Is £500 enough to begin trading with?

S

sj8070

Well-known member
Messages
268
Likes
12
Hi all,

During a summer internship at RBS, I was awarded a £500 account on RBS's marketindex as a result of placing in the top 3 of a trading game competed for by staff and interns.

Now I am aware that the platform is fairly shoddy, however, there is no commission only a Bid/Ask meaning that, for a small account, it is decent.

If I took my £500 out and opened up a proper futures account with a broker, I am aware that the cost per trade would be around £3 which seems to me to be unjustifiable given my starting capital...?

Thoughts?
 
Plenty
Try a cheaper SB company like Finspreads
£1 a point on S&P 500 + charts
 
"+ charts" = Level 1 or 2 data? Backtesting?

That's the thing, the massive problem with the RBS platform was the thinness of data. I wouldn't mind paying a bit more for a great charting package w/ good data.
 
Realistically - you cannot trade futures with $500. You'll have to use ridiculously tight stops and suffer from death of a thousand cuts.

In your case though, it won't actually take 1000 cuts.... Trade the ES - you'll be lucky to suffer 'death of 20 cuts"
 
DionysusToast said:
Realistically - you cannot trade futures with $500. You'll have to use ridiculously tight stops and suffer from death of a thousand cuts.

In your case though, it won't actually take 1000 cuts.... Trade the ES - you'll be lucky to suffer 'death of 20 cuts"
Click to expand...

OK, any ideas then?
 
Last edited:
Think long and hard whether your success in the game was luck or consistent skill over a statistically significant number of trades.
If the former, keep the £500 and don't fritter it away. Don't fall into the gambler's pit of thinking because you've won it, it is of less value somehow.
I don't mean to rain on your parade, but be realistic - it's one of the vital pre-requisites of being successful
Richard
 
Pat494 said:
Plenty
Try a cheaper SB company like Finspreads
£1 a point on S&P 500 + charts
Click to expand...

How is finspreads cheaper though.
I think you can trade the s&p500 with RBS at 10p per point + charts.

Not sure what you are asking OP.

You cant really trade futures with £500. A few losers and you'd be out of the game.

When you came in the top 3 of the comp, were you running your losses and hoping that the trade would 'come good'? Or were you taking cutting bad trades and taking losses regularly?

If you done well and were trading in a disciplined manner, why not just stick with them (or maybe another SB broker) and try to grow the account..?...
 
redart said:
How is finspreads cheaper though.
I think you can trade the s&p500 with RBS at 10p per point + charts.

Not sure what you are asking OP.

You cant really trade futures with £500. A few losers and you'd be out of the game.

...
Click to expand...

At £1 per point you would have to have a lot of losers on the trot to go bust. So plenty of practice time. Bigger size imho doesn't increase one's chances. Though there are some who consider differently, but

I thought OP has rejected RBS

I see Prospreads is recommended on another thread, but at a minum of 1 lot on S&P that's £50 minimum or quarter lots at £12.50.
 
sj8070 said:
Hi all,

During a summer internship at RBS, I was awarded a £500 account on RBS's marketindex as a result of placing in the top 3 of a trading game competed for by staff and interns.

Now I am aware that the platform is fairly shoddy, however, there is no commission only a Bid/Ask meaning that, for a small account, it is decent.

If I took my £500 out and opened up a proper futures account with a broker, I am aware that the cost per trade would be around £3 which seems to me to be unjustifiable given my starting capital...?

Thoughts?
Click to expand...

If your going for a futures account $3K min, and I have found American brokers better.
For spread betting yes, thats plenty. But I would keep your point size down to a minimum. For the first month anyway.

Lodian
 
In terms of general career development I think this 500 quid would be better spent taking some of the people you worked for at RBS for a pint or five.

Having a job is going to make you more money than trading 500 notes ever will.
 
MrGecko said:
In terms of general career development I think this 500 quid would be better spent taking some of the people you worked for at RBS for a pint or five.

Having a job is going to make you more money than trading 500 notes ever will.
Click to expand...

True but if you want to trade then 500 notes you won in a competition would be the perfect start. You can learn alot trading micro stakes and if you prove to be long term profitable with it then there's nothing stopping you from adding to it.
 
Thanks all for advice. Some much better than others.

To Clarify:

1. I don't doubt that my placement in the trading game was largely down to luck, I got on board the wheat bubble and also saw it back down. I don't claim to be some sort of wunderkint.
2. Many advise on this forum to only trade what you can afford to lose. I can afford to lose this £500 and so want to trade it in a way that will take me up the curve fastest. In short, if I lost it all, but gained the experience and knowledge to become profitable in the long-run, I would be extremely happy.
3. I have a job at RBS starting in Sept, but thanks any way for the patronizing comment MrGecko.

Now, to clarify my original question:
The RBS Platform. The problem:
Data and analysis software is so poor that I don't feel I am progressing as a trader. I even considered buying a seperate data feed but quickly realised this would be too expensive.

Keep the constructive feedback coming please!
 
On a daily bar basis, ie. trading Footsie long term, a 200 point stop would seem to cover most daily bars and requires 100 pounds at 50p per point. Like everything else, you have to get it right. Margin for a rolling bet is 30 pounds.

Can you get the direction right?

It is a question of pencil, paper and simple arithmetic. Check the bar lengths, yourself.

I think that what you, really, want to know is what are your chances are of staying in the game. Study trends, if you learn to identify them, you will survive.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: ian
It is not about how much you can afford to lose.

It is about how much experience you actually want to get. If you want to be out after 1 or 2 trades - go for the futures account. Better still - go to a casino.

PM me and I'll give you a suggestion for the data/platform, just don't come repeating it back on the board...
 
I never said I wanted to be out quickly. I was trying to imply that the journey to becoming a successful trader is more important to me than short term profits.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

O
Start Trading with a small account. $500
Replies
4
Views
2K
manover
M
S
Which type of broker/account should I begin with?
Replies
11
Views
3K
hhiusa
hhiusa
D
where to begin trading?
Replies
3
Views
2K
DionysusToast
DionysusToast
I
how is the s&p 500 e-mini working ?
Replies
14
Views
4K
normbeef
N
B
Begining with £150
Replies
10
Views
3K
trader_dante
trader_dante
Top