Please don’t confuse this as a rant but its really something that’s just been nagging at me since starting my quest for knowledge with Forex trading.
Since starting my curiosity journey with Forex over 2 weeks ago I have been looking high and low for information and general feedback of experiences from traders all over the internet generally from trusted sources from people learning the ropes and professionals. One thing I seem to come across a lot is generally peoples lack of success regardless of their experience or professional handle on it. I understand there is risks and there is no time for slackers but it just strikes me from a common sense standpoint after reading many many MANY endless Forex experience stories from both pro’s and newbies, the experiences for the most part seem to go along the lines of something like this: “I made a bit of money then lost it all” or “I have been trading for many years and have hardly made much”. ?!?!?!??!?!!?
I know this is far from easy but I really wasn’t expecting to read 1 mildly successful story for every 500 failed Forex trader stories. Am I missing something here? I am confused. Its almost like everyone or 99.9% are most of us jumping into a pool with no water in it regardless of how much of a good or bad swimmer we are and expecting the outcome to be good? just an analogy that springs to mind. I am not expecting some sort of “you gotta work at it!” enlightenment speech but I just am going by what I have seen so far and am beginning to wonder if this is worth it in any way shape or form regardless of how much work one puts into it. There must be some success to be found if the whole forex industry stays afloat as there would simply be nobody invested in it if NOBODY whatsoever ever won I get there is a lot of fails with trading this but THIS MANY???
Thx all. Again this wasn’t a rant but something I needed to shed light on.
Hi Deaftoned.
The situation is almost as bad as it appears to you.
There is a research-based thread on BP (by Rhodytrader I think) which points towards a failure rate pushing 90%. The apparent reasons for this include;
Insufficient knowledge of forex
Lack of due diligence in chosing brokers
Insufficient funding
Greed, emanating in many ways including overtrading, ignoring risk, signing up to any scam that promises easy or guaranteed profits.
Here on BP the figure of failures may also be slightly skewed due to the high proportion of first time traders, this is a beginners forum after all.
There are a number of successful traders here, some full time and some part time. Most will admit that it took them years to eventually become consistently profitable.
It can be done, it just needs more patience and work than most people are prepared to put in.
You won’t find the internet awash with soft, cuddly success stories because they’re as rare as rocking horse sh1t. Those who are earning their corn at this game on a regular basis don’t have the time or inclination to frequent public forums.
Considering the vast majority don’t gain their stripes via this route to begin with, why all of a sudden would you expect a plethora of them to rock up & begin educating the masses or boasting of their achievements?
Private (& internal) chatrooms is where the professional community occasionally hang out to share & swap info. There’s no educational content in there, just work related exchanges & general chit chat.
The odds are high & the reality is, you’re not going to make any money playing this game.
If you’re seeking a reasonably exciting hobby then you could do worse, but forget earning your living from it unless you’re razor sharp between the ears & extremely lucky to be in the right place at the right time rubbing shoulders with the right individual(s)…& if you don’t get funded you’ll need very deep pockets just to begin cutting a groove.
There must be some success to be found if the whole forex industry stays afloat as there would simply be nobody invested in it if NOBODY whatsoever ever won I get there is a lot of fails with trading this but THIS MANY???
First off, everybody’s definition of success is different. What’s your definition? And I mean, be exact. How much money would you consider having made success? Or how about in % 's?
I’ll tell you what mine is. The day I can do this full time, support my lifestyle the way I have been for such a long time, is the day I have made it. I will consider myself successful. Entering a self sufficient way of life without any employer is my ultimate goal. Ok, then, after that it would stretch to where I am not worried about money anymore. I would not have to worry if I wanted to buy something big, like another car.
In any case, you have to remember that this enterprise consists of really big players, big money. I’m talking globally here. Look, the central bankers have to be contended with.
So, how hard do you think it will be for the little guy to come on in here and start taking their money???
They can take a loss of a few million dollars and not even bat an eye to that.
All I’m saying is, look at what this really is. Big players, big money, huge unpredictable swings, winners and losers in the long run.
And all I want…is a business to keep afloat, enjoying life my way, as the boss.
I agree with James (RISKonFX) regarding the capital needed to support yourself trading full-time.
As a rule of thumb, in order to live off your trading profits, while continuing to grow your trading account at a reasonable rate, you will need trading capital that is between 25 and 150 times the amount of your monthly withdrawals, depending on the ROI (profitability) you are able to achieve in your trading account on a consistent, long-term basis.
Here’s a POST showing the derivation of those numbers.