Ep 118: Chris Irons

Part of becoming a well-rounded trader is learning as much as you can from a wide variety of sources. This week, the SteadyTrade Podcast is proud to present an eye-opening interview with Chris Irons, host of the sometimes foul-mouthed but always super-informative podcast Quoth the Raven (QTR). 

Chris has a long history in the financial world — and he has plenty of great information and wisdom to share. Tune in as host Tim Bohen talks with Chris Irons about his personal story, his thoughts on trading, and his tips for staying afloat in times of economic uncertainty. 

Chris’s Origin Story 

As regular listeners of the show know, Tim loves exploring the ‘superhero’ origin story of successful traders. 

In the episode, Chris explains his “18-year overnight success” story (2:14). He covers how he started out exploring the market in his late teens and maintained that interest over many years … all while bartending, attending grad school, and more. 

Unfortunately, interest didn’t always equal success for Chris. After experiencing failure with stocks, options, and Forex, he decided it was time to get real … That’s when he turned to education. 

His second run at grad school was more aligned with finance. Then through his jobs, he began to gain more knowledge about how public companies work. That’s when he connected to the type of research he really wanted to do. 

That’s also was around the time he started QTR (15:16). In the episode, he reveals how the podcast evolved and his approach to featuring different figures and stories from the market. Today, the podcast boasts nearly 1.5 million downloads!

Advice for New Traders

SteadyTrade is largely geared toward new traders (26:15). What quoth the raven about tips and tricks for the newbies? 

This episode, Chris shares some anecdotal advice based on his 16-plus years of trading. You won’t want to miss his thoughts about the “university trap” and his thoughts on higher learning. 

He also talks about the importance of finding your own path and recognizing that your opinions and thoughts are just as valid as those of the so-called market influencers. 

Trust Your Research, Trust Your Instinct

Chris urges you to block some of the major trading websites (29:20). Why? It’s not because they don’t have anything to offer … You need to learn to get in the habit of doing your own research. 

According to Chris, once you remove the cloak of financial jargon, you can start to realize that much of the news is hype … That makes it all the more important to have your own point of view. 

The Technical Analysis Trap

It might seem like blasphemy, but Chris cautions against getting “sucked into the scam of technical analysis” (38:00). 

He describes how many traders can fall into the trap of only relying on technical analysis — some to the point of ignoring the all-important fundamentals. Looking at things like a company’s debt (or lack thereof) and price-to-earnings ratio is super important when trying to sniff out stocks to trade. 

Tim and Chris also discuss what they see as some of the faults in the world of finance (44:45) … That includes inherent and major flaws in the economy at large. Chris warns there are valid reasons that right now, the economy feels like a giant Jenga puzzle just waiting to topple.

The QTR Approach to the Market

Chris thinks that one big problem too many traders have is that they “don’t take the time to be 1% skeptical” (47:00). He explains some of the ways that he maintains faith in this economy and his personal approaches to trading. 

He closes out the episode with his thoughts on how to stay safe in an unsteady market, including some approaches that newer traders may not have considered. 

He also offers some great parting advice about embracing your own weaknesses. He explains how “this is what will turn you into the rock that other people will break themselves on.”

Got Something to Say?

Want to add to the conversation or ask a question? 

Send over your thoughts and questions! Remember: if your question is chosen as an on-air topic, you could win a SteadyTrade mystery gift box. Send questions via the SteadyTrade website, YouTube, or by email.

Thanks for tuning in to the SteadyTrade podcast. Stay tuned for weekly episodes featuring the hottest topics for aspiring traders.

Tell us how much you enjoyed this episode — please review us on iTunes!