Well, that's a wrap. Another Wimbledon. Another FIFA World Cup. Neither failed to deliver drama, inspiration and lessons in equal measure. As I watched it all unfold, I found myself thinking less about the trophies and more about the people. The player walking onto Centre Court after losing 14 consecutive sets to his opponent. The coach who challenged his team despite them winning. Two football teams playing with freedom, then embracing at the final whistle after a 6-4 thriller. Another who let their emotions get the better of them. Watching it all unfold got me thinking about trading, investing and what professional performance asks of us when things don’t go our way. It also brought to mind an unlikely source of wisdom on the subject. Aretha Franklin. Game, Set & A Few Matches.

“Mindset stuff isn't really for me.” I've heard some version of that phrase more often than I’d care to admit. Interestingly, it often arrives shortly before someone tells me about the health challenge they're navigating, the sleep they're no longer getting, the relationship under strain or the pressure they've simply learned to live with. Which got me thinking. If we analysed ourselves in the same way we analyse a company, a market or a financial instrument, what would we find beneath the surface? In this month's piece I explore a question I've found myself returning to again and again: When did this become normal?

Volatility was supposed to be temporary. Instead, for many operating inside today’s markets, uncertainty is becoming the environment itself. Beneath the headlines, models and risk systems, something quieter is happening to the people making decisions inside these conditions. Drawing from conversations at recent commodities and energy conferences in London, this article explores how prolonged uncertainty subtly changes judgement, behaviour and emotional state over time and why the greatest risk may not simply be volatility itself, but the unnoticed impact it has on the humans navigating it.

A self-driving car hits a pedestrian. There is a human in the seat. She is asked if she was the driver. Her answer: “I’m the operator.” It sounds like a small distinction. It isn’t. The more capable AI becomes, the easier it is to shift from driver to operator without noticing. Especially when it feels helpful, composed and aligned with how you already think. I’ve been exploring what this means in environments where judgement matters. Trading is one of them. Are we inadvertently moving from delegating tasks to abdicating responsibility?

The collapse of Barings Bank is often remembered as a story of reckless trading and catastrophic losses. But when Nick Leeson reflects on that period today, a more complex psychological picture emerges. In a recent conversation with Anthony Cheung, Leeson describes how the pressure he experienced was not primarily external. It was internal. A powerful desire to succeed. An identity built around performance. And a fear of failure that slowly began shaping his decisions. This article explores the deeper psychological themes behind that story and what they reveal about success, stress and self awareness in high performance environments.

Confidence is spoken about as if it were a personality trait. In trading and investing it is nothing of the sort. It is a dynamic state that moves under pressure, shaped by skill, experience and the internal narrative running in the background. This month’s piece explores where confidence actually breaks down, not in theory but in the split second between stimulus and response. The edge lies in the question, are you conscious?

When results suddenly improve, most people assume a new edge, a new system or better timing. What often goes unseen is the role of the internal system shaping every decision. In this newsletter, I share an anonymous case study of a trader who was close to walking away, despite knowing exactly what they were doing. A sustained shift in results followed, without changing the core strategy. The real story sits beneath the numbers. And it raises an uncomfortable question about what is actually producing your results.

I suspect many of you have calculated the expectancy of your systems. But have you ever considered calculating the expectancy of yourself? What does that even mean? Your internal system behaves like a forecasting model. One built from old data, outdated assumptions and emotional patterns that no longer fit who you are now. If that model is not updated, it will keep projecting the past into the present. In my latest newsletter I explore two ideas that matter more than most people realise: How your internal forecasting model shapes your decisions and the emotional risk premium you charge yourself without knowing it

Many traders and fund managers find themselves reacting in ways that feel out of character - tense, hesitant or thrown off by something small. What I’ve seen again and again is that these reactions often have little to do with current markets at all. They’re driven by older patterns that still live within them. This piece explores how those echoes shape decisions today and why understanding them can be the difference between clarity and reactivity.

It's been a week since the October 10th sell off. It's interesting isn't it, how quickly the headlines fade and we carry on as we did before... the positions may indeed recover - but what about the people that were caught in the cross fire? This month's article looks at what October 10th exposed - not just in the markets, but in us.

This piece builds on a Linked-In post I shared recently about those 3am thoughts and questions, the ones that keep us awake and unsettled. The response to that post showed me how much it resonated, so I felt compelled to go deeper into one of those silent questions: “What if…?” That quiet phrase can be the hidden lynchpin to our peace of mind. My hope is that this exploration gives you both perspective and something practical you can carry with you.

Traders often talk about “noise and signal.” Most assume that means the markets. However, often the loudest noise is internal: the constant refrain of “I must be more disciplined.” In casual life it can be lighthearted: “I really should skip that extra scoop of ice cream." In trading, though, discipline takes on a heavier tone. It can be structure and support… or it can quietly morph into a burden that tightens your grip, fuels hesitation and erodes trust. This month’s article explores that paradox: how discipline can be both the foundation of consistency and counterintuitively, the very thing that holds you back.