Instrument of choice

Which do you trade?

  • US indicies

    Votes: 7 30.4%
  • European Indicies

    Votes: 7 30.4%
  • US stocks

    Votes: 2 8.7%
  • UK shares

    Votes: 4 17.4%
  • Currencies

    Votes: 11 47.8%
  • Money markets

    Votes: 1 4.3%
  • Commodities

    Votes: 1 4.3%
  • Derivatives

    Votes: 2 8.7%
  • Bit of everything

    Votes: 2 8.7%

  • Total voters
    23

wasp

Legendary member
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What made you decide on what market you trade and why?

So many diferent options, how did you come to trade the one/few you do?
 
Currencies

I've traded currencies for years. A few years back I used to trade indicies but failed hopelessly :(... After that I stuck purely to FX. Every time I have dabbled in anything else it never works out...

Never being proficient in any other market, I can't comment but for me it'll always be FX for;

  • 24hr market... allways profit to be had at any time of the day (albeit certain hours better than any other)
  • Size... trading cable predominately I know I can clear 50+ pips a day easily, sometimes 3 times that
  • Risk ... I know I can keep my stops nice and tight and minimize them to zero quickly and comfortably
  • After so many years studying and watching it, its the only market I can really say I 'know' enough to comfortably profit from on a daily basis.
HTH

Chris
 
Mainly US index futures. Occasionally Kospi and Euro futures in the early and late mornings respectively..

Futures mainly cause of the leverage. Also no uptick rule, transparent liquid market, cheap exchange membership advantages, low commissions, fast fills (no waiting for specialist on NYSE/AMEX stocks), index products unlikely to be halted or as susceptible to news as a single stock could be, no PDT rule (allowing more capital to be put to work elsewhere), a wealth of ancilliary data (e.g tick, trin, breadth), no need to scan hundreds of candidates for trade opportunities and make frequent position size / stop etc. calculations (corollary: instruments' personalities are easier to learn if one studies only one or two all the time), I'm awful at mornings and wakeful at night so the hours suit.

These are actually the reasons I stuck with (index) futures. I fell into them I think quite by chance (first "trade" was spread bet on the FTSE) and could equally have started with stocks, spot forex or pork bellies.
 
uk shares with entertaiment dabbles at indices (ftse, dow, s&p)

Started off investing in uk shares and a gradual progression through active investing, long term trading, medium term trading then short term trading since I retired 6 years ago.

I suppose I stuck with uk shares 'cos I like to recognise what I'm trading.

good trading

jon
 
Most of us trade FOREX....I wonder why? ;-)

The trouble with stocks is the time you spend waiting for an uncertain profit or loss. BUT with FOREX its instant profits! for a fraction of trading capital!

You don't really need nerves of steel. Just a few months on a Demo account with the support of a good Forex System. It's everything about self-discipline, accurate analysis, and 'knowing when to hold and knowing when to fold'.

As with any trade in any market, if you hold on to a losing position you'll be out of the money and out of the game.......possible for good!

The first rule of successful trading in any market, but especially FOREX, is protecting your capital, not making a profit. The next rule is, never trade more than 1-2% of your seed capital on any one trade. But before you even enter the game get an education in FOREX trading. The best investment is in yourself. If you invest in your education as a trader the profits will follow.

I reckon that somewhere there must be an equation that says, 'the time invested in your education, will be reflected in the size of your profits, and the lack of investment in your education will be seen in the size of your losses'.

If FOREX is the most popular market for traders, I wonder how many 'old' traders there are? Or are there more hopefuls who end up losers and others join the queue to follow them?
 
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