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

Thi Achraf's interview and see his account statement -to make your own success story

How long have you been trading?

Thanks to my academic and professional background, I have a good knowledge of all financial products. I started trading stocks, options and warrants 7 years ago. I have started trading Forex recently however, more precisely, I started trading forex in December 2017.

How did you get involved in Forex trading?

Some people in my environment who used to trade Forex recommended Tickmill and pointed me to Forex market. So I developed an efficient strategy and adapted to Forex trading which has shown good results so far.

What is your trading style?

I am a frequent trader and I have an appetite for risk. As we say in the financial world: there is no free lunch. Saying that, I usually manage to take several and large positions as I have a relatively large account size, and close all position within a short period, most often during the same days.

Do you practice risk management?

Forex presents a high level of risk. Before trading, it is important to be aware of that and be ready to accept some losses. It is critical to secure a certain level of profit or loss otherwise you can see a winning position turning rapidly to a huge loss. I usually tend to limit the drawdown to 15 - 20% of the available capital.

What are some good habits smart traders develop?

First, good market understanding of Forex drivers is key. There is a need to deeply analyse the pair you want to trade before opening any position.

Second, when there is high volatility, it is better to stay away of the market. You can not make money all the time and you need to step back to choose the best timing to enter the market.

Third, when you have a winning position, don t wait too long... you have to crystallize your profit!

Last and not least, be focused on a very limited number of pairs.

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

By the beginning of May, I took long positions on EUR/USD (around 60 Lots) but the trend reversed suddenly due to some adverse statistics and political concerns in Europe (election in Italy). So, at some point of time, I experienced a relatively large drawdown which I managed to minimize but and at the end of the day, the positions were closed with around 15k€ loss. As the technical analysis has still shown a great potential of EUR decline, I took the relevant short positions in the next two days and I was able to recover from previous losses.

My strategy was quite consistent, take relatively large positions and close them within the shortest period of time bearing 5 - 10 pips gain.

What advice would you give to new traders?

  • Have a clear strategy,
  • Focus on only very few pairs,
  • Never hold a position for a long time (only a few hours)
  • Use technical analysis
  • Never take a position against the main trend
  • Define the risk you want to take and never hesitate to close a losing position
  • When you make profit, close your positions. You will always have opportunities.

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

US statistics combined with EU political events are important to look at. Inflation will also impact the traded currency pair. For instance, I foresee an ongoing decline for the EURUSD currency pair over the next weeks and even months.

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

Good support services with a good reactivity is important. A good mobile app is also very critical to closely follow the trades and execute trading decisions. Low spread is also another important factor I look at when I choose a Forex broker.