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
 Today's
forex currency trading news updated
Thu. February / 09 / 2012
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India Eases Currency Trading Limits for Some BanksWall Street JournalBy SUDEEP JAIN MUMBAI -- India's central bank has asked banks to approach it individually for relaxing some foreign currency trading limits and has already eased restrictions for some banks, a top official said Monday. "Some limits, based on their ...and more » |
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iFOREX Adds Oil to its list of Tradable CommoditiesMarketWatch (press release)ROAD TOWN, Tortola, Feb 09, 2012 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Leading currency trading company, iFOREX, has recently expanded its services, giving all Forex trading accounts direct access to oil CFDs. Targeting an audience that has little or no experience with ...and more » |
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Bank of England and ECB Hold Steady, Indonesia CutsCNBC.com[CNBC] ----------------------- MULTI CURRENCIES VS THE DOLLAR Tune In: CNBC's "Money in Motion Currency Trading" airs on Fridays at 5:30pm and repeats on Saturdays at 7pm. Learn more: The essential vocabulary for currency trading is on Key Currency ...and more » |
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