I started trading mid-cap UK shares (mainly FTSE250) just over a year ago and have had a decent return of just over 30% in the first year operating a buy and hold growth strategy based on fundamental analysis.
I got interested in Forex as for the last few months I’ve been researching intraday trading, and would one day like to become a full time trader. I’m aware this is a long way off but am content to be on the road towards it and am reading lots of books on the subject which is typically how I learn new skills. My investing in shares really became profitable after attending a training course on the subject which I felt complimented what I learnt from the books that I read and really kickstarted my investing success and moved me to being constantly profitable.
I want to try to apply this kind of learning to my forex studies and my question is, when school / college leavers or anyone else starts their journey to becoming a professional trader, what training do they receive? Is there a qualification or the like that they study towards or some other type of diploma? There are so many training providers out there but I’m looking for something a bit more on the professional side than the ‘earn £10k per month trading forex’ charlatan providers . I’d also like to find a mentor but am not really sure where to Start with this.
There are recognized qualifications if you desire to become a professional trader. Look to Investopedia, they have listings of industry recognized qualifications. These are not expensive but will need to be in addition to a few years screen time/ trading. Unfortunately, in recent years many talented CFD traders have chosen to cross over to FX. So opportunities will be few and far between. I would suggest trying to get on a Summer intern placement with any sizeable floor trader if you can.
Thanks Carter - it’s not so much I want to be a professional trader in as much as working for a big firm, more I want to acquire the skills of a professional trader to work for myself.
I think getting an internship at my age would be difficult but have been looking at the IMC today as an entry level qualification. Does anyone have any experience if this? I’d also love to find a mentor to bounce ideas off and discuss my strategy to take me to the place where I could trade full time.
I’m reading quite a bit and trying to teach myself a lot but feel I’m at a stage where I need to add something else to aid my development. This is kind of where I was with investing until I attended a very good course which helped it all fall into place. I’d like something like that to help facilitate the next move forward in my understanding of forex.
Based on how you traded stocks, (buy &hold) you probably want to look at swing and position trading. Check out Show me the money (Swing trading) threads as well search Utube for forex swing trading basics and strategies. Im assuming you know the basics, if not before you do anything go through pips school
[QUOTE=“gp00053;506500”]Based on how you traded stocks, (buy &hold) you probably want to look at swing and position trading. Check out Show me the money (Swing trading) threads as well search Utube for forex swing trading basics and strategies. Im assuming you know the basics, if not before you do anything go through pips school[/QUOTE]
Thanks GP, I’m actually looking to trade in a different way to how I invested in stocks. My preference is to move to daytrading and prefer to use the 15m as an entry window. I’ve looked at using the 4hr but found it too slow for me psychologically. I’ve also completed PIp school.
I, I am a professional trader. The only qualification firm or prop trading firm will consider, it’s result. You need to trade with constancy for a certain period of time, they need to see you are using your stop loss and your drawdown never get to low. Qualification on paper, doesn’t mean you are a good trader, it means you have the theorical side of it, the grow a account and trade whith constancy for a good period of time, will determine if you are a good trader or not. Book and ebook are ok, but they are static and the market is dynamic. Video approach of learning is a lot better to undersatnd trading. You can visualize what happen before, during and after the move with a lot more detail. A professional trader you can mentor you is one of the best investment you can do. Be sure he make a living from it first, someone who is not a professsional trader or was, can’t be a good mentor.
Keep up the good work, good chance in your journey
Thanks Frank, I think I agree with everything you say. It’s the theoretical side that I was trying to learn. This would give me a solid base to test if I can make it psychologically.
I’m not really interested in what a big firm would look for as I have no intention of working for a firm. I just want to take the training to build the skills for myself.
Good job on taking the smartest approach to learning how to trade Forex. I’m sure by now you know and see that trading Forex is way more profitable than trading Stocks. I also give you kudos on stepping out there trying to find a good mentor. I may have the perfect solution for you and speed up your chances of reaching success trading the Forex market but before I do so I would like to ask a couple questions.
When you were trading stocks did you use volume? Did you use moving averages? did you apply fibonacci? or did you just go purely off fundamentals?