Retail Traders – Common Mistakes

Who is a “Retail Trader”?  We at the Academy of Financial Trading classify a “Retail Trader” as someone who has opened a trading account with a broker and has started to trade without any real knowledge of the markets or indeed how they operate.

It is an unfortunate fact that trading is one of the very few professions in which people feel that they can become an expert in without participating in any formal education or training.  Therefore, most who enter the markets ultimately fail.  For those who have a desire to learn to trade correctly, we feel that it should be thought of as an occupation – after all, it is something which you hope to derive revenue from.

So what is the correct path?  How do you become a trader?  Just like any other profession, you should speak to an expert in the field and learn from them.  You should replicate the actions of those who are most successful, and avoid the actions of those who are the least successful. 

So the question needs to be asked – who do you wish to mirror?  We concentrate on providing our students with the same types of methods which are used by the best in the industry – by the institutional traders, the hedge funds and the market-makers.  These entities concentrate on the risk element more than the reward element. 

By combining this approach to our own proven trading strategy, it provides the novice trader with the strength of knowledge which will give them the confidence to succeed.