The issuing organization, date, and period covered are shown with each award. No compensation was provided to receive any recognition, though SGI may pay licensing fees to reference them in marketing. Such accolades are not indicative of future performance or the quality of advisory services.
This material is provided for informational purposes only and should not be construed as investment advice or a recommendation to buy or sell any specific security, strategy, or investment product. The information contained herein reflects the views of Summit Global Investments (“SGI”) as of the date of publication and is subject to change without notice.
Advisory services are offered by Summit Global Investments, LLC, an SEC Registered Investment Adviser. Investing involves risk, including possible loss of principal, and there is no guarantee that targets or objectives will be met. Diversification does not eliminate the risk of loss.
SUMM-00071-11-17-2025
