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The decisions we make in our trading, the behaviours which play out on a daily basis over time, and the states we are in all manifests themselves in our bottom-line trading results over time. We cannot escape who we are as traders, and who we are owes far more than we realise to our past relationships. Our relationships and experiences from a young age come to play a key role in the formation of our character and personality as we grow and mature. Some of these can be the foundation for healthy behaviours later in life, some of them can be the root of more toxic aspects which can manifest in our attitudes and actions at key junctures. This is particularly true of trading, where our actions thrust a bright light onto aspects of our personality and character.
We often think of personal relationships in terms of how we interact with people. However, one of the most important relationship which shapes us is our historical relationship with money.
In a recent episode of the AlphaMind podcast we explored this with professional money coach and former trader Dennis Harhalakis. Dennis spent more than two decades in bank trading rooms as a trader and salesperson. That sort of experience provides a well-rounded perspective on the issues people face in their trading which result from their relationship with money.
In this fascinating episode we delved into how people’s trading and investing activities are impacted, positively and negatively, by their relationship with money and how that influences their decisions, behaviours and emotional reactions to events in the moment.
Dennis goes on to provides some practical advice for how people can start to improve their relationship with money and raises some interesting points about how our early-years’ experience around money impacts our current relationship with money.
AlphaMind do not offer trading or investment advice and do not take responsibility for any investment or trading actions or decisions taken by clients or any observers of our material in any form of media, either now or in future.
Editors’ Picks
AUD/USD remains close to three-year top amid the Fed-RBA divergence
AUD/USD attracts some dip-buyers near mid-0.7000s during the Asian session on Monday, stalling last week's modest pullback from a three-year peak. The US Dollar continues with its struggle to attract any meaningful buyers amid bets for further rate cuts by the Fed, bolstered by the softer US CPI report on Friday. In contrast, the Australian Dollar retains a bullish bias on the back of the RBA's hawkish stance, which further acts as a tailwind for the currency pair.
USD/JPY retakes 153.00 after Japan's weak Q4 GDP print
USD/JPY kicks off the new week on a positive note as Japan's weak Q4 GDP growth tempers bets for an immediate BoJ rate hike and undermines the Japanese Yen. Investors, however, seem convinced that the BoJ will stick to its policy normalization path amid hopes that PM Takaichi's policies will boost the Japanese economy. In contrast, cooling US consumer inflation reaffirmed bets for more Fed rate cuts in 2026, which acts as a headwind for the US Dollar and should cap the currency pair.
Gold holds above $5,000 as bears seem hesitant amid Fed rate cut bets
Gold edges lower at the start of a new week, though it defends the $5,000 psychological mark through the Asian session. The underlying bullish sentiment is seen acting as a headwind for the bullion. However, bets for more rate cuts by the Fed, bolstered by Friday's softer US CPI, keep the US Dollar bulls on the defensive and continue to support the non-yielding yellow metal as the focus now shifts to FOMC Minutes on Wednesday.
Week ahead: Data blitz, Fed Minutes and RBNZ decision in the spotlight
The US jobs report for January, which was delayed slightly, didn’t do the dovish Fed bets any favours, as expectations of a soft print did not materialize, confounding the raft of weak job indicators seen in the prior week.
Global inflation watch: Signs of cooling services inflation
Realized inflation landed close to expectations in January, as negative base effects weighed on the annual rates. Remaining sticky inflation is largely explained by services, while tariff-driven goods inflation remains limited even in the US.
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