FOREX! Find Out If It’s the Right Market For You!
Being successful! Does that have anything to do with choosing a market to trade? I would maintain that it does. One of the ”Secrets To Success” is to choose something that fits…You. After all, if one of your goals is to achieve a certain income level or net worth figure there are a multitude of ways that someone has been successful with, but probably only a few, that might be “right” for you. This applies just as much to the financial markets as it does elsewhere.
If you’re reading this article, probably one of your endeavors is or will be some type of activity in the financial markets. Now which of the markets are “right” for you, meaning the best fit for your circumstances and your goals? Addressing this question will be far more profitable then trading the first market you happen to come into contact with. I’ll help in this process by discussing some of the relevant features of the Forex or cash Foreign Exchange market.
One of the first Forex concepts to note is that the currency you are trading is a representation of a nation’s economy. Why is this important? Because it’s notable that national economies don’t perceptibly change in a day or even a month. Contrast this with individual stocks, commodities or futures that are easily affected by daily news or even weather events. Thus the price moves of the major currencies take place against a broader backdrop than the before mentioned markets. This is expressed in the tendency of currencies to show strongly trending behavior in contrast to staying in tight trading ranges. Many will realize that tight trading ranges are some of the most difficult trading conditions while the “trend is your friend” because it is easier to profitably trade by hitching a ride. Trending markets also lend themselves to rules based technical trading systems. Do you prefer to have your trading choices laid out in advance, or do you “shoot from the hip”?
Are you planning to trade as a business or significant avocation? Do you plan to be active on a full or part time basis? If part time, are you otherwise occupied during regular business or market hours? Did you know that Forex trades 24 hours a day, six days a week? This makes sense if you realize that the Forex markets are serving the needs of nations and traders in every time zone. To facilitate this, most trading is done with online trading platforms that are considered to make an Over The Counter (OTC) market. Do your plans call for flexible or outside of regular hours scheduling?
How much capital would you like to allocate to your chosen trading activity? Someone whose trading is part time and viewed as a hobby may have a different amount of trading capital available than someone whose plan is to structure their trading as a business activity. Regarding capital requirements, the Forex market can accommodate almost any trading plan. This is possible because there are two trading unit sizes available. The full size lot is 100,000 currency units and may be controlled by a 1% or 1,000 unit margin. There is also a “mini” size lot of 10,000 currency units that may be controlled by a .5% or 50 unit margin. Dollar based traders can put the dollar sign ahead of the above figures for illustration. To translate this to trading account requirements; a “mini” account can be started for as little as $300.00 US.
The above discussion of just a few facets of the Forex market is hoped to stimulate thoughtful consideration of the best trading situation for…You, and will continue as a series of articles to consider relevant features of the Forex markets.
To Be Continued…
BY EDSON CANO
lunes, 12 de diciembre de 2016
FOREX: Exiting positions at a right time
FOREX: Exiting positions at a right time
The presented article covers one of the most important (in author’s opinion) aspects of trading in general and FOREX trading in particular – managing of orders and positions. This includes choosing entry points, making decisions about exit points, stop-loss and take-profit of the trader. I hope this article will help new traders, who just began to work with FOREX, and also to experienced traders who trade regularly and regularly make or loose their money to the market.
When I started to trade FOREX and made my first big losses and profits I began to notice when very important thing about the whole trading process. While the right time to enter a position was rarely a problem for myself (nearly 80% of all my open positions had gone into the “green” profit zone), the problem was hidden in the determining the right exit point for that position. Not only was it important to cut my risk on the potential losses with stop-loss orders, but to limit my greediness and take profit when I can take it and make it as high as I can. There are many known guidelines and ways to enter a right position at a right time – like major economic news releases, global world events, technical indicators combinations, etc. But while the entering into a position is optional and trade can decide to miss as many good/bad entry point moments as they wish, this is untrue if we talk about exiting a position. Margin trading makes it impossible to wait too long with an open position. More than that, every open position in a certain way limits trader’s ability to trade.
Choosing the good exit points for positions could be an easy task if only the FOREX market wasn’t so chaotic and volatile. In my opinion (backed by my trading experience) exit orders for every position should be toggled constantly with time and as the new market data (technical and fundamental) appear.
Let’s say, you took a short position on EUR/USD at 1.2563, at the time you are taking this position the support/resistance level is 1.2500/1.2620. You set your stop-loss order to 1.2625 and your take-profit order to 1.2505. So now, this position can be considered as an intraday or 2-3 days term position. This means that you must close it before it’s “term” is over, or it will become a very unpredictable position (because market will differ greatly from what it was at the time you have entered this position). After the position is taken and initial exit orders are set, you need to follow the market events and technical indicators to adjust your exit orders. The most important rule is to tighten the loss/profit limit as time goes by. Usually if I take a middle term position (2-4 days) I try to lower the stop and target order by 10-25 pips every day. I also monitor global events, trying to lower my stop-losses when very important news can hurt my position. If the profit is already quite high, I try to move my stop-loss the entry point, making a sure-win position. The main idea here is to find an equilibrium point between greed and caution. But as your position gets older the profit should be more limited and losses cut. Also, trader should always remember that if the market began to act unexpectedly, they need to be even more cautious with exit order, even if the position is still showing profits.
Every trader has their own trading strategy and habits. I hope this article will make its readers think about such an important aspect of trading as the exit orders and this will only improve their trading results.
The presented article covers one of the most important (in author’s opinion) aspects of trading in general and FOREX trading in particular – managing of orders and positions. This includes choosing entry points, making decisions about exit points, stop-loss and take-profit of the trader. I hope this article will help new traders, who just began to work with FOREX, and also to experienced traders who trade regularly and regularly make or loose their money to the market.
When I started to trade FOREX and made my first big losses and profits I began to notice when very important thing about the whole trading process. While the right time to enter a position was rarely a problem for myself (nearly 80% of all my open positions had gone into the “green” profit zone), the problem was hidden in the determining the right exit point for that position. Not only was it important to cut my risk on the potential losses with stop-loss orders, but to limit my greediness and take profit when I can take it and make it as high as I can. There are many known guidelines and ways to enter a right position at a right time – like major economic news releases, global world events, technical indicators combinations, etc. But while the entering into a position is optional and trade can decide to miss as many good/bad entry point moments as they wish, this is untrue if we talk about exiting a position. Margin trading makes it impossible to wait too long with an open position. More than that, every open position in a certain way limits trader’s ability to trade.
Choosing the good exit points for positions could be an easy task if only the FOREX market wasn’t so chaotic and volatile. In my opinion (backed by my trading experience) exit orders for every position should be toggled constantly with time and as the new market data (technical and fundamental) appear.
Let’s say, you took a short position on EUR/USD at 1.2563, at the time you are taking this position the support/resistance level is 1.2500/1.2620. You set your stop-loss order to 1.2625 and your take-profit order to 1.2505. So now, this position can be considered as an intraday or 2-3 days term position. This means that you must close it before it’s “term” is over, or it will become a very unpredictable position (because market will differ greatly from what it was at the time you have entered this position). After the position is taken and initial exit orders are set, you need to follow the market events and technical indicators to adjust your exit orders. The most important rule is to tighten the loss/profit limit as time goes by. Usually if I take a middle term position (2-4 days) I try to lower the stop and target order by 10-25 pips every day. I also monitor global events, trying to lower my stop-losses when very important news can hurt my position. If the profit is already quite high, I try to move my stop-loss the entry point, making a sure-win position. The main idea here is to find an equilibrium point between greed and caution. But as your position gets older the profit should be more limited and losses cut. Also, trader should always remember that if the market began to act unexpectedly, they need to be even more cautious with exit order, even if the position is still showing profits.
Every trader has their own trading strategy and habits. I hope this article will make its readers think about such an important aspect of trading as the exit orders and this will only improve their trading results.
BY EDSON CANO
Forex: Benefits of Trading the Forex Market.
Forex: Benefits of Trading the Forex Market.
Trading the Forex market has become very popular in the last years. Why is it that traders around the world see the Forex market as an investment opportunity? We will try to answer this question in this article. Also we will discuss come differences between the Forex market, the stocks market and the futures market.
Some of the benefits of trading the Forex market are:
Superior liquidity
Liquidity is what really makes the Forex market different from other markets. The Forex market is by far the most liquid financial market in the world with nearly 2 trillion dollars traded everyday. This ensures price stability and better trade execution. Allowing traders to open and close transactions with ease. Also such a tremendous volume makes it hard to manipulate the market in an extended manner.
24hr Market
This one is also one of the greatest advantages of trading Forex. It is an around the click market, the market opens on Sunday at 3:00 pm EST when New Zealand begins operations, and closes on Friday at 5:00 pm EST when San Francisco terminates operations. There are transactions in practically every time zone, allowing active traders to choose at what time to trade.
Leverage trading
Trading the Forex Market offers a greater buying power than many other markets. Some Forex brokers offer leverage up to 400:1, allowing traders to have only 0.25% in margin of the total investment. For instance, a trader using 100:1 means that to have a US$100,000 position, only US$1,000 are needed on margin to be able to open that position.
Low Transaction costs
Almost all brokers offer commission free trading. The only cost traders incur in any transaction is the spread (difference between the buy and sell price of each currency pair). This spread could be as low as 1 pip (the minimum increment in any currency pair) in some pairs.
Low minimum investment
The Forex market requires less capital to start trading than any other markets. The initial investment could go as low as $300 USD, depending on leverage offered by the broker. This is a great advantage since Forex traders are able to keep their risk investment to the lowest level.
Specialized trading
The liquidity of the market allows us to focus on just a few instruments (or currency pairs) as our main investments (85% of all trading transactions are made on the seven major currencies). Allowing us to monitor, and at the end get to know each instrument better.
Trading from anywhere
If you do a lot of traveling, you can trade from anywhere in the world just having an internet connection.
Some of the most important differences between the Forex market and other markets are explained below.
Forex market vs. Equity markets
Liquidity
FX market: Near two trillion dollars of daily volume.
Equity market: Around 200 billion on a daily basis.
Trading hours
FX market: 24hr market, 5.5 days a week
Equity market: Monday through Friday from 8:30 EST to 5:00 EST
Profit potential
FX market: In both, rising and falling markets.
Equity market: Most traders/investor profit only from rising markets.
Transaction costs
FX market: Commission free and tight spreads.
Equity market: High Commissions and transaction fees.
Buying power
FX market: Leverage up to 400:1
Equity market: Leverage from 2:1 to 4:1
Specialization
FX market: most volume (85%) is made on major currencies (USD, EUR, JPY, GBP, CHF, CAD and AUD)
Equity market: More than 40,000 stocks to choose from
Forex market vs. Futures market
Liquidity
FX Market: Near two trillion dollars of daily volume.
Futures market: Around 400 billion dollars on a daily basis.
Transaction costs
FX market: Commission free and tight spreads.
Futures market: High commissions fees.
Margin
FX market: Fixed rate of margin on every position.
Futures market: Different levels of margin on overnight positions than day time positions.
Trade execution
FX market: Instantaneous execution.
Futures market: Inconsistent execution.
All this makes the Forex market very attractive to investors and traders. But I need to make something clear, although the benefits of trading the Forex market are notorious; it is still difficult to make a successful career trading the Forex market. It requires a lot of education, discipline, commitment and patience, as any other market.
BY EDSON CANO
Trading the Forex market has become very popular in the last years. Why is it that traders around the world see the Forex market as an investment opportunity? We will try to answer this question in this article. Also we will discuss come differences between the Forex market, the stocks market and the futures market.
Some of the benefits of trading the Forex market are:
Superior liquidity
Liquidity is what really makes the Forex market different from other markets. The Forex market is by far the most liquid financial market in the world with nearly 2 trillion dollars traded everyday. This ensures price stability and better trade execution. Allowing traders to open and close transactions with ease. Also such a tremendous volume makes it hard to manipulate the market in an extended manner.
24hr Market
This one is also one of the greatest advantages of trading Forex. It is an around the click market, the market opens on Sunday at 3:00 pm EST when New Zealand begins operations, and closes on Friday at 5:00 pm EST when San Francisco terminates operations. There are transactions in practically every time zone, allowing active traders to choose at what time to trade.
Leverage trading
Trading the Forex Market offers a greater buying power than many other markets. Some Forex brokers offer leverage up to 400:1, allowing traders to have only 0.25% in margin of the total investment. For instance, a trader using 100:1 means that to have a US$100,000 position, only US$1,000 are needed on margin to be able to open that position.
Low Transaction costs
Almost all brokers offer commission free trading. The only cost traders incur in any transaction is the spread (difference between the buy and sell price of each currency pair). This spread could be as low as 1 pip (the minimum increment in any currency pair) in some pairs.
Low minimum investment
The Forex market requires less capital to start trading than any other markets. The initial investment could go as low as $300 USD, depending on leverage offered by the broker. This is a great advantage since Forex traders are able to keep their risk investment to the lowest level.
Specialized trading
The liquidity of the market allows us to focus on just a few instruments (or currency pairs) as our main investments (85% of all trading transactions are made on the seven major currencies). Allowing us to monitor, and at the end get to know each instrument better.
Trading from anywhere
If you do a lot of traveling, you can trade from anywhere in the world just having an internet connection.
Some of the most important differences between the Forex market and other markets are explained below.
Forex market vs. Equity markets
Liquidity
FX market: Near two trillion dollars of daily volume.
Equity market: Around 200 billion on a daily basis.
Trading hours
FX market: 24hr market, 5.5 days a week
Equity market: Monday through Friday from 8:30 EST to 5:00 EST
Profit potential
FX market: In both, rising and falling markets.
Equity market: Most traders/investor profit only from rising markets.
Transaction costs
FX market: Commission free and tight spreads.
Equity market: High Commissions and transaction fees.
Buying power
FX market: Leverage up to 400:1
Equity market: Leverage from 2:1 to 4:1
Specialization
FX market: most volume (85%) is made on major currencies (USD, EUR, JPY, GBP, CHF, CAD and AUD)
Equity market: More than 40,000 stocks to choose from
Forex market vs. Futures market
Liquidity
FX Market: Near two trillion dollars of daily volume.
Futures market: Around 400 billion dollars on a daily basis.
Transaction costs
FX market: Commission free and tight spreads.
Futures market: High commissions fees.
Margin
FX market: Fixed rate of margin on every position.
Futures market: Different levels of margin on overnight positions than day time positions.
Trade execution
FX market: Instantaneous execution.
Futures market: Inconsistent execution.
All this makes the Forex market very attractive to investors and traders. But I need to make something clear, although the benefits of trading the Forex market are notorious; it is still difficult to make a successful career trading the Forex market. It requires a lot of education, discipline, commitment and patience, as any other market.
BY EDSON CANO
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