Erik Smolinski, a full-time trader, has outperformed the S&P 500 by a wide margin. From Jan. 1 through July 6, 2026, he said his account returned 33.44%, compared with 10.79% for the index. Over the trailing 12 months, he said it gained 57.01%, versus 21.49% for the S&P 500.

His process is highly structured.

Smolinski maintains a detailed trading plan and trading log, then regularly evaluates both through after-action reviews, or AARs.

The exercise helps him assess what worked, what didn’t, and what needs to change.

“I have different strategies and profit mechanisms that are designed to do different things — some of them are fairly persistent, and some of them are not, which means some of them…