Quentin Spilliaert

In emotional storms, always get back to the basics.

  • Status
    Part-time
  • Location
    Brussels, Belgium
  • Trader Personality
    Hybrid Trader
  • Experience
    6 months
Meet Quentin Spilliaert

Quentin popped onto TMC's radar (in a big way) in mid-September 2020 when he announced to the club that he passed the FTMO verification phase (to become a funded trader). With only 6 months of total trading experience, he's showing us all how it's done! Quentin hasn't missed a single Market Update or Insights (TMC's live events) since becoming a member, proving that your results are directly correlated to the amount of effort you put in. Check out the full interview TMC recently conducted with Quentin below...

When did your trading journey first begin?

It all started in March 2020, 6 months ago, just when COVID hit the world. I read some stuff about the effect of the pandemic on the stock market, and started to be interested in how stock prices evolve. Also, I have a friend seriously into cryptocurrencies, who genuinely shares his vision on the future of decentralized finance, and that also got me interested.  I started to watch videos, read articles, on how to make money in trading. My first interest was the stock market. After 2-3 weeks of research; here was my conclusion: I had to gain knowledge on stock market dynamics, follow how individual stock prices evolve, dig deep into selected sectors, and then after a few months/years, I will have some money saved as capital to start trading. I was especially interested to specialize in biotech stocks, since this is the domain I am working in.

What was it that made you want to pursue full-time (or part-time) trading?

Freedom. Clearly. To me, above money, I am deeply convinced that time is the most precious resource. And then of course, I started to understand that trading is maybe the only activity which can provide unlimited profits. It virtually has no ceiling (there might be some, but only at a scale where it is not a problem anymore). In our world, if you want freedom of action, you need time and money. And then I had a sort of revelation: I always believed that you need to work 9-5 (at minimum) to make money through a salary. But this is not an absolute truth. You can also only focus on making money, and after that create or invest in businesses, and be free to achieve your own purpose.  

"To me, above money, I am deeply convinced that time is the most precious resource."
What is something unexpected that you love about trading?

Everything in trading was unexpected to me. It has really nothing to do with what we commonly have in mind about trading. To me, price action is a mixture between emotional chaos and a self-structured matrix. This is an exact mirror of our life and our society, when you think about it. A trader is very close to these dynamics, and that can be very violent, with huge emotional impact. A trader is put in this very uncomfortable position to face his/her biggest fears and traumas. I think here you maybe have a first big differentiator between traders who will hold up, and those for whom this is too hard. I think a successful trader is able to turn this into a growth opportunity. I think it is also very interesting to think about fear of success. To me this was completely new. I was really surprised when I listened to a TMC Evolve session on this theme. But this fear plays a big role, even non conscientiously. Suppose you have now the equation freedom=time+money solved for yourself; are you sure you can face such a life? The answer is not as easy as it seems… (this is of course an oversimplified view of freedom. But let’s take it for the sake of discussion).

What are one to three books that have profoundly impacted your trading journey / life in general? Why?

Elliott Wave Principle: Key to Stock Market Profits (Alfred John Frost and Robert Prechte); absolutely a must read IMO. Very good complement to TMC Education. I always have these Elliott theories in mind when trading. Some are really astonishing.

Market Wizards (Jack D. Schwager); I think this one is a gold mine. If you really want to understand what’s happening in the mind of a successful trader: go read this. It completely changed my vision on trading. Some stories are unbelievable (like a trader who started by blowing up his mother’s life savings, and then happened to build a multi-billion hedge fund).

What new belief, behaviour, or habit has helped you gain the most forward momentum since becoming a trader?

I am impatient, and this has already cost me a lot. The belief behind is that I think I have to create the opportunity for myself, or it won’t happen (note a certain lack of confidence compensated with action). In trading, you cannot work like this. You have to sit on your hands, and wait patiently for opportunities, and have the faith that they will occur. Otherwise you simply won’t have enough capital anymore to make profits when opportunities are presenting themselves. I am also doing here the parallel between markets and real life; you have real momentum 15% of the time (don’t quote me on this rough estimation). The rest is preparation. Another unexpected element: trading and world of financial markets are really fascinating.

One of Quentin's trading setups
One of Quentin's preferred trading setups
What advice would you give to an inspired, driven individual about to step into the trading world?

Go all in or don’t go. Watch your mindset. Trade for living and don’t live for trading. Never feel unbeatable by your worst enemy; yourself. A trader is just a market liquidity provider, so keep calm. In emotional storms; always get back to basics: 1/ Do you have profitable trading strategies? (if not, TMC has some) 2/ Are you confident enough to execute them, and only them?

How has Trading MasterClass assisted your evolution?

It changed everything. Like I said, before joining Trading MasterClass, I thought I will just gain knowledge on individual stocks dynamics and save enough money to invest in a few years. I remember when Irek, in one of the first videos, says that it’s good to start with forex, then with stock market, and then you can explore crypto’s. I think it was one of the first times I heard about forex… I feel so grateful to have found this education at an early stage of my trading journey. TMC is a comprehensive trading education. You really don’t need more to be consistently profitable. I did other courses; I dare to say that they only allowed me to understand deeper the TMC strategies; and at the end of the day I always get back to TMC basics. I never enter a trade if it’s not aligned with one of the TMC strategies. The self-development aspect of TMC was also really game-changing to me. Without this, I think that even if I was mastering the strategies (which is not yet the case), I would not be able to apply them. It is also of unbelievable support to feel part of a community of hundreds of profitable traders.

"I never enter a trade if it’s not aligned with one of the TMC strategies."
What’s up next in your trading journey?

I still consider myself as a beginner. So first of all I need to consolidate my trading skills. After that I will for sure follow the Blueprint Program at TMC; to discover what’s really my trading style, fine-tune it, and build a robust trading plan. I am also really interested in the micro timeframe strategies that TMC is currently developing. It looks really exciting. That’s what I like the most in TMC; this constant evolution. So please keep doing this!

Any final words of wisdom?

If some people who have not yet subscribed to Trading MasterClass are reading this; as beginner in trading, you might have this question (as I had); why on earth a profitable trader would spend time to teach his/her strategies to the others? He could use this time to trade and make more profits right? This is the key; you can’t be successful in trading if you treat money like a final purpose. This is not psychologically sustainable. Money is just the way.

How can we keep up with you?

Instagram: @qwintslliaert

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