Stock Index trading is when you trade a basket of stocks which make up an index , but you go through one of the instruments like Nasdaq, Ftsee100, S&P500, Dow Jones, Dax and many others to trade it. Stock Index trading is different from Stock Trading. In Stock Trading you are trading stocks of specific companies, and each company has its own price. Once you’ve purchased stock, you then own the stock and it has to be transferred to you by the seller. Stock trading also requires you to do lots of research about companies where you want to buy their stocks.
How to trade Stock Indices?
Trading in the Forex markets is not only about currencies. There are various financial instruments that can be traded (you may require a bigger capital to do so). Maybe up to now you thought trading stocks is not for you, you are a Forex trader. The opportunity for Stock Index trading is presented right in front of you, you see it every day when you log in to your trading platform. If you are like me and you have taken trading financial markets as an investment, you might want to diversify your portfolio by introducing Stock Index trading to your daily activities, instead of focusing on currencies only. Let me start by identifying some of the few stock indices that you can check out.
INSTRUMENT
CATEGORY
Dow jones/USA30
Industrial
Nasdaq/USA100
Technology
Ftse100/UK100
Comprises of 100 companies on London Stock Exchange (Vodafone is one of the companies listed)
S&P500
Comprises of highly market public held companies. Amazon is one of them.
Dax/Ger30
Represents 30 largest and most liquid German companies that trade on the Frankfurt Exchange
Advantages of trading a Stock Index
Stock indices have generally higher returns than the stock market they represent.
The volatility is reduced when compared to currencies.
Stock index trading requires less research as opposed to trading /investing in individual stocks.
When trading a stock index e.g. FTSE 100, you do not have to spend weeks analyzing all 100 companies under this umbrella but all you can do is just follow FTSE 100 index as you would do analyzing your currencies.
Stock index trading does not require any traditional stock brokerage where you pay high fees, you can buy and sell on the same Mt4 trading platform as you would do with your currencies and it is a much cheaper way.
How to trade FTSE 100
You will have to know what is happening in the markets as far as the economic calendar is concerned in order to succeed in this. A few points to consider when trading FTSE 100 is the release of Interest Rates announcements, UK manufacturing numbers, GDP (gross domestic products) figures, housing figures and Inflation data.
All the above are key to trading FTSE 100 successfully. This index tends to imitate the European markets as it trades during the same time frame as European markets. As I always say “we are eating this elephant one piece at a time.”
Ask anyone in any field, they will tell you that without patience and perseverance , you can never go anywhere (we cannot do anything without it). Whether you want to lose weight, eat clean, start a new business, or even being a parent requires a lot of patience. Being patient means we have to learn to be calm, even when things aren’t going our way. As hard as it is to exercise patience, it is one skill that everyone must possess, especially in this field of trading in the Financial markets.
When I look back at what I’ve been through in my trading journey, there were times when I really felt like giving up but I am glad I didn’t. A trader who lacks patience will always donate his/her money back to the Markets. Newbies to the markets do not really like to hear the word patience, all they want to do is to place that trade and make their profits. Professional traders do not trade every hour of every day and as a trader, you need to develop different types of patience for different situations.
1.Patience to wait for your perfect setup
Most traders fail even with the best strategies. They fail because they are not patient enough to wait for that perfect setup. If you always trade when in a rush and never plan for your trading sessions, you are only headed for disaster. Every business has a structure, I fail to understand why traders think it is OK to just trade without a proper plan or structure. If you want to be successful in this field, you need to learn how to plan and follow through with your own trading plan.
2.Patience to let your trade run for a bit longer
There are traders who are very patient to let a losing trade run for a few days while it depletes their free margin, but they fail to let a winning trade run till it reaches it’s targeted profit. All the above applies with every method of trading. In my method of trading planning is everything. I teach my mentees to be good planners and never to be random in the markets. Every business has some sort of structure and forex trading is no different. This was the shortest post I’ve ever written but hopefully you have gained something. I have just done my weekly trading plan and I am ready to face a new week with new possibilities and opportunities.
Thank you for stopping by. Please kindly share this post with your peers. To receive notifications on your email whenever I publish a new blog post, you can subscribe to the blog. You can also download my App on Google Playstore and have this content at your fingertips. Earlier today, I published a new episode on my Podcast titled ”Trading for a living, is that even possible?”. Till next time, cheers.
Addiction is a condition of being addicted to a particular substance or activity. In this instance we are referring to Forex trading as an activity. It is also very true that Forex trading can be easily turned into some serious gambling if a trader gets addicted to it. I have also seen that a person who has a gambling problem finds it challenging to succeed in Forex trading because gambling is all about crossing your fingers and just hoping for the best.
A person who gambles in casinos sees a slot machine whenever they look at charts and they get that adrenalin rush. Until they work on their gambling problem and overcome it, it is only then that they can see progress in their trading as well. I have had a few experiences with mentees who had a gambling problem that they had to overcome in order to start seeing great results in their trading. They all had similar challenges. This is not a fact, but just something that I have observed.
How Do You Know That You May Be Addicted To Forex Trading?
At some point in my life, I was also really addicted to Forex trading. I will list a few of my then issues and also most of them are the issues that most people struggle with. I will also share tips on how to overcome them. We know that addiction can cause unproductivity, break families, friendships or even ruin businesses and lead to debt. Forex trading addiction is NO different, it can do the same. Below are the most experienced issues.
You are constantly feeling like you might miss out on an opportunity if you take your eyes off your platform and therefore you stay glued to it the whole day. You treat your trading platform as a hang out spot.
You set your daily targets, but you can’t seem to stop even when you’ve made 5 times more, as a result, you always give all the daily profits back to the markets at the end of each trading day.
Every time you can’t sleep for whatever reason, you always go straight to your platform in the middle of the night to trade.
You are always checking out Forex forums or social media groups just to see what other people are trading and you follow everyone’s trades and disregard your own trading plan (if at all you have one).
You get super excited whenever you see anything with the word “Forex” in it and the word “strategy” excites you even more. You are always hunting for the new strategy. I went through all the above mentioned.
What Can You Do To Overcome it?
1.UNLEARN some of the things that you believe about Forex trading. You may be finding it easier to be addicted to it if you still believe that the more you trade, the more you make money.
2. Find something else to spend your free time on, get productive.
3. If you think that Forex forums/groups are contributing to your addiction, remove yourself so you can focus on your healing.
4. Avoid subscribing to every website that sends you daily signals, it can be really confusing and overwhelming.
5. Make up your mind and want the change, you have to want to change. You can do it, I know you can. I DID.
I hope these tips help. Thank you for stopping by. Kindly help me reach out to more people by sharing this post. Thank you and please take care of yourselves and stay safe.
Hello readers & subscribers. If you recently subscribed to this blog, you’ve probably noticed that you haven’t received any new weekly publications (2020 has been hectic & overwhelming). If you just stumbled upon this blog, welcome, please do subscribe. The year 2020 has been rough for most of us. I know that in the beginning of each year, most of us have our plans drafted and how we would like to start a new year, we have our goals and we are usually looking forward to a new year. 2020 was no different, we had plans and goals. Some of the goals were reached and some weren’t. Some of the plans had to be halted or adjusted. A lot of people lost their lives, their job, businesses and livelihoods. There’s still a lot to be grateful for though. Having an opportunity to read this post, calls for gratitude just for being alive.
Desperation Left So Many People Vulnerable
There’s been a lot of financial uncertainties due to the struggling economies. A lot of people started to look for alternative ways to make money. Forex trading became one of those alternative ways. Most people started to hunt for online investment opportunities. Scammers have been having a “feast” with more people getting vulnerable for the fear of losing their businesses or jobs. It is unfortunate that even those who lost their jobs had to lose all their life savings from joining all these Forex “investments” scam companies that promised them higher returns with zero efforts. I must say that the FSCA has been doing a great job in investigating and shutting these companies down. Unfortunately, the losses may never be recovered. I also published a blogpost warning potential investors about Forex scams being on the rise since the Covid-19 pandemic. You may also like to learn how to verify any financial service provider, if they are authorized to offer investments packages to the public, check that information HERE, for the safety of of your funds.
Thank You, Thank You, Thank You
From the bottom of my heart, I thank you for reading my posts, I thank you for subscribing, I thank you for sharing my work, I thank you for downloading my App, I thank you for listening and following my Podcast and I thank you for enrolling for my private lessons, mentorship & coaching. (WhatsApp +27 78 144 6851 for available special offers on private lessons, learning how to trade for yourself is the best option). The plan was to publish at least 50 articles in 2020, I only managed to publish 31 articles. I am grateful for being able to do that under these circumstances.
Take Care
Please take care of yourselves, stay safe and wear your mask. I wish you a happy and a prosperous new year, not forgetting good health. May all your 2021 plans and dreams come to fruition. Let’s cross over safely and continue to dream and dream big. Remember, you are BLESSED & UNSTOPABLE. Cheers, till we meet again in 2021.
Today’s article was triggered by a study that I recently conducted among my followers, but mostly my mentees. I know that the study was not done among thousands of traders. This is not a conclusion or a fact, but rather what I have observed as an individual.
Why is there a few of us (female trader
As the years progressed, I have seen an increase in numbers of women who are interested in learning more about the financial markets. It excites me, this has been a zone filled with men for such a long time and a very lonely one for us (women). As a female trader myself, I still come across people who think I cannot excel in this simply because I am a woman. Some people will even go as far as saying things like “We thought you were just blogging and there’s a man behind all this great work that you do”. In short, I still get undermined by men in this field and also by fellow women. This post is not about putting men or women in a certain box on how they should behave or how they act. It is also not about who does it better between men and women in trading. This is just my observation (I just got tempted to use my favorite word “Nje”). This is just my own observations.
What I have noticed about male traders
My mentees are so gonna kill me. I might as well just hide after this post. But again, they know how much I love them and how I am always straight forward with them.
Most of them were a bit skeptical in the beginning just before they enrolled for my private lessons. The fact that I am a woman is still an issue for some (not all of them though)
When they finally enroll for my private lessons & mentorship, there’s something that they mostly struggle with. They hate to admit when they are wrong and therefore take longer to realize that they are actually in a bad trade and they need to do something about it. They love being right or correct all the time.
They are likely to ignore my teachings and just do their own thing. This is simply because men are not like us. We like to hide stuff from our friends for the fear of being talked about. We love to keep to ourselves and never share everything with our friends. Most men are likely to share with their homeboys and play around with different strategies and take tips from friends (which usually ends in huge losses). They can hardly focus on one strategy.
They mostly have that urge to want to trade even when there aren’t really any trading opportunities
Just like most guys love speedy cars, most of them do love speedy profits as well. Higher lot sizes that cannot be handled by their accounts are their biggest challenge. They are mostly chasing quick results and sometimes I may appear too conservative for their liking. They have a general lack of patience (not all of them)
They struggle to communicate effectively with their mentor (me) and they are mostly too shy to cry out for help.
They prefer to sit in their corner and drown in losses instead of asking for help. Mostly, I only find out when the mess is too big that they actually messed up. That is one thing that delays their progress. Slowly, but surely, they are coming to the “party” and as a mentor I think I am winning.
Their bravery can sometimes be their demise.
What I have observed about us (female traders)
There’s something about us and patience. We can be extremely patient and understand that things may take longer to materialize. When women enroll for my private lessons, they mostly speak the same language. They talk about how they are willing to nurture their accounts and grow them from strength to strength. They also do love the fact that I won’t teach them to trade the whole day and night. They love the fact that they’ll still be able to take care of their families, go to work and pursue their other interests while trading the financial markets. You know what I love the most about women traders? We are not interested in letting all our friends know what we are up to. That is one thing that we do best. Some of us learned the hard way and decided never to announce our plans to our friends. Here are some of the things that I have observed about most female traders.
They usually do not believe that they can actually be the best
They question and undermine their own intelligence a lot
They are too careful and it makes them to doubt their decisions for the fear of losing money. They cannot separate being careful and being too scared.
They are likely to move slower than they should. They feel more than they do. But they are likely to be more sustainable than male traders.
They are likely to stick to my teachings because no one in their circle really knows that they are also trading, therefore they hardly join trading groups or take tips from outside sources. They do not have that kind of pressure that men are mostly exposed to. That on its own has contributed to their success rate and how they manage to keep it real.
They do not have that urge to trade every hour (well, most of them)
They are likely to keep the profits because it is in our nature to care and nurture anything
They are not about doubling accounts every second day, they are more about growth month after month.
I almost forgot to tell you about these women under my mentorship, I have found sisters in them. We share more than what actually brought us together. It is also the case with the guys, we have that brotherly/sisterly relationship and great friendships. OK, back to my wishes now.
If I could cut and paste
My wish is for male traders to think like men, be more patient and trade like women. My wish for female traders is for them to have a little dose of bravery (not all of it, just a little) have more confidence and trade like women. Did I just say female traders are better traders than male traders? YOH! I don’t know. What do you think? Remember these were just my own observations from my group of traders. What’s your thought? I would like to hear, kindly leave a comment. I thought I should just pop in and have a long chat with you, nothing serious but just a chat on what I have observed. This post is not for education purposes, it was just a chat. Also note that not all men or women are as described. Maybe, just maybe learning from a women will make a difference. Thank you for stopping by.
I recently started a podcast not only because I love talking (Of course I love talking, I really do) but because I thought it will also be another great and awesome way to share my message and also to put the voice behind all this writing that I’ve been doing here. As a teacher/mentor & coach, I have learned through my mentees that some people get the message better through listening than reading. Check it out HERE. You can also download the App where I post weekly tips on trading psychology and also to have this blog right at your fingertips.
Hello, welcome back. I hope you are still keeping well and safe during these times, I am also just trying my best to stay alive. In S.A we just moved to alert level 1 of lockdown and our economy is slowly reopening, we are only praying and hoping for the best. OK, I have been answering this question about whether Forex trading is something worth trying or not.
Why Did I Start This Blog?
The aim of this blog is to provide practical and realistic tips and content that can be used by anyone. I am not here to give any form of financial or investment advise. I am basically just listening to the public’s frequently asked questions and answer through these articles. A few weeks ago, I published a blog post addressing the issue of untrustworthy Forex investments and that was after my email and social media were flooded with people asking me a lot regarding these investments. Most people were actually crying.
Why This Topic?
Since lockdown started, most people found themselves working from home and some people actually lost their jobs. There’s been a lot of uncertainty since Covid-19. Most people are constantly looking for alternative ways of making an income. Because of the current situation with Covid-19, the online world has really become an obvious option. Let me try to answer this question in a practical and a realistic manner like I always try to do.
You’ve been thinking about venturing into Forex trading lately. You hear your friends or your colleagues talking about trading and telling you how you can make a lot of money working from home, there’s a lot being said about the unemployment rate and folks on social media are also out there telling you how you can fire your boss in six months etc. You read about it on social media, you see it everywhere, you join every group of Forex traders on Facebook, and you even get those overwhelming inboxes from people who stay overseas (you know those people who are inboxing you daily and they want to turn you into a millionaire, they inbox me too because they never bother to check the profiles, all they want is to get to their next victim’s pockets) You are now thinking that you can actually be a millionaire by next year if you can start as soon as possible, WAIT!!! Let me give you a lesson or two on this subject and then you can decide.
Can Someone Really Make A Million Trading Forex?
Yes, definitely, there’s no lie there, but it won’t just happen though. There’s a process, some learning and investing money that should happen before you get there. Your earning potential is also highly linked to your start up capital. You can ask me all about it via WhatsApp (see the WhatsApp feature at the bottom of this post and chat with me)
Who Can Trade Forex?
Whether you have a full-time job, you’re a business owner, a student, a stay at home mom with no degree, whether you are male or female, you can. The flexibility of financial markets will meet your needs allowing you to trade at the set time that suits you as an individual since the markets are open for 24 hours/5 days a week. The age has caught up with the markets and trading has now shifted from the floor to the computer network which makes it easier for anyone to participate. It is a skill that anyone can learn with absolutely no need for any financial or economics background.
Who Should Stay Away From The Markets?
We all know that nothing is ever suitable for everyone, that’s not how the world works. A person who is looking for a quick buck without putting in any effort should deal with that first before venturing into Forex trading. A person who refuses to work on themselves and is always looking for things or people to blame whenever things don’t go right. A person who has a serious gambling problem. All the above mentioned are the things that can be changed though with the help of a good mentor & coach (that’s what I deal with sometimes) As long as you are willing to unlearn these habits and be coachable, you can get through such issues and start your trading career. I have helped a lot to overcome such issues.
Is There Any Risk Involved?
Of course, a big YES, there is a risk in trading just like risk is everywhere, but as with every other business, risk should always be calculated, and definitely it can be. That is why one needs to invest in education and acquire proper knowledge before investing some money. With proper money management skills, risk can be calculated. I recently published a blog post on this subject, you can check it out HERE. We cannot control the markets, but we can definitely control ourselves. The past few years of being in the markets have taught me that failure is mostly as a result of lack of self control and greed. For that reason, my coaching focuses more on trading psychology. I believe that if we can manage ourselves, we can manage our money.
Conclusion
Yes, Forex trading is worth trying as long as you can get education, mentorship & coaching. I hope this helps. Thank you for stopping by. Please kindly share this post with anyone that you think might need this content. For private lessons, mentorship & coaching, you can check HERE and grab your 20% OFF special for my last training sessions of 2020. Please stay safe and know that we are supported and there’s life after Covid. Keep the faith. You can also download our mobile App on Google Playstore so that you don’t miss out on weekly tips on trading psychology.
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