Expository Essay on Retail Forex Exchange Trading
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Introduction
The Forex exchange market or as always preferred, the stock market, is one of the most significant markets in any economy of a country as it offers the liquidity to undertake transactions and support the respective economies of a country. This market has a large number of players involved, namely: the commercial banks, commercial firms, central banks, investments management companies, hedge funds, and retail forex brokers and investors. Having a career in this type of market has enabled me to have a clear-cut understanding of the operations that take place in this portfolio of the economy. This work focuses on offering a deliberate and vivid description of the forex exchange, with a look at the hedging strategies and the self-control measures, which are vital traits that any person investing in the forex exchange should not only be aware of but also embrace.
What Is Forex Exchange Trading?
To begin with, King (2012) describes retail forex exchange trading as a small portion of the bigger foreign exchange market where people speculate on the foreign exchange rates on the various currencies (p. 24). This sector has grown with the introduction of electronic trading systems and the internet that has enabled people to get information on the global currency markets in real-time. He continues to explain that, hedging, on the other hand, is a risk control strategy employed by individual investors and companies to guard their subscribed portfolio against the hostile currency. Also, this hedging is a protective measure against interest rates, shifts in prices and it is objective particularly at minimizing any market uncertainty. In any type of investment, it is advisable to more than often have self-control. It is an act of discipline that keeps an investor composed and rational, and it helps to avoid emotions such as fear, or voracity to influence decision making.
Understanding the Foreign Exchange Market
The most unpredictable portfolios of an economy are the foreign exchange market, and this market is not dominated by one market exchange but is composed of global connection of computers, making it virtual, and brokers universally. Forman (2009) states that the central banks apply their buying and selling strengths to change the exchange rates via the open markets trading, and in most of the scenarios will do so not to profit but instead for some policy reasons. The forex market is set entirely on currencies that tend to fluctuate unexpectedly, and this results in the markets being hard to predict and most uncertain. The advantages of foreign exchange trading are huge profits. As much as it is easy to get a lot of proceeds from forex trading, especially if you are aware and understand what you are doing, it is also easy to lose everything invested in the trade. It is for this reason, that as I also advise other customers, it is not advisable to trade with more money in forex markets than the person can afford to lose.
Where Is the Profitability Edge in Forex Trading Systems?
Hu (2012) accords that, for profitability in trading in the forex sector, it is imperative that one understands the people. The market is composed of several people simultaneously trading on a daily basis, and to make good money, one needs to know how people might do their trades. Time is also another key role. On the banking hours in the gig nations, there will be large organizations with huge capital and impact trading at the same time a person wants to trade. The bottom line is, these companies want to take your funds, and they will hoax you if they see it suit and possible. Self-control, as an aspect of a big part of trading(psychology trading), extends to the bigger section of this market. The currency prices change with the emotions of people, and therefore as will be seen in the subsequent sections, it is good to have self-control while trading in this market. Also, it will be seen how smart investors and or companies employ hedging strategies to guard against the uncertainty of the market.
Hedging as a Way of Neutralizing Risk
In my understanding, I could refer to hedgers as risk neutralizers. Individuals who employ hedging decide on their hedging strategy based on the anticipated return on a selected strategy. Hedging can be done through financial techniques, for example, the exchange rate derivatives also known as the foreign currency debt (financial hedges), and also via the operational framework of the exporting company (operational hedges). Currently, financial derivatives emerge to be standard techniques for neutralizing risks associated with the exchange rates or stock prices. Broadly, hedging can be put into two categories: interest rate hedging, and currency movement hedge. Individual investors and or organizations can apply an interest rate hedge when they are involved in huge borrowings. An interest rate hedge permits those who hedge to reduce the expense of borrowing by moving risks of any anticipated, unfavorable interest rate shifts.
What Is Hedging in Forex Trading?
Conversely, the currency movement type of hedging is applied by multinational firms or investors that have a global portfolio. According to Peters (2014), the same permits the hedgers to manage and reduce their exposure to any severe exchange rate shift. Global businesses are naturally susceptible to currency risk. Nonetheless, with the fast integration of the worldwide economy, a lot of attempts have been inclined towards the study of those risks related to the exchange risks. Working in the forex exchange sector, I can affirm that a lot of changes have been seen in the hedging strategies. With the change of times, the same mechanism is refined and advances into something new that can be better used in the current commercial market.
Foreign exchange trading involves a lot of speculation and risk and thus the hedging, depending on the chosen strategy, can be effective insurance and also a value-addition task for investors. Effective hedging strategies are affirmatively the best and proven way for individual investors and companies to reduce or transfer their exposure to foreign currency. This is because the diminished exposure to the fluctuations of the foreign exchange permits more stability and predictability of the cash flows, remarkably in revenue.
The Essence of Self-Control in Forex Trading
Hedging has been shown to be a way of neutralizing risk in the forex exchange dealings, but more to that, there is a need to have self-control as an investor (trading psychology). A trader or investor is a human being and as per se, emotions can greatly obstruct a person during trading. It is imperative that a trader learns the ways of handling emotions as lack of self-control is a proven impediment to success. Often, being also a consultant who is also a description of my job duties, I come across people who emotionally invest, and they end up with frustrations out of losing just because of the anxiety to get more. As a result of this, the same people resort never to trading in the forex market. Forex trading is a good and bad market, and all of this depends on a person’s ability to self-control. Trading should be done with tenacity, and the frustrations should not be a barrier to work. Thus, it is key to understanding the self as a trader, and this implies identifying one’s strengths and weaknesses and setting the trading style that is appropriate.
Forex Trading Psychology: How to Beat Your Emotions?
As a trader, when a trade is closed successfully, there is the feeling of optimism, one is blissful. However, the same emotions can result in overconfidence in a person, and this hinders the results of forthcoming trades. The remedy for overcoming too much confidence is to create a definite set of guidelines of risk management, and this should enlist, for example, the least number of trades to undertake, and how much of your account you are willing to risk and or lose on from a given trade. Prosperous traders consider information that can assist them to improve their trading approach and which does not clash with their personality. Emotions can be used in a positive manner, and this can be done by learning how to control emotions and widen the knowledge of self. Find ways of dealing with loss. A negative attitude has a great influence on a person’s mind. The emotions affect the entire mental process and maybe a show of an obstacle to trading. As Steenbarger (2015) states, A trader should be confident and happy to avoid making all the wrong decisions. Accept losses and the objective should be not to make the same mistakes in the future (p. 103).
Conclusion
Forex exchange trading as a market is not a simple market. It involves a lot of speculation, and the extent of risk is also huge. As a trader who is involved or perhaps who wants to be involved, this work has offered an enlightening narration on the key aspects that could be used in this market, a description of the forex market, the hedging strategy, and self-control. As is seen above, one has to have a distinctive understanding of the same so as to be on the almost safer side. Personally, being involved in this type of career has made me realize that there is more into just trading (speculating as others would call it) in the stocks as it goes to the extent of knowing and understanding the market extensively and knowing the best steps to take in a given situation. Of importance is to avoid emotions in forex as it blurs the vision in effectively trading. Hedging as seen is a way of neutralizing risk, and this aids in protecting the investment of people, and this is why there are various hedging strategies applicable to a given situation. Foreign exchange trading is as good and promising as it sounds but care should be taken.
References
Forman, J. (2009, August 12). No More Hedging for Forex Traders. Retrieved from Essentials of Trading: http://theessentialsoftrading.com/Blog/index.php/2009/04/14/no-morehedging-for-forex-traders/
Hu, K. M. (2012). Forex Analysis and Money Management. Worcester Polytechnic Institute.
King, M. R. (2012). Foreign Exchange Market, Structure, Players, and Evolution. Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Peters, W. (2014, July 18). Trade Forex with Support and. Retrieved from Best Metatrader Broker: www.bestmetatraderbroker.com
Steenbarger, B. N. (2015). Trading Psychology 2.0: From Best Practices to Best Processes. Wiley.
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