Currency Trading Information

FOREX Trading Philosophy


Keen on starting FOREX trading? Why would you not be? Many beginning FOREX traders are captivated by the allure of easy money. FOREX websites offer 'risk-free' trading, 'high returns' and 'low investment' - these claims have a grain of truth in them, but the reality of FOREX is a bit more complex. As with anything in life, what you put in will determine what you get out.

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.

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.

Dries Cronje has a BSc (Actuarial Science) degree and is currently studying to be an actuary. He has worked as an ACtuarial Consultant for almost five years.

For more information, please visit http://www.investing-smarter.com

  


MORE RESOURCES:

Consider the Currency Markets in 2009
TheStreet.com - 1 hour ago
In an interview with MainStreet.com, Dolan, who is also co-author of "Currency Trading for Dummies," explains what active traders should look for in order ...


Maktoob

Currencies Trading All Over the Map
Washington Post, United States - Jan 7, 2009
"Honestly, we just don't know how to analyze these currency markets properly right now," confessed David Bloom, head of currency markets for HSBC in London. ...
Dollar Gains as US Loses Fewer Jobs Than Some Forecast Bloomberg
Dollar rebounds after sharp fall on dismal job data Reuters
Another Big Week Ahead Global Forex Trading
Bloomberg - Bloomberg
all 505 news articles


Best Syndication

Technical Analysis: Looking for Trends in Currency Trading
Forex Hound, NY - Jan 7, 2009
Currency trading is risky. Because of its volatility, it is important to remember that currency trading is very risky. Indeed, forex trading is considered ...
Forex Trading Strategies PWO
A Basic Understanding of the Forex Markets The Options Insider
A Few Things You Need To Know About Forex Trading Best Syndication
all 5 news articles


The Money Times

Feds arrest 2 Winnetka futures dealers on fraud charges
Chicago Tribune, United States - Jan 7, 2009
The government calls Martin a "de facto" official of the currency-trading concern, although he was prohibited from holding a position with the company. ...
Calif man arrested in alleged fraud scheme BusinessWeek
Suburban men arrested for business fraud Crain's Chicago Business
2 charged in alleged $15M fraud scheme United Press International
CBS 2 - Chicago Tribune
all 156 news articles


Forex Trading Signals Well-Positioned for Gains in the New Year
Daily FX, NY - Jan 5, 2009
Currency trading markets have started the New Year with a bang, as the US Dollar has already carved out major moves against the Euro and other key ...
Forex world, full of new investment opportunities BigNews.biz (press release)
Getting The Best Results With Your Forex Course PWO
Dollar Up Against Currency Basket TradeTNT.com
Meadow Free Press
all 6 news articles


Washington Post

Alcoa Cost Cuts Weigh Futures
Wall Street Journal - Jan 7, 2009
In currency trading, the euro recovered some of Tuesday's losses, with the shared currency hovering around $1.36. Oil futures, meanwhile, cooled a bit after ...
Employment Woes Imperil Stocks’ Nascent Rally Barron's Blogs
Wall Street falls on Intel, Alcoa warnings The Australian
DJ US Stocks Fall; ADP Report, Alcoa, Intel Weigh Onet.pl
MarketWatch
all 836 news articles


Mexico Peso Bonds Head for Second Weekly Rally on Rate Cut Bets
Bloomberg - 7 hours ago
... dollar this month, said Omer Esiner, a senior market foreign-exchange analyst in Washington at Ruesch International Inc., a currency trading company. ...
Mexico bonds hit record highs on rate cut bets Reuters
all 12 news articles


Canadian Dollar Falls on Job Cuts, Bets Oil Demand Will Drop
Bloomberg - 2 hours ago
Canada’s currency, known as the loonie, fell as much as 1.4 percent to C$1.1969 per US dollar before trading at C$1.1867 at 4:27 pm in Toronto, ...
Canada’s Dollar Gains as Greenback Stung By Recession Concern Bloomberg
all 7 news articles


Teen prefers currency trading over Myspace and is making money ...
WHAS 11.com (subscription), KY - Jan 6, 2009
But her favorite website isn't facebook or MySpace, its online currency trading. She discovered the Forex website after her father suggested she look into ...


Telegraph.co.uk

Pound Posts Record Weekly Gain Against Euro as BOE Cuts Rates
Bloomberg - 6 hours ago
The euro may fall to 88 British pence should the currency close below so-called support at 89.97 pence, based on trading patterns, said George Davis, ...
GBP/USD: Trading the Bank of England Interest Rate Decision Daily FX
Interest rate cut good news for holidaymakers Moneywise Magazine
Pound advances on euro The Herald
Forbes - Wall Street Journal
all 1,542 news articles

currency trading - Google News

Article List | Index | Site Map
All logos, trademarks and articles on this site are property and copyright of their respective owner(s).
The comments are property of their posters, all the rest is Copyright © 2006 CanadaSEEK.com - All Rights Reserved.