Meet a Pro Trader - Kartikeya Khantwal

Smart, Active, responsive, Learner, Educator, Young, Handsome and Humble - These are the qualities that define the super trader whom I personally know - Kartikeya Khantwal - flying in the sky, feet grounded. His story of trading is similar to an ordinary trader but what makes him extraordinary - the discipline that he earned from his sleepless night during his formative days. He is continuing with that discipline from last 6 years.

He says his major chunks of income come from trading, especially day trading. Apart from that, he runs some educational institutes as well as a mentorship institute for upcoming aspiring traders and steering them into the direction. 2019 was the year in which he was selected as the best educator in Gujarat.

He has lots of quality however trading is the priority. Let me bring him into the play and listen about trading from him only. I have frame some questions to help you.

What does the word “trader” mean for you? And what type of trader you are?

To me, a trader is anyone who’s actively aiming to accomplish returns on capital that exceeds the standard. Market return over the longer run. A trader needs to be tracking triggers both macro and micro to come up with a mechanism that churns out said returns. I consider myself to be a highly aggressive intraday trader, aiming towards the same goals as of a trader, to grow and compound my capital.

What Makes you profitable trader?

I would say that my approach towards the chart as a whole combining various timeframes and still sticking to the rules is what’s keeping me afloat on the market scene. Profit doesn’t necessarily mean 50k or 5 lakh MTMs but rather the simple fact that my capital is growing month on month at a steady and sustainable rate.

How do you find an approach to the market? What is your strategy for Trading?

As an intraday trader, most of my analysis is done keeping in mind the very short term price fluctuation and movement, and not on the larger daily or weekly trend. 

Although to keep that in mind, there’s one particular method I like to follow, which is top-down Analysis or in simple words; studying charts from larger to smaller time-frame and nothing important confluence points such as demand-supply zones, trend lines or structural weakness/breaks. 

I do not really recommend using a chart loaded with tons of indicators. Instead, I believe you should empower yourself with concepts that are branching out from price action and have relatively higher subjectivity and lead to increased efficiency in your analysis. If you would like to further read into what concepts I use please come onto my free educational source – OSEducation, I have everything mentioned with charts there.

How do you manage your risk and Money?

I give a very high seat at the table to my RR and money management. I firmly believe that RR and money management can stop an excellent analyst from becoming profitable. It’s possible to make money from the marker but unless you’re able to manage it, it’s impossible to keep that money. RR of 1:2 is the base rate that I aim for, in intraday trades. Or a base of 1:1 in Banknifty for 50% and trail 50% to 1:2 book 25% and trail further at the mercy of the market. 

This RR aren’t fixed but can vary depending upon market strength and conditioning although this is what I aim for. When it comes to money management, I would say that one should never go “all in” on a “good” trade, but rather aim to diversify your risk through multiple concepts/setups over multiple assets and never assign more than 10% of your capital on a trade or build an exposure of over 5% on a single trade.

So self-knowledge, having an edge, risk management, and discipline are the qualities that set traders apart?

Absolutely, self-knowledge is crucial to your continuous growth. The edge is also I love, because I believe that the market remains a zero-sum game and to be on the winning side one must be better than the traders on the other side. 

This is where the subjectivity of my system and price action kicks in. We both could be on the same setup with the same concepts but will still be getting different triggers depending on our understanding and ability to grasp multiple layers of the system and reading them at the same time. 

Risk management is what makes sure you keep the money that you make from your system, once again absolutely important to sustain your greens. I would say that a good risk management rule-set compliments a good technical setup, both of which are reinforced through disciplinary excellence.

How do you control your greed and fear?

The cycle of greed and fear is endless, and it’s very detrimental to a traders growth. I would recommend starting on a capital of 3 to 5 thousand rupees and focusing on building your skills, along with psychology to overcome this cycle.

What do you do when you find that your trade went wrong? Do you wait for SL hit?

It’s a simple decision here, you take the hit and move on. This is never going to be something that is going to trouble you if your risk management is on point. Losses are always going to be a part of the game and it's something that simply cannot be removed. When it comes to my setup, being a trend trader I always use bracket orders which exit at either SL or Target.

Non-professional traders think that market moves in a single direction - In the direction of their trade taken. Is it so?

The market is and always has been supreme in nature, we can't control the market. We’re market participants and should aim to be able to react to the market moves in a timely and apt manner.

What is the highest Profit and Loss MTM of Yours in a Day? Do you have screen-shots? Please share if any.

Haha, this is a tough one. If I can recollect correctly my highest red was in the 340,000 range and my highest greens have been roughly 12,00,000/-, please keep in mind the returns aren't astronomical if we look at these in % terms concerning my capital. It would be right max 4% red and 15% max greens. I’m sorry I don't have the screenshots on me but I'll try to find some big ones and share them.

Do you have any Maine Bola Tha moment? Share with us if remember.

I don’t really have these moments as I’m not one to brag about my analysis in the open. However, it certainly feels nice to be on the right side of things.

What have you learned from the market as of now?

The market has a lot of potential to make money. I strongly believe that the amount of money you can make from the markets is limited only by your understanding of the market and your ability to execute that understanding. One should always remain humble in the market because the market never fails to surprise you, one should also be flexible to your bias and the market movement with valid confirmation.

What advice would you give to non-professionals who would like to start trading?

The market paints a rosy picture, so does social media. Becoming a trader is a full-time job and not something that should be done as a hobby or as an engaging sport. Trading is hard work but is equally rewarding. To be a good trader, one must be a good analyst. 

There are multiple ways to engage in technical analysis, and it is something that truly has no bounds. You should always be brushing up on old concepts and learning new ones to sharpen your tools. Maintain a trading log/journal along with an analytical journal of your watchlist.

This is very important, as without this you will have no yardstick to measure, evaluate your performance and correct your mistakes. It’s definitely not an easy start, or a soft journey so please do not give up Midway. Market is the hardest way to make easy money. Respect the market, and it will respect you in return.  

Kartikeya is not just a businessman or trader, he is a man with a big heart that attracts him to some welfare works. That's made him the secretary of a social welfare organization - PECT ( Prerna Education and Charitable Trust) which is a nationally and well as internationally recognized and awarded organization through which they are aiming to bring in key developmental triggers such as employment and education for all at the grass-root level in your villages and backward localities.

If you like this article, don’t forget to bless it with your tweet or share on your favourite social media.  Further, you might like to read Following Trading Journey:

Chartered Accountant turned full-time Trader - An inspiring Trading Journey

An MBA Specialized in International Business Turned Full-Time Trader cum Investor

You got any questions that are not mentioned above and hovering in your mind? Or anything else that you wanted to ask? Comment box is for you - Just write those or directly connects with Kartikeya on his linked in - Kartikeya Khantwal or on his Instagram - @kartik98k, Facebook - Kartikeya Khantwal.