Mohammed showed excellent account and risk management skills in Febuary 2018 and got a $1,000 prize!

Mohammed's interview and see his account statement to make your own success story

How long have you been trading?

I have been trading for over 5 years.

How did you get involved in Forex trading?

I started trading stocks and options. After 2 years, I developed a non-directional, volatility-based strategy that was more suitable for FX.

What is your trading style?

I trade with a mix of styles and strategies: mid-term swings, short-term scalps, quant, fundamental and technical analysis, purely technical analysis and non-directional volatility-based strategies.

Do you practice risk management?

Risk management is essential to success. Bad RM will ruin even the best strategies, while good RM can turn average strategies into impressive returns. If you don’t learn to manage your risk, the margin call will do it for you (you can, of course, combine them together and divide your capital in a way that a margin call would be your risk amount, while the rest of your capital would be secure in another account).

What are some good habits smart traders develop?

Apart from the general good habits that are necessary to succeed in any field (patience, perseverance and dedication), smart traders need to develop a good plan and the right mindset.

Plan: They understand the nature of the market, identify an edge they can focus on, record their results (very important) and form a plan that they can execute without deviations.Mindset: They accept losses as part of the game, they have confidence in their trading edge and execute it flawlessly. They do not allow losing streaks (normal for any strategy) to influence them, nor allow winning streaks to cause them euphoria and recklessness (losing all sense of risk).Instead of focusing on trying to win every trade, a smart trader looks for consistency over a series of trades.Above all, they know themselves (strengths and weaknesses and use them to their advantage).

Describe your best/most memorable trade (How much did you profit? What was the strategy? What pair?)

My best trades were on GBP/USD immediately after the massive drop caused by the Brexit referendum. I anticipated a ranging market condition for the pair, deposited my risk amount into an MT4 account, and aggressively traded the range. The market confirmed my expectation with a 900+ % gain on the account in 3 days.

What advice would you give to new traders?

  • Don’t look for holy grail EAs.
  • Learn about the common mistakes of new traders (otherwise you will learn the hard way).
  • Only risk what you can afford to lose.
  • Trading on a small real account is better than demo trading.
  • Try to find an edge that can give you an advantage and suits you personally.
  • Work on your mindset – it is more important than your strategy.
  • Instead of emotionally trying to win every single trade, focus on consistency.
  • Treat it like a business.
  • Try to find a good mentor who can accelerate your learning curve (look for a proven track record and watch out for frauds).

Considering the current state of the market, what do you think are the news/events traders should keep an eye on?

The anticipation of US rate hikes could get priced in before the event (buy the rumour, sell the news). Look for good technical setups that complement the fundamentals.

What are the most important things you look for in a Forex broker?

Regulation, execution, cost efficiency, spreads, flexibility, customer service, deposit/withdrawal speeds, transparency and stability.