How Long Does It Take to Successfully Trade FOREX?
With more than a trillion dollars' worth of currencies traded all over the world every day, the foreign exchange market, or forex, is the largest market in the world. Sporting tremendous leverage and high volatility, the forex has been a gateway to riches for some traders and a road to impoverishment for others.
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Significance
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It is imperative for all participants in the forex market to trade successfully, but independent traders are under the most pressure. Unlike professional traders for banks or institutional funds, individual traders depend on making gains in the market for their salaries.
Types
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There are many different types of traders and investors in the forex market, from long-term trend followers to short-term day traders. All styles can be immediately successful or take many years to achieve profitability, depending on the skill, resources and fortunes of the trader.
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Features
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The features of a successful forex trader are embodied by somebody who is composed, discerning, looks at the market impartially without any preconceived bias and is always mindful of risk management and proper position sizing.
Time Frame
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The time it takes to become successful varies from trader to trader. Many experts say that to become consistently profitable takes three to seven years. By this time, a trader will have developed a coherent view of the forex market and the proper discipline and risk control to be successful.
Theories/Speculation
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Many traders wrongly believe that they have to first take enormous risks with their limited capital to become wealthy and successful. On the contrary, most successful traders employ the same risk management and position sizing techniques whether they are managing $10,000 or $10,000,000. That caution and prudence are most often the traits that separate a successful trader from an unsuccessful trader.
Warning
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Trading a certain system successfully for a number of weeks or months does not mean you will be successful in perpetuity. The forex market is constantly changing, and it's imperative to evolve your strategies and systems with it.
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