Active Trading Articles

There are many ways to profit in both bear and bull markets. The key to success is using the tools for each market to their full advantage.

Forex trading by retail investors has grown by leaps and bounds in recent years, thanks to the proliferation of online trading platforms and the availability of cheap credit. The use of leverage in trading is often likened to a double-edged sword, since it magnifies gains and losses.

The temptation and perils of being over leveraged is a major pitfall of spread betting. However, the low capital outlay necessary, risk management tools available and tax benefits make spread betting a compelling opportunity for speculators.

While it may sound good in theory to attempt to mimic the investment style and profile of a successful institution, it is often much harder (if not impossible) to do so in practice.

The bid-ask spread is essentially a negotiation in progress. To be successful, traders must be willing to take a stand and walk away in the bid-ask process through limit orders.

Taking corrective action before your losses worsen is always a good strategy. Find out how to keep your capital losses small and let your winners run.

Traders are only human; therefore, they are subject to psychological traps when they trade. Read how you can manage your emotions so that you can profit from your trading.

Leverage is an investment strategy of using borrowed money to generate outsized investment returns. Before getting into greater detail on how leverage works in an investment context, it is useful to have a broad understanding of the general topic.

A closer look at the controversial topic of leverage in forex trading.

It's high time investors heed the yellow caution flags waving in front of their margin accounts. Much like the NASCAR driver who pumps his brakes to avoid disaster when he sees the caution flag, it's time for us to slow down.

We take a closer look at the theories that attempt to explain and influence the market.

Trading in the financial markets is stimulating, exciting and engrossing. But one can become addicted, just like with actual casino gambling or illegal drugs. Like any severe addiction, this can cost you your job, relationships and, of course, your financial resources.

Ready to quit your day job and become a full-time trader? These tips will help you determine your area of expertise.

Systems traders divide their time between trading, developing, backtesting, optimizing and forward testing, to create viable and high-probability trading systems.

Investors that understand and utilize the U.S. GDP report have a significant advantage over those that don't.

The consumer confidence is key to any market economy, so investors need to learn the measures and how to analyze them.

If you have ever heard "the trend is your friend" and believed it, you may be a fan of herd instinct mentality. This is an environment where, just like with fashion, masses of people follow a pattern that the majority of people around them are following … sometimes for no sensible reason.

There are a number of very common psychological traps or errors that investors typically make. You can save a lot of money and misery by avoiding them.

This influential strategy capitalizes on the relationship between price and liquidity.

There are different ways stock traders attempt to profit from market movements. Which of the strategies do you use?

Day trading has many advantages and, while we often hear about these perks, it's important to realize that day trading is hard work.

We all have biases. The key to better investing is to identify those biases and create rules to minimize their effect.

Seasonal timing in the market, best personified by the adage, “Sell in May – Go away,” has long been the subject of debate among investors. The question remains: Is there anything to it?

Here are four common common behavioral biases for traders and how to minimize their effects on your portoflio.

Learn how to make gains even if you don't get in at the right time.

Leading indicators help investors to predict and react to where the market is headed.

Although based on short-term trading, keeping the long-term picture in mind will help investors trade with the trend.

There are a lot of similarities between golf and investing. Find out how to keep your game out of the rough.

The CMT certification involves three tough exams. Find out what you need to do in order to pass.

Modern portfolio theory and behavioral finance represent differing schools of thought that attempt to explain investor behavior. Perhaps the easiest way to think about their arguments and positions is to think of modern portfolio theory as how the financial markets would work in the ideal world, and behavioral finance as how financial markets work in the real world.

While investors shouldn’t feel compelled to change their portfolios radically overnight in reaction to the market's daily moves, small adjustments in the face of a bull or bear market could be a prudent move.

Discover the components and basic patterns of this ancient technical analysis technique.

You don't have to be a boy or act like a boy to win. In fact, doing the opposite could be better for your financial health.

Understanding the concept of Support and Resistance in trading can drastically improve your short-term investing strategy.

All trading platforms have benefits and drawbacks - master the fake trade before making a real one.

Active trading is an investing style that aims to beat the market. Find out how it works, and whether it will work for you.

This sophisticated approach will add flair to your returns.

We look at how Bollinger Bands help accurately project entry and exit points for pattern traders.

The fundamental role of trader psychology tends to be underestimated, with too much emphasis placed on the technical side.

A profit/loss plan helps investors recognize mistakes and invest logically, rather than emotionally.

Find out how the human mind can hurt investors' portfolios.

How can a trader use the Elder-Ray oscillator as the second screen of this system? Find out here.

Learn about market wave, the second screen in this three-part system.

Learning how to build these portfolios will increase your investing confidence and give you financial control.

Market tide is the basis for making trading decisions in this three-part system.

Learn to take advantage of both trend-following and oscillator techniques to analyze your trading decisions.

By following the strategies of the pros, even a beginner can learn to invest like an expert.

Find out how your personality and natural instincts can direct your investment choices.

Learn how to stop using emotion and bad habits to make your stock picks.

With the big name competition out there, hard-working people who invest have a tough time beating the market.

Don't get forced into action. Learn how to plan properly to avoid making rash decisions.

Understanding the different asset classes is an essential part of portfolio diversification.

This indicator can give a overall sense of bull and bear forces - learn what it is and how it's constructed.

Learn how to read these formations of horizontal trading patterns.

Using options instead of stop-loss orders adds finesse and control in limiting losses.

The markets look to be moving back to where they were before the recession. Does this mean another is on the way?

We look at why this relationship exists and how you can use it to produce solid gold returns.

As the eastern part of the United States cleans and rebuilds, tax-related issues are sure to arise for the millions affected by the storm.

This article looks at technology in the financial market and the use of online applications.

The right investment philosophy can help traders remain profitable during these troubled economic times.

This type of strategy demands controlled decision-making, requiring a continual refinement of entry and exit techniques.

Find your sound exit strategy based on support and resistance levels, while understanding the psychology behind them.

Find out the various ways in which a broker can fill an order, which can affect costs.

Compulsive trading will ratchet up your transaction costs, stress level and time spent away from the important things in life.

Developed in 1967 by Richard Arms, this volume-based breadth indicator can be applied over various time periods.

By using economic releases in a timely way, buyers can beat the "big players" without endless chart analysis.

This strategy can help in market downturns, but it's not for inexperienced traders.

Learn to trade smart instead of gambling with your money.

Find out how to come out on top, even when the market is dropping.

This strategy can help investors reduce portfolio volatility and make money in uncertain markets.

Sometimes positive announcements can mean bad news for a stock. Find out why.

Learn how to capitalize on the predictable behavior of others during breakouts and breakdowns.

Just like private investors, analysts are sometimes guilty of following the herd and failing to think independently.

Learn how to use a number of different indicators to know when to make your trading moves.

On May 6, 2010, the DJIA plunged 998.5 points in twenty minutes. Find out more about what happened that day.

A market correction is sure to occur sometime in the near future. Discover if hedging can protect your portfolio.

The investing world loves to talk about fundamentals, but do you know what it means?

Margin loans, futures and ETF options can all mean better returns, but which one should you pick?

There are a variety of psychological strategies for coping with financial losses and investing mistakes.

If you're a rookie investor, your first big investment decision should be an informed one.

Profit from up, down and sideways markets with commodity trading advisors.

From pre-market to after hours, see what you need to do to capture gains quickly.

Adopting realistic expectations is essential to staying in the trading game.

More common risk theories can lead to missed opportunities. Find out how margin of safety can propel your portfolio.

Learn how this indicator uses both price and volume to record a more complete picture of price action.

The open financial market remains extremely fluid and changeable. Beware of these four fundamental errors.

By incorporating some of the best practices of top traders, investors can greatly improve portfolio returns.

Investors are increasingly relying on their mobile devices to trade and do research. Here are five apps worth checking out.

If the economy has you worried, here are five low volatility ETFs that can keep your money on safer ground.

Find out about sunk costs and why "getting your money's worth" can cost you more than you think.

Learn what mistakes cause hedge funds to collapse and how to avoid similar problems.

You get multiple managers, affordable diversification, customization and consolidated reporting all under one roof.

Learn to overcome eight hurdles that can keep you from realizing the best returns.

Microsoft and GE are two of the biggest names on this list of stocks that have a consistently high trading volume.

Discover how these two groups work together to keep the market functioning properly.

We look at different styles of scalping, and how they can all be very profitable.

Use these rules to guide you on the road to financial freedom.