Technical or Fundamental Analysis When Trading Forex?

Generally there are 2 camps when it comes to trading Forex, those that undertake purely Technical Analysis on their charts and those that keep tabs of and develop a Fundamental (Economic) view of the markets and trade accordingly, but is there a 3rd way? Continue reading

The Trend Really is Your Friend!

The saying “The trend is your friend …until it is at an end” is a bit hackneyed or a cliche in the trading world and can encourage newbies to be ‘lambs to the slaughter’.  However, if you could tell if a trend had recently started, whether you were midway in a trend or if it was close to the end or had indeed ended, then you might be able to take advantage of a trend properly in a risk controlled manner and profit from it.  So the trend really can be your friend provided that you know what you are doing and are prepared to plan your trades in advance, then exercise patience waiting for the most advantageous moment to join it and finally have the discipline to follow through and execute your Trade Plan without emotion controlling your actions.  So how does one do just that? Continue reading

How Much Money Do I Need To Be Able To Start Trading Forex?

A very common Forex related question is ‘How much money do I need in my Forex Trading Account to start trading with?’

My initial response is often ‘Have you earned the right to trade a Live Account in the first place?’ Now that may well sound a little pompous but to me there seems little or no point in trying to trade Forex in a Live Account until you have demonstrated that your chosen strategy actually works and that you are disciplined enough to make consistent profits in a Demo Account first.

Agreed that there are big differences between trading a Demo and a Live Account mainly around controlling emotions such as Fear and Greed, but why enter the Live Markets if you haven’t yet established whether or not you have a definitive edge?

However, once you have demonstrated a consistently profitable track record in a Demo account (3 – 6 months or even a year to 18months) then you do need to think about how much money you need to start with.  This is my advice: Continue reading