Dec 29 2010
As a Futures Trader, You need to know this Stategies
When anyone starts any business endeavor, the main motive behind the enterprise is profit, and this is not different with the average speculator.
You must realize from the onset that futures trading is a very difficult vocation and requires a lot of experience for it to be run successfully, this is why you are advised to read books on trading from the motley available. And if you are coming from a stock trading background, you should get rid of the buy and hold strategy that is prevalent in that field.
As a futures trader, you will benefit is you learn to trade both the long and short side of the market. If you want to reap all the advantages in this business and hence be successful, then you must know that it is almost impossible to always be on the long side every time. Therefore, the first rule should be: There are always times to buy and times to sell.
With experience you also get to realize that it doesn’t pay to take on too many positions. A position that is bigger than your bankroll can afford will lead only to one end- disaster. It is important to learn how to trade within your fund level because the funds available for trading are always limited.
Although the naive trader may violate this rule and seems to get away with it, but such people can be rest assured that the chicken will finally come home to roost someday.
When you have learned the ropes, you will quickly discover that a fortune can be easily made if the market swings in the direction you expect.
Among the most oft asked questions by many aspiring futures trader is the major benefit that can be obtained in the business. The answer to this is very short-the main advantage is leverage. This means the level of exposure to the underlying instrument that a speculator can get for any given outlay of money.
The other prominent benefit of future trading is that investors can also be the seller in the futures contract, and they stand to profit from this if they have the belief that the price of the underlying instrument is set to fail.
One last advantage of futures trading we will review here is the tax leverage it offers compared with regular investing, but this of course will depend on the local tax regime.
Is it all smooth sailing for the futures trader? The answer is no, because there is a disadvantage to this vocation. And ironically, one of the benefits outlined earlier can also be a disadvantage sometimes. Leverage can work both ways because if an investor purchases a futures contract by paying only the margin, and the prices of the underlying assets falls, then the investor can lose far more than his original stake.
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