Business
Investing in Forex Trade: How to avoid the pitfalls
OBINNA EZUGWU
There is a chance that you have been approached by a would be ‘expert’ forex trader who encouraged you to start the trade by ensuring you that you would make it big by so doing. It is a trap, most likely.
The forex ‘expert’ may give you the impression that he is well off and has made money out of the trade. There a chance he is comfortable, but the reality is that as opposed to making his money through actual forex trading, he might be doing so by simply charging people to train them to become traders.
Stories of many unsuspecting Nigerians who fell for such tricks; people who invested substantial amounts of money into forex only to see the funds wiped out abound.
There is, for instance, the story of Amaka Onwuegbu, a certain woman who won America visa lottery, raised about $1000, but needed more money, desperately.
Seeking more, she met a forex trader who then convinced her she could double the money in a matter of days by learning to trade in the forex market, she obliged.
So, at the cost $200 at the time, she passed through training and afterwards, invested $500. She got her fingers burnt.
Experiences such as Ify’s don’t get out in the open enough, and many continue to be lured into the trade with unrealistic promises.
Yes, forex trading is a legal business and can indeed reward a trader. The market trades around $5 trillion or more daily in volume. This stands to reason that there are traders profiting from forex.
However, though this is true, it is also true that there are many others losing their life savings.
Money, as said earlier, can be made, but it doesn’t come as easily as most of those who seek to lure you into it make it seem. It takes a while to learn the ropes, and even the most adept trader knows that you can never know enough. The general assertion is that the average forex trader would lose his first million before being more adept at the trade.
Globally, forex trading comes with its risks. Such risks are even more heightened in Nigeria with its power and network challenges.
Knowing how to mitigate the risks will go a long way in determining your own forex trading profit or loss.
In order to have good chance of making profit, you must first try to figure out the market and the factors that are important for success.
Importantly, an intending trader must have appetite for risk taking, and should be able persist even while after incurring loses.
It is necessary to consider risk management in your strategy, this will help reduce the inherent risks associated with the business.
More critically, it is important to invest wisely. The general rule is, trade with money that you can afford to lose without it affecting your standard of living.
Before you start, get good appreciation of the basics of how the market works, and if there is anything you are not comfortable with, better stay away. The fact is, forex traders is not that passport to wealth, at least, not as many of those promoting the trade make out.
