Hi – my name is Anna Coulling and I am a full time currency trader. I have been involved in both trading and investing for over fifteen years and have traded many different financial instruments. I write and publish artciles ( mostly free ) for UK publications on a wide variety of financial issues, and in particular I help and advise women on how to invest and trade.
Since starting my first web site which provides an introduction to trading and investing I have since developed several other sites ( all with free information, help and advice ) covering such topics as currency trading, options, trading plans, option strategies and Japanese candlesticks. All of these can be accessed from the ‘Blogroll’ on the left hand navigation bar. I am always delighted to hear from traders around the world, and am more than happy to provide advice based on many years experience ( if asked!) Whilst many of my correspondants are women, I do receive an increasing number from men ( so don’t be shy )
I look forward to hearing from you all – kind regards – Anna
Hi Anna.
My wife and I are hoping to trade Forex for a living – full time. I have demo traded for six months now and I think I have a credible and consistent plan and strategy.
One of the concerns I have lies with choosing a trustworthy broker; the forums are so negative about all of them, but I suppose satisfied clients never shout and scream.
We would appreciate your advice (I’m not sure if it was you on Radio Five Live a week ago, talking about the flexibility this career gave you and your husband but if it was, you have a warm and engaging voice which has helped to convert my wife towards the idea).
We are careful, responsible and professional people based in the West Midlands.
Many thanks in anticipation.
Manoj
March 30th, 2010 at 1:34 pm
Hi.
My wife and I are thinking of becoming forex traders (hopefully full time). I ahave demo traded for six months now and one matter that concerns me is that of procurring a trustworthy and credible broker who is not going to gain if I lose.
Any tips?
April 6th, 2010 at 2:51 pm
Hi Anna,
First ly, thanks for all the information on your websites, I have found it very informative. I have a question however. I am starting out trading in US stocks within an ISA and was wondering if you can suggest a simple method to protect against curreny risk? (for example I bought stocks while sterling was weak and can forsee a time when I would like to sell when sterling is much stronger which would wipe out any gains). I have read about hedging techniques using margin, but this sounds quite tricky. Any suggestions would be much appreciated.
Many thanks
Andy
April 7th, 2010 at 7:54 am
Hi
Many thanks for contacting me regarding best ways to hedge against a falling pound & apologies for the delay in responding.
There are a number of ways it is possible for the retail investor to hedge against a falling pound but before entering into any trade or instrument please do research the costs involved and the consequent cost benefit.
The first option is simply to bank any profits & hold them in an interest paying dollar account & simply wait until the exchange rate is in your favour. You could always reinvest any profits into further US shares & hold onto them until sterling recovers.
Second option would be to consider a spread betting account where you would short the pound. As the dollar increases in value your sterling short would be in profit. However, there are a number of factors to consider: first the rollover cost of such a trade – spread betting companies will charge for this – some more than others & there is also the interest rate differential between the UK & US which may or may not be in your favour. Finally although you can leverage your trade & thereby magnify your gains – you can be wiped out just as easily if the trade goes the wrong way. The main advantage of using a spread betting company is that any gains are currently tax free.
Third option would be to open a forex account with a reputable broker but the same caveats applies as above but here any gains are taxable & again costs may be involved.
Fourth – futures contracts which are available to the retail investor (you can find details at the CME) but you would have to open an account with a suitable broker.
Finally I don’t know if you are allowed by your ISA provider but an excellent way of hedging your US portfolio is with options – covered calls etc which would at least generate some extra income which you could bank & offset against the losses in the exchange rate.
Hope the above helps & good luck with your trading. As always stay safe & don’t forget your stop losses!
Kind regards.
Anna
May 13th, 2010 at 6:36 pm
Always choose the broker which best suits your trading style – if you are a scalper then make sure you use ECN/STP – read through their terms & conditions which should explain what what trading styles they will or will not allow Finally always check capitalization – details of which can be found at the CFTC.
May 13th, 2010 at 6:40 pm
Hi Manoj
Many thanks for your comment which for some reason has been stuck on the server & has only recently come to light.
First, sadly it was me on Radio 5 live – my husband was too cowardly to speak!! Delighted to see that you are taking a very cautious approach to forex trading & have obviously spent time formulating a sound trading plan. With regard to finding a suitable broker – it really does depend on your trading style & strategy – you are right the forums are full of people who have feel they have been hard done by but in most cases it is because they are trying to trade in a way which their broker will not allow. For example if you want to scalp then do not open an account with a market maker or dealing desk broker, You must look at using an ECN/STP broker who won’t care what you do.
However, this does not mean that market maker or dealing desk brokers wont be suitable – they are fine for longer term trend trading. Other factors to consider is where the broker is based & capitalization – I would strongly recommend you stick to a broker who has a base in one of the major financial centres – eg London etc & not offshore. Capitalization details can be found on the cftc website.
I would also strongly suggest you try as many demo packages and platforms as possible to find the one that suits you best – metatrader 4 is a very popular retail platform but all brokers will allow you to download their own version. The downside is that, with the exception of Oanda, they all time out. Indeed I would strongly recommend you download the Oanda fxgame as this never times out & can be used to try various strategies. Even though Oanda is a market maker (spreads will widen when markets are volatile) I think they are excellent for newbies. Their forum is helpful & you do not have to use any leverage at all but can trade 1:1 & do yourself the least amount of damage!
My final piece of advice is that if you intend to trade with anyone try to stick to different pairs – it will save arguments as one of you will always try to dominate – it’s human nature!
I hope the above helps & I wish you both lots of luck.
Take care & stay safe.
Anna
May 13th, 2010 at 6:41 pm