Get to Know: Tony Kasathsko

At Daniels Trading, we focus on building trusting relationships with our clients. We believe one of the best ways for you to establish trust with your broker is to learn more about him or her! In our “Get to Know Your Broker” series, we will provide you with insight into the lives of our brokers, from their backgrounds and career paths in trading to their personal favorites and hobbies.

Introducing Tony Kasathsko

Why did you become a futures & options broker?

I first became interested in trading back in college. My father was able to retire early thanks to his trading of equities becoming a full time equity trader. The freedom and life choices that he was able to make and enjoy were very appealing to me, and it appeared that trading was very simple. Was I wrong! This is when I began to learn about trading – first on the equities side, day trading stocks, dabbling in stock options, but I didn’t really get involved with trading until I began to work full-time at a prop equity day trading firm.

While I enjoyed trading equities, I found it frustrating that a lot of times the market would move but not necessarily the stock I was trading. This was when I started looking into stock index futures and the futures market. I was looking for a simpler way to get involved in the market that would allow me to participate in a move.

After discovering stock index futures, I decided I wanted to learn more about futures and wanted to work for a futures firm. I left Florida and moved to Chicago beginning my career as a futures broker over a decade ago.

How has your background/personality influenced your broker style?

I aim to treat all my clients the same way I would like to be treated. I have been a client before so I know what it feels like to be on the other side of the phone. I listen to what the client is looking to do and focus on providing them the best possible solution for their trading style and needs. I like to find out what my clients’ expectations are for their trading, especially about their risk tolerance level. I like to remind newer clients of something a client once mentioned to me in conversation when I was first started in the business that always stuck in my head. He said, “It is better to wish you were in the market than to wish you were out of the market”.

Since I am fluent in English, Spanish and Portuguese, during the course of a normal day, I usually begin working with clients in Spain and Portugal and end my day speaking to clients in Latin America. Some clients might be putting together hedging strategies and would like input, while others might want to bounce a trade idea that they read about or try to act on some information locally that they believe might affect the market internationally.

I always remind my clients to be disciplined in their trading. If they are hedging, I remind them that they are hedging and not speculating. If they are speculating, I remind them to stick to their trading rules and remain focused. More importantly, I remind them that if there is nothing to do based on their trading rules, they should not try to force a trade. I remind my clients that there are 3 positions one can have in the markets: long, short and flat. Sometimes the best position to have in the market is to be flat.

What are your primary strengths as a broker?

Because I have over a decade of experience in the futures industry, I have seen traders make a lot of the same mistakes over and over. Most of these have to do with a lack of trading discipline. I like to remind my clients every chance I get about the importance of discipline in their trading

Being fluent in English, Spanish and Portuguese I naturally tend to work with foreign clients that are more comfortable speaking their native tongue. This is a new group of traders coming to the markets, the access to trading platforms like dt Pro and iBroker is opening a whole new world to them. I enjoy sharing tidbits and observations as well as learning how our markets differ from their local market.

What are your favorite markets?

I do not have any favorite markets. If there is a trade, and the risk/reward makes sense then I look to see if the market is liquid enough. I feel that in today’s global marketplace, there is no need to just focus on one geographical area to trade. If someone works during the day but would like to trade as well, I feel that they should look at markets in other time zones to trade. Our dt Pro platform allows our clients to trade the US, European and Asian markets quickly and efficiently from their Futures account.

What are your favorite types of trades or strategies?

I have no favorite type of strategy. I am comfortable day trading, swing trading, or trading options. It all depends on what I am trying to do and what my time horizon for the trade is. I like to keep things simple. I find that if a trade trigger has too many variables, ultimately all the different variables will just confuse you and lead to trade paralysis. For this reason I have a few favorite indicators that I use when I scan the markets. One of my favorites is the TAS Market Profile. The TAS Market Profile indicator that integrates directly with our dt Pro trading platform is an indicator that I find to be very useful and allows me to quickly scan various markets and identify the points of control for my clients, giving them additional possible entry and exit points.

What advice do you tell new clients?

I remind all clients, especially new clients, to always remain disciplined. They need to focus on their trading plan and should not try to “force” a trade. Succeeding in anything in life requires discipline. I would say that this is even more important with trading, be it day trading, swing trading, option trading, or any type of trading – discipline is of the utmost importance. If you have a plan, stick to it!

What is the most under-utilized brokerage service?

I would have to say that the most under-utilized brokerage service is fundamental market research. While most traders of futures and commodity markets use technical analysis, we always have to remind ourselves about the fundamentals that are driving the longer term direction of the market. There is a saying in trading that says, “The trend is your friend.” I truly believe that knowing the underlying fundamental reason of why the market is doing what it is doing helps a trader understand and identify the longer term trend and trade with the trend.

What is the key to being a good broker?

The key to being a good broker is to always maintain open communication with your clients as well as not being afraid to challenge the clients on a trade idea. If a client calls me with a new trade idea, my job is to look at the risk side of the trade first and remind the client of what these are or could be. Many times the client has already thought the whole trade out, but other times there might be something that they missed, either a report, option expiration, or holiday that they should take into account prior to placing a trade. Since many of the clients I work with are overseas clients throughout Latin America, and in Spain and Portugal, they do not share the same holiday schedule as we do in the US. Keeping them informed of holidays that affect the US markets is something I tend to do a lot.

What do you like the most about your job?

I am fluent in English, Spanish and Portuguese, and I am fortunate to have clients from around the world. This allows me to learn more about different countries and their customs.

What are your hobbies or what do you do on your leisure time?

I enjoy fly fishing and fishkeeping. Around Chicago, we have some great warm water fisheries. Just a few driving hours away, we have some great cold water fishing in Michigan or Wisconsin. I always look forward to the end of winter to be able to go out fly fishing and enjoying the outdoors with my family. When it is too cold to go out, I enjoy aquascaping and taking care of my fish tanks.

What is your favorite vacation spot?

My favorite spot has to be French Polynesia. There is nothing like the clarity of the water and peacefulness one finds in French Polynesia. While the Caribbean is closer and has many beautiful places, like the Bahamas and the British and US Virgin Islands, the beauty of French Polynesia is hard to beat. If anyone is thinking about going to French Polynesia, definitely do it! As a family, we usually enjoy traveling off the beaten path and tend to avoid the tourist season when we travel.

Tell us a little about your background.

I was born and raised in Venezuela and my wife is from Rio De Janeiro, Brazil. We have both been living in Chicago for just over 12 years now. At home, we speak mainly Portuguese and some Spanish with our kids. My family moved to Miami from Venezuela when I was 17 years old, and I lived there for over 10 years before moving to Chicago to get involved in the futures industry.