Fusion Markets

Contents 

Defining Success in Forex Trading

The Role of Psychology in Trading

Characteristics of Successful Traders

Embracing Emotional Intelligence

Developing a Winning Mindset

The Psychology of Risk Management

Learning from Mistakes

Conclusion

Defining Success in Forex Trading

Embarking on your forex trading journey might seem daunting at first, but fret not! We’ve put together all the information you need to get started. 

This guide is your friendly companion, packed with real-world examples, easy-to-grasp basics, newbie-friendly strategies, handy tips, and a step-by-step roadmap to kickstart your forex adventures.

Contents 

Introduction to Forex Trading

How the Forex Market Works

Getting started in Forex Trading

Developing a Strategy 

Practical Tips for Beginners

Resources for Further Learning

Introduction to Forex Trading

Foreign exchange trading, or forex trading, is the process of buying and selling currencies in the global financial markets. It is one of the largest and most liquid markets in the world, with an average daily trading volume estimated to exceed USD$7 trillion. Unlike traditional stock markets, forex trading operates 24 hours a day, five days a week, allowing traders to participate in the market at any time.

Forex trading involves the exchange of one currency for another at an agreed-upon price. This is done with the aim of profiting from fluctuations in exchange rates. Currencies are traded in pairs, where one currency is bought while the other is sold. The most commonly traded currency pairs, or ‘the majors’ as they’re more commonly referred to, include EUR/USD (Euro/US Dollar), GBP/USD (British Pound/US Dollar), AUD/USD (Australian Dollar/US Dollar), NZD/USD (New Zealand Dollar/US Dollar), USD/JPY (US Dollar/Japanese Yen), USD/CAD (US Dollar/Canadian Dollar), and USD/CHF (US Dollar/Swiss Franc).

Examples of other currency pairs, most often referred to as “crosses”, are AUD/JPY (Australian Dollar/Japanese Yen), GBP/NZD (British Pound/New Zealand Dollar), EUR/CAD (Euro/Canadian Dollar) and so forth.

And finally, less-traded currency pairs are referred to as “exotics”. Examples of these include USD/TRY (US Dollar/Turkish Lira), USD/HUF (US Dollar/Hungarian Forint). It’s important to note that exotic pairs tend to have wider spreads and higher volatility compared to major and minor pairs.

Uses of the forex market

The forex market is used by many players, for many different reasons. Retail traders aim at buying or selling a currency to take advantage of short-term fluctuations in price, whereas corporates who conduct regular international trade often use the forex market to hedge against their local currency weakening.

Large-scale players such as hedge funds or investment firms, will use the foreign exchange market to take advantage of divergences in interest rates between two nations in the form of a carry trade.

For more information on the types of forex trading, head to Part Four.

Reading Currency Pair Quotes

Currency pair quotes consist of two prices: the bid price and the ask price. The bid price represents the price at which you can sell the base currency, while the ask price represents the price at which you can buy the base currency. The difference between the bid and ask prices is known as the spread, which represents the broker's profit margin.

In forex trading, currency pairs are quoted in pips, short for "price interest point," representing the smallest possible price movement. For most major currency pairs, prices are quoted with four decimal points, indicating a change of 1/100 of one percent or 1 basis point. However, the Japanese Yen is an exception, trading with only two decimal points.

For instance, if the bid price for the EUR/USD pair is quoted as 1.19040, this breakdown refers to the five decimal places displayed on the market watch.

How the Forex Market Works

In order to trade the foreign exchange market effectively, you need to understand the nuts and bolts of how it works.

The forex market is decentralised, meaning that there is no central exchange where all transactions take place. Instead, trading occurs over-the-counter (OTC) through a global network of banks, financial institutions, and individual traders. Some of the larger players in the forex market are Deutsche Bank, UBS, Citi Bank, RBS and more.

Prices are determined by supply and demand dynamics, with exchange rates fluctuating based on economic indicators, geopolitical events, and market sentiment.

How the system works

Market makers are key players in the forex world. They establish both the buying (bid) and selling (ask) prices, which are visible to everyone on their platforms. Their role extends to facilitating transactions with a diverse clientele, including banks and individual traders. By consistently quoting prices, they inject liquidity into the market. As counterparties, market makers engage in every trade, ensuring a seamless flow: when you sell, they buy, and vice versa.

Electronic Communications Networks (ECNs) play a crucial role in forex trading by aggregating prices from various market participants like banks, market makers, and fellow traders. They showcase the most competitive bid and ask quotes on their platforms, drawing from this pool of prices. While ECN brokers also act as counterparts in trades, they differ from market makers in their settlement approach rather than fixed pricing. Unlike fixed spreads, ECN spreads fluctuate based on market activity, sometimes even hitting zero during peak trading times, especially with highly liquid currency pairs like the majors.

Direct Market Access (DMA) empowers buy-side firms to directly access liquidity for securities they aim to buy or sell through electronic platforms offered by third-party providers. These firms, clients of sell-side entities like brokerages and banks, maintain control over trade execution while leveraging the infrastructure of sell-side firms, which may also function as market makers.

Straight Through Processing (STP) represents a significant leap in trading efficiency, transitioning from the traditional T+3 settlement to same-day settlement. One of its notable advantages is the reduction of settlement risk. By expediting transaction processing, STP enhances the likelihood of timely contract settlement. Its core objective is to streamline transaction processing by electronically transmitting information, eliminating redundant data entry and enabling simultaneous dissemination to multiple parties when necessary.

Getting Started in Forex Trading

Choosing a Broker

When selecting a forex broker, it's essential to not only consider the fees, but also regulatory compliance, trading platform, and customer support. Look for brokers regulated by reputable authorities such as the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in the UK or the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) in the US.

Here at Fusion Markets we’re dedicated to offering a quality service with an affordable fee structure. You can learn more about trading forex or view our licences. 

Setting Up Your Trading Account

Once you've chosen a broker, the next step is to open a trading account. This typically involves completing an online application, submitting identification documents, and funding your account. Forex brokers offer various account types to suit different trading preferences, including standard accounts, mini accounts, and demo accounts for practice trading.

Developing a Strategy

Identify Your Trading Style

Before developing a trading strategy, it's essential to identify your trading style, whether it's day trading, swing trading, or position trading. Your trading style will dictate the timeframe you trade on and the types of setups you look for in the market.

Below are the types of pros and cons of each trading style:

Types of Analysis

Fundamental Analysis

Unlike technical analysis, which primarily relies on historical price data, fundamental analysis examines economic indicators, monetary policies, geopolitical events, and other macroeconomic factors to gauge the strength and direction of a currency's movement.

Central to fundamental analysis is the understanding that currency prices are ultimately driven by supply and demand dynamics, which in turn are influenced by broader economic conditions. For example, factors such as interest rates, inflation rates, GDP growth, unemployment levels, and trade balances can all impact a currency's value.

One of the key concepts in fundamental analysis is interest rate differentials. Central banks use interest rates as a tool to control inflation and stimulate economic growth. Currencies with higher interest rates tend to attract more investors seeking higher returns on their investments, leading to an appreciation in their value relative to currencies with lower interest rates. Traders closely monitor central bank announcements and economic reports to anticipate changes in interest rates and adjust their trading strategies accordingly.

Another important aspect of fundamental analysis is the assessment of economic indicators. These indicators provide insights into the health of an economy and can influence currency prices. For example, strong GDP growth and low unemployment rates are typically associated with a robust economy and may lead to appreciation in the currency. Conversely, high inflation or rising unemployment may weaken a currency.

Geopolitical events can also have a significant impact on currency prices. Political instability, conflicts, trade tensions, and other geopolitical factors can create uncertainty in the market and cause fluctuations in currency prices. Traders must stay informed about geopolitical developments and assess their potential impact on currency markets.

While fundamental analysis provides valuable insights into the long-term trends and direction of currency markets, it is important to note that currency prices can also be influenced by short-term factors and market sentiment. Therefore, traders often use a combination of fundamental and technical analysis to make informed trading decisions.

Technical Analysis

Technical analysis involves studying historical price data and using various charting tools and indicators to identify patterns and trends. Common technical analysis tools include moving averages, trendlines, and oscillators like the Relative Strength Index (RSI) and Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD). Traders use technical analysis to make short-term trading decisions based on price action and market momentum.

Technical analysis is a cornerstone of forex trading, offering traders a systematic approach to interpreting market dynamics and making informed trading decisions based on historical price movements and market statistics. Unlike fundamental analysis, which focuses on economic indicators and macroeconomic factors, technical analysis relies solely on price data and trading volume to forecast future price movements.

At its core, technical analysis is based on the efficient market hypothesis, which posits that all relevant information is already reflected in an asset's price. Therefore, by analysing past price movements, traders believe they can identify recurring patterns and trends that may indicate potential future price directions.

One of the fundamental concepts in technical analysis is that of support and resistance levels. Support represents a price level where buying interest is sufficiently strong to prevent the price from falling further, while resistance is a level where selling pressure is sufficient to halt an upward price movement. Traders use these levels to identify potential entry and exit points for their trades.

Example of support and resistance areas on EURUSD Daily chart

Another key tool in technical analysis is chart patterns, which are formed by the recurring movements of prices over time. Common chart patterns include triangles, flags, and head and shoulders formations. By recognising these patterns, traders attempt to predict future price movements and adjust their trading strategies accordingly.

In addition to chart patterns, technical analysts also utilise technical indicators to aid in their analysis. These indicators are mathematical calculations based on price and volume data and are used to identify trends, momentum, volatility, and other aspects of market behavior. Popular technical indicators include moving averages, oscillators like the Relative Strength Index (RSI) and the Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD), and trend-following indicators such as the Average Directional Index (ADX).

While technical analysis is a powerful tool for forex traders, it is not without its limitations. Critics argue that technical analysis is subjective and prone to interpretation bias, as different analysts may draw different conclusions from the same set of data. Moreover, technical analysis does not account for fundamental factors such as economic news and geopolitical events, which can have a significant impact on currency prices.

Despite these limitations, technical analysis remains an indispensable tool for forex traders worldwide. By understanding and applying technical analysis principles, traders can gain valuable insights into market trends and dynamics, allowing them to make more informed trading decisions and improve their overall trading performance.

Risk Management

Setting Stop-Loss and Take-Profit Orders

Stop-loss orders are used to limit losses by automatically closing a trade at a predetermined price level. Take-profit orders, on the other hand, are used to lock in profits by closing a trade when the price reaches a specified target. By using stop-loss and take-profit orders, traders can manage risk and control their downside exposure.

Position Sizing

Position sizing involves determining the appropriate amount of capital to risk on each trade based on factors such as account size, risk tolerance, and the probability of success. A common rule of thumb is to risk no more than 1-2% of your trading capital on any single trade to preserve capital and avoid significant drawdowns.

Your Strategy

Once you’ve determine what style of trading would suit you best, you now need to develop a strategy. There are thousands of different strategies out there so you have the choice of learning one from someone else, or developing your own.

Regardless, some common strategies include:

Trend Following Strategies

Trend following strategies in forex trading involve identifying and capitalising on established market trends. Traders employing this approach aim to enter positions in the direction of the prevailing trend, whether it's upward (bullish) or downward (bearish), and ride the momentum for as long as possible. These strategies typically utilise technical indicators, such as moving averages and trendlines, to confirm the direction of the trend and determine optimal entry and exit points. The goal of trend following strategies is to capture significant portions of a trend's movement while minimising losses during market reversals.

NZDUSD Daily Chart showing optimal entry points to go short during a bearish trend.

Range-bound strategies

Range-bound strategies in forex trading focus on exploiting price movements within defined ranges or boundaries. Traders employing this approach identify periods when a currency pair is trading within a relatively narrow price range, bounded by support and resistance levels. Instead of following a trend, range-bound traders seek to buy near support and sell near resistance, aiming to profit from the price being restricted to the range highs and lows.

USDJPY 15min chart with optimal buy and sell signals for a range-bound strategy

Breakout Strategies

Breakout trading strategies in forex involve capitalising on significant price movements that occur when an asset's price breaks through predefined support or resistance levels. Traders employing this approach wait for a clear breakout from the established range and then enter positions in the direction of the breakout, anticipating continued momentum in that direction. Breakout traders typically use technical indicators, such as trendlines, moving averages, and volatility measures, to identify potential breakout opportunities and confirm the strength of the breakout. The goal of breakout trading strategies is to capture rapid price movements and profit from the subsequent price trend.

Example of an opportune entry for a bullish breakout trade on EURUSD 4-hour chart

The key to developing a strategy that works for you is by studying the charts and thinking about what makes sense to you. If you think patterns make sense as they identify areas of consolidation which can lead to a breakout, then pattern trading could be a good fit for you.

It’s important for any trader to stick with their chosen strategy and not switch strategies every time they encounter a losing streak.

Practical Tips for Beginners

Maintain a Trading Journal

Keeping a trading journal allows traders to track their performance, analyse their trades, and identify areas for improvement. A trading journal should include details such as entry and exit points, trade rationale, risk-reward ratio, and emotional state. By reviewing past trades, traders can learn from their mistakes and refine their trading strategies over time.

Avoid Overleveraging

While leverage can amplify profits, it also increases the risk of significant losses. Avoid overleveraging by using leverage cautiously and only trading with capital you can afford to lose. A general rule is to keep leverage levels below 10:1 to mitigate risk effectively. The best position is cash. You should ensure you’re only taking the most high-probability set-ups that are in-line with your strategy.

Stay Disciplined

Maintain discipline in your trading approach by sticking to your trading plan and avoiding emotional decision-making. Avoid chasing losses or deviating from your strategy based on fear or greed. Consistency and discipline are key to long-term success in forex trading. Sometimes it’s best to walk away from the charts and come back the next day with a clearer head.

Manage Emotions Effectively

Trading can be emotionally challenging, with the potential for both euphoria and despair. Learn to manage your emotions effectively by practicing mindfulness techniques, maintaining a positive mindset, and taking regular breaks from the market. Remember that losses are a natural part of trading, and it's essential to stay resilient and focused on your long-term goals.

Be realistic with your expectations

Trading can be very lucrative, but it can also be very costly. Traders should be realistic in their expectations – what % will you aim for each month? How much are you going to risk? Risking 20% of your equity per trade will be great on winning trades, but it won’t take long for you to eradicate your entire balance on a handful of losses. Whereas risking 1% equity per trade will allow you to conserve as much capital as possible, whilst still gaining 1%+ per winning trade.

Resources for Further Learning

To continue your forex trading education, consider exploring the following resources:

• Books: "Currency Trading for Dummies" by Brian Dolan, "Japanese Candlestick Charting Techniques" by Steve Nison, and "Market Wizards" by Jack D. Schwager.
• Online Courses: Investopedia Academy, Udemy, and Coursera offer a variety of forex trading courses for beginners and advanced traders.
• Forums and Communities: Join online forums and communities such as Forex Factory, BabyPips and TradingView to connect with other traders, share ideas, and learn from experienced professionals.

Ready to get started?

Our mission has always been to bring low-cost trading to everyone, everywhere, and our newest upgrade is another way we're fulfilling that promise to you. In this blog post, we'll delve into the improvements we've made to our inter-account transfer infrastructure, and show you how to leverage these new features to optimise your trades.

Reduced Account-to-Account FX Transfer Costs

Part of our upgrade allows you to transfer funds from two different base currency accounts at a rate 60% cheaper than before. Our rates are essentially interbank rates, meaning that these are some of the best rates you'll find available, even from your own bank.

So when you're transferring funds from your USD account to your EUR account, you're getting close to the rate that banks will give when they trade with each other.

Seamless Transfers Between Trading Accounts

Transferring funds between your trading accounts is now a breeze. Access the convenient "Payments" tab within your Client Hub and click on "Transfer."

Effortlessly swap between accounts or create new ones to streamline your trading strategy and manage your funds with ease.

Creating New Base Currency Accounts Made Simple

In addition to far superior exchange rates, you can also create new base currency accounts with a simple click.

To create a new account, all you need to do is select a currency in which you currently do not have a trading account.

Click on "Create an Account," set up your password and trading conditions, and you're ready to go.

Instant Transfers for Immediate Trading

Recognising the importance of time in the fast-paced world of trading, we've ensured that transfers between your accounts are now instant. With prompt processing, you can create a new account, transfer funds, and dive into trading within a minute. Embrace agility and seize opportunities swiftly.

Have More Questions?

If you require further information or have any additional questions, do not hesitate to reach out to our support team - we're available 24/7. We're here to provide guidance and support, ensuring your trading success.

Happy trading!

The foreign exchange pair USD/CNH (or otherwise known as USD/CNY) is the trading ticker symbol for the powerful but volatile pair of the United States dollar and Chinese Renminbi. Chinese Renminbi is the official currency of the People’s Republic of China, but each individual unit of currency is called Yuan. These two are considered as “exotic” or volatile pairs, mainly because a major currency, USD, is paired with that of an emerging nation, CNH.

While considered volatile and generally treated with higher liquidity, the USD/CNH pair is the combination of the world’s two largest economies. The unique relationship between the two countries of the two currencies makes the combination both potent and fascinating.

CURRENCY BACKGROUND

United States Dollar

The United States Dollar is the official currency of the United States of America and several other countries. It is popularly known as the “greenback” due to the bills’ predominantly green color.

The Coinage Act of 1972 paved the way for the introduction of the US dollar. The fiscal policy of the United States is under the control and supervision of the Federal Reserve System, which serves as the nation’s central bank as well.

Chinese Yuan

The Renminbi is the official currency of the People’s Republic of China. The Yuan is the basic unit of the Renminbi, but it is also used to refer to the currency in general, especially in an international context.

In 1948, or one year before the establishment of the People’s Republic of China, the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) introduced the Renminbi. As the new government of China expanded its hold on its territories, it began to steadily issue the Renminbi so as to have a unified currency in the land. Since then, the Renminbi, or Yuan, has been in circulation and has been the official currency of China.

IMPLICATIONS OF USD/CNH CURRENCY PEGGING

The US and China have always had a love-hate relationship that greatly affects not only their trade relations but that of the world as well. The past decades saw a series of pegging and de-pegging between the two currencies. Here are a few key periods that saw the biggest impact and highlighted the importance of currency pegging.

1995-2005

The US Dollar is freely convertible into all currencies of developed economies. On the other hand, the Chinese government is managing the Chinese Yuan’s value. From 1995, Chinese Yuan was at a “hard currency peg” at 8.38 against the US Dollar. For a decade this seems to be the case, and for this reason, it received wide criticism, mainly from the US government. The expectation that there should be a movement in the currency exchange of Yuan (given that China’s economy saw big growth) was not seen. This move by China is seen to protect its interest as, by artificially keeping the value of the Yuan down, Chinese importers were given a competitive advantage: a lower Yuan exchange rate reflects a stronger Chinese currency because you would need fewer Yuan to purchase one US Dollar.

2005

July of 2005 saw a revaluation of the Yuan by the People’s Bank of China by 2.1 percent. PBOC likewise announced a shift to a “soft peg,” which will allow the Yuan to trade more freely within a certain managed exchange rate range. While some criticized the change for being too “insignificant,” many economists praised the move and saw it as the first step towards a more flexible currency exchange system.

2010 - present

Since 2010, China continued its efforts of reforming its exchange rate system by giving the buying and selling forces in the market a freer reign in determining the exchange rate.

IMPORTANT THINGS TO CONSIDER WHEN TRADING USD/CNH IN FOREX

Federal Reserve and People’s Bank of China

Federal Reserve

The Federal Reserve, or most commonly known as The Fed, is the United States’ central bank. It is responsible for the monetary policies of the nation and sets the interest rates of the dollar investments eight (8) times in any given year. The Fed provides direction to strengthen the US Dollar and in maintaining its fluidity and stability.

People’s Bank of China (PBOC)

PBOC is China’s central bank. It has the duty of implementing monetary policies – even unconventional ones – to ensure that CNY remains competitive and afloat. PBOC likewise sets a daily midpoint rate, which serves as a basis in trading Renminbi or Yuan within 2% in either direction.

Trade Wars

Being major players in the international trading arena, trade wars in the form of imposition of additional tariffs and sanctions greatly affects the values of the currencies. In the 2018-2019 US-China Trade standoff, when Trump imposed a series of sanctions against China’s products and exports, China retaliated by lowering the exchange rate value of CNY below its USD peg.

USD/CNH Weekly - Nov 2017-2018

CONCLUSION

Is the USD/CNH worth the risk for your investment?

As a volatile combination, is it worth the risk to invest in USD/CNH?

While it seems counterintuitive, the pair remains to be one of the most popular, given that the combination represents two of the most powerful economies in the world.

The US Dollar is the world’s primary reserve currency, and remains to be the most widely used currency when it comes to international transactions. The Chinese Yuan represents the continuous and rapidly rising economy of China, the world’s largest exporter. Their advantages when taken individually could be the pair’s strength when taken cumulatively.

The Forex symbol NZD/CAD indicates the exchange rate value between the New Zealand Dollar (NZD) and the Canadian dollar (CAD).

Currency background

The New Zealand Dollar (NZD)

The New Zealand dollar has been New Zealand's official currency since 1967. It is also used by the Cook Islands, Niue, the Pitcairn Islands, and Tokelau.

Before NZD emerged as the country's official currency, New Zealand used the New Zealand pound. It should be noted that it differs from NZD and the sterling pound. The government researched using a decimal currency, eventually leading to the use of NZD.

When NZD was introduced, 27 million worth of banknotes and 165 million in coins were produced. The currency is also known as the kiwi, after the bird native to New Zealand.

The Canadian Dollar (CAD)

The Canadian dollar (CAD) has been Canada's official currency since 1858. It uses the typical dollar sign ($). You will sometimes see it as CAD, Can$, or even CA$. These variations are meant to distinguish it from other currencies that use the dollar name. Like other dollar denominations, such as NZD, it is a decimal currency.

CAD is pretty popular, holding the fifth most chosen reserve currency. Of course, USD dollar is at the top, followed by the EUR, GBP, and JPY. CAD is also the sixth most traded currency because the country has a lot to offer in terms of raw materials and natural resources.

Factors you need to consider in trading NZD/CAD

Most currency pairs depend on similar factors, such as economic trends and geopolitical factors. Your wins and losses will depend on the countries your currencies are from.

Here are some factors that drive the NZD/CAD dynamics:

Economic and geopolitical conditions are the most significant factors that affect NZD/CAD as a Forex pair.

Economic conditions

When considering the NZD/CAD Forex pairing, you may want to take special note of Canada's strong economy. It is a mixed one, with over 70% of it relying on the service industry.

It is worth noting that in 2020, the country was considered to have the world's ninth-largest economy, with almost USD 1.75 trillion in GDP. It even places third worldwide in terms of oil deposits. There are many other raw materials the country can also export.

Meanwhile, NZD has recently (at the time of writing) experienced a surge, with its economy rising faster than investors expected. The second quarter of 2022 has seen it grow by 1.7%. The rally did not last long, and more recent stats show it is now fizzling. However, considering the 0.2% drop during the first quarter, NZD is still headed in the right direction.

Because New Zealand is very close to Australia, observe how their economies are also closely interrelated. A lot of New Zealand’s exports may be going to its neighbour.

As a Forex pairing, NZD/CAD is reliable enough. It may not involve the ever-popular USD, but CAD is a reliable currency, and NZD is also proving its worth. One must, of course, at least show some predictable up-and-down motion for you to profit from this pair.

Because both Canada and New Zealand are known for their oil and other commodities, you may also want to do a lot of commodity price watching before you make a trade.

Geopolitical conditions and global risks

Canada does very well politically. It is known to have one of the least corrupt politics in the whole world. That fact makes it a steady country with a reliable economy.

Meanwhile, New Zealand is generally known as a peaceful country. Still, it is difficult to deny that current global tensions have affected the currency. NZD's value lowers as the tensions and the prices soar, an effect felt long after the COVID-19 lockdowns.

Despite NZD issues, local exporters benefit from lower NZD value.

Perception

How each of these economies is perceived also plays a role in how each performs. Traders want to invest in something they can trust and predict. For example, Canada is generally perceived to have clean and non-corrupt political practices. It also continues to deliver high-quality raw materials and natural resources. Both these factors play a big role in the currency's perception.

How to trade NZD/CAD

When trying to profit from this particular Forex pair, do so during the optimum times: from 13:00 and 17:00 (GMT). Why? It is at these hours that the NZD/CAD is at its busiest. Be careful. Trading when it is at its volatile is risky, while trading when it is not volatile will have you spending too much.

A number of other factors will also influence the volatility of this pair, for example, the CAD exchange rate can be affected by the US’s economic conditions. Meanwhile, the NZD is affected by Asian and Australian markets.

Conclusion

Is the NZD/CAD pair worth going into?

The NZD and CAD pairing does not involve the USD, the most sought-after currency. So, it does have that against it.

However, CAD is reliable enough. It is one of the world's most-held reserve currencies, coming from a stable country with perceptibly good politics and many resources. So, you can trade this pair with the knowledge that you can, at least, rely on the CAD.

The combination with NZD is near perfect because the New Zealand currency may be experiencing some issues, but it is still generally more reliable than many other currencies. It is the 18th most used currency, from a largely peaceful country. The ups and downs it is currently experiencing may ultimately benefit traders. After all, you want to profit from the trade and not work on a pegged, static currency.

So, it is worth checking NZD/CAD if you want to diversify your foreign exchange portfolio. You may still have another pairing with USD involved, but the NZD/CAD pair is worth checking out.

Hi Traders,

By popular demand, we wanted to share our top five most used tools and features that are provided to you for free in our client area.

These are a bit like my Top Five Tools for Traders, but these are a little different as they're all internal rather than other websites or companies. 

Here are 5 of the most popular tools (in order) our clients are loving:

#1 - Analyst Views by Trading Central. This is my personal favourite. You can view it in the hub now, download it and use it as an indicator on MT4 desktop (in "Downloads on Hub) or visit your "News" tab in MT4 where it's constantly updated too.

#2 - The Economic Calendar is a must too. Are you using this already? If you're trading and don't know what announcements are coming up, you could easily be blown away by a big move and have no idea why. My favourite is that it will show you the historical price impact of previous announcements. You can even save the future events as a calendar invite!

#3 - News Tab - Knowledge is power. You know that already. You might already have your own news sources which are cool, but with Fusion's news tab, you can create a personalised feed (e.g. only show me EURUSD) or see what's most popular for others. Don't be an uninformed trader.

#4 - Sentiment - I love the idea of knowing what the crowd is bullish or bearish on. What are people talking about? Why are they talking about it? Check out our post on why this is important.

#5 - Technical insight is excellent if you'd like to go into a deeper dive on technical analysis on Forex and Indices. I prefer these charts over MT4 truth be told and want to know short, medium and long term outlook for each trade I'm considering.

That's it for now. We've built these for you and believe they'll truly help you excel as a trader.

#6 – Historical and Live Spreads Tool - with this tool, you can see how spreads have fluctuated over time, as well as the current live spreads. This information can be incredibly valuable in helping you make informed decisions about when to enter and exit trades. No more surprises, no more hidden fees – just transparent, competitive pricing. Read our blog post to learn how spreads actually affect your trading costs. 

Much of what we write about in these articles is about the mindset and behaviour of traders and trading. The reason for this is quite straight forward; it's because it's the decisions that we make and take that will ultimately determine how we perform as traders.

Yes, of course, price changes in the markets will play their part but, in the end, it's our decision whether to get involved or not and that determines how much capital we commit to trade, how long we hold the position for, and what the ultimate outcome of the trade will be.

Hidden costs

When we examine the costs of trading, we tend to focus on commissions and spreads and our PnL, but there are other costs, costs that we don't consider when really, we should.

These are the costs of inactivity and indecision, the costs of listening to outside influences more than to your own inner feelings and intuition. They are the costs of missing out, what economists call "opportunity costs".

Self-doubt among traders is not unusual, and in truth, it's better to exercise a degree of caution than to be 100% confident about everything you do. Hubris has been the downfall of many traders, and we certainly advocate being prudent with your risk. That said, It's always worth testing your thinking and assumptions and checking that they are still valid before you trade.

The problem comes when you start to talk yourself out of the trade entirely. After all, trading is a risk and reward business. There can be no profit without the possibility of loss.

A trader's job is to try and ensure that the risk that they take is in proportion to the potential rewards they could make. Not taking that risk could be limiting your potential as a trader which in turn may be limiting your rewards or returns.

Moments of clarity

Sometimes as a trader or investor, you will enjoy a moment of clarity, a moment of pure thought and insight, in which you can see exactly how a market setup or situation will playout. Moments when you just know you are right

If that moment of clarity coincides with significant moves in the markets, then that can be a very valuable situation indeed. But only if you act on it.

Allow me to tell you a personal story. During the great 2020 downturn in oil (where a Saudi/Russia price war caused prices to go NEGATIVE), I found myself holding oil from $30 a barrel and riding it all the way down watching in sheer horror. I kept buying the dip. How much lower could it go, I thought? I ignored every rule and everything I've written in the past about this. I didn't put a stop loss on. I told myself it was a long-term trade that I would stay in forever. Prices surely couldn't go below $20. That's madness. Then… The unthinkable happened in the futures price – it went negative.

Thankfully, Fusion's price didn't go negative (we use Spot Crude oil) but with spot prices at $15, I was sitting watching Netflix on my couch, and my heart raced as I saw it go down like World War III just started. The news sites told me nothing new had happened (funny how we search for any narrative to make sense of it all). Here it went. $14. $12. $11. Back to $12. Back to $11. $10. $9. Thoughtful me knew these prices were unsustainable. I told myself I would hold until it hit $0 if it had to. My account was down 70%. I'd never suffered such steep losses. I felt sick. I then couldn't sleep. I woke up, and it was still down a lot but had recovered from $7.

Watch out for the narratives.

I started to read more about what others were saying. What the hell was going on? Would this happen again? Yes, there was nowhere to store the oil (so the narrative went) but surely rationality would prevail. Seriously, how could you have negative prices? It was impossible to find anyone bullish in the media or otherwise. People assume if something just happened, it will occur again Goldman came out and said to expect more negative pricing. But I just couldn't believe it was so cheap. I knew it was time to buy more!

But then I didn't buy it. I waited for another opportunity for when I knew "the worst was over" I was so sure things would bounce back, but I didn't have the guts to buy one more time, and the opportunity passed me by forever. I let the external narrative cloud my previous judgement. But I was just so worried I couldn't think properly. Within days, it had doubled back to $15 a barrel. Then it was $20 a week later. At the time of writing it is $40 a barrel. By the time you read this, it might be $60 a barrel. Who knows? All I knew was fear and too much outside influence completely warped my view, and I failed. I just wanted to survive the calamity. While I survived to write you this, I did not do as well as I could have.

Self-belief

People often talk about having the courage of their convictions, but in trading, it's not really about courage, it's about belief, belief in yourself and your ideas and be prepared to back them, rather than talking yourself out of them, or allowing yourself to be talked out of them by others.

We all like to take advice and read and hear the opinions of so-called experts. But the absolute truth is that nobody really knows what going to happen next in the markets.

For example, nobody was predicting that an 11-year bull market in equities was going to end and end so abruptly in Q1 2020. Or that US unemployment would spiral to +14.7% in a single month.

Do not get me started on the rebound from the lows in March. To be bullish on the markets in April and May of 2020 was to look like you had lost your mind given the narratives surrounding COVID.

So-called "market legends" like Druckenmiller and Buffett told everyone it was not the time to buy. Sadly, so many would have listened.

Let's not forget Yogi Berra's famous saying "It's hard to make predictions, especially about the future" which is why it's best to take these so-called forecasts with a grain of salt. The best that any expert can do is to make a prediction or forecast about the future. And the longer the time frame that the forecast is over, or the more unusual the circumstances under which it is made, then the more significant the room for error and the higher the chance that they are simply wrong.

Loss aversion

As humans, we are subject to subconscious emotional biases that can cloud our decision making. One such bias is loss aversion.

Loss aversion can hamper a trader in two distinct ways. It's most commonly associated with the practice of running losses, ignoring stops and breaking money management rules when a trader can't or won't accept that they were wrong and refused to close a losing position.

The other way that loss aversion can muddy the waters is in our initial decision making. You see as species we are poor judges of risk and reward; we don't calculate probabilities very well, and the upshot of this is that we do not like uncertainty.

To the extent that when we are faced with situations that have a series of potential outcomes, we tend to favour the outcome with the highest degree of certainty. Even if that outcome is the least beneficial to us financially. Which, of course, is the exact opposite of the risk versus reward culture that we spoke about earlier.

Fortune favours the bold.

Though we might not like to admit it, our subconscious is often trying to talk us out of taking risks. Outside influences from the media, fear, our aversion to loss and a preference for certainty may often be our worst enemy as traders.

As Howard Marks said, "If you're doing the same thing as everyone else, how do you expect to outperform them"?

There have been several once in a generation trading opportunities over the last six months. I wonder how many of us were bold enough to seize the day and take advantage?

 I’ve been in this industry for over a decade now and have been in a very fortunate position to learn a lot by watching others. I’ve seen the good, the bad and the ugly by watching tens of thousands of traders across various brokers.

Let me start off by saying that I am by no means perfect and I have (even recently) done quite a few of these myself. But knowledge is power, so I wanted to provide my observations of where things can start to go wrong, based on my own experience of sitting on the sidelines.  

1.      Ignoring Basic Risk Management aka Trading too big for their accounts

I have to start with risk because I believe it’s THE most important concept.

"Risk is what's left over when you think you've thought of everything" 

Unfortunately, risk management is not sexy, however. It makes people fall asleep when you hear someone talk about risk management.

Risk can mean many things, but it’s especially prescient when it comes to Forex Trading due to the leverage that’s involved. Unfortunately, it’s a gift and a curse.

I always tell traders that leverage is like driving a fast car. It’s nice to know you’ve got that power if you want to use it. And most of the time you don’t want to (nor should you) drive 100km/h on a busy street.

That is how I best describe the use of too much leverage.

It’s great that you have the flexibility with it if you need it, but you shouldn’t be maxing out the margin on every trade. It gives you less flexibility if the trade goes against you and kills way too many traders too soon.

I’m not a big fan of martingale systems and have seen this ruin many traders; however, depending on the circumstance, I do enjoy averaging into a trade. After all, if I liked buying EURUSD at 1.1000, wouldn’t I also like it at 1.0960 where I’m getting a lower average entry?

Many forex education providers will advise you never to risk more than 1% on any trade, and this can be good advice, yet I’d say more than half of traders I’ve seen will routinely trade at least 10x that. Some will even come close to margin call triggers on the first trade. Frankly, this can just be like lighting money on fire.

It might not be as “fun” to trade when it’s so small. But if you’re getting too excited by it all, maybe you’re taking on too much risk.

2.       Too many trades/ Trading outside of the area of competence

A close cousin of too much risk is taking too many trades, or branching out into other areas.

There’s a reason that doctors specialise in one area. You’d probably be scared if you saw an eye doctor have a go at performing surgery on the brain.

Stick to just a handful of products at the time (I’d say a maximum of five, preferably three). If there is a correlation between them, that’s fine but don’t assume your knowledge of the yen will mean you’re a great trader of the Turkish Lira.

In most investment banks back in the day when they had large proprietary desks, traders would only stick to a few currency pairs. You’d be on the “yen” desk or the “sterling” desk. That makes much sense as there’s only so much information you can absorb.

If I see a client that is successful trading in currencies who then makes a jump to the Indices it often is a sure sign of trouble ahead.

3.      Getting caught up in FX Headlines/Mainstream Media

Many will disagree with me on this one, but following the same headlines as everyone else in forex trading can sometimes lead you astray.

Yes, you need to be informed about what’s going on. You shouldn’t stick in your head in the sand.

Howard Marks said it best when he remarked: “You can’t do the same things others do and expect to outperform”.

If you’re reading Bloomberg headlines saying so and so thinks EURUSD is heading to 1.10, then every man and his dog is reading the same thing. Ask yourself what do you know that isn’t already baked into the price? How can you have the edge over someone else? Is it really by consuming the same news like everyone else?

Being contrarian in life might make people think you’re strange, but in the financial markets, I find it invaluable. The markets are (mostly) efficient, and a lot of what you see is already factored into the price. You need to think differently to the market if you want to get ahead. Remember the GBP after Brexit? Analysts were calling for parity against the USD. You’d be crazy to buy it people said. Fast forward, and it was probably one of the best trades you could’ve made once the negativity died down.

4.      Not using a Demo

This is a pretty standard one, but if you’ve started trading without using a demo first then you’re asking for trouble.  

Do think you can be a pilot after a day of flying lessons? Then when you’re risking your money, you can't be expected to perform well in the markets without doing some practice first.

It takes a lot longer than people think to master their craft at trading and many mistakes on the way.

That being said, you can also spend far too much time on a demo and never understand the psychology of a real trader with real money and emotions on the line. So do practice, but just like when you learn to ride a bike, you will need to take the training wheels off at some point. That’s why we recommend having a demo and a live side by side (and Fusion offers unlimited demos for funded accounts)

5.      Moving Stops and Limits

Ah, the old “Greed and Fear” comment. Lots of people will talk to you about how two things kill a trader/investor, and that’s greed and fear.

Good trading is about good entries and exits.

Traders I’ve seen have spent much time setting up the perfect entry, but then they don’t have an exit plan.

The trades go well for them and then all of a sudden, the greed sets in. Suddenly, their take profit has been bumped up just a little bit higher to capture that extra drop of profit. Then boom! All of a sudden, the trade has reversed, and their profits have disappeared faster than you can say margin call.

Trading without stops and limits is also just as bad. You never know what “black swan” can happen while you’re away from your platform or are asleep. Having protection in the form of stops and limits can help minimise your risk. You can also try to use “trailing stops” which move up as the price moves in your direction. Ask me how if you need a hand with these.

6.      Ignoring the important of Psychology

You might’ve read my other posts about biases and psychology. But my personally believe that life is 80% psychology, 20% strategy and I believe trading is no different.

If you can master your trading psychology, you’ll be a far better trader for it.

This is everything from being too afraid to enter a trade, to being too greedy to close it to learning even more about all the biases we have and how to prevent them.

 7.     Not having a strategy 

Yes, I believe trading is 80% psychology. But you still need the 20% that comes from a strategy.  

What is your strategy? Why would (or should) that give you an edge? How long has the strategy been successful for? Is it technical or fundamental based?

You know the quote – if you to fail to plan, you plan to fail. You can’t show up and hope for the best. You’ll get killed. That’s where testing comes in whether that’s via a backtest of an algorithmic strategy or if it’s just applying the strategy on a demo. Or even just starting small with micro-lots.

You need a strategy if you’re going to succeed.

Sure you might get lucky for a little bit, but it won’t last forever.

Overall, this isn’t a definitive list and unfortunately, following it blindly is no guarantee for success in the markets.

We all make mistakes. I know I do – all the time. But I hope that the above is useful for you as I’ve had a window into watching traders for a long enough time.

Did I miss any? Was there something you thought was even more important? I’d love to hear from you.

“That which does not kill us makes us stronger” – Friedrich Nietzsche.

It’s a cheesy quote to start with, I know. Bear with me here.  

It turns out it might be true when it comes to professional success as well.

In a recent paper published in the journal Nature, researchers found out that early-career setbacks can result in a stronger career in the long term – stronger even than people who never had a setback.

To sum up the paper in just a few lines, the experiment compared two groups of scientists: a group that scraped over the line in getting a grant from the US government and compared that to a group that had just missed out on a grant (one that just made it, one that just missed out).

Ten years later, the group that had not received the grant went onto have more successful careers than the team that had won the government grant.

So those who’d experienced some pain early on in their careers went onto come back stronger than those who didn’t fail.

I couldn’t help but think of how that pain would’ve fuelled their success in later years and how that so encapsulates what I’ve seen in over ten years of trading and watching hundreds of thousands of traders.

Why early successes in trading could hurt you

You may have seen my thoughts on Overconfidence bias before and it got me thinking how much this could spill over into early successes trading.

I’ve seen this far too many times in traders before.

It’s like the story of the tortoise and the hare. It’s the slow and steady trader that wins the race.

The traders I’ve seen who are new to trading will open their accounts, ignore basic risk management and trade gigantic positions on their account and make huge profits on their first few trades. While I love to see it, often they lull themselves into unbelievable amounts of overconfidence and a feeling of invincibility.

They’re the stories you read like “one man makes $1,000,000 trading options on first trade” or “this is how much you would’ve made investing $1 in Google shares since 2004” or “my friend just made $15k betting on AUDUSD” or other financial “junk food” as it should be labelled.  

Because it is too easy in their eyes, they’re always chasing the same early successes they had. 

What I took away from the Nature paper is that the easier we think something is, the more we can fool ourselves into believing something which isn’t true.

Taking the pain

Let me be clear. I’m absolutely not saying that you must lose big to win big. Nor am I saying making money early is bad.  

I’m saying that in my experience, my firm belief (now backed up by some solid research in a different field) is those that suffer early setbacks in their trading are like those who just missed out in their professional lives. In the same vein, if it’s too easy at the start, you can hurt yourself and trick yourself into thinking you’re better than you are.

It’s more like you need to hit some minor lows to hit the highs, but don’t ruin yourself. Call it a bloody nose.

Trading is not some easy game that can be won in the first week or month. Just like you wouldn’t expect to be a pilot after one week of flight training (though you can certainly have the goal!), the same is true for trading.

It’s hard. Very hard. There’s so much to take in and digest. The market is constantly evolving. That’s why you’ll hear statistics like 40% of traders don’t make it. Most people expect too much and give up too soon.

But real success in trading is more like a way of life.

It involves hard work, true grit, hours upon hours of learning and the ability to look and feel wrong many, many times (and often in painful ways both mentally, financially etc).

If you are just starting and you’re shooting the light outs, then maybe that’s not such a good thing. And if you’re struggling, know that you’re not alone.

Far better for you to see it as the challenge that it is. That a little pain is part of the journey and that if it were so easy, everyone would be doing it.

Part II – Hidden Biases in your trading

In Part One, we covered Confirmation bias, recency bias, the endowment effect, the groupthink bias and the gambler’s fallacy.

Today we’ll cover our final five, and I’ll provide you with a handy checklist so you can take 60 seconds and potentially stop yourself from rushing into something catastrophic.

6)    Hindsight bias

You could also call this one the “I knew it all along” effect. How many times have you heard someone say those words in life (not to mention in trading)?

I just knew Euro would fall after the ECB meeting.

Argh, I meant to go long on gold but didn’t get time. I knew it was going up.

We tend to believe that (of course much later than the event itself) that the onset of a past event was entirely predictable and obvious, whereas during the event we were not able to predict it.

Due to another bias (which we will not cover today) called “narrative bias” we tend to want to assign a narrative or a “story” to an event that allows us to believe that events are predictable and that we can somewhat predict or control the future. It allows us to try to make sense of the world around us.

How to overcome: Just stop pretending like you knew what was going to happen. If you didn’t put skin in the game, then you didn’t think it was going to happen!

7)    Overconfidence effect

Overconfidence as a trader allows us to believe that we are superior in our trading, which ultimately leads to hubris and poor decision making.

Whether it’s overconfidence on when to trade, what to trade (telling ourselves “sure I could normally trade AUDUSD, but why couldn’t I also be good at trading the South African rand?”) and how to trade a certain product.

We trade larger than we should, hold losers for longer than we should, relax our own risk management policy, become arrogant or complacent in our trading and this all leads to capital losses.

How to overcome: Ask yourself “What could I be wrong about” or “What makes me think I am far superior to all the others out there with this information”? The market will humble you eventually of course, but why not try to do it yourself before you shoot yourself in the foot?

8)    Anchoring

The first bit of information we hear is what we focus on.

If you ever need to negotiate with someone, you’ll be amazed at the power of anchoring with your first offer (Do try it sometime, just not with your friendly forex broker though ;-))

The same applies to trading. We hear a talking head on TV telling us about how the euro is overvalued and is heading for some drastic number that is streets away from today’s price. We can’t get that number out of our head even if we try.

Or let’s say we buy AUDUSD at .7100, close it at .7300 for a decent profit, happy days! The next week, it’s back at .7100 and we immediately are tempted to do the same again, because why not? It’s cheap again and we can repeat history. We rush into it, ignoring the technical break it’s just had or the negative sentiment on Australian Economic Data. We practically feel it’s a bargain at those levels.  

What do we do? The worst part is that we’re usually not even aware of how strong the influence is.

That’s the power of the anchor. We become attached to that information.  

How to overcome: This one is tough to overcome because studies show it can be so hidden in our subconscious without us knowing. Perhaps add to your trading checklist “Was this trade a result of an unknown anchor that I saw or heard?”

9) Consistency Bias

Like the sunk cost fallacy, we want to be consistent in our actions.

We’d hate for someone to say to us that we weren’t being fair or that last week we had said we’d do X and now had changed our minds.

Politicians do it all the time as they rigidly stick to a poor policy idea. They’d rather go down with the ship.

Traders are worse because our own desire to be consistent costs us money.

If I am known as a USD bear, and it’s rallying hard – I don’t want to look stupid or inconsistent. That’s why I keep staying bearish despite being 1000 pips from being right! It’ll come back we say. Everyone else is being stupid.

In 2009, 2010, 2011 and probably countless years since the financial crisis, people were always calling for the “double-dip” recession. I fell for it myself personally by believing them in 2009 and 2010 and staying too cautious when I should’ve thrown the house at buying stocks!

We want to feel in control. We want people to see our conviction, even if we’re wrong. Because this is a byproduct of confirmation bias, we’re not likely to seek disconfirming evidence of what we believe. We see what we want to see.

Why? Because sadly consistency is often associated with our intellectual and personal strength. Good traders should be seen as flexible. Open to the idea that they are probably wrong. Yet society thinks an inconsistent person is flaky, confused or a ‘flip-flopper’ on issues – even though we could all benefit from being open-minded to new ideas and opinions!

10) The Halo Effect

Last but not least - The halo effect is the final bias we’ll talk about today.

The halo effect means we let our overall impression of someone influence our thinking too greatly.

“But he’s so smart we say”

We idolise the opinions of the legendary hedge fund manager, Ray Dalio or the great investor of our time, Warren Buffet.

We see them on TV or in a Bloomberg article saying now is a buying opportunity or that it’s risk-off and we need to sell.

“If Buffet/Dalio/ is buying/selling now, I’ve gotta too,” we say in our head.

But how smart is that a strategy, really? What might he know that I don’t? What are his investment objectives versus mine? More important – how many times has he said this and actually been wrong?

We don’t know and we shouldn’t try to know. The halo effect blinds to sticking to our own plan and staying in our lane. The more we’re influenced by others, the harder trading becomes.

How to overcome: We must take the opinions of the so-called “Masters of the universe” with a grain of salt. They have different plans than we do. Information that we do or don’t have and so much more. Just because they’ve said this doesn’t make it come true. If only trading were that easy!

What do I do now?

OK, so I might have scared you. You are now jumping at shadows and questioning your own trading decisions, believing you have all these secret, hidden disadvantages that you didn’t have until 10 minutes ago.

Do not worry, biases can never be completely avoided. But we can work hard on challenging our opinions in order to make us more successful. Sometimes it’s just taking the time to stop and think.

To help you along the way, we’ve created a possible checklist for making better decisions in your trading.

So, stop, take a breath and ask yourself these 7 questions before you place your next trade.

What’s the rationale for taking this trade? List 3 for and 3 against.

How strong is the evidence behind my decision to trade?

What are the possible unknown unknowns?

Has the recency of information I’ve learned influenced my decision? If so, how much?

 Is this trade following the consensus of the crowd? If so, is that a good thing?

Did I hear this from a famous market commentator/investor? Why is that important?

 If none of questions 1-6 apply, then could any of the other biases above be at work?

Your first reaction as you read the subject was thinking: “Yeah, but I’m not biased”

Of course, that’s what you would say!

The biggest problem with biases is that we never think we have any.

Biases are what everyone else has.

What are they and why are they important?

Biases are like shortcuts for your brain. They can have an unusually large impact on how you make decisions in your everyday life, but particularly when it comes to your trading.

To put it simply, your brain has a way of conserving energy by making fast decisions or mental shortcuts in what is known as ‘heuristics’.

The problem is, we often don’t even know that we have them. Even if we know about them, when it comes to trading, we must work hard to challenge our reasoning behind making our decisions.

As common as these biases are, we specifically want to focus on what is called “cognitive” and “emotional” biases.

Because these are so crucial to your trading, we’ve split this guide in two. This is part one.
Biases have been studied across psychology, economics and now into the mainstream of what is called “behavioural” finance. In fact, Richard Thaler, a notable behavioural economist recently won the Nobel prize for his work on the topic!

The sad part is that I know more about this topic because of my own mistakes in trading and so I try to be hyper-aware of rushing into trading decisions without considering the biases below.

The million-dollar question becomes, how many of these have you been a victim of and what can you do to try to prevent them yourself?
 
1)     Confirmation bias

This one is a doozy and for me, the most important of all of them.

If you take nothing else from today, it should be an awareness of confirmation bias.

Confirmation bias means we tend to seek out information only that we agree with.

Ask yourself this question: How many times have you placed a trade then sat there and watched it go against you? Sure, this happens almost every time, but then how often have you then gone out and sought information, headlines or “expert” advice about that currency pair which tells you why you were right and to just stick with it?

I remember many years ago, when I first started trading, I placed a fairly large trade on oil (don’t ask why I made this trade. I had no idea what I was doing and it was too big for my account... Forgive me, I was just a beginner!) but as soon as it went against me I frantically typed “Oil” into Google, and just like that I was looking for any reason to support my original opinion on why oil was due to go through the roof.

To my joy, there was some analyst from ABC Fund manager comforting me with a view that supported my own opinion or perspective. They talked about an undersupply in the market and that oil was sure to go higher. It was 2 am and I was sitting in my lounge room by this stage as I watched my whole account go into jeopardy. This valuable advice that I sought helped to nurse me back to sleep.

I, of course, deviously chose not to click on any article that might tell me I was wrong – I only sought out the information I wanted to hear or see.

Let’s just say that the oil trade I placed went as well as a parachute made of concrete! (Oh and my account was completely wiped out!).

How to overcome it: Stop, ask yourself a question – What information could you be missing about the rationale for this trade? What do the opposing arguments and research say?

2)    Recency bias aka availability heuristic

The “recency bias” or “recency effect” essentially tells us that our recent experience can become the baseline for what is going to happen in the future.

This might mean our recent trade performance such as a recent win or loss impacting us heavily. It might also mean a certain piece of news or information that we recently heard forming the basis for our decision making.

This can have seriously dangerous consequences for us as traders as it undermines our ability to form an objective decision on a trade. Why? Because of our lazy brain only recalling recent information. Whether that’s on our most recent trade or information we found as a barometer for how the next trade will go.

Let’s say you had a losing trade whereby you promised you’d never risk such a great amount of your capital again. You might be a little shy and dial back the risk a bit too much, or you could be the opposite and think you’re George Soros, betting the whole house on the next trade since you just went so poorly on the last. Your thinking is this would get you back to where you were prior to your last trade.

The other way it can creep into your trading is through recent information impacting your decision on why to take a new trade. It might be that you see a brief news headline stating ABC bank’s research on “why the dollar is going to dive this week” earlier in the day and tend to argue with yourself later that night why you think it’s a good idea to follow that trade. I know what you might be thinking: “It’s just a headline… I’d never let this happen to me”. However, our brain likes to take shortcuts to conserve energy. It will do its best to take what it knows and ignores the rest (as we have learned above).

We also have a tendency of the fear of missing out (FOMO as it’s popularly known today) and with this new information, we feel we must put something into action!

How to overcome the bias: As difficult as it may be, you must stop, count to three and ask yourself a few questions.

These could be “why am I making this trade?”, “Does it fit in with what I know?”, “What am I missing here?”, “Have I read something recently about this?”. Better yet, build yourself a checklist with these questions on it!

3)     The Endowment effect / Sunk cost fallacy

The endowment effect means we tend to value something more after we’ve owned it for a while.
In a now-classic study featuring Richard Thaler and Daniel Kahneman (both Nobel prize winners), students were given a mug and were asked how much they would sell it for an equally valued pen as an alternative. The experimenters found that the median price for which they would sell was TWICE as much as they were willing to pay to acquire the mug.

Because of our aversion to losses (also known as prospect theory – another big bias which I’ll cover later), this can have a drastic effect on our trading success. We place a trade on AUDUSD, with a target profit or loss of only 50 pips. Yet when the trade starts to go against us, what’s the first thing we often do? Move our stop loss further out because we “just know it’s going to turn around.” We tell ourselves stories like “The euro is cheap here, it’ll definitely turn around.”

Because we are committed to this trade (and this is somewhat related to the confirmation bias) we value it more just because we own it and because we have already invested in it, it becomes a “sunk cost”.

How to overcome: Fairly obvious advice to start; keep your stop losses and targets where they are. Be more mindful about why you’ve put them at these levels. If it helps you, write down the reasons why you’ve placed your stop and profit there and you can take comfort in understanding your own reasoning.

4) “The Gambler’s fallacy”

The gambler’s fallacy is where we believe that future probabilities are altered by previous events, when in fact, they’re unchanged.

It is called the “gamblers fallacy” due to the often-watched scene of any table game at the casino (e.g. roulette) as it continues landing on black over and over. People see this and think ‘it couldn’t possibly do that again’ and try to bet against it.

Being contrarian is great, don’t get me wrong.

However, as traders and human beings, we tend to believe that if something happens multiple times, it couldn’t happen again. We ignore simple probability.

Let’s say the S&P500 has rallied five days in a row. We place a trade in the belief that “it must be due for a correction” only to watch it rally and stop us out of our position.

How to overcome: It is important to look at the original thinking that led you to this trade. Just because something has moved up or down in a continuous fashion, it does not mean the market will immediately reverse its behaviour and go the other way. Just try catching a falling knife and you’ll know why.

5)     The Groupthink Bias

The “groupthink bias” is our inclination to do or believe things just because others do the same. Also known as the “bandwagon” or “herd behaviour”, it can lead to having a serious trading hangover; ask yourself an odd question like “why on earth did I go long the EURCHF last night?”

After all, you can’t do the same things others do and expect to win.

A recent example was after the US Presidential election. Everyone thought if The Donald got in, it would be a huge negative for the markets and the economy. Stocks fell initially and hard.

If you cashed out then and there because you thought it was going to lead to Armageddon, you made a very expensive mistake!

How to overcome: Sometimes it pays to be contrarian. If everyone is saying it’s going up, consider if going the same way will lead to riches. If everyone is saying it’s going down the toilet, consider if they could be wrong.

Be careful of those bandwagons!

So, which of the above are you most guilty of?

One of the questions I'm frequently asked is "How do you follow the markets? So, I thought it was time to compile a list of tools I use nearly daily that help me become a better trader.

These are for various experience levels. Oh, and they also happen to be completely free.

Here they are:

1. Babypips.com – Depending on your trading experience, their free forex school is second to none. It covers from beginners to advanced. In fact, these resources are so comprehensive that most brokers I’ve worked for make any new employees do the course from front to back!

2. Forexlive.com – handy website that I personally use and love! It has the most important (and live) news in the currency markets (hence the name). I remember during the Brexit vote that we were glued to their analysis of the markets.

3. Tradingview.com – If you love your charts and technical analysis (fun fact- something like 70% of traders do!) – then TradingView is for you. They have over 4,000,000 users, and the users are all very passionate! It’s not just for currencies either - you can pull up currencies, commodities, indices are more. While I’m personally not TOO much of a tech analysis guy, all my clients rave about TradingView.

4. John Authers' Commentary – To understand the forex markets, you need to understand the bigger macro picture. John is a must-read each day for me. I look forward to his email every day around the EU open. It covers stocks, bonds and what's catching his eye. If you read no other newsletter each day, make it this one.

5. Fusion Markets Economic Calendar– This is the only time we plug ourselves in our post. We used to have Myfxbook in there but we worked hard on finding a really slick calendar for you. Why a calendar? Knowing what big events are happening in the markets is critical. You don’t want to wake up and see the USD has made a 200 pip move and not known there’s been a US interest rate (FOMC) meeting. The Fusion economic calendar will be your friend. You can save the event to your calendar, view the results in real-time and can even see historical price movement and more. 

That’s it for now.

Why so short? The last thing you want is the “analysis paralysis” which comes from digesting 20+ resources. You will get overwhelmed and give up.

Believe me, it was hard for me to get it down to five, but these are my go-to resources, even if you asked me what the best paid subscription-based services are.

There is so much value in these resources, so please use them! Just because they’re free doesn’t mean it’s not great content. As I said, I use this every day myself (except Babypips – I like to think I’ve got the basics down pat) and I hope you do too.