Like most great things in life, there are truly few shortcuts to become successful in forex trading. But learning from someone who has the knowledge and expertise in advanced forex trading, definitely gives you a lot of leverage to succeed in advanced online currency trading. If you have started trading forex in Ghana only recently and want to ensure you do it right, then you have stumbled on the right article.
One of the principles for achieving success in any area, is following those who have achieved success where you seek to, and in this article, we will share some facts and characteristics of the most successful forex traders in Africa, and hope you can imbibe them as well. Many of these characteristics are key traits that the most successful forex traders have used to master the market and generate consistent profits month in and month out.
The Forex market is an ever-changing entity, where each day presents us with different and unique scenarios for trading the market. Therefore, to trade successfully, it’s important to understand that the forex market is fluid and very dynamic, and the question many ask when they begin this journey is what characteristics or attributes are needed to enable them stand a good chance at becoming successful and profitable independent forex traders.
There is no single formula that all successful forex traders use to ensure profitability on the forex market. Trading is both Art and Science, and the idea that success comes overnight could not be farther from the truth. It takes time to learn the ins and outs, manage your risk and refine your skills and yourself as a trader. That is how the best traders in Ghana and the world over, have done it.
- Begin with a plan in hand
You have probably heard the saying “failing to plan, is planning to fail”. Your trading plan doesn’t need to be complicated; you can start by including basic guidelines like
- Your Entry and Exit Level Triggers
- Position Size
- Stop Loss
- Take Profit
The most successful forex traders in Africa treat advanced online currency trading as a business; complete with plans, daily routines, schedules and obligations. Before you trade, it’s important to recognize the value of good preparation. Most successful businesses always begin their business journey with a good business plan; a formal statement revealing the goal of the business and the guidelines to reach those goals, without which achieving those goals will be difficult.
The same applies to the business of advanced forex trading. Successful traders adhere to a set of guidelines to help them execute consistently profitable trades that will help them reach their income goals. This will prevent you from making decisions on a whim. Remember the saying “plan your trade, and trade your plan”.
- Having Realistic Expectations
Some traders may show off their rewards from forex trading, but won’t tell you about the years of effort they put in before they found success. The fact is that, like any other profession, becoming a successful forex trader takes time. The best Forex Traders in Ghana know that forex trading is not a get-rich-quick scheme.
While some may see it as a sprint, the most successful forex traders in Africa see it as a marathon, with small rewards accumulating as the race goes on; not with the goal of becoming a millionaire overnight. Trading with high expectations of how fast you will make money is a bad start for any trader.
Although the market can make some huge moves than you anticipate sometimes, you should not expect to invest $250 in your trading account, and make $1,000 each trade. If your goal is to double your money every day, it sounds great but it’s not realistic. A realistic goal must be attainable; within your current capabilities. The best realistic goals are short-term goals; make your first goal a small one, and then continue to increase your them as you experience success.
The most successful traders stay flexible with their Take Profits, sometimes settling for less, if indicators show that’s all they can take out of the market at that moment.
- Being Analytical
Having an analytical mind is one of the most important facts about the best traders. This means being able to figure out some simple math quickly, understanding percentages, and calculating things like Risk: Reward ratios. The good news is that it can be learned if you don’t already have this. And once you have learned it, and practised it for some time, you are well on your way to becoming one of the most successful traders in Africa, and the world. Being analytical of the market also behoves on you to be analytical of your own performance. You can do this by keeping a record of your trades.
At the end of each month, quarter or year, your trading account will most likely be in one of three main categories: your trades either made a profit over the period; were roughly break-even; or lost money. Irrespective of the category you fall into, keeping and reviewing a track record of your trades, is key to building on your strengths and working on your weaknesses. The best Forex traders in Ghana have used this to improve their performance and become successful.
- Being Disciplined and Patient
Discipline is crucial when you’re trading Forex. Our definition of discipline when it comes to advanced online forex trading is to determine your exit strategy even before you enter the trade. Discipline is also the ability to “pull the trigger” when your system indicates to do so. The market gives you infinite opportunities to trade and once you decide which position you’re taking, you should enter your stop loss and take profit orders.
This also reflects the ability to be patient until your system triggers an action point. Good online traders are disciplined and patient, and trade as professionals. Becoming a successful forex trader requires strong discipline, and it is that kind of discipline, which not many are willing to exercise, that rewards you with amazing success at currency forex market trading.
- Emotional Intelligence & Self Control
Another characteristic you’ll find many online traders have is emotional intelligence. It’s been said that fear and greed are the two strongest emotions that drive the forex market. Learning to control your emotions in forex trading is key.
The best forex traders do not allow a good or bad day of trading to affect them emotionally; staying calm and make rational decisions, even in the face of significant loss. Among the most successful forex traders in Africa, you will never be able to tell by their appearance if they had a great day or terrible day in the market.
Immediately following a loss, they avoid going through their charts searching for a new setup with the intent of recovering what they just lost. Whatever you do, don’t do this. It’s just your ego drawing you into one of the most common and costly traps in the Forex market. Allowing your emotions to get you fazed, disrupts your logic and reasoning, and affects your concentration and focus, making it difficult to remain objective when trading the forex market.
Don’t allow fear, greed or overconfidence to cloud your judgement. You need to ensure you are in total control of your emotions. Do not let a winning trade lead you down the path of greed. control yourself and follow the plan. In the same light, when experiencing a painful loss, do not get caught in the trap of overcompensating with another trade. For many people this might be too difficult, and we can understand that, but you must learn to control it.
- Don’t be Impulsive
Closely linked to our previous point, online forex trading is one of those businesses, where being impulsive can translate into very poor results. Doing proper preparation and planning before every single trade, is the right way to succeed. Failing to keep your emotions in check, and jumping into trades without following a fixed process, will lead to failure over time. Not being impulsive also refers to the ability to stick to a plan or strategy. Having this in mind, smart traders tread cautiously to find a balance that also enables them to adapt to incoming news and information, especially when events may run counter to an open position. Not being impulsive is something most successful traders in Africa and the world at large, have in common with one another.
- Risk Management
Ultimately, FX trading is all about risk management. The most successful forex traders believe their primary task is to protect what they already have. By protecting your trading capital, you’ll be able to trade the next day. It is a fine balance between taking a risk to gain while facing the possibility of loss on each trade. The best forex traders in Ghana know this and utilize risk management strategies to minimize potential losses while maximizing profits.
They make using stop losses such a habit that they don’t place a trade without it, no matter how sure. Risk management does not mean avoiding losses completely, it means minimizing their impact so that no single loss will hurt your overall trading balance or capitulate your capital. To win big you must often risk big, but the most successful traders also know when such a risk is good enough in their favour to take it.
- Knowing when to stop/Take a pause
The most successful traders know when it may be time to take a break and stop trading briefly. The reasons for which a trader will stop trading for a while varies. Over the years, we at Geldex Invest have realised there are two primary reasons. The first reason is that one’s trading plan is ineffective with the market’s current price behaviour, and they are losing more times than normal.
This may be the perfect time to stop and figure out what may be going on so you can make adjustments with your trading plan. When it comes to forex market trading, change is inevitable. Experienced traders know this fact, and will pause their trading in order to adapt to the current market conditions. The second reason smart traders take a break, is when they are having a bad day due to some other personal reasons, or stress, and realize they’re trading decisions are being affected by those.
Successful forex traders can have a winning trading plan, but can still lose if external stress factors impact their trade decisions. When you feel stressed out, take some time away, and get your emotions and stress under control. By the time you return to the trading platform, your emotions will be under control, and you’ll be ready to approach the market with a neutral mindset.
- Never stop Learning
For a fact, successful forex traders simply never stop learning. One of the most common habits of successful forex traders in Africa is the ongoing curiosity and readiness to learn. With an ever-dynamic market that is constantly transforming and adjusting, good traders know not to rest on their laurels, always upgrading their knowledge and skills, testing out new techniques and generally improving their abilities. Learning sources include Trading Educational materials, videos, learning technical analysis, and trading webinars, all of which Geldex offers you through our website, weekly webinars, and mentorship/coaching programmes. You should also make it a habit to regularly check news sources like Bloomberg and CNBC. This is one of the traits African forex brokers have used to ensure great success in online currency trading
- Trading With the Most Trusted Broker
Although this is last on the list, it’s by far a very critical point to your success while engaging in forex trading. The best Forex traders in Ghana trade with the most trusted and customer-friendly broker, where you can choose from various trading account types that suit your personality, goals and risk tolerance, and are based on your trading strategy, experience, and capital intended for your investment. Explore the best trading conditions with Geldex Invest, a global leading, award winning broker right here in Ghana. Geldex is also licensed and regulated in many of the world’s most advanced capital market jurisdictions. You can log onto our website- www.geldexinvest.com to find out more about account types and the wide range of instruments available for you to trade.
Final Words
Whether you’ve just started trading forex or are an advanced forex trader, we hope these facts about the most successful forex traders in Africa will help you on your journey. It’s highly unlikely that when the most experienced forex traders started out, they possessed all the traits we have discussed; they may have been strong in one, two or three at most, and had to work on developing the others over time. That’s good news; because it means, great traders aren’t born; they develop through arduous work that includes these traits. All successful forex traders started as small investors; they learned from their mistakes, and developed systems that worked for them and that fit their personal styles.
Brought to you by: Geldex Invest
Focused, disciplined, Logical, Trading creates success.
