Social Media - and its danger!Social Media... the part of the Internet that is very dangerous when it comes to promises, money, and wealth.
We've all seen it: on social media, you can supposedly make millions in under 15 minutes. Pictures with a Lamborghini and a TradingView chart above it...
Let's go through some thoughts new traders may not be aware of and how to look at them with a critical mind!
(🚩 -> Red Flag)
📍 MetaTrader / Think or Swim / NinjaTrader / cTrader 📍
There are more, but let's focus on the more popular ones.
Pictures of winning trades are useless when it comes to trading. Trading is done over years in a consistent manner, not over a few trades.
Pictures of MT5, NT, or any other platform can easily be faked.
You can set up your own little server for MetaTrader, play it out, and you have your fake trades.
📍 Fancy Cars / Travels / Houses 📍
Showing a fancy lifestyle is another big 🚩.
All those people with fancy cars have leased or rented them for the image of being successful. It's to lure you in with false promises!
(Although trading can be very fulfilling if you are willing to put in the work!)
📍 New Setup Every Few Weeks 📍
If a channel has a new setup every few weeks, this is only made for scamming new traders, not to have a setup that works.
(Think about it, if you have a setup that works, why would you change?)
Explore their profile, look for this pattern, and sometimes you will find it. Simple step :)
📍 Selling Courses / Mentorship 📍
You can learn all of trading for free.
TradingView has a very nice paper trading feature that you can use and a very unique ideas section where you can find all the information you need!
Here we come to a golden rule when it comes to starting trading: NEVER buy a course or mentorship. Never! You don't need it!
(And also, TradingView's paper trading is free!)
📍 Very Basic Information Available Only 📍
Trading is hard; trading needs a lot of concepts fitting together like RR-System, Money Management, Multi-Timeframe Analysis.
If you see a social media post with 1 chart with some boxes and another picture with a money screenshot, this is 100% fake.
You need A LOT more than 1 chart and a lot more knowledge than you can ever show on even 3 charts.
📍 AI 📍
Oh, we all love AI, but I'm afraid that AI is not in the picture (yet).
Pine can't code it, and the current state of "AI" is a "guessing" game.
(AI just guesses what comes next, in the form of vectors... it's extremely complex, but it doesn't exist in trading.)
📍 Indicators 📍
Indicators are a very nice thing to have AFTER you have your strategy down, not before.
There is no indicator that works on its own; you plug it in and it makes money... that doesn't exist!
(Think about it critically: if that existed, why wouldn't we solve world hunger?)
📍 Typical Selling Point Sentences 📍
"Learn trading in 15 minutes" or "This is all you need" or "Only trade for 10 minutes a day" are the typical scam titles that you see, and with those, you know 100% they are fake.
Trading is not done in 15 minutes, trading is hard work, and trading takes a long time to learn. There are no shortcuts.
📍 Things You Can Ask Them 📍
Typically speaking, they will not answer any of these questions because they can't.
Like "How do you calculate your position size with your current RR setup?" This means they studied this, and you can be sure they didn't :)
Or "How does leverage exactly work?" and like 99.99% of the YouTubers got it wrong.
But a very nice thing to ask is a simple "Can I have a broker statement of your account?" and boom, they are gone.
🏆 Golden Rules 🏆
Never buy anything (you can learn 100% everything for free).
Ask critical questions and follow up on them.
Trading is hard; there is no 15-minute setup.
Trading can't be 100% automated.
Trading Plan
What's in a Trading Plan? Here's All You Need to Include.Ready, set… plan? In this guide, we discuss why you need to plan your trading before trading your plan. Let’s roll.
Table of Contents:
»Importance of a Trading Plan
»The Successful Trading Plan Doesn't Exi...
»What's in a Typical Trading Day?
»Markets, Strategies and Styles
»Summary
Venturing into trading without a plan is akin to setting sail on the ocean without a compass. Or taking the leap without looking first 😉. We can keep the metaphors rolling but if there’s one thing you must remember from this word salad of an article, it’s this: success in trading is possible with a plan. Without a plan, not so much.
In this guide, we'll talk about the importance of creating a trading plan, what you should include in it, and how to follow it.
📍 Importance of a Trading Plan
A trading plan is not just a list of dos and don’ts; it's the roadmap to trading success. Here's why it matters:
➡️ Streamlines Your Actions : Much like a roadmap, a trading plan outlines your objectives, time frames, strategies, and risk management techniques, and offers a clear path forward.
➡️ Limits Emotional Swings : By defining rules and parameters in advance, a trading plan helps to keep emotions in check, limiting impulsive actions that could lead to financial pitfalls.
➡️ Fosters Discipline : Sticking to a plan holds you accountable for your actions and allows you to see where you jump out of your rule book and into undisciplined FOMO-driven pump-chasing revenge trading.
📍 The Successful Trading Plan Doesn't Exi...
Many traders believe that you can be successful by buying and selling random selections of stocks, forex pairs, or commodities. However, the reality is that the most — if not all — successful traders have one thing in common: a well-defined trading plan. Here's what makes for a successful trading plan:
☝🏽 Adaptability : A successful trading plan is not rigid but flexible, allowing for adjustments in response to changing market conditions.
☝🏽 Consistency : A plan helps you stay on track toward your goals as a trader, allowing you to stick to predefined rules and strategies, especially when things get hot and volatile.
☝🏽 Continuous Improvement : A successful trading plan is a work in progress. The more time you use it, the higher probability you will have to refine it as you drift along diverse assets, all swayed by different factors.
📍 What's in a Typical Trading Day?
A typical trading day is a blend of preparation, execution, and reflection. And while you should leave room for new ideas, fresh approaches, and some surprises, there are mainstay components that you need to have in your trading plan.
📰 Reading the News : Staying in the know is always a good idea. For many successful traders, the first thing to do is check what’s the latest on the news front. Known as fundamental analysis, reading the news and doing your research will help you get a sense of investor sentiment.
Moreover, you can stay ahead of the curve and anticipate big market moves by following the economic calendar. Lots of those sharp swings you see in forex or stocks are caused by regular data dumps such as the monthly US nonfarm payrolls report. The Federal Reserve’s decisions on interest rates or the monthly Consumer Price Index are also keys to anticipating volatility.
And what better place to follow all that’s moving markets than the TradingView News section ?
📈 Following the Charts : if you’re here, this one won’t be too new to you. Chart reading, known as technical analysis, is one of the oldest ways to analyze anything — from stocks to crypto and even frozen orange juice.
Think of a chart as your trading canvas. It’s your space to be creative, draft ideas, look for technical patterns and formations, and anticipate potential moves. Observing the chart and watching how prices behave will help you spot where a trend may form, extend, or reverse.
Some of the most popular technical formations include double tops and bottoms, head and shoulders, cup and handle, and more. And some of the most popular technical indicators include the Simple Moving Average (SMA), the Relative Strength Index (RSI), and the Fibonacci sequence.
All of that, and much more, is readily available for you almost anywhere you click on the TradingView platform.
⚒️ Work on Your Skills : Trading doesn’t have to glue you to the screen in constant monitoring of every blip. If you don’t see anything to trade, don’t trade just for the sake of it. Sometimes the best trading position is no position at all.
Instead, use some of your idle time to build out your knowledge base. Grab some books on technical analysis or trading psychology. Or watch interviews of successful traders and investors and gain that educational edge to help you become a more aware, informed, and confident trader.
🏖️ Take a Break : Not everything you do needs to be related to productivity gains and trading improvement. Stare into space or read a great novel. Take your mind off trading and unwind, let the steam off, and recharge your batteries.
Go out, enjoy a walk or do some people-watching. Taking time to zone out every now and then will help you get back to trading sharper, smarter, and more balanced.
📍 Markets, Strategies and Styles
The world of trading is as diverse as it is dynamic, offering a flurry of markets, strategies, and trading styles to explore. Here's a glimpse into the landscape:
💹 Markets : Traders can choose from a variety of financial markets, including stocks , forex , and cryptocurrencies , each with its unique characteristics and opportunities.
When you set out to create your trading plan, think carefully whether you want your portfolio to be concentrated into any one market or asset class. Or maybe you’d like to go for a diverse approach to trading and pull in assets from several markets.
Knowing what your asset preference is will help you phase out markets so they don’t distract you.
🎯 Strategies : From technical analysis to fundamental analysis, you can adopt various strategies to identify trading opportunities and manage risk, ranging from trend following to mean reversion.
News trading is a popular approach to markets as it allows you to bet on economic reports, geopolitical events, central bank updates, and more. On the other hand, technical traders tend to stick to the chart in efforts to gauge price movements and trends. Every chart tells a story. Deciphering it is the tough part.
🌈 Styles : Trading styles are equally important and they’re all tied to a specific time frame of holding your positions. If you’re more into short-term trading, you may pick scalping and target a few pips of gains before jumping out of your trade.
Day trading and swing trading are two popular time-sensitive trading strategies that you may want to explore when building out your trading plan.
📍 Summary
Your trading plan should be exactly that — yours. Tailor it to your specific goals, risk orientation, asset preference, and find out how it stacks up against market conditions.
That way, you can navigate the markets with confidence and direction, instead of letting markets sway your decision making and lead you into uncharted waters. Embark on your trading journey armed with a well-crafted plan, and let it be your roadmap to trading success.
📣With that said, let us know in the comments: do you have a trading plan? What’s the most important element of it and are you always sticking to it?
TradingView Masterclass: The power of Bar Replay🚀 Unlocking Your Trading Potential with Bar Replay on TradingView
In the whirlwind of trading, having ace tools up your sleeve can dramatically shape your strategy and success. The spotlight shines bright on TradingView’s Bar Replay feature, a gem that offers a rewind on market movements, setting the stage for strategic mastery. Let's dive into what makes Bar Replay a must-use for traders eager to refine their game.
🕒 Understanding Bar Replay on TradingView
Bar Replay is one of TradingView's standout features, allowing traders to select any point in history on their chart and watch the market's movements replay from that moment. It's a game-changer for visualizing price actions and volume changes without the stakes of live trading. Whether you're aiming for an in-depth analysis or a quick market recap, the adjustable speed of Bar Replay caters to all your needs with unmatched flexibility.
🤿 Why Dive into Bar Replay ?
The magic of Bar Replay lies in its exceptional ability to simulate market scenarios, offering a practice ground for strategy testing and gaining insights from historical market behavior. Newcomers find a safe space to learn and experiment, while the pros get a robust tool for refining strategies. Our tutorial video steps it up by walking you through practical uses on a top company's chart—marking crucial levels, applying indicators, and making trade decisions, all within the Bar Replay environment.
✨ Conclusion: ReplayYour Path to Trading Excellence
Bar Replay isn't just another tool; it's your companion in the quest for trading excellence, turning theory into actionable insight. Whether you're just starting or fine-tuning your strategy, it bridges the gap to more informed and decisive trading.
Ready to explore Bar Replay 's power and make each session a step closer to your trading goals? Let's embark on this journey together.
❓ Ever tried Bar Replay in your trading adventures?
We're all ears! 📢 Whether it's been a strategy game-changer or you're navigating its integration, drop your stories below. Let’s navigate the market's waves together.
💖 TradingView Team
PS: Check out our other Masterclasses in the Related Ideas below 👇🏽👇🏽👇🏽 and give us a 🚀 and a follow if you don't want to miss any of our future releases!
How to Use Stop Loss Orders in Trading?Stop loss order is the order that automatically closes your trade once it reaches a specified price target. Learn all about it here.
Table of Contents:
🔹What Is a Stop Loss Order?
🔹Why Stop Loss Orders Matter?
🔹Setting Stop Loss Levels
🔹Types of Stop Loss Orders
🔹Adjusting Your Stop Loss Orders
🔹Summary
In trading, reducing risks is oftentimes all that matters to achieving success. One of the essential tools to protect your investments from steep or unexpected losses is the stop loss order. Understanding how to use stop loss orders can unlock your path to profitability by allowing you to balance your risk and reward ratio. In other words, with the right stop loss setup, you can shoot for asymmetrical risk returns by keeping your drawdown small and letting your profits run.
Let’s dive into the exciting world of trading and see how stop loss orders can be your greatest ally in trading.
📍 What Is a Stop Loss Order?
A stop loss order is an essential risk management tool used by traders to limit potential losses on a trade. By using a stop loss order, you instruct your broker to automatically sell the asset you’re holding when it reaches a predetermined price level that is below your purchase price, or entry.
A stop loss order allows you to control your losses and protect your investments so you don’t have to sit glued to the screen all the time.
📍 Why Stop Loss Orders Matter
Stop loss orders play a big role in risk management. These easy-to-set trading tools help traders stick to predefined risk tolerance levels by limiting the amount of money they are willing to lose on any given trade.
Without a stop loss order in place, traders may give in to emotional decision-making during periods of market volatility, leading to potential losses. If you have a hard time cutting your losses If you have a hard time cutting your losses when —ok, we get it, you're a bigshot— IF positions go against you, setting a stop loss when you enter the market will do the hard work for you.
➡️ Risk Management: One of the primary reasons stop loss orders are essential is because they help traders manage risk effectively. This is crucial in volatile markets where prices can fluctuate rapidly, as it prevents significant losses that could otherwise occur if trades were left unattended.
➡️ Emotional Control: Trading can evoke strong emotions such as fear and greed, which can lead to irrational decision-making. Without a stop loss order in place, traders may be tempted to hold onto losing positions in the hope that the market will reverse in their favor.
➡️ Peace of Mind: Knowing that there is a safety net in place can provide traders with peace of mind. Stop loss orders allow you to do your thing in the market without obsessively watching charts and tickers. Set your stop loss orders and focus on other aspects of your market study like catching up on the latest market-moving news and analysis .
➡️ Preventing Catastrophic Losses: In extreme market conditions, prices can experience sudden and significant declines. Without stop loss orders, traders risk experiencing catastrophic losses that could wipe out a significant portion of their capital.
➡️ Enforcing Discipline: Successful trading requires discipline and adherence to a well-defined trading plan. Stop loss orders help enforce discipline by striving to ensure that traders stick to their predetermined risk management rules. If trading is about discipline and consistency, then stop loss orders are the stepping stone to success.
📍 Setting Stop Loss Levels
Choosing the appropriate stop loss level is a critical aspect of using stop loss orders effectively. Traders should consider various factors, including their risk tolerance, investment objectives, market conditions, and the volatility of the asset being traded.
A common approach is to set the stop loss below a significant support level or a recent low in an uptrend (if you have a long position) and above a significant resistance level or a recent high in a downtrend (if you have a short position).
Example: Suppose you purchase shares of a company called X (not Elon Musk’s privately held X Corp., which he created by rebranding Twitter) at $50 per share. You estimate that a 5% decline in the stock price would indicate a potential trend reversal. Therefore, you set your stop loss order at $47.50 per share to limit your potential loss to 5% of your investment.
📍 Types of Stop Loss Orders
There are several types of stop loss orders that traders can utilize, each with its own special characteristics. The most common types include:
➡️ Market Stop Loss: a type of stop loss order that triggers a market order to sell the instrument at the prevailing market price once the stop loss level is reached.
➡️ Stop Limit: with a stop limit order, you have to deal with two types of prices. The first one is the price that will trigger a sell and the limit price. But instead of converting your order into a sell based on current market prices, you set a limit price.
➡️ Trailing Stop Loss: A trailing stop loss order is dynamically adjusted based on the movement of the instrument’s price. It allows traders to lock in profits while giving the trade room to move in their favor.
Example: You purchase shares of a big tech company at $100 per share, and the stock price then rises to $120 per share. You set a trailing stop loss order with a 10% trail. If the stock price declines by 10% from its peak, the trailing stop loss order will trigger, selling the shares at prevailing market prices.
📍 Adjusting Stop Loss Orders
While setting stop loss orders is essential, monitoring and adjusting them as market conditions evolve is equally important. Traders should regularly reassess their stop loss levels to account for changes in volatility, price action, and overall market sentiment. Additionally, as profits accumulate, trailing stop loss orders should be adjusted to protect gains and minimize potential losses.
📍 Summary
In conclusion, stop loss orders are one of the most essential and effective tools for traders seeking to manage risk and preserve and grow capital in the challenging world of trading. By understanding how to use stop loss orders effectively, you can rein in emotional decision-making, protect your investments, and increase your chances of long-term success.
Whether you're a novice or an experienced trader, integrating stop loss orders into your trading strategy is a smart approach to navigate the twists and turns of the financial markets. Remember, trading involves inherent risks, but with proper risk management techniques like stop loss orders, you can tilt the odds of success in your favor.
❓Do you use stop loss orders when trading? Which type ? Let us know in the comments ⬇️
Diversification: What It Is, Why It Matters & How to Do ItDiversification is a market strategy that enables you to spread your money across a variety of assets and investments in pursuit of uncorrelated returns, hedging, and risk control.
Table of Contents
What is portfolio diversification?
Brief history of the modern portfolio theory
Why is diversification important?
An example of diversification at work
How to diversify your portfolio
Components of a diversified portfolio
Build wealth through diversification
Diversification vs concentration
Summary
📍 What is portfolio diversification?
Portfolio diversification is the strategy of spreading your money across diverse investments in order to mitigate risk, hedge and balance your exposure in pursuit of uncorrelated returns. While it may sound complex at first, portfolio diversification could be your greatest strength when you set out to trade and invest in the financial markets.
As a matter of fact, once you immerse yourself into the markets, you will be overwhelmed by the wide horizons waiting for you. That’s when you’ll need to know about diversification.
There are thousands of stocks available for trading, dozens of indices, and a sea of cryptocurrencies. Choosing your investments will invariably lead to relying on diversification in order to protect and grow your money.
Diversifying well will enable you to go into different sectors, markets and asset classes. Together, all of these will build up your diversified portfolio.
📍 Brief history of the modern portfolio theory
“ Diversification is both observed and sensible; a rule of behavior which does not imply the superiority of diversification must be rejected both as a hypothesis and as a maxim. ” These are the words of the father of the modern portfolio theory, Harry Markowitz.
His paper on diversification called “Portfolio Selection” was published in The Journal of Finance in 1952. The theory, which helped Mr. Markowitz win a Nobel prize in 1990, posits that a rational investor should aim to maximize their returns relative to risk.
The most significant feature from the modern portfolio theory was the discovery that you can reduce volatility without sacrificing returns. In other words, Mr. Markowitz argued that a well-diverse portfolio would still hold volatile assets. But relative to each other, their volatility would balance out because they all comprise one portfolio.
Therefore, the volatility of a single asset, Mr. Markowitz discovered, is not as significant as the contribution it makes to the volatility of the entire portfolio.
Let’s dive in and see how this works.
📍 Why is diversification important?
Diversification is important for any trader and investor because it builds out a mix of assets working together to yield returns. In practice, all assets contained in your portfolio will play a role in shaping the total performance of your portfolio.
However, these same assets out there in the market may or may not be correlated. The interrelationship of those assets within your portfolio is what will allow you to reduce your overall risk profile.
With this in mind, the total return of your investments will depend on the performance of all assets in your portfolio. Let’s give an example.
📍 An example of diversification at work
Say you want to own two different stocks, Apple (ticker: AAPL ) and Coca-Cola (ticker: KO ). In order to easily track your performance, you invest an equal amount of funds into each one—$500.
While you expect to reap handsome profits from both investments, Coca-Cola happens to deliver a disappointing earnings report and shares go down 5%. Your investment is now worth $475, provided no leverage is used.
Apple, on the other hand, posts a blowout report for the last quarter and its stock soars 10%. This move would propel your investment to a valuation of $550 thanks to $50 added as profits.
So, how does your portfolio look now? In total, your investment of $1000 is now $1,025, or a gain of 2.5% to your capital. You have taken a loss in Coca-Cola but your profit in Apple has compensated for it.
The more assets you add to your portfolio, the more complex the correlation would be between them. In practice, you could be diversifying to infinity. But beyond a certain point, diversification would be more likely to water down your portfolio instead of helping you get more returns.
📍 How to diversify your portfolio
The way to diversify your portfolio is to add a variety of different assets from different markets and see how they perform relative to one another. A single asset in your portfolio would mean that you rely on it entirely and how it performs will define your total investment result.
If you diversify, however, you will have a broader exposure to financial markets and ultimately enjoy more probabilities for winning trades, increased returns and decreased overall risks.
You can optimize your asset choices by going into different asset classes. Let’s check some of the most popular ones.
📍 Components of a diversified portfolio
Stocks
A great way to add diversification to your portfolio is to include world stocks , also called equities. You can look virtually anywhere—US stocks such as technology giants , the world’s biggest car manufacturers , and even Reddit’s favorite meme darlings .
Stock selection is among the most difficult and demanding tasks in trading and investing. But if you do it well, you will reap hefty profits.
Every stock sector is fashionable in different times. Your job as an investor (or day trader) is to analyze market sentiment and increase your probabilities of being in the right stock at the right time.
Currencies
The forex market , short for foreign exchange, is the market for currency pairs floating against each other. Trading currencies and having them sit in your portfolio is another way to add diversification to your market exposure.
Forex is the world’s biggest marketplace with more than $7.5 trillion in daily volume traded between participants.
Unlike stock markets that have specific trading hours, the forex market operates 24 hours a day, five days a week. Continuous trading allows for more opportunities for price fluctuations as events occurring in different time zones can impact currency values at any given moment.
Cryptocurrencies
A relatively new (but booming) market, the cryptocurrency space is quickly gaining traction. As digital assets become increasingly more mainstream, newcomers enter the space and the Big Dogs on Wall Street join too , improving the odds of growth and adoption.
Adding crypto assets to your portfolio is a great way to diversify and shoot for long-term returns. There’s incentive in there for day traders as well. Crypto coins are notorious for their aggressive swings even on a daily basis. It’s not unusual for a crypto asset to skyrocket 20% or even double in size in a matter of hours.
But that inherent volatility holds sharpened risks, so make sure to always do your research before you decide to YOLO in any particular token.
Commodities
Commodities, the likes of gold ( XAU/USD ) and silver ( XAG/USD ) bring technicolor to any portfolio in need of diversification. Unlike traditional stocks, commodities provide a hedge against inflation as their values tend to rise with increasing prices.
Commodities exhibit low correlation with other asset classes, too, thereby enhancing portfolio diversification and reducing overall risk.
Incorporating commodities into a diversified portfolio can help mitigate risk, enhance returns, and preserve purchasing power in the face of inflationary pressures, geopolitical uncertainty and other macroeconomic risks.
ETFs
ETFs , short for exchange-traded funds, are investment vehicles which offer a convenient and cost-effective way to gain exposure to a number of assets all packaged in the same instrument. These funds pull a bunch of similar stocks, commodities and—more recently— crypto assets , into the same bundle and launch it out there in the public markets. Owning an ETF means owning everything inside it, or whatever it’s made of.
ETFs typically have lower expense ratios compared to mutual funds, making them affordable investment options.
Whether you seek broad market exposure, niche sectors, or thematic investing opportunities, ETFs are a convenient way to build a diversified portfolio tailored to your investment objectives and risk preferences.
Bonds
Bonds are fixed-income investments available through various issuers with the most common one being the US government. Bonds are a fairly complex financial product but at the same time are considered a no-brainer for investors pursuing the path of least risk.
Bonds have different rates of creditworthiness and maturity terms, allowing investors to pick what fits their style best. Bonds with longer maturity—10 to 30 years—generally offer a better yield than short-term bonds.
Government bonds offer stability and low risk because they’re backed by the government and the risk of bankruptcy is low.
Cash
Cash may seem like a strange allocation asset but it’s actually a relatively safe bet when it comes to managing your own money. Sitting in cash is among the best things you can do when stocks are falling and valuations are coming down to earth.
And vice versa—when you have cash on-hand, you can be ready to scoop up attractive shares when they’ve bottomed out and are ready to fire up again (if only it was that easy, right?).
Finally, cash on its own is a risk-free investment in a high interest-rate environment. If you shove it into a high-yield savings account, you can easily generate passive income (yield) and withdraw if you need cash quickly.
📍 Build wealth through diversification
In the current context of market events, elevated interest rates and looming uncertainty, you need to be careful in your market approach. To this end, many experts advise that the best strategy you could go with in order to build wealth is to have a well-diversified portfolio.
“ Diversifying well is the most important thing you need to do in order to invest well ,” says Ray Dalio , founder of the world’s biggest hedge fund Bridgewater Associates.
“ This is true because 1) in the markets, that which is unknown is much greater than that which can be known (relative to what is already discounted in the markets), and 2) diversification can improve your expected return-to-risk ratio by more than anything else you can do. ”
📍 Diversification vs concentration
The opposite of portfolio diversification is portfolio concentration. Think about diversification as “ don’t put your eggs in one basket. ” Concentration, on the flip side, is “ put all your eggs in one basket, and watch it carefully. ”
In practice, concentration is focusing your investment into a single financial asset. Or having a few large bets that would assume higher risk but higher, or quicker, return.
While diversification is a recommended investment strategy for all seasons, concentration comes with bigger risks and is not always the right approach. Still, at times when you have a high conviction on a trade and have thoroughly analyzed the market, you may decide to bet heavily, thus concentrating your investment.
However, you need to be careful with concentrated bets as they can turn against your portfolio and wreck it if you’re overexposed and underprepared. Diversification, however, promises to cushion your overall risk by a carefully balanced approach to various financial assets.
📍 Summary
A diversified portfolio is essentially your best bet for coordinated and sustainable returns over the long term. Choosing a mix of various types of investments, such as stocks, ETFs, currencies, and crypto assets, would spread your exposure and provide different avenues for growth potential. Not only that, but it would also protect you from outsized risks, sudden economic shocks, or unforeseen events.
While you decrease your risk tolerance, you raise your probability of having winning positions. Regardless of your style and approach to markets, diversifying well will increase your chances of being right. You can be a trader and bet on currencies and gold for the short term. Or you can be an investor and allocate funds to stocks and crypto assets for years ahead.
Potential sources of diversification are everywhere in the financial markets. Ultimately, diversifying gives you thousands of opportunities to balance your portfolio and position yourself for risk-adjusted returns.
🙋🏾♂️ FAQ
❔ What is portfolio diversification?
► Portfolio diversification is the strategy of spreading your money across diverse investments in order to mitigate risk, hedge and balance your exposure in pursuit of uncorrelated returns.
❔ Why is diversification important?
► Diversification is important for any trader and investor because it creates a mix of assets working together to yield high, uncorrelated returns.
❔ How to diversify your portfolio?
► The way to diversify your portfolio is to add a variety of different assets and see how they perform relative to one another. If you diversify, you will have a broader exposure to financial markets and ultimately enjoy more probabilities for winning trades, increased returns, and decreased overall risks.
Do you diversify? What is your strategy? Do you rebalance? Let us know in the comments.
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Mindfulness : The Zen approach to Trading SuccessMindfulness is a practice that involves being fully present and engaged in the moment, aware of your thoughts and feelings without judgment. It originates from ancient Buddhist meditation practices but has been adopted widely in various forms across the world for its mental health benefits. In this post, we'll dive a bit deeper into what it is, where it comes from, and how it can help you when trading. Some practical tips and where to start are included as well, so keep on reading till the end.
❔ What is mindfulness?
Mindfulness is like having a special tool that helps you pay close attention to what's happening right now, in this very moment, without wishing it was different. It's about noticing the little things - how your breath feels going in and out, the way your body feels sitting or standing, or even the sounds around you. It's all about being fully present and aware, like watching a movie and noticing every detail on the screen without getting distracted by thoughts of what you will do later.
When you practice mindfulness, you're training your brain to focus on the present moment. It's like when you use a magnifying glass to look at something closely; you see a lot more detail than you would if you were glancing at it. Mindfulness works the same way, but instead of looking at something outside, you're paying close attention to your thoughts, feelings, and sensations.
By practicing mindfulness, you learn to respond to situations with more calmness and less knee-jerk reactions. Instead of getting immediately upset or stressed by something, you give yourself a moment to decide how you want to react. It's like pressing a "pause" button, giving you the chance to choose your response.
In simple terms, mindfulness changes your mindset by helping you live more in the "now," handle your emotions better and be kinder to yourself. It's like having a secret garden inside your mind where you can go to find peace, no matter what's happening around you.
❔ Where does it come from?
Mindfulness, originating over 2,500 years ago within Buddhist meditation practices, transcends its ancient spiritual roots to address a universal human need: the desire to be fully present and aware in our lives. This practice, once cultivated in the serene landscapes of ancient India, has evolved beyond its religious confines, finding a place in various Eastern traditions such as Taoism and Zen Buddhism . Each culture enriched the concept, emphasizing awareness, intention, and compassion, and highlighting mindfulness's universal appeal and applicability.
The late 20th century witnessed a significant cultural bridge as mindfulness made its way into the Western world, largely thanks to pioneers like Jon Kabat-Zinn . His approach through the Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) program at the University of Massachusetts Medical School showcased mindfulness as a powerful tool for psychological well-being, stress reduction, and enhanced quality of life, irrespective of its religious origins. Today, mindfulness is embraced across diverse fields for its profound benefits, embodying a timeless practice that enhances the human experience by promoting a deeper connection with the present moment.
❔ Why Mindfulness for Trading?
Why is mindfulness important for trading? Think of trading like a big room full of buttons. Each button can make you feel something different – happy when you win, sad or scared when you lose. Mindfulness is like having a special guide in this room. This guide helps you walk through without hitting every button by accident. It teaches you to notice the buttons (your feelings) without having to press them all. This way, you can feel happy about the good things and not feel too bad about the not-so-good things, keeping your mind steady no matter what happens.
Mindfulness helps you stay calm and clear-headed. When you're trading, it's easy to get caught up in the excitement or worry a lot. Mindfulness is like putting on a pair of glasses that helps you see everything more clearly. You learn to pay attention to what's happening right now, instead of getting lost in thoughts about what might happen next or what happened before. This can help you make better decisions because you're thinking clearly and not just reacting to your feelings. It's like having a secret weapon that keeps you feeling good and thinking smart, no matter how wild the trading world gets.
❔ How does it help in trading?
Emotional Regulation : Trading can be an emotionally charged activity, with the potential for high stress, anxiety, and strong emotional reactions to wins and losses. Mindfulness helps traders recognize their emotional states without becoming overwhelmed by them, promoting a balanced approach to decision-making.
Improved Focus and Concentration : Mindfulness enhances the ability to concentrate on the task at hand. For traders, this means being able to focus on analyzing markets, monitoring trades, and making decisions without being distracted by irrelevant information or internal chatter.
Reducing Impulsive Behavior : By fostering an increased awareness of thoughts and feelings, mindfulness can help traders avoid impulsive decisions driven by short-term emotions such as fear, greed, or frustration. This can lead to more disciplined and considered trading strategies.
Stress Management : The practice of mindfulness has been shown to reduce stress levels. Given that trading can be a high-stress occupation, particularly during volatile market conditions, mindfulness can help traders manage stress, maintain clarity, and avoid burnout.
Enhancing Decision Making : Mindfulness promotes a state of calm and clarity, allowing traders to evaluate situations more objectively. This can improve decision-making by reducing the likelihood of decisions being clouded by emotions or cognitive biases.
Learning from Mistakes : Mindfulness encourages an attitude of non-judgmental observation. This perspective can help traders view losses or mistakes as learning opportunities rather than personal failures, cultivating a growth mindset that is crucial for long-term success.
Incorporating Mindfulness into Your Trading Routine
Here are a few things you can do to build in mindfulness routines in your trading day.
🧘🏽♀️Daily Meditation : Start with just 5 minutes a day. There's a plethora of apps like Headspace or Calm to guide you.
🤯Setting Intentions : Each morning, remind yourself of your trading goals and how you want to approach the day mindfully.
😤Mindful Breathing : Feeling overwhelmed? Pause and take ten deep breaths to reset your mental state.
⏸️Mindful Pauses : Before you click that trade button, take a moment to ensure this decision feels right in the gut.
✍🏽Reflective Journaling : End your day by jotting down your emotional journey alongside your trades. You might be surprised by the patterns you find.
📚 Get started:
Interested in expanding your mindfulness repertoire? Here are some resources to get you started:
Jon Kabat-Zinn's " Wherever You Go, There You Are " for mindfulness 101. ISBN 978-0-7868-8070-6
The Headspace Guide to Meditation and Mindfulness by Andy Puddicombe for those looking to integrate mindfulness into everyday life. ISBN-10 1250104904
10% Happier for meditation skeptics who want practical insights. ISBN-10 0062265423
✅ Takeaway
Who knew that the path to trading success could involve a bit of Zen? By embracing mindfulness, you're not just becoming a better trader; you're investing in your overall well-being. So, here's to trading mindfully and finding that inner peace amidst the market's chaos. Remember, in the world of trading, the best investment you can make is in yourself.
📣 Join the Conversation!
Now, it's your turn! Have you tried integrating mindfulness into your trading routine? Notice any shifts in your decision-making or emotional resilience? Or maybe you've got some mindfulness tips and tricks of your own to share. Drop your stories, insights, or even your skepticism in the comments below. Let's build a community of mindful traders, learning and growing together. Can't wait to hear about your experience!
What is the secret of success? 🌴 Being Wrong is OKAY!Here is the 5 TIPS TO DO with your mistakes:
1. Acknowledge Your Errors
So often, we say things like, “It’s unfortunate, but market goes opposite me” or "SEC lawsuit crashed prices, so I lose" But blaming other people or minimizing your responsibility isn’t helpful to anyone.
Before you can learn from your mistakes, you have to accept full responsibility for your role in the outcome. That can be uncomfortable sometimes, but until you can say, “I messed up,” you aren’t ready to change.
2. Ask Yourself Tough Questions
While you don’t want to dwell on your mistakes, reflecting on them can be productive. Ask yourself a few tough questions:
• What went wrong?
• What could I do better next time?
• What did I learn from this?
Write down your responses and you'll see the situation a little more clearly, sometimes from different side. Seeing your answers on paper can help you think more logically about an irrational or emotional experience.
3. Make A Plan (checklist)
Beating yourself up for your mistakes won’t help you down the road. It’s important to spend the bulk of your time thinking about how to do better in the future.
Make a plan that will help you avoid making a similar mistake. Be as detailed as possible but remain flexible since your plan may need to change.
Creating checklist of trading criterias (for entry, for stop loss, for target etc) can be very helpful. Make sure you have it in front of your eyes before open a trade or close it.
4. Make It Harder To Mess Up
Don’t depend on willpower alone to prevent you from taking an unhealthy choice or from giving into immediate gratification. Increase your chances of success by making it harder to mess up again.
To prevent yourself from having instant loss split your deposit to several accounts and make sure you using only small part of it for "intraday" or "scalping" trading. Additionally split your deposit for Savings account and Spot trading. And if you new to trading use only about 15% of your investment to learn, and don't touch other part untill you gain good experience.
5. Create A List Of Reasons Why You Don’t Want To Make The Mistake Again
Sometimes, it only takes one weak moment to indulge in something you shouldn’t. Creating a list of all the reasons why you should stay on track could help you stay self-disciplined, even during the toughest times.
Create a list of all the reasons why you shouldn’t enter the market, it could be your emotional state, willing to revenge on the market or might be a price action setup, fundamentals or something else.
It will help to resist the temptation to enter bad trade.
Self-discipline is like a muscle. Each time you delay gratification and make a healthy choice, you grow mentally stronger.
Cycle of Trading Psycology tips:
HOW TO BALANCE YOUR LIFE AND TRADING
5 TIPS FOR SMALL ACCOUNTS
Savings Account GAINS explained
Simple Investing Strategy, Affordable for all!
Best regards,
Artem Shevelev
5 TIPS FOR SMALL ACCOUNTSHey! When we start trading we want to make a lot of money and became millionaires by the end of month. This awesome motivation could be cut off easily without following simple plan and strategy.
When I started trading I entered only with 100$ account and loose it all within a month. I didn’t payed attention to my personal financial plan and rules, which cost me a lot of losses during my first steps in trading.
Knowing this 5 tips will help you out if you just started trading and run small account.
So, 5 TIPS FOR SMALL ACCOUNTS
1. Follow financial plan, do not go all in. Yeah, to make financial plan you need to study it first, if you are without financial education. DO NOT GO ALL IN, this is not joke, stop it right now! Small is Big in trading, and watch your trades carefully.
2. Trade less instruments, trade less often. Focus. Once again, small is big. Learn one or two assets, learn their nature and regular chart behaviour. This will help you focus and start open profitable trades.
3. Avoid highly volatile assets, trade high volumes. Take one or two big volume assets and start trading on them only. Do not run into forgotten stocks or coins just because they low cost.
4. Use higher timeframes, do not scalp. Most of new traders lose money in first months just because they trying scalping, your emotions going crazy and risks increasing rapidly. Start taking one-two trades per week and see how it will go, this will release pressure and relax.
5. Accept losses, plan how much you can lose. The biggest problem of all traders is to think in percentages about losses, this way will only increase losses. Think about money and plan you affordable loss amount.
👍I appreciate your likes and comments below this post, lets discuss our problems in trading! 💬
10 Rules for Successful Trading1. Study.
Learn how financial markets work. Years ago I took Khan Academy's free courses on the financial markets. It really helped reinforce what I already knew, taught me new stuff and solidified my confidence in understanding how the financial markets work. Here's the link: www.khanacademy.org
Learn the basics of Technical Analysis. For this part I read "Technical Analysis of the Financial Markets" by John Murphy. I read the whole book not once, but twice, and I constantly refer to it to refresh my memory. You can also get the supplemental workbook to do exercises and test your proficiency. Link: www.amazon.com
Learn the basics of Macroeconomics and Microeconomics. Khan Academy also provides excellent free courses in this subject area with quizzes and tests to confirm your proficiency. This part is important for understanding the big picture. Link: www.khanacademy.org
2. Develop a trading plan.
Write out your trading plan step-by-step and follow it every time. If you don't do this, you won't be consistently profitable in the long term. Never trade on a whim, even if you fear missing out on a big move. I would rather miss out on a big move up because I took the time to develop a plan than jump in without a plan and experience a big move down. Here's a good resource for how to develop a trading plan: www.ig.com
3. Find a trading mentor.
Find someone who is more experienced than you and learn from them. I was able to connect with a very experienced trader here on Trading View with whom I share watchlists and get trade ideas from. We chat regularly and confirm or critique each other's ideas. Having a trading mentor has been invaluable to my trading. It's important to find someone who is trustworthy and competent, and willing to critique your trading ideas. Often we as traders only see what we want to see in the chart and miss or ignore obvious clues that go against our theory. For example, what one person sees as a triple bottom (bullish) another person may see as a bear flag (bearish).
Another way to learn from other traders is to subscribe to traders who post high-quality content on Youtube. I subscribe to a few great trading Youtubers who give me all kinds of insights. My trading has definitely improved because of learning from other traders. With this said, don't go overboard. Find just a couple of good people to follow. You don't want to follow dozens and dozens of traders as you will suffer from information overload.
4. Manage risk.
Preserving your capital is necessary to stay in the game, so you need to manage risk. No matter how good your charting may be, some of your trades will go against you and will need to get out. That's why I always use stop losses and get out of a trade at a certain predetermined level. Stop losses always limit loss, but do not necessary limit profit. This in turn allows you to only be right half of the time (or in some cases even less) and still be profitable. The topic of stop losses actually warrants it own discussion. In the future, I will be writing a post on how to place your stop losses.
Other risk management strategies include: limiting the amount of margin you use, only risking a certain percentage of your portfolio on any given trade, and diversifying your portfolio. A key difference between trading and investing is that investing does not (typically) employ stop losses. Long-term investors typically manage risk by using diversification.
5. Be humble.
Check your ego at the door. It does not matter if you're right. The only thing that matters is your money. Never stay in a trade because you don't want to admit that you were wrong. I've seen plenty of charts that looked amazing and then a black swan event happens. Perhaps one of the best ways to think about it is to consider this paraphrased statement from the legendary trader Larry Williams: "Regardless of past performance, never forget that every new trade you make only has a 50% chance of success." I have seen some Trading View users who are completely consumed by pride and post their win rates and super high-profit percentages. I steer clear of these traders because they fail one major rule of good trading: staying humble. Past performance is not a guarantee of future performance.
6. Keep a journal.
This one is very important. Whenever I learn something new about trading, I write it down in a trading notebook. Whenever I make a mistake, I write down what went wrong and what I learned from the mistake. My trading notebook contains my strategies both for bear markets and bull markets, contains the steps for my daily routine, contains my screener criteria, and contains a listing of all the important things I've picked up over the years of trading.
7. Track your assets.
Employ some kind of a method for tracking your performance. Even though it's time-consuming, I use a spreadsheet.
8. Avoid speculation.
Never trade based on speculation or emotion. Never buy or sell an asset because of fear (whether fear of a market crash or fear of missing out on a huge rally). Never enter into a position simply because you like the company, and similarly do not avoid selling your position because you love the company too much. The most successful traders are rigorously unemotional and unattached. In my opinion, I define anything that does not involve an analysis of data as speculation.
I have also come to learn that by the time everyone is talking about something, it is usually at peak mania and will not go up further. For example, when your co-worker or close friend is talking about how much they made from Bitcoin, it's probably time to sell. Similarly, if you see everyone on social media posting photos of how much it costs to fill up their car with gas, it probably means we're at the peak of gas prices.
9. Learn how to use your charting platform.
One of the best things I ever did to master my charting was to spend a few weeks doing nothing but just learning all the features on Trading View. When I first signed up for Trading View I was overwhelmed by all the tools, indicators, strategies, and ideas on here. So I knew I had to take a timeout from trading and just learn the tools first. For several weeks rather than focus on trading, I focused on learning Trading View. I favorited indicators that work best for my strategy, I created layouts and explored every nook and cranny on the platform. Trading View is incredibly powerful because it provides access to so much data. Having access to data is power. By taking the time to learn how to use all of its tools, I was able master the financial markets to a degree that I can now make predictions just good as those high-paid Wall Street analysts. Your subscription will pay for itself through the profits you make.
10. "Look first. Then leap."
Always chart out your entry point, stop loss, and profit target before entering a trade. Ask yourself: How much risk am I willing to take for how much profit?
Here's a great resource from Investopedia that inspired this post: www.investopedia.com
This list of good trading rules is nowhere near comprehensive, so please leave a comment below to share your rules and tips for successful trading!
Navigating Moving Averages: Decoding Simple vs. Exponential 📊📈
Moving averages (MA) serve as foundational tools in technical analysis, offering insights into market trends and potential entry/exit points. This article delves into the comparison between two primary types: Simple Moving Averages (SMA) and Exponential Moving Averages (EMA), providing traders with a comprehensive understanding of their differences, applications, and advantages.
Differentiating Simple and Exponential Moving Averages
1. Simple Moving Averages (SMA):
- Calculate by averaging closing prices over a specified period, providing a smooth representation of price trends.
2. Exponential Moving Averages (EMA):
- Prioritize recent prices, assigning more weight to the latest data points, leading to quicker responses to price changes.
Understanding the differences and applications of Simple and Exponential Moving Averages empowers traders with versatile tools for analyzing trends and making informed trading decisions in various market conditions. 📊📈
Do you like this post? Do you want more articles like that?
10 LESSONS EVERY TRADER SHOULD LEARN!Embarking on the thrilling journey of trading? Gear up with these invaluable lessons to empower your trading expertise:
1. Knowledge Empowers: Embark on your trading journey equipped with knowledge as your most powerful weapon. Delve deep into the intricacies of the markets, understanding their nuances with precision. Grasp the ever-changing trends, and recognize that information is your ultimate asset in navigating the complex world of trading. Let your commitment to continuous learning be the cornerstone of your success in the dynamic realm of financial markets.
2. Rule Crafting Mastery: In the intricate landscape of trading, sculpting your trading rules with finesse is akin to crafting a masterpiece. These rules serve as more than just guidelines; they become your reliable compass, expertly navigating you away from the tumultuous journey of emotional roller coasters.
Precision in Craftsmanship:
Much like a skilled artisan meticulously shapes every detail of their creation, take the time to precision-craft your trading rules. Define each element with clarity, from entry and exit criteria to risk management parameters. The more precise and well-defined your rules, the more effectively they guide your trading decisions.
Guardians of Discipline:
Your trading rules stand as stalwart guardians of discipline in the chaotic realm of markets. They stand firm against impulsive decisions, emotional reactions, and the siren call of market noise. Embrace the discipline instilled by your rules, providing a structured framework for your trading activities.
Stability in Turbulent Waters:
In times of market turbulence, your well-defined rules act as pillars of stability. While market conditions may fluctuate, your rules remain steadfast, offering a reliable foundation for decision-making. This stability becomes particularly crucial when external factors attempt to sway your judgment.
Emotional Resilience:
Trading is a journey filled with emotional highs and lows. Your rules act as a buffer, shielding you from succumbing to the emotional roller coaster that often accompanies market fluctuations. By adhering to your carefully crafted rules, you cultivate emotional resilience, ensuring that your decisions are rooted in strategy rather than sentiment.
Adaptability and Evolution:
Just as a sculpture adapts to its surroundings, your trading rules should possess the flexibility to evolve with changing market conditions. Regularly review and refine your rules to ensure they remain aligned with your trading objectives. This adaptability allows you to navigate diverse market scenarios while maintaining the core principles that guide your trading journey.
Empowerment through Structure:
Sculpting your trading rules empowers you with a sense of structure and purpose. They provide a roadmap for your trading activities, reducing uncertainty and fostering confidence in your decision-making. This structured approach enables you to navigate the complexities of the market with greater clarity and purpose.
In essence, the art of sculpting your trading rules is an ongoing process of refinement and adaptation. As you hone this craft, your rules become a dynamic force, propelling you towards consistency and success in the ever-evolving world of trading.
3. Consistency Reigns: Consistency is the silent architect of success in the dynamic realm of trading. It is the steady hand that shapes your journey, ensuring that each step aligns with your plan and strategy. To harness the true power of consistency, one must commit to the principles of unwavering dedication and disciplined execution.
Foundation of Trust:
Consistency forms the bedrock of trust in trading. When you stick to your meticulously crafted plan, you build a foundation of reliability that both you and the market can depend on. Trust in your strategy, trust in your decisions, and trust in the cumulative impact of your consistent efforts.
Ripple Effects of Diligence:
Success in trading is not a sprint but a marathon. It is the cumulative result of diligent and consistent efforts over time. Each trade executed in alignment with your strategy sends ripples into the vast pool of market dynamics, contributing to the overall success you aim to achieve.
Guard Against Impulsivity:
In the face of market volatility and unpredictability, consistency acts as a shield against impulsive decision-making. When emotions run high and external pressures mount, the consistent trader remains anchored to their plan, immune to the erratic waves of market sentiment.
Compound Your Efforts:
Much like compound interest in the financial world, consistency in trading leads to the compounding of your efforts. Every trade executed according to plan contributes to the growth of your trading prowess. Over time, this compounding effect manifests as a formidable force, propelling you toward sustained success.
Cultivate Discipline:
Consistency and discipline are inseparable companions in the trader's journey. Staying true to your plan requires discipline in the face of temptations and distractions. The disciplined execution of your strategy reinforces the habit of consistency, creating a powerful synergy that defines your trading approach.
Resilience Amid Challenges:
Trading is a landscape peppered with challenges and uncertainties. Consistency serves as your resilient armor, helping you weather the storms of market fluctuations. When faced with setbacks or unexpected events, the consistent trader remains steadfast, ready to navigate challenges with poise.
Long-Term Vision:
Consistency encourages a long-term perspective in trading. It shifts the focus from short-term gains to the enduring impact of sustained efforts. By keeping your eyes on the long-term vision, you cultivate a patient and calculated approach that is less susceptible to the whims of momentary market fluctuations.
In essence, consistency is the thread that weaves the fabric of success in trading. It is the daily commitment, the unwavering adherence to principles, and the patient accumulation of experiences that ultimately lead to a prosperous and enduring trading journey.
4. Unique Style, Unique Triumph: The journey to mastery involves cultivating a unique trading style—one that harmonizes with your individual strengths and aligns seamlessly with your preferences. Embracing the philosophy that no one-size-fits-all, traders can unleash their full potential by crafting a distinctive approach tailored to their own characteristics.
Individuality in Approach:
Every trader is a unique amalgamation of skills, temperament, and experiences. Recognizing this individuality is the first step toward developing a personalized trading style. Instead of adhering rigidly to predefined strategies, traders can embrace the freedom to experiment and discover what resonates most with their personality.
Strengths as Guideposts:
Your strengths are valuable guideposts in shaping your trading style. If you excel at analyzing macroeconomic trends, a fundamental approach might be your forte. Alternatively, if technical analysis is your stronghold, a chart-centric strategy could be your chosen path. By aligning your style with your strengths, you enhance your ability to make informed decisions.
Preferences as Pillars:
Understanding your preferences is crucial in designing a trading style that stands the test of time. Whether it's the time of day you prefer to trade, the types of assets that resonate with you, or the risk tolerance you are comfortable with, incorporating these preferences into your style ensures a more sustainable and enjoyable trading experience.
Adaptability for Growth:
A distinctive trading style is not static; it evolves over time. Cultivating adaptability is a key component of successful trading. Markets change, circumstances shift, and embracing a style that can flex and adapt ensures resilience in the face of evolving market dynamics.
Risk Management Tailored to You:
Risk management is a cornerstone of trading success, and tailoring it to your individual circumstances is paramount. Your risk tolerance, financial goals, and overall portfolio strategy should seamlessly integrate with your trading style. This personalized approach ensures that risk is managed in a way that aligns with your unique situation.
Psychological Harmony:
Trading is as much a psychological endeavor as it is a technical one. Your trading style should foster psychological harmony rather than induce stress. By aligning your approach with your psychological makeup, you create an environment where you can navigate the emotional highs and lows of trading more effectively.
Continuous Refinement:
A distinctive trading style is a work in progress. Continuous refinement based on self-reflection, performance analysis, and market feedback is essential. Traders should view their style as a living entity that grows, adapts, and refines itself over time, always in pursuit of optimal performance.
5. Safeguard Your Capital: Your capital is the lifeblood of your trading journey—a precious treasure that demands vigilant protection. Just as a skilled captain safeguards their ship in tumultuous waters, you, as a trader, must ensure your accounts sail close to highs and navigate storms judiciously. Here's a deeper exploration of the significance of treating your capital with utmost care in the world of trading:
Capital as the Bedrock:
Think of your capital as the bedrock of your trading endeavors. It is the foundation upon which your success is built. Every decision you make, every trade you execute, has a direct impact on the health and growth of your capital. Recognizing its value is the first step towards responsible and sustainable trading.
Guardian of Financial Well-being:
Your capital is not merely a numerical figure on your trading platform; it represents your financial well-being. Guarding it vigilantly is akin to safeguarding your financial future. By adopting a vigilant stance, you protect yourself from significant setbacks and position your accounts for long-term growth.
Strategic Risk Management:
Protection begins with strategic risk management. Define your risk tolerance, set stop-loss orders, and establish a risk-reward ratio that aligns with your overall trading strategy. These measures act as the shields that safeguard your capital from the inherent uncertainties of the market.
Weathering the Storms:
In the dynamic world of trading, storms are inevitable. Market fluctuations, unexpected news events, and sudden shifts in sentiment can create turbulent conditions. Your ability to navigate these storms judiciously—without exposing your capital to unnecessary risks—determines your resilience as a trader.
Learning from Losses:
Losses are an inherent part of trading, but treating them as valuable lessons rather than insurmountable failures is key. When a trade results in a loss, view it as an opportunity to learn and refine your approach. Analyze what went wrong, adjust your strategy if needed, and use these experiences to fortify your capital against future challenges.
Conservative Position Sizing:
The size of your positions plays a crucial role in capital protection. Adopt a conservative approach to position sizing, ensuring that no single trade has the potential to significantly erode your capital. Diversification and prudence in allocating your funds contribute to a robust defense mechanism.
Long-Term Sustainability:
Guarding your capital is not just about preserving it in the short term; it's about ensuring its long-term sustainability. A disciplined and vigilant approach to risk management, combined with a strategic outlook, contributes to the enduring health of your trading capital.
Psychological Well-being:
Beyond the numerical value, your capital has a profound impact on your psychological well-being as a trader. A well-protected capital fosters a sense of confidence, allowing you to approach the markets with a clear and focused mindset. Conversely, recklessness with capital can lead to stress and emotional turmoil.
6. Self-Sufficiency Leadership: Rely on your analysis, trust your instincts, and make decisions in harmony with your trading objectives. Stepping into the role of captain in the vast sea of financial markets requires a unique blend of skills, confidence, and strategic thinking. Here's a deeper exploration of what it means to assume the captaincy of your trading ship:
Navigation through Analysis:
As the captain of your trading ship, navigating the markets begins with thorough analysis. Equip yourself with the necessary tools and knowledge to read the market winds and currents. Technical analysis, fundamental analysis, and market sentiment become your navigational instruments, guiding you through the complexities of financial waters.
Instincts as the Compass:
While analysis provides a structured approach, your instincts act as the compass that helps you navigate uncharted territories. Trusting your gut feelings, honed through experience and observation, is an essential aspect of effective decision-making. The interplay between analysis and instincts forms the basis of a well-rounded captaincy.
Decision-Making Aligned with Objectives:
Every decision you make as a captain should be in harmony with your trading objectives. Define your goals, risk tolerance, and overarching strategy. This clarity becomes your navigational chart, ensuring that each course correction and strategic move contributes to the fulfillment of your trading mission.
Risk Management as Sails:
Just as sails harness the wind's energy to propel a ship forward, risk management harnesses market dynamics to drive your trading journey. Implementing effective risk management strategies, setting appropriate stop-loss orders, and diversifying your portfolio act as sails that propel your trading ship while safeguarding it from potential storms.
Adaptability in Changing Conditions:
Successful captains are adept at adapting to changing conditions, and the same holds true in trading. Markets are dynamic, and conditions can shift rapidly. As the captain of your ship, embrace adaptability. Be ready to adjust your sails, change course, or even anchor in turbulent times—all in pursuit of your trading objectives.
Leadership in the Face of Challenges:
Leadership is a hallmark of effective captains. In trading, this translates to maintaining composure in the face of challenges. Whether it's a series of losing trades, unexpected market events, or periods of heightened volatility, your leadership as a trader involves navigating challenges with resilience and a clear-headed approach.
Continuous Learning as Nautical Charts:
Nautical charts guide captains through unfamiliar waters, and continuous learning serves the same purpose in trading. Stay abreast of market trends, explore new strategies, and learn from both successes and setbacks. This ongoing learning process becomes your set of nautical charts, helping you navigate the ever-evolving landscape of financial markets.
Self-Reliance and Independence:
Captains are known for their self-reliance and independence, and these qualities are equally vital for traders. While seeking insights from others can be valuable, the ultimate responsibility for your trading decisions rests with you. Be self-reliant in your analysis, decisions, and overall approach to trading.
Charting Your Course with Discipline:
Discipline is the compass that ensures you stay on course. As the captain of your trading ship, maintain discipline in adhering to your trading plan, following risk management principles, and executing strategies with consistency. This disciplined approach helps you weather storms and stay on track toward your objectives.
Weathering the Storms with Resilience:
Every captain faces storms, and traders are no exception. Resilience in the face of adversity is a defining characteristic of successful captains. Understand that losses are part of the journey, and your resilience will determine how effectively you navigate through challenging periods.
7. Confidence: Confidence is not arrogance; it's the unwavering belief in your meticulously crafted plan. As a trader, staying the course is a testament to your commitment, especially when the markets throw unexpected challenges your way. Let's delve deeper into the significance of confidence and steadfastness in the world of trading:
Crafting a Meticulous Plan:
The foundation of confidence lies in the creation of a meticulous trading plan. This plan is not hastily put together but is a result of careful consideration, analysis, and strategic thinking. It encompasses your trading goals, risk tolerance, preferred strategies, and a well-defined approach to various market scenarios.
Belief in Well-Thought-Out Strategies:
Confidence is rooted in the belief that your strategies are well-thought-out and backed by a thorough understanding of the markets. Whether you're engaged in technical analysis, fundamental analysis, or a combination of both, the confidence in your chosen methodologies becomes the driving force behind your trading decisions.
Staying the Course Amid Challenges:
Markets are dynamic, and unexpected challenges are inevitable. It's during these challenging times that the thin line between confidence and arrogance becomes evident. Confidence allows you to stay the course, sticking to your plan even when faced with adversity. It's a measured and composed response to market fluctuations, rather than a reckless insistence on a predetermined path.
Learning from Setbacks:
Confidence doesn't mean immunity to setbacks; instead, it involves the resilience to learn from them. Every trade, whether successful or not, is a lesson. Confident traders view setbacks as opportunities to refine their strategies, enhance their skills, and adapt to changing market conditions. This continuous learning process is an integral part of maintaining confidence over the long term.
Adapting to Market Dynamics:
Confidence should coexist with adaptability. Markets evolve, and successful traders are those who can adapt to changing dynamics. This doesn't imply a wavering commitment to your plan but a strategic adjustment when market conditions necessitate it. The ability to adapt showcases a confident, yet pragmatic, approach to trading.
Avoiding Complacency:
Confidence should not be mistaken for complacency. Complacency can lead to overlooking market nuances or becoming resistant to adjusting strategies. Confident traders remain vigilant, continuously reassessing market conditions and ensuring that their trading plan is aligned with the current landscape.
Respecting Risk Management Principles:
One of the hallmarks of a confident trader is the adherence to risk management principles. Confidence doesn't translate to reckless risk-taking; instead, it involves a disciplined approach to managing risk. This includes setting appropriate stop-loss orders, diversifying portfolios, and ensuring that each trade aligns with overall risk tolerance.
Balancing Conviction and Open-mindedness:
Confident traders balance conviction with open-mindedness. While you may have strong convictions based on your analysis and plan, remaining open to alternative viewpoints and adjusting your approach when necessary is a sign of adaptability and intellectual humility.
Building Confidence Over Time:
Confidence is not an overnight achievement but a trait built over time through experience, learning, and consistent application of sound trading principles. As you witness the positive outcomes of your well-executed plan, your confidence naturally grows, reinforcing your ability to navigate the complexities of the financial markets.
In conclusion, confidence in trading is a delicate equilibrium between self-assurance and a humble acknowledgment of the dynamic nature of markets. It's about crafting a meticulous plan, staying the course amid challenges, learning from setbacks, and adapting to market dynamics. True confidence in trading is a journey, and each successful trade becomes a milestone, contributing to the development of a seasoned and confident trader.
8. Record Wins and Losses: Every trade is a valuable lesson in the journey of a trader. Maintaining a meticulous record, analyzing both wins and losses, and extracting insights from each experience are crucial aspects of the continuous evolution of your trading skills. Let's delve into the significance of treating every trade as a learning opportunity:
Lesson in Every Trade:
Approaching every trade with a mindset of learning transforms each transaction into a potential lesson. Whether a trade results in a profit or a loss, there are insights to be gained. Successful traders view their trades as part of an ongoing learning process rather than isolated events.
Meticulous Record-Keeping:
Keeping a detailed record of each trade is akin to creating a trader's journal. This journal becomes a repository of crucial information, including entry and exit points, the rationale behind each trade, market conditions, and any unexpected developments. This historical record serves as a guide for future decision-making.
Insights from Wins:
Analyzing winning trades provides insights into the effectiveness of your strategies. What worked well? Was it the result of technical analysis, a keen understanding of market fundamentals, or a combination of factors? Understanding the components of successful trades allows you to replicate positive outcomes.
Learning from Losses:
Losses, while inevitable in trading, offer some of the most valuable lessons. Analyzing losing trades helps identify areas for improvement. Was there a flaw in the analysis, a misjudgment of market conditions, or a deviation from the trading plan? Learning from losses is essential for refining strategies and minimizing future errors.
Evolving Trading Skills:
The cumulative effect of learning from each trade is the evolution of your trading skills. As you glean insights from both successes and failures, you become a more seasoned and resilient trader. Continuous learning ensures that you adapt to changing market dynamics and refine your approach over time.
Identifying Patterns and Trends:
By maintaining a comprehensive record, you can identify patterns and trends in your trading behavior. Recognizing recurrent themes, whether positive or negative, allows you to consciously reinforce successful strategies and address areas that may need improvement. This self-awareness contributes to long-term success.
Improving Risk Management:
Analyzing past trades aids in refining your risk management approach. Understanding how different risk levels impact overall portfolio performance helps in setting appropriate stop-loss orders, position sizes, and overall risk tolerance. Effective risk management is a cornerstone of successful trading.
Enhancing Decision-Making:
The insights gained from analyzing past trades enhance your decision-making process. This is particularly crucial in moments of uncertainty or when faced with similar market conditions. A well-documented trading history serves as a reference point, providing guidance and confidence in decision-making.
Adapting to Market Changes:
Markets are dynamic, and strategies that were effective in the past may need adjustments over time. Learning from each trade allows you to adapt to changing market conditions, ensuring that your trading approach remains relevant and effective in different scenarios.
Cultivating a Growth Mindset:
Approaching trading with a mindset of continuous improvement fosters a growth-oriented perspective. Embracing the learning opportunities presented by each trade contributes to personal and professional growth as a trader.
In conclusion, every trade is a chapter in the story of a trader's journey. Keeping a detailed record, extracting insights from wins and losses, and consciously applying these lessons contribute to the continuous evolution of trading skills. By treating each trade as a valuable learning opportunity, you lay the foundation for long-term success in the dynamic and challenging world of financial markets.
9. Defend Your Success: Embrace a defensive trading stance, strategically executing trades only when market conditions align seamlessly with your established strategy. Safeguard your gains like a fortress, adopting a protective approach to secure your financial interests. Let's delve into the significance of adopting a defensive trading stance:
Strategic Decision-Making:
A defensive trading stance involves strategic decision-making based on a thorough analysis of market conditions. Rather than entering trades impulsively, traders assess various factors, including technical indicators, fundamental data, and overall market sentiment. This methodical approach helps in making well-informed decisions aligned with the trading strategy.
Risk Mitigation:
One of the primary goals of a defensive trading stance is risk mitigation. Traders carefully evaluate potential risks associated with each trade and implement risk management techniques to minimize adverse impacts. Setting appropriate stop-loss orders, diversifying portfolios, and managing position sizes are integral components of this risk mitigation strategy.
Preservation of Gains:
A defensive trading stance prioritizes the preservation of gains achieved through successful trades. Traders are cautious not to jeopardize accumulated profits by exposing themselves to unnecessary risks. Implementing effective exit strategies and securing profits at opportune moments contribute to the overall goal of wealth preservation.
Discipline and Patience:
Defensive trading requires discipline and patience. Traders resist the urge to chase trends impulsively or engage in speculative activities. Instead, they patiently wait for market conditions that align with their predefined criteria, fostering a disciplined approach to trading.
Adaptation to Market Conditions:
Markets are dynamic, and a defensive trading stance acknowledges the need to adapt to changing conditions. Traders are flexible and adjust their strategies based on evolving market trends, economic developments, and geopolitical events. This adaptability is crucial for long-term success.
Avoidance of Emotional Reactions:
Emotions can be a significant factor in trading decisions. A defensive stance involves avoiding emotional reactions to market fluctuations. Traders remain objective and stick to their predetermined strategies, mitigating the impact of fear, greed, or impulsivity on their decision-making process.
Focus on Consistency:
Consistency is a key element of a defensive trading approach. Traders aim for a steady and sustainable performance over time rather than seeking high-risk, high-reward scenarios. By focusing on consistency, traders reduce the likelihood of significant losses and contribute to long-term financial stability.
Risk-Reward Ratio:
A defensive trading stance emphasizes maintaining a favorable risk-reward ratio in each trade. Traders assess the potential rewards against the associated risks, ensuring that potential losses are proportionate to the anticipated gains. This meticulous evaluation enhances overall risk management.
Prevent Overtrading:
Overtrading can erode profits and expose traders to unnecessary risks. A defensive trading stance involves refraining from excessive trading, especially during periods of heightened market volatility. Traders carefully select trades that align with their strategy, preventing the negative consequences of overtrading.
Continuous Learning and Improvement:
A defensive trading stance fosters a mindset of continuous learning and improvement. Traders regularly assess their strategies, analyze past trades, and identify areas for enhancement. This commitment to ongoing improvement contributes to the refinement of trading skills over time.
In conclusion, adopting a defensive trading stance is a strategic and disciplined approach that prioritizes risk mitigation, wealth preservation, and long-term consistency. Traders embracing this mindset navigate the dynamic financial markets with a focus on making informed, prudent decisions that contribute to sustained success in the complex world of trading.
10: Lifelong Learning: The market is a dynamic force. Stay hungry for knowledge, embrace change, and perpetually evolve. Staying ahead in the market is intertwined with personal and professional growth. Continuous learning contributes to the development of a growth mindset, where challenges are viewed as opportunities to learn and improve. This mindset enables individuals to adapt, innovate, and excel in the dynamic landscape of financial markets.
In conclusion, the mantra of staying hungry for knowledge, embracing change, and perpetually evolving is foundational for success in the dynamic realm of financial markets. Continuous learning is not merely a strategy; it is a mindset that positions individuals to thrive amidst market complexities, seize opportunities, and navigate challenges with resilience and expertise.Continuous learning is the key to staying ahead!
Unlocking Margin Trading: Your Guide to Trading Basics 📊🔓💡
Margin trading stands as a fundamental concept in the world of trading, offering opportunities to amplify potential gains but also carrying increased risk. This article is a comprehensive guide to understanding the basics of margin trading, exploring its mechanics, implications, and the vital role it plays in financial markets.
Understanding Margin Trading
Margin trading involves leveraging borrowed funds from a broker to increase trading position sizes, allowing traders to control larger positions than their initial capital.
Increased Buying Power:
Risks of Margin Calls:
Margin trading unlocks opportunities for increased exposure in the financial markets but demands a thorough understanding of risks and prudent risk management strategies. This article serves as a foundational guide to mastering this critical aspect of trading. 📊🔓💡
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Changing Tactics vs. Staying the Course 🔄🚀
In the dynamic world of forex trading, the strategy dilemma often prompts traders to ponder whether to adapt and change tactics or remain steadfast with their initial approach. Let's explore the implications of altering strategies compared to the outcomes of sticking to one method in the pursuit of trading success. 📈💡
The Strategy Shift: First Trader Changes Strategy
One approach to the strategy dilemma is adopting a more flexible mindset, allowing for strategy shifts based on market conditions or performance feedback. Consider these insights:
1. Adapting to Market Changes 🌐
2. Responding to Performance Feedback 📊
After consecutive losses, a trader adjusts their strategy, incorporating tighter risk management techniques or altering entry and exit points.
3. Exploration and Learning Mindset 📚
Embracing the strategy dilemma as an opportunity to explore new methodologies and continuously improve trading skills.
The Steady Approach: Second Trader Stays the Course
Conversely, some traders opt to stick to their chosen strategy, believing in its long-term profitability and weathering challenges without altering their approach:
1. Consistency and Discipline 🎯
Despite short-term fluctuations or occasional losses, a trader remains committed to their strategy, believing in its efficacy over time.
2. Confidence in Strategy 🛡
A trader trusts their thorough research and extensive backtesting, maintaining confidence in their chosen approach despite short-term setbacks.
3. Patience and Long-Term Vision 🕰
Comparing Outcomes:
Each approach to the strategy dilemma carries its own set of advantages and challenges. While adapting strategies might offer flexibility and responsiveness to market changes, sticking to a consistent strategy can build discipline and confidence.
Navigating the Strategy Dilemma:
Finding the right balance between adapting and staying consistent can be pivotal for success in forex trading. Consider these steps:
1. Evaluate Performance Regularly 📈
2. Continuous Education and Improvement 📚
3. Balance Flexibility and Consistency 🔄
4. Adopt a Long-Term Perspective 🚀
The strategy dilemma in forex trading presents traders with a crucial decision: to adapt and change strategies or to stay the course. Both approaches have merits, and the key lies in finding a balance that aligns with individual trading styles and goals. Whether it's flexibility or consistency, the aim is to achieve sustained success in the dynamic world of forex trading. 🌟💹
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Learn 10 Habits of Successful Trader
Hey traders,
In this post, we will discuss 10 divine rules that every trader must obey:
1️⃣ - Accept that risk and losses are a necessary part of trading.
Even though most of the traders are looking for a holy grail, for a system that produces 100% win rate, in fact, losses are inevitable, they are part of the game.
No matter how good you are as a trader, occasionally, the market will outsmart you.
2️⃣ - Have a proven trading system.
Trade only with a trading strategy that you backtested, that proved its accuracy and efficiency.
3️⃣ - Concentrate on the risk, not the reward.
Cut losses, and control your risk. Remember about risk management and never neglect that.
4️⃣ - Never trade without stop loss.
Some traders say that they can easily control losses without stop loss. Don't listen to them. Always set a stop loss once you are in a trade.
5️⃣ - Have an attainable target.
Setting a stop loss remember to know where to close your trade in profit. Follow strict rules and do not let your greed take you under control.
6️⃣ - Take your emotions under control.
No matter whether you are losing, winning, or do not see any trading setups to trade, your emotions will always try to distract you.
Be cold-hearted.
7️⃣ - Always stick to your trading plan.
Never break your rules, follow your system, and do not deviate.
Your trading plan is your only map.
8️⃣ - Limit your losses, never limit your profits.
While your gains can be scalable, your risks and losses must be fixed.
9️⃣ - Treat your trading as a business.
Trading should be treated with the same discipline as a business.
Every business has a solid business plan which entails how the day-to-day running of the business is done, and this also guides the decision-making process.
🔟 - Always journal your trades.
Always keep a trading journal. Record your winners and losers, entry reasons, mistakes, failures etc. Revise and learn from your mistakes.
Of course, that list can be extended and more commandments and rules can be added. However, these 10 in my view are the most important. Print that list and let it guide you in your trading journey.
What would you add in that list?
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The ONLY Way to Become a Successful Trader
Hey traders,
Like any discipline, consistently profitable trading requires many years of practice.
In this post, we will discuss the only proven way to become successful in trading.
🔰First, let's start with the axiom: there are no inborn traders, trading is a skill, a skill that can be learned. Though talent may help you in some manner it does not guarantee your success.
One more axiom that is logically derived from the first one is the fact that trading is a complex skill.
The one that can be split into dozens of subskills.
Making that statement we may assume that our success in trading directly depends on mastering each subskill, each domain that it consists of.
But how do we master these skills?🤔
The only way to do that is to practice. Practice means doing something regularly in order to be able to do it better.
With your first attempts, you are doomed to fail. Inevitable you will suffer and you will feel miserable because of your incompetence.
Trying and doing the same thing again and again, at some moment you will feel the progress and growth. Your perseverance will bear fruit.
Knock, and it shall be opened to you.
And as a consequence, with some attempt, you will feel that finally the skill is mastered, that one more stage in your journey is passed.
Polishing the entire set of subskills and learning to apply that as a single unit will make you a consistently profitable trader.
Just stipulate the domains properly, name them and be ready to work hard.
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Simple Investing Strategy, Affordable for all!Hey! Everybody wants to get rich. But not many from us know what it takes. In this article let's discuss Investing income from annual percentage yield (APY) . Key point is the percentage of income can be different from your location, but lets make our calculations from 8.0% APY.
Why this strategy is Affordable for ALL? Well, for calculation I've used only $161 of monthly investing.
I understand for some person this is nothing, and for another it is a lot. But you can calculate your own affordable investing amount per month and use it. Consistency is the key!
Another point why its affordable, its because you don't need to have a lot of money at the beginning. You can start from minimal deposit allowed by service/fund/bank (APY provider) where you allocating your funds.
Please, note, this is simple and affordable investing strategy. But still THIS IS NOT 100% SAFE STRATEGY... There are several risks of losing your money after all. Mostly this risks depends on APY provider, so I recommend to change your APY provider over a time, and to secure your funds use multiple providers.
Let's see how we get this numbers and first of all it is important to keep consistency during all your investment journey. Remember, this way can make you millionaire and can create a fortune for your kids.
To understand how this works, let's see what is Compound Interest:
Compound interest is the concept of adding accumulated interest back to the principal sum, so that interest is earned on top of interest from that moment on. The act of declaring interest to be principal is called compounding. Financials institutions vary in terms of their compounding rate frequency - daily, monthly, yearly, etc.
Your savings account may vary on this, so you may wish to check with your bank or financial institution to find out which frequency they compound your interest at. I used monthly compounding to calculate final value.
With savings accounts, interest can be compounded at either the start or the end of the compounding period (month or year).
Compound interest formula
Compound interest, or 'interest on interest', is calculated with the compound interest formula. Multiply the principal amount by one plus the annual interest rate to the power of the number of compound periods to get a combined figure for principal and compound interest.
This formula is base of all interest calculations. To get easier process of calculation, I have used online Compound Interest Calculator.
Best numbers we can get if we start investing early, but it happens we see right information too late, and we ask ourselves "Is it good time to start?" — I can say for sure, YES! Always good idea to start investing in your savings account. Trading is trading, but investing is a little different. You can invest in markets, or in savings accounts.
Now let's see "worst case" — you starting your investing journey at 40 years old.
How much you can earn on savings account until 60?
I have calculated it with calculator, and used only $161 investments/savings per month with APY of 8%.
You can see after 20 years of savings this amount of money (pretty much affordable for many people out there) you will get about $95,464 Final Value. Very impressive. Imagine if you can save more from your income each month... For example if you can save $1000 monthly, you will get $592,947 Final value after 20 years on your Savings Account.
Middle scenario — investing for 30 years on your savings account. Until 60 you can earn solid $241,547 Final value, investing only $161 per month!
Now if you can invest about $500 per month from your income you will get amazing $750,147 Final value.
And of course best scenario — start investing on savings account early from 20y.o. This way you can get $565,799 Final value by 60 y.o.
And if its possible to save more, let's say $250 monthly, you can get $878,570.30 Final value by 60 y.o.
So in order to get rich, you don't need to invest a lot of money. Just make you investments consistent, and improve your financial education.
Hope this article can inspire you to create your savings account and plan your future.
Best regards,
Artem Crypto
What is Inside a PROFESSIONAL TRADING Plan
Hey traders,
One month ago I wrote an article about the importance of a trading plan. Now it is time to discuss what should be inside your trading plan.
Before we start let me note that a trading plan is a very personal thing and depending on your personality you may have some other elements. In this article, we discuss key elements that must be in every trading plan.
🔰Trading Strategy.
I want you to realize that a trading strategy is not a trading plan. A trading strategy is simply one of its main elements.
A trading strategy defines a set of rules and market conditions that one is looking for to open a trade and then manage that.
🔰Trading Time.
Relying on your trading strategy you should know exactly when you trade. The time range must be precise and fixed. If you think that today you can trade the opening of the London session, tomorrow the Asian one, and then the US opening, I have very bad news for you.
Your trading hours must be fixed and objective.
🔰Trading Instruments.
As with your trading time, you should have a fixed trading list.
A set of financial instruments that you monitor on a daily basis.
🔰Trading Journal.
You should learn to journal your trades. Just a single performance is not enough.
You should note the exact market conditions that made you open the trade and many other factors that you consider to be important.
Then learn from your mistakes and improve your trading strategy based on your journal.
🔰Risk Management.
Having the best trading strategy in the world one can fail simply because of neglecting the rules of risk management.
Define your risk per trade, maximum drawdown, and biggest losing streak you can take.
Optimize your trading to keep your losses under control.
Of course, that list can be extended. We can add, for example, trading psychology into that.
As I said, a trading plan is a very personal thing and while you mature in trading it will become more and more sophisticated.
The elements that we discussed in this article are crucial for your success in trading. In my view, their absence will lead you to a failure.
What do you want to learn in the next article?
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5 RULES DISCIPLINED TRADERS FOLLOW 👨🎓Hey guys! In this article you will learn about 5 RULES DISCIPLINED TRADERS FOLLOW, let's dive in it!
But before you do so, make sure you follow my page and turn TradingView notifications ON! Let's go!
1️⃣ Follow Financial Plan, Do Not Go All In
A trading plan is a written set of rules that specifies a trader's entry, exit, and money management criteria for every buy or sell entry.
Do not go all in! Want to lose most or all of your money real fast? Make outsized trading bets, like a roulette player betting it all on red or black.
In fact, big trading bets are a form of gambling.
So avoid gambling, stop going “all in” in single stock or coin.
Start planning your investments, invest in the long-term at least 10% of your income every month in markets and other assets. If you invest a certain amount every month, you are buying shares in good times as well as bad times.
In good times, the value of your shares increase. If you keep your cool and stick with the plan even when the market is down, you get more shares for your money. These additional shares boost investment returns when the market rebounds.
This is a big part of the reason why regular stock investors get a higher long-term return compared to safer investments despite the temporary ups and downs in the market.
A long-term investor has a minimum of a 20-year time horizon; this time frame enables them to avoid playing it safe and to instead take measured risks, which can ultimately pay off in the long run.
2️⃣ Treat Trading Like A Business
To be successful, you must approach trading as a full- or part-time business, not as a hobby or a job.
If it's approached as a hobby, there is no real commitment to learning. If it's a job, it can be frustrating because there is no regular paycheck.
Trading is a business and incurs expenses, losses, taxes, uncertainty, stress, and risk. As a trader, you are essentially a small business owner and you must research and strategize to maximize your business's potential.
Think in Long term – Don’t trade like you are going to retire tomorrow
Have a Clean Trading Office That inspire you
Have a trading Plan for Your Trading Business
Don’t Present Yourself all Over the Market – Have a Proper EDGE over the Market
Have a Strict Daily Trading Routine & Follow it Continuously
Always Protect Your Trading Capital
Have Solid Trading Journal
3️⃣ Don't Trade Everyday
You don't have to open trades every day
Beginners tend to think that professional traders open their trades every day. But this is not true. Professional traders wait for good trading opportunities and only then enter the market.
Some days there will be no good trading opportunities. Sometimes the volatility will be too low, and you simply will not be able to take more or less decent profits. Sometimes, on the contrary, the volatility will be too high, and you will not be able to open your trades safely. There can be many different reasons in the market when it is best to refrain from trading.
Experienced traders know when to sit back and just wait. At the same time, most novice traders constantly open new positions because they think they should trade. But in the end, they make bad trades and constantly suffer losses.
If you don't find valid good entry points, but still open new trades, you will lose much more money than if you had the patience and stayed out of the market.
4️⃣ Accept Losses, Losses = Learning
It is much more useful to accept the fact that losses are the norm rather than the exception. It is also vital to define your potential losses before you enter any trade. Define your possible loss, or risk, in comparison to your possible reward, or profit. It is also vital that you don't take losing personally.
5️⃣ Risk Only What You Can Afford to Lose
Let the profits flow and cut the losses. This idea is one of the most common among traders.
As George Soros said:
It doesn't matter if you're right or wrong. What matters is how much you earn when you are right and how much you lose when you are wrong.
The key to trading success is to grow your profitable trades.
Traders who are afraid of losing their money often stop paying attention to the market situation and become too attached to the current profit. They make their decisions about open positions based only on the fear that the price will not reach their profit.
We know that unfixed profits still belong to the market. But once you start cutting back on your winning trades, you also cut your risk to reward ratio.
Of course, sometimes the market will give you less profit than you bargained for. And that's okay. To trade successfully, you must free the market and stop restricting it.
But if you are trading with money that you fear losing, you will not have that luxury. Instead, you will be afraid of losing your accumulated profits and you will not be able to sit back and let the market do its job.
The beauty of using multiple risk-reward ratios is that you can ignore your winning ratio and still make good money. If you reduce this ratio, you are faced with the need to make a high percentage of profitable trades in order to make a profit. Basically, you yourself are reducing your chances of achieving success.
Stay tuned for further updates!
Always learn, never give up!
Best regards
Artem Shevelev
Navigating the Rocky Road: The Hard Trade Journey 🌄💼
The path to success in trading is not always a smooth one. For many, it's a hard-fought journey filled with challenges, setbacks, and invaluable lessons. In this comprehensive exploration, we delve into the trials and triumphs of traders who have faced adversity and emerged wiser and stronger. Learn from their experiences, find inspiration in their stories, and discover that the hard trade journey is a crucible where traders are forged.
The Grit of Hardships
The Learning Curve
Emotional Battles
Triumphs in the Trenches
The Persistent Trader
The hard trade journey is not for the faint of heart, but it's within the crucible of challenges that traders are refined and their characters are tested. It's where learning happens, resilience is built, and triumphs become even more rewarding. The stories of those who have weathered the storm serve as an inspiration to all traders embarking on their own challenging but ultimately rewarding journeys. 🌄💼
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"Inflation: The Silent Wealth Eroder 🤐💸"
In the world of economics, there's a silent assassin at work, slowly but persistently eroding the value of your hard-earned money. Inflation, often overlooked but silently powerful, can be a wealth killer if left unattended. This in-depth exploration uncovers why inflation is a financial menace, examining its causes, consequences, and strategies to shield your wealth.
The Silent Thief
The Dollar Dilemma
Retirement Realities
Causes of Inflation
1. Demand-Pull Inflation 📈
When demand for goods and services surpasses their supply, prices go up. This can happen in booming economies when everyone wants a piece of the pie.
2. Cost-Push Inflation 📦🏭
Rising production costs, like increased wages or resource prices, can lead to higher prices for consumers. Businesses pass these costs on to buyers, contributing to inflation.
Consequences of Inaction
Stagnant Savings
Protecting Your Wealth
There are strategies to counter the silent thief:
1. Invest Wisely 📊💡
Consider investments that have the potential to outpace inflation, like stocks, real estate, or commodities.
2. Diversify Your Portfolio 🌐📈
Spreading your investments across various assets can reduce the impact of inflation on your overall portfolio.
Inflation may be silent, but its impact on your wealth is loud and clear. Understanding the causes, consequences, and protective measures can help you guard your financial future against this silent yet formidable adversary. Don't let your money silently slip away—act now to preserve your wealth. 💸🤐
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Learning from Mistakes: The Path to Trading Mastery 📈📚🛠
Mistakes are an inevitable part of a trader's journey. What sets successful traders apart is their ability to not only acknowledge these mistakes but also to study and learn from them. In this comprehensive guide, we'll explore the art of dissecting your trading mistakes, understanding their origins, and using them as stepping stones towards trading mastery. Join us on this enlightening journey, enriched with real-world examples and practical insights.
Mastering the Study of Trading Mistakes
Embracing Imperfection 🙌
To become a successful trader, one must first accept that mistakes are an integral part of the process. Mistakes provide invaluable lessons and opportunities for growth.
Overleveraging
Ignoring Stop Loss
The Art of Mistake Analysis
1. Identify the Mistake: The first step is recognizing what went wrong. Was it a poor entry, impulsive decision, or neglect of risk management?
2. Examine the Context: Understand the market conditions, news, or emotions that led to the mistake.
3. Quantify the Impact: Assess the financial and emotional impact of the mistake. How did it affect your trading account and mental state?
4. Learn and Adapt: Use the mistake as a source of knowledge. Develop strategies or rules to avoid making the same error in the future.
Mistakes in trading are not failures but stepping stones to success. By studying your errors with a critical and open mindset, you can extract invaluable lessons that propel you toward trading mastery. The path to becoming a consistently profitable trader is paved with self-reflection, adaptation, and the unwavering commitment to learn from your past missteps. Embrace your mistakes as opportunities for growth and make them a part of your journey to trading excellence. 📈📚🛠
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Unmasking the FOMO Effect in Trading 📈💼
Fear of missing out, or FOMO, is a psychological phenomenon that has infiltrated the world of trading, leaving traders susceptible to impulsive decisions and emotional turbulence. In this comprehensive exploration, we delve into the FOMO effect, dissecting its origins, manifestations, and the impact it has on traders. Join us on this investigative journey into the minds of traders gripped by FOMO, enriched with real-world examples and practical insights.
Demystifying the FOMO Effect
Understanding FOMO 🧐
FOMO is an emotional response stemming from the fear of missing out on a potentially profitable opportunity. It often leads to impulsive actions and irrational decision-making.
The Hasty Investment
Example 2: The Bandwagon Trader
Detecting FOMO in Trading
Traders gripped by FOMO often exhibit certain behaviors:
1. Impulsive Trading: They impulsively enter positions without conducting proper analysis or risk assessment.
2. Overtrading: FOMO-driven traders may trade excessively, believing that more trades will increase their chances of hitting a winning opportunity.
3. Chasing the Market: They chase trends and enter positions after significant price movements, often buying at peaks.
4. Ignoring Risk Management: Risk management principles are sometimes disregarded as the excitement of potential gains overshadows the need to protect capital.
The FOMO effect is a pervasive psychological phenomenon that traders must be vigilant about. To navigate the markets successfully, traders must recognize the signs of FOMO and develop strategies to mitigate its impact. This involves maintaining discipline, conducting thorough research, and adhering to risk management principles. By doing so, traders can steer clear of impulsive decisions and chart a more rational and profitable trading path. 📈💼🔍
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Risk Management vs. Time ManagementHey! Have you been spending day thinking about mistakes you made and things you didn't do?
Investors are knowingly comparing an exchanges to a casino. A gambler, losing, does not get up from the gambling table in the hope of winning back. He believes that the likelihood of winning increases with every lost bet. This phenomenon, called player mistake, is common among investors.
The pioneers of the theory of behaviour finance Hersh Shifrin and Meyer Statman showed in 1985 that investors intuitively misjudge the likelihood of repeating random results - they hold unprofitable positions too long, hoping for a return in prices, and close profitable positions too quickly, fearing that the movement will end.
The assertion that the market cannot fall for many sessions in a row is untenable. Short-term changes in asset prices are mostly random, notes analyst and author of several books on behaviour finance, James Montier, in his article Global equity strategy, gamblers fallacy. Tails does not become more probable after a series of heads, the coin has no memory - in the same way, the chances of success do not increase after a series of failures.
The major problem in the trading when we trying to recoup from losses. Many people make this mistake over and over again.
The reason of this mistake is the unwillingness to accept and calculate affordable losses and come to terms with the result, the wrong internal setting that you must end every trade and every trading session with a profit. But not every trade will be profitable.
How can I avoid this mistake?
1. After loss trade, tell yourself: "Stop, I won't trade now, I will pause."
2. Analyze the failed trade and write it down. Thus, you will allow yourself to "cool down" and more intelligently approach the situation on the market. There will always be opportunities, don't be afraid to miss out on any movement and profits.
3. Calmly develop a new trading plan based on market changes. If according to the trading plan you need to enter, then enter and earn. Do not rush to enter the market immediately, because it is easy to enter, but it is difficult to exit, since it is no longer possible to change the initial price at which you entered.
4. Make sure you following your risk management and always trade with possibility to lose.
Stay safe and good luck!