Hello traders,

I hope life and the markets are treating you all well. As we draw 2019 to a close we can look back and see that its been an eventful and interesting 2019 from the viewpoint of maret opportunities. Furthermore as we look forward into 2020 we can see more volatility and more uncertainty in geo-politics and financial markets. As always this will provide either a threat or an opportunity based upon attitude and preparedness.

For the last few years I have run the VTP trading sessions in London and I am presently setting my schedule for the VTP trading sessions for 2020. As my diary gets compressed I am looking to deliver the various stages in 2 day workshops (apart from Stage 2 which is 3 Day) with follow-up online sessions. This also makes it easier for the attendees to manage their diary. The VTP was originally set-up to help give Veterans an insight into trading financial markets using three principles that they naturally embrace:

– Process

– Discipline

– Self-Awareness

It just so happens that those very same traits are also seen in consistently successful traders. All traders can improve by embracing these traits into their trading. As the project has evolved it’s now my intention to create a wider community of 

‘Versatile Traders’  which I would define as:

A Versatile Trader has the ability to trade any instrument, in any direction, on any time-frame.

Personally, I think the days of someone just being solely a 5 min EURUSD trader are long gone – a good trader now needs to be able to operate where the best opportunity lies. That could be FX, Indices, Stocks, Commodities, Bonds or Crypto.

That’s not to say that a trader may not end up focussing on a particular style, asset class and timeframe as their experience increases, however they should have the ability to operate wherever the opportunity lies.

So with that in mind here are the dates for the VTP Stages 1-4 for 2019. They are delivered in a small group between 6-15. If you want to join a particular stage or to know more then drop me a line.

Stage 1: Introduction to trading and financial markets – 16 & 17th January 2020, London: LTN cost: £297

This is the ideal stand-alone introductory course to trading and financial markets. Over several sessions it provides the building blocks to be able to educate a new trader how to operate safely and effectively within financial markets. By the end of the stage the new trader will understand the 4M’s of Trading: Markets, Methods, Money & Myself

. They also develop those three key traits mentioned at the beginning: Process, Discipline & Self-Awareness.
There is no requirement to take any further stages – this is a stand-alone stage that will provide anyone with the fundamental basics of successful trading.

Stage 2: An introduction to longer-term swing and position trading of FX, Indices and Commodities Markets – 19th & 20th March 2020, plus Friday 22nd may: LTN cost £397

Leading on from Stage 1, here we focus on longer term trading of FX, Indices and Commodity markets in-line with how I trade myself and for funds. We provide deeper insight into these markets and additional tactics to help build your own successful longer-term trading business.

Stage 3: An introduction to short-term, intra-day trading of FX & Indices markets – 23rd & 24th July 2020, London: LTN Cost: £397

As the name implies we focus on how to trade FX, European and US Indices from an intra-day basis. Sessions will be based on preparing for your day of intra-day trading of these markets and how to adapt the strategies, tactics and concepts from earlier Stages for intra-day success.

Stage 4: On Managing Myself, Trading Performance and becoming a Money Manager – 19th & 20th November, London : LTN Cost: £397

This stage is split into 2 sections: Half on managing self and the other half on managing money – namely other peoples. You may or may not have dreams of becoming a money-manager however acting as if you are a fund manager is never a bad thing in your own trading business. This whole stage will be focused on what you need to do to build your own trading business that will put you in the right space to be able to seek funding (if that is your wish).

In total it will equate to about 72 hours of us working together over the course of the year. As always there is a cost involved. I am fortunate that I am allowed to use a corporate clients location so that enables me to keep costs to an acceptable level.

Stage 1 has always cost £297.The other stages normally cost £447 but for today if you wish to join one of the stages the cost is £397.

In total to attend all parts of the VTP next year would cost £1488. However for those that wish to attend all of the sessions this year then there is an early bird cost which is reduced to £1200 for the year. There will only be 12 slots free so it’ll be on a first-come, first-served basis, with veterans getting priority.

I wish you every success in your trading for 2020. As I said at the start, this upcoming year can either be a threat or an opportunity for you – it’s about your attitude and being prepared. 

‘They have filled in a huge blank in my knowledge. Hopefully now it won’t be 2 step forward, 3 back.’

‘Made me realize that I can do this’

‘The sessions changed my whole understanding, thinking and attitude to trading and my approach to trade, too’

‘An essential course for anyone considering getting into trading. Will definitely save you money and stress in the long run’

‘I’ve recommended already – that’s the best course ever I’ve been involved. The only one course touched somehow my personality ‘

‘Learn the missing ingredients that most retail traders don’t even know exist. Push your trading and yourself to the next level.’

‘I would not have attempted trading again without this course. Covering the basics of trading together with money management (how much to place on each trade and what profit targets to aim for)gave me enough confidence to give it another try.’

If you want to know more you can reply to this message or email me at paulwallace@tradingbeliefs.com for more information.

Trade well,

Paul

@FXTraderPaul

Hi Traders,
We had an enjoyable session on Saturday at the Online Traders Forum.

The theme for the session was about planning for the year ahead.
I spoke about elements to consider when creating an intra-day trading plan.
Martin Walker talked about Planning for Profit and how to create an overall Trading plan for your trading business.

Kevin Barry provided his ever fascinating big picture analysis on the state of the global markets, and always it was worth attending just to hear his views.

There were plenty of useful ideas and content shared.

The Qnline Traders Forum – Q1 2019

Purchase access to the slides and recordings of the sessions from the Q1 2019 Online Traders Forum

£22.00

You can access the slides and recordings upon completion of the PayPal request.
The next Online Traders Forum will be on Saturday 6th April and we will be looking to focus on Trading Strategies – keep your eyes posted for details!
Trade well,
Paul

Newbie traders may see the cartoon above and be wondering what on earth that has to do with trading? Experienced traders nod their head sagely and know instinctively how wise the cartoon is.

The longer you trade the more you realise that it is not the market which is your enemy, it is you. The market is just a mirror that reflects your own strengths, weakness, biases and darker elements of your character!

New traders like to think that they trade in a silo, that all they need is a fool-proof trading strategy that will make money for themselves. However with time and experience you realise that it becomes about understanding yourself better and subsequently managing yourself better than before.

That’s why every year I run a two-day workshop based on helping traders raise their self-awareness about managing themselves as traders. The idea is to start to show them their blind spots so they can start to mitigate the risks to themselves.

It’s also about helping you spot the signs of a possible performance slump, and more importantly what you can do to recover when you’re in one (and trust me, everyone has performance slumps as a trader – if they tell you that they don’t then they’re lying!)

On Managing Self and becoming a Money Manager is aimed at helping you evolve in your trading towards professional status, whilst building your own trading business.

It will consist of:
– 2 x full days on 21nd & 22rd November in Central London
– 1 x follow-up online session
For a total of 18 hours working together

It’ll will be split into 3 sections namely: managing risk, managing self and the final part on managing money – namely other people’s. You may or may not have dreams of becoming a money-manager, however acting as if you are a fund manager is never a bad thing in your own trading business. It holds you to a higher standard in your own behaviour.

This whole stage will be focused on what you need to do to build your own trading business that will put you in the right space to be able to seek funding (if that is your long-term aim).

So as always there’s a cost implication: the cost for this stage will be £397. However for viewers of this blog or members of the London or Dublin Traders Network I will be offering a reduced price of £347 for the 2 days.

There are 4 slots left and as always it’s on a first-come, first-served basis. If you’re interested or want to know more then drop me a line.
Trade well,

Fellow Traders,
I will be starting Stage 3 & 4 of the VTP from next month. It’s based on utilising the acknowledged strengths of traders and veterans namely: Process, Discipline and Self-Awareness. I am offering it out to other traders to take one of the last couple of spaces.
Stage 3 and 4 will run in the second half of 2019 and begin in July. As usual I’ll be limiting it to a small group people per group to keep it manageable. There are already several VTP members on the course so I am offering it out to other traders to take one of the last couple of spaces.

Stage 3 will be focussed on intra-day trading, in particular of FX & Indices.
It will consist of:

– 2 Training Days on Thursday 18th and Friday 19th July 2019
– 1 Further Trading Day in September

For a total of 24 hours working together

There will be one session on preparation for trading intra-day and what you need to do to be successful and then there will be a session each specifically on trading intra-day FX and one specifically on trading Indices.
The idea will be that it will build on several of the concepts used in Stage 1 & 2 and provide strategies and tactics for intra-day success. As always there will be a major focus on risk, money and trade management. These are crucial for intra-day trading.

Stage 4 will be on Managing Self and becoming a Money Manager.
It will consist of
– 2 x full days on 21st & 22nd November 2019
– 1 x online session

For a total of 18 hours working together

It’ll will be split into 2 sections namely: Half on managing self and the other half on managing money – namely other peoples. You may or may not have dreams of becoming a money-manager, however acting as if you are a fund manager is never a bad thing in your own trading business. It holds you to a higher standard in your own behaviour. This whole stage will be focused on what you need to do to build your own trading business that will put you in the right space to be able to seek funding (if that is your wish).

So as always there’s a cost: the cost for Stage 3 (intra-day) will be £447 and for Stage 4(Managing performance) will be £347. In total that would be £794.

However for members of the London Traders Network I will be offering a super reduced price of £647 for the both.

As always it’s on a first-come, first-served basis. If you’re interested or want to know more then drop me a line.
Trade well,
Paul
@FXTraderPaul

It’s time for the next Online Traders Forum. In our previous session we focussed primarily on building good trading plans for the year ahead.

In this session we are progressing onto Trading Methods. Let’s face-it, as traders we all enjoy learning about new trading methods. You ask, we deliver!

This next Online Traders Forum on Saturday 27th April we’ll focus on providing a range of Trading Methods that you can take home and utilise in your own trading.

I have a been a big proponent for the creation of “Versatile Traders” namely someone who has the ability to trade any instrument, in any direction, on any timeframe. Whilst a trader may look to focus their efforts on certain instruments and timeframes I firmly believe that you should have the setups and the ability to trade in a Versatile manner in order to stay ahead of ever-changing markets.

With that in mind we have our usual three speakers talking about versions of their own trading methods and styles. It promises to be educational and enjoyable.
Kevin Barry of the TIC will be covering “Trading The 5-Minute Chart”
Hourly bars are for wimps. Let’s get down to the real business of intraday trading FX and indices on the 5-minute chart.
Time is too short for trend-following. Intraday price action is characterised by frequent price reversals, where the greatest trading opportunities are to be found.
But how do we trade these sweet spots without losing our shirt? Because we know in advance the levels at which there is a high probability of a price reversal. And we know how to identify trend exhaustion. And we know if and when we’re wrong very quickly so our stops are very tight.
In this fast-moving session, Kevin of TIC will be demonstrating his technique for trading intraday price reversals with predefined stop-loss and profit targets.
Intraday trading has never been so relaxing.
‘Intra-Day Trend Trading’

Martin Walker of ForexTradingLondon.com will explain how he approaches any market or time-frame looking for trend trades, including his chart setup; how to scan for potential trends; what to look for and how to filter out the best setups; how to nail the context of the potential trade; what the trigger is and how to trade his Trend Trade setup – the rules!; PLUS his additional special filter to increase the probability of having a profitable trade. Simples!

Paul Wallace from Trading Beliefs will be taking the other side from Martin – whereas Martin will focus on trend trading Paul will be focusing on mean-reversion trading, and in particular the ways he identifies opportunities to trade reversals at the right time and place on the charts. He’ll demonstrate his favourite pattern he’s looking for, and how he looks to manage the trade to ensure a good reward:risk rate for his trades.

So that’s three hours of trading strategies for you to digest and employ. The session will also be recorded and you’ll have access to the slides and recordings post event. All for the price of £47- a veritable bargain!

(If you’re unable to attend the date you can still purchase a ticket and receive access to the slides and recordings of the sessions.)