How To Define Your Trading Float
Thursday, February 2nd, 2012In outlining your money management rules in order to start trading, the first step should be deciding on your trading float. This is the amount of money you’ve got to trade with. Before you set the exact amount, it is important to outline your objectives in trading.
You need to be clear on the amount of time you have available to spend trading. Are you able to trade full time, part-time, or have you got hardly any time to trade, maybe because of work and family commitments. Next, work out how much capital you’ve got to trade with. There will of course be times when you will experience a loss. Are you ok with a loss of 30%, forty percent?
What annual rate of return are you wanting? You must be practical about this. How much profit are you wanting to make over what period? This amount will be dependent on the quantity of risk you are prepared to take. How do you need to take your hard-earned money from the market? Do you need a cashflow ( that is, constantly taking profits out ) or capital growth ( by growing your capital in the market, using the miracle of compound interest )?
Remember that money made from trading is not a reliable source of income. Some months, yes, you will make a profit, even maybe a good profit but at other times you need to accept that there will be a string of losses. It is a good idea for the first two years of trading not to focus on your return on investment. Rather, concentrate on refining your trading system and developing good trading habits. You will in this way be putting in the ground work for future trading success. There are tools out there that can help you. Knowing what is Metastock can be beneficial to your trading.
The bigger the trading float you commence with, the less complicated it will be for you to trade. This is because there are certain fixed costs involved in trading. The biggest cost is brokerage. Many brokers charge a fixed fee for each trade and the traders with the larger fund size will find this simpler to deal with.
Let us say 2 traders open a trade each. One trader’s position is costed at $2000 and the second trader’s position is worth $20,000. Both traders have matching brokerage charges which are $100 per trade. The trader with the bigger account size has an advantage over the other, as he only has to make 0.5% so as to break even. The other has to make five percent before he breaks even. It is vital that the trader with the littler position be more successful, which places him under greater stress.
There is of course nothing wrong with starting out with a smaller float, but you will be at a greater disadvantage than someone with a more sizeable amount.
To start defining your money management rules, think about the objectives you are aiming at in trading. When you’ve crystallized these objectives, you will be in a position to think about the dimensions of the float you are going to operate with. This is a key facet of your money management rules and should be given due consideration before you start trading. Desire to get started on the right trading trail? Look for a Metastock download so that you can become familiar with one of the best tools of the trade.
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