Best advice? Manage your expectations. Set realistic ones. And treat this like a job. Says Alessandro from Italy

Hi Alessandro, and welcome among the Fintokei Stars – as the very first Italian trader! How did you get into trading? What was the very beginning like?

Hi, and thanks a lot for having me! The very first spark came in 2020 from Manuel Sanchez – he’s a professional trader I discovered on Instagram. At that time, I wasn’t even 18 yet, so it was more about igniting that initial curiosity.

I started looking deeper into trading and exploring it on my own. The real commitment came about two years later, when I paid for my first course – someone recommended it to me back then. You could say that Manuel Sanchez gave me the mental foundation that later helped me move forward.

And how did things go at the start? Did that course help you?

Not really. It was quite overpriced and the quality wasn’t great 😀 especially when it came to trading psychology – most of that stuff couldn’t be applied in real practice. But even then, I took away some useful knowledge about algorithmic logic, and after that, I kept learning online by myself.

Props for not giving up on trading after a bad course – a lot of people would. Do you remember your first trade?

Yeah, it was on oil, and I actually ended up in profit. But not long after that, I lost about 70% of my equity – all because of a trade without a stop loss. That mistake came entirely from me, driven by pure intuition and the Dunning–Kruger effect 😀.
It wasn’t my very first trade, but it was the first one that really taught me something. From that point, I knew I had to keep learning, understanding, applying, and dedicating time.

Did you have any mentors or trading idols who helped you early on?

Definitely – quite a few actually. Like I mentioned, after that poor course, I started studying how professional traders work. People like Fabio Valentini, Andrea Unger, Andrea Cimitan, Jan Smolen, Patrick Nill, Tom Hougaard, Marco D’Andrea, and Taleb. I took the algorithmic structure from that initial course – the one I had backtested – and built on it with what I learned from them.
Besides those names, I also like to quote George Soros, and I developed a professional protocol for refining my strategy: Backtest → Stress test → Forward test → Live trading → Optimization and review. Then I added volume analysis on top, and that’s how my current hybrid system was born. Outside of trading, I also respect thinkers like Carl Jung, whose ideas have influenced how I think and approach the markets.

And how did all this influence your trading? Apart from the testing protocol you mentioned.

Quite a lot. I’ve gone through several “threshold” moments. The first one was when I integrated volume analysis into my system – that’s when the hybrid strategy came together. The second moment was when I learned about the concept of overfitting and anti-fragile models.

Overfitting happens when an automated strategy becomes too “trained” on historical data, and then fails in live markets. The anti-fragile part comes from Nassim Taleb – in trading, it means building strategies that get stronger when the market fluctuates. They’re incredibly resilient and sometimes even benefit from uncertainty.

So what do you trade, and on which Fintokei account?

Right now, I’m trading on one of the smaller accounts – ProTrader 20k EUR. That’s where I tested my system. My goal now is to move up to a bigger one – I’ve just started a SwiftTrader 100k EUR, which has only one evaluation phase.

I mainly trade Nasdaq and Dow Jones, and I’m also testing strategies on gold and oil – still working on finding my edge there.

For Nasdaq and Dow, I use a systematic method inspired by algorithmic strategies.
I start from a 1:1 risk-to-reward ratio, but I adjust my targets dynamically depending on volatility and market structure.

That makes the system stable yet adaptive, and it usually achieves a better than 1:1 ratio.

What do you enjoy most about trading?

That’s changed over time. If you asked me a few years ago, I’d say adrenaline and independence.
Now it’s the exact opposite – patience and love for the process.

I think nobody stays in trading with the same emotions they had at the beginning. Sure, at first it’s all about adrenaline and the dream of freedom – and that can push you forward. But if you stay only in that mindset, you’ll burn out fast.

Beautifully said. How did that mindset help you during the Fintokei challenge?

A lot – especially when it comes to handling stress. I’m a huge fan of keeping a trading journal. It helps me track my emotions. You can’t eliminate emotions, but by writing them down and spotting patterns, you become more aware – and that’s powerful.

When I passed the Fintokei challenge, of course I was happy. But I also knew it was just one step in a much longer journey.

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Does journaling help you deal with losses?

Absolutely, massively. I see losses as part of the game.
When I place a trade, I already accept the possibility of a loss. And when it happens, I just log it in my journal and ask myself – was this emotional, or was it market-driven.

That’s also why I barely remember my best trades – they’re just part of the system.
But I do remember the worst ones 😀 – those that show you crossed a psychological line and traded on emotion instead of logic.

How big of a role does trading play in your life now?

I don’t see it as a hobby or a job – it’s a passion. And because of that, I can balance it with my other passions. When I started, trading took up almost all my free time. Now, my routine is simple: I wake up, take a cold shower, have breakfast, drink coffee, and start trading. Sometimes I read something from my mentors, or write in my journal. But I definitely don’t trade all day long.

Thanks a lot, Alessandro. Before we wrap up – what’s one trading myth you think needs to die?

That psychology is 90% of trading. In my opinion, it’s much closer to 50/50 – psychology and technical skill. They’re connected vessels – if one’s weak, it affects the other. I get why people love the romantic idea that “psychology is everything,” but honestly, that’s just not true.