A new year brings with it a whole range of emotions, from joy and hopeful optimism about what lies ahead, to perhaps some regret about past mistakes. And while all that is perfectly natural, here's hoping everyone is feeling energised and ready to reach new heights in 2017 trading!
The firm's main research and development office is based in Tel Aviv Israel. It originally specialized in Forex and indices spreadbetting and CFDs but has recently expanded in stock trading also.
At the time of writing, eToro has 2.2 out of 5 star on Trust pilot. The comments suggest that the platform offers some impressive features but withdrawing money can be difficult. Having said that, some of the negative reviews appear to be rants rather than constructive criticism. This can be examples of traders losing money through their own recklessness rather than eToro's fault. You should therefore take this reviews with a pinch of salt.
“the platform offers some impressive features but withdrawing money can be difficult.”
76% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider.
OANDA is a global financial services company providing advanced currency solutions to both retail and corporate clients all over the world. In this article, we are going to review this broker’s trading options, tools, platforms, spreads, commissions, security measures, and educational resources to help traders make the right choice.
76.6% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing
AvaTrade offers a wide variety of trading solutions (spread trading, CFDs, and social trading), and peace of mind with its comprehensive regulation, covering the EU, Australia, Canada and South Africa. Clients can use a variety of platforms for discretionary and automated trading.
76% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider.
Offers multiple asset classes, platforms, and regulated in a variety of regions. Caters for a global audience. Awarded with the Highest Overall Customer Satisfaction Award for 5 years running - Investment Trends CFD Report 2015.
A standalone copy-trading ecosystem, providing equities, foreign exchange, commodities and cryptocurrencies markets. Provides a global selection of brokerages.
Pepperstone is a global regulated broker that provides its clients with the latest technologies for trading multiple assets such as Forex, indices, cryptocurrencies, stocks, ETFs, and commodities. This article provides an overview of its trading platforms, tools, fees, protection measures, and other aspects to help traders make a more informed decision.
Today, we want to take some time to prepare for another year of trading by looking back at some of the key topics from the year that was, and remind you that plenty of trading ideas are timeless indeed, with application no matter what year it is.
So what follows are three trading themes that we've encountered often throughout 2016, and as this year now gives way to 2017 trading, we hope you'll take a few moments to review all that you've learned, and chart a course for a prosperous new year both in the markets and outside of them.
Ensure Strategy & Plan Compliance in 2017 Trading
Earlier this year, I wrote about the need to have faith in your trading strategy, as inevitably, traders will encounter rough patches when they consider—at least momentarily—switching strategies.
New traders are especially quick to want to jump ship and write off their strategy as being ineffective, but in reality, most often their problem is faulty plan compliance, and not a faulty trading strategy.
That's why we've worked hard and often to expose strategic errors that are all too common, and that hurt trading performance. Examples include:
In May, when we studied some costly pin bar mistakes, which include misinterpreting the chart pattern, and trading pin bars in the wrong market context
In July, when we examined the concept of opportunity flow, which states that trading opportunities occur randomly, and so do their outcomes. With that, traders mustn't "talk themselves out of" qualifying trades, even if they somehow happen in close proximity or happen to defy conventional market wisdom
Continuing to develop knowledge and further their trading education will be a stated goal for many in 2017 trading, as it is every year. And while learning a new analysis technique or indicator, or adding a new chart pattern or set-up to their arsenal can be a worthwhile pursuit, so too is simplifying your methods, using fewer indicators, and even eliminating set-ups that don't perform as well as your benchmark, or "go-to" pattern or set-up.
Articles that were created in order to help traders better assess the merits of different trading tools and techniques are:
Our debate about whether or not traders should wait for trade confirmation
The first of many technical indicator profiles, this one discussing the Relative Strength Index (RSI) and its different applications across the forex market and others
A discussion about seasonal cycles, which, of course, are fascinating trends that do seem to repeat in the markets more often than not, and can be especially useful as confirmation tools or trade-timing mechanisms
Work on the Mental Side of Trading, Too
As a true testament to the fact that trading is (at least) 90% mental, our discussions tended to touch upon healthy and unhealthy thought processes just about as much. Topics such as restoring confidence following negative outcomes, and how to identify hidden biases are a couple examples, but here's the key point of emphasis and what we'd like to have you carry forward into 2017 trading: Psychology can help determine the quality of your overall trading experience, so make the mental game a big part of your focus in the year ahead.
Psychological "skills" worth cultivating may include:
Mindfulness, a topic that has appeared frequently in 2016, starting with this feature article from mid-May
Identifying our own propensity for negative thought patterns, which makes for a good starting point, and finally…
Positive self talk, which is a goal for which we can all strive, especially those of us who are overly critical of ourselves in trading, as well as in life
Here's wishing you all a happy, healthy, and prosperous 2017! Most sincere thanks for the journey that was 2016, and we look forward to bringing you plenty of new and exciting things very soon, all of which are benefits you can experience first and foremost when you join the Lazy Trader member community. As always, your no-risk trial membership can be yours just by clicking the below banner.