There are two common mistakes that many beginner traders make trading without a strategy and letting emotions rule their decisions. After opening a FOREX account it may be tempting to dive right in and start trading. Watching the movements of EUR/USD for example, you may feel that you are letting an opportunity pass you by if you don't enter the market immediately. You buy and watch the market move against you. You panic and sell, only to see the market recover.
This kind of undisciplined approach to FOREX is guaranteed to lose you money, and have you waste your time. FOREX traders need to have a rational trading strategy and not allow emotions to rule their trading decisions.
The two emotions prevalent in the above example is greed (entering the market immediately) and fear (selling when the market temporarily moves against you). Investing and these two emotions do not gel at all. Keep them out of your trading and you will see results.
To make rational trading decisions the FOREX trader must be well-educated in market movements. He must be able to apply technical studies to charts and plot out entry and exit points. He must take advantage of the various types of orders to minimize his risk and maximize his profit.
The first step in becoming a successful FOREX trader is to understand the market and the forces behind it. Who trades FOREX and why? Who is successful and why are they successful? This knowledge will allow you to identify successful trading strategies and use them as models for your own.
There are 5 major groups of investors who participate in FOREX Governments, Banks, Corporations, Investment Funds, and traders. Each group has varying objectives, but the one thing that all the groups (except traders) have in common is external control. Every organization has rules and guidelines for trading currencies and can be held accountable for their trading decisions. Individual traders, on the other hand, are accountable only to themselves.
If you do not keep yourself in check, nobody else will. Why should they worry if you aimlessly waste your money?
This means that the trader who lacks rules and guidelines is playing a losing game. Large organizations and educated traders approach the FOREX with strategies, and if you hope to succeed as a FOREX trader you must play by the same rules. That is studying these strategies and rules before starting to trade is so important.
FOREX Trading Philosophy - Money Management
Money management is part and parcel of any trading strategy. Besides knowing which currencies to trade and recognizing entry and exit signals, the successful trader has to manage his resources and integrate money management into his trading plan. Position size, margin, recent profits and losses, and contingency plans all need to be considered before entering the market.
Forex Trading: Risky BusinessYou can see the claims on some FOREX web sites, implying that FOREX is a risk-free pastime. No investment is risk-free.
In FOREX you are trading substantial sums of money, and there is always a possibility that a trade will go against you. There are several trading tools that can minimize your risk, yes, but eliminate it, no. With caution, and above all education, the FOREX trader can learn how to trade profitably and minimize loss.
The Scams
FOREX scams were fairly common a few years ago. The industry has cleaned up considerably since then. Still, you should exercise caution before signing ..
This may sound like Greek now! If it does, you have more reason to get to know these terms. Knowledge will empower you on any investment market, including FOREX.
There are various strategies for approaching money management. Many of them rely on the calculation of core equity. Core equity is your starting balance minus the money used in open positions. If the starting balance is $10,000 and you have $1000 in open positions your core equity is $9000.
When entering a position try to limit risk to 1% to 3% of each trade. This means that if you are trading a standard FOREX lot of $100,000 you should limit your risk to $1000 to $3000 preferably $1000. You do this by placing a stop loss order 100 pips (when 1 pip = $10) above or below your entry position.
As your core equity rises or falls you can adjust the dollar amount of your risk. With a starting balance of $10,000 and one open position your core equity is $9000. If you wish to add a second open position, your core equity would fall to $8000 and you should limit your risk to $900. Risk in a third position should be limited to $800.
By the same principal you can also raise your risk level as your core equity rises. If you have been trading successfully and made a $5000 profit, your core equity is now $15,000. You could raise your risk to $1500 per transaction. Alternatively, you could risk more from the profit than from the original starting balance. Some traders may risk up to 5% against their realized profits ($5,000 on a $100,000 lot) for greater profit potential.
As you can see, the novice needs to get through quite a bit of education, understanding and planning before those 'risk-free' trading, 'high returns' and 'low investment' promises will come into play. What are you waiting for? Get yourself a decent FOREX Trading Education. If you need more information, feel free to visit http://www.investing-smarter.com.
How To Get Started In Forex Trading
You may have been hearing about the foreign exchange market (FOREX) and the investment advantages it offers. You would like to try it out, but don t know where to start. This short guide will give you the basics in FOREX and tell you what you need to participate in this fast growing field.
Foreign exchange used to be limited to large players such as national banks and multi-national corporations. In the 1980 s the rules were revised to allow smaller investors to participate using margin accounts. Margin accounts are the reason why FOREX trading has become so popular. With a 100:1 margin acc ..
About The Author
Dries Cronje is has completed his BSc (Actuarial Science) degree and has been working as an Actuarial Consultant for four and a half years. He is currently studying to be an actuary.
For more information, please visit http://www.investing-smarter.com.
Dries CronjeFOREX Trading Philosophy
