What’s Your Style…?
In today’s uber cool world, style is a synonym with an individual’s personality. A factor associated with setting one distinguished from the rest, right from shopping to dressing, to talking to walking; a person is well defined to his/her own individualistic Style. Thus, even in the trading world it is very important to develop your own trading style. Because, just like everything else executing a trade is individualistic.
Listing out some trading styles, let’s figure it out which one do you fit in (if you haven’t still):
The Scalper (Safe players):
A scalper is the one who satiates his hunger for profit booking with small amounts. Scalpers usually believe in making smaller profits throughout the day, which at the end of the day turns into a huge profit. Scalpers are the one who like to play it safe!
Benefits: Maximum profits than other trading style.
Disadvantages: Time consuming as one has to monitor the markets on continuous basis. Need experience to predict the market movement.
The Swing Trader (For starters):
A swing trader can be someone who is either a beginner or somebody who can’t devote much time to trading. A swinger is the one who uses short-time movements & wouldn’t take huge risks. Swing trading is best suited if you prefer trading as a means of part-time work.
Benefits: Not much time consuming. Ideal for beginners
Disadvantages: Very low profit booking than other trading styles.
The Day Trader (Sleeps peacefully at night):
A day trader is someone who doesn’t want to risk much but doesn’t want to lose on profits too. Basically a trader who begins and closes the trade the same day. That way one eliminates the fear of how the market may turn over in the night that may result in tremendous losses.
Benefits: Lower no. of trades leads to lower execution rates. No overnight swap rates.
Disadvantages: Not for beginners, meant for an experienced trader with technical expertise & the know-how’s to use fundamental news.
The Long Term Trader (The Calm Trader):
As the name suggests, a long term trader doesn’t believe in hasty trade executions like the swinger, scalper, or the day- trader, but takes his own time in deciding to execute his trade. The long term trader basically places his trades on long time frame charts (e.g. weekly, monthly, daily, etc.) rather than on minutes/hours. The trade execution which surpasses over a day can be considered as a Long term trader.
Benefits: Less time consuming. Positions can be checked even once in a day. Low transaction costs.
Disadvantages: Swap rates can be high at times.
To sum it up, just like different traits to a personality, trading styles are unique to a person’s personality. One should practice the specific trading style that suits an individual resulting in good profit booking rather than following other’s trading styles. Also, one should practice discipline along with strong strategies. So as long as you’ve a strong strategy with simple to follow rules & the discipline to practice your strategy it doesn’t matter if you’re a scalper, swinger or a long term trader. All that matters is to gain more than you lose!
Expert Advisors of the Month … Really?
While browsing the internet came upon a website that announces the “Expert Advisor of the Month!” Firstly, I couldn’t stop guffawing; I mean why only “Of the Month”? What about the rest of the months? Will its far-sightedness of predicting a profitable trade diminish then?
Secondly, I decided to read through & find what it is about actually. Full marks for the title though. The article was about testing some free Expert Advisors (EA) & mentioning its features & settings, etc.
Okay, so let’s read on. The names of the EAs were Standard Dev Channel EA & Reversal Trend EA. Now the saddest part about both the EA of the Month is that none of them have a stop loss feature! Also only the former has a take profit feature & the other doesn’t. Yes they can be used to check out the clear entry-exit points & the momentums if the parameters are met! (What are the parameters for an EA actually supposed to be?) But honestly, why discuss some EAs which are ultimately just going to give you no useful information but just some low-downs (irony!)?
At the end of the summary of every EA a common disclaimer goes: “Please note that we do not endorse any EA. Please use at your own risk. This EA does not use a stop loss and is very high risk.”
Now why neither discusses something useful nor takes responsibility of it? Well, seems to me people have lots of free time & ideas to mislead the traders who are quite new in the world of trading.
In my opinion, there are no Expert Advisors of the month except one: YOU! Test the EA of your choice very well before you use it for your trades. DONOT blindly follow someone else’s suggestions/tips/secret ideas. Instead follow the tools & indicators that suit your trading style & help you make profits. Everything else is a gimmick! Happy Trading!
10 Tips on Choosing the Right Broker
If by now, you are all geared up with the necessary knowledge required for the forex trading, its time you rev up your engines for an exciting ride by opening an online account with a Forex Broker.
Irony: Brokers Help You Make Money
Irony: Brokers Help You Make Money
Am sure, you must have been already flooded with emails & phone calls by the financial brokers telling you to open accounts with huge offers or at least try out their free demo accounts.
But at most times, many traders are still confused while choosing the right kind of broker who would be dealing with their MONEY!
At all times, remember Choosing the right broker is the foremost step for successful trading. For it’s the broker who will be responsible for money and at all time should be up to your satisfaction levels & definitely not vice-versa.
The basic 10 pointers that you should keep in mind while selecting a Trading Broker
- Is My Money SAFE? Utmost Important. For after all you’ve to be assured to whom you are handing over you hard-earned money! Is it going to be safe with them? Which all regulatory bodies is your broker registered with who certifies their genuinity in terms of finance? Make sure you do a thorough check & even visit the websites of regulation bodies & cross-check the registration.
- How will I Do My Trading? Make sure before choosing a Broker you go & DO check out their FREE Trading Platforms! After all, that is going to be your window to the global market & should be easy to use & comprehensive in terms of the tools & navigation. Find out which software /platform works best with you. Are you a MT5 person or the MT4 satisfies it all? What all EA programmes are they offering? Get well acquainted with the platform you’ll be dealing with everyday.
- Happy To Help: Stuck up? Software Error? You are prone to such errors & the Broker’s Customer Service should be good enough to provide immediate solutions. You definitely wouldn’t want to hold on for 30 long minutes before you get back your access; in the meantime losing many profitable positions. Make sure to test the availability & the guidance provided by customer support prior to opening the account by making calls or checking their Live Chat options on website.
- What are my Choices? It is true FOREX is highly a liquid market, but there are other lucrative instruments too like Equities, Futures, and Options which can be made use of. Remember more the no. of financial instruments offered along with the most traded ones usually determines the eligibility of a broker.
- Spreads: This is relatively important in case the broker is offering very low or no commission charges. In short, spreads are basically the compensation the broker receives for being the market-maker & providing the regular 2way market. Make sure, to check out spreads in terms of FIXED or FLOATING for forex & the other offered instruments.
- Margins & Leverage: Make sure you check out what are margin requirements & the leverage levels. Leverage ratios of 200:1 are for expert traders, whereas 1:10 for beginner traders maybe fine. Also, margin requirements are important to check which facilitate your trading. Usually these are anything between 1-5%. Lesser the margin, the better.
- How Much Should I start trading with? Here is the main catch & you need to be extra careful when deciding on this section. Usually a Broker gives many Attractive Offers undermined by the actual terms which may not be that suitable for you. Example: A broker offering a initial deposit of $100 with high levels of spreads, & leverage would definitely pinch your pocket more often than necessary. Its better to start y\trading with a deposit of minimum $1000 with minimal spreads that will give you proper insights & emotional balance when dealing higher amounts.
- Want to be a VIP? Sadly, this is proportional to the money you pay. Always put in the money as much as you are prepared to lose. That’s the Golden Rule of trading. Thus, choose an account wisely. For most, Standard accounts with standard spreads & margins are best (Better check various brokers’ account offers before selecting one). The broker often aiming for high clients profile would try to lure you into VIP/GOLD/PLATINIUM accounts which might not suit your financial budget. Be firm with your decision, & go with the Account which suits you & not with the one your broker sells. Usually reputable brokers offer good offers on standard accounts as well.
- How Soon Can I get my Money Back? Deposit & Withdrawals- these facilities should be hassle-free & smooth flowing. Who would want their own money to be delayed because the broker doesn’t have structured facilities for withdrawals? If the deposits are relatively easier & faster than the withdrawals you gauge the reputation of the broker.
- What Else? While above point s are very necessary, additional services like analysis reports, market news, webinars / seminars, educational packages or e-books to increase you trading knowledge are provided by most reputed brokers.
Finally, after choosing the best broker based on these basic pointers, your technical knowledge & skills put together, will sail you through a lot of ups & downs, yielding into a many profitable pips. Remember, forex is YOUR Venture & only the best associates will work!
“Deal With Your Psychology Before Dealing With Your Money”
All About Trading Psychology
The Forex Market has exploded onto the scene & is the HOT financial market. People are trading in millions & making valuable profits too. This often leads us to invest & earn some decent profit for ourselves too; through Forex Trading. Thus, we sign up with a Forex Trader and have tried & used the DEMO Accounts being successful considerably.
Now, is The Time for Live Accounts?
Often even after going through a definite period of time dealing with Demo account we are unsure about the LIVE Account. The only reason for this unsurely behavior is the involvement of REAL MONEY. This in turn plays a great deal with our Psychology.
Trading Psychology:
A very less-spoken secret about trading is its PSYCHOLOGY which forms the most important element of any investment process. Trading Psychology is nothing but the state of mind of the trader while trading & its capability to control his empowering emotions.
The only sure-shot way to successful trading is taking control of your Emotions.
While trading or at the beginning; traders are often gripped by common emotions of FEAR (Apprehensions) OR GREED (Sureness) depending how the initial trades start off.
Invariably, at all times of trading one should keep in mind that Losses are a common aspect of this trade. For successful trading, one not only needs to have sound technical knowledge & resources but should also have a broad spectrum about the trading business. A calm frame of mind often leads to correct decisions which in turn garner desirable profits.
There are types of Psychological myths & traps that if conquered upon; along with fundamental & technical analysis leads to expertise in trading.
Common Psychological MYTHS in the trading world:
1) Holy Grail Myth: There is hardly any chance or luck in Forex trading as it is in gambling or placing bets. Simply because forex trading is NOT gambling. The trends are based upon the technical &fundamental factors & thus a strong trading plan will reap the boons.
2) The Monday Effect-A very common myth, many traders believe that Mondays will follow the prevailing trend from the previous Friday. Thus if the market was up on Friday it will prevail all weekend, come Monday it will rise again. Are we having Monday Blues? Probably. For Such trends have less to do with days & more with activity in the market.
3) Expert Myth: It always plays a great support for our psychology to have an expert by our side during crucial decision-making times specially while involving Money! But, we must not forget even Experts are human beings & prone to mistakes. Its best, to understand the technicalities & well study the market before investing thus; letting the Expert be Ex-of your decisions.
4) RUMOR DOESN’T HAVE IT: It is a pre-requisite to keep a tab on world news & events that often leads to changes in the markets. But moreover, it is important to differentiate between the real news & the rumors; which are often planted by financial institutions in order to move the position of market.
Having done with the common myths which lead to a great disturbance of the Psychology, lets concentrate on the actual demons-“The Traps” which many often traders do fall prey to.
1) Fear/ Apprehension/Despair: Losses usually lead to fright. This in turn can lead to inactivity in trading. The best way to overcome this is to use the “STOP-LOSS” orders. You cannot be afraid of a loss you assigned on your own.
2) Greed/Super-Sureness: If or not it usually arises from making small profits, the trader starts anticipating more profits & thus invests higher amounts of lots, neglecting the initial investment strategy formed. Investor should focus on “Stop-Loss” & thus ensuring his capital before making or losing profits.
REMEMBER TO DEAL WITH TRADING PSYCHOLOGY
Ø Trading is speculation which is all about taking risks in order to earn profits!
Ø Assess your reason on market- Boredom/ passion/ way of life/hobby?
Ø Invest only as much as you are prepared to Lose.
Ø Do a thorough research of the Forex Trader you’ll be dealing with; in terms of Platforms, Spreads & Sales Support.
Ø Market prices are NOT biased on your emotions & expectations. Thereby, stick by your TRADING STRATEGY.
Ø Be Objective; Let your emotions take a backseat.
Ø Market always gives occasions, so the one you lost won’t be the last one.
Ø Trend is Your Friend – try following the Trend, it always works.
Ø CONTROL is the synonym for Trading. Take control of Yourself, Your Emotions & eventually Your Forex Position.
Ø Have a positive approach towards life, calm mind works best while taking trading decisions.
Thus, in the long run, it is always better to Deal with your Psychology
Before Dealing with your Money!!!
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