Saturday, August 1, 2009

Why Not Swing Trading? (Part II)

By Ahmad Hassam

In case of currency trading, the cost of trading is hidden in the bid/ask spreads offered by the broker. Day traders often rake up major commissions charges if they are trading stocks which makes it that much more difficult to beat the overall market. In the end, if you are unable to breakeven, you cannot survive long in day trading. So the more you day trade, the higher your trading cost will become.

Swing trading also entails facing stiff trading costs in the shape of spread in case of currencies or commissions if you are trading stocks. But these trading costs are nothing as severe as in day trading. Because price action spans several days to several weeks, market fundamentals can come into play to a larger degree as compared to day trading.

The holding period is longer in swing trading than in day trading. Swing trading can also generate higher potential profits on single trades. Day to day currency movements are due less to market fundamentals and more to short term supply and demand of currencies or shares.

Day trading demands lots of attention and time commitment from you. There is a misconception that day trading can be taken as a hobby. It is stressful and a winning position can turn into a losing one within seconds. If you want to permanently take on day trading, you have to have strong nerves.

Now the good thing about swing trading is that you can take it full time or part time. Swing trading currency markets can be very profitable. Currency markets are open 24/5 so you can enter or exit a position even after hours. Swing trading with an eye on earning additional income or improving the returns on your portfolio is less stressful than swing trading for a living.

Part time swing trading means doing analysis when you get home from work and then implementing trades the following day! Even though you may not be able to watch the market all day, you can enter stop loss orders to protect your capital. If you eventually want full time swing trading, you should first go though this phase first.

If you have a full time job but can devote a few hours a week to analyzing markets and securities or currencies, swing trading part time is suitable for you. If you are achieving subpar results in your current investment portfolios from your financial advisors or third party then you can take up part time swing trading. You should have a passion for financial markets and short term trading.

Part time swing trading is for those individuals who are not gamblers and dont take undue risks like doubling down their positions. They should also have the discipline to consistently place stop loss orders. Again swing trading is not for fun.

By swing trading you are able to commit less capital to the markets to reach extraordinary gains as compared to day trading where your capital requirements may be larger and gains lower. At the end of the day, it comes down to the fact that you need to determine your trading style before you become serious in trading. What do you think? Are you a Swing Trader?

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