Topic: How To Invest

Q: Would you please give us your opinion about FOREX trading. Thank you very much.

Article Excerpt

A: Dealing in foreign currency futures or options can make sense for a business that is forced to take on unacceptable currency risk. Futures or options let the business pass off that risk to speculators who wish to accept it. That’s the textbook explanation for the existence of futures or options. Textbooks often fail to mention that most speculators who succumb to the lure of futures and options trading wind up losing money. It doesn’t matter if they trade foreign exchange, or a traditional commodity such as wheat or copper. Most wind up losing. Suppose an investor starts out with the intention of trading FOREX or pretty much anything else. For safety’s sake, the investor may decide to lose no more than, say, $15,000. After a few months of trading, investors will typically have broken even on their trading activity—ignoring the commissions they’ve paid. But if you count commissions, which obviously must be paid, the investor will have lost about $15,000. In other…