Traders who agree on nothing else agree about limiting losses.
A limit is an escalation rule: it decides when a problem must move up the firm, not just how big it may be.
Markets and risk interviews, especially the question of what a risk function actually does.
From Margin Call · 2011
Whoever can take a position must not be the person who confirms it. Separate the hands, and the rest of the controls become possible.
Risk, operations and compliance questions, and any time a process lets one person both act and verify.
From Rogue Trader · 1999
The common factor among people who last is not how they pick trades but how they limit what a wrong one costs.
Sales and trading, hedge fund and any markets interview that asks how you would manage a position.
From Market Wizards · Jack D. Schwager