
This article was first published on The New Savvy.
There is no doubt that women trading habits are different from those of men. We all operate under the same set of trading rules, but the results are not always the same. This is understandable because our minds work differently and that influences our approach when it comes to trading and investing.
Trading and women investors might not seem like a perfect mix. Trading involves aggressive investing behaviour and high risks. Women have a reputation for being conservative investors.
Does this mean women have no place in the trading industry? Not quite. There are female traders who are considered to be successful traders.
Trading is one of the proactive ways that you can make money from the financial market. Investors are looking for long-term investments and profits that gradually grow over time. Traders, on the other hand, are those who want to make quick returns by buying and selling financial instruments in the market. Trading can be done in the form of stocks, foreign exchange (Forex) and other products.
Being a successful trader, regardless of your gender, is far from being easy. Trading platforms like provide traders with the tools they need to make smart decisions about their finances. However, you need more than that to succeed. It takes a combination of skill, instinct, a deep knowledge of the market, and the right attitude to turn you into a successful trader.
If you believe that your finances can afford a higher risk tolerance and you are interested in higher returns, then do not let your assumptions hinder you. Learn from those who have succeeded in trading and get to know the trading habits that have made women successful.
The New Savvy sat down with two female traders who shared with us their trading secrets. We asked them three different questions that define their women trading. Here are their answers.
TerraSeeds Binni Ong: Trading slowly and being consistent
Binni Ong is the Co-founder and Chief Strategies of TerraSeeds Market Technician Pte Ltd. The company provides online training through OnlineForexMaster.com. There are participants from more than 40 countries attending their free online Forex courses, and this continually strengthens Binni’s trading habits. The 40-year old trader shared with The New Savvy her ideas and experiences with trading – some of which can be seen in her trade diary: The Alien Room.
TNS: How long have you been trading Forex for? What do you focus on as part of your trading strategy?
Binni: I have been trading Forex for the past 14 years and equities for the past 20 years. Our trading strategies, Tflow®, can be applied to any instrument – whether equities, Forex or commodities. It measures the price action and time duration of a trade – allowing us to spot explosive and big movements in the market. This strategy is suitable for traders using any timeframe, but it is more suited for swing traders where each trade can last for 1-3 days with a target of 100-300 pips (price interest points). The method mainly uses our proprietary Box Theory to identify the direction, with the integration of applied Elliott Wave and advance Fibonacci as a timing tool for trade execution.
TNS: What are some of the common mistakes that you typically see new traders making?
Binni: Some traders easily believe that by learning a concept or strategy, they could trade successfully and win money. They forget that trading requires experience which has to be accumulated over time. Instead of mastering a technique, many traders become course-seminar junkies where they pick many techniques which they give up and throw away in a flash. Too many inputs are being considered – from the news, fundamental to the technical. This makes their analysis messy or lacking a clear-headed approach. They believe in get-rich-quick schemes involving robots, ‘secret techniques’ but lose sight of long-term training, mastery, and growing the right trading psychology.
TNS: How do you think being a woman makes you are better trader/investor compared to men?
Binni: I take things slowly. I am not adrenaline-charged like my peers. When I started trading, I went on smaller trading sizes than most of my peers who are male traders. My profits are much smaller (likewise losses), but it helped keep my account in a comfortable shape while my experience bank was building. I was able to hit some great trades consistently while some of my male peers have flashes of brilliance then bomb out suddenly. I was also very busy with my 2 children – I chose to be a stay-at-home mum. Instead of day trading, I take a longer view of markets. This makes me very profitable compared to those who have lots of time staring at screen. They end up losing more money because of short term noise. I don’t stare at my trading screen. I spend about an hour or two analysing trades only, with the rest of the time distributed between business building, family, and exercising. I think that trading, like raising children, should not be impulse drive. My approach is long term – never-say-die. There are many like-minded women in my trading community who are doing very well.
SG Budget Babe Dawn: Knowing yourself and the market
Dawn, or SG Budget Babe, is a 27-year old finance blogger. Through her blog, she documents her efforts to achieve financial freedom before she reaches her mid-40s. She uses trading as one of her strategies to achieve her financial goals despite the rising cost of living in Singapore.
TNS: How long have you been trading and what do you focus on as part of your trading strategy?
Dawn: I’ve been investing in bonds and equities since 2014. My previous “investments” were limited to choosing my funds in my ILP, which I cancelled a few years after I realised there was no point paying someone else such high distribution fees when I could invest myself directly.
My trades range from a holding period of a few months to a few years. I focus on capital gains, as time is on my side.
TNS: What are some of the common mistakes that you typically see new traders making?
Dawn: Buying or selling based on emotions. It takes conviction to buy when everyone else is panicking over the market, and stay out of the markets when sentiments are bullish. It is easy to say “buy low, sell high” but the real-world application is not as easy. Learning about yourself and how you behave in the financial markets is the most important skills if one wishes to be successful.
TNS: How do you think being a woman makes you are better trader/investor compared to men?
Dawn: Most females tend to be more detail-oriented than our male counterparts by nature, and we are often also more sceptical. This can work to our favour when we evaluate a counter before putting our money in. We are also less inclined to take big risks or gambles, so that can serve us well too.
What trading habits can we learn from these female traders?
So what are the women trading habits that we can take from these successful female traders?
- You have to know yourself to understand your trading behaviour. To be specific, you need to understand how you will react to the market. It will help you prepare yourself, so your emotions will not rule your decisions.
- Be detail-oriented and do not be impulsive. There are times when impulse-driven decisions are okay – but not when you are trading. Always know the costs of your decisions and weigh the effects on your investment.
- It is okay to take lower risks. Take small steps if that is where you are comfortable. You do not have to take big risks even if that is what your peers are doing.
- In the beginning, focus on experience rather than profits. Focusing on the small profits and losses will make you feel discouraged. Instead, you should focus on the experience that trading is giving you. Learn from each of them so that you can improve your decision-making process in the future.
- Have a life outside trading. While you need to study the market, it is not a good idea to focus too much on its every move. You will feel stressed, and the overload of information might cloud your mind and lead you to make rash decisions.
Trading wisely requires you to have the right tools and requires you to trust the right platforms. holds a capital markets services license from the Monetary Authority of Singapore that allows them to deal in securities and leveraged foreign exchange trading. Get to know more about to use their tools and resources to trade in the financial market actively.
This article was sponsored by IG, the world’s No.1 CFD provider (by revenue excluding FX, 2016). All views expressed in the article are the independent opinion of The New Savvy
This article was first published by The New Savvy. The New Savvy is a financial platform that aims to empower women through meaningful content that are relevant and practical. The New Savvy provides resources to demystify finance and spur financial consciousness. We want to make money interesting to women and transform women’s relationship with money.
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