Trading plan – what you need to know.

Author: Joseph Jeffriess

One essential tool that traders use to navigate the market and minimize risk is a trading plan. A trading plan is a detailed document outlining a trader’s goals, strategies, and rules for entering and exiting trades. It’s essential to create a trading plan before starting trading as it helps to avoid emotional decisions and ensure consistency in trading.

Creating a trading plan involves several steps, which we will discuss in this article. We will also provide examples of a trading plan to help you understand the process better.

Step 1: Define Your Trading Goals

The first step in creating a trading plan is to define your goals. What do you want to achieve by trading? Your goals should be specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound. For instance, your goal could be to make a 10% return on your investment within six months. Defining your goals helps you stay focused and motivated throughout your trading journey.

Step 2: Determine Your Risk Tolerance

The next step is to determine your risk tolerance. Forex trading is a high-risk market, and you must be willing to take risks to make profits. However, you must also be aware of your risk tolerance and set limits on the amount of money you’re willing to lose. Your risk tolerance will depend on your trading experience, financial situation, and personality.

Step 3: Develop Your Trading Strategy

The third step in creating a trading plan is to develop your trading strategy. A trading strategy is a set of rules that you will follow when entering and exiting trades. Your strategy should be based on your trading goals, risk tolerance, and market analysis.

Your trading strategy should also include your preferred trading style, such as scalping, day trading, or swing trading.

Step 4: Set Your Trading Rules

The fourth step is to set your trading rules. Your trading rules should be based on your trading strategy and risk tolerance. They should specify when to enter and exit trades, how much to risk per trade, and when to adjust your trading strategy. Your trading rules should also be flexible to accommodate changes in the market.

Step 5: Test Your Trading Plan

The final step is to test your trading plan. Before you start trading with real money, you should test your plan using a demo account. This will help you identify any weaknesses in your plan and refine it accordingly. You should also review and update your trading plan regularly to ensure that it remains relevant and effective.

Step 6: Determine Your Time Availability for Trading

One of the most important considerations when creating a trading plan is determining your time availability for trading. Forex trading is a 24-hour market, and you need to be available during the trading hours to monitor the market and make trading decisions. If you have a full-time job or other commitments, you may need to limit your trading hours to specific times of the day or week.

Many of our clients are taking advantage of the Capitalize.ai platform, as it allows full automation of a trading approach, using plane everyday English and therefore, tackles the time availability issue and emotional trading simultaneously.

Step 7: Determine Which Asset Types to Trade

Forex trading is just one type of asset that traders can trade. Other asset types include stocks, indices, commodities, and cryptocurrencies. It’s important to determine which asset types you want to trade as part of your overall trading plan. Consider which asset types align with your trading strategy and goals, and which markets you are most familiar with.

Step 8: Choose Which Markets to Trade for Each Asset Type

Once you’ve determined which asset types you want to trade, the next step is to choose which markets within each asset type to trade. For example, within the stocks asset type, there are many different markets to choose from, including individual company stocks and stock indices like the S&P 500 or the FTSE 100. Similarly, within the commodities asset type, you may choose to trade gold, silver, or oil.

Here is an example of a Trading Plan:

1. Goal: Make a 10% return on investment within six months
2. Risk Tolerance: Willing to risk up to 2% of the account balance per trade. 
3. Trading Strategy: Combination of technical and fundamental analysis, swing trading

Trading Rules:

• Only enter trades when there is a clear trend in the market.
• Use stop-loss orders to limit losses to no more than 1% of the account balance.
• Use position sizing to ensure that no more than 2% of the account balance is risked per trade.
• Adjust trading strategy if market conditions change!
• Review and update the trading plan weekly/monthly/quarterly.

1. Time Availability: Available to trade during the Asian and European trading sessions
2. Asset Types to Trade: Forex, stocks, indices, commodities, and cryptocurrencies

Markets to Trade:

• Forex: Major currency pairs such as EUR/USD, USD/JPY, and GBP/USD
• Stocks: Blue-chip stocks such as Apple, Amazon, and Microsoft
• Indices: S&P 500 and FTSE 100
• Commodities: Gold and oil
• Cryptocurrencies: Bitcoin and Ethereum

Creating a comprehensive trading plan that includes multiple asset types and markets is a key step toward successful trading. By determining which asset types and markets align with your trading strategy and goals, you can make informed trading decisions and increase your chances of achieving your financial objectives.

The information provided here has been prepared by Eightcap’s team of analysts. All expressions of opinion are subject to change without notice. Any opinions made may be personal to the author and do not reflect the opinions of Eightcap.In addition to the disclaimer on our website, the material on this page does not contain a record of our trading prices, or represent an offer or solicitation for a transaction in any financial instrument. Eightcap accepts no responsibility for any use that may be made of these comments and for any consequences that result. No representation or warranty is given as to the accuracy or completeness of this information. Consequently, any person acting on it does so entirely at their own risk. Any research provided does not have regard to the specific investment objectives, financial situation and needs of any specific person who may receive it. It has not been prepared in accordance with legal requirements designed to promote the independence of investment research and as such is considered to be a marketing communication. Please note that past performance is not a guarantee or prediction of future performance. This communication must not be reproduced or further distributed without prior permission.