The Forex market has understandably become one of the most attractive and popular financial markets in the world. Operating around the clock via a decentralized network of central banks, investment institutions, hedge funds, and similar institutions, the Forex market allows traders to speculate on the movement of currency exchange rates. Players of the Forex tend to like these features most:
· Round the clock action—the Forex market constantly adjusts and is open 24 hours per day between Sunday and Friday afternoon.
· Less problems with gap down (when price starts out lower than its previous ending price due to factors that occurred when the markets were closed)
· Huge leverage (can get 1:100 margins)
· High volume
· Live trading (most traders are connected to the Forex market via an Internet platform that provides them with real time exchange rates)
· Commission-free trades (but most brokers tend to get the difference between bid and ask price which tends to equal 3 to 5 tenths of a penny on most transactions)
While all of these are very attractive characteristics for any investor, the truth is that there are a lot of people who find themselves on the wrong side of a trend and suddenly in trouble because they try using day trading as an investment strategy. Day trading essentially boils down to making a series of short, small trades in hopes of making a quick profit. A rich idea with often a poor outcome.
People can and do make very good money trading on the Forex market but the most common trait of successful investors is the use of a proven investment strategy, patience, and using pre-determined stops after making certain to do your homework. The ability to understand the emergence and direction of trends through analysis is a common trait in successful Forex traders.
Because day trading often involves multiple transactions made in rapid succession in order to make a profit, it is very hard to properly analyze the day’s events and your charts. Day traders are more prone to fear-basic panic selling and other decisions that lose money and lower profitability.
Day trading is also not a good idea with the Forex market because transactions are almost always conducted at the very limit of the margins (typically 1/100, or $1,000 is all most investors have in a given Forex transaction of $100,000, or one lot of currency). Because of this, even small fluctuations in the wrong direction can and often do spell disaster for day traders.
Indeed, there are day traders out there claiming to make a good living trading Forex and they no doubt exist—but they are rare. The volatile nature of the market, the lack of information, and the extensive use of margins in Forex all combine and make day trading possibly a bad investment strategy—period.