Informational Resources

What is "Forex"?

Foreign Exchange, FX, spot currency market, and of course Forex are all names for a coinciding exchange (buy and sell) of one currency for another. The Forex market is one of the largest, and oldest, markets in the world where Trillions are traded on a daily basis.

Why Forex vs Currency Futures

The Forex market has some distinct advantages of the currency Futures market which has lead to almost parabolic growth from the retail trader over the last decade or so. Some of those advantages include: 24–hour trading, margin policies that do not change overnight or over the weekend, leverage (in some cases), contract size flexibility, liquidity, and no exchange fee’s.

What are "CFD’s"?

Contract For Difference (or CFD) are financial derivatives that allow speculators to trade both in rising (long position) and falling (short position) markets. CFD’s are contracts that are offered by authorized and regulated dealers with the FSA (Financial Services Authority - UK) and are available for almost any underlying market (Equities, Indices, Commodities, Bonds, Interest Rates, Forex, etc). CFD’s are currently not permitted in the United States due to restrictions by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Why CFD’s vs their underlying market?

The availability to trade without shorting restrictions, low capital requirements, no stamp duty on UK shares, access to the worlds financial markets with one account, and no delivery or trading expiration period for equity CFD’s are just a few of the reasons why CFD’s have been so popular among retail and professional traders alike.

"Emotional Intelligence" Explained

Emotional Intelligence (or EI) focuses on the self and is distinct from a persons intellect. EI describes the potential to communicate, recognize, identify, learn from, understand, manage and control the emotions of one’s self. EI centers on the fundamental element of human behavior and requires the effective communication between the emotional and rational domains of the brain. The study of EI is relatively new, though the importance of this field is quickly becoming apparent – especially in the financial markets. "EQ" (Emotional Quotient) is also commonly used to describe the above, though is usually used in conjunction with a numerical value – like that of an IQ score.

Why your Emotional Intelligence is so important?

With millions of people speculating each day in the ultimate game of, "Survival of the Fittest", I dare say those that truly know themselves better than their neighbor are in the minority and ultimately have an edge most people would die for. Most people are lazy too, and though it is true that some people are born with a very high EQ (just as some are both with a very high IQ), the good news is that your EQ is flexible and can be learned. But learn you must, since emotions can help or hurt you, but you will have no idea one way or the other until you truly understand and become aware of your own.

Did you know?

"People with the highest levels of intelligence (IQ) outperform those with average IQ’s just 20% of the time, while people with average IQ’s outperform those with high IQ’s 70% of the time." –From Emotional Intelligence 2.0

"Experiencing one's self in a conscious manner--that is, gaining self-knowledge--is an integral part of learning."
–From Self-Science: The Emotional Intelligence Curriculum

"It is very important to understand that emotional intelligence is not the opposite of intelligence, it is not the triumph of heart over head -- it is the unique intersection of both."
–From "Emotional What?"

"EQ is so critical to success that it accounts for 58% of performance is all types of jobs."
–From Emotional Intelligence 2.0