Umar Ashraf

About Umar Ashraf

Umar Ashraf is a full-time day trader, the founder of TradeZella, and one of the most well-known stock and options traders in the world. He has been trading for over 13 years and has made more than 30 million dollars in trading profits.

He trades stocks, options, and futures, mostly around the S&P 500, Tesla, Nvidia, and other large names. He is known not just for his results, but for being open about his losses and for teaching traders the things that actually matter: risk management, psychology, and treating trading like a business.

From a $20,000 High School Account to Millions

Umar's family moved to the United States from Pakistan when he was about five years old. From a young age, he wanted to build something of his own instead of taking the usual path everyone expected of him.

He always had an entrepreneur's mindset. By the time he was 18 and still in high school, he had saved about 20,000 dollars by selling iPhones on Craigslist, flipping websites and domains, and working jobs at a pharmacy, a construction company, and as a delivery driver. He saved almost everything he earned instead of spending it.

Around that time, he looked up who made the most money in the world and saw that the top earners were hedge fund managers. When he learned their work was tied to the stock market, that was what pulled him in. He figured if that was where the biggest money was made, that was where he wanted to be.

His first trade was JC Penney. He put his entire 20,000 dollars into that one stock. It dropped about 50 percent, then climbed back up, and he sold for a 2,000 dollar profit. That first win hooked him. He grew the account to 35,000 dollars and felt like he had it all figured out, and then the stock fell apart and his account dropped to about 2,000 dollars by the summer.

Instead of quitting, he took an honest look at himself and admitted he had not really earned the right to make money yet. He had no plan and no risk management. So he decided to treat trading like a real career and give it two to three years. It took about two and a half years to find consistency. The turning point was treating trading like a business: journaling every trade, tracking his numbers, and learning which setups and market conditions actually made him money. In 2021, his best year, he made 7.5 million dollars in trading profits.

How Umar Trades

Umar is a day trader and scalper who mostly trades options, along with futures and individual stocks. He focuses on the S&P 500, Tesla, Nvidia, Amazon, and other large names that are moving with the market.

He does not trade every day. Out of about 20 trading days in a month, he says only four or five are really good, so he stays out during noisy weeks around big events like FOMC and CPI until the market settles and gives a clear direction. His week starts on Sunday, when he reviews the economic calendar, earnings, and the key price levels for the markets he is watching.

He mostly trades the first hour or two after the open, then spends time reviewing his trades. He believes in focused screen time, not sitting at the charts for eight hours. The only indicator he uses is VWAP. He does not use RSI, MACD, or moving averages, because he sees them as just a reflection of price action. He also does not memorize chart patterns. Instead, he reads order flow, watching the context of each move and how buyers and sellers behave at key levels.

His risk is not the same on every trade. When he sees one of his best setups, he sizes up, and when conditions are not in his favor, he trades small until things line up again. Before he enters a trade, he has already accepted the loss, so he stays calm if it goes against him. As he puts it, if a trade makes your stomach turn, you are trading too big.

The Loss That Made Him Better

In early 2020, Umar set a goal to make 10 million dollars that year, which he now says was a mistake. When Covid hit, he built a 500,000 dollar short position in SPY put options. At one point it was worth about 900,000 dollars, but he did not take profit. Over the next few weeks it fell to around 300,000, and he lost the 500,000 he had put in. He then revenge traded, losing about 150,000 on Tesla and 70,000 on Zillow.

The hardest part was that he had shared the trade publicly, so the loss came with public criticism. He took two to three months off and questioned everything. He still finished 2020 up about 2 million dollars, and the lessons he learned set up his record 7.5 million dollar year in 2021. He says it was one of the best things that ever happened to him, because it taught him about ego, risk management, and never trading toward a money goal.

Beyond the Charts

Umar turned his own habit of tracking every trade into a company. He is the founder of TradeZella, a trading journaling and analytics platform that helps traders find and improve their edge.

His advice to new traders is simple: give yourself a longer timeline, measure success by fixing your mistakes and not just by money, and keep a life outside of trading so the lows do not break you.

Learn From Umar Ashraf on Chart Academy

Umar Ashraf recorded a full masterclass for Chart Academy on his approach to day trading, how he reads buyer and seller activity at key levels, how he sizes up on his best setups, manages risk, and stays disciplined through both big wins and hard losses.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who is Umar Ashraf?

Umar Ashraf is a full-time day trader and the founder of TradeZella, a trading journaling and analytics platform. He has been trading for over 13 years and has made more than 30 million dollars in trading profits, mostly trading stocks, options, and futures.

What markets does Umar Ashraf trade?

Umar trades stocks, options, and futures. He focuses on the S&P 500, Tesla, Nvidia, Amazon, and other large names that move with the overall market, and he mostly trades options for the higher return they can give on a small move.

What is Umar Ashraf's trading strategy?

Umar is a day trader, scalper, and order flow trader who trades mostly in the first hour or two after the open. He does not trade every day and stays out during noisy weeks around big events like FOMC and CPI. He uses only VWAP as an indicator and reads order flow, watching how buyers and sellers behave at key levels instead of memorizing patterns. He also uses dynamic risk, sizing up on his best setups and trading small when conditions are not in his favor.

How much has Umar Ashraf made trading?

Umar has made more than 30 million dollars in verified trading profits over his career. His best single year was 2021, when he made 7.5 million dollars in trading profits.

What is TradeZella?

TradeZella is an AI trading journaling and analytics platform founded by Umar Ashraf. It helps traders automatically track their trades, review their data, and find and improve their edge. Umar built it from his own habit of treating trading like a business and tracking every trade.

What can I learn from Umar Ashraf on Chart Academy?

On Chart Academy, Umar Ashraf teaches his approach to day trading and scalping, including how he reads buyer and seller activity at key levels, how he sizes up on his best setups, how he manages risk, and how he stays disciplined through both big wins and hard losses. His masterclass is launching soon, and you can join the waitlist to get access as soon as it goes live.

What is Chart Academy?

Chart Academy is a free, all-in-one trading education platform designed to help traders learn real, practical skills from world-class traders. It offers in-depth masterclasses taught by real traders across stocks, options, futures, forex, crypto, and trading psychology. In addition to educational content, Chart Academy includes personalized learning paths, downloadable resources, and access to exclusive tools and rewards, all in one place. There are no subscriptions, no paywalls, and no credit card required. The goal is to make high-quality trading education accessible, practical, and easy to follow for traders of all levels.