Forex trading is more accessible than ever. You don’t need a large starting investment to begin trading foreign currency pairs. You don’t even have to go through a complex account creation process; you can begin trading forex pairs in minutes thanks to online brokers and their trading platforms.
The real challenge is in understanding the forex market. Before you can start being profitable with your forex investments, you need to understand the fundamentals of the market, define your risk profile, manage your bankroll, and formulate the right trading strategy based on these elements.
Bankroll management is an aspect that often gets neglected in a rush to investing in forex. To help you avoid making the same mistake, here are the simplest bankroll management tips to integrate into your trading strategy.
Invest the Money You Can Afford to Lose
This was one of the first pieces of advice I received when I started trading forex years ago. Yes, the forex market is lucrative and there are plenty of opportunities to make money, but there are also risks to manage and potential losses to anticipate.
Trading with the money you can afford to lose allows you to be less emotional when trading. You can make cool, calculated decisions from the beginning. This usually leads to better long-term profitability and an easier time breaking into the forex market.
Be Mindful of Your Leverage
Leverage is your friend and enemy. On the one hand, you can use leverage to multiply your ability to invest to a certain degree. A 100:1 leverage lets you open bigger positions and capitalize on them without having to increase your investment amount.
That said, you will also lose the same amount of money for every pip of movement against your open position. In this instance, leverage becomes a part of your risks; risks that you need to manage as you venture into the forex market further.
Adjust Your Strategy
Speaking of the size of your trade, you also have to think about your margin in relation to how you manage your risks. When you have plenty of margin to utilize, you actually have more options when dealing with reversals and added risks.
You can adopt the best trading systems based on your risk profile and trading style. Wall St. Nation has the top trading systems and indicators reviewed, and they include information on how you can adapt those systems based on the trading bankroll you have in your account.
Trade with a Plan
Last but not least, make sure you open each position with a clear trading strategy in mind. Opening a position without a plan is never good for your bankroll, since you are basically risking the entire amount without a clear exit strategy.
Whenever you open a new position, be sure to set a Stop Loss and a Target Profit. You can then add contingency plans and additional elements to further strengthen your trading plan.
Keep these tips and tricks in mind, and you will have no trouble at all managing your bankroll. As you get better at managing your bankroll, you will also increase your ability to avoid margin calls, adjust your trading sizes, and stay profitable in the long run.