90-95% lose money in forex market?

Hi all,

I have read that in the Forex market 90-95% of investors fail and lose money, this is quite a shocking figure.

Are all these people who are losing money beginners who are not taking the kind of advice on this forum, eg sticking to a trading strategy in a dicsiplined way.

Are they just jumping straight in without using technical indicators etc? Or are they taking all the advice but losing money anyway, simply because its extremely hard to actually win at trading?

I'm a beginner and have only just opened a demo account but i intend to learn as much as i can before I trade with real money. I'm starting to wonder if I'm wasting my time though, why should I be in the 5% who make money with trading?

Thanks.

bfd said:

Hi all,

I have read that in the Forex market 90-95% of investors fail and lose money, this is quite a shocking figure.

Are all these people who are losing money beginners who are not taking the kind of advice on this forum, eg sticking to a trading strategy in a dicsiplined way.

Are they just jumping straight in without using technical indicators etc? Or are they taking all the advice but losing money anyway, simply because its extremely hard to actually win at trading?

I'm a beginner and have only just opened a demo account but i intend to learn as much as i can before I trade with real money. I'm starting to wonder if I'm wasting my time though, why should I be in the 5% who make money with trading?

Thanks.

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Odds of loss in any efficient market is high but i don't think the figure of 90-95% is appropriate

If you was sent to repair a high voltage electricity system with no training and education what would be the chances of coming back ALIVE,, probably none,

People TRADE FIRST EDUCATE SECOND it should be the other way round ,,,




Grey1

Even if 99.9% of people lose money, someone has got to be in that 0.01% that gains! Why not you?

What i will say though is that you need to be very committed to doing this in order to succeed. The ability to take losses is a plus too, even if you have a 90% winning strategy (rare indeed)- you will still be losing 10% of the time. You need to be able to adapt quickly and constantly redefine how you trade in order to survive the changing conditions. What at first appears to be a 'holy grail' of trading can quickly turn into the best way to give away your cash.

You are doing the right thing by trading a demo account, keep up the good work. You should soon be able to tell if you have what it takes to continue- not just by the balance of your account but from your own reactions to your trades as you win/lose- you must be very self-critical and strive to forever better yourself and your position.

Trading is by no means guaranteed money, but with careful planning and risk management, you can keep your risk to a minimum... and the rewards are definitely worth it.

I think the longer you are in the markets, the more you realise how little you know and how much there is yet to learn. Time to take stock and decide to either go at it 100% or to just quit.

This is serious business, not a game, and should be treated as such. What you put in you will get out as in any other field (although some people choose to gamble and do get lucky too- but if i wanted to gamble i'd rather go and back a horse).

I hope you choose to take up the challenge and continue. (capital allowing- please don't get into debt to trade!).

UKTraderGirl

Even if 99.9% of people lose money, someone has got to be in that 0.01% that gains! Why not you?

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In this scenario it would only be the brokers in the 0.01% making money in my view.


Paul

Don't forget FX is not solely a traders game....... commerce plays a big part and that's sod all to do with regular trading.

Trader333 said:

In this scenario it would only be the brokers in the 0.01% making money in my view.


Paul

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Don't be so defeatist... i know you could beat these odds

Thank God that this scenario is in no way realistic

Anybody know of a forex demo that operates in the browser? I downloaded Forex.com's client and it keeps crashing and freezing out!

netdania

I'm using igforex, seems ok

A Blue Window said:

Anybody know of a forex demo that operates in the browser? I downloaded Forex.com's client and it keeps crashing and freezing out!

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Oanda has a Java based client (no download required) that I've always found pretty robust. Plus their demo is totally open-ended.

I have been trading for some time. I lost money at first, because I thought that it was going to be easy. I was very wrong! Trading is very hard and requires alot of hours just to break even. I would plan on at least 6 months to a year of study before using real money. Ninjatrader has a great platform you can download for free. You pay after you decide to trade real money. The live feed is through gain capital. I use ninjatrader to trade the emini and to sim trade the forex.
Good luck...and it is worth it

sjrider2397 said:

I have been trading for some time. I lost money at first, because I thought that it was going to be easy. I was very wrong! Trading is very hard and requires alot of hours just to break even.

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If that is the case then is it really worth doing it?

Iotrez said:

If that is the case then is it really worth doing it?

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That's something each person has to decide for themself.

Isn't this a bit of a dumb thread ?

The forex market is worth trillions each day - are we saying that 95% of it gets lost ?

One mans loss is another mains gain (minus the spread).

Trader333 said:

In this scenario it would only be the brokers in the 0.01% making money in my view.


Paul

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'

Quite !

pedro01 said:

Isn't this a bit of a dumb thread ?

The forex market is worth trillions each day - are we saying that 95% of it gets lost ?

One mans loss is another mains gain (minus the spread).

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Not necessarily so in FX.

Were you in the top 5% of your class?

Do you earn more money than 95% of the population?

Are you more intelligent than 95% of the population?

Have you ever done anything in your life special that separates you from 95% of the population?


If the answer to all of those questions is "NO" then what makes you think you will be one of the select 5% that actually makes it in forex?

Think about that before ploughing in your life savings...

Hoggums said:

Were you in the top 5% of your class?

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Yes

Hoggums said:

Do you earn more money than 95% of the population?

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Yes

Hoggums said:

Are you more intelligent than 95% of the population??

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Absolutely not.

Hoggums said:

Have you ever done anything in your life special that separates you from 95% of the population?

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In my field - yes.

Hoggums said:

If the answer to all of those questions is "NO" then what makes you think you will be one of the select 5% that actually makes it in forex?

Think about that before ploughing in your life savings...

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I think this is a specific skill - I wouldn't trade forex personally.

You don't need to be in the top 95% - you need the skills, education & personality to pull it off.

IQ is irrelevant.

Were you in the top 5% of your class?

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No

Do you earn more money than 95% of the population?

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Yes

Are you more intelligent than 95% of the population?

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Definately not

Have you ever done anything in your life special that separates you from 95% of the population?

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yes!
Traded sucessfully

If the answer to all of those questions is "NO" then what makes you think you will be one of the select 5% that actually makes it in forex?

Think about that before ploughing in your life savings...

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Why do people make such a big deal, out of trading and treat it as as some sort of revered art, that is only achievable by a selected few.
I do not accept this 95% figure is a true reflection of traders anyway.
Trading is like any other skill ,the only difference is you do not need a licence to trade, if everyone was put behind the wheel of a car, without instruction, only 5% would be lucky enough to survive.Give me any new trader and provided, they follow my instructions I will add him or her to the so called 5%.