Hello everyone on the forums- My name's Ryan and I've been trading only stocks for about 3 months now. I've read a lot of stuff, done research, and know the basics. My emotions have led me into a few bad decisions, which I am learning to control. I'm looking to (depending on the situation) do a lot of active trading, but not enough to get my account designated as a day trader account. (A swing trader more or less?) About how much money does one need (without a margined account) to be profitable in swing trading? I'm looking at just over 2k that I'm willing to use in this way. Because of no financial obligations, I'm willing to risk this money with smaller cap stocks, but I don't want to invest into crappy penny stocks. ( Unless it's something like C) Also looking for maybe someone to shadow and help me learn more of the ropes. I have the time, the discipline and the drive to learn this market, and any other market including futures, Forex, etc. Thanks for any help
Ryan. With 2k.. your time and energy would be much better directed towards FX. The restrictions working against you being an under capitalized trader will not allow you to succeed in stocks. A lot of people might initially get into the markets through equities, but many traders that are successful move onto futures. FX is a great way to start. you might be tempted to use "100-1" or more! leverage.. but 20-1 is PLENTY and will get you into a lot of trouble anyways. if you are interested.. http://www.babypips.com/ is a great source of info. and http://www.oanda.com/ is a THE broker for a small trader. if we never speak again... if you have "$2,000" only deposit $500 for FX trading.. in the event you "blow up" you will have extra funds to try again
Hey- I love the idea of forex; and it's great leverage, but from what I've heard it's verrryyy risky. But you have limited loss compared to trading on margin, so that's good. How long, if I'm dedicated, would you say it would take to learn the market? Thanks for the help
Its only risky depending on the leverage.. if you use the 400 leverage as some brokers allow, its INSANE and ridiculous> worst than gambling. like i said before, 20-1 is a much more conservative level. with FX trading you have total control to which level of leverage you want to take on... the first step is to open an account and at least paper trade.. Oanda has the lowest costs for your profile.
are you 18 or older? can a minor open an account? do your parents have to open the account? if so, you'll probably have to wait.
with only using 500$ what leverage should I use? Still like a 40:1? It seems like commission spreads would eat up whatever I made unless I got huge gains. But that's just in theory; I have ran no numbers on it.
Go for 100:1 leverage. There are those who will come on here and appear to genuinely give a shit about you. They want to feel good about themselves. They will tell you all the trading cliches from books, seminars, videos, magazine etc. such as "let your winners run, cut your losses, don't trade with scared money.etc. But in the end, it is YOUR choice. If you want to succeed, plot a course and set sail. Use your brain. To your success.
I disagree. Statistically, the chances of failing is higher for underfunded traders, naturally. That however doesn't mean you will fail. It just takes longer is all. Go for tiny gains for tiny capital. It's just a matter of scaling. Small risks for small rewards.