Wimbledon 2014 Championships (Game-Set-Match) Reaching For The Top Of The Game - Lessons For Financial Traders

The annual Wimbledon tennis championship is a world renowned international sporting event which has showcased some of the best talent in the tennis arena since 1877.

Whilst the sport itself may not be to everyone's taste the fact is you cannot escape the heightened media coverage informing you about the latest up and coming talent as well as the current 'big players' in the game. 

If you haven't had a chance to attend the championships in London, UK you need not worry, as you can now get a real feel for the event watching online, listening on the radio and of course viewing the coverage on television; whichever media tickles your fancy,  just be prepared to listen to a series of 'oohs' ah's and the rapturous applause, drowning  the 'thwack' of the tennis ball against the racquet. It is very exciting!!!       

So, you may be thinking, how does Wimbledon or even tennis have anything to do with financial trading?

Well you will be surprised to discover that  there are some valuable lessons you can learn from the annual Wimbledon championships and some of their sportsmen and sportswomen, who not only have some exceptional qualities which are not often highlighted, but as you read on you will see that many of their skills are akin to those needed for financial traders.

(1) Learning the correct techniques

Just like the 'shot' and 'overhead smash' techniques tennis players have to learn and develop for the game, fundamental and technical analysis are two of the techniques which are important for financial traders. The ability to analyse and interpret the market price and an organisations predicted performance goes a long way in helping you improve your decision making which is key to selecting those assets which will bring you a tidy profit.

(2) Consistency

Tennis players undergo a rigorous training programme in order to ensure that they are physically fit for the game. This not only takes time, but also effort and consistency.  Before you consider undertaking financial trading you should analyse your time and schedule, and ask yourself these fundamental questions 'Can I really commit a block of time on a regular basis to learn the principles of financial trading' & 'Am I committed to life-long learning'?  If you are to work towards reaching the top of the game in financial trading,  consistency will be required, not only at the outset but on a continued basis.

(3) Mental Strength and Determination 

This is an area which is often overlooked by financial traders yet it is one of the most important characteristics needed on your quest to success. Having mental strength includes, the ability to believe in yourself and to be determined; try to develop a mindset of championing yourself to the top. There will not always be someone on hand to celebrate your success, so its good to self reflect about your progress to date (no matter how small) and celebrate yourself.  If you would like some top tips for building your mental strength you can view the following article from Forbes

2014 World Cup Fever – What Financial Traders Can Learn from the World Cup

You will in no doubt have seen the extensive preparations which have been highlighted over the last few weeks prior to the World Cup in 2014.

Not only was the host country, Brazil faced with an enormous task to ensure that they were ready for the event, the sportsmen will have also had to deal with extensive training regimes in order to be physically fit and emotionally equipped for the football matches, which lie ahead of them.

For the footballers taking part in the World Cup achieving personal goals, meeting the expectations of the fans around the world and having an opportunity to bring the World Cup back to their home country may be some of the driving forces which help them push their efforts to the max.

If you take a look at the global media coverage both offline and online you will find some memorable moments captured in photographic and video format showcasing the global excitement, laughter, joy, pain and sometimes disappointment. One thing is for certain, irrespective of the match results, footballers, and some of the fans not only still love football; they live, breathe and eat football.

So, as a Financial Trader what can you learn from the 2014 World Cup? The News Team have put the following points for you to consider;

1. Hard work pays off. You may have seen or heard this quote sometime during the course of your life, but the fact is if you are really passionate about something, it will be easier for you to dedicate your time to ensuring that your skills and knowledge in this subject are current, up to date and always on top form, not only so that you can be the best, but so that you can deliver the best at all times. Being at the top of any profession takes hard work, not some of the time, but all of the time.
2. Working in a partnership or as a team can help you achieve success.  Each person who works within the team or partnership has a number of skills which they have a proficiency or strength at delivering. By identifying and harnessing these skills, and ensuring that all the tasks are allocated to the most suitable person, duplication of effort can be minimised, and it will be easier to measure the progress towards the goal or objective. Think about this in trading terms, perhaps you are talented at spotting companies which are a potential investment opportunity. However, you have a number of friends or associates who may possibly be more experienced and talented at providing the fundamental or technical analysis of these opportunities. By working as a partnership or team, and agreeing those tasks each member will perform, at the outset, you can all improve your chances of identifying successful trading opportunities.
3. Competiveness has its benefits. One trait you can identify in most footballers is that they ooze competitiveness and have a desire to be the best at what they do. Whether you choose to believe it or not everyone loves feeling that they are valued, in both personal and professional relationships. However, do not forget that drive and determination are also important on your quest to success. On the days, where you may feel unappreciated and as if there is no one to celebrate your successes, do not give up, it will only be a matter of time before you are recognised for the value, skills and abilities you have, and people will be drawn to you for advice or assistance. Finally, remember every challenge you face is an opportunity to polish and refine your skills so you stand out, and gleam above the crowd.

In conclusion, whether you are a fan of football or not, one thing for certain is that you have to admire the desire, passion and commitment that those involved in the football profession bring to the game. By taking time out to develop and enhance some of the skills discussed in this article, you may find that you are well and truly on your way to success and ‘Financial Trading Fever’ in 2014. 

Dont Lose Out...Get Regulated

No one I have ever met likes losing or being taken advantage of.  

Whilst we know that financial trading includes a risk of loss; the mere thought that you could lose part or your entire portfolio as a result of financial irregularity or criminal behaviour is not something anyone would ever feel happy experiencing.   

There are steps you as an independent trader can undertake, to reduce the risk of encountering any direct loss to your trading portfolio.

One of the ways you can achieve this is by selecting a financial broker, who is regulated.

Broadly speaking, regulation defines a set of behaviours and rules which the broker must abide by in its day-to-day business processes and procedures. 

Once the broker proves they meet the specified rules, they are usually allocated a membership number from the regulatory body.  You will also find that brokers usually display details of their regulation status on their website.    

Once you acquire details of the broker's regulatory membership you can obtain the detailed requirements of the regulation and subsequently verify with the broker how they satisfy these rules.

Some of the criteria regulators have as part of the sign up process include; 

The way client monies are handled*

Conduct of the business*

Disclosure of Information*

Honesty and reliability*

* This list is not exhaustive

Finally, there are different regulators in countries all over the world, and their rules and requirements will vary so it is important that you satisfy yourself that the regulator rules will be easily enforceable, by you, if and should the need arise.  

Three Benefits of being an Independent Financial Trader

The team have been discussing some of the benefits of being an independent financial trader, and we agreed to publish some of our thoughts, opinions and experiences with you, our readers as part of the latest blog entry!

So here we go, firstly we agreed:-

You can work the hours you like.  Financial trading provides an around the clock opportunity to place trades globally within different time zones. As a result, you can work the hours which suit you best, without impacting on your personal or social commitments.

Secondly, you can make your own decisions;  this ties nicely into the first benefit; just picture this -  waking up in the morning and deciding that you do not want to place a trade today. Well, we are sure that you will not be surprised to know that you don’t have to!  if you feel like dedicating more time to pursue your favourite hobby, travelling the world, or even meeting your best friend for a bite to eat, you can!  it’s your call, your decision.

Finally, you can start on the journey to financial independence.  Have you ever heard the saying, you only get out as much as you put in? The beauty of any task, job or profession is the more quality time you spend learning and mastering that particular trade, the more seasoned and experienced you become. Dedicating more quality time to building your financial trading skills and knowledge can help you to enhance your current knowledge of financial trading and the markets. You can also use the process as an opportunity to discover new workable strategies to help build your financial portfolio; this is a great start to work towards being financial independence;  the sky is the limit! Isn’t that a great feeling?

These are just three benefits the team discussed and we have presented them to you in no particular order or priority, however, we would love to hear from you. Please feel free to leave a comment sharing your experiences with the team

Focus on Binary Options Trading: 24option Offers Training for Beginners

24option

24option is one of the world’s leading online binary options brokers and an excellent gateway to the financial markets for new traders. The award winning site is fully CySEC (Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission) regulated and has a strong reputation for integrity and fairness.

What are Binary Options?

Binary options are an exciting online investment opportunity that evolved out of online forex trading. Many investors were frustrated by the limitations of forex and looked for a faster, simpler and more flexible investment system. Binary options have grown massively over the last few years and are now recognised as a reliable form of online investment. In essence, traders speculate on the performance of a variety of assets on international financial markets. There is no need to buy shares or bonds, or commit to a costly business relationship with an old fashioned broker. An additional benefit of binary options is that they pay out exceptionally high profits on successful trades.

The assets available for trading include commodities (such as precious metals, crude oil and food staples) stocks, global indices and currencies. Investors combine their chosen assets with a financial instrument; Boundary, High/Low, One Touch or Short Term. The instruments create a framework for predicting the movement of the assets on the market. It’s possible to profit in as little as 30 seconds at 24option.

Training for Beginners

24option invested heavily in a state of the art online education center. All traders have free access to eBooks, webinars, VOD film tutorials, daily reports and archives of financial analysis. Beginners can quickly develop a sound background knowledge of the financial markets and develop a reliable trading strategy. The professionally developed learning tools make it easy to master the sophisticated 24option trading platform and benefit from extra features like trading signals and data feeds.

Are you ready to learn more? Visit the 24option website

Binary Options Trading - An Introduction

Forex Trading has seen an exponential growth over the last few years - and for those of you that do not know, Forex is a shortened title for 'foreign exchange' which involves trading global currencies.

As well as Forex there are a number of ways to trade and this article' introduces you to another financial trading instrument namely 'Binary Options'

Binary Options are a pure and simple way to trade based on your opinion of where a market is headed over a certain period of time which at expiration, pay out a pre-determined, fixed amount or nothing at all.

April 2014 Source: https://www.cboe.com

For those people who may have a keen interest in learning how to trade, but do not know where to start binary options is seen as an excellent starting point. One of the reasons for this is because in its simplest term, binary options trading involves indicating whether the price of an asset being traded will go 'up' or 'down'

Once you have completed your fundamental and technical analysis you will have a number of options of how long to place your trade, this can be as short as 60 seconds or even as long as one week, the decision is yours. 

Like other forms of trading binary options trading involves a high risk of loss so it is wise to undertake some form of training and acquire sufficient knowledge and skills of the process before you trade enormous amounts of money.

For further information about some of the best binary option brokers visit the Forex Maximiser website www.forexmaxmiser.com in addition, you will also find details about their latest trading offers.

 

Use these Personal Development ideas to Improve your Trading Goals

'Personal Development' seems to be one of those buzz words which has grown over the last few years and like me, you have probably seen the expression somewhere in your professional or personal life.

So you may be asking yourself 'what is Personal Development'?' 

FGY Magazine - the specialist personal development resource tells us that 'Personal Development is a self help and self improvement journey which helps an individual reach their fullest potential by discovering, creating and transforming their thoughts, environment and life.

We asked our CEO - Glen, who has been using this technique for the last eight years for his opinion and he kindly provided the following five tips: 

1. Set realistic financial and trading goals which you can personally identify with, and ensure that the goals are Specific Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, Time bound (SMART)
    
2. Read your goals on a daily basis; this point is missed by so many people, yet it is so important and effective. Dedicating time to read your goals helps you focus and is a reminder of what you are working to achieve. This in turn will help you only make worthwhile decisions which produce the desired results towards your overall goal.  
    
3. Break large financial or trading goals into smaller sized chunks and by doing so - they will be easier to achieve.  
    
4. Have a positive outlook - you must apply this positivity to all areas of your life. 
    
5. Avoid stressful situations. Clear your mind. Relax more. Surround yourself with people who are supportive of you and your life plan.    
    
   In conclusion, goals are an effective way to keep you motivated and moving in the right direction towards your dreams. If you have never tried this technique before, give it a go you may be surprised at the results.