Svetlana Nagornaya is a well-known blogger and trader on the stock exchange. Conducts courses and webinars on trading, where she shares the knowledge she has gained over 15 years of her practice.
HP: Tell us a little about yourself and your childhood? How did you become a Trading Goddess from an ordinary girl Sveta and become a popular and successful blogger?
SVETLANA: I really grew up in an ordinary family: my mother is an accountant, my father is an engineer. When I was growing up, I always thought that I had an ordinary childhood, and only with the advent of my children did I begin to understand that I was the child who loved to learn. When you're in that state, when you're the kind of kid who loves to learn, then you don't think that learning is something special and incredible. I was one of those who did not hide their delight when the teacher said: “We take out double sheets of paper, now there will be a test”, I adored all the subjects. I stupidly loved to study! In the seventh grade, my parents transferred me to a physics and mathematics gymnasium, where I was surrounded by exactly the same children, which led to the understanding that a strong love of learning is normal. I entered the institute based on the results of Olympiads for gifted children, I did not pass the entrance exams. I was never shy and always raised my hand if something was not clear to me, but at the same time I was not such, you know, a modest nerd who silently does everything well. I was an activist. If you asked: “Who will perform on Victory Day?” - Me! - “Who will sing a song with a guitar at a tourist rally?” - I! She was a very active participant in school life. And, probably, this allowed me to turn into a blogger in the future, because I always loved to speak, loved to stand out and was an upstart, and this is a good quality for a blogger.
GP: Svetlana, you have been on the stock exchange since you were 19. At that time, trading was not so popular in Russia. In any case, it was not as widespread as it is now. How did you, as a very young girl, get the idea to start your financial independence in this way?
SVETLANA: I was 18 years old in 2002-2003. Just at that time, Forex began to appear in Russia. I then went to the institute by subway and in each car there was an announcement: “We are recruiting Forex traders”. Every second job advertisement contained the following: "We are looking for a trader-analyst." In fact, this is how my trading life began. I wanted to earn extra money, but only in the afternoon, after classes at the institute. I remember I found an announcement that a trader-analyst was required in an office that was next to my institute. The working day started at 3 pm, as the US stock exchange opens around 4:30 pm - this schedule was perfect for me! But as a result, I did not pass the final interview in the company, then I had to write an essay on the topic: "The economic situation in Russia." At that time, I did not know anything about what a trader and analyst is, but I knew that I had lost my job. And for me it was a huge disappointment and chagrin. At the moment when I was 19 years old, I decided to study in parallel with daytime education in the evening. For this, I chose the Faculty of Economics of St Petersburg University, because I wanted to eventually prove to myself that I can still understand this area.
GP: What role does financial literacy and professional education play in this? Was your education a start in this direction?
SVETLANA: Professional education and financial literacy definitely play a role in this! At the Faculty of Economics at St. Petersburg State University, I was very fond of the subject of securities. But this subject was taught by a young girl who was an outspoken theorist, did not work on the stock exchange, that is, teaching the subject "securities", she simply dictated definitions to us. And we passed the exams the same way. When we were asked how it was, we simply read this subject by rote. From the point of view of working on the stock exchange, it was a useless experience, because they didn’t tell us anything about the stock exchange. That is, the exchange remained such an incomprehensible theoretical term with such terrible words as futures, options, derivatives, and so on. But by that time I had already started working on Forex myself.
GP: Tell us about your first steps in investing, how was it, how did you start? Was there a mentor, or did they themselves tread an unknown path for themselves?
SVETLANA: At that time, I started to work on Forex myself, I had a very small deposit, I was earning literally 200 rubles a day there. For me, it was super cool, because it meant that I, for example, could go to a club today and not ask my parents for money. It doesn't mean I didn't ask. I earned a little, literally a penny, and I liked it! When I studied at the institute, I did not consider trading as an opportunity to earn money, I always treated it as my inner game, my hobby.
GP: Your first substantial amount earned from investing, what emotions did you experience and, in fact, where did you invest?
SVETLANA: I don’t remember the very first amount I earned, I’m sure that it was some randomly earned pennies, because then I worked without any algorithm, but I still remember one case.
I was already 21 years old, and I was standing in the store. Naturally, on what I could spend the money I earned - on clothes, I'm a girl. And, I stood in the store and chose between two blouses. I still remember those blouses. And you know what? I couldn't choose, I bought both. This was just such a bright moment for me that I can earn money and not be in a state of some kind of compromise. I can take this and that! Such a purely female story - I bought myself blouses with the first intelligible money I earned.
GP: At some point you opened three projects at the same time, how did a young girl at that time have such a grip, were there investors involved or was it all on her own?
SVETLANA: You know, you pronounce it like that, that there are three projects and it sounds very hard, difficult. I have never done anything in my life that was difficult for me. Perhaps this is also my distinguishing feature. I won't do what I don't enjoy. All three projects you are talking about brought me pleasure at the same time. It was fun for me, it wasn't hard for me. All three projects were related to finance, at the same time it was not difficult to deal with all this. It was trading, it was my job as a CFO, and it was an online project on the web. As soon as it became a burden for me, in fact, when my first child was born, all projects were closed. I mean, I didn't do anything when it became hard for me.
GP: At what point did you realize that you wanted to teach people how to trade and share that information in general?
SVETLANA: In fact, if I had been asked a year ago if I would like to teach trading, I would have asked in response: “Who needs it?”. I did not expect that there is such a crazy demand for providing people with financial literacy, I could not even suspect it. I am a popular blogger on instagram, I have 140 thousand subscribers and this whole blog was about me. I chatted in stories, told funny stories and stuff (as I said at the beginning, I really like attention). And I had such a blog that gave me this attention! And in this blog of mine, I several times posted a couple of transactions that I made on the stock exchange. Neither photos of cats, nor photos of babies have ever evoked such a response as those unfortunate transactions. I had no idea that it would be popular, but I began to post them regularly. Once a day, but I will definitely post some deal. I closed some good deal - I talk about it in my blog, or I closed a deal in the negative - I also cover it. And somehow it continued to spin on its own, spun, that I created a chat in the telegram, because I became too lazy to answer questions in direct to each person personally. From this telegram chat, a webinar later grew, and then my author's courses. Somehow everything was very flowing. That is, it was not some kind of balanced, deliberate and long-term decision. It all happened very naturally, because I like to enjoy what I do.
HP: What advice do you have for newbies on this subject? Are there any psychological factors that contribute to success in trading?
SVETLANA: To be honest, only the psychological factor contributes to success in trading.
There is a very famous phrase: "Not a single trader has lost money from ignorance of the theory, people lose money only on emotions." What quality do you need to have? - Discipline. I am one of those people who went on a diet today and will eat a pie in the evening. I'm completely undisciplined! The only place I'm in the system as Jane's soldier is the stock exchange. I have my commandments, which I do not break. Discipline is the foundation of successful trading for any trader. When you follow your rules and commandments, when you are disciplined, then there is no place for hysteria and moments when you do not know what to do. If you are disciplined, then in any situation you know what to do and what decision to make, this also applies to the stock exchange.
HP: What is the secret of your success?
SVETLANA: I love what I do! I love trading, I love money! For me, trading is not a job, but a pleasure and a hobby. Someone likes to read, someone likes to knit or embroider, and I like to open a terminal, look at quotes, build a chart and place orders. This is my thrill! So the secret of my success is the pleasure of what I do.
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