Options as a Strategic Investment » Foreign Exchange

Alternative Investments in a Bear Market

admin — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 21:09:34 +0000

Treasury Bills, Commercial Paper, Corporate Bonds, Certificate of Deposits and Repurchase Agreements. Collectively are referred to as Money Market Instruments.

Money market instruments are short term debt obligations generally regarded as low risk, low to medium return investment for the holder. They are essentially IOUs issued by governments, financial institutions and large corporations. These instruments are very liquid and considered extraordinarily safe. Because they are extremely conservative, money market securities offer significantly lower risks than most other securities. They have maturities ranging from one day to one year.

Treasury bills

Treasury bills are issued by the Central banks such as the Bank of England or government treasury departments. The Treasury sells bills at regularly scheduled auctions to refinance government projects and obligations. It also helps to finance current government deficits.

Commercial Paper

Commercial Paper is short-term loan that is issued by a corporation use for financing accounts receivable and inventories. Commercial Papers have higher denominations as compared to the Treasury Bills and the Certificate of Deposit. The maturity period of Commercial Papers is a maximum of 9 months. They are very safe since the financial situation of the corporation can be anticipated over a few months.

Corporate Bonds

A corporate bond is an IOU issued by a public company, such as BT, ICI or Marks & Spencer. When you invest in a corporate bond, you are lending money to the company. In return you will receive interest at a fixed rate and the promise that your capital will be repaid at a certain date in the future.

Certificate of Deposit

A certificate of deposit (CD) is a time deposit with a bank. CDs are generally issued by commercial banks but they can be bought through brokerages. They bear a specific maturity date (from three months to five years), a specified interest rate, and can be issued in any denomination, much like bonds. CDs offer a slightly higher yield than Treasury Bills because of the slightly higher risk for a bank but, overall, the likelihood that a large bank will go broke is pretty slim. (Northern Rock Plc being the exception of course).

Repurchase Agreements

The Repo or the repurchase agreement is used by the government security holder when he sells the security to a lender and promises to repurchase from him overnight. Hence the Repos have terms raging from 1 night to 30 days. They are very safe due to government backing. Due to this short turnaround time, these agreements are the most liquid of all money market investments, they are very similar to bank deposit accounts, and many corporations arrange for their banks to transfer excess cash to such funds automatically.

Its is however important to note that Although securities purchased on the money market carry less risk than long-term debt, they are still not entirely risk free. After all, as we all know banks do sometimes fail, and the fortunes of companies can change rather rapidly. But it has to be said that the range of possible outcomes is less for short-term investments than for conventional equity and fixed income investments.

Growing Popularity of Forex Trading

admin — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 21:12:39 +0000

Today it is very hard to ignore the fact that forex market is the world’s biggest financial market. Over the past few years, it has become the most popular market with trades amounting to more than USD 3 trillion every day. Generally referred as currency trading market, it always involves the combination of two currencies. For example- either you can buy Euro or sell US dollars, or you can buy and sale any other combination of globally accepted currencies. In recent times, fx trading has gained huge popularity and turned out to be a very profitable money making option. If we look at the present scenario, it can be recognized as one of the most potentially rewarding types of investments available in the global market. Though this form of trading involves great risks but the potential to earn profits are enormous relative to initial capital investments. The major reason of growing recognition is its very low dealing costs, high leverage margin, 24 hours trading a day and high liquidity market. For example, with a $5000 account, you can make about $5000 per month. Obviously it decidedly depends on the manner that you trade and the strategy you follow but good and experienced traders can double their money every month. . The key positive sign of fx currency trading that can help you consider it as a money-making affair can be its size. Its wide yet easily accessible size prevents almost all attempts by others to influence the market for their own gain. Consequently, when you invest in foreign currency market, you can be certain that the deal you are making has the same opportunity for profit as other investors do throughout the world. . So, if you are looking to get involve in this type of currency trading, it is always better to enjoy trading with the help of a forex broker. A forex broker can be the key person who can guide you to earn more profits from market, as a result it is always better to carefully select a right forex broker for right deal. Apart from all this, the next major fact about this form of currency trading is- in this form of trading there is no centralized location of foreign currency trading. With the help of various online platforms you can trade currency from any parts of the world. With the help of internet connection and active forex trading account you can easily trade in foreign currencies. . Today it can be considered as one of the few trading markets in the world that always provides you with opportunities to trade because of currencies strengthening or weakening. The supply and demand are the factors that determine the price in any market. Now when there are too many buyers and sellers, similar to the current situation in forex market, the price volatility can be much higher, market may be more dynamic and chances to make money can be even more. The price may go up and down more frequently and this dynamic nature helps in making decent money. Consequently, if you are looking to choose Forex as your business, its better you do not get worried about competition but must make sure you develop a proper strategy to earn money and enjoy good success in fx trading.

Forex Options Trading – How to Control Your Emotions in Forex With Money Management Principles?

admin — Sun, 27 Dec 2009 22:02:07 +0000

You’re sure that you’ll gain money. You even tried playing mock games in Forex trading. You know everything there is to know in finding the right currency. Hold your horses for just a minute. Don’t just dive yet in the real thing. Your emotions might cause you to lose money. Controlling your emotions cannot be learned by playing a mock game. Greed and despair can affect your currency choice.

One way of protecting yourself is knowing how to manage your money. Money management starts not in choosing the right currency but way before that. Before analyzing your currency choices, start by knowing how much money you are going to invest.

Money management is a strategic tool in preserving your capital. Instead of putting all your money in one currency, money management will limit how much money you put in. So when your currency of choice didn’t perform well, you’ll end with enough money to choose another currency too.

Money management is not diversification in currency but the diversification of your money. Instead of putting all your money in a particular investment, you put your money one at a time. It’s like dropping your money in a piggy bank. You can’t just put in all your money. Money comes in one after the other. This strategy can help you in controlling your emotions. Instead of being ruled by your emotions, have a system that will make your emotions under control. The more systematic you are in choosing a currency the better are your chances.

Beginners Trading Guidelines

admin — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 09:47:41 +0000

How difficult is it to make money trading the Forex market? How much time does it take to actually be able to make a living trading the Forex market? These and other important aspects of trading are to be discussed in this article.
Always Place Stop-Loss Orders
The most common and important risk management tool in forex trading is the Stop-Loss order.
A Stop-Loss order ensures a particular position is automatically liquidated at a predetermined price in order to limit potential losses should the market move against your position.
We recommend you always place a Stop-Loss order immediately after a new position is opened, as it can be very tempting to overrun losses on losing trades if a Stop-Loss order hasn’t been placed.
So often have I seen situations where a novice trader is 500 points out of the money when he only intended to make or lose 50! By not placing a Stop-Loss order the trader has lost much more than planned, and the Risk/Reward Ratio is exceedingly poor.
In order to avoid this scenario you must follow a simple rule – Always place Stop-Loss orders, liquidity of the Forex market ensures Stop-Loss orders can be easily executed.
Usually Place Take-Profit Orders
Aswell as placing Stop-Loss orders, we recommend in most cases to enter Take-Profit orders at the same time using the OCO order function that most trading systems now have. The reason for this is similar to that for placing Stop-Loss orders.
Whereas with losing positions it can be very tempting to overrun losses, with winning positions it can be just as tempting to lock in a profit too early. By placing limits you will eliminate the risk of not being patient enough and taking profit too early.
However, you may feel confident in your ability not to profit take too early, prefering to monitor the market and taking profit at an opportune moment. In this case placing only a Stop-Loss order is an option.
Positive Risk/Reward Ratio
You should always trade using a positive Risk/Reward Ratio. By a positive Risk/Reward ratio we mean “The amount you’re willing to make on a trade should be more than or equal to the amount you’re willing to lose”.
All successful traders trade using a positive Risk/Reward ratio. There is no sense in having five 30 pip winning trades, and then one 200 pip losing trade because at the end of the day you are 50 pips down!
Unfortunately, many novice and unsuccessful traders use a negative Risk/Reward ratio. When trading this way losing positions are always going to be greater than profitable ones, and it can be difficult to recoup the losses in the short term.
It is not uncommon for unsuccessful traders to increase trade size in order to recoup losses quickly, therefore greatly increasing trading risk relative to trading equity.
This is a recipe for disaster, you must trade with consistancy and control. The easiest way to manage your Risk/Reward is to use the Stop-Loss and Take-Profit orders mentioned above.
Overtrading
Some online forex brokers now offer 3 to 5 pip spreads in the liquid currencies such as EUR/USD and USD/JPY. These are very competitive prices which a few years ago were unthinkable. As recently as the mid 1990’s brokers were quoting 10 pip spreads in the major currencies plus a commission!
Thankfully due to the internet, the current boom in Forex trading and the competition between Forex brokers, those days are well and truly over.
The excellent value available from trading on tight spreads works very much to the traders advantage. However, you should avoid overtrading and entering trades for just a 5-10 pip profit or loss. Even trading this way on 3 pip spreads can adversely affect your profitability.
Below are examples of both a winning trade and losing trade when trading for a 10 pip profit or loss:
Winning Trade:
Buy EUR/USD at 1.2020 (price = 17/20)
Sell EUR/USD at 1.2030 (price = 30/33)
Market moves 13 pips before taking profit
Losing Trade:
Buy EUR/USD at 1.2020 (price = 17/20)
Sell EUR/USD at 1.2010 (price = 10/13)
Market moves 7 pips before taking loss
The above example highlights that the risk/reward of trading for a 10 pip profit or loss is poor.
For the same 10 pips P&L, the market must move 13 pips for your winning position, but only 7 pips for your losing position.
As a general rule of thumb, we recommend that your Take-Profit or Stop-Loss levels are at least 10 times the spread you have traded on. This strategy will help avoid overtrading and improve risk/reward.
Chasing the Market
If you are a day trader or short term trader, in general we recommend not to “chase the market”.
By this we mean you shouldn’t for example buy Euro after it has already risen 100 pips and is trading at the days highs. Or sell USD/JPY after it has come off 150 pips and is trading near the days lows. The rationale behind this is that in many cases the market will consolidate and there will be better opportunities to enter into a new position.
A common scenario when chasing the market is panic buying or selling when a novice trader reverses a position in the hope that they can quickly make back losses. Unfortunately what often happens is that they simply instead end up repeatedly buying the high, and selling the low. This situation must obviously be avoided.
Managing your Margin
We recommend you only risk a maximum of 10% of your total trading equity on a single trade.
10% may sound like too little risk considering many online forex brokers offer 1% margin or 100 times leverage. However, trading on high leverage can be very risky as you could lose everything in a single trade.
By risking only 10% of your equity on a single trade, you will still be able to make good profits from successful trades whilst avoiding the risk of being wiped out during a bad streak.
Even the most profitable traders can have losing streaks in which they could for example have 3 or 4 consecutive losing positions.
Finally
Successful forex trading is a long term investment which can produce excellent returns if traded with control, discipline, patience and consistency. Your target should be to make substancial profits over the course of anything over 3 months.
Wanting to double your money in a week is not the right mindset with which to start trading. The risks involved are way too high and belong in the casino!
In forex trading the old cliche definately rings true — knowledge equals power!

Forex Trading – Strategic Trading for More Pips

admin — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 10:34:23 +0000

The potential of earning lots and lots of money is enough to lure a number of people into forex trading. This is not an entirely wrong motivation. Money, after all, is a necessity especially in today’s financially hard-up times. But, expecting to just keep on raking in gains by doing forex trading is a complete mistake. There are no guarantees to making money in forex trading. Anyone who promises this is obviously out to scam you. Trading in the forex market can indeed result in lots of gains. But, the risk of losing is also there. Accepting the risks along with the expectation of profits gives you the right frame of mind for planning and making strategic trading decisions.

Sometimes, especially if you are a novice, the right forex strategy is to take low-risk positions and cash in on short-term pips even if they are not as big. This is acceptable for those who are not risk tolerant. This trading strategy is also best for those who are not prepared to take some bad losses – but then again, the forex trading business is not for you if you are not ready to take the losses. Those who are more willing to take risks can diversify their forex trading portfolio to cover both short-term and long-term positions. Because there are no guarantees as to the way the market can turn, it is important to have a contingency plan as part of the strategy. Looking at only one scenario and placing your buy and sell order based on only one indicator can expose you to possible losses due to miscalculation or flukes in the market. You either have to consider multiple scenarios or counter your position with another forex trade to cover your losses.

Forex Trading – Calm and Collected Risk Taking

admin — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 21:09:16 +0000

There are absolutely no guarantees in forex trading. About the only thing that is guaranteed is that nobody knows for sure how the market will move. Sure there are indicators and trend lines to read, but these are really not fool proof. The successful forex trader should be able to accept at the onset of his forex options trading and currency trading career that there are risks involved in forex trading. It is your ability to stay cool in the face of these risks that will spell your performance in the forex options trading and currency trading business.

When you see entry signals, you have to be quick on your feet to think whether this is a trade that you want to get into or not considering the risks vis-a-vis your forex trading strategy. Taking on the risks sans emotions and sticking to your strategy is often the best way to make forex options trading and currency trading decisions. Do not be too emotional about the way you are trading. Assume the worst but hope for the best is a good tenet to follow. If you believe in your trading strategy, give it a chance to work for you.

Start with low-risk trades to get a feel of the forex market if you are a novice. Sometimes, running after bigger pips can result in missed opportunities and great losses for the forex trade. By keeping your emotions under control you will be able to develop your own trading strategy of spreading out risks, enjoying small pips in the short-term, and planning for long-term pips.