If you wanted to be a doctor you would go to medical school, a lawyer and you would go to law school. If you wanted to learn a musical instrument quickly you would get a tutor. Learning is almost always easier when learning from someone who has done it.

So, why is it that many retail traders seek to learn from youtube, or internet articles when they want to learn to trade?

Well, firstly, it is convenient – it is easy to learn at home at a time that suits you. Also, there is some great knowledge online. The problem is working out whether the source is reliable or whether it is just a marketing scam. More often than not if a source starts by promising you results then it is likely a marketing ploy to get you to buy their product.

If you really want to learn to trade get guidance

You need to go to a good source to get good instruction. If you are in your late teens or early twenties why not consider getting an internship at an investment house or you could take a university course in finance? The other option would be to start in a junior financial role and then study to get an industry-recognised qualification.

One easy step to see how a professional understands market sentiment factoring in interest rate differentials, inter market analysis, daily sentiment, STIR markets, Fed fund futures, Option levels, and a whole host of other details that make up the big picture is to join one of the free HYCM webinars running each week. Sounds good? Just register here.