A stock trader who’s up 42% year-to-date shares 5 key adjustments he made to his trading strategy that have helped him beat the market and remain profitable

• Matthew Caruso is a position trader, holding his stocks for weeks or even months at a time. 
• He’s been focused on the relative strength of stocks and sub-sections of the economy.
• He then pyramids into a position so that if his thesis is wrong, he limits his risk exposure. 

The stock market’s COVID-era bull run is just about over. 

This year saw the S&P 500 take back most of its gains over the previous two years. The index is down by about 25% year-to-date. As of Tuesday, it was trading at around 3,586, only a few hundred points above where it was in February of 2020, right before the market tanked in March. 

The raging bull market attracted many new retail traders to the scene. Just about anyone who could open a brokerage account could have been profitable. But now, the tables have turned and even the most skilled traders are learning to navigate the new normal.