Have you ever wanted to get involved in the financial markets but didn t know how or where to start? It can be daunting at first and it might seem like everyone you meet knows more than you do. If you ve been employed in a certain sector for some time, chances are you ll have a pretty good knowledge of it by now. You ll know your competitors, who is doing badly and who is doing well.
You ll also know what factors influence the bottom-line of companies in your industry sector, things like the economy, the price of a commodity or a sudden increase in competition. One way of taking advantage of this knowledge and to start trading financial markets is by using CFDs (contracts for difference).
With CFDs you simply buy (go long) if you think a share price of a company will rise and ‘sell (go short) if you think it likely to fall. When you trade share CFDs you can profit from falling and rising markets because you don t physically own the stock in question.
You can also trade CFDs on industry sectors. So whether you know about banks or mining or retailers, when you trade sectors you take a position on a specific industry within a stock index. You can really benefit from your knowledge and experience even if the index or an individual company within the sector is performing badly.
It seems obvious but it really does pay to choose an established CFD provider, one that has been around for a while and is successful. Each year a new providers come along offering you all kinds of cash incentives to hook you in. Always, always be wary of providers who offer free sums of money if you sign up with them.
Professional traders are always eager to learn more about how to become a better trader. That s why they are successful, and why they stay that way. So, compare each provider by looking at the kind of education they offer. If they re really serious they ll have a range of resources for the newcomer.
Take a look at the range of markets on offer, the more experienced providers will generally have a larger range of markets to choose from.
Placing a stop on your trade is very important. For every trade you make, calculate how much you can afford to lose and place a stop at the exact position in the market where you would exceed that amount.
Guaranteed stops are important too, if the market is subject to slippage (a sudden, rapid movement) your position will be guaranteed to close out.
