Forex Market Traders

Your trade size, also known as position size is more critical than your entry and exit positions when stock trading. While traders can have the best strategy, it does not compensate for an overly small or big trade size. In this case, traders will either take in too little or too much risk. Excess risk can lead to more losses than little risk.

Position size can be described as the total shares you acquire on a trade. Your entire risk is divided into two categories; account risk and trade risk. A trader should be conversant with how these components align with one another.

Having that knowledge helps you identify the right position size regardless of the market conditions, your strategy of choice, and the trade setup. Here are tips to help you establish the ideal position size for day stock traders.

Set a Risk Limit for Your Account Per Trade

Set a dollar or percentage amount that you will risk per trade. Many professional and seasoned traders have a 1% risk on their accounts. For instance, if a day trader’s account has $50,000, they could risk $500 for each trade.

Suppose your risk is 0.5% you will be risking up to $250 per trade. You can also leverage a fixed dollar amount. In this case, your account risk should still be less than 1%. Other trade factors may fluctuate but the account risk remains constant. Do not change the risk amount you take for different trades. If your account risk limit is 1% try to maintain it for all your trades.

Establish Cents at Risk on Your Trade

After setting your account risk per trade, focus on the trade at hand. Cents at risk is the trade risk and you can determine it by finding the difference between your stop-loss order position and the trade entry position.

The stop loss concludes a trade if it loses a specific amount of money set by the trader. Many traders leverage this strategy to limit risk on their accounts per trade. When you initiate a trade, consider your entry position and the stop loss point.

Your stop loss should be as nearer to the entry position as possible but far enough to prevent the trade from incurring a loss before the expected price move occurs. Once you identify the right position for your stop loss in terms of cents, you can calculate the right position size for that specific trade.

Identify Position Size for a Trade

Money at risk is the maximum amount you can risk per trade, while cents at risk is the trade risk. You can leverage these figures to establish the traded shares, which in this case, is your right position size.

The right position size = money at risk/cents at risk.

Suppose your account has $45,000 and the risk on your account is 1% per account per trade. You can risk a maximum of $450, which in this case is the money at risk, and want to trade a certain stock. You can choose to buy at $50.10, and position your stop loss at $49.99, placing a $0.11 risk, which in this case is the cents at risk.

Divide your money at risk amount ($450) by the cents at-risk amount ($0.11) the final amount will be 4090. That will be the total number of shares you can take on your trade at a 1% risk level. Now round the final amount to the nearest whole lot, which in this case will be 100 shares.

The right position in the case of this trade will be 4,000 shares. The position size is accurately registered to your account’s trading specifications and size. Worth mentioning is that the above calculations do not include commission charges.

Takeaway

Precise position sizing is crucial for successful trading. According to experts, your risk percentage should be 1% or less per trade. Avoid choosing an overly low risk because doing so prevents your account from growing. On the other hand, risking too much could deplete your account resulting in losses.  Determine your cents at risk per trade as well. You can establish your share position size based on your cents and account risk amount.

The foreign exchange market is among the most active markets globally, with an average daily trade volume of over 6 trillion dollars. As a newbie trader, there are some things that you need to be conversant with. That way, you will make the most of your trading experience and have a successful one at that.

What is Forex selling and buying?

Selling and buying in Forex is speculating a downward or upward currency pair movement, hoping to make a profit. Forex trading is always about buying a currency and then selling another. This is the reason why you’ll notice that that currency always comes paired. As such, if there’s an expected base currency strengthening against its quote currency, you buy.

There are factors that determine when you should sell or buy Forex, for example, your trading strategy and marketing commence time. Generally, it is best to sell and buy when the foreign exchange market is most active. It is in this busy time that volatility and liquidity are high.

For example, the Forex market in the UK is busiest at 8 AM, just after the London session is opened. At 10 AM, trading is less liquid. It will again pick up at noon UK time, which is when American markets commence trading.

Is it possible to sell without buying in Forex trading? 

It is possible to sell without buying. This is what is known as going short or short-selling. It means that you want to sell because you believe that that currency’s price is going to fall. In essence, when there’s a fall in price, you will most likely make a profit.

How you can sell and buy currency pairs

Here are some ways on how you can sell and buy currency pairs:

• Determine how you want to trade: There are basically two ways to go about it: via a broker or spot Forex.
• Understand the workings of the Forex market: Understand the networks used to sell and buy Forex. Also, learn about over-the-counter markets.
• Open trading accounts: Find a suitable platform to open your trading account with. You should try out the demo version first before making any permanent commitments.
• Create your trading plan: This is great for giving your structure for when you close and open positions.
• Choose a trading platform: Find a customizable platform to fit your trading needs, preference and style. For example, go for one that has risk management tools, interactive charts, and personalized alerts, etc.
• Open a position: This is when you get to choose if you will sell or buy.

Trading strategies to consider

There are three popular Forex trading strategies you should know of:

Trend trading

This basically involves the use of technical indicators like RSI (Relative Strength Index) and moving averages. Simply put, they’ll help you to tell if the market is in a bullish (uptrend), bearish (downtrend), or sideways trend. It is also used as a long-term or mid-term trading strategy.

Trend reversal

This is when there is a currency pair’s price movement turnaround. It can happen when a bearish trend turns bullish and vice versa. Here, you can also use technical indicators like a stochastic oscillator in determining if the pair is in oversold or overbought territory.

Managing Risks when trading the FX market

Here are some steps that will help you manage risks effectively when trading the Forex market:

1. Make sure you have learned as much as you can about Forex trading and the market.
2. Understand leverage and derivative products.
3. Have a trading plan
4. Have a risk/reward ratio set in place.
5. Mitigate your risks with limits and stops
6. Keep your emotions in check constantly.
7. Watch current events and news
8. Always commence with demo accounts to feel how it is without having to use real money.

Conclusion

When it comes to using trading strategies, you should not solely rely on one. Always be willing to use new approaches because they all have the benefits at some point. The current market is dynamic, which is one reason why using one strategy doesn’t cut it anymore. Be well prepared, and you will be able to navigate market changes successfully.

Forex is also known as foreign exchange. It is a marketplace where traders can exchange currencies. Like any marketplace, it is filled with many kinds of traders with different needs. The forex market has a suitable trading form that meets the different needs its traders have.

Choosing a specific trading form may not be easy especially for a novice. It requires some understanding of the different markets and strategies that exist. Let’s take a look at the different trading strategies.

Types Of Trading Strategies

The forex market is filled with many different traders. Each of these has specific needs and preferences which will determine how they trade.

A trader needs to determine how long they intend to trade. This will be affected by several factors. Ultimately, traders can trade long-term or short-term, or somewhere in between. There are many strategies that traders can apply.

1. Day Trading

As the name suggests, these are the kind of traders that trade daily. They don’t leave any open trades overnight. They open all their trades during the day and then close them at the end of the day.

Day trading aims to take advantage of price movements in the day. It requires keen monitoring during the day to determine the direction of price movements. Trades make profits or losses based on the direction the trade takes.

This kind of trading requires in-depth knowledge to execute successfully. A day trader uses multiple techniques to help them make decisions faster and also to ensure that they are successful. Some key characteristics can help identify a day trader.

• Their main focus is on technical patterns rather than data analysis.
• They trade in high volumes.
• Rather than focusing on long-term trading, they trade via day averages.
• To gain more profits, they focus on quick turnovers.

This kind of trading strategy requires monitoring price movements throughout the day. If can’t closely monitored, it can lead to serious losses.

2. Swing Trading

These are traders that are somewhere between short-term and long-term trades. Such trades are longer than a day (they continue overnight) and positions can be held for several weeks.

Swing traders, as their name suggests, focus on buying when prices begin to rise and opt to sell when they start to drop. This kind of trading requires a close analysis of price movements. Timing is key for a swing trader.

Key characteristics of swing traders include;

• They use a blend of analysis techniques. Both fundamental and technical analysis is essential for swing traders.
• They focus on short-term price movements. This helps the traders to capitalize on the upward swing.
• Swing trading also focuses on extremes. These can either be high or low.

A major benefit of swing trading is that it has a high chance of making a profit with a low risk of making losses. It is a beneficial means of trading for those who don’t have the time to focus on price movements throughout the day. Keeping an eye on movements for a few hours daily is enough to make good decisions.

3. Position Trading

If day traders could be placed on one end of the trading spectrum, then position traders are the other end. They focus on long-term trades. Position trades can keep trades open (hold positions) for weeks, months, or even years.

They mostly focus on fundamental analysis for their decision-making. This involves in-depth research and data analysis and looking for opportunities.

Some key characteristics that define position traders include;

• Low volume trades. Many times they only hold a few trade positions in a year.
• Most of their decisions are affected by economic models such as the national economy, the condition of the market, and interest rates.
• It mostly focuses and relies on fundamental analysis to make decisions.
• Position movements are captured in bulk. Position traders hope that prices will appreciate over time.

Due to the nature of position trading, they can cause long-term losses if predictions are wrong.

Wrapping Up

Forex trading is a lucrative marketplace especially for those who are in the market for speculative purposes.

There are many benefits to forex trading including the few barriers to entry even for beginners. Retail trading allows individuals to trade on the forex market. A novice should research the different strategies that exist before beginning to trade. Having a clear understanding of how long you want to trade, whether long, medium, or short term, is essential.