Carefully vet your trading and brokerage to ensure that they meet all your expectations (or as many as possible) before you register and start trading. Issues to consider include your country of origin, regulatory constraints, licensing, trading account minimum/maximum amounts and so forth. Be advised that trading is stressful, and not suited to everyone.

Use a stocks screener to automatically scan the financial markets for the best performing stocks on the day, or the most volatile stocks, or the highest trading volume stocks. It is near impossible to perform these functions on your own, without a stocks screener. Top-tier trading platforms like Stocks to Trade feature a function known as Oracle, which automatically performs these tasks for you.

Always have an exit plan. Warren Buffett says a lot of interesting things, including this: “Be fearful when other people are greedy, and greedy when other people are fearful“. Sure, you will kick yourself when you sell stock too early and the price continues to appreciate. But trading is not a once-off activity – it’s an ongoing activity where incremental profits build a portfolio over the long-term. Set your price and take profit, or set your price and stop loss. Act decisively at all times.

 

Brett Chatz- is a graduate of the University of South Africa, and holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree, with Economics and Strategic management as his major subjects. He is an internationally published author and financial analyst.