Should Newbies turn to signal providers rather than trading themselves?

Jan 02, 2017 at 12:06
2,225 Views
38 Replies
Member Since May 11, 2011   235 posts
Mar 08, 2017 at 11:43
Be so careful what you sign up for, people will take your money in a blink. Do your research.

I noticed this as well, very gullible (stupid) people out there. A guy posted his 'history', something like 8 trades, made an average of a few dollars per trade (with some losses) and all from a one day result set... and people are cheering him on about his superb 'achievement'. In my view a load of rubbish. I worked out that if he continues at that rate without any issues (and other traders here will vouch for me that a year never is 'issue free') he will reach $100,000.00's in approximately 30 years (with no withdrawals).
For every loss there should be at least an equal and opposite profit.
Member Since Sep 12, 2015   1948 posts
Mar 08, 2017 at 11:46
xgavinc posted:
Be so careful what you sign up for, people will take your money in a blink. Do your research.

I noticed this as well, very gullible (stupid) people out there. A guy posted his 'history', something like 8 trades, made an average of a few dollars per trade (with some losses) and all from a one day result set... and people are cheering him on about his superb 'achievement'. In my view a load of rubbish. I worked out that if he continues at that rate without any issues (and other traders here will vouch for me that a year never is 'issue free') he will reach $100,000.00's in approximately 30 years (with no withdrawals).

Yeah and some have many accounts and post to themselves...
"They mistook leverage with genius".
Member Since Feb 12, 2016   427 posts
Mar 09, 2017 at 07:20
Well this is not something new. People always love winners and champions. They will see a trader winning few trades and they will say “what a professional” and follow him. But then when they see a verified trader with ups and downs – they will be skeptical because he has some losses .. what a pity
Accept the loss as experience
Member Since Feb 14, 2017   24 posts
Mar 14, 2017 at 07:17
sid4spd posted:
Hi Guys,

I am about to start my live trading forex journey.Every thing was planned out untill I came to this site and found this thing called 'Auto Trader' and 'signal start service' all promising hugh % returns for my principal...

using my strategy and trading manually, I could at the most get 2% a month...but these traders claim far higher returns..

Question is should a new trader allocate small capital and 'learn' to manage risk on that account and go for these signal providers or continue to hone their own strategy?

Any one experienced with these Bots are welcome to answer!

With your strategy you say you can get 2% a month have you managed to do this over a number of years? I believe the likely answer will be no.

Most people even 'signal providers' can make some positive return for up to even 6 months and I have seen people make 100%+ per month. However, these strategies don't typically last and all that is required is an event that they didn't foresee to blow the whole account.

My advise would be, yes feel free to follow a signal provider or trader. But make sure they have over one year of trading history (and even at that, that isn't much. Your HNW investors look for solid strategies typically with at least 2-3 years history.

Look at how they deal with negative trades and what their strategy is when the market turns completely against them with using past data. Like everything and all the disclaimers state, there is a risk involved in forex but your job is to minimise that risk as low as possible.

Hope this helps.
Member Since Sep 12, 2015   1948 posts
Mar 14, 2017 at 17:27
stevehu10 posted:
sid4spd posted:
Hi Guys,

I am about to start my live trading forex journey.Every thing was planned out untill I came to this site and found this thing called 'Auto Trader' and 'signal start service' all promising hugh % returns for my principal...

using my strategy and trading manually, I could at the most get 2% a month...but these traders claim far higher returns..

Question is should a new trader allocate small capital and 'learn' to manage risk on that account and go for these signal providers or continue to hone their own strategy?

Any one experienced with these Bots are welcome to answer!

With your strategy you say you can get 2% a month have you managed to do this over a number of years? I believe the likely answer will be no.

Most people even 'signal providers' can make some positive return for up to even 6 months and I have seen people make 100%+ per month. However, these strategies don't typically last and all that is required is an event that they didn't foresee to blow the whole account.

My advise would be, yes feel free to follow a signal provider or trader. But make sure they have over one year of trading history (and even at that, that isn't much. Your HNW investors look for solid strategies typically with at least 2-3 years history.

Look at how they deal with negative trades and what their strategy is when the market turns completely against them with using past data. Like everything and all the disclaimers state, there is a risk involved in forex but your job is to minimise that risk as low as possible.

Hope this helps.

Just to add to that, number of trades over period, two years of trading tells you little if they are trading once a week, one other thing this 2% will not be consistent, it does however give a target to hit, some months it will be a lot more and some it wont.
"They mistook leverage with genius".
Member Since Oct 08, 2015   35 posts
Mar 15, 2017 at 07:24
So what is your answer of the question in the title of the topic? I couldn't get it from your first post 😄 Maybe the new traders should first learn to spot the signals themselves so that they can evaluate the quality of the signal providers?
Trading is like football - if you don't practice you can't win the game!
Member Since Feb 14, 2017   24 posts
Mar 15, 2017 at 07:27
I agree to a certain extent. But technically if a trader is conservative with risk and accurate with his trades then the number of trades should not matter too much. Personally I'd prefer to trade with someone with around for example 800 trades or under in a 2 year spell than someone with 5000 trades. But as mentioned this is just preference.

For example you could make 4 swing trades per month win 3 of them and gain 3% for the month as opposed to perhaps increasing risk with 100's of trades with less accuracy and more exposure.

Just my 2 cents.
Member Since Jan 31, 2017   30 posts
Mar 15, 2017 at 08:18
Whether being a new trader or an experienced trader, signal provider should always be the second option to go for. Manual trading provides with an opportunity to manage your own risks, by trading yourself one gets sense of confidence to trade more. Undoubtedly losses will be there but learning from them would help you become a successful trader in future. In my view signal providers option is to be opted only when you don’t have much time to trade and wants to earn some extra income.
Member Since Jan 31, 2017   30 posts
Apr 12, 2017 at 08:19
bp395 posted:
hjacob posted:
Whether being a new trader or an experienced trader, signal provider should always be the second option to go for. Manual trading provides with an opportunity to manage your own risks, by trading yourself one gets sense of confidence to trade more. Undoubtedly losses will be there but learning from them would help you become a successful trader in future. In my view signal providers option is to be opted only when you don’t have much time to trade and wants to earn some extra income.

I must admit I had never heard such advice. Even if you are a full-time trader, you may need a hand with signal suppliers to get us in the lead.
I disagree a little of your opinion because I think it is a bit radical.

Well manual trading worked for me but yea I do not deny the importance of signal providers. It’s just that I prefer manual trading.
Member Since Dec 11, 2015   1487 posts
Apr 13, 2017 at 13:21
I think it's a good idea to at least have a basic understanding why your signal provider is making the trading decisions they're making before using their services.
Member Since Apr 03, 2017   11 posts
Apr 16, 2017 at 06:46
sid4spd posted:
Hi Guys,

I am about to start my live trading forex journey.Every thing was planned out untill I came to this site and found this thing called 'Auto Trader' and 'signal start service' all promising hugh % returns for my principal...

using my strategy and trading manually, I could at the most get 2% a month...but these traders claim far higher returns..

Question is should a new trader allocate small capital and 'learn' to manage risk on that account and go for these signal providers or continue to hone their own strategy?

Any one experienced with these Bots are welcome to answer!

Hi,

On my 1 year trading the market live (I did not trade demo) there where a lot of challenges that I encounter and a lot of mistakes I made. Documenting those mistakes give me a chance to generate strategy that makes me profitable.

What I learned so far;

1. Novice trader can easily be drag to the loop hole of opening counter trades during early trend reversal that leads to triggering of stop loss.

2. I am not against stop loss but I don't use stop loss. Instead I plan my trade on a higher time frame and trigger my entry on lower time frame. I manage my risk by always closing losing trade nearly to break even.

3. I don't do scalping. Scalping can lead to huge loses if you will be caught by sudden trend movement. I treat my trade as an investment.

4. I don't over use leverage. This can lead to margin call if you have smaller account. I always use 0.01 lot on my trades.

5. I do use grid and martingale. It is effective on higher time frame with proper money and risk management.

6. I don't use complicated technical analysis. I make my chart as simple as possible by just using bollinger band and moving average.

7. I prefer manual trading with certain rules to follow. I don't trade with emotions. I am just following my rules.

Each trader has its own style and rules on trading.
Plan your TRADE - Trade your PLAN
Member Since Sep 12, 2015   1948 posts
Apr 16, 2017 at 08:46
stevehu10 posted:
I agree to a certain extent. But technically if a trader is conservative with risk and accurate with his trades then the number of trades should not matter too much. Personally I'd prefer to trade with someone with around for example 800 trades or under in a 2 year spell than someone with 5000 trades. But as mentioned this is just preference.

For example you could make 4 swing trades per month win 3 of them and gain 3% for the month as opposed to perhaps increasing risk with 100's of trades with less accuracy and more exposure.

Just my 2 cents.

Some companies wont evaluate your performance unless you have at least a 1000 trades.
"They mistook leverage with genius".
Member Since Sep 12, 2015   1948 posts
Apr 16, 2017 at 08:51 (edited Apr 16, 2017 at 08:52)
snapdragon1970 posted:
stevehu10 posted:
sid4spd posted:
Hi Guys,

I am about to start my live trading forex journey.Every thing was planned out untill I came to this site and found this thing called 'Auto Trader' and 'signal start service' all promising hugh % returns for my principal...

using my strategy and trading manually, I could at the most get 2% a month...but these traders claim far higher returns..

Question is should a new trader allocate small capital and 'learn' to manage risk on that account and go for these signal providers or continue to hone their own strategy?

Any one experienced with these Bots are welcome to answer!

With your strategy you say you can get 2% a month have you managed to do this over a number of years? I believe the likely answer will be no.

Most people even 'signal providers' can make some positive return for up to even 6 months and I have seen people make 100%+ per month. However, these strategies don't typically last and all that is required is an event that they didn't foresee to blow the whole account.

My advise would be, yes feel free to follow a signal provider or trader. But make sure they have over one year of trading history (and even at that, that isn't much. Your HNW investors look for solid strategies typically with at least 2-3 years history.

Look at how they deal with negative trades and what their strategy is when the market turns completely against them with using past data. Like everything and all the disclaimers state, there is a risk involved in forex but your job is to minimise that risk as low as possible.

Hope this helps.

Just to add to that, number of trades over period, two years of trading tells you little if they are trading once a week, one other thing this 2% will not be consistent, it does however give a target to hit, some months it will be a lot more and some it wont.



"They mistook leverage with genius".
Member Since Feb 02, 2017   37 posts
Apr 19, 2017 at 08:24
I agree! There’s no harm in trading through signal providers. But the trick is to find the accurate and reliable signals that avoid losses and maximize your profits.
Member Since Sep 12, 2015   1948 posts
Apr 19, 2017 at 19:49
Was Zuckerberg's comment a shot across Apples bow?
"They mistook leverage with genius".
Member Since Aug 03, 2013   4 posts
Apr 30, 2017 at 11:53
Using a signal provider is one way to make money in the market without much effort and at the shortest possible time but beware and make sure that you examined throughly the strategy being use by the signal provider most of theme are using big SL with smaller TP or do some martingale approach, PnL may look flawless in the early going but once the market start to go against their current trades it will wiped out your account, signal providers with huge winning percentages are most likely high risk strategy, if you want to survive in the market for long always consider a provider that value proper risk management and maintained good RR all the time. Never aims for huge returns in a short period of time. I have a signal at zulu that will build your account slowly and safely.
Member Since Oct 26, 2015   1 posts
Apr 30, 2017 at 14:07
Using signals is not going to make you a better trader. It's best if you just learn the tools to do it yourself so you aren't dependant on someone else to make you money. I'd rather be wrong than someone else being wrong and getting burnt by then!
Member Since May 01, 2017   13 posts
May 01, 2017 at 11:11
But it can be good to follow some signals while you are learning to trade for yourself. This way you can get a steady stream of profit coming in which you are learning
Member Since Dec 11, 2015   1487 posts
May 05, 2017 at 13:14
Jits2020 posted:
But it can be good to follow some signals while you are learning to trade for yourself. This way you can get a steady stream of profit coming in which you are learning

If you've made the right choice about whose signals to follow, at least.
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