A typical day involves reading, writing books or trading stocks

Daryl Guppy starts work at 6:30 am at his home in Darwin, Australia, when he switches on CNBC to find out what has happened in the US markets overnight.

He then turns on his computer and decides whether to sell any shares.

He is not someone who is constantly in and out of the market; instead, he is looking for trends to indicate key times to buy and sell.

"I log on and look at a position and ask the simple question, 'Do I need to close the position today?' If the answer is no, I ask, 'What else is there to do today?' " he said.

He only executes on average 30 trades in typical year.

"That probably takes me 20 minutes in the whole year. However, if you have trades delivering 130 percent returns, you can make a reasonable living," Guppy said.

"This year we have some long-term positions in banks delivering 30 to 50 percent over the past three to four months," he said.

Guppy said some of his investments are more short-term over five or six days.

"Most of these at the moment tend to be mining stocks chased by large Chinese investors," he said.

The rest of the day tends to be spent writing and researching articles or working on a book while keeping a close eye on the markets.

Guppy is particularly interested in the Australian market opening at 10 am (Australian Central Time) and Shanghai 90 minutes later, even though he can't directly invest in China.

"I have one (computer) screen which shows me what is happening in the current market. I have another screen that I use for day trading opportunities if they look particularly attractive," he said.

"I then have another screen on which I am writing an article or doing some research."

He lives with his wife Marion, 54, who is principal of a leading high school in Darwin. They have been married 33 years. Their son, Ryan, 25, is a financial market analyst, trader and marketing manager of Guppy's online company, Guppytraders.com.

Although most days he will work through until 9 pm, he still finds time for Australian Outback pursuits like fishing and also reading.

"I am currently reading Wolf Totem by Jiang Rong and Predictably Irrational by Dan Ariely, which looks at human behavior and may apply to market behavior," he said.

"A book I find inspirational is The Alchemy of Finance by George Soros, which makes the case that everything is correct until it is proved wrong."

Guppy spends two-thirds of his time away from Australia, mainly in Beijing and Singapore, from where he hosts his CNBC Squawk Box program.

He does presentations and holds seminars for industry groups, banks and dealers.

"Technology has made all this possible. When I first started, it was difficult to find a broker to deal with me living in the Outback," Guppy said.

"Now I manage trades while sitting in an airport lounge in Singapore. The only time I am out of contact is when I am in the air," he said.

(China Daily 10/19/2009 page12)