Risk Management

Trading foreign currencies is a challenging and potentially profitable opportunity for educated and experienced investors. However, before deciding to participate in the Forex market, you should carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience and risk appetite. Most importantly, do not invest money you cannot afford to lose.

The Forex Market is the largest and most liquid financial market in the world. Since macroeconomic forces are one of the main drivers of the value of currencies in the global economy, currencies tend to have the most identifiable trend patterns. Therefore, in our opinion, the Forex market is a very attractive market for active traders, and presumably where they should be more successful.

The most enticing aspect of trading Forex is the high degree of leverage used. Leverage seems very attractive to those who are expecting to turn small amounts of money into large amounts in a short period of time. For example, if your account value is $1,000 and you place a trade for 1 lot ($100,000), you are in effect, leveraging yourself 100 to 1, which is a very significant level of leverage. Most traders analyze the charts correctly and place sensible trades, yet they tend to over leverage themselves (get in with a position that is too big for their portfolio), and as a consequence, often end up forced to exit a position at the wrong time. Most professional money managers will leverage no more then 3 or 4 times. Trading in small increments with protective stops on your positions will allow one the opportunity to be successful in Forex trading.

Many traders come with false expectations of the profit potential, and lack the discipline required for trading. Short term trading is not an amateur's game and is not the way most people will achieve quick riches. Simply because Forex trading may seem exotic or less familiar then traditional markets (i.e. equities , futures , etc.), it does not mean that the rules of finance and simple logic are suspended. One cannot hope to make extraordinary gains without extraordinary risks, and that means suffering inconsistent trading performance that often leads to large losses. Trading currencies is not easy, and many traders with years of experience still incur losses on a periodic basis. One must realize that trading takes time to master and there are absolutely no short cuts to this process. We have developed a formal training program known as Currency College. Its goal is to assist individuals, corporations and investment firms understand how to become more successful in the Forex market. It aims to help all investors, regardless of trading experience, from a beginning level investor to a more active trader, better understand the basic principles and install discipline to become a more skilled trader.

Most investors should embrace the advantages of investment portfolio diversification and returns potential associated with the Forex market. If you feel that executing trades on your own is the best option for you, open a demo account and start trading virtual money today. If you feel that due to time restraint, limitation of experience, knowledge or you feel that trading your own account is not a good match for your personality, then a professionally managed account option might be the right choice for you.