FAQ How Much Money Does a Trader Need To Start Trading?

[roughbert]

Trading is bad for the health. So don't combine it with other bad habits like beer.

And there's your fund - beer money!

 

[Lee Shepherd]

In my opinion - at least 10 000 pounds.

Hi Jenny,

Welcome to Trade2Win.

@all/thread:
Attempting to put a figure on how much one needs to trade would be akin to saying how much do I need to start a business. Obviously that can range from £20 to £20m+.

It all depends on trading style, position sizing and what it is one would be trading in, to name just a few of the parameters.

If some one came here and gave a few basic details then someone could take a shot at putting a basic figure on it.

Lee

 

[plamar]

My opinion is that one should start with a few hundred USD. Those are most likely donated to the market. After the "donation" phase, the trading capital should be a few thousands and then when the traders reaches the point of consistency 50-100K.

 

[Lee Shepherd]

My opinion is that one should start with a few hundred USD. Those are most likely donated to the market. After the "donation" phase, the trading capital should be a few thousands and then when the traders reaches the point of consistency 50-100K.

Hi plamer,

Good post but not so good an opinion. If I heard anyone of my trader friends saying they were going to purposely (or even expected to) 'donate' to the markets as a 'phase', they would be taken off the desk. If you plan on losing money (or donating as you put it) then why not just paper trade. That way you don't lose any money and this can be put to better use when one is serious about trading and with a track record. It not only saves money but also saves the negative emotions that can turn into defensiveness and affect all future trades.

In short your post is saying, 'donate' a few hundred then start playing with a bigger balance of a few thousand. That doesn't make sense.

Lee

 

[Lands_end]

In all fairness it needs to be at least £10,000 depending upon the Asset classes you want to trade. Some assets are more volatile than others eg FX pairs or Futures. The more stable ones are raw stocks but it can be hard to make consistent profit if only 1 stock is purchased at a time. For a newbie trader it is best not to try spread betting or CFDs and absolutely barge pole options. Start out with a small FX account and learn the market, eg How much does this pair move in a day on average? What fundamental factors drive it? If on the other hand you just want to make money then book up on a few courses as advertised at Expos, they will promise you the dream whilst they milk your account.

 

[roughbert]

For me there is a strong case for starting with nothing, or as near as is humanly possible. I have thrown money at brokers in the past (trading not spreads) and it isn't even fun to see them making as much as - or more - than you do.

I'm trading a demo account on IG at the moment and I shall not put in a penny (OK, £250 minimum) until I have developed a method which I can apply consistently. Don't care if it yields 10 pips a day or 100. As I progress, profits will be retained to allow me to stake more per pip. I'm not looking to deploy adrenalin or testosterone.

 

[Lands_end]

For me there is a strong case for starting with nothing, or as near as is humanly possible. I have thrown money at brokers in the past (trading not spreads) and it isn't even fun to see them making as much as - or more - than you do.

I'm trading a demo account on IG at the moment and I shall not put in a penny (OK, £250 minimum) until I have developed a method which I can apply consistently. Don't care if it yields 10 pips a day or 100. As I progress, profits will be retained to allow me to stake more per pip. I'm not looking to deploy adrenalin or testosterone.

Next year you will have been trading for 10 years and you are still on a DEMO? Doesn't sound like you have a strong case for anything other than wannabeism.

 

[roughbert]

Next year you will have been trading for 10 years and you are still on a DEMO? Doesn't sound like you have a strong case for anything other than wannabeism.

I'm flattered that you took the time to consider my case m8. A few things have happened during those years, but I will spare you the autobiographical detail.

Yes, I'm using a demo account before getting stuck in to spreads. How would you approach it yourself?

And you're correct, I am not new to investing.

 

[hscot]

10 years on a demo??? That's harsh of course. I don't understand why you didn't switch to a real, although now I don't think you should start.

 

[ashik_assetfx]

My first deposit was 500 but it was too much in the case of trading. Now I mean minimum $5000 dollar deposit is the best for forex business. You will a long time minimum 6 month trading time that increases your trading experience also If you take a good trading plan.
My Theory:
i. Keep your strategy 40% loss & 60% profit by setting up appropriate TP/SL

ii. Follow news, technical, fundamental i.e. rightly

iii. Choose the real broker

Please don’t take a high risk all time, you just continuing your trading for long days. If you will lose all money a little time it’s hard for you but you lose all money for more days that will give a lot of experience that not buy an exchange of anything.

 

[Tssh Nguyen]

I think when start deposit first not important. They need a clearly strategy and finacial about Forex. And then we need to confirm you will trade long term or short term. I think so!!

 

[Shaari]

I think that we can start with smaller depo and it's good
as I'd lost much more than I did if I invested so much at the beginning
after that of course its possible to depo 1k or more...

 

[hedgedequity]

This is one of the most asked questions among everything else. The answer to that is you would not require any money at all to paper trade. As per the opinion of many people, paper trading is useless as it does not take into consideration the thoughts, fears, palpitations in the chest which one may experience when the real money is at stake which is very true. But if you are not able to make any paper money using a simulated trading platform, you would certainly not make any real money on a live platform either. You can even start trading without using a single cent of your own because there are many spread betting companies which offers a “golden hello” and would credit your account with some amount or match your opening deposit up to a certain limit.

New traders can easily start trading in the markets because it is quite cheap, easy and simple.

 

[hscot]

In reality, you don't need to have a lot of money to start trading, you need knowledge. And 10$ is enough to begin trading.

 

[Susan_Tindol]

In reality, you don't need to have a lot of money to start trading, you need knowledge. And 10$ is enough to begin trading.

But is it enough to earn some real money? Even if you are the best trader, you will work for centuries to make good money from 10$

 

[techite]

It depends on the purposes of trading. If you have an alternate source of income, then a few thousand dollars could get you started.

 

[Robbe]

In my opinion, a trader doesn't need a lot of money because he/she doesn't know how to manage them. It's better to practice a the beginning and then the trader will know the amount of money necessary for trading.

 

[Luckiest Luke]

What I like about the Forex is that the price of entrance is relatively low. With good brokers, analytics and trading signals at hand you can earn some money and cope with some losses (alas, they are inevitable). But of course to make large profits you should run substantial risks...

 

[DavidKSawyer]

Though, you may make a few dollars a day which will grow your account over time. If you want an income from forex day trading, start with at least $1000, and preferably $3,000 to $5,000. This amount allows you to potentially start building a monthly income, which is what most day traders are after. It can help you to earn more.

 

[NVP]

for european brokers you will need a lot more entry capital now from july18 when the New ESMA rulings are implemented

30:1 for Forex and a lot less for other instruments

N