The trading industry needs to rethink trader education

A person with an internet connection can find trading courses, market analysis, indicators, automated tools, social media personalities, trading signals, and thousands and thousands of videos promising to explain how the markets work. For these reasons, trading has never been easier to access, but for aspiring traders, the plethora of information can be overwhelming.

Professional trader and trader development expert Justin Harrison believes that this creates a bigger question for the industry: are people actually being developed as traders or are they simply being given more information? Harrison has been strongly vocal about this difference.

His philosophy is built around trader development rather than simply teaching strategies. As the founder of MoneyTribe21, Harrison is focused on helping traders develop discipline, decision-making, accountability, and risk management alongside their market knowledge.

The traditional trading journey often starts with a search for the perfect strategy. A new trader may spend months looking for a better indicator, followed by another strategy, another course or another market analysis tool. However, when the results do not improve, the search begins again. Harrison believes many traders are solving the wrong problem.

“Most traders are solving the wrong problem. They believe they need better indicators, better entries, better strategies, better mentors, or better market predictions,” Harrison says.

“In reality, what they need is better discipline, decision-making, emotional regulation, risk management, routines and self-awareness,” he adds.

Harrison is also critical of the expectations created around trading. Social media can make trading appear fast and glamorous, screenshots of profits receive attention, and lifestyle content can create the impression that financial markets offer an easy route to wealth. All that, he believes, create unrealistic expectations among people entering the industry.

When asked what lies are sold to aspiring traders every day, Harrison says: “Trading is easy, anyone can become profitable in a few months, bigger profits come from bigger risk, or that successful traders never lose.”

Harrison believes that trading needs to be approached as a profession, which means accepting that development takes time, understanding that losses are part of the process, learning from mistakes, and building repeatable habits.

Another area Harrison challenges is dependency wherein aspiring traders can easily become dependent on someone else’s opinion.

He says: “I fundamentally disagree with advice that encourages dependency rather than development. Be it, ‘Just copy my trades, buy my signals, use this indicator, this strategy has a 95%-win rate, or quit your job and become a trader.’”

All that can provide short-term direction, but it does little to develop independent decision-making. “None of these create independent, professional traders,” Harrison believes.

According to him, the goal should be to create traders who understand why they are making decisions and can take responsibility for those decisions themselves. This is one of the reasons why he draws a strong line between trading education and trader development.

“The central idea I’ve developed is that trader development is fundamentally different from trading education. While the industry teaches strategies, indicators and market analysis, I believe those are commodities. The real competitive advantage lies in developing the trader, and I have built an ecosystem to support that. Everything I build is centred around helping people become better decision-makers, not simply better chart readers.”

This philosophy is also reflected in the thinking behind MoneyTribe21. Harrison describes it as a trader development ecosystem designed to help aspiring traders move towards professional standards through structured education, accountability and, deliberate practice. The focus includes areas such as the professional trader mindset, performance review, trader identity, and structured development.

When asked about problems never discussed enough in the trading industry, Harrison points to emotional regulation, decision-making under pressure, repeatable routines, accountability, journaling, reflection, and long-term performance. He says that the industry should spend more time asking why traders fail, how traders should actually be developed, and what professionalism in retail trading should look like.

Disclaimer: This article is for informational and educational purposes only and does not constitute financial, investment, or trading advice. Trading involves significant risk, and losses can exceed your initial investment. Readers should conduct their own research and consult a qualified financial professional before making any trading decisions.