Pelican’s Mentor — Nick Hilsden
Every month, Pelican will be conducting an interview with one of the top traders on the Pelican platform. This is to give a deeper and more insightful analysis into the character of the best traders within the Pelican community.
I started trading shares back in the early 1990’s, and started spread betting in 2007. I am entirely self-taught and trade for a living. I have a “keep it simple” mantra and don’t use complicated charts, algorithms or anything. I look at the charts and use a combination of technical analysis, intuition, sentiment and a global view to take the appropriate trades. I am generally a day trader and aim to have my trades closed by the end of the day.
When and how did you learn to trade successfully?
I started spread betting in 2007 having traded shares for many years prior to that. It took me about 3 years to really learn the ropes and find my style, which has been working well ever since. When I started I read many forums and books. I tried many strategies that I read about on line and most of them were rubbish. Attended some seminars and did one of the courses. Pretty much all of them were a waste of money. I learnt more teaching myself, finding what worked, what didn’t, and plenty of testing, till I settled on the strategies and techniques that I use to this day. There is always something to learn and I am constantly evolving.
How long have you been a mentor and what sent you down that path?
I originally decided to set up a blog to help other new traders and build a bit of a community. It has now morphed into the subscriber model, as I was getting asked if people could use my analysis. I was doing it each day anyway so it made sense to sell it!
In brief, what is your trading strategy?
I keep it simple, trading off key support and resistance levels that I calculate using a mixture of standard and custom indictors and signals.
What is your track record in terms of performance?
I have grown my personal trading fund from £2000 in August 2014 to over £84,000 as at August 2017. I regularly achieve 3% return on my money each month. Full results here.
Do you require potential students to have a level of trading expertise already or can you educate those new to trading?
No knowledge needed though I regularly run seminars/workshops for new traders where I run through the theory, my chart set ups and what I look for. These have been very beneficial to lots of traders and you can read reviews on my website at www.hilsdentrading.com
With regard to risk management what account size do you recommend, as a minimum, for those students following you via your Pelican group?
If you are just starting trading then you have a lot to learn and a long journey. Risk management and emotional control are the 2 most important things you need in trading. I would say start small and learn the ropes slowly — get rich slowly rather than poor quickly. It’s gambling so only put in what you can afford to lose. As a minimum I would say £1000 and £1 per point on the indices to start with. But, we are all different with different circumstances and risk tolerance so put in what you are comfortable with. For the FTSE 100 I typically trade between £5pp and £20pp depending on volatility and other factors.
Do you specialise in specific markets?
I trade the FTSE 100, S&P500, Dax30 and Gold. The FTSE 100 is my main focus.
Do you use Stops and Limits?
Yes
Do you trade directly or use orders?
Both
How many trades do you average a week/month?
Approximately 20 or so trades a week.
What time commitment do you recommend to benefit from your service on Pelican?
As with anything, the more you put in then the more you will get out. I watch the markets for most of the day, either at my trading terminal or on my mobile. At the minimum it would be wise to read the messages in the group and the daily analysis.
What are the subscription costs associated with your Pelican group?
I am charging £99 per month to be a member of my group and see my trades via Pelican.
Do you have any performance offers or deals?
Not at the moment.
What excites you about the future of your Pelican group?
An all in one platform where I can talk to members, action and post trades live, with the ability for members of the group to auto copy is very useful. The future development of a web based system will be better still.
Join Nick’s Hilsden Trading group on Pelican
