The disciplined approach to making money

The disciplined approach to making money
Many beginning FOREX traders are captivated by the allure of easy money. FOREX websites offer 'risk-free' trading, 'high returns' 'low investment' – these claims have a grain of truth in them, but the reality of FOREX is a bit more complex.

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. FOREX traders need to have a rational trading strategy and not allow emotions to rule their trading decisions.

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.

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.

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.

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.

4 Ways a Managed Forex Account Can Help You

Have you spent countless hours anylizing Forex charts, only to come away more confused than you were when you started. I would be willing to bet that the answer to this question in most cases is "Yes". The problem most people run into is simple: Trading Forex is extremely difficult.

The accepted ratio of winners to losers in the Forex market is anywhere from 5 to 10% (however in my opinion the actual numbers are probably a lot less). This fact alone is a primary factor in the rising interest of individuals opening managed Forex accounts. The benefits of opening a managed account are many, let's find out what a few of these benefits are.

Trading currencies requires so much of an individual, sure it requires proper education and in most cases years of "paying ones dues" (losing money). Even the best traders around suffer losses from time to time, it's part of the process of learning the markets. A professional Forex trader has already learned through trial and error how to avoid losses, they aren't practicing on your live account; trading is a way of life and something they have come to master over time; it's the cost many have paid while learning the ropes. Are you willing to suffer the same loses in order to learn the ropes yourself. Taking advantage of the skills of others is part of growing a global network of powerful business relations and leveraging the strengths of others so that all may prosper. The saying "it's not what you know it's who you know" could never have been more true.

Trading with a professional Forex account manager will offer you many positive benefits. We'll start by overviewing the advantadges and their essential place in your plan towards financial success.

1. Spending money on courses, books and seminars is often a cost associated with learning to profit in Forex. When you open a managed Forex account with a professional, these expenses have already been paid for by the trader years ago. After factoring in the cost of professional Forex coaching, which can range anywhere from $250/hr to $2,000/hr and up, the benefits are obvious. Your professional trader has spent a lot of money in order to provide you with a service which you both have the opportunity to profit from.

2. Trading on a demo account may give you enough confidence to trade your funds in a real account, only to realize that demo trading and live account trading are two different worlds. The benefits of working with a professional Forex trader include the fact that day in and day out professional traders are operating on live accounts. The only way to trade with confidence on a Live account is through years of experience. This is the sort of experience you will aquire by way of networking with professional Forex traders.

3. Losing money in Forex can be kept to a minimum with proper money management skills, a professional Forex trader will know exactly how much leverage to use on your account in any given trade and will use protective stops to keep your account losses to an absoute minimum. Money management is one of the single most vital keys to your success as an investor in Forex, and can literally make or break your account balance over time.

4. When you let your account into the safe keep of a professional you are offered something far more valuable then money, you're given the very thing that makes life worth living: Freedom. Each day you can do as you please, whether it's spending time with friends, family or loved ones. A good Forex trader will make sure your account catches all the most profitable trades whether it's 7am, 4pm or 3 in the morning while you're sound asleep.

Investing Forex can be an exciting decision when leveraging the talents of others, it allows you to live your life vicariously through the skills of those professional Traders you have come to know. As always the results of trading Forex are never guaranteed, but one thing you can be certain of is that your chances of success are always increased when working with a professional.

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