Trading.

SailorSam

Did anyone watch the Bbc2 programme earlier about online Trading. It was a 2 parter with last weeks episode showing how the big boys in the City win or lose millions at the click of the mouse trading in currencies.
Tonights show was showing the growing number of amateurs working from home, often with no more than a laptop. Some of the people they followed were doimg better than others but overall it was estimated that only 10% of those that went into it made money consistenly.
Has anyone ever tried this, or perhaps you are a Trader.

http://www.tvguide.co.uk/detail/2020235/101731157/traders-millions-by-the-minute?systemid=&thistime=20&thisday=9/22/2014&ProgrammeTypeID=&gridSpan=&catColor=#.VCCiE1d16ew

JohnRo

I watched most of it, missed the beginning and the end, saw a lot of myself in it though.

The one thing they omitted in my opinion is the margin call and level of risk from the size of open positions relative to account balance as well as things like rollover charges and open trades that don't move much for extended periods, but that might have been a bit too much depth for a light touch program.

I had a problem with the general theme of the program though, because in my opinion it seemed to be borderline sensationalism and encouraging anyone and everyone to have a go despite stating 90% plus lose money. Maybe I misread that aspect.

I only use the US / UK indexes for hedging my LTBH investments now and stay well away from currency pairs and individual stocks. The spread betting I do now is much more balanced and measured than when I started a good few years ago and better performing for it.

My spread betting returns are only about plus 11% since June this year which is better than the investments being hedged but the amounts risked are lower and the results are a long, long way from perfect.

I still have a flaw in my discipline that makes me close winners too early and any number of trailing stops don't seem to help, since they're either too tight and close out early anyway or too long and miss the bulk of the opportunity entirely.

I'm better than I used to be at closing losing trades though, but still hang on to some for far too long.

Masomnia

It's a lot harder than the programme made it look.

I agree it made it look like anyone and everyone should be having a go. I think it said the woman who was a nurse put £6000 in, at the very end it said her account was down below £4000, can't remember the exact figure, in one of those things that flashes up for a few seconds during the titles. As in, it did not hammer home that actually with the money she'd lost she could have had a nice holiday with her family. Or may as well have not worked most of the year and spent those weekends with her family.

You do have to be incredibly disciplined, and while I thought those Brummie lads were doing very well with it, getting footballers as clients, it just takes it to go to your head one day, you risk too much and it's all gone.

I fell into the trap of closing winners too soon as well; but letting losers continue to fall thinking 'maybe they'll turn around', until it gets to the point where the loss is just too big and you have to take it because you literally can't afford to lose more.

It's very alluring though, the idea of financial independence, and doing it from your own home with seemingly little toil. Very easy to get your fingers burnt though.

IronWolf

I didnt see it but will look it up.

There is a famous 90-90-90 rule in the city with trading. 90% of people lose 90% of their money in 90 days.

My spreadbetting account is up around 600% but I just use it to hedge foreign currency exposure so it's offset losses in my main portfolio.

SailorSam

At the beginning of the programme the woman who was the nurse was up to a profit of over £1.5 million, while she was only using monopoly money in her training account but found it harder to make the right decisions once hard cash was involved.
I was interested in the section were they went to the training sessions in London. It was a hall full of people like a lecture and yet it was costing many hundreds to attend. I thought if you could open an online practise account with some pretty free basic training then take a year or so to learn, then is it worth going to one of those expensive lectures.

JohnRo

Trading is simple, that's not the same thing as easy.

Training implies there is a secret strategy to successful trading and there just isn't imho.

What matters are things like managing risk and controlling the level of your exposure to the downside. That's something that requires discipline and some considerable effort in terms of fighting your instincts.

The secret to success, that is no secret really, is to let winning trades run and stop the losing trades early. The problem is that's far and away more difficult to do than it is to say, be warned.

gkerr4

interesting thread.

i agree its very difficult. did the show focus on "day trading? sounds like it might have.

financial discipline is so difficult - the bits above about "letting winners run and cutting losses early" - is so true. I;ve really focussed on the discipline this year - i listened to an audio book called "trading for a living" by dr alexander elder - its very good at helping you with the mental approach to trading and setting and sticking to financial plans as well as the mindset of a professional trader and the differences that emotion makes to 'us' when it is out own money, as opposed to a trader who is salaried, but manages the money of others.

sinizterguy

How do you make a small fortune trading ?

Start with a big one.

SailorSam

gkerr4 wrote: »

interesting thread.

i agree its very difficult. did the show focus on "day trading? sounds like it might have.

Both last week when they concentrated on the professionals and last night with the amateurs it was the same. They'd all be sitting watching the Tv or listening to the radio waiting for any important announcements to be made from all over the world. Anything that would effect the markets, maybe unemployment figures or changes in interest rates, or even the weather or wars. Then within seconds the market took off and there'd be a fluster of buying & selling. Some of them were buying but selling within minutes then buying back again as the price went up and down.

droopsnoot

I watched this, thought it was going to be portraying it as an easy way to make a fortune (the voiceover before it started seemed to be heading that way) but I did think it focused quite well on those who weren't doing so well - the antiques guy who'd made about a tenner in a few years, and the woman in Devon who looked as if she'd got over a million in last weeks trailer, but it turned out to be the play account and she didn't do so well with real money. The first programme also showed how some people got on well with the idea of actually making trades and some did not - one guy on the training course last week was doing reasonably well, but once allowed to trade with actual money only did one trade in a week.

I've never tried this, but I do get a lot of emails and see a lot of posts about it. I think the programme did a reasonable job of identifying that I probably don't have the personality for it.

LannieDuck

It was really interesting.

I quite fancy having a go on one of the dummy accounts the nurse was using at the start. Did anyone recognise the website she was using, or know of a good place to find a dummy account?