The TraderLion Podcast

Trading $30 Million at Age 25 - The Story of Ted Zhang, Momentum Portfolio Manager

30 snips
Feb 16, 2026
Ted Zhang, a 25-year-old portfolio manager who turned gig-economy cash into a $30M trading portfolio, shares his rise from pre-dental student to thematic momentum trader. He discusses his modified CAN SLIM “Magic Elixir,” systematic journaling and screening, position sizing and risk limits for client capital, and detailed bar-by-bar trade walkthroughs across themes like memory, metals, and rare earths.
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INSIGHT

Risk Is Both Loss And The Unseen Outcome

  • Ted offers multiple definitions of risk: potential to lose money, volatility, and 'what can happen but didn't' (Howard Marks/Morgan Housel).
  • He stresses planning for being wrong by predefining stops and position size.
ADVICE

Use Habits To Compound Trading Skill

  • Build disciplined habits: read Atomic Habits and use implementation intentions and habit stacking to improve daily consistency.
  • Compound small improvements (1% a day) into major skill gains over time.
INSIGHT

Diversification Can Disappear In Crises

  • In crises correlations converge, so apparent diversification can fail; sell rules and drawdown controls matter more than naive asset allocation.
  • Ted stresses smoothing the equity curve for clients over chasing concentrated returns.
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