Online Trading Academy: The Answer To Your Financial Education Needs

Submitted by: Sydney Nelson, Education Administrator, Online Trading Academy Philadelphia

Active investors have experienced more than their share of losses in the volatile markets that have plagued the economy this year. However, professional traders, although they had losses, have the skills and understanding of the market that makes them successful while others are losing their shirts. The “edge” they have is their trading knowledge that rather than making big “home runs,” they need to minimize their loss in order to consistently maximize gains.

Most people’s investing strategies are driven by perceptions: buy and hold is safe; the only time to make money is when the market is going up; mutual funds are a smart way to balance my portfolio; my losses will eventually rebound. You cannot even trust brokerages. If brokerage firms manipulate the books, they pay fines, but your losses will not be returned to you.

The reality - your job as a trader or investor is to not lose money in the first place. In most people’s mind, if you lose 10%, you need to make 10% to get it back. This math is incorrect; the difference is insignificant at 10%, but extremely significant as the percentage of decline increases. If a $10,000 investment drops 95%, it is devalued to $500. If the investment rises 100% - the value is now $1,000. Losing 95% and then gaining 100% is still no help – that is still 90% loss. To return to one’s original stake after a 95% tumble requires an astounding 1,900% gain. With this in mind, a 50% loss requires a 100% gain to recover. When you look at a stock and expect a normal return of 10, 20, or hopefully 30%, a 100% increase in value is an obscene and unlikely return – yet many traders and investors hold on to investments well past a 50% loss.

To overcome these perceptions and reach your financial goals you must take control of your own financial future. You must have a trading/investing education, otherwise you will fall victim to the market’s volatile waves and hand your money to the professional traders who minimize risks to stay ahead of the game.

Since 1997, Online Trading Academy has been committed to teaching the skills needed to help their students reach their financial goals through a systematic methodology of applying risk management and technical analysis techniques to the market. Experienced, professional traders deliver individualized skills assessment, hands-on "live trading" instruction and a framework for building a customized trading plan.

With over 10,000 graduates, Online Trading Academy offers classes focused on Stocks, Foreign Exchange Currencies (FX), Options, Futures/Commodities, Real Estate, Wealth Management and more—all taught on-location at each of the 33 “brick-and-mortar” centers located around the world. For more information, visit www.tradingacademy.com/philadelphia

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