With investments yielding poor returns and more and more retirees not having fixed pension plans to fall back on – it should come as no surprise that many are starting to trade. Contrary to popular belief trading doesn’t have to be a time-consuming and stressful activity, but instead is one that you can engage in at your own pace – making it perfect for retirees who have a bit more free time on their hands.
If you want to get into trading all you really need is a computer and an internet connection. Assuming you have that already (which you probably do), you can then follow these steps to get started:
- Choose a trading platform
Shopping around for a trading platform may seem confusing at first, but it is worth taking a bit of time to do so. It is important you find a platform that you feel comfortable using, and also to look at the markets and types of trades that you can get into with it.
- Carefully budget your capital
As a retiree with a fixed amount of capital it is important that you carefully consider how much of that you want to budget for trading. Do not under any circumstances risk your entire life savings, but instead portion out a small amount (i.e. 5% or 10% at most) as the total capital you will use. Out of that you should start by using much less, and only trade with larger sums when you are comfortable doing so.
- Pick a market and learn about it
The most important thing about trading is to understand the market that you’re trading in. Nowadays there are so many options and you could choose to trade on the forex market or in equities or commodities, or even using financial instruments such as CFDs. Regardless of what you choose, you should try your best to learn about its ins and outs.
- Try mock trading
Before you actually begin to risk any part of your retirement funds, you should try placing mock trades to see how you do. Some trading platforms will allow you to do this using virtual currency, or you could simply track your performance manually. In either case it should give you a bit of ‘hands on’ experience with trading and let you see whether or not you want to try the real deal.
When you do feel that you are ready to start trading – remember to always be safe. As a rule of thumb you should be careful never to risk too much, or hold onto a losing position for too long. Essentially so long as you’re making more than you would from a fixed deposit, you’re doing well.
Assuming you feel ready to embark into trading, you should definitely check out ETX Capital. With its trading platform you will be able to trade on numerous different markets with ease, and also take advantage of its other features to help improve your trading.
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