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Discretionary trading

2010-06-13T06:15:00.001-07:00

I have been trading for more than 15 years now.

When I first started, in 1994 as far as I remember, there wasn't a lot of softwares on the market and of course we didn't talk about forex yet.

But, "magic systems" were already spreading over the web. You were finding different kind of gurus selling their black box that only professionals use, of course, promising you a fortune in a matter of days or even hours...

One after the other, the gurus disappear leaving place to others.

Today, you can find thousand of "wonderful" systems if you type "trading system" on any search engine. You may read numerous articles promoting the success of such expert advisor or trading robot.

Speaking of robots, it's amazing how people believe in automatic trading. They think they can go to work in the morning, leaving behind them this wonderful robot catching pips on the forex market all alone. Have you been given the chance to get this ultimate trading system only used by banks or institutionals? Just be patient, a smart guy will soon propose a good one, maybe the best.

I use an ironic tone on purpose because I am tired to see all this disillusion from people who still believe in Santa Claus. Get back on earth, my friends, there is no easy way to earn money on the financial markets. Most of the traders, living from their activities, won't share their work with you.

The good news is you can learn to trade by yourself. Today, you can get very good trading courses on the web, free or not. You have access to valuable ressources if you take the time to select websites.

Now, what are we supposed to do with all these trainings and advices, you might ask ?
Well, if you want to be successful in trading, whatever the market, you will have to learn to become a trader. You will have to develop your system, or trading approach, and adopt a good attitude through a back-tested money management (the one you feel comfortable with and which works).

So, as a summary :

learning the trading basics from books or online resources (technical analysis etc.)
develop you own trading system which could be as easy as efficient
use a money management system which is a necessary condition to make your trading system profitable
learn how to behave properly while trading (have you heard of the emotions control...)

When I use the word "system", I don't make reference to any automatic trading or robot. Besides the fact I can't stand automatic systems, it has been proven that systematic trading doesn't work on the long term.
Why is that ? We know that patterns always repeat themselves cycle after cycle so we could imagine a easy way to benefit from this repetition. The answer relies in the human being behavior on the market. Traders are filled with emotions like greed or fear. Even if most traders now recognize the usual patterns and knows how to follow a trends, most of the time they let themselves overwhelmed by emotions when the market doesn't react like it should...

That leads this question : why discretionary trading works ?

Dicretionary approach consists in following a trading system (because you always need some king of system) through the human eye. A trader, controlling his emotions and analysing the market with objectivity, has the ability to understand the market crowd represented by all the traders. He will be able to understand the excesses and adjust his trading accordingly.
A robot will enter a position as soon as a resistance or support is broken or when a 38% fibonacci retracement has been reached etc. Of course a trader would initially adjust his robot parameters according to his strategy but he won't be able to "play" new market conditions for example.

The market likes to defeat all automatic systems which tend to setup logical stop losses and profit targets. Have you ever seen the wonderful spikes on the forex market, in particular after news releases...

A discretionary approach will never prevent you from losses. Any trader will suffer from losses. It is part of the activity. If you don't want to loose, you should try no-risk investments offering 2-3% a year.
But at least, you will always control what you are doing, knowing exactly what the market is leading and if this is a good moment to enter a position or not.

You have obviously a set of rules, explaining the "when & how" you enter a position, but you may adjust your strategy according to certain market conditions.

Be careful though. You need to stick to the plan you implemented when developing your trading system and money management. It's a very important aspect of the trading. But once again, there is no automatic entry position. For the exits, it's a bit different because you can set a profit target in advance and exit the position automatically. You develop this aspect in your money management rules.

I hope I gave you the desire to become a real trader using a discretionary approach, far from automatic systems which definitely don't work. Trading can be fascinating if you give yourself the means to do it properly.

Before being able to trade by yourself, you may look for professional traders who provide forex signals, like atf-forex-trading.com which is the website I work for as a trader. You can take advantage of real-time swing trading signals on a monthly subscription with a free month trial.
We don't sell dream. All we do is trading on forex market and informing our clients at the same time (entry and exit). It's a good way to learn with professional traders or to diversify some of your investments.

Sebastien Duval
Forex trader

How To Understand Option Trading From The Beginner’s Point Of View

2010-06-13T06:13:00.001-07:00

Let us begin by gaining perception on what is meant by the word 'Option' as used in professional circles. It is in effect of contract that gives the possessor of the contract the right to buy and sell specific amounts of stock or even other securities. These purchases are limited to clearly specified prices and will hold good until the contract expiry date is reached. The option's total cost is determined by several factors including asset price, strike price and expiration date. But this is not limited to these factors alone. What should be understood is that the holder of the contract is not required to compulsorily buy or sell though he has the right to do so within the agreed timeframe of the contract.

Option trading is definitely becoming more popular among individual professionals and traders, and can be highly rewarding. However, a point must be stressed here is that there can be a serious downside to it. If not properly understood, you are risking your money in a speculative venture. Without detailed study and elaborate research it is very difficult for a beginner to become successful in this field.

We move now to a more thorough study to help the beginner get a well grounded start in the subject.

Option trading may also be referred to as derivatives for a couple of reasons; one, because it is derived from stock and second, because it is derived from the value of the stock or other commodity. There are basically two approaches: call options, which allow the holder the right to buy and put options, give the holder the right to sell.

The good news is that you can certainly make money from option trading and do not require large amounts of capital investment. This is good news for beginners who do not need to start risking all they own!

When learning about this subject you will come across terms that include strike price, puts, calls, long positions, short positions, hedging, speculation and volatility. You would do well to study and understand each of these terms due to their wide operation in the trading field.

There are numerous factors that influence successful trading, which create strategies needing to be worked out. Without confidence that stems from an in depth knowledge of the subject, a beginner would be hard pressed to successfully increase your bank balance.

Common Mistakes Made In Swing Trading And How You Can Avoid Them

2010-06-13T06:10:00.000-07:00

In the game of options trading, swing trading is a practice, which allows the investor to buy and sell stock or other commodities at or even near the end of the up or down price swing. This up or down price swing is caused by the daily or weekly price volatility. The timeframe for this method of trading is normally 1-4 days.

How do you select stock with short term price momentum? Traders use technical analysis to do so – the emphasis here is not on the value of the stock but on the price trends. Sounds easy enough I agree but there is a catch! In order to find stock having the potential to move in a short term timeframe, you as the investor need to move with lightning speed. The question therefore will be whether you'll be able to do so with the knowledge you have?

No one really can, at least not without the right kind of training and knowledge. Swing trading requires extensive training and a thorough understanding not just of this particular method of trading but of options trading and all that it entails.

Swing trading provides only a small window of opportunity, so you have to be able to pick the right stock and move quickly. The upside is that the larger investment houses do not bother with this kind of trading as the movement of large stocks takes time. Further, this kind of option trading is ideal for stay at home investors and small traders.

Beware that swing trading is an extremely tricky business and not an exact science as some people mistakenly believe to their misfortune. You have to get an edge on the stocks and the market to make profit. While you can enter and leave the market in any way you choose and at any time you choose, a sense of perfect timing is essential if you wish to succeed.

One of the main reasons why people fail at swing trading is because they are day traders by trade but call themselves swing traders. You have to monitor the markets constantly, going in and out of trades to make profit. If you are not doing so, can you in all honesty expect anything other then to fall flat on your face?

Going on your own is another common mistake; a very useful tip is to find the right kind of training material, which will give you all the information you need and an unshakeable grounding in swing trading. You have to be equipped right before you venture out to seek your fortune or lose everything you have!

When you are well equipped with the right kind of information and tips and strategies you will find that you save a lot of frustration, money and time. Your learning curve is dramatically reduced, setting you up to use swing trading with absolute efficiency to turn profit.

Problems Associated With Stock Options Trading Which Can Bring You Down

2010-06-13T06:09:00.001-07:00

Stock options grant the holder the right to buy and sell a particular stock at a particular price and it has a specific expiration date. It should be noted that the holder is under no obligation to actually buy and sell.

Stock options trading are probably one of the most innovative and versatile of all financial derivative instruments. You will find stock options not only in options trading but also as a part of employee benefits, which helps employees to participate in the company's growth.

While everything about stock options trading you may hear will probably sound very good, you should be aware that without the right kind of knowledge you will not be able to make a success in the business.

What precisely are stock options; you can consider them as a tool to help you make money through investments. You can also use them to hedge the risk of an investment that you wish to make. The holder has the right to buy or sell underlying stock at a predetermined price within a certain time period. Are you confused already? Let us try to simplify it some more. As an investor you will buy a stock option betting that the underlying stock moves either up or down.

The purpose of this article is to highlight to you some of the problems you may face while dealing with stock options trading. All of this and more requires a thorough understanding of the subject before you can dabble in stock trading. Without the right kind of knowledge, investors, especially those trying to make a living through stock options will only face loss after loss.

One of the problems you will face while dealing with stock options is when a trading halt occurs. In effect the stock option value is derived from the underlying stock value. If the underlying stock value stops, trading your option stops trading. In such a situation you cannot sell and you need to remember that your stock option is time bound. You may very well end up losing your money if the trading halt continues past your stock option deadline.

Another possible problem you may face, relates to the predetermined expiry date of your stock option. If your stock option expires it becomes worthless if it is out of the money. As an investor you risk losing your entire investment.

Danger In Following Wrong Advice On Which Options Strategy To Choose

2010-06-13T06:00:00.001-07:00

Options trading can be either a goldmine or leave you flat broke – it all depends on how adept you are at choosing your options strategy and managing your portfolio. There are many different kinds of strategies and philosophies associated with stock trading and each one comes with its own probability and risk tolerance levels. For an investor venturing into the options trading arena, this article will give you an overview of some options strategies. It will give you a basic understanding and help you to consider which one is best for you.

What should be emphasized here is choosing the perfect options strategy is probably one of the most difficult decisions you will be faced with. It is recommended that this aspect of options trading should not be taken lightly. You will find various so called 'gurus' push diverse strategies; some swear by covered calls, according to them risk is reduced but profit is still possible.
The bottom line is actually there is no single magic options strategy that will work wonders in all markets! Each strategy comes with its own pros and cons or to put it differently, rewards and risks. Further, what works for you may not work for some one else, when there is a lot of hype about a particular strategy it only means that there is a particular risk-reward preference, nothing more.

You should not get carried away by excessive hype over a particular options strategy. It may not be best for your personal risk preference or current market conditions. You will find many sites marketing opinions nothing more! It is easy to forget that there are two sides to an options strategy – risk and reward, focusing on one aspect and not the other has been many peoples' downfall.

It is recommended that you first understand the subject completely before trying to identify your risk and reward tolerances on any given options strategy. There are several factors to be considered when choosing strategies and one of the most important of them is probably volatility. To simply put it is crucial to your strategy selection process.

As an investor you have to be well informed on the different types of trades in relation to particular volatility levels. You cannot wake up one day and decide a particular options strategy is the best one. You need to learn the different strategies and selection processes. This information cannot be garnered from a quick Google search. Proper training is required here.

In your quest for the best option strategies you do not have to make the same mistakes others do, nor do you need to make them as often. Trial and error can be cut short by the right kind of education. When you receive the right kind of training you begin to right away eliminate many of the potential mistakes others make.

Domain Profit

2010-04-12T07:03:00.000-07:00

So you register your domain name is a great idea, and now I think it is to pay for itself a hundred times, right? Wrong. Whether you purchase the domain name, it will not pay for their own. Maximize the value of the domain needs, their minds and effort - the first time it needs to choose a good name. The following is to maximize your potential in the field of certain skills.

To go solo or with character

Because almost every English word is in your own domain name registration, you will have to register a word combinations (or interesting sounding acronym). The first reaction most webmasters have to ask, "ah, I should buy a hyphen to make it easier to remember?"

Simply put, the answer is no. There are two reasons: first, to make a long hyphen domain name. Although long as Bobsinternetresources.com domain name, it is not as long as B, the Internet resources.com. Try to describe the web site of the telephone: "This is Bob. Hyphen. The Internet. Hyphen." It may become very troublesome.

Another reason is the misconception: that associated with the domain administrator will often improve your website ranking in search engines. This is completely wrong. Indeed, for some time in between each search engine keywords to see a hyphen. The browser will compare each keyword to your site content, it matches a search query, and then determine a site should appear in your list. However, today's search engine more intelligent - they look at the contents of the site and the small things. Therefore, a hyphen in the domain can no longer affect the search engine rankings.

Consider the country code top-level domain

From a functional perspective, country code top-level domains (ccTLDs) as good as any top-level domain. Therefore, more webmasters have chosen a better name specific areas of the country, usually lower than when selecting a domain name. The COM,. org or. Net extension. If all sites are very long domain name, or domain name can provide the complete functionality and regional brands, consider buying a country code top level domain.

Promote your domain name search engine

Once you configure your domain name to point to your site, you will need to make sure search engines know. If not, your site will get very few visitors - even if they managed to find a memorable, beautiful domain name. With a little effort and great patience, but the important from the search engine database traffic.

Make sure you have your domain name

Just because you buy a domain name does not mean you own it. Although the official name is usually unrelated to the smooth operation of most sites, this may be the key in the legal dispute. When the service provider (ISP or network is usually a host) registered a domain on your behalf as a part of a larger package (usually with free web hosting), sometimes as the official owners of the domain registration, although they will grant you use it. This means that, if the trademark ownership or other challenges, whether to give up ownership of the final decision on the domain name will be placed in your service provider for your hands.

Think before you buy

Finally, the widely popular and low price, domain names are often "impulse" buy. The impulse to buy most of the field, however, is rarely used. Therefore, taking into account a variety of text and combination of domain types, and then buy - naming tools used in the concept if you are low. Think carefully before choosing your domain name, after all, you will insist on at least a year with it.

Global Forex Trading

2010-04-12T06:59:00.000-07:00

There are many kinds of trading in the market exchange, but these days the most favorite one is the Global Forex Trading. Its daily volume even reaches $2 trillion dollars. It becomes popular since the speculator George Soros of the Quantum Hedge Fund was able to get over $1 billion dollars profits in couples of days by shorting the British pound in 1992. A fantastic number, isn't it? But, what is it that makes more and more people interested in it? Well, the lures of Global Forex trading lie on these reasons:

First attraction will be the market's hour. The Global Forex trading markets are almost always open, 24 hours a day and 5 days in a week non-stop. It is possible because the currencies fluctuate all day and night that any trader can do any trading without being limited by market hours. This is something that other equities might fall behind. They can be effective only during the market hours when the stock exchanges are open. Furthermore, the advance online Forex brokerages that allow people to trade comfortably from their homes or offices will be another excellent charm.

Secondly, the immense leverage will be the most charm for most traders. In the Global Forex trading, a trader can obtain 20 times, 50 times, or even 100 times from his original capital. It is unlike in stock trading where the leverage can only be twice as much as the original capital. To give you a better understanding, here's the number illustration:

You open an account in an online Forex brokerage worth $10,000 dollars. InForex market, trading is realized in lots where 1 Lot = 100,000. With an immense leverage, you may control $500,000 positions or worth as 10 lots. And if your positions moved favorably, let's say giving you 5% gain, you already have $25,000 dollars in your pocket.

While in stock trading, you can either trade with the available funds or you can open a margin account and trade with double leverage only. So,when you have $10,000 dollars account, you can control only $20,000 dollars worth of equity positions.

Hopefully, this illustration can give you a better understanding on how the immense leverage in Global Forex trading can lure a lot of players into the game. However, you also need to know that although the immense leverage may give you benefit, it's possible to wipe out your fund as well.

Somehow, the most important reason will be the large sums of money that can be made in the Forex markets. These are the reasons more and more people interested to jump in the market, including those who are full time traders and those who make it as merely a hobby.

If you decided to play in the Forex trading, you need to learn about Forex analysis first. This analysis involves two very important aspects, fundamental and technical. Dan Ho is an expert on technical analysis who does the trading too. You can get his book, or newsletter to help you start of with Forex trading. Or An online Forex course which is highly recommended for those who want to start this business can be a good option to consider.

However, you should never forget that global Forex trading is a highly speculative business where you can get a fantastic profit, or you can lose all of your funds as well. There is no guarantee here. Even having the best newsletter analysis service or Forex trading course are also not a guarantee for you profits nor able to prevent you against any losses.

What's best needed here is having strong control over your impulses and emotions besides any methodological and technical tools. You also need to be disciplined and is alert to any fault in order to get your success in a global forex trading market.

DOMAIN NAMES

2010-04-12T06:56:00.000-07:00

In short, the domain name is the "front" - the word sequences users enter in the address bar of your browser to visit your site, but not the true address of the web site. Domain names are attached to the DNS (Domain Name System) server, which is used to translate numeric addresses (known as IP, or Internet protocol, addresses) into words. Every site you visit on the Internet has a numeric IP address behind its name, which is a real website address.

Domain names are usually classified according to size, which is its identification number. The three most popular top level domain (TLD), which are domains that are not associated with the earth, are:

. COM: Short for. Commercial. Domain names with the extension com. are by far the most popular, and can be purchased by any person or company.

. NET: Short for. Network, this domain extension was originally designed for use in technical web sites. However, domains using this extension can be registered by anyone.

ORG: Short for. Organization. Originally designated for non-profit companies and any organization that does not fit within com. O extension. Net, any person or company can now register a domain name org ..

Country-level domains

Domains can also be assigned using country extensions. Each country has its own domain extension, Canada, for example, it is. Ca, while Japan has been assigned. Jp. Most countries have specific rules surrounding exactly who can register domains using their extension and for what purpose, so it is important to look before you leap.

ALTERNATIVE DOMAIN NAMES

Intellectual Names and Numbers (ICANN), the organization responsible for the management of TLDs worldwide, approved several extensions that are not specific to a particular country. These are:

. Aero

. Biz

. Cage

. Info

. Museum

. Name

. Pro

Each is designed for specific use, and follow certain restrictions.

Other domain extensions

Looking for a domain name, you can find sites that offer extensions such as. Xxx. Free and mp3 .. These are not real extensions approved by ICANN, but rely on software solutions to ensure their availability to users. Because ICANN has not adopted any of these extensions, however, users who do not have the right software can not access pages that use these names, therefore, should be used for additional purposes.

Despite. Com,. G. Net Org are usually the most visible and talked about expansion, not only available for use. From the functional perspective, the domain of the national work as well as any extension, extensions and alternatives work as well. So, do not necessarily settle for a mediocre TLD when you can get one better with a different extension.

Understanding the Forex Trading

2010-04-12T06:52:00.000-07:00

These days a Foreign exchange market or is commonly known as a forex market trading has been growing so fast that it becomes the leader of financial market in the world. To the traders, Forex market is something familiar in which they know how all the systems in it work. But, to most people, they don't have a very deep understanding of what is the Forex market? So, this article will try to explore and show you the basic important things about forex market trading.

The activity of foreign exchange to pay for a business has been commonly done. If you are travelling abroad, you will of course need to exchange your money with the currency of the country you are going to. Or a traveler's check can be another solution when you need to pay for a transaction abroad. When you are doing all these, you already engaged in foreign exchange, but it is NOT the kinds of activity happened in the Forex market. In the Forex market, the traders are trading foreign exchange in which the main purpose is 100% to make a profit from certain currency being traded for another currency.

Forex market trading is done all over the world 24 hours a day and 5 days a week by dealers at major banks or forex brokerage companies. Before the development of online trading, the market is dominated by banks, major currency dealers and large speculators. But now, thanks to the internet, small traders are also able to take part in the Forex market. The larger sized inter-bank units are broken down into small units by Foreign exchange market brokers so that it is affordable for individual traders to buy or sell the units. This way, the brokers give the opportunity for any traders to take position in the market at the same rates and price movements as the big players who once dominated the market. The traders can also have an overnight position without waiting for the opening market because the market itself runs 24 hours a day. Trading in Forex market moves from major banking centers of the U.S. to Australia and New Zealand, to the Far East, to Europe and finally back to the U.S., so that the currency trading is not centered on an exchange. This is where the difference from the futures and stock markets lied down.

Unlike the stock market, the price movements on the forex market trading are relatively very smooth. It is because the market is 24 hours-open non stop in which the trade can be continuously executed so that there is no gaps occurred. Even on September 11, 2001, the forex market was still open. The danger in which an investor is not able to enter and exit positions whenever they want is eliminated because the Forex market's daily turnover reaches a fantastic number around $1.2 trillion.

What is Forex Trading?

2010-04-12T06:49:00.000-07:00

Foreign Exchange market is commonly known as Forex market that has been established since 1970s. It is successfully recognized as the leader of liquid financial market these days. The transactions compared to the New York Stock Exchange reaches hundreds times bigger. The market is basically selling and buying money freely. It involves buying one currency and selling another.The main currencies in Forex will be US dollars competes with British Pound sterling, Japanese yen, Swiss franc, and Euro. The currencies here are symbolized in three letters, for example USD, GBP, JPY, CHF . The first two letter are indicating the name of the country, and the last letter is indicating the name of the currency. The trading of these currency pairs are constantly going because it's done in all around the world. The value of each currency is pretty much determined by the demand in the market, not by the exchange as in the futures and stock markets. So it can be rising or failing. This is when the trader can take any position in the market, and if the market moved favorably from their position, they may gain profit. Forex trading also allows an immense leverage so that a trader can take position even up to 100 times of their actual capital. The trading can either be done in short period of time within the same day, or in an extended duration or overnight period.

Forex trading market is unique because it requests a quite simple qualification for the traders to invest and also the market is done worldwide, so it's not based in any particular place. It is where a free competition runs in the market without having any external control. The market is considered objective too because the prices can't be manipulatively changed unless one has tens of billions dollars to operate.

However, you must be aware that Forex trading is a high risk high return business. Although you can get a great amount of money, you can also lose a great amount of money as well. The way of investing is not complicated and it is a solid investment where you can gain a good profit if you do it right. So, before jumping in the field, learning Forex , both technical and fundamental analysis, are an obligation steps. Finally, does Forex suit you? Are you ready with all it needs