Hi
I’ve been informally dabbling in forex for a while now, finding my way around with small money trades, and hoovering up knowledge and (hopefully) some wisdom. I’m just about ready to start focusing on it more seriously, and start developing and testing my trading approach more formally.
I think I’ve just about got my arms around the basic principals and developed a learning approach to navigate this very noisy world! As for other fields I’ve developed expertise in, I’m sticking with the principal of mostly (1) focusing on time tested and proven knowledge, versus trying to separate the (mostly IMO) chaff from the wheat that the internet churns out on a daily basis, and (2) learning from a few key others who (genuinely) share that principal (amongst other things…). This area more than most seems filled with charlatans and lofty but mostly hollow claims!
My first career was in risk management, which has left me with a very risk centric world view (Taleb/Tetlock were key influences in different ways around risk and forecasting), and now I’m working towards a PhD in psychology and tech, so on a daily basis I’m focused on cognition, behaviour, biases, decision making etc. I’m hoping both these will help me in building and executing a sustainable, risk centric, trading plan. I’m also a long term meditator, which will hopefully help me keep disciplined and navigate the emotional rollercoaster of trading!
Although this feels like a good base of experiences and skills to start with, I’m aware that the process of building expertise and judgement in this new context will take some time, and require consistent application - and lots of getting stuff wrong! And, of course, no guarantees… time will tell if I have the character and aptitude for trading forex.
I’ve got about 3 years of my PhD left, so I’m just looking to see, whilst I have a bit more freedom over my time, if forex is a good fit for me (and me for it) that could give me another option when I start thinking about what I want to do after my PhD.
I’m lucky enough to have a good capital base for when I’m ready to start seriously, so the temptation to chase big returns is reduced. Average of a few percent a month, with carefully managed risk, would be a good outcome. Although I don’t expect to start ‘seriously’ for another 6 to 12 months. In the meantime, it’s going to be demo accounts and small money trades to develop and test my plan, and lots of study of course!
I’m grateful for this community, which has been very useful in starting to understand the world of forex, and of course, the school which has given an excellent structured overview to ground my learning.