Unless you take unnecessary risks, overtrade, and behave very naughtily with your account, then there is no reason why you could not make steady profits… You cannot expect the SAME AMOUNT every month, so that 5% may be the average over a year… Some months you may make less… or more, depending on circumstances. Also, if you trade on automated systems, you may be less able to intervene if the market environment changes, or, if you trade part-time (because you have a job that has nothing to do with Forex trading), it may be that some days you just have to give trading a miss… Also, take into account holidays etc. and times where you are not able to trade or monitor existing trades. So do not get too stuck on a fixed number, which does not mean that you should not have a plan, but it is better to close each day in the money than not, and if that means earning less per day because it is safer and more consistent, than screw the 5% and play safe. At the end of the day, we all know that it is always the tortoise who wins long distance races, rather than the hare. . . BUT if you are on to a winner, scale in your positions accordingly, and enhance your wins, with the appropriate safeguards (stops)… Going over your target, for a good reason, is not always a sign of recklessness. Opportunism must have a place in a trader’s plan… be flexible, see what is in front of you, do not be a sucker to rules for the sake of rules. Having better wins on a high-volume, high-volatility day, if the trend is certain, is not gambling but sharing in the feast with the million other traders… That the 5% target has been breached means nothing, if you know your risk and you can afford to aim higher at any one time.
And remember that I am just new to this game, so I am just saying these things because I have probably not been burnt yet
But seriously, just go out there and try your methods, strategies, systems, whatever you have, and see what you can make every day, then review it after the first month, then after two months, and so on… Draw your own conclusions and then come back with what YOU think is the best average target, YoY and MoM (Year on Year, Month on Month), according to your risk tolerance, account size, time spent trading, and trading style.
GOOD LUCK…
Trust Your Instincts, and…
Happy Trading!