A very frequent question I get from traders starting out is, “Which pairs are the best ones to trade?”. Another subtle example of the conditioning people have accepted from equities trading. Modern Portfolio Theory along with just about every personal finance book and blog has pushed the idea of “diversification”. This means don’t bet on just one instrument, spread your … Read More
Losing Trades Are Good For Your Trading Plan?
One of the most overlooked opportunities in the speculative world of trading is the valuable information hidden within trading losses. Less experienced traders usually have a hate/hate relationship with losing trades and don’t want to spend much time thinking about them. We are conditioned to be winners! Losing trades are part of doing business, a necessary expense or as many … Read More
The Social Trading Fantasy
It began with the advances of downloadable trading software and the retail automated trading algorithms back in 2008. Back in those days, web sites popped up that offered programs or “Expert Advisors” that promised to print you money while you slept. What a great idea: You never have to learn anything, just buy the program for $100 – $500, set … Read More
Greed Is Bad. Just Ask My Sanity.
One of the most iconic images people have of Wall Street is the scene from the first Wall Street film where Gordon Gecko delivers his infamous monologue that begins like this, “Greed, for the lack of a better word, is Good”. Since greed and it’s first cousin fear still drive markets, it does serve a purpose in terms of creating … Read More
My Worst Trade
Recently I was going through my trading notes and I happened to come across a trade that I documented a while back. And after looking it over, I realized it can serve as a good lesson to present to newer traders who may not realize that they are also making this costly mistake. Somewhere in our learning curve, we have … Read More
SMB Forex Trading Room Recap 10.25.12
In this segment, Marc Principato, CMT explains the importance of a trading plan and specifically about how many different elements must come together in order to have a robust plan. A trading plan is not about execution alone. — Marc Principato, CMT Risk Disclaimer *No Relevant Positions
Forex Trading: Less Fighting More Fishing
Much of the time when you read about trading, many use metaphors that refer to competition or war. You will often hear phrases like, “the forex arena”, “bulls battling the bears”, “you compete with the best and brightest minds in the world”. This is convenient and filled to the brim with conflict (we love drama just watch the news). What … Read More
SMB Forex Trading Room Recap 10.23.12
In this segment, Marc Principato, CMT explains the the difference between the two kinds of patience a short term trader must have in order operate effectively. There is the patience of waiting to get in and the patience of waiting for a target. — Marc Principato, CMT Risk Disclaimer *No Relevant Positions