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Becoming a Trader
Let’s be honest with one another: the odds are that if you’re reading this article it is likely because you’re already wondering how to become a traderA merchant who purchases and sells assets or services for profit. In financial markets, the trader b... and have a certain level of interestThe cost of accessing money not owned. in this engaging world known as online trading.
You may have even asked yourself the following question, possibly more than once: “Can I make money by becoming a full-time trader?”
Since Queensway Academy is an educational website, we feel it is our obligation to tell everyone that lands on our shores the truth as it is, with no varnish.
And the truth of the matter is that anyone can trade the marketA location or entity where people and entities can negotiate and trade assets of value., but to do it successfully is no simple task. It takes time and effort to be a successful trader and turn your hobby into a worthwhile, gainful enterprise. Queensway Academy has a free package for you to begin your journey into online trading.
But the good news is that you have at least one thing every successful trader needs – the will to succeed.
Otherwise, you would not be reading these very words, would you?
Learn How To Trade The Market
We’d like to begin by dispelling a simple notion: making money by trading is NOT a simple quest, nor is it a venture that is suitable for the faint of heart. You will rise & fall often and repeatedly.
You will have successes and failures galore. You will cycle through countless methods and strategies before you stumble onto the one most suitable for you.
But you’ve made it past the initial phase so let’s talk about the details. Here is a short list of the things you’ll need:
- A solid, trustworthy brokerA 3rd party that negotiates a transaction between 2 other parties – a buyer and a seller., preferably one that is fully regulated and has consultants and supportThe price level that traders believe represents the lowest value an asset can reach. At this point, ... staff available during times when you expect to be trading.
- Free time … and quite a bit of it. If you are serious about trading, prepare yourself for a few months’ worth of reading educational material for at least a couple of hours a day. And that’s before you actually start trading anything.
- A positive attitude. Do not take this item lightly! It may seem trivial but, in an occupation, filled with near-constant difficulties, a challenging learning curve and failure galore, you will need to keep your spirits up by any means necessary.
- Money. Regretfully, we cannot avoid a discussion about this subject (which we will expand on later). You need to have a certain amount of free capital that you can apply to your trading.
Someone You Can Trust
Doing your research is an important part of Forex trading, but it actually starts long before the educational phase or during it, but for a different reason.
Looking for and finding the right online broker is one of the most important decisions a trader can make early on.
The right broker should be well regulated, preferably by more than a single regulatory body. This would mean that the broker in question has provided all assurances required by authorities in more than one territory or region.
This is important because various authorities have differing requirements; thus, a broker with more regulators has likely had to answer to deeper probes with regards to securityA documented and tradeable asset -mainly stocks and bonds, but also documented derivatives., account separation, payments etc.
When looking for a broker you should also inquire about the type and level of service it provides: Do their working hours suit you? Do they speak your language? Will you have access to support personnel as well as investmentAn asset (usually money or work) provided to another in expectation of receiving a cash return or be... advisors? – all questions that you should have responses to prior to making your selection.
The more answers you get to the questions you ask, the better; and if those answers match your intentions, you’ve found a broker that is likely to work out just fine for you.
Make Money By Becoming A Full Time Trader
Forex trading is a very time-consuming process and that is doubly true when you are taking your first steps because you aren’t even trading yet!
We would highly advise you to stay away from ANY form of actual trading, be it on a demo account or – god forbid – a real money account before you have a VERY solid idea of just what it is you are doing.
Queensway Academy, for example, has, as of this writing, hours of video content along with hundreds of written articles and blog posts – and that’s on a single website.
The first step in the school of “how to become a trader” is to resign yourself to the fact that you will be reading anything and everything you can for the first few months, watching videos and doing theoretical exercises.
When you feel you’ve gained an understanding of terminology, assetA stock, commodity, currency, index or any other entity one may trade or invest in. behaviour and market conditions, move to the second phase: opening a demo account and trying out various trading strategies.
When you have reached a certain level of trading on your demo account (aim for at least a 66% win percentage) and you’ve landed upon a strategy that suits you, move on to real money.
Overall, you’ll probably want to plan on devoting a minimum of 6-8 months before working with your own money and, more likely, around a year or so; but do not put yourself on a timer.
Keep Smiling, No Matter What!
Not much to expand on here, as we previously explained. Every trader has known losses, no matter how successful they may be overall. The trick is not to sink into a stupor, no matter how painful a losing positionAn open trade or transaction. A position can be long (a contract to buy the asset) or short (a contr... may be.
The more you learn to manage your expectations and your mood swings, the more even keel you will become as a trader; and, as most traders know, the secret to success is in small increments, not giant leaps and bounds.
How You Can Become A Successful Forex Trader
With enough work, almost anyone can learn to trade the market, but learning how to become a trader also relies on one important aspect: your funds.
If you make a certain amount of money with your current job and you have a certain amount saved up, that amount can be your startup capital, but you need to make sure you aren’t risking too much of it.
There are many variables that go into deciding how much money you can afford to riskThe level of deviation of past returns and/or losses on an asset from the mean. Usually, the higher ... – your age, the amount you have saved up, number of people you currently support (spouses, kids, etc.), the type of investments you plan on making, and so on.
Depending on your current situation, the general advice is to invest no more than 30%-40% of your available capital in Forex investments, which is a relatively risky investment, with the rest going towards long term investments with less risk that should mature as you need them later in life.
More to Come
This article is just the tip of the iceberg where Forex trading is concerned, but stay tuned to our blog for more materials that will focus on various aspects of investing and trading, articles that we hope will be of use to you as you learn how to become a trader.
