Student Trader, Low Capital but eager!

I'll be this feels like a lecture from a parent for you, but everyone is right because once you've been burned and seen it happen to others, your first instinct is to want to help others to not suffer the same. In terms of brokers, check oanda as others have mentioned and also take look at mbtrading for the sake of comparison. I think some of the best learning is done through jumping into the fire, so to speak, but keep the advice of these forum 'elders' in mind while you do it, and good luck.
 
You need to spend a minimum of 3 years demo trading. Maybe after 10 years you will start making decent paper.

You will not get rich quick trading.
 
get into spot fx and trade only the Micro lots for some time. Dont worry if you only make very less in the initial stage because if you are able to demonstrate consistent returns, even if low, then there are a lot of companies and hedge funds in London to back you up with their capital, their risk. That is the stage when you make real money, not now so dont bother what start up amount you have.
thanks,
 
Shakone said:
......... Most people who run a business are essentially buying at one price and selling for more, or able to provide a service for one price, but charging much more. In other words ripping off customers, who don't have the ability or knowledge to get things for that price, so that they can make a profit. .......
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I was taking materials and custom manufacturing to customers requirements and it was fairly "creative". Along with that I was also involved in the building industry
(just wages). People knew who you were, customer satisfaction and the recognition that comes with that can not be underrated.
Trading is about as opposite as you can get.
 
I think it's great that you're thinking of starting to trade whilst at University, I begun whilst doing my masters and about 6-7 years ago now and when I added that to my (pretty bare at the time) CV, employers loved it. I would personally recommend Capital Spreads. I have tried several different companies and all offer different benefits but in terms of spread betting they offer the best platform and the lowest spreads that I have come across. There is also no minimum so you can easily start with £500 if you wish.

I agree with what a lot of people are saying about don't dive in but I think to say that you should spend 3 years on a demo account as Kitchen Sink suggested is a bit far. Do start on a demo account and if you can buy the books do, but there is plenty of information available online through sites such as babypips and forex.com.
 
MoonRocket said:
I was taking materials and custom manufacturing to customers requirements and it was fairly "creative". Along with that I was also involved in the building industry
(just wages). People knew who you were, customer satisfaction and the recognition that comes with that can not be underrated.
Trading is about as opposite as you can get.
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Trading is pretty creative too. I don't see it differing much really as I said.

I understand your point about recognition from other people. You're unlikely to get that in trading, but it's a bit of a shame if one needs recognition from others to feel happy about their life.

You say it can't be underrated, but for me, achieving something on my own, competing with the best and making a superb trade where my analysis is spot on and I have executed perfectly, can not be underrated either. I just wish it happened more often! I definitely get some enjoyment out of that, more than I would get from the approval of others.

I think Einstein would get more satisfaction from his personal achievement of solving a complex problem than from the recognition of others.
 
Shakone said:
I understand your point about recognition from other people. You're unlikely to get that in trading, but it's a bit of a shame if one needs recognition from others to feel happy about their life.
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Let just say once you you've had your fair share of recognition for good work, you really miss it when its gone.
But it is true when I've nailed a trade the world feels perfect.
I guess what I'm trying to say is that trading is lonely along with lots of boredom
interspersed with the odd moment of bliss, intersected with self loathing and the occasional taste of voment.
If it wasn't for the money, I'd know what I would rather do.
But you learn, my goodness we learn.
 
Shakone said:
It's interesting that. Most people who run a business are essentially buying at one price and selling for more, or able to provide a service for one price, but charging much more. In other words ripping off customers, who don't have the ability or knowledge to get things for that price, so that they can make a profit. But for some reason people think that my cornershop owner buying food for cheap and selling it for twice the price is contributing to the community, or the restaurant owner who charges me 3 or 4 times what it costs in ingredients or staff to produce is doing something worthwhile. They're all just trading at the end of the day. And it's for their profit, not yours. They spot an opportunity and take it.
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What utter nonsense.(n)
 
thefinancialanalyst said:
I would personally recommend Capital Spreads. I have tried several different companies and all offer different benefits but in terms of spread betting they offer the best platform and the lowest spreads that I have come across. There is also no minimum so you can easily start with £500 if you wish.
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I have to disagree for the following reasons from my experience:

- your stops on CS are never hit exactly, there's always a slippage - what a joke ! (I demo trade with CS at the mo - check here: http://www.trade2win.com/boards/tra...-semi-automated-s-p-daily-trading-system.html)
- minimum stake is £1. That's not good for a beginner. Finspreads offer 10p, etxcapital 50p on certain markets (10p on gold)
- other providers have "cashback" offers for new customers if you lose. I found WorldSpreads offer to be the best (+ refer a friend bonus, + 0 point spreads), then etxcapital and spreadco. If you are careful, you can trade with no risk for a few months.
- CS graphs are pathetic. Etx capital / world spreads are much better (graphs from it-finance). Spreadco graphs are weird, but they include VOLUME, which is exceptional for spreadbetting company.

Also, you can get cashback using sites like this: hxxp://traderrebate.com/

(Note: I am not affiliated with any of the quoted websites / companies)
 
hey Ben,

Let me be straight forward to you. I realised that those people who replied to your post, they know nuts. From the way they responded to you i can tell they are the 90% of traders who are LOSING their hard earn money.

What you really need to do is to get capital. Seriously! what the hell can u do with £1000. Go get at least £5000. even if £5000, you can only do small scale trading. You profits won't be huge.

Lastly, GO SAVE UP FIRST!
 
Ignore ehek. He doesn't know what he's talking about.

You can start with a few hundred pounds spread betting. Margins are much lower than you'll find going direct and you can trade small sizes.

Pointless starting with over £5K when you are new to trading, that's too much and unless you are particularly rich - it's too much to lose. Because you probably will lose it on your first attempt - it's all part of the learning experience.
 
Hoggums said:
Ignore ehek. He doesn't know what he's talking about.

You can start with a few hundred pounds spread betting. Margins are much lower than you'll find going direct and you can trade small sizes.

Pointless starting with over £5K when you are new to trading, that's too much and unless you are particularly rich - it's too much to lose. Because you probably will lose it on your first attempt - it's all part of the learning experience.
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agree.........

but spreadbetting is tricky because of predetory nature of spreadbet brokers

try real exchange via index CFDs with DMA broker

i'd suggest fxflat

german
500 euros to open
DAX CAC FTSE 1 point spread 9.00-22.00 CET/ 2 points 8.00-9.00 /at night 4-6-8
DOW 1 point session only the rest of time is 4
australian ASX 0.5 point
no commission on indexes
Bafin regulated
24/5 trading
GFT liquidity and platform
low margins (say DAX at 6000 with 0.5% one contract takes only 30 euros)

regards and good luck to thread starter
 
Wow, so many replies and everyone being pretty nice about it! But honestly if you want to be a trader that bad so some research! There is a huge amount of material out there, just google it (or better yet search on this forum). The market is not going to hand any profits to you, in fact its going to try and take your money from you. So why should anyone hand you the knowledge you need? (not that they will as trading is personal and your method has to suit you)

I hardly ever see it recommended anywhere but I advise buying some shares as a starting point. Pick one sector you like, research various big players and choose one you like most. Sign up to ADVFN or III and look at what other people are saying. Based on the chart of upcoming news buy some shares. Now you can watch how price reacts to all situations. Director deals, rumours, institutional buying, possible index entry... you name it there are hundreds of different things that move price. Maybe you want to get level 2 access to see how market makers work. This is fairly cheap and a good way to learn.

Buying shares won't teach you how to trade. But you can learn a hell of a lot about prices, markets, events (macro and micro), how you deal with drawdown/running profit and more. And your shares will be 100% paid for so your risk is lower.

That's my opinion anyway. If you follow it blindly you're a fool but take what you want from it and then get started. Now everyone stop being so nice and lets get this guy doing some work. As a uni student you'll have plenty of free time on your hands, get to researching!

Best of luck.
 
Students shouldn't gamble. It will ruin the exams and future job prospects.

The best approach is to get a good degree and apply for a job at an investment bank. Failing that, get a good degree, get a good job, and then gamble the money earned as a home trader. When the gamble is done, then learn to trade.
 
Benjam1n said:
As the title suggest i'm an eager student (20) doing a business degree in england. I'm highly interested in trading and have been doing a lot of research; even played around with spread betting and earnt a small amount of money, but i don't feel spread betting is right somehow - almost has a 'dirty' feel about it. I may just have a false stigma about so let me know if i'm wrong.

Anyway, i'm so eager to get going but have no idea where to start (ie spread betting, going through an online broker etc), nor which strategy would be best for me with my budget (up to £1000, idealy less).

If anyone could point me in the right direction that'd be great.

Thanks a lot, Ben.
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ouch dude ....that high ground is gonna kill you.....some of us find this positively
upmarket compared to all those nasty nasty other Gambling backgrounds and industries some of us come from ! ;)

n
 
shout out to Ben.....ambition without knowledge is vain [there's a proverb like that I believe]....sounds like you've got the ambition going but you definitely need to work on the basic knowledge. like earlier suggested on this thread - jump on a demo account and work on understanding the connections in the general market. in due time, you will discover what works for you as per asset class, strategy etc and most importantly yourself. when comfortable, go live with any platfrom and a small stake and experience the real thing. dont think this means all will go well as demos are totally different from live coz its your real money etc....but believe this is a structural approach, as trading is not a get a rich quick scheme. with time, effort and luck though....success is possible.
 
Als said:
agree.........

but spreadbetting is tricky because of predetory nature of spreadbet brokers

try real exchange via index CFDs with DMA broker

i'd suggest fxflat

german
500 euros to open
DAX CAC FTSE 1 point spread 9.00-22.00 CET/ 2 points 8.00-9.00 /at night 4-6-8
DOW 1 point session only the rest of time is 4
australian ASX 0.5 point
no commission on indexes
Bafin regulated
24/5 trading
GFT liquidity and platform
low margins (say DAX at 6000 with 0.5% one contract takes only 30 euros)

regards and good luck to thread starter
Click to expand...

To mr Hoggums and mr Als and my dearest Ben,

Firstly, if you can't even work and save up to £5000, what makes you think you can trade and earn lots of money in the market?

I believe the question above has just shut the mouths of Mr Hoggums and Mr Als. Im taking about basic earning and saving.

Trading isn't as easy as you think. There is such as thing as quick profits within a short period of time. Almost no one turn into a millionaire overnight.

Trading is all about hardwork. Anyone who disagrees with me is taking nonsense to you, Ben.

In conclusion, all i can say is the bigger your hopes and dreams, the bigger your disappointment - this is the reality of trading

P.S - what they say is just BS(go figure out yourself what BS is )
 
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