Written by Lyudmila Chicherova
For industry professionals, the financial market has never been a place for luck and quick decisions. It is a multi-layered and complex ecosystem in which the most disciplined survive, those who know how to preserve capital, objectively assess risks, and, most importantly, exit a position at the right time. This is precisely the approach used by trader Artem Nikonov.
Artem has been in the profession since 2016. The experience he has gained during this time allows him to avoid risky ventures. Nikonov tries to hedge high-risk trades through options or futures, preferring a controlled strategy to aggressive play.
He cites the fall of Facebook shares in 2022 as one of his most emotional trades. His personal sympathy for the company and a long history of successful trades worked against him.
"The emotional trade that comes to mind is the fall of Facebook. I won't go into details, but my personal sympathy and long history of positive trades with this company led to a significant loss in one moment. The result was a loss of 60% to a gain of 200%, but at the same time, an incommensurable amount of personal time spent. Although all of this could have been avoided if I had approached this deal without personal sympathy," he smiles.
Colleagues value Artem for his ability to make decisions in critical situations, his accuracy in analyzing risk factors, his lightning-fast decision-making on complex issues, and his unique talent for exiting positions before the market crashes.
When asked how to identify a successful trader, he replies: “You can boast about clever theories as much as you like, but a trader's talent and effectiveness can be easily verified by their tax returns.”
Thanks to his in-depth analysis, objective risk assessment, and discipline, Artem has closed hundreds of successful deals. Despite the uncertainty of the financial market, this systematic approach allows a successful trader to transform potential threats into capital. He does not give universal investment advice, emphasizing that strategy is always individual.
“I don't want to give specific investment recommendations because every investor has their own strategy, goal, and acceptable risk horizon. But if we're talking about what brings me stable profits, it's companies that make real money here and now and are trading at a good discount,” he emphasizes.
Artem is actively developing his own investment business and improving his proprietary risk and capital management system. It is based on diversification, stress testing the portfolio through virtual scenarios, and regularly reevaluating assets based on real market data. This approach minimizes drawdowns and maintains stability even during periods of high volatility.
When the market falls, many lose their bearings. Nikonov, however, sees such periods as a test of the system: how accurately the risks have been calculated, whether the portfolio is sufficiently diversified, and whether there is enough composure to follow the strategy.
Ultimately, the ability to manage risk, rather than chasing returns at any cost, allows market uncertainty to be turned into capital. This is the main principle of his work, which remains unchanged regardless of the market phase.
