Forex vs. Stocks

Opportunities in a rising or falling market
Dissimilar from trading in the equity market, forex does not have any restrictions on short selling. No matter which way the market is moving or whether a trader is short or long, profit potential (and risk) exists in the forex market. Because currency trading involves the buying and selling of currency pairs, traders have an equal potential to profit (or lose) in a falling or rising market.

Unparalleled liquidity
In the forex market, over $3.2 trillion worth of trades are traded daily, which makes the currency trading market the most liquid market in the world – trading in 1 day what Wall St. trades in 1 month. No matter what time of the day or night it is, the forex market is always moving, and around the world active traders are buying and selling currencies.

200 times more leverage than trading stocks
With stocks, the maximum leverage is 2:1. But when you trade Forex with CMS Forex, you can use up to 400:1 leverage. For example, if you invest $1,000 in stocks, with 2:1 leverage you may buy up to $2,000 worth of shares. However, if you invest $1,000 margin on a foreign currency trade, at 400:1 leverage, you can control up to $400,000 in currencies. Leverage is one of the most appealing factors of the forex market. Traders should note that trading using leverage may increase potential gains as well as losses on any given trade.

Scratch-out the middleman
Spot currency trading bypasses expensive middlemen that are always associated with trading stocks. With forex, clients are able to interact directly with the currency market, and can buy and sell at the simple click of a mouse. No mess. No hassle. No middleman.

Commission-free*
With CMS Forex, you are never charged a commission. No clearing fees. No exchange fees. No Software fees. No brokerage fees.

*CMS charges no commission on your trades; we are compensated through the Bid and Ask prices or spread of a given currency pair. We may charge a fee for fund withdrawals. Please see Withdrawal of Funds for more information. Please be aware that the bank you deal with may be charging fees on your deposits or withdrawals. CMS has no control over any applicable bank fees.

Forex and the technical trader
Because currencies typically develop strong trending patterns, a technical currency trader may potentially identify new trends, breakouts, and opportunities to enter and exit positions.

Measuring the currency market
Currency prices are reflected in the balance of supply and demand for currencies. When it comes to currencies, there are two primary factors that affect supply and demand and they are interest rates and the strength of the originating country’s economy as a whole. Fundamental indicators, such as foreign investment, PPI, CPI, GDP, and the trade balance, echo the overall health of the economy, and alter the supply and demand for that currency. Expert commentaries and data on interest rates, International trade, and currencies are release on a regular basis.

Trade forex 24-hours a day
When you are looking at your forex platform, you are actually looking at a window display of the world’s economy. Currency trading is available twenty-four hours a day, starting on Sunday at 5P.M. EST with the opening of the market in Sidney and Singapore. A short while after, the Tokyo market opens. Then London, which opens at 2A.M. EST on Monday. And, by daytime in N.Y., the currency market has already been very active for fifteen hours. With currency trading, you are able to decide when to trade. Trading stocks when the U.S. markets are closed is difficult and only offers limited liquidity. With forex, you can trade twenty-four hours a day, from Sunday at 5P.M. EST. until Friday at 5P.M EST.

6 major currency pairs vs. over 8000 stocks
There are approximately 8,000 publicly traded companies, deciding which one to trade can become downright tedious and confusing. How do you determine which needle to pull out of the haystack? With Forex, there are currently 6 major currency pairs to choose from, and about 34 second-tier currencies.

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Forex Tips: 5 Steps to Successful Forex Trading

Close to 95% of all Forex traders will lose money. We're not just talking about novices, either. Whether you trade Forex for a living, as a hobby or just for fun, odds are against your success. That's a simply astonishing fact. However, the remaining 5% of Forex traders somehow manage to break even and there are those lucky few that actually make money in the currency market – consistently!

Like the TV show says … “How’d they do that, anyway?”

That's the million dollar questions, isn’t it? Countless books, seminars and expos have been hosted to answer this very question. That sad fact is that thousands of books have been written and countless seminars and interviews have been conducted in an attempt to answer the magic questions. The reality of the situation is that there is no magic formula; no one single Holy Grail of Forex trading.

So what do the successful traders do that the rest of us have simple not comprehended. They have mastered a process of winning where they combine and customize several factor to produce consistent results. They have mastered the Process of Trading.

The Process of Trading is:

Strategy > Money Management > Self-Mastery

Here are some simple Forex Education tips to help you master the process of forex trading:

Forex Success Tip #1 – You’ve Got To Have a Plan

You must have a written business plan that will detail all aspects of your trading. When are you going to trade, how much to risk, strategies for entries and exits are just o name a few. To become a consistent (profitable) Forex trader you have to plan your trade sand trade your plan.

Simplicity rules! Don’t make this plan too complicated. One sheet of paper for you mission statement and another for your trading plan should suffice. Anything more is probably too complicated.

Forex Success Tip #2 – Focus on Your Personal Psychology

Knowing yourself will allow you to master the discipline necessary to execute high quality trades with solid money management techniques. Lack of discipline is fatal in Forex trading. Go on a personal journey to identify you attitudes towards risk and money. Get intimate with your strengths and weaknesses as a trader and build in to your trading plan strategies to minimize those weaknesses and maximize your strengths.

Different personalities lend to different trading styles. Get familiar with all the different styles and over time you will begin to gravitate towards one particular style. Don’t fight the urge like I did. I insisted I was a day trader, but had only limited results. I found my winning percentages were much higher when I entered swing trades. Guess what’s my bread and butter strategy now!

Forex Success Tip #3 – Be Realistic About Your Expectations

This is a hard one, I know! I am on the internet every day and the amount of advertising is staggering. Brokers are offering free education (fox in the hen house if you ask me), forums of all different trading styles and points of view. Gurus pushing their system as “the one” that will make you the big bucks. How do you get through all that noise?

Let me tell you loud and clear right now – everyone is right and everyone is wrong. You have to make a personal commitment to become a successful trader, find a trading style that works for you and expect a slow and steady approach to wealth building through Forex.

What works for me may not work for you. Expect to go through an exploratory period where you are learning and at the same time exploring yourself as a trader. Keep an open mind and don’t pay attention to all the noise out there.

Forex Success Tip #4 – Be Patient

Rome was not built in a day and neither will your trading account. In fact, I tell all of my students that while they are studying to become successful Forex traders they should not look solely at their account balance as an indication of success or failure.

By tracking and increasing your percentage of high quality trades you execute is a far better barometer of your progress than your account balance. Cause and effect rule here. Over time when you increase your probabilities through the execution of high quality trades your account balance will respond accordingly.

Keep the focus on the process and with time your results will blow your mind.

Success Tip #5 - Money Management Is Top Priority

I would rather have a shaky strategy and excellent money management techniques than the other way around. This topic warrants its own blog post to do it justice. Limited your exposure (read “risk”) allows for you to stay in the game and allow the laws of probability to work.

Let’s take a casino for an example. They need gamblers to frequent their slot machines to make money. Why? They have a game that has a greater than 50% chance of making money for the house. The more people that play the slots, the greater the casino’s profits.

The casino controls risk by payout tables (always favoring the house!) and increases their probabilities by keeping gamblers at the slot machines (read “free drinks”). As a trader you must limit your risk by committing only 1% - 3% of available capital to a single trade. When you execute enough trades with a high probability strategy you too can clean up like the casinos – but only by staying in the game long term.

In conclusion, Forex trading is not easy. It’s hard work and will test the limits of your patience and perseverance. If anyone tells you otherwise .., buyers beware! It can be a very rewarding and profitable venture if done correctly. In the end it is a profession that requires a learning curve and practical experience, no different than an airline pilot or engineer. Understanding how to approach and learn this game will allow you to reap all the benefits advertised.

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Forex: Technical Analysis

The technical trader is concerned with studying patterns of price movement on the chart in order to predict the direction of current and future trends in the Forex market. The decision to buy, sell, or hedge a current position – or to stay out of the market entirely – is made upon this analysis. Identify recurring patterns and make educated assessments to guide your decisions; should you initiate a trade at the current price, or set your system to open a position at a future price? The goal of the technical analyst is simple: to make profitable Forex trades by identifying past patterns that have historically led to a predictable outcome. However, the potential risk should always be considered. A recurring pattern is not precise and does not guarantee a desirable or expected price movement.


Tools of the Technical Trader

Using various chart types and technical indicators, more accurate predictions can be made from better analysis of the Forex market. Technical indicators use price, volume, volatility, and other factors to create measures of how the market crowd is behaving. Technical indicators can be utilized to help decipher underlying currents that are behind price action. Trend lines, support and resistance levels, reversals, and numerous patterns can also be used to track and identify trends. Once a pattern is recognized (not all are apparent), the Forex trader can decide whether to place a trade, or wait and monitor the price to see if the predictions were accurate.
CMF Forex

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