Investor’s Talk Pt 3
Welcome Back!!!!
This is the follow-up series from our earlier chat with our investor/chef/economist — Michael. I have been meaning to drop this second part, but I really don’t have any excuse, so please forgive me. Well, in order not to keep you guys waiting, let’s just dive into the matter for today.
So when did you start trading in the forex market?
I started trading in the market in 2020. However I started learning about forex trading in my 200 level. My learning process was mainly through books, articles and YouTube videos. Then in my 300 level, I started trading with demo accounts, trying to practicalize what I learned so far, and finally, in 2020 I put some real money into my trade and that’s how I started my forex journey.
So why forex, given that you have always been making money from your traditional investments?
To be honest, I have always been fascinated by the forex market. For me I believe with forex trade you can always make money it just depends on the position you take.
For instance let’s say you saved up $100 but the naira depreciates against the dollar from 380 naira to 400 naira for a Dollar, if you convert that $100 back to naira, you would have made a gain from that same $100, but if the naira appreciates against the dollar, let’s say from 380naira to 300naira for a dollar, you would have made a loss on that same $100.
So for me, it’s all about predicting the market and if you’re good at analyzing charts and you keep with current trends, it would be quite easy for you.
Would you say the course you studied at the university helped you in understanding the forex market?
Yes definitely, I studied Economics and we did a lot of market, chart and trend analysis. So my educational background basically aided my learning process in the forex market.
How did your first trade in the forex market pan out?
Quite good actually, I traded with 20,000 naira and I made 25,000 naira. Though it wasn’t much, I was motivated by the win.
What has been your biggest return and worst trade in the forex market?
My worst trade I would say was the day I lost 70,000 naira, and my greatest return was a 100% return on my initial trade. Funny how I got this return the next day I traded after losing the 70,000 naira. Yeah, I was forced to learn from my earlier mistake, and it actually paid off.
What would you say caused this mistake?
I would say I was being greedy and impatient — and that’s where most people fault when it comes to forex trading, they are usually greedy, impatient, or both — like in my case.
When it comes to patience, I believe what one needs to do is study the market, because there are some times when you open a trade and you predict that the trend would go up, but it actually goes down and you end up losing money, and because you are impatient, you close your trade, and by the time the trend starts picking up in your favor, you realize that you could have actually made mad profits if you had waited.
Do you trade in the cryptocurrency market?
Currently, No. But I do intend on trading in the market when I resume my forex trading. Yeah, I had to stop for a while after my big loss, but I do plan on starting sometime this year.
My strategy for this is to channel part of my forex profits to my cryptocurrency trade.
What was your initial attitude to forex given the popular mantra of being ready to part ways with your money if you want to engage in forex trading?
To be honest, I never had any bad attitude towards forex: like any form of investment you take there are always some element of risk, it’s now up to you to choose your poison.
What advice would you give anyone that is plans to begin trading in the forex market?
My advise would be to learn a lot and then practice a lot with demo accounts before signing up for the real deal; Never trade based on intuition; And also don’t be greedy and impatient — it would cost you a lot.
