It's been a good year in FOREX. Some of you may recall a rather heated discussion I got in with a trader (who does not trade FX) about how FX traders (according to him) do not make money. The only reason I got a tad aggrivated was because this is not true - and saying so only discourages people who want to get into the FX market. Now, whether you get in or ARE in or have merely been thinking about getting in, you should always get all of the facts (duh) before making your decision. People around here seem to state that 1 out of 100 fx traders actually make money. I think that's bollocks. I would completely agree that the majority of fx traders lose, for sure. But 1 out of 100 is a bit exaggerated. I'm posting my year P+L. I'm going to do this at the end of every year, and if you want to ask questions, feel free to do so. This data comes right from my market maker (Oanda) and has not been altered in any way - other than me putting the "...." in for formatting on the forum. I'm just showing you this data because I want to dissuade the comments that FX traders do not make money. Also remember, I am not a full time trader. I have a corporate position for an FMCG company. So if you trade full time, perhaps you'll make more (or lose more, I dunno). I'm sure there will be trolls, but let them come. -Ivan Year 2005: Month.............Interest...............P/L January..........-758.04564..........7,182.87 February.........-584.1334............4,045.50 March..............55.81661............7,225.67 April.................658.15653..........11,958.06 May.................1266.79665........7,987.89 June................1557.23349........12,495.54 July..................1,925.07.............5,990.64 August............1656.5888..........8,437.91 September......1107.98316.......10,204.55 October...........921.62723.........13,470.61 November........1,901.61.............14,139.80 December ........0........................0 Total for 2005...9,708.70...........103,139.03 December not finished, so no totals given (and I'm too lazy to do it manually, but it was a good month). Unrealized P+L as of December 20, 2005: -1,433 20:1 Account size - private
1. I've never traded forex so what is the interest that you list and how can it be negative some times? 2. What are your holding times like? 3. If you have a full time job, are you trading during the evenings or do you hold positions for a couple days?
Those are some good results. Cudos. Can you give us an idea of percent annual profit gained, ballpark?
Very nice indeed, Ivan! Even more impressive for a non-full-time trader. Takes guts to put one's P&L numbers out in the open. Just make sure your boss doesn't find out where your mind's been at... I'd agree that the much bandied-about %-who-fail numbers are not especially meaningful to any determined individual. Most anyone who approaches forex trading seriously, as a business... starts on demo... then goes live on small size, with almost ridiculously tiny leverage... and slowly builds on that, in no hurry... has a realistic shot at success. However you define success. Easy? absolutely not. (I wouldn't want it to be.) Doable? hell, yeah.
1. Interest is given depending on what pairs are held. Holding Sterling against the Yen gives excellent interest daily. Holding Yen against the USD takes it away. 2. Usually several days, as long as a month. 3. I check in the morning with my breakfast, see if the pairs I play are in positions I deem I want to trade in. If so, I open a trade. I establish profit and stop loss points ahead of time, and I almost never touch them. I ignore them completely until they hit.
I am the boss Well, at least insofar as this unit. As long as sales and EBIT continue to hit target, he wouldn't care if I surfed all day.