Trading Currency in South Africa

[JanvandeMerwe]

Hi guys,

I have just joined this forum, and so far have had some good reading.

Our beloved and confused currency has been in the news a lot recently and it all looks to start investing in currency or some of the commodities that underpin the Rand. I have seen lists of forex brokers in South Africa[/URL] and I have honestly started to think about putting in a couple hundred to see what happens.

Has anyone had any experience with this that they can share?

Thanks in advance.
-Jan

[Dave A]

Sometimes you've got to burn your fingers to realise you're playing with fire.

Playing the Forex game the way so many of these sites are set up seems too close to gambling for my liking. Of course you get professional gamblers who do make more money than they lose.

Maybe I'm old-fashioned, but I was raised to prefer investing to speculating. It's certainly less stressful and more predictable.

IMO there's also a tricky aspect to trading the Rand from within SA when you look at its typical pattern. It tends to strengthen slowly and weaken fast, making playing the Rand successfully as a speculator easier if you're trading from outside the Rand currency zone. That way you'll gain on more days than not, and the days you need to bail at your fallback position come pretty rarely.

[Foxy]

I've figured how this currency speculation works. The ZAR will strengthen the day I buy my tickets to visit SA and then weaken significantly the day after I make a valuable purchase in SA....it works everytime, without fail

[Rich Uncle Pennybags]

Playing the Forex game the way so many of these sites are set up seems too close to gambling for my liking. Of course you get professional gamblers who do make more money than they lose.

Maybe I'm old-fashioned, but I was raised to prefer investing to speculating. It's certainly less stressful and more predictable.

That is pretty much my take on matter as well. A friend of mine has been very successful in this "game" and managed to make a cool R1 million in one year in 2009-2010 starting with only R50,000. Not bad for a 24 year old. It is very difficult to resist the temptation when looking at returns like that, but I'll wait until he pulls off that stunt a second time just to see how much beginners luck was actually involved.

Like any form of gambling, if you have some money lying around that you don't mind losing, it's as good a place to use it as any other....if you are willing to invest some time and effort in it.

[wynn]

Norri had a pal who was into forex, wrote an interesting ezine about it as well, but I havn't heard from him for a few months maybe a year. Norri are you out there???

[Sly21C]

That is pretty much my take on matter as well. A friend of mine has been very successful in this "game" and managed to make a cool R1 million in one year in 2009-2010 starting with only R50,000. Not bad for a 24 year old. It is very difficult to resist the temptation when looking at returns like that, but I'll wait until he pulls off that stunt a second time just to see how much beginners luck was actually involved.

Like any form of gambling, if you have some money lying around that you don't mind losing, it's as good a place to use it as any other....if you are willing to invest some time and effort in it.

Did your friend manage to make another R1 million? Or was the first R1 million he made beginner's luck?

[SAFX Investments]

Hi guys , just came across this post.

I have been trading forex for quite some time and there are a few things everyone should know before going into this market.

1. It's not easy, there is a lot you have to learn before putting a cent into this market.
2. It's not a get rich quick market, yes there are the odd person who makes a million from very little but for everyone of them there are a thousand who lose everything.
3. It's not cheap. Forex training is extremely expensive and the capital you need to trade effectively is the same as you would need to buy a decent established business.
4. Finding a product (trading system, education etc.) that is not a scam is very difficult, you would think that the more expensive the product the better, in this market nothing could be further from the truth.
5. It requires time. If you don't have time rather look for a managed forex account then trying to trade yourself whenever you get 5 minutes, this will let you lose your money very quickly.

Having said all this it's a wonderful market to be in once you reach a certain level, the thing to remember is it is not a game it is a business and should be taken seriously.
Hope this helps, not sure what the rules are about posting links on this forum as this is my first post but I would be happy to provide anyone with info to start off on the right foot should you be interested. There are a few really great FREE sites that will get you going - The first is babypips , they have a fantastic free forex trading course, check it out.

I hope this has been helpful.

-Timo

[Dave A]

not sure what the rules are about posting links on this forum as this is my first post

The advertising policy here should help guide you on that.

I would be happy to provide anyone with info to start off on the right foot should you be interested

Useful information is always appreciated. You've made a good start, Timo

[Nickolai Naydenov]

Trading currency and commodities is extremely risky as these stocks are extremely volatile. In my opinion you should be in front of a computer from en to close of the stock exchange and you have to sell out before close because you never know what will happen over night, you also have to know what's happening in the world, you have to study behavioral investing on top of everything else. You can make or lose big amounts of money in literally hours, but make no mistake this is no easy money, remember that nobody can predict the markets, some people are literally gambling. I'm not sure if any of you have seen a show on dstv where there are people from different backgrounds and jobs that trade on the market, for the last 2 years the people that won and made most money had no clue what they were doing, that shows this is gambling for them but it also shows that knowledgeable and educated(on the subject) people didn't do as well. I personally never trade commodities or forex, quick money can leave you broke!
I like investing in equties for long periods, I work on intrinsic value of a company, when share price drops at least under 6% of the intrinsic value I start buying, the moment goes over that margin I stop until the price has gone over it's share value, bear in mind that this process can take years. Of course fundamental analysis, behavioral investing, world economy and etc must also be taken into account.
Bottom line is, this will be a full time job and I believe I've given you some good points to consider before you jump into it.

[cejay]

Thank you all...Timo and Nick... for those useful information