5 Forex Trading Myths

1 – If I trade stocks successfully, I will make money in Forex

Despite the fact you are successful in the stock market, this does not imply that you’ll be successful in the Forex market. There are a lot of differences between the stock market and the Forex market. First of all, the Forex market is open 24 hours a day. This requires a lot more complexity and work. As you know, you cannot be in front of your computer 24 hours a day. You’ll have to figure out the best time periods to trade so that you can be successful. Also, you need volatility. And here’s another problem with the Forex market. There are periods of very high volatility and very low volatility. This difference is much higher in this market than on stocks. You may think that as the Forex market is open 24 hours a day, you can day trade whenever you want. You just need to turn on your computer and there it is… a trade just for you. Well, that’s not even close to the reality. This may happen from time to time but it’s not frequent. You need to develop a good strategy. The last point I need to focus is a real important one. If you want to trade Forex you need to find a good forex broker. Well, this isn’t a simple task as in the stock market because this market is not regulated. This means that there are a lot of brokers that don’t act in the best interest of their clients. Be ready to spend quite some time finding a solid broker that fits your needs.

2 – If the Forex market is open 24 hours a day, I can make a profit whenever I want

Well, not quite… As you know, to make a trade, a trader needs volatility. The volatility can appear anywhere within the 24 hours. As you cannot be in front of your computer all the time, this makes your work harder. First of all, you need to figure out the best time to trade (where volatility usually appears) and you also need to adjust your strategy to this period.

3 – I don’t have to pay commissions in the Forex market

You don’t have to pay commissions but you have to pay the spread. The spread is the difference between the bid and the ask of the currency pair you want to trade. Sometimes, these fees are not so cheap. If you plan to be day trading, you’ll see a major part of your profits to be left for the broker.

4 – In order to be profitable in the Forex market, I need to predict what will happen

As Forex is a complex market, you need to constantly learn and evolve as a trader. This does not mean you have to predict; this means you have to react and react fast. As a trader, you need to access charts but also need to access to all the information you can. The more information you have, the better your response will be when something, good or bad, happens in the market.

5 – I’ll be more successful if I use a more complex strategy

This is clearly a myth. Simple things work better in life as well in Forex. If when you’re defining your strategy you use 3 indicators, I bet most of the times there will be one that goes against the others. Try do define a good but also a simple strategy.