2 weeks ago I was on a training webinar with Empire Trading.  The education services within our iX Global platform.  The trainer was talking about challenges and mentioned a platform called FTMO.  A platform where qualified traders can trade higher capital accounts and earn 70% of the profits.  

I've always traded small accounts as its my capital and I only trade with 'what I can afford to lose'. So the idea of trading with more capital was very interesting.  My trading mindset and my strategy is getting better and after 18 months I thought a challenge like this could be really valuable to my own confidence with trading.

I researched their website, listened to their testimonial videos, read reviews, joined FTMO communities on FB and basically did my background work on this platform to check out their credentials.    

I then thought, why not.  Ill take the free 14 day challenge they have and see how I got on!!  Very excited to report that in line with their rules and statistics I passed the free challenge.  

My strategy was simple.  I kept to a incremental lot size structure where I would set 3 take profit areas to work towards with risk increasing at higher take profit areas but I would off set that with moving my stop loss to protect profits.

I kept my margin level % at around 900% to allow trades set to move and create drawdown comfortably.  As we know markets move all the time and we need to allow for that.

As you will see below from my results - my first week wasn't great but I put this down to figuring out what was right to help me win the challenge as their rules to be met.

So delighted with my first success, I've started a new challenge yesterday to see how I get on.  I think I'll do another one after this and then Ill do a proper challenge with the goal of becoming a funded trader.   I'm very excited about this opportunity.  I'd never heard of this until a few weeks back and its just really opened up my trading mindset and the possibilities it could bring.

This is a question I get asked often because it does puzzles people in the beginning.  The new starter sees a large blue profit number and they are thinking ‘why isn’t this trade being closed’?  It is very frustrating for the beginner especially when they are eager to make profit and start to see the results they know others have benefited from.   So Why does this happen?

1.  The first point to note is your trades you have open on MT4 are a ‘copy’ of the Master account for the automated trading service you are using.   The Master account is running the trades and doing all the activities. Your account is copying all that activity.  So as the Master account sets new trades, your account will copy that. When the Master account closes a trade, your account will close a trader. 
2. The second point is when you first start trading you will inherit all existing trades that are open on the Master account but you will get the current entry price for that trade which will be different to the opening price of the Master account.  This can mean that when this trade starts to trend in a profitable direction, you start to see large profits and wonder why the trade doesn’t close.  This is because that even though you might see the trade as a profit on your account. On the Master account this could be a current loss and it needs to get back to its initial entry price in order to breakeven and start earning a profit. 

So for example.  I have two EURUSD trades that were opened on my account back in August 2020 at a price of 1.17978.  Back at the end of March 2021 these trades went into profit for me and naturally you think, these should close.  However, these EURUSD’s were opened on the master account on a different date and a different price.  Eg.  maybe 1.1300 as the Take Profit target is 1.1200.  So for the Master account a currency price of 1.1798 means this trade is in loss and if it closed on the Master account it would be a large loss so the trade remains open until the initial entry price is reached or the target profit is reached. This means as your account is mirror a master account, trades will not close they will remain open. 
 
What can you do?
The primary note here is always happens at the beginning of a new trader's journey and once into the swing of daily trading, this activity is gone.  It only applies at the beginning.  

1.  You can leave the automation to do its job and if the master account reaches its target the trades will close and you will receive a nice profit for having that trade at a better entry price which is just great for your account.
2. Ask your trading support person what trade are old and could any of them be closed as soon as they go into profit because they are old.  You can close trades like this and take the profit.  Its just knowing which ones are the old ones which you can close yourself.

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If you need anymore guidance on this then let me know!
​The commentary I write is not financial advice, it is meant to help others with their self knowledge and growth.

So, this title is inspired by a comment I had on a post from an Mr. A Pessimist. 

I’d like to thank them for their comment because its comments like this that help me drill deeper into helping people see the power of automated trading service for those that are truly skeptical, like Mr. Pessimist.  His comment reflects probably a large percentage of people who remain skeptical of other ways to earn an income outside of the traditional l banks, saving plans, pensions and financial tools. All tools I have in my financial kit too because they are worthy services.  His comment also reflects the negative press forex trading gets which is heavily created by the ridiculous claims that are often shared or people with images of fast cars and tonnes of money.    So, I respect his opinion and I hope that he finds the answers he’s looking for. 
 
The opening sentence was ‘Losses after losses?’  They punctuated it with a question mark, so here is my answer.
In this year of trading I’ve had 2 losing weekly moments.  They just happen to coincide with one another in the same month.  The first one was the US General election (US$31) and then I lost my profit earned from the month of November (US$141).  At the point of the loss my profit was actually up at US$119 so it had been a great month.  This loss was caused by a technical glitch which has now been resolved.  IX Global worked super hard to turn this around and given that I know the teams I was pleased to see the action taken quickly and the communication of the error being spoken about. There was nowhere to hide so it had to be addressed with the many IX global customers.  A bit like when TSB had  IT issues with customers bank accounts.  Technical glitches can happen. 

What I lost was profit not capital.  In my opinion that money was not real to me unless I had wanted to withdraw it from the account.  What I lost in Noember was a percentage gain which equated to 3%.  Overall, since my account started I have earned well over 50% over and above my capital.  Which is far more than my bank or current retirement plans are earning me.   Yes, forex trading is riskier, but the returns are far more lucrative.  If you can be emotionally detached from your trading, then you are 80% there.  Initially I was bothered by the loss, but when I put it into prospective, I found calm in my head.  My rational:

1.  Its 3% of the account.  When I’ve gained over 50%, over the 2020 annual period. We must look long term when we are trading.
2. Forex trading is risky.  You must know that and be prepared for what could happen and learn to detach yourself from the trading activity.  One of the pillars of trading is ‘risk management’.  The majority of the time we ahve really good weeks but we must be prepared for weeks with losses.
3. Trust the team doing the trading on your behalf.  It’s in their interest too, to have a successful algorithm and decision making otherwise their business model isn’t worth it!  Get to know the brand and the team.  Look at their historical results. It doesn’t guarantee future profits but it’s a healthy insight into the phycology of the company.
4. I lost profit, not capital. I’d be more upset if my capital investment had been compromised.

Their next sentence: ‘Why are you getting people to sign up to this’.   Also finished with a question mark, so here is my answer to that part of the question.
Through my blog I’m sharing my trading journey.   I openly share my results, learnings and answer questions so that those curious can get a real picture of what its like on a weekly basis.  I remain open, honest and transparent about my results because at the end of the day this service is riskier than guaranteed profits return you would get through other financial tools and I want people to see if for what it is. 

This is also an industry that is completely alien to a lot of people who have been taught that we should be saving money and using banks, ISA’s and retirement tools that guarantee income.  These tools offered by banks and financial institutes also use the forex markets to make money from your money invested.  They are doing it, why can’t we!  Deutsche Bank is the world’s largest foreign exchange dealer with over 21% in market share.  Another reason I hear often is forex trading is just for the rich people and not acceptable to the ordinary person in the street.  Its not acceptable to the ordinary person in the street because its not offered to them as an option. Its also presents itself as a walled opportunity.  Only open to those that are math whizzes and those that have a ton of time to read charts.  Automated trading gives you an option to tackle these two issues and get yourself into an industry which could make you a good return!   People make their own decisions based on their own due diligence if this is right for them.  I share my journey as evidence of what automated forex trading can bring them.
 
The last word, ‘Scam’.
Well that is an opinion and if I’m part of a scam then I’m very confused by the success and results of some of the other IX Global customers.  I’ve connected with many customers to share forex questions, insights and experiences. Each week these customers rave about their returns and share the glory of their money growth because they are more than delighted with the results so far.  I see them posting their results on Facebook and happily express to world another great way to earn a passive income and really feel money abundant.  IX Global is changing people’s lives and that is exciting too watch and see.  I’ve also been a customer for a year now and if I hadn’t been seeing my capital grow, I would have stopped this journey a long time ago.  Its been worth it and I’m very excited about 2021.
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Mr. A Pessimist, thank you for your comment and thank you for helping me think about your post and adding more clarity around the opportunity for forex trading. Its been a pleasure.

Merry Chirstmas to everyone at IX Global, all my forex friends and Mr Pessimist!  

​Drawdown is a measure of how far your account falls from the last account high to the low before you get back to the old high again. So, if your account topped out at £1,000 then dipped to £900 before recovering to £1,000 again, you've had a 10% drawdown. 

Drawdown can be the source of lots of concern for a newbie trader. They see a minus number at the top of their MT4 app and get really concerned they are about to lose that number.  So, I want to put your mind at ease with what I’ve learnt about drawdown and how to have the right mindset around it. I’m not an expert in this but this is my experience I’m sharing with you and if you need more technical information then I’d suggest do your own research around this topic too!

1. Drawdown is part of trading.  It will happen every day when trades are set. Its part of the process.  When new trades are set you may be lucky, and it jumps right into profit and you hit your target profit straight way, but I’d say 99% of the time drawdown happens first.   Its going to be a part of the trading picture going forward.  

2. Drawdown means that trades are in play and your money is being actively used to create the money growth activity that you want.  If we didn’t set trades or have drawdown we wouldn’t be trading or seeing any profit.  If this is not what you want to do then find another income generation method that suits your tolerance levels.

3. I make a note of the dollar at the 10% - 30% drawdown and keep those in my head when I am looking at moving Trade value at the top right of your MT4 app.  This helps me roughly know where we are in the drawdown and help you see.  For example, my account balance is valued at US$3362.  10% of that is US$336 and 30% is US$1008 so when I look at my MT4 ‘active money’ value I know roughly where I am within these numbers.  

4. Drawdown doesn’t equate to losses unless all those trades that are showing loss are closed.  They only count if they are closed.  When they are in play, I have no problem with seeing the drawdown. 
 
5. Become comfortable with your risk appetite.  If you don’t like a lot of risk, then either don’t trade and find another passive income generating method or keep your account small so you are only risking what you can comfortably afford to lose.

If you are manual trader then your drawdown percentages and your risk appetite will be very different, and you will have to create your own risk management plan around your trading plan.  There is a lot of wisdom out there on the internet on this.

NOTE: Past results can be verified and if you look in the tab called 'My Results' - you will see my results I have been sharing.  Past performance is not indicative of future results.  If you are interested in registering or getting more information on this trading system, please message me.

​Forex trading is the buying and selling of foreign currency for profit.  You will have experienced it when you are travelling and a currency will be weaker or stronger against another currency.
 
The primary players in the forex markets are the banks, large commercial corporations, hedge funds, large investment houses and a small portion are the retail traders - which is what I am.  The market is really driven by the bigger players.
 
The currency prices move up and down daily and this is called a trend. A forex trader will follow the trends of a currency and set trades in play to profit from the rise and fall of the currency. Trends are caused by macro and micro economics and a level of people sentiment too.
 
The forex market trades about US$5 trillion a day and is one of the biggest industries out there.  The general public don't really pay attention to the value and size of this market.
 
All retailer traders will have a brokerage account - which is like your bank account.  You will deposit funds for the purpose of trading.  Retailers also connect their brokerage account to a platform called Metatrader 4 which is an online global trading platform which shares all the currency pairs out there that are being traded.
 
There are a set of major pairs which primarily are currency pairs like EURUSD, USD/JPY, GBP/USD, and USD/CHF.  These are the major players and most retail traders will have one or all these pairs in their trading portfolio.
 
Trading isn't a skill we can learn quickly it takes years to be a good trader.  It takes a lot of testing of strategies, testing of your own mindset and testing of your ideas.   The facts state that 90% of new traders will lose all their investment within the first 90 days of doing trading by themselves.  There is a lot of educational material out there to help with trading and a number of FB groups too.  My personal route with this topic has been to do automated trading first so that I could learn and earn as I go and not waste my investment.
 
Automated trading is using artificial intelligence and professional traders to set trades on your behalf. AI is used now by about 80% of traders these days as it helps reduce the emotional side of trading and allowing investors to get into trades when they are not at their computer.  AI with trading basically means the technology look for a set of trends and markers which help decide if the technology will set the trade or not. 
 
The forex marketing is open 24 hours a day, 5 days a week and you can trade in any market through an FCA registered broker and the MT4 app.
 
Risk management and leverage are also key concepts to learn and consider when you start out trading as this will determine the potential profit and the potential loss.   I always air on the side of lowering my risk management and ensuring I only trade about 1-3% of my capital in my trade at any one time.
 
A great place to verify traders and their technologies is a website called 'Myfxbook.com - it’s a great site for reviewing profits, drawdowns, history and trades in play for traders you are looking at.  Its a space to analyze , get answers and ask more questions. The automated service I use has a link on here to review to help see the statistics of the trading tool.
 
Those are some salient points.  If your son is keen to trade manually - have a look at www.babypips.com - there is some education there and some learning too which I use.   If automated trading is something, he wants to start with so you can learn and earn then I can help with that too - as that is what my platform uses.
 
There are some points - I hope I’ve been able to make a few things clear.    If you have any questions - just ask.  Or if anything above is confusing, then let me know.
 
Trading is a good career to have but it does require a lot of learning, skill growth, commitment and time but if you get it right then it could be a good option.  
 
I started this journey July 2019 and I wish I had started it so much earlier - its the one career choice that I do feel I have control over and feel I could achieve more money abundance even in this pandemic....but like all things we need to test, check, test, check....    

​Forex (foreign exchange) refers to the foreign currency exchange market, the world’s largest financial trading market. Pass yourself as a forex expert with these buzz words:

•Bid – to buy
•Ask – to sell
•Liquidity – financial ease of transaction, i.e. cash
•Trading volume – the amount traded
•Bid/ask spread – the difference between the proposed buying price and the actual selling price
•OTC – over the counter
•Exchange rate – the difference between currency values; for instance, a Canadian dollar is valued at .86 of a US dollar
•Hedge funds – large mutual funds companies that control vast amounts of money and are able to manipulate the value of a currency through speculation
•Central bank – the national bank of a nation, which usually exerts control over the value of that currency

Forex trading is the investment in the currency of one nation. Multinational Corporations doing business across national boundaries find value in keeping their cash reserves in a variety of countries, and holding their funds in a myriad of ways. For example, a UK corporation may hold a percentage of its working capital in UK pounds, but if it does quite a bit of business in USA it may also maintain a percentage of its money in dollars, in US banks. Individual investors over the decades have discovered that there is profit to be made in investment and speculation in the currency markets.

Take the case during the 70’s when the German DM swung rapidly in value. It was worth anywhere from 1.2 marks to the US dollar to 3.5 US marks to the dollar. When the mark was worth 2.5 it was beneficial to spend dollars buying marks, since the mark would buy more goods or services at that rate. As the mark bottomed out 1.7 to the dollar there was less incentive.

Surprisingly, the forex market itself is not unified. One can find many small forex markets specializing in trading various currencies. The most commonly traded currencies in forex speculation are the US dollar, the Australian dollar, the British pound sterling, the Japanese yen, and the European Euro. Currency values vary depending on the market in which an investor is speculating, so there is really no such thing as a single, unified dollar rate, but instead there are multiple dollar rates, which vary according to the market where the trade is occurring.

The major cities in which trades occur include New York, London, and Tokyo. It’s a 24 hour process. When Asian trading ends, European trading commences, and when European trading ends, then American trading opens. Naturally, when American trading ends, it is time for Asian trading to open house once more… and so on.

Currently, the most actively traded currency is the US dollar, involved in 90% of all trades. This is followed by the Euro involved in 36% of all trades, then by the yen in 20% and the pound in 17%.

Our fastest rising currency in trade is the Euro, however the US dollar is still the favored anchor point-- and the currency watched so as to judge how others will react. Differences in value of currencies come from the current events. GDP growth, inflation dips, interest rate swings, budget and trade deficits, surpluses and other economic conditions all shift currency values. Investors, for this reason, follow the news very closely. There are 24 hour cable news channels and many web sites devoted to news that aid currency speculators.

The forex market is highly susceptible to rumors. In fact the central banks of countries frequently manipulated local currency value by sowing rumors about interest rate hikes and other economic propaganda that impacts the value of the domestic currency. When this news is false it is called a dirty float- and it dismays the market.

​This actually does happen now, every day. Monday through Friday I see more dollars drop into my forex account.

About a month ago I shared on Facebook that I had started learning about forex trading, learning new terminology, setting trades, using an automated trading tool.

5 months in and I have to say this really is a positive experience. While I've been learning about trading, I used an automated trading service to grow my account and it has been running nicely! On average I've seen around 5%. July we were just under at 4.26% but overall I've been pleased with these results.

Alongside this income growth, I've also benefited from compound interest too! So this has actually been a worthy strategy for us. Making our money work for us is actually something I can understand now and has been a big mindset shift for me too! My bank says 0.01% which I'm supposed to be excited about!! NOT!!!

Wherever you are on your income journey, do take a moment to take a look at options like this and see if it's for you? If you are interested let me know.

See my results so you can see for yourself.  These are my own results.  Returns are not guaranteed and any capital is at your own risk. ​