Sunday, October 18, 2009

Why Cheap Trading is So Important For Beginning Traders

A beginning trader is faced with having to make many choices as they get started. They must decide which stocks to focus on first and how to increase their online trading education. Most importantly, they should be concerned about managing their risk so they don't end up losing a lot of money fast and ending their trading career early.

One reason the beginner should focus on cheap online trading is that you will likely be making small trades at first. Instead of making a stock trade of $20,000 or even $2,000 early on, the beginner will make many trades closer to $200. Beginning traders don't have the confidence, knowledge or experience to make a $10,000 trade right off the bat. Doing that without more experience is way too risky.

Beginners should start with small trades to see how they do. They need to get some experience in picking a type of stock and then reading the buy and sell indicators. Once they prove they can generate consistent profits, they can move on to larger trades.

The amount you pay in commissions is very important in these cases. If you trade in small amounts, your commission on the buy and sell is much greater on a percentage basis than with larger trades. For example, if you make a $200 trade with a $10 commission, then your cost to buy and then sell will be $20 per stock.

In this example, right away you are starting with a 10% loss. That means the stock you pick has to make a 10% gain just for you to break even. And since you want to make a profit, your stock picks must consistently gain more than 10% ON AVERAGE - including your winners and losers. So doing cheap trading by keeping your commissions low is very important.

By selecting from the big name discount brokers, traders can feel pretty safe that they are getting a quality service from each of them. With this confidence, they should then look for the broker that allows them to do cheap online trading with the lowest commissions. There are many types of fees that can drive your trading costs up, so choose your online broker after viewing a side-by-side comparison of all these charges.

Forex Trading Software - Don't Let it Send You Bankrupt

You want to start forex trading from your desktop, but what forex trading software should you use? There are plenty of software programs out there for you to use, but first let's define forex for those who have no idea what we're talking about. Forex, or foreign exchange, is the business of exchanging of one currency for another and making a profit in the process through ever-shifting exchange rates. Fx is the largest financial market with the most liquidity in the world and trades about $4 trillion a day worldwide. Though this article is not out to promote any one particular software, there are some recommendations that can be made to steer you in the right direction.

First, when you are on the lookout for some good forex trading software, look for some reviews, don't just go to the software's homepage. Instead, type in the name of the software in your favorite search engine, followed by the word "review." There are many forex software scam products out there, so you will quickly be able to track down any potential bad press which should discourage you from purchasing.

Next, find out what kind of support the software has. You don't want software that just gets you the program and leaves you on your own. The best forex trading software has 24-hour support lines to help you get over any hurdles or speed bumps you come across. An integral part of this support is backup and security. Backup is essential in case anything happens to your information-you don't want to lose it all if your home or office computer crashes. The importance of security cannot be stressed enough. These days, there are hackers and viruses out there looking for a hole in any security feature and they will take advantage if they find one, especially if there is money to be had. For that reason, you have to have forex trading software that has top-notch, guaranteed security features.

Though only you can decide what type of forex trading software to use, you need to take into account the things listed here. You have to make sure that you are not getting scammed and buying software that doesn't get the job done. You also need to make sure that your forex trading software has proper support features and that they are available 24 hours a day in case you have any problems. You must also make sure that everything is properly backed up on the software, as you don't want to lose information in the case of a computer crash or if your session is cut short. Security is also essential. You have to make sure that all your personal information is properly encoded so that hackers cannot gain access to it and exploit it. If you shop for forex trading software with these ideals in mind, you cannot go wrong.

The Cost of Being an Ignorant Trader

Statistics show that only 15% of forex traders make money, which seems to contradict the vast numbers of people actually trading in forex. What follows is five mistakes new traders and experienced make that often causes them to lose money.

1. No Forex Trading Plan - Trading in forex without a forex trading plan is akin to going to war without a battle plan. You have very little chance making money without a well-conceived plan and strategy and how to execute it. The forex trading plan needs to be extremely specific, understandable and easy enough to execute for even a small child. Without an entry strategy, exit strategy, trade continuation strategy and money management strategy the chances of success are at best very slim.

2. Switching Strategy - A well drawn up strategy takes time to develop and is an iterative process, which should reflect the traders' own personal style. Development of aggressive or passive strategies should be refined on a demo account and helps develop a single strategy that the trader is going to stick to. Upon learning the strategy the trader should stick to it in the main but learn to merely adapt it to changing market conditions - having this versatility within the traders existing plan is vital. New traders should not switch from one strategy to another, they need chance to develop and mature.

3. Trading Emotionally - The most successful traders can turn off their emotions, which is a critical characteristic to have when trading in forex successfully. This includes both positive and negative emotions. Getting in and out of trades as necessary and making sure the head rules the heart is crucial in forex trading but often a mistake made by traders. Many a trader has made the mistakes of trading when they feel they can ride the wave of current good luck and also kept trading when they are down but are motivated out of desperation.

4. Failure to utilize a Stop Loss - Partly a problem of emotions, a clear exit strategy should be employed when entering a trade so parameters are clear. Not getting out at the right time is a key trader mistake. A good trader will know out the outset how many pips they are looking for and what their loss limit will be. Not having an automatic trigger has been many a trader's downfall. Ill-disciplined and not setting stop loss targets is a bad mistake to make, a trader has to acknowledge there will always be new trades happening.

5. Unclear Rationale for Trading - A trader trading for the wrong reason will fail. It has to be taken seriously and trading should not be undertaken merely for the excitement of trading. The undeniably high of making a huge profit should be tempered with the seriousness of making a loss. Trading is a serious business and should be treated as such. Many a trader has made the mistake of not giving trades the time to develop as they have 'better things to be doing'.

Day Trade Forex

Never rush and hurry your career in the day trade forex industry. It is better that you have the knowledge, skills and abilities necessary to ensure your success in this business. Getting familiar about the industry and becoming familiar in the forex market will lessen your risk of failing and getting broke. To give you an overview of the day trade forex, here are some tips to stimulate and make your mind work. Before trading, thoroughly study the market and spot new trends using the trends reversal method. Through this you can assess what are the upcoming changes in the market and make a strategy on how you can benefit from those changes. Aside from this, you also have to take note "never to profit from extreme fear and greed".

Although you can get profit from this on the first time, you will create a negative feedback from your clients and co-brokers. This will ruined your rapport and record in the industry thus lessening your chances to make transaction with other brokers. Another important tip for day trade brokers is to make business at the most profitable time by using the 10 a.m. reversal method. When you now this, business will be good with you. By using this strategy, you will know the right time to trade when brokers get online and a lot more. These tips is just an outline to make you comfortable with this business, but to be an expert make more readings and get enough trainings to assure your success.

Automated Forex Day Trading Systems

Various trading software used as forex dealings continue to surface and one of the best ways in acquiring substantial profits is through automatic forex day trading systems that entails the acquisition of takings given a shorter period of time. Dealing with this kind of business requires a trader to have considerable knowledge of how the forex trade works and what makes the automated forex day trading system effectual for trading.

This kind of system helps in moderating the possibilities of losing a big sum of money and provides you with ways of how it is done and how to triumph against possible threats. Instinctively, the automated forex day trading gives a trader the opportunity to gain takings in every way possible. This means that the transactions are incessantly flowing even a trader is asleep, at rest or at work. Aside from this, forex trading need not have mathematicians except if you will do the calculations manually. However, employing this kind of system will provide all the necessary evaluation and calculations of all your takings as well as the risks.

Since most traders utilizing this kind of system are novice traders and are on the process of learning the entire game, this can be used by almost all levels of expertise; software providers offer 24 hours customer support service where you will be given points on how to generate the whole process and later on manipulate the formula towards the winning system. This kind of software is designed and developed by various experts and specialists in the field of forex marketing. You are also given few analysis checks and trial tests in order to assess the market without having to shed money or break the bank. The automated forex day trading software doesn't require a monthly obligation and subscription fee. It will automatically generate forex trading signals even without having to pay for any monthly subscription. For professionals in the field with high capital can even trade in multiple currencies, with this software you will no longer have to endure going from one market place to another since all financial markets are positioned in one specific place making trading a lot easier to maneuver.

Versatility is what best describes an automated system which primarily permits different transactions from diverse fields. This gives a trader the opportunity to trade in unstable markets with various time zones. You can also supervise a lot of trading models as the system takes care of the handling of each model. This system also evaluates some of the data and you can utilize the evaluated data for your future assessment based on the movement of the foreign currency at the present time. As forex trading changes from time to time, it is but necessary to employ an automated forex trading system to trail where the market will go in the next minutes, hours and so on.

All these are few of the finest points that a trader should know in case opportunity present itself and are already up for grabs.

Day Trading - Good Or Bad?

Day Trading is seen by many people as a way to get out of the daily grind of having to get out of bed to go to a job and to make good money at the same time, which is most people's goal. But while there are a lot of advantages to day trading, there can also be pitfalls that you need to avoid.

The good stuff : You can work when you want, you have no boss on your case, you can dress how you like, take breaks when you like, take time off when you like, spend more time with your family and friends, you don't need to get yourself to work, you just fall out of bed and you're there. You have time to do what you want when YOU want to do it and, if you get it right, you can make a stack of money!

The bad stuff : You have to discipline yourself to do the job properly and not take silly risks, you have to learn when to get out of a trade (not necessarily right at the top), and if you're losing you need to know when to cut, because if you get this wrong, you could lose everything.

You must only use money that you can afford to lose. Day trading is just another form of gambling, but if you work at getting it right, the rewards can be fantastic. You can find a lot of help and information on the Internet, and while some isn't very good, a lot is excellent. There is also software available to help you to trade more safely and even free software that allows you to simulate trading. You would be wise to try this first before you invest your hard earned cash.