The Interview...

Hello everyone! Recently I have just completed an interview for a close friend of mine, relating to Forex Trading. I hope that I can inspire some of my readers here! I have posted the interview down here, but you can also visit his website! It's right here!

1. How long have you been trading currencies?

I have been trading currencies since 2013, when I first entered tertiary education. Having a major in Accountancy, it sparked my interest in the financial markets. It was a close friend of mine who introduced currency trading to me while I was still learning how to trade stocks.

2. Can you give us some background into how you began trading and how you evolved.

How has trading changed your life?
It was 2008, when I first got my iPhone. There was a stocks app preinstalled in the phone, which got me curious about stocks trading. For the next 4 years of my life, I actually learned more about how to value a company, especially using ratios, as well as using the Discounted Cash Flow analysis which is a method popularized by the famous Billionaire Investor Warren Buffett. It has made a significant impact on my life as I went from no knowledge to being relatively well versed in this market. After I entered tertiary education, I slowly shifted into currency trading. I was introduced to this market by a friend, and was also enticed by how liquid this market was. It also required far lesser money to enter this market, compared to its equities counterpart. Right now, my life revolves around currency trading, and I hope to extend my portfolio to equities as well, which requires far less intervention than currency trading.

3. Do you intend to trade forex for a living?

Absolutely! I would be more than happy to trade for a living! As I see myself as an entrepreneur, I would also want to start a business revolving around the financial markets. I would also like to give talks and teach people how to trade forex too. I do hope that I have a chance to coach you someday!

4. What's your current average return/month for the past 12 month?

After making a loss for almost a year, I have successfully trained myself to be focused and less emotional during trading. As such, I would say that I can achieve a 5% return per month now.

5. Can you describe your workstation setup?

As I do not have a big budget at the moment, I use my laptop with a 15” screen to trade. I do have a 23” external monitor which I connect to with a wireless keyboard and a mouse during days when I want to see a bigger picture of the entire market. Personally, I would recommend traders to use a laptop to trade because of the mobility it gives. I love to go to air-conditioned places that are quiet and trade the markets. It gives me a sense of freedom!

6. What charting service do you use?

Most forex traders should be aware of the software called Meta Trader 4, or MT4 for short. I only use this software for my charts. It’s good and reliable. It comes with lots of indicators and functions. For traders who are interested in automated trading, it is also supported on this platform.

7. What are your favourite currency pairs to trade?

I primarily trade AUDUSD, GBPUSD, and USDJPY. The reason why I trade the Aussie Dollar is due to its stability. As China is the Australian’s largest economic trading partner, the Aussie is very sensitive to news releases of the Chinese Economic Data. However, because Aussie is much more liquid than the CNH, therefore I chose to trade it over the Chinese counterpart.
GBPUSD was chosen because it is very similar to the EURUSD. It usually loves big moves and is usually in trading in a particular direction. The Euro was a big turnoff for me because there are too many economic data from multiple countries to follow.

USDJPY has been popular among new traders because of its simplicity. With the BOJ’s intervention of deflating the Yen, going long on this pair is a sure-win thing, at least for now. Analysts are expecting the Yen to reach 135 by the end of 2016.

8. How many hours/day do you spend currency trading?

I usually spend about 2 hours a day to look at the charts. Not all of the time are spent sitting in front of the computer to do so. As I use the MT4 app on my smartphone, it has allowed me to go even more mobile than a laptop, therefore I would estimate myself to be spending 2 hours a day on the screen. In actual fact, I would probably spend only 30 minutes in front of my computer to do so.

9. Describe your best trade, what currency pair, why you placed it, and how much profit did you make?

My best trade was actually a commodity. As we all know that oil prices have been plummeting, I took a bet that it would that prices would bounce back. I placed a long trade on it and I took a $1000 profit.

10. What was your biggest mistake ever?

Letting my emotions take over what’s in my head. Many successful traders have said so, and I cannot emphasize how important this is. Being emotional will make you even more so at the end of the day. Every trader needs to understand that losses are common and as long as we trade accordingly to our plans, we would definitely be profitable at the end of the day.

11. When placing a trade, do you use technical analysis, fundamental analysis, or a combination of both?

As much as I am a technical trader, I do take note of important economic news releases because these are the time when the market starts to whiplash and take everyone out of the market. But other than the times when there are news releases, I would trade solely on technical analysis.

12. How do you manage risk?

I manage my risk by using a position size calculator to calculate the amount of lots I have to take each time I want to place a trade. They take into account the currency pair that you are trading, stop loss level, and amount of risk I would take. I highly recommend any traders who wishes to be successful to take not more than 3% of risk for each trade placed.

13. What lessons have you learned that have helped you find profitable trades, and keep losses relatively small?

Following your trading plan. That is the number 1 lesson that I have learned over the years of trading. The number 2 lesson that I would like to advocate to traders out there would be not be emotional. It really does nothing but ruin your trading career.

14. Do you agree that forex trading is more risky than trading stocks? Why so?

I do not agree with that statement. To me, risk is the result of ignorance. I am sure that a successful forex trader trading equities can lose as much money as an equities trader trading forex if he does not know what he is doing. Similarly, I would not say that options and futures are riskier than forex or equities. Knowledge is power.

15. What indicators have you found most useful such as Slow Stoch, Fibonacci, ADX, RSI, etc.?

Personally, I do not use much indicators to trade as I believe in price action. However, I do use the Fibonacci tools for projection of retracement of prices as well as extensions. While I do not condemn trading using indicators, I highly recommend traders to learn more about price action trading. I believe that they are the most efficient and effective way of profitable trading.

16. What are some of your favorite resources for learning about and following the forex market?(promote your website?)

One of the websites I would recommend would be babypips.com. It is a great websites for every trader, amateur or experienced, to learn more about forex trading. You’ll never know what you can learn from there! Another website I would recommend is my own website (www.theforextrader.info). I do update my website often for readers to know more about my trading experience. You can definitely find out more about my trading experience from my website!

17. What do you feel as a currency trader that new traders starting out in the market should focus upon?

Learn the dynamics of the market. Understand how price action works. When you have successfully master and understand how price action works, start trading using a demo account. Once you get the hang of it, start trading using live accounts. This is where your discipline comes into action. Trust me, every new trader thinks that they can manage their emotions, but more often than not, it takes a few trading accounts to do so. You need to stop greed and fear from interfering your trading decisions. If you can’t master this, then no matter how profitable your trading plan is, you will still lose money at the end of the day.