Q1: When you consider that the foreign exchange market has become the world's largest financial market, with over $1.5 trillion USD traded daily, where does it go from here?
A1:The FX market is unique, in the UK there is no central exchange, we trade via the inter bank market. With more and more private individuals taking up margin trading and new forex brokers setting up, I can only see the market grow in the near future.
Q2: Other than great liquidity, what are the principal benefits attached to the forex market?
A2: There is less to consider when trading the forex markets, there are only a number of variables that affect the pricing.
Main advantages include
Forex Market allows 24 hour trading
Greater leverage - with most brokers offering 100 - 1,
Less starting capital required,
More Liquidity - day trading has to have enough volume to make it worth our while. The currency market is more liquid than all the world stock markets put together. Currencies are always in action,
Free trading systems
Better for shorting - There are artificial controls built into the market to prevent it from going down too fast. The reason is that we live in a biased world that likes to see things go up instead of down. One of these artificial contraptions is the "uptick rule," which comes into play when shorting stocks, making it more difficult to sell a stock short than to buy it. This is unheard of in the currency market. Selling currencies short while day trading is just as easy as buying them.
Ideal for Short Term Traders -
Q3: Limited market access, liquidity issues-after market hours, commission fees, capital requirements and short selling/stop restrictions are just some of the issues investors face when considering other markets. Given that the forex market removes many of these traditional barriers and therefore does not restrict the forex traders' ability to make a trade at the right time, are we likely to see an increase in trading volumes this year?
A3: With all these advantages, traders are finding it hard not to trade currencies, online trading volumes across all products is increasing at a substantial rate, however FX trading, predominantly amongst retail investors is becoming very popular.
Q4: There is stiff competition amongst online forex service providers for retail forex traders with some claiming to offer the same degree of technical analysis enjoyed by the world's largest banks and institutional traders. Is this possible?
A4: Technical Analysis has come a long way, more and more forex provides now have partnerships with firms who provide analysis. However the banks still have an advantage, the markets are still not under perfectly competitive economic model. The banks will always have access to information that is not readily available, ISX FX currently sources its information from a number of banks to fill this gap.
Q5: Do you subscribe to the theory that forex is less volatile than stocks because the market is much deeper?
A5: As a bet on the direction of a national economy, no currency has ever dropped 25 percent in a day, or imploded as rapidly and completely as an Enron or a Parmalat. In the wake of those scandals, many companies are meting out information more cautiously, making it harder to get the real "scoop" on stocks one problem of trading with too-high leverage is that one piece of surprise news can wipe out one's capital. If you treat forex trading like a business, including proper money management, you have a better chance of success."
Q6: U.S. interest rates-decade lows; global trade wars and terrorism fears have dominated the headlines recently. What impact has this had on retail volumes?
A6: The above factors have all led to a decline in the dollar. This coupled with tighter regulation of brokers has given investors more confidence in brokers. Also the stock market crash has driven individuals to look at the profit opportunities offered by forex.
Q7: Stateside the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has brought 58 actions against firms, since its new powers were awarded in 2000. Given that certain brokers continue to abuse the system, with investor money sometimes not being traded in the markets promised. What can investors do protect themselves?
A7: The retail forex market is in essence betting, as with any bookmaker there is always a risk that you will not get your winnings, or the odds will be highly stacked against you. With tighter regulation and increased competition, this risk of default has largely disappeared. The risk of price manipulation still exists and this will never really go away. Investors need to ensure that they have an independent price source and trade with a broker who offers true one click dealing.
Most brokers work on the basis of the law of large numbers, acting like the bucket shops of 50 years ago, they do not hedge any positions and are directly competing against there clients. This will always lead to price manipulation and further actions by authorities will inevitably be taken.
Q8: What is this best way for "currency rookies" to get involved in the market?
A8: Like with any new form of trading you need to know what you are doing, especially as there is margin involved. Take all the time you need to learn this new trading skill well -- practice everything you learn with a demo account before you consider going 'live' with your own money. Investors should read books, attend seminars and paper trade until they are comfortable with there strategy.
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e diel, 6 maj 2007
Day Trading Training ... You need more than just going to a free stock market workshop to learn
Day trading is all about making buy and sell decisions. When you make a trade either your going to lose money or your going to make money, and some other times you will break even. When you win some body else will lose and so forth, but that's NOT what's important.
The most important aspect of day trading is the knowledge FILTER you employ to make your buy/sell decisions. There are many "fantastic" strategies outhere, but you need to test them in order to discover which ones help you the most. That's part of your homework as a daytrader. Test, test and test again.
Complicated strategies that rely on a "boat load" of technical indicators can make you slow, and being slow in this game can be as dangerous as not knowing what to do in the first place.
I think the worst thing that can happen to a beginner trader is to get information overload. It's better to go step by step, and test a simple strategy that can show you how to focus on concrete ways to make money.
Fortunatly there are some good sites on the web today that can show you how to trade in a practical and effective way. One of those sites is Stress Free Traders ( StressFreeTraders.com )
In the end, day trading is all about buying and selling according to your knowledge FILTER. Once you master and follow youre proven filter parameters like a clock, you can expect to start making serious amounts of cash on a consistent basis.
Stress Free Traders helps traders and investors take advantage of momentum stock trading opportunities every day at StressFreeTraders.com
Courtesy of http://www.TradingPips.com
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Day Trading - Moving Averages vs Support and Resistance
When day trading the SP and Nasdaq futures, do you rely on your moving averages more than your support & resistant areas?
During the first hour of trading, the support and resistance zones on the SP and Nasdaq futures are the most important things to watch. The moving averages have not yet had a chance to come into play.
After that, if a trend is developing I watch several key exponential and simple moving averages on the 2 minute, the 5 minute and the 13 minute SP and Nasdaq futures charts.
These specific moving averages give reliable support and resistance for the market as long as the slope of the moving averages are fairly steep, indicating a trend. When there is no trend, the moving averages are flat and pretty much worthless.
When a trending market makes a countertrend move, and hits a key moving average on two or more different time frames at the same time, the probability of a good trade setup increases dramatically. If you get three hits at the same time, it's even better. Sometimes you'll see one key moving average get hit on the five minute SP chart at the same time another moving average is hit on the 13 minute Nasdaq chart. This also gives a good trade setup.
Eventually, a trending market will reach the next major support or resistance zone. At that point the zones once again become more important than the moving averages.
In afternoon trading, the market has often broken through a support or resistance zone several times. In that case, the zone is no longer useful, and new areas of support and resistance can usually be found. When I find them, I send my subscribers an RBI Intraday Update with the new support or resistance areas, and a description of what I think the market will do if it moves above or below them.
Mike Reed is author of TradeStalker's RBI Trader's Updates. He has been trading the Market for 23 years. His support and resistance numbers have been published on the internet since 1996. Mike's nightly support and resistance zones are specific and incredibly accurate. He offers an unlimited free trial of his nightly TradeStalker RBI Trader's Updates. http://www.TradeStalker.com
Courtesy of http://www.TradingPips.com
During the first hour of trading, the support and resistance zones on the SP and Nasdaq futures are the most important things to watch. The moving averages have not yet had a chance to come into play.
After that, if a trend is developing I watch several key exponential and simple moving averages on the 2 minute, the 5 minute and the 13 minute SP and Nasdaq futures charts.
These specific moving averages give reliable support and resistance for the market as long as the slope of the moving averages are fairly steep, indicating a trend. When there is no trend, the moving averages are flat and pretty much worthless.
When a trending market makes a countertrend move, and hits a key moving average on two or more different time frames at the same time, the probability of a good trade setup increases dramatically. If you get three hits at the same time, it's even better. Sometimes you'll see one key moving average get hit on the five minute SP chart at the same time another moving average is hit on the 13 minute Nasdaq chart. This also gives a good trade setup.
Eventually, a trending market will reach the next major support or resistance zone. At that point the zones once again become more important than the moving averages.
In afternoon trading, the market has often broken through a support or resistance zone several times. In that case, the zone is no longer useful, and new areas of support and resistance can usually be found. When I find them, I send my subscribers an RBI Intraday Update with the new support or resistance areas, and a description of what I think the market will do if it moves above or below them.
Mike Reed is author of TradeStalker's RBI Trader's Updates. He has been trading the Market for 23 years. His support and resistance numbers have been published on the internet since 1996. Mike's nightly support and resistance zones are specific and incredibly accurate. He offers an unlimited free trial of his nightly TradeStalker RBI Trader's Updates. http://www.TradeStalker.com
Courtesy of http://www.TradingPips.com
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Example of a Profitable Transaction in FOREX
To make a profit, in the FOREX, a trader can enter the market as a *buy position* (known as going "long") or a *sell position*(known as going "short").
For discussion, let's assume you've been studying the EURO.
Your trading methods, rules, strategies, etc., tell you that prices will rise during a particular timeframe. So you buy the EUR/USD pair (or, technically, you will simultaneously buy euros, the base currency, and sell dollars).
You open up your handy trading station software (provided to you for free by the online broker), which resides on your desktop, and you see that the EUR/USD pair is trading at:
>
REMEMBER: the quote to the left of the / (1.3242) refers to the bid or "sell" price (what you obtain in USD when you sell EUR). The quote to the right of the / (1.3245) is used to obtain the ask or "buy" price (what you have to pay in USD if you buy EUR).
So, since you believe that the market price for the EUR/USD pair will go higher, you will enter a *buy position* in the market. For simplicities sake, let's say you bought one lot at 1.3245. As long as you sell back the pair at a higher price, then you make money.
But, no worries. This seemingly elaborate process is handled, and even calculated for you, via the broker's software mentioned above. The chart software and the quote board are in agreement with all sides of the currencies.
To illustrate a typical FX SELL trade, consider this scenario involving the USD/JPY currency pair:
REMEMBER ~ Selling ("going short") the currency pair implies selling the first, base currency, and buying the second, quote currency. You sell the currency pair if you believe the base currency (USD) will go down relative to the quote currency (JPY), or equivalently, that the quote currency (JPY) will go up relative to the base currency (USD).
NOTE: while the Profit Calculations, on the Short-sell trade scenario below, may seem somewhat complicated if you've never been in the FOREX market before, trust us when we say, "this process is nearly seamless through your broker trade station (software). We're just showing you this thought-process below so you can SEE how a PROFIT occurs even when
SELLING a currency pair.
The current bid/ask price for USD/JPY is 105.26/105.30, meaning you can buy $1 US for 105.30 Japanese YEN or sell $1 US for 105.26 YEN.
Suppose you decide that the US Dollar (USD) is overvalued against the YEN (JPY). To execute this strategy, you would sell Dollars (simultaneously buying YEN), and then wait for the exchange rate to rise.
So you make the trade: selling US $100,000 and purchasing 10,526,000 YEN. (Remember, at 1% margin, your initial margin deposit would be $1,000.)
As you expected, USD/JPY falls to 104.26/104.30, meaning you can now buy $1 US for $104.30 Japanese YEN or sell $1 US for 104.26
Since you're short dollars (and are long YEN), you must now buy dollars and sell back the YEN to realize any profit.
You buy US $100,000 at the current USD/JPY rate of 104.30, and receive 10,430,000 YEN. Since you originally bought(paid for) 10,526,000 YEN, your profit is 96,000 YEN.
To calculate your P&L in terms of US dollars, simply divide 96,000 by the current USD/JPY rate of 104.30.
Total profit = US $920.42
Omar Vargas is a freelance writer with articles published in a number of places. You can learn more about Forex trading and its great advantages over other kind of business at this useful website: http://www.1-forex.com
Courtesy of http://www.TradingPips.com
For discussion, let's assume you've been studying the EURO.
Your trading methods, rules, strategies, etc., tell you that prices will rise during a particular timeframe. So you buy the EUR/USD pair (or, technically, you will simultaneously buy euros, the base currency, and sell dollars).
You open up your handy trading station software (provided to you for free by the online broker), which resides on your desktop, and you see that the EUR/USD pair is trading at:
>
REMEMBER: the quote to the left of the / (1.3242) refers to the bid or "sell" price (what you obtain in USD when you sell EUR). The quote to the right of the / (1.3245) is used to obtain the ask or "buy" price (what you have to pay in USD if you buy EUR).
So, since you believe that the market price for the EUR/USD pair will go higher, you will enter a *buy position* in the market. For simplicities sake, let's say you bought one lot at 1.3245. As long as you sell back the pair at a higher price, then you make money.
But, no worries. This seemingly elaborate process is handled, and even calculated for you, via the broker's software mentioned above. The chart software and the quote board are in agreement with all sides of the currencies.
To illustrate a typical FX SELL trade, consider this scenario involving the USD/JPY currency pair:
REMEMBER ~ Selling ("going short") the currency pair implies selling the first, base currency, and buying the second, quote currency. You sell the currency pair if you believe the base currency (USD) will go down relative to the quote currency (JPY), or equivalently, that the quote currency (JPY) will go up relative to the base currency (USD).
NOTE: while the Profit Calculations, on the Short-sell trade scenario below, may seem somewhat complicated if you've never been in the FOREX market before, trust us when we say, "this process is nearly seamless through your broker trade station (software). We're just showing you this thought-process below so you can SEE how a PROFIT occurs even when
SELLING a currency pair.
The current bid/ask price for USD/JPY is 105.26/105.30, meaning you can buy $1 US for 105.30 Japanese YEN or sell $1 US for 105.26 YEN.
Suppose you decide that the US Dollar (USD) is overvalued against the YEN (JPY). To execute this strategy, you would sell Dollars (simultaneously buying YEN), and then wait for the exchange rate to rise.
So you make the trade: selling US $100,000 and purchasing 10,526,000 YEN. (Remember, at 1% margin, your initial margin deposit would be $1,000.)
As you expected, USD/JPY falls to 104.26/104.30, meaning you can now buy $1 US for $104.30 Japanese YEN or sell $1 US for 104.26
Since you're short dollars (and are long YEN), you must now buy dollars and sell back the YEN to realize any profit.
You buy US $100,000 at the current USD/JPY rate of 104.30, and receive 10,430,000 YEN. Since you originally bought(paid for) 10,526,000 YEN, your profit is 96,000 YEN.
To calculate your P&L in terms of US dollars, simply divide 96,000 by the current USD/JPY rate of 104.30.
Total profit = US $920.42
Omar Vargas is a freelance writer with articles published in a number of places. You can learn more about Forex trading and its great advantages over other kind of business at this useful website: http://www.1-forex.com
Courtesy of http://www.TradingPips.com
Etichete:
Courtesy of http://www.TradingPips.com
Day Trading Success- The Key Is Survival
Most new traders tend to focus just about all their time and energy on finding nearly perfect "setups", but trade setups, even very good ones, are *not* the key to successful trading. It's the *way* you trade your setups that keeps your losses smaller than your gains. And this is the single most essential key to trading success. To me, the process of limiting losses is more than just money management...it is survival.
I can't give you a list of mechanical survival rules that will take the place of experience and make you a successful trader overnight, but if you stick to the following principles in your trading, you'll be on track. You'll be doing just about the opposite of the crowd, and you'll eventually learn to limit your losses. Limiting your losses is the only way I know to make money in this business.
The following guidelines will sound radical, but they have guided me in making my living from trading for many years.
1. If a trade doesn't go your way within the first one to five minutes, get out. I usually get out within one or two minutes as soon as my perceived edge is gone.
2. If a trade goes against you in the first few seconds, begin drawing in your hard stop and/ or your target, trying to get out of the trade at break even.
3. Never let your hard stops get hit. When it happens, you may want to take a break and get some fresh air.
4. Hard stops are adjusted to market conditions. At the moment (July 6,2005) I am using 1.50 point hard stops on the SP futures.
5. Never move your hard stop away from your entry point, hoping that a bad trade will turn around.
6. If you find yourself *hoping* as you trade, it is a clear sign that you are not following good survival (money management) principles.
It will be impossible to put these principles together without a set of high-probability setups. Without good setups, trading is just aflip of the coin.
Mike Reed is author of TradeStalker's RBI Trader's Updates. He has been trading the Market for 23 years. When he got his start as a trader, Mike was plotting prices on paper tape as the internet had not yet been "born" as we know it today. Years of experience have really given him a feel for the Market action. His support and resistance numbers have been published on the internet since 1996. He has a wide readership that includes day traders, floor traders, locals and hedge fund managers. Mike's nightly support and resistance zones are specific and incredibly accurate. He offers an unlimited free trial of his nightly TradeStalker RBI Trader's Updates. http://www.TradeStalker.com
Courtesy of http://www.TradingPips.com
I can't give you a list of mechanical survival rules that will take the place of experience and make you a successful trader overnight, but if you stick to the following principles in your trading, you'll be on track. You'll be doing just about the opposite of the crowd, and you'll eventually learn to limit your losses. Limiting your losses is the only way I know to make money in this business.
The following guidelines will sound radical, but they have guided me in making my living from trading for many years.
1. If a trade doesn't go your way within the first one to five minutes, get out. I usually get out within one or two minutes as soon as my perceived edge is gone.
2. If a trade goes against you in the first few seconds, begin drawing in your hard stop and/ or your target, trying to get out of the trade at break even.
3. Never let your hard stops get hit. When it happens, you may want to take a break and get some fresh air.
4. Hard stops are adjusted to market conditions. At the moment (July 6,2005) I am using 1.50 point hard stops on the SP futures.
5. Never move your hard stop away from your entry point, hoping that a bad trade will turn around.
6. If you find yourself *hoping* as you trade, it is a clear sign that you are not following good survival (money management) principles.
It will be impossible to put these principles together without a set of high-probability setups. Without good setups, trading is just aflip of the coin.
Mike Reed is author of TradeStalker's RBI Trader's Updates. He has been trading the Market for 23 years. When he got his start as a trader, Mike was plotting prices on paper tape as the internet had not yet been "born" as we know it today. Years of experience have really given him a feel for the Market action. His support and resistance numbers have been published on the internet since 1996. He has a wide readership that includes day traders, floor traders, locals and hedge fund managers. Mike's nightly support and resistance zones are specific and incredibly accurate. He offers an unlimited free trial of his nightly TradeStalker RBI Trader's Updates. http://www.TradeStalker.com
Courtesy of http://www.TradingPips.com
Etichete:
Courtesy of http://www.TradingPips.com
Choosing A Forex Broker
With currency trading becoming ever more popular, the number of brokers is growing at a rapid rate. What should one look at when deciding which broker to open an account with? These are the important points to consider.
Spread
Because currencies, unlike futures and stocks, are not traded through a central exchange, the spread can be different depending on the broker you use, so it's well worth checking a few out before you open an account. Most forex brokers publish live or delayed prices on their websites so you can compare spreads, but check if the spread is fixed or variable. A fixed spread means exactly that - it will always be the same no matter what time of day or night it is. Some brokers use a variable spread, which might appear to be nice and small when the market is quiet, but when things get busy they can widen the spread which means the market must move more in your favor before you start to make a profit. Fixed spreads are generally slightly wider than the variable spreads are when at their narrowest, but over the long term fixed can be safer.
Execution
Some brokers will show live prices on their trading platform, but will they honor them when it comes to pushing the Buy or Sell button? The best way to find out is to open a demo account and give them a test drive. This will also give you the opportunity to see what the speed of execution is like - when you want to buy, you want to buy now, not sit around waiting for ten minutes whilst your order is confirmed!
Trading Platform
Good trading software will show live prices that you can actually trade at, not just indicative quotes. It will offer Limit and Stop orders, and ideally will let you attach these to your entry order. One-Cancels-Other orders are another useful feature - they mean you can set up your trade and then leave the software to get on with it. And the most important feature of all - can you actually understand the platform? Having all the bells and whistles is of no use if you can't use them, so again, get a demo account and give it a go.
Support
Forex is a 24 hour market, so your broker should offer 24 hour support. You might not be trading at 3am, but that could be what time it is in your brokers head office on the other side of the planet, so make sure there will be somebody there to pick up the phone if things go wrong. You should also check if you can close positions over the phone - essential in case your PC or internet connection crash at a critical moment.
Backing
Finally, before opening an account do a little homework and find out about the company. Forex brokers are regulated, but that doesn't mean they all have equal backing. If the market collapses, you want to know that they've got the reserves to cope with it and will still be around when you decide to withdraw your cash. If a broker is elusive when it comes to questions about their parentage and financial backing, then steer clear.
In Conclusion
Choosing a forex broker isn't difficult, but don't rush the decision. Check out a few, and always get a demo account first to make sure you're happy with the way everything works before sending off your opening balance.
About The Author
Geoff Turnbull is a full time day trader, and a contributor to http://www.forexheaven.com
Courtesy of http://www.TradingPips.com
Spread
Because currencies, unlike futures and stocks, are not traded through a central exchange, the spread can be different depending on the broker you use, so it's well worth checking a few out before you open an account. Most forex brokers publish live or delayed prices on their websites so you can compare spreads, but check if the spread is fixed or variable. A fixed spread means exactly that - it will always be the same no matter what time of day or night it is. Some brokers use a variable spread, which might appear to be nice and small when the market is quiet, but when things get busy they can widen the spread which means the market must move more in your favor before you start to make a profit. Fixed spreads are generally slightly wider than the variable spreads are when at their narrowest, but over the long term fixed can be safer.
Execution
Some brokers will show live prices on their trading platform, but will they honor them when it comes to pushing the Buy or Sell button? The best way to find out is to open a demo account and give them a test drive. This will also give you the opportunity to see what the speed of execution is like - when you want to buy, you want to buy now, not sit around waiting for ten minutes whilst your order is confirmed!
Trading Platform
Good trading software will show live prices that you can actually trade at, not just indicative quotes. It will offer Limit and Stop orders, and ideally will let you attach these to your entry order. One-Cancels-Other orders are another useful feature - they mean you can set up your trade and then leave the software to get on with it. And the most important feature of all - can you actually understand the platform? Having all the bells and whistles is of no use if you can't use them, so again, get a demo account and give it a go.
Support
Forex is a 24 hour market, so your broker should offer 24 hour support. You might not be trading at 3am, but that could be what time it is in your brokers head office on the other side of the planet, so make sure there will be somebody there to pick up the phone if things go wrong. You should also check if you can close positions over the phone - essential in case your PC or internet connection crash at a critical moment.
Backing
Finally, before opening an account do a little homework and find out about the company. Forex brokers are regulated, but that doesn't mean they all have equal backing. If the market collapses, you want to know that they've got the reserves to cope with it and will still be around when you decide to withdraw your cash. If a broker is elusive when it comes to questions about their parentage and financial backing, then steer clear.
In Conclusion
Choosing a forex broker isn't difficult, but don't rush the decision. Check out a few, and always get a demo account first to make sure you're happy with the way everything works before sending off your opening balance.
About The Author
Geoff Turnbull is a full time day trader, and a contributor to http://www.forexheaven.com
Courtesy of http://www.TradingPips.com
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5 Questions You Need To Have Answered Before You Back-Test Your Forex System
As 90-95% of new forex traders lose money within the first 3-6 months this article helps to guide new forex traders by asking 5 questions that the forex trader needs to know prior to back-testing their forex system.
Let us jump right in...
1. What data type are you using (or going to use)?
I know this sounds strange, especially if you have experience from another market such as stocks as their generally is only one type of data source available. However, in the forex market you can have up to 4 different data types: bid, ask, mid and indicative. Each have their own little nuances.
If you would like to know more about the data types then visit the article written about the perils of indicative prices. As this will save me from having to repeat the information again and boring those who've already read it.
So, if you know you have indicative prices then you know you're in for some good results! However, if you have any of the other three you need to be careful on how stop and limit orders are placed.
As an example: If we had bid price history and we were looking to place a buy entry stop at 0830 EST according to the day's high, then we know that the bid price will not accurately reflect what the actual price of our order should be. You would have noticed that if you placed a buy entry stop at the exact same price as that of the day's high you would have entered prematurely - you would have entered 4 or 5 pips before the high or the low of the day was touched (the exact same amount as the spread your broker offers!).
This leads me into the next most important question...
2. What spread is your broker offering on the currencies you are bask-testing?
You need to know this as this can help you set your slippage settings on each currency.
As our example in question 1 pointed out. We found that our buy at the day's high method did not exactly work because we bought at the BID PRICE high, not the ASK PRICE high - the price that we need when we place our order TO BUY.
Therefore, we enter in a slippage setting representing the spread that would be exhibited by this trade on this currency.
But knowing at what price to buy is only half the problem... how do we know what quantity to buy?
3. What margin does your broker offer?
If we know at what price to buy our currency at we need to inform our broker on what quantity to buy to fulfill the order. We only know what quantity to buy by the margin that the brokerage firm offers.
Most brokerage firms offer 100:1 leverage, however, some firms offer mini accounts with 200:1 leverage, others only 50:1 leverage.
Find out the margin required.
4. What restrictions does your broker impose?
Now, I don't just mean margin and spread restrictions as I have mentioned above. These are important in their own right, what you need to find out are the details.
This is probably the most important question of all as the fine line between success and failure can be found in the details. Now you can have this questioned by one of two ways:1. You can find out through experience (generally the most expensive way unless done through the demo account!); or2. You ask your broker (the cheapest and best way).
Why is this so important? I hear you ask. Well let's say you have a system that trades any gaps that might form on Sunday at 1700 EST, but your broker does not open until 1730 EST. You either need to factor this restriction in to your system, or move onto another system completely. Or, you may have a system that has 10 pip stops, but you find out that your broker will only let you place 15 pip stops from your initial entry price. Once again you will need to change your system to see whether it still performs well, or throw out your system (or change your broker)!
In fact one of the most devastating restrictions imposed by FXCM is that they do not accept stop entry orders if price never happens to trade at your entry stop price! FXCM will honor and "take the loss" of your OPEN stop positions, but if the liquidity is not there and price has shot straight through your stop price then you will miss out. This can have disastrous effects on your system results as you are left wondering on trades where you made good returns - "Would FXCM have got me in?". You may want to read of some of the quirks I use when placing entry stop orders on FXCM that could be of huge benefit to you to help you possibly get around this problem.
The restrictions by your broker are only half your systems' success, you also need to find out about another more important restriction... yourself. This leads me to the final point...
5. What restrictions do you have?
This is a vitally important question. Most people test their systems and fall in love with the results but find when they trade their system they have lost their account and that most of the best signals occurred while they were sound asleep!
As the forex market is a 24 hour market, you need to put into place restrictions in your system that will be realisticly conducted by you during the course of a normal trading day. There is no use operating a trailing stop method that changes your stop points during times when you are asleep and cannot possibly do so.
I hope this article has made you aware of some of the important things that need to be known prior to testing your system.
Article written by Ryan Sheehy from Currency Secrets.com. Where you will find reviews on forex data vendors, signal providers, brokers, and popular forex resources, along with more quality articles... all for f*ree!
http://www.TradingPips.com
Let us jump right in...
1. What data type are you using (or going to use)?
I know this sounds strange, especially if you have experience from another market such as stocks as their generally is only one type of data source available. However, in the forex market you can have up to 4 different data types: bid, ask, mid and indicative. Each have their own little nuances.
If you would like to know more about the data types then visit the article written about the perils of indicative prices. As this will save me from having to repeat the information again and boring those who've already read it.
So, if you know you have indicative prices then you know you're in for some good results! However, if you have any of the other three you need to be careful on how stop and limit orders are placed.
As an example: If we had bid price history and we were looking to place a buy entry stop at 0830 EST according to the day's high, then we know that the bid price will not accurately reflect what the actual price of our order should be. You would have noticed that if you placed a buy entry stop at the exact same price as that of the day's high you would have entered prematurely - you would have entered 4 or 5 pips before the high or the low of the day was touched (the exact same amount as the spread your broker offers!).
This leads me into the next most important question...
2. What spread is your broker offering on the currencies you are bask-testing?
You need to know this as this can help you set your slippage settings on each currency.
As our example in question 1 pointed out. We found that our buy at the day's high method did not exactly work because we bought at the BID PRICE high, not the ASK PRICE high - the price that we need when we place our order TO BUY.
Therefore, we enter in a slippage setting representing the spread that would be exhibited by this trade on this currency.
But knowing at what price to buy is only half the problem... how do we know what quantity to buy?
3. What margin does your broker offer?
If we know at what price to buy our currency at we need to inform our broker on what quantity to buy to fulfill the order. We only know what quantity to buy by the margin that the brokerage firm offers.
Most brokerage firms offer 100:1 leverage, however, some firms offer mini accounts with 200:1 leverage, others only 50:1 leverage.
Find out the margin required.
4. What restrictions does your broker impose?
Now, I don't just mean margin and spread restrictions as I have mentioned above. These are important in their own right, what you need to find out are the details.
This is probably the most important question of all as the fine line between success and failure can be found in the details. Now you can have this questioned by one of two ways:1. You can find out through experience (generally the most expensive way unless done through the demo account!); or2. You ask your broker (the cheapest and best way).
Why is this so important? I hear you ask. Well let's say you have a system that trades any gaps that might form on Sunday at 1700 EST, but your broker does not open until 1730 EST. You either need to factor this restriction in to your system, or move onto another system completely. Or, you may have a system that has 10 pip stops, but you find out that your broker will only let you place 15 pip stops from your initial entry price. Once again you will need to change your system to see whether it still performs well, or throw out your system (or change your broker)!
In fact one of the most devastating restrictions imposed by FXCM is that they do not accept stop entry orders if price never happens to trade at your entry stop price! FXCM will honor and "take the loss" of your OPEN stop positions, but if the liquidity is not there and price has shot straight through your stop price then you will miss out. This can have disastrous effects on your system results as you are left wondering on trades where you made good returns - "Would FXCM have got me in?". You may want to read of some of the quirks I use when placing entry stop orders on FXCM that could be of huge benefit to you to help you possibly get around this problem.
The restrictions by your broker are only half your systems' success, you also need to find out about another more important restriction... yourself. This leads me to the final point...
5. What restrictions do you have?
This is a vitally important question. Most people test their systems and fall in love with the results but find when they trade their system they have lost their account and that most of the best signals occurred while they were sound asleep!
As the forex market is a 24 hour market, you need to put into place restrictions in your system that will be realisticly conducted by you during the course of a normal trading day. There is no use operating a trailing stop method that changes your stop points during times when you are asleep and cannot possibly do so.
I hope this article has made you aware of some of the important things that need to be known prior to testing your system.
Article written by Ryan Sheehy from Currency Secrets.com. Where you will find reviews on forex data vendors, signal providers, brokers, and popular forex resources, along with more quality articles... all for f*ree!
http://www.TradingPips.com
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