9-Figure Conversations at 22 Years Old: How Stockbroker ‘Home Run’ Jonathan Bouchard Made His Way to the Top With No College Degree

The Value of a College Degree:

The value of college is under scrutiny. Leading tech companies such as Google and Apple are now offering programs designed to develop in-demand tech skills that students may not be able to attain in traditional college courses. These initiatives highlight how there’s more opportunity now beyond the traditional four-year college degree when it comes to building skills to succeed in lucrative tech careers. Furthermore, tech moguls such as Elon Musk openly acknowledge the faulty value proposition of college. The primary value of college, according to Musk, is in proving discipline by completing “annoying homework assignments” and in hanging around with peers of the same age before entering the workforce. “You can learn anything you want for free,” Musk said. Adding that a better way to evaluate talent is to find clear evidence of “exceptional ability.”

Meet ‘Home Run’ Jonathan Bouchard: the 22-year-old stockbroker who has closed over 129M in 90 days:

Bouchard is a living case study of exceptional unconventional talent. A Montreal native with a palpable passion for the stock market. He was nicknamed Home Run by his colleagues after he successfully betted against pending Mergers and Acquisitions using stock derivatives (puts) in the covid crisis, raking an astonishing 15x return on investment, something most of the veterans on the floor hadn’t seen in decades.

Jonathan started trading currencies at only 17 years old with his dad’s account. After a year of incredible results and without a college degree, Jonathan was approached at only 18 years old by a proprietary trading firm called Montreal Trading Group to manage $5 Million in assets. He optimized two of the firm's most advanced profitable strategies, which aligned with market making and pair trading.

About a year later, he was recruited by one of the top Canadian mega-banks as one of the youngest stockbrokers the firm had ever seen. Since then, it is estimated that Home Run is responsible for managing over $1.5 Billion worth of trades on the stock market since the beginning of his career. He has also broken the mega-bank’s record for the most sales closed in one quarter for a 5-star stockbroker by closing $129 Million (CAD) in 90 days, representing an astonishing $2.19M per day or $300,000 per hour his brain starts working.

“I trade like a casino.” Jonathan said with a smile on his face. Further explaining that before he enters a trade, he knows the odds of profitability and loss, similar to how casinos calculate odds in order to have an edge. Additionally, Jonathan keeps an unbiased perception of the market. “I understand trading psychology and I know that it’s a stock's perception that moves the value of the stock, not the stock itself. You need to understand stock market engineering and how the big guys are trading … I couldn’t learn this type of information in school. I learned through experience and hard work analyzing the market.”

 Meritocracy:

Ultimately, Jonathan believes in meritocracy. Whereby merit and ability warrant upward mobility instead of hypocrisy that may be linked to college degrees or personal connections. “I want to change the paradigm on the legitimacy of a college degree.. I’m 22 years old, and I couldn’t be happier with where I am currently with my personal and professional life. So instead of taking the route everyone wanted me to take, I decided to choose practical experience instead of theoretical experience by opting out of college. As a result, I’ve broken a bunch of records in every corporation that I’ve worked for, and it has paid off big time.”

Conclusion:

As previously alluded to by Musk, one key way to evaluate talent is by finding clear evidence of “exceptional ability.” To find exceptional ability, it takes more than evaluating talent at face value. Instead, hiring managers and recruiters should delve deeper and explore a candidate's skills and past accomplishments to assess better and predict a candidate's worth. Unfortunately, today’s society rewards conventional trajectories to show competency, which Jonathan profoundly disagrees with.

“We’re at the beginning of a major turn in terms of recruitment. I strongly believe that the companies seeking raw intelligence and passion instead of college degrees will outperform those who don’t over the long run.’’ Jonathan remarked.

Jonathan’s story serves as a prime example of what exceptional ability looks like. At such a young age, Jonathan has been able to do things most professionals will not accomplish in a career. To get started with him, simply message him on his Instagram @royalinvestmentcapital or by email. Now, Jonathan wants to share his precious knowledge, which can’t be found online and mentor a handful of individuals to help them reach their full potential in the stock market.

As the stock market continues to evolve it is clear that it will require initiative and hard work from those who wish to stay on top. One thing is for sure, however the space changes, it is certain that Jonathan Bouchard will be there, leading the charge.