The first question that novice traders generally ask is “Why bother?” Portfolio management can be a complex subject and can take a lot of time and energy. Surely it is better to simply concentrate on trading and let the money look after itself?
In an ideal world of course that would be the case. But this is not an ideal world.
Portfolio management allows you to diversify your risk. Poor portfolio management would be to have all your account leveraged in three CFD trades, all long and all in one sector. Should all CFDs drop by only a few per cent, your trading account could be wiped out. A far better method of capital allocation would be to structure your portfolio in similar way to banks. That is to “spread your risk”.
Some CFD traders would argue that portfolio management is not essential. Many CFD traders don’t even use portfolio management, and they can go on to have long and successful trading careers. However, it is prudent for most novice traders to practice sensible money management. The discipline of portfolio management will help protect you and your CFD trading account from disaster.
One disadvantage of portfolio management is that it is likely to require more capital. A $5,000 account will always find it hard to diversify and allocate capital in a diverse manner. The simple reason for this is because $5,000 is not enough to diversify.
Before you start you should always consider putting slightly more money into your CFD trading account, this will enable you to diversify your portfolio. This may sound unpalatable, but when you consider who else is looking after your capital for you (fund managers), you would be far better off managing it yourself.
Timeframes
It is hard to rely on one timeframe. Many people describe themselves as “15 minute chart” traders, others as “end of day”. In truth a mix of strategies is what will generally work best.
Some people are much longer term CFD traders, in fact they are not really traders at all but simply investors. “Buy and hold” is the maxim used by many of these people (often referred to as “buy and hope” by shorter term CFD traders).
Two of the great longer term investors in history have been WD Gann - who spoke of there being “more money in the long pull” and of course Warren Buffett - who advises anyone not to invest in a stock if they are worried about its price declining 50%.
This timeframe argument actually becomes an issue of trading style more than anything. There are trading styles as diverse as scalping and weekly swing trading that on the same CFD will produce the difference between making 200 trades a day versus 12 trades a year.
The key thing about timeframes is that your optimal timeframe is a personal thing. What works for one person may be totally wrong for the next. No single timeframe is right or wrong. Just go with what works for you.
Risk diversification
When diversifying your risk think global. Do not confine your trades purely to one market. Many of the biggest share CFDs trade large daily volumes overseas (e.g. BHP is traded in the UK as BLT - Billiton).
This is a crucial thing to be aware of. The financial markets trade almost 24 hours a day. You should use this to your advantage.
Trade while you sleep, with orders protecting your capital and taking profits. If your analysis is correct you won’t need to worry about being awake, trades will run themselves.
Make end of day decisions on these trades, you have plenty of time to analyse the picture, so use it. Do not be lazy. Do your groundwork.
Leverage
Leverage truly is a ‘double-edged sword’. Used wisely it can be the edge that gives you a huge return on limited funds. Used incorrectly and it can obliterate your trading account in minutes. Use it wisely. No good CFD provider wants you to lose. CFD providers offer leverage because they know skillful clients can benefit from it.
Always remember Rule number 1- You must stay in the game. It is unrealistic to expect to be making millions after your first few weeks CFD trading it is more likely to take 6 months to 2 years before you become a profitable CFD trader.
Remember it takes a good doctor at least 5 years to qualify and they still have patients die on them. There is no reason why learning how to trade should be a 5 minute thing. It just will not happen.
Do not over leverage - make this your mantra. Don’t use leverage just because it is there (Your car has an air bag but you don’t want to use it on every journey, right?)
Used wisely you have a huge advantage with the leverage available to you, but be aware it is like a sharp knife, best used carefully. The more skillful you become, the more you will learn how to use it and that’s what your evolution as a CFD trader will be all about.
Before you start using CFDs in your trading strategy you should decide whether CFDs are the right financial product for you.
If you are a novice trader you can get some helpful information on trading CFDs by reading our free CFD Guide.
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