subject: Proven Stock Trading Strategies [print this page] This article is an interview on stock trading strategies by Stuart McPhee and Tom Apsry.
Stuart: 'How hard can buying and selling be? Really that's all it comes down to. But trading might be the hardest easy money there is. And really it all comes down to that counter intuitive thing with trading and that is why discipline and so many other attributes are required of us. But discipline to me is a key one.'
Tom: 'And don't you find too that with some people psychology is such an individualized thing that some people think they should be starting out in forex but their psychology is really better to be stock traders and vice versa?'
Stuart: 'Absolutely. And that's such a critical thing. Because so many people trade what I think is the wrong instrument. They trade the wrong product simply because they're perhaps not suited to that type of market. And so many markets out there have different levels of risk. And all of us here have a different tolerance to risk. So if all our risk tolerance is so different and risk and risk management is such a vital part of what we do, that clearly leads us to believe that we can't all trade the same markets.
Many people do trade the wrong instruments and also some instruments move so quickly, their prices move so quickly that if we're not mentally agile and experienced and disciplined enough, we just can't keep up. We're just constantly following and making the wrong decisions and that's why I think some grounding in a simpler market, like familiarizing ourselves with stock trading strategies, for years to build the foundations of successful trading is important. That is so we can build upon and mature our attributes like discipline and patience and many others I could list. I think it's a great starting point to laying a great foundation, then to explore other markets as we are a little more experienced.
Tom: So you would recommend someone starting out with a little slower moving strategy not just jumping into intra day fx cash trading?
Stuart: Absolutely. When we start out we don't really have much idea about what we're doing. And if you are trading something like stocks, you have the time, because stock prices generally don't move that quickly certainly compared to other instruments so we have the time to think about things and work through our plan and actually execute the trade, whether it be entry or exit.
Some other instruments move so quickly that if we delay and hesitate and are not really sure what we are doing, the consequences can be devastating. And it's not only devastating money wise but it's devastating up here, thinking I really can't do this. If we started off doing easier we build some confidence, we develop some competence, and we develop some comfort in what we are doing and some experience. We lay some foundations. I'm a big believer in laying the foundations, the building blocks. Other markets, after we have mastered stock trading strategies, we can move onto quite easily.
