The dark side of forex markets | Forex Forum by Myfxbook (2024)

FAQs

What is the number one mistake forex traders make? ›

One of the worst mistakes new traders make is averaging down: investing more money in a losing trade in the hope of a turnaround. More often than not this amounts to throwing good money after bad and can exacerbate your losses.

Forex scam risk involves the danger of engaging with fraudulent brokers or falling victim to investment scams promising unrealistic returns. These scams can lead to significant financial losses and erode trust in the Forex trading environment.

The reason many forex traders fail is that they are undercapitalized in relation to the size of the trades they make. It is either greed or the prospect of controlling vast amounts of money with only a small amount of capital that coerces forex traders to take on such huge and fragile financial risk.

Like many high-performance endeavors, success in forex trading takes time, patience, and a lot of practice. Many beginners don't last very long in the forex market – not necessarily because they deduce losses that are impossible to recover from, but because they make a few losses in the beginning and give up.

One of the most famous examples of a forex trader who has gotten rich is George Soros. In 1992, he famously made a short position on the pound sterling, which earned him over $1 billion. Another example is Michael Marcus, also known as the Wizard of Odd.

The forex scandal (also known as the forex probe) is a 2013 financial scandal that involves the revelation, and subsequent investigation, that banks colluded for at least a decade to manipulate exchange rates on the forex market for their own financial gain.

In summary, the lack of regulation or licensing should serve as a red flag for potential forex trading scams. Investors should exercise caution when dealing with unregulated brokers and prioritize the safety of their funds by choosing reputable brokers that adhere to regulatory standards.

Transaction Risk

This is one of the main risk factors in forex trading and is contingent on exchange rate changes. Since forex trading is active round the clock, exchange rates are subject to change before a trade settles.

No trading strategy is complete without proper risk management. The 5-3-1 rule encourages traders to limit their risk by only trading five currency pairs and developing three strategies. Additionally, it's crucial to set stop-loss and take-profit levels for each trade and stick to them to avoid significant losses.

Lack of Discipline

Successful forex trading requires discipline and adherence to a well-defined trading plan. However, many traders fail to develop or stick to a trading plan. They may deviate from their strategies, chase after quick profits, or make impulsive trades based on short-term market fluctuations.

When not to trade forex? ›

When should you not trade forex? While the forex market is a 24 hours a day, 5 days a week market, there are certain situations when you should stay on the sideline. These include bank holiday hours, high impact news, important central bank meetings and illiquid market hours.

Statistics show that most aspiring forex traders fail, and some even lose large amounts of money. Leverage is a double-edged sword, as it can lead to outsized profits but also substantial losses. Counterparty risks, platform malfunctions, and sudden bursts of volatility also pose challenges to would-be forex traders.

Having the wrong expectations and starting forex trading for the wrong reasons will lead any trader to quit. But trading is not like a hobby and takes patience, love, passion, and dedication. Again, lacking the perseverance and passion for the game will also lead many traders to quit.

With no control over macroeconomic and geopolitical developments, one can easily suffer huge losses in the highly volatile forex market. If things go wrong with a particular stock, shareholders can put pressure on management to initiate required changes, and they can alternatively approach regulators.

Why is Trading Forex Hard? The Forex market is said to be hard because it is the most liquid market in the world and billions of people and entities intervene in it. Governments, politics, the weather, public health, corporate expansion or bankruptcy, the prices of foodstuff, everything influences the Forex market.

According to research, the consensus in the forex market is that around 70% to 80% of all beginner forex traders lose money, get disappointed, and quit. Generally, 80% of all-day traders tend to quit within the first two years.