Awards 2013

Hello traders! On the first day of every Online Trading Academy class that I teach, everyone in the class introduces themselves: what is their name, what have they been trading, what are they looking to learn from the class, etc. Very often someone with trading experience will quickly delve deeply into a problem that they have with trading. “Whenever I buy, the market immediately turns down,” or “My stop gets hit too often and then the market goes my direction.” Both of those problems are easy to fix. In fact, every trading “problem” has probably been experienced by thousands of traders before you, if not by the very instructors you are now learning from! Believe it or not, you are not a delicate unique snowflake of a trader. The problems you face are rather mundane, and probably simple to fix, if you have the discipline to do as instructed.

However, in a specific forex class that I am referring to there was a student – actually, a husband and wife team – who expressed a very specific problem. The problem that they have is trust in the marketplace, banks, and other financial institutions. Years ago, many would have scoffed at what could have been considered “tin foil hat” wearing paranoia, but after the most recent events in the Eurozone with Cyprus, I think most people should be out getting sized for a tin foil hat! (Tin foil hat refers to the belief that wearing such headgear can protect you from electromagnetic fields, mind control, telepathy, and is commonly a sarcastic remark directed to people who believe in conspiracy theory notions.)

Not long ago, many people around the world believed their deposits in banks to be safe, even guaranteed up to certain limits. While this has been true in most countries so far, we are currently at a very important point in history. If you have been vacationing with no access to news for the past couple of weeks, apparently there are certain group of banking bosses in the Eurozone who waited until a Friday evening, and then told the people of Cyprus that their deposits were going to be stolen – oops, I meant taxed – anywhere from ~7% to ~10% of their money. This stolen money – darn, did it again, I meant tax – would go to bail out banks who had basically made bad investment choices. Why did those banks make bad investment decisions? Well, the banks were lied to by other banks and bank regulators. Which of course means it is no one’s fault. Except the depositors, of course, because they will end up losing money over these bad investments. Strange, isn’t it? Actually, it is becoming frightening, as some officials in the Eurozone have commented that this confiscation of deposits may become the norm for bailing out banks who have made bad decisions.

Back to the students in that forex class. They wanted to learn not only how to trade forex, but to protect their assets through diversification, and even diversify through different financial institutions. Everyone should know that if you buy the stocks of IBM, Intel, Dell, and Microsoft, you are hardly diversified. Usually people want to buy stocks in different sectors and industries, often with ETF’s, to be more properly diversified. In our forex class, I like to take things just a bit further. Why not diversify into different countries through forex? You don’t necessarily have to actively trade the currency pair, but you could hold on to it as a longer term play in case of a weakening home currency. For example, if you make 10% in the stock market in a year, but your inflation rate is 6%, your actual return is only 4%. Oh yes, don’t forget taxes on the 10% return. With a properly done trade in the forex market, you can offset the weakness in your home currency by selling it and buying a currency which is getting stronger.

Another bit of diversification is perhaps through precious metals. Many people are aware of the possibility of using gold (for example) as a store of value and a hedge against inflation. (What? A gold bug? Put on that tin foil hat!) Obviously, timing is still very important, as the price of gold has moved from about $300 to $1800 and back to $1600 in the course of just a few years. Now, should you invest in the physical metal, the ETF, the futures contract, or something else? I will tell you that several country’s central banks around the world are buying the physical gold and “requesting” the delivery of their gold that is being held in secure vaults in New York and London. If central banks are wanting the physical and not the ETF, that should tell you something.

What about diversification of your financial institutions? I believe that having money in different banks, brokerage firms, credit unions, etc. is a very wise move. Just ask the people who had all of their trading accounts at Refco, MF Global, or PFG Best (Peregrine Financial.) There are many accountholders who are still waiting to get all of their money back from these institutions; most never will get all of their funds back. While we haven’t had any depositors in United States banks not get their money back after a bank failure, what would a 10% tax be like to bail out your bank? Ask the people of Cyprus in a few weeks.

This week’s newsletter was not to instill a feeling of gloom and doom, causing you to put all of your money in gold bars underneath a huge rock in your back yard. The purpose, much like our classes, is to help you make more and protect what you have. While not being able to offer specific advice on percentages and distribution of your money and accounts, I hope you take it upon yourself to find out more about wealth and asset protection through diversification.

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This content is intended to provide educational information only. This information should not be construed as individual or customized legal, tax, financial or investment services. As each individual's situation is unique, a qualified professional should be consulted before making legal, tax, financial and investment decisions. The educational information provided in this article does not comprise any course or a part of any course that may be used as an educational credit for any certification purpose and will not prepare any User to be accredited for any licenses in any industry and will not prepare any User to get a job. Reproduced by permission from OTAcademy.com click here for Terms of Use: https://www.otacademy.com/about/terms

Editors’ Picks

EUR/USD bounces off lows, back near 1.1330

EUR/USD bounces off lows, back near 1.1330

EUR/USD meets daily support around the 1.1300 neighbourhood, managing to regain pace and revisit the 1.1330 region. Sentiment turned after President Trump proposed a “straight 50% tariff” on European imports, undermining the pair’s bullish momentum.

GBP/USD eases from tops, revisits the 1.3500 zone

GBP/USD eases from tops, revisits the 1.3500 zone

GBP/USD benefits from broad US Dollar weakness, climbing to its highest level since February 2022 past 1.3500 at the end of the week. UK retail sales data surprised to the upside in April, lending extra wings to the quid.

USD/JPY slips as Japan’s core inflation hits two-year high

USD/JPY slips as Japan’s core inflation hits two-year high

The Japanese Yen extends gains, with USD/JPY falling to near 143.00 during European hours on Friday. Japan’s core CPI rises 3.5% YoY in April, the highest in two years and above expectations. Headline inflation stands at 3.6%, the same as the previous month and the lowest since December.


Editors’ Picks

EUR/USD bounces off lows, back near 1.1330

EUR/USD bounces off lows, back near 1.1330

EUR/USD meets daily support around the 1.1300 neighbourhood, managing to regain pace and revisit the 1.1330 region. Sentiment turned after President Trump proposed a “straight 50% tariff” on European imports, undermining the pair’s bullish momentum.

GBP/USD eases from tops, revisits the 1.3500 zone

GBP/USD eases from tops, revisits the 1.3500 zone

GBP/USD benefits from broad US Dollar weakness, climbing to its highest level since February 2022 past 1.3500 at the end of the week. UK retail sales data surprised to the upside in April, lending extra wings to the quid.

Gold keeps the bullish tone near $3,350

Gold keeps the bullish tone near $3,350

Gold extends its weekly advance, trading around $3,350 per troy ounce on Friday. The rally in XAU/USD is driven by broad-based weakness in the Greenback, particulalry after President Trump’s threat to impose 50% tariffs on European imports.

Apple stock sinks below $200 after Trump threatens more tariffs

Apple stock sinks below $200 after Trump threatens more tariffs Premium

Trump grows irate at Apple's move into India. President claims Apple must produce US-sold iPhone in US or face a 25% tariff. US equity futures slip more than 1% in Friday premarket after Trump threatens the EU with a 50% tariff.

Ripple Price Prediction: Whale accumulation sparks hope as rising exchange reserves signal caution

Ripple Price Prediction: Whale accumulation sparks hope as rising exchange reserves signal caution

XRP sustains mid-week recovery as XRP/BTC flashes golden cross for the first time since 2017. Large volume holders increase XRP exposure, indicating rising demand and investor confidence.

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