I was wondering, if i wasnted to start trading from home. Whats a good place to start to learn about the market, the tools, and the strategies? Are there any online courses one can take? How can you get certified for the series 7 if your not sponsored by a firm(do you need to be)? Can someone give some guidance for beginners interested in trading from home.
you don't need to be series 7 if you want to trade from home. The best way to start is to paper trade. Learn yourself and read online articles about TA. Ofcourse paper trading is not the same as trading with real money b/c you will see how your emotions play into your decisions. So start small. Hope that helps.
Resist the temptation to trade large amounts in the beginning. You will be reading how so many people are making huge amounts of $$$ on a particular week or month, and it will seem like your the only one not making any money...but do not give in and suddenly increase your risk for the sake of making money. Paper trade for a few months....it wont help you with the psychology aspect of trading but will help with the mechanics. Look at charts over and over again till your eyes are ready to fall off. You should have several hundred paper trades and chart analysis before using real money. The more you learn the more you will realize how much you don't know. Its very boring and tedious ...its why alot of people don't have the patience for all this and start trading with lots of money right off the bat....thinking they can make huge amounts of money in just a few months. Its also why 85% of new traders are out of this game within first 6 months. Lastly...have a trading plan!!! And....sound money management is the key....with out it...your dead.
Thanks for the good advice. But i am also looking for some practical advice. It would be helpful to have links to: 1. Like a beginners guide, online training 2. Trading platform thats user/beinner friednly 3. Maybe some guides to strategies 4. practical and helpful tips.
Well...you didn't say what type of trading you will be doing...is it Forex? Futures? Equities?....If you're going in this with absolutely no knowledge whatsoever, i would think a combination broker / platform like E-trade or Scottrade would do just fine. (Providing you would be swing trading stocks only.) Outgrow those platforms before paying $$$ for more sophisticated ones like Tradestation or eSignal. Also if you have absolutely no clue about the markets i recommend reading books for beginners like the ones from Toni Turner....shes really good at explaining the market basics and how to get started. As far as online training schools / advisory services....alot of them are ripoffs. I would rather let more experienced traders than I guide you in that direction. I don't wanna get too specific for fear of having my lil head chopped off by the regulars here. Well best of luck to you and never give up!
Read every article on this site about day trading. Good information and everything anyone will tell you here. http://daytrading.about.com/
Does anyone know of a good website that offers simulated trading with close to real time data? I know it's not 100% the same and the emotions aren't there. However it seems like a good way to get a feel for the system. I know Ameritrade use to offer something like this but it doesn't look like it's around anymore.
Most brokers offer simulation trading and some will offer such for free to non-clients for like 30 days or so. Just start calling brokers that allows trading in whatever you want to trade and test their simulation (trading platform). Then while testing their platform while simulation trading...do a lot of research about their fees, customer service and such to determine if you want to open an actual real trading account with. Most of this (brokers list) can be found easy via like google search engine. http://www.google.com In fact, I recommend you not open an account with a broker unless they have a simulation platform because there will be times when your testing new strategies and you don't want to do such outside your broker system. Simply, keep your real trading and simulation platform all in one basket. NihabaAshi
I have tried using google to find good simulation sites but I have not been able to find any. If anyone actully knows of one please reply =)