Frequent errors in trading are normal, especially when it comes to beginners. Most of those trading blunders generally come from insufficient knowledge. Newbies are sure, the financial market is Eldorado, where everyone can get rich in seconds.
Well, it’s not. This is why 90% of new investors fail right from the start. The key to success is not just to know major trading remedies but to identify the key errors through self-awareness. In simpler words, when you understand the problem, you can figure out how to cope with it.
On the other hand, trying to fix everything at a time will also hardly work out. It will make traders feel confused and even overwhelmed. So, the idea is to go through the path step-by-step while eliminating one trading bundler after another. What’s more, beginners should consider other crucial concepts that involve trading psychology, capital management, emotional control, etc.
In this article, we will review eight prevalent missteps and ways to avoid them.
Mainly all beginner investors have the same trading errors when they enter the market and start trading big. The most frequent ones involve insufficient knowledge, a lack of trading plan with risk and money management steps involved, inability to cope with trading fears, anxiety, and other negative emotions that can demolish even the most successful and proven strategy.
Some market participants are too self-confident. Others lack the will to make a move depending on specific market conditions. Whatever the bundlers are, they all result in huge capital losses. No proper risk and money management are also among the most frequent trading blunders beginners need to avoid.
Let’s have a closer look at each prevalent trading error to increase the level of our self-awareness.
The financial market can be quite an aggressive environment, especially for those who are not well-prepared. It moves all the time. Most of those movements are unexpected and hard to predict right from the start. If one does not want to be overwhelmed, learning at least trading basics is essential.
It is crucial to understand how and why the price/trend makes that particular move. With so many free educational sources, it is not that hard to pick up fundamental knowledge instead of opening positions on the gut feeling.
Besides, it is vital to learn some baseline trading terms, as they will make it easier to identify the asset that meets your strategy requirements in terms of volatility. Ignoring the ability to learn BEFORE entering the market is one of the biggest mistakes many beginners make.
When you start something new, you will probably conduct a plan, won’t you? Especially, when it comes to budget planning. The same works for the financial market. The idea of developing a blueprint is to describe your future strategy in detail and stick to it whatever happens.
A plan is actually your trading road map. You always know what to do no matter how unexpectedly the market moves. Most beginners scrap their plans after the first bad day on the market. Never do that. It is impossible to win all the time. The question is how much will you lose with or without a blueprint.
This one refers more to the first trading bundler. The lack of knowledge and experience often come together with the thought that financial markets are quite easy to explore. What’s more, most beginners are sure they can make a fortune right at once.
In most cases, it turns into huge losses. Trading is not a game or a kind of gambling. One needs to be well aware of what next step to take. This is why decision-making is crucial. Just keep in mind that no one will ever guarantee fast success and big wins even in the long run. The financial market always comes with certain risks beginners need to realize. Can they take those risks? That is the question.
Trading psychology considers keeping one’s emotions under control. However, the market can be extremely turbulent making even experienced and successful traders follow their emotions instead of the plan.
Keeping your head cool is hard when you see how a promising position turns into a failure. The only thing you can do is to put up with it. The idea is to accept the fact that you are going to lose. Everyone loses from time to time. Expecting 10% success from each trade is silly.
Whatever happens, beginners should not make emotional trading decisions. The key to success is to stick to the plan and never risk more than you can afford. The more one trades, the more experience he gets with understanding how to act within a specific market condition.
Unfortunately, not all beginners can cope with euphoria after their first success. This is when they become overconfident. They start thinking they’ve mastered the financial market. They become the “big bananas” of the situation not even realizing this is where the wolf hides. Investors take rash decisions that lead to total capital losses.
Oppositely, the first bad market day can result in the desire to chase the loss. This is when traders usually suffer from so-called vengeful trades to compensate for previous failures. Generally, it leads to even bigger losses. The golden rule here is to always stick to the plan, and apply risk and money management ideas to keep your money safe.
Limiting losses is part of the capital management strategy we have already mentioned earlier. The idea is quite simple: never trade more than 5% of your total balance. Some of the above-mentioned trading errors can force market participants to trade bigger because of self-confidence or the aim of chasing a loss.
We recommend keeping yourself as objective as possible. Otherwise, you risk losing all the cash, especially when trading with leverage and not understanding how it actually works. Also, try to avoid increasing exposure even if you are 100% sure the market will remain on the rise.
The previous trading error can lead to another one, which is overexposing the position. When you invest excessive capital in a single asset or a position, you also increase trading risks. As an old saying says “Do not put all eggs in a single basket”.
This is where portfolio diversification might be a better idea. Investing across different markets will keep your funds safe and provide more winning opportunities. On the other hand, some beginners tend to over-diversify their portfolios pretty fast.
Diversification has nothing in common with senseless asset purchasing. It is about proper planning, exploring different markets, and researching the most suitable assets with potentially good returns.
If you ask any professional trader if he or she has a trading diary, the answer will be “yes”. Of course, it has nothing in common with writing down your feelings or emotions about the next day on the market. The idea of a trading diary is to take notes after each trade no matter if it was a success or loss.
It helps investors analyze what went wrong or right, apply changes to the trading plan or strategy, and develop better and more effective decision-making processes under changing market conditions. A diary is your essential helper that lets you look back at the trading history, take into account previous experience, and take your trading to the next level.
Mistakes are normal. Every trader makes them despite the knowledge or financial experience. If any of the above-mentioned happen, it does not mean you should give up trading right at once. The idea is to realize those bundlers and avoid them in the future.
Having a detailed and clear trading plan will come as the main remedy. It develops better decision-making letting you clearly understand what step to take next and why. Beginners should not ignore education along with risk and money management, emotion control, and budget planning.
