Question
I want to learn about currency trading, don’t know where to start. I’m 57 and I’ve done a little buying stock years ago. I’ve always been interested in forex trading need clear guidance. Please help
Answer
Hi – many thanks for your email and I will do my best to help. As always, its very hard to know where to start, and its all too easy to sign up to courses and seminars thinking they will give you a quick start to trading. Generally they will not, and what you will probably find is that you attend several of these, spend several hundred or thousands of dollars, and come out more confused than when you started. The problem is that every course will suggest a different approach. And this is the point. Before you start, you need to start forming your own beliefs so that any courses or seminars that you do decide to take, will then build on what you believe in, and not teaching you a methodology that is new, and which you may not ‘buy into’.
Every trader has their own approach which they have developed over time, and which then gives them the confidence to trade. After all, when you think about this logically, every decision we make in life is based on confidence. And it’s the same with trading. Some traders only use a technical approach, others believe that fundamental analysis holds the key. Technical analysis then breaks down into a myriad of approaches from with a myriad of indicators based on all sorts of approaches. Some traders believe Fibonacci is the way forward, others buy into Elliott wave, more still Gann and associated indicators form the humble moving average to Bollinger bands and more. It can all be overwhelming, but the point is this – BEFORE you start you must explore and then reject those which you believe are not for you, as you build your own belief system. As you have already dipped a toe in the stock market, you probably already have the basis of a trading methodology, so start from there and begin building.
My suggestion therefore, before you do anything else, is to start reading. It’s a cheap way to learn, and in reading about the ways to trade, will then also help you to crystalize in your own mind, what you believe will work for you, and what will not. We all have belief systems, and it is no different in trading. You may feel, coming from a stock trading background, that a fundamental approach is what you believe in, perhaps less so than technical. This is the starting point in my humble opinion – to read and research and start to develop your own belief system in trading the forex markets which are the most complex of all, and indeed even more so over the last few years, as intervention and market manipulation have become commonplace. It will change, but at present the forex market is anything but a market of free floating exchange rates!
My advice is to start by spending a few dollars on some good books and to start reading – there is no shortcut and no quick fix to making money from the markets. It takes effort and time to build up your own approach and methodology. Mine is based on volume price analysis – it does not suit everyone and is like the market – there is always more than one opinion! As you probably know I have written three books on trading forex, and whilst I am biased, I hope that in reading them they would give you a rounded view of this market from every aspect. I hope this helps and thanks once again for a great question, kind regards – Anna
By Anna Coulling
Hello, does signing up for full course is equivalent to the books you published? Eg if i sign up for the complete program, does the course cover all the books you publish except cryptocurrencies?
Thanks
Hi Andrew
Many thanks for your enquiry which is much appreciated and I’ll be happy to help and answer your question. If I could answer this in general terms, what the program does is takes the basic concepts explained in all of my books and then takes them to the next level. For example in the technical analysis module, this takes the basic concepts of volume price analysis and then explains these in terms of Wyckoffs laws and the ideas of primary and secondary trends. It also explains and examines in detail the most important part of any price action, which is in congestion phases, which few traders understand. The same is also true of the relational and fundamental modules, with perhaps the most important of all, the psychology module then explaining how to understand yourself, and from there, the approach which is likely to give you the best chance of success. And this is all backed up with a host of recorded webinars for the program with myself and David along with many examples of VPA in action, and of course the mechanics of trading. One point I would also add is you can use the skills and knowledge to trade any market including cryptocurrencies, as long as you have volume on the chart. And of course the program also includes the full set of tools and indicators for the platform of your choice and access to the private trading chat room hosted by myself and David. All best wishes and hope to see you on the program – Anna