A guide to becoming a better novice trader in the United Kingdom

Finance

As a novice trader in the United Kingdom, it is crucial to become familiar with different types of options trading to make informed decisions when participating in the market. This guide will provide an overview of the UK’s main types of trading: share dealing, contract for difference (CFD), spread betting, and foreign exchange (forex).

Share dealing is the most common type of trading in the UK and involves buying and selling shares of companies listed on the London Stock Exchange. CFDs are similar to share dealing but allow traders to speculate on the price movement of a security without actually owning the underlying asset. Spread betting allows traders to bet in the direction of a security’s price movement, and forex trading is the act of buying and selling foreign currencies.

When choosing a broker, it is important to compare fees, account minimums, and the types of securities that each firm offers. It is also essential to read reviews and assess customer service offerings before selecting a provider.

Once you have chosen a broker, opened an account, and funded it, you will be ready to start trading. Before placing your first trade, however, it is crucial to develop a trading strategy. This strategy will help you make informed decisions about which trades to place and how to manage your risk.

A fundamental trading strategy

A fundamental trading strategy should consider the following:

  • Your financial goals. What are you looking to achieve by trading? 
  • Your risk tolerance. How much financial risk can you take on? 
  • Your time horizon. How long do you plan on holding your position? 
  • Your exit strategy. How will you know when to sell?

A money management plan

In addition to a solid trading strategy, it is also essential to have a sound money management plan. This plan should consider how much capital you are willing to risk on each trade and how you will manage your overall portfolio risk.

Some key money management considerations include:

  • Position sizing. How many shares or contracts should you buy? 
  • Stop-loss orders. At what point will you exit a losing position? 
  • Take-profit orders. At what point will you exit a winning position? 
  • Risk-to-reward ratio. What is your target profit versus your stop-loss? 
  • Diversification. How can you reduce your overall portfolio risk?

What are the risks of day trading in the UK?

There are a few risks to be aware of when day trading in the UK:

  • Market risk. The market can move against you, and you can lose money. 
  • Liquidity risk. There may not always be someone to buy or sell your security at your desired price. 
  • Margin call risk. If the value of your account falls below the required margin, your broker may force you to deposit more money or close out your positions. 
  • High-frequency trading risk. Algorithmic traders can place orders faster than humans, impacting the prices you pay or receive.

How can I overcome these risks?

The best way to overcome these risks is to have a solid trading strategy and money management plan which takes into consideration your financial goals, risk tolerance, and time horizon. Diversifying your portfolio and only trading with money you can afford to lose is also essential.

When day trading in the UK, choosing a reputable broker with low fees, good customer service, and a robust platform is crucial.

What can you trade in the UK?

The UK’s main markets are the London Stock Exchange (LSE) and the Alternative Investment Market (AIM). The LSE offers a wide range of securities, including shares, bonds, and derivatives. Futures contracts and listed options are also traded on the LSE. The trading hours for these products vary depending on the security.

The AIM is focused on smaller companies and is considered to be riskier. Other popular markets in the UK include the FTSE 100 index, the GBP/USD currency pair, and gold.

Conclusion

Day trading in the UK can be a profitable way to invest your money. However, choosing a reputable broker, developing a solid trading strategy, and having a sound money management plan is essential. Remember to diversify your portfolio and only trade with money you can afford to lose.

Continue Reading

Why are CFDs so risky for new traders in Singapore?

Business Finance

Contracts for Difference (CFDs) are a popular investment tool in Singapore, but they can be very risky for new traders. This article will explore the risks involved in CFD trading and why it’s essential to do your research before investing.

What are CFDs?

They are derivative products that allow investors to trade on the price movements of various assets, such as stocks, indices and currencies. They offer a high degree of liquidity and flexibility and can be used to speculate on markets’ movements or hedge against risk. Why are CFDs risky?

CFDs are a high-risk investment and can be especially risky for inexperienced traders. Here are some of the risks involved in CFD trading:

CFDs are a leveraged product.

It means that traders can control a large contract size with a relatively small amount of money. This leverage can work both ways, though, magnifying profits as well as losses.

Lower margins

The margin required to trade CFDs is usually much lower than traditional investments such as stocks and shares. It makes it easier for traders to enter into trades without committing a lot of capital upfront. However, it also means that losses can be incurred more quickly.

Price

The prices of CFDs are based on underlying assets such as stocks, commodities or currencies. These assets can be very volatile, meaning that the prices of CFDs can rush up and down. It makes it difficult for traders to predict where the prices will go, resulting in losses if they are not careful.

No physical delivery

CFDs are a derivative product, which means no physical delivery of the underlying asset. It can be a disadvantage if the trader wants to take delivery of the asset, for example, if they are trading gold CFDs and want to take delivery of gold bullion.

Counterparty risk

CFDs are traded on margin, which means that the trader only has to put up a small amount of money to open a position. When the market moves against them, they may be required to post additional funds to keep their positions open. If they cannot do this, the broker may close their positions and lose their investment.

Limited order types

CFD brokers usually offer a limited number of order types, making it difficult for traders to execute their trades in the way they want. It can lead to frustration and poor trading decisions.

No protection against losses

Unlike traditional investments, there is no protection against losses when trading CFDs. It means that if the trader loses money, they lose all of it. There is no option to claim back any losses from the broker.

High fees

CFD brokers usually charge high fees for trading CFDs. It can eat into profits and be a disadvantage for traders who are not making a lot of money.

Liquid markets

CFDs are traded on margin, which means that the trader only has to put up a small amount of money to open a position. When the market moves against them, they may be required to post additional funds to keep their positions open. If they cannot do this, the broker may close their positions and lose their investment.

No regulation

CFDs are not regulated in Singapore, meaning there is no guarantee that the broker will honour their trades or that the trader will get their money back if the broker goes bankrupt. It can be a considerable risk for traders unfamiliar with how CFDs work.

No Dividends

CFDs do not entitle the trader to any dividends from the underlying asset. It can be a disadvantage for investors looking for income from their investments.

Gamification

Many CFD brokers offer trading platforms that are designed to look like games. It can make trading feel more like gambling than investing, leading to poor trading decisions.

Continue Reading

Crypto Regulation Around the World

Finance

Regulation around cryptocurrency is still very unclear and governments around the world have very different ideas about it. While some jurisdictions are trying to ban it outright, others just want to have a bit more control over how it’s traded. Some jurisdictions still don’t fully understand crypto and still don’t know if it should be qualified as a currency or a security. Understanding regulations is very important for traders as they can have serious tax and legal implications. Let’s look at a few examples of how crypto trading is regulated around the world.

United States

Even if crypto trading and mining are very popular in the US, the country still doesn’t have a clear regulatory framework for cryptocurrencies. The SEC, the Treasury, and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission all see cryptocurrencies differently, calling them a security, currency, and a commodity respectively. Not only that, but the IRS classifies cryptocurrency as property, which further complicates things for traders.

The country has done a great job at regulating exchanges in the country, however. All exchanges have to comply with the Bank Secrecy Act and be registered with the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network. They also have to abide by the Anti-Terrorism Act and anti-money laundering (AML) legislation.

Japan

Japan is another country that has decided to embrace crypto, and like other regions has seen a rise in the popularity of crypto trading via a range of providers that seek to serve this booming market. These include “regular” crypto exchanges, to decentralized exchanges known as a DEX, to online brokers of crypto derivatives like contracts for difference. All locally based trading platforms have to be registered with Japan’s Financial Services Agency (FSA), which is one of the most rigorous financial regulatory agencies in the world. All exchanges have to be compliant with AML obligations as well. Crypto gains in the country are taxed under “miscellaneous income” and crypto is viewed as property from a tax standpoint.

United Kingdom

The UK, like many other countries, does not recognize crypto as legal tender, but as property. All exchanges operating in the country have to be registered with the UK Financial Conduct Authority. They also have to abide by special ‘know your customer’ (KYC) regulations and follow AMT and CFT guidelines.

Canada

Canada is one of the countries that has taken the most proactive measures to regulate crypto trading. All exchanges in the country have to be regulated by provincial agencies. The country is also one of the first to accept crypto derivatives by being the first to approve a Bitcoin ETF in February 2021.

Australia

Australia is relatively proactive when it comes to crypto and has some strict rules about what exchanges can offer services to Australians and even which coins they can offer. Australia is one of the only countries to formally ban privacy coins, and exchanges operating in the country have to register with the Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre while abiding by AML/CFT regulations. Australia also has strict rules regulating initial coin offerings (ICOs) and crypto is treated as legal property under the tax code.

Even if most countries have similar legislation governing crypto, there are still some nuances. This is why traders living in these countries or thinking of trading within their borders should learn more about the regulatory framework in each country before starting.

Continue Reading

7 Tips for Choosing an Online Stockbroker

Finance Money

If you are new to the world of investment, selecting a stockbroker that aligns with your own personal needs and investing style can define your success or failure. If you want to make money through investing, you need a brokerage service that is in line with your investment goals, level of experience and educational needs. Choosing a broker who has a diverse range of features and tools like those that are found on the FXTM web trader can make all the difference in your new venture.

While all investment should be based on research and skill, the first step on the way to profitability should always be finding the right online brokerage service for your particular needs. That is why we have decided to put together a short guide to help you assess what it is that you personally require from your ideal brokerage. Read on to find out more.

1. What Are the Broker’s Fees?

The first question that you will probably ask when choosing a broker will probably have to do with fees. There can be a significant difference between what online brokers currently licenced in to operate in South Africa charge in trading fees, commission, spread, financing rates and currency conversion fees. It is best to shop around in order to compare prices to see what type of fee structure best suits you.

2. Does the Broker Deal in the Assets Types That Interest You?

Finding a brokerage that allows the option to trade in the types of financial instruments that interest you is crucial. While most online brokerages deal in stocks, bonds, mutual funds and ETF, only a select few allow you to trade in futures, options and forex. Make sure you check that you a brokerage has the trading options you want before you go through a lengthy verification process.

3. Are There Available Advisory Services?

If you are new to trading, the jargon that you have to get to grips with can be bewildering. You are probably going to need a bit of guidance or at least a sounding board to which you can the field questions and queries that you have about how things work. Many of the better online brokerage services today will provide you with tutorials and account managers to help you on your way to becoming an expert.

4. Which Type of Account?

There are two main types of account that are generally offered by online brokerages. A cash account will allow you to deposit funds and then buy stocks to the amount of money that you have in your account. A margin account, on the other hand, allows you to borrow money from your broker to buy stocks with leverage.

5. Does the Platform Include Research Tools?

Make sure that your broker operates a system of research tools that you feel comfortable with. The charts and graphs showing stock price changes over time should be easy to use and give you all the information you need to feel confident that you have covered all the bases when you buy into a position.

6. How Good is Customer Service?

It does not matter how good an app or service is, there may still come a time when you need to contact customer service to clear something up. When this happens, there is nothing more annoying than not being able to get in touch with a human to straighten the issue out. Choose wisely as some of the cheaper online brokerage services run customer service with limited hours as a means of keeping trading costs competitive.

7. Do You Want Banking Services?

Many stockbrokers offer the opportunity to open a checking account. If you think this will be more convenient for your situation, do some research into what kind of deals these brokers are offering on banking services and how they compare to your current bank.

You may not realize it now, but your choice of online stock broker could have a large impact on how successful you are as a trader. If you answer all of the questions in the sections above before signing up to a brokerage service, you should ensure that you get the one which best suits your particular needs and trading style.

Continue Reading

How Did Online Forex Trading Become So Popular?

Finance

Using different styles of financial trading has long been something that people have done as a way to invest or generate a secondary income. However, one of the most popular forms of online and mobile trading in the modern world was actually relatively unheard of until fairly recently. While almost anybody with an interest in financial markets, economics, or current affairs these days is familiar with forex, it wasn’t so long ago that currency trading simply wasn’t accessible to normal people. Rather, it was something only done by banks.

Today, advances in the internet have made forex a part of modern trading for everybody who wanted to try it.

Currency Trading Before Mainstream Internet

Louis Hernandez Jr highlights that there have been mechanisms in place to change money between currencies for about as long as organized currency has existed. However, up until the mainstream internet really took hold, it wasn’t possible for ordinary people to get prices on international currencies and make instant transactions in a way that could really leverage currency pair fluctuations. Banks were able to work with different currencies thanks to their infrastructures, but for the average person, the only time they were really concerned with changing money was to obtain currency when they traveled abroad, usually from a bureau de change or, later, by using cards at foreign ATMs and letting their bank handle the prices.

There was certainly no way to trade currency in any meaningful or profitable way.

The Biggest Advances to Help Forex Gain Traction

Forex trading online became possible because the internet made it possible for people to access trading platforms, hold online accounts, and make transactions. This was possible even in the late 1990s, however, it still wasn’t really something people found reliable. With slow dial-up internet speeds and problems with connectivity, it was hard to trust that your transactions would go through at the price you were seeing. Equally, there just wasn’t the knowledge and technology in terms of online security that there is now. Essentially, it wasn’t until broadband internet became widely accessible that forex trading online began to really ‘work’ as most people wanted – and to be trusted.

The Mobile Revolution

The second big change after broadband was the smartphone revolution. With apps that can connect people to trading platforms and forex resources, the 24-hour nature of forex became more accessible. Traders were no longer tied to their computers for a session and could be notified when conditions they have set up as triggers for them to act are met, allowing them to be available to trade and to avoid missing out on profitable transactions. Between mobile and fast internet speeds, people can now get the most out of forex trading and can also use a lot of analysis and news tools on their mobile devices to help them become more effective as traders.

As you can see, forex has come a very long way in just two decades and it will be interesting to see how its popularity continues to grow moving forward.

Continue Reading

How TD Ameritrade Can Help You Make Money

Finance

When you are looking for an online broker that will help your reach your goals as a trader and an investor, you should be looking at TD Ameritrade. It is a long time brokerage house that got into the online game in the mid to late 1990s, making it one of the most lasting institutions in online brokers and Internet trading.

In the late 1980s, TD Ameritrade began a quote and order entry system over the phone, which established the companies bonafides with modern technology. Then in 1996, TD Ameritrade merged with TransTerra, which owned Accutrade, which was one of the first online brokers in the very early days of the World Wide Web. That knowledge of the industry and early entry into the world of online investing makes TD Ameritrade a great place to start investing online.

When you take control of your financial future, you take control of your freedom. You can create a whole new reality for yourself, when you take money that you make and put it to work making more money for you. The way that capitalism works is that the ones that control the capital can create new worlds for themselves, where they don’t have to answer to the old way of doing things.

But to become a successful investor, you need to stay disciplined and smart. You need to be able to read the market and understand how to move from one trade to another with the company’s fundamentals in mind. Doing your research is very important when you need to be on top of your investments. TD Ameritrade has third party research and in-depth tools that help you make sense of the market.

For more frequent traders, TD Ameritrade offers a platform called thinkorswim that allows traders to make lightening fast trades on their desktop or their mobile devices. There are chat rooms where you can interact with other traders and swap tips or advice. For beginning traders, there are a plethora of learning tools that allow you to learn about the market while you are in the platform, trying out trades and learning as you go.

TD Ameritrade also offers great educational videos and CNBC streaming news that allow you to stay on top of the market throughout the day. Watching breaking news is very important when you want to be an effective frequent trader. There is no substitute for staying informed about the market. And then there is the paperMoney feature.

That is TD Ameritrade’s paper trading platform, which allows you to trade virtual currency  and learn how to trade without risking any real money. That is one of the more valuable tools for day traders that are just starting out. It allows you to game out trades in real time and project what they might start to do without risking real cash. Paper trading is a great way to get good at trading before you start really risking real actual money.

Continue Reading

How Did I Miss That Trade?

Business Careers Finance Money

Are you a Forex trader? Are you “in it to win it?  Are you looking for profits wherever possible? That means you will be examining the results of the trades that you take and learning from both your successes and your failures. But what about “the ones that got away”, the trades that for one reason or another never happened and nearly always would have turned up trumps.

Why do we miss out on trades, especially the ones that will cause us so much heartache subsequently? There are of course loads of different reasons. You could have chosen to “sit this one out” having had a couple of losing trades just previously.  You could have been too preoccupied with another trade or considered that it just didn’t fit into your preconceived trading pattern. You may have had enough for the day having met your daily target or you might not have had enough balance to proceed.

Now these are all good reasons, but the fact remains that a missed opportunity is a missed opportunity which will cost you in the fullness of time.  You might not realise how much money you are actually losing by not taking up those missing trades and all the potential profits that have vanished unless you are honest enough to track everything in a journal.

If you are a mechanical trader, you can well find that your performance will be down and you will not get a full idea of whether the system is working for you.

If you get into the habit of missing trades, especially after a losing streak, you must treat that as a really bad one.  You have to accept losses as an integral part of trading and you shouldn’t have the baggage of previous failure over-influencing your decisions.

Perhaps the most hazardous result of when you miss out on a trade is that your psyche says “hey we made a big error there, let’s make up for it”. This is what is called “looking for revenge” – you go into something that’s a long way short of ideal and trade it aggressively. You lose control of your emotions and at the same time, lose a good deal of money as well.

Missing trades therefore is a bad place to be in. So what can you do to avoid all that?  Firstly you could log all your missing trades which would be an incentive to sticking to your trading plan.  Secondly set your trading style alarm clock – you could fix price alerts or use entry orders; perhaps even design a mechanical system for your platform. We know you can’t be everywhere but you can help yourself!

Are you missing trades through lack of confidence, worried about the dangers that could affect your funds? If you decrease your position size, you will ease up on a great deal of pressure.

Finally if you focus on the process you will accept loss, take care of it but have the courage to carry on trading sensibly and methodically and in the end you will make a lot of money.

Continue Reading