Forex

hbakhshi

Cook_County wrote: »

Should this all be in a gambling thread?

purch wrote: »

More likely a SUCKERS thread :eek:

You don't have to be either a gambler or a sucker to use forex as part of your investment strategy.

What you have to be is insanely disciplined, very well read, aware of the news and what a particular news item will do.

Babypips will give you the training and background, Forex Factory will give you the news schedule.

You must have excellent money management, the ability to walk away from a bad trade and forget it, and never risk more than 2% of your money on any given trade. Don't over-leverage, some brokers will offer you 100:1 leverage, personally I use 15:1, though most would be between 30:1 and 50:1)

All the money you use for forex is fully at risk, in this sense it is more like gambling, but done properly, it is an exciting hobby. Be realistic about returns, if you are good, you will hit between 5% and 10% a month, if not your money will be gone in the twinkle of an eye.

I still do forex, though by far the majority of my money is in SIPP and S%S ISA. The reason is, a lot of the research I do for my mainstream investments is also relevant to forex, so it seems a waste not to use it.

Pachira

The skills you learn trading forex have multiple benefits above and beyond simply trying to make a fast buck - eg i have family in Europe and have been able to help them to time the transfer of their savings from euro to sterling and vice versa to get the best exchange rates and so maximise the funds they received on transfer.

Also, if you invest in non-UK shares (which any balanced portfolio ought) you need to consider the exchange risk and time investments accordingly.

So yes, I agree with hbakhshi, trading forex and using those skills as part of an investment strategy is not gambling, and it shouldn't be written off as such.