Chapter 17: has too few transactions!

The morning air was slightly cool, and the office was still relatively empty.
"Hey, Su Hao. You're here?"
A voice rang out, laced with deliberately feigned enthusiasm. It was Liang Haiyuan.
His face, usually carrying a hint of aloofness and impatience, was now plastered with a forced smile, the fine lines on his forehead crinkling into a cheerful grin.
Su Hao's heart skipped a beat, a strange, inexplicable unease rising within him.
What...what's wrong with this man?
Just a short while ago, Liang Haiyuan often greeted him or Li Huilin with a stern look and unfriendly tone first thing in the morning.
This sudden, almost ear-to-ear, radiant smile today...it was truly bizarre.
Could it be...he struck gold on some stock yesterday? Is he in an exceptionally good mood? He wondered to himself.
“Yeah, I’m used to arriving early.” Su Hao nodded slightly, responding succinctly, not wanting to linger.
“Heh, you’ve only been a full-time employee for a short time, and you’ve already made it a habit? You’re a really hardworking and reliable young man.”
Liang Haiyuan launched into a tirade of flattery:
“Hmm? By the way, I heard your profit margin yesterday was the highest among all departments? Thanks to you, our department feels much more confident now, it’s really reassuring.”
“…” Su Hao remained silent, not responding.
From that overly eager gaze to the slightly exaggerated body language, everything made him feel a heavy unease.
He nodded hastily in acknowledgment, almost fleeing, quickly slipping back to his workstation.
‘Really… I can’t get used to it.’
He muttered to himself, his gaze falling on his newly renovated workbench.
Before, his seat was merely a narrow corner, with a lone monitor standing on the desk. Shabby.
Now, six brand-new LCD screens were arranged in a fan shape, gleaming with a cool, gleaming light.
Next to them were multi-functional keyboards and other clearly professional-looking equipment, the entire area arranged with both efficiency and a high-tech feel.
As the saying goes, a complete upgrade.
Indeed, compared to the messy, "doghouse-like" workstations of the other traders around him, his was undoubtedly the neatest and most advanced.
His fingertips traced the cold metal casing, bringing a strange sense of unfamiliarity.
'But... before the market opens, it seems there's nothing to do.'
In the past, he was always busy following behind Li Huilin, printing and distributing materials, meticulously preparing for meetings.
Those days seem like yesterday, yet they are definitely over.
Because the two newly assigned assistants in the team have taken over these miscellaneous tasks that once belonged to him.
“Um, Hao-ge. These are the documents the research department just released today.”
A slightly hesitant voice rang out, and one of the young assistants respectfully handed over a stack of documents.
“Ah, okay. Thank you.” Su Hao took them and thanked him.
Once upon a time, he was the one distributing documents everywhere.
Now, the roles have reversed; he's the one receiving the documents.
Although he can access information on a computer, printed copies are still essential for meetings.
On days with a lot of documents, he used to spend almost the entire day by the buzzing photocopier, inhaling the pungent smell of toner.
'These two assistants… in terms of seniority, they've probably been here longer than me.'
A pang of guilt swept through him.
But then he remembered that in financial companies, especially private equity firms, performance is everything; seniority is secondary.
He'd heard that there were monthly performance reviews here, and if a certain minimum score wasn't met, the contract would be automatically terminated. No mercy.
It was truly a… cruel place.
The person who was laughing and chatting with you yesterday might vanish from this office the very next day after a single review, as if they'd never existed.
An invisible pressure seemed to hang in the air, making everyone tense.
“Su Hao, you’re here early, aren’t you?”
At that moment, another familiar voice came. It was Li Huilin.
“Ah, yes. Sister Huilin, you’re here too? But… your complexion…”
Su Hao noticed the two clearly visible dark circles under her eyes, like marks of exhaustion, making her look haggard.
"Ugh, don't even mention it. I didn't sleep a wink last night because I was so worried. I'm a full-fledged trader now, and performance reviews have officially started."
Li Huilin forced a bitter smile, her voice heavy with weariness:
"I'm really afraid that if my performance keeps going down like this, I'll be fired one day… How can I not worry?"
So that's it.
This is the root of why traders are all so easily frightened and irritable.
The pressure to survive is very real.
"But thankfully, Su Hao, you made a fortune yesterday. I heard that while individual performance is important, good team performance adds a lot of points. You're practically our team's savior!"
"It's only the first day," Su Hao replied calmly, not at all smug.
"Ah! By the way," Li Huilin seemed to remember something and asked curiously, "Su Hao, how many times do you usually trade a day?"
Yesterday… he recalled.
Exactly three times.
Because only three buy orders were executed.
Wait, so… he hasn't sold yet?
If I sell after the market opens today, the price… shouldn't drop, right?
His heart sank slightly.
“Yesterday… I made 150 trades just.” Li Huilin rubbed her slightly sore wrists:
“My fingers are almost broken, and my eyes are really sore. There was even one time I lost money because of a setting error.”
“…150 times?” Su Hao was slightly surprised.
“150 times? That's low, at most below average. Usually, senior traders make hundreds of trades a day.”
Li Huilin smiled self-deprecatingly:
“That's why you see everyone so busy after the market closes at noon, they don't even have time for lunch, they all have to set up their trading plans according to the predetermined strategy before the afternoon opening.”
Su Hao knew that traders had high trading volumes, but he didn't expect it to be hundreds of trades per person. This was the first time he'd heard of such a thing.
"Therefore, when buying and selling highly liquid stocks, you must always have risk management in mind."
Li Huilin continued to share her experience:
"For example, when buying a stock, automatically allocate a certain percentage of the funds to over-the-counter options, or short related futures, buy inverse ETFs, etc., using this systematic approach to hedge risk."
Oh, I see!
Su Hao suddenly understood.
No wonder after each meeting, those traders rushed back to their computers like arrows, typing away furiously.
He had been wondering why they were all in such a rush before the market even opened.
So they were setting buy-sell ratios and deploying trades based on the latest investment strategies.
"Could it be... Su Hao, you didn't operate this way yesterday?" Li Huilin looked at him, her eyes filled with inquiry.
"I... I only traded three times yesterday," Su Hao answered truthfully.
"What?! Only three times?! You...you're not a short-term trader, are you? No wonder, I had a feeling back in our simulated investing days...Su Hao, your style is swing trading!"
Li Huilin's eyes widened slightly:
"Your heart is incredibly strong, practically a 'heart of steel'! You can actually hold on without selling, just holding on like that? The stock price chart must not have been a steady upward trend; the fluctuations must have been quite dramatic, right?"
Traders' styles can be roughly divided into four types.
First is high-frequency trading, which involves thousands or even tens of thousands of trades a day. But that's almost entirely automated and can be disregarded for now.
Second is short-term trading, which most people here engage in, aiming for quick intraday profits.
Third is value investing, which requires patiently holding for months or even years, focusing on long-term trends.
The last type is swing trading, which involves very few trades per day, usually less than 10.
'Speaking of which, I actually think…' Su Hao silently retorted to himself, 'Those who do short-term trading really need a heart of steel.'
Although there's a risk management system monitoring him, the thought of continuous, high-intensity buying and selling is enough to make his eyes explode.
Moreover, whether his "intuition" would still be effective in this kind of ultra-short-term trading is still unknown.
After all, his experience is: when a "feeling" comes, buy immediately, no problem.
But when should he sell? That clear "selling intuition" seems to have never appeared.
'Perhaps… it's just because I've never tried short-term trading that I think this way.'
All along, he's just acted on his gut feeling: "mindlessly" pressing the buy button, and then it's over.
In this light, compared to short-term trading, which requires precise timing of buy and sell points, the holding and waiting mode of swing trading might indeed be more suitable for him, and more "stable."
"There are no special meetings scheduled today. Everyone, review your research materials and develop strategies."
Zhou Yi said this and turned to walk into his office, leaving behind silence.
Oh no. No meeting today?
Su Hao frowned slightly.
What he needed most right now was information, data!
Compared to tediously studying those research reports, listening to his team members discuss and exchange ideas was much easier and more effective for him to understand.
So, the person he could turn to for help… seemed to be only one.
“Um… Sister Huilin?” He hesitated, turning to Li Huilin.
“Hmm? What’s wrong, Su Hao?” Li Huilin looked up.
“There’s no meeting today…”
“Oh, that’s... usually when the manager predicts a general market downturn today, he does this.”
Li Huilin nodded knowingly:
“It means we have to decide for ourselves whether to short sell to profit from the decline, or simply stay put and observe for a day. He’s delegating the decision-making power to us.”
So that’s the reason.
“Then… shall we discuss it ourselves, using the research materials?” Su Hao tentatively suggested.
“Ah? Could it be… Su Hao, you…”
Upon hearing this, an expression of surprise and gratitude instantly appeared on Li Huilin’s face.
“Are you… worried about me? Afraid that my returns won’t be good? So… you want to help me?”
“…”
Su Hao fell silent again.