Dislikedso what is a realistic target for you?
realistic risk?
how much of a monthly move can you realistically capture?Ignored
Here is my thinking on the topics you've brought up. I don't want to sound like a big-time trader or like I have all the answers, but here goes.
I think of ROI as a measure of how my strategy works in the market and how well I execute my strategy. I don't have a target that I try to reach each week or month, but I do carefully manage and target risk. I spend a lot of time analyzing the market for both risk and risks. IMHO, traders tend to only view risk as a possible stop loss level, when in fact there is much more to it than that (e.g., measuring the likelyhood that the stop loss will be reached, id'ing possble hurdles in getting to targets, etc). At the same time, I look at the possibility that the reward side can and will be reached. A trader needs to know why their targets are reached or they're just guessing.
IMHO, risk is the key, and finding trades where you are risking a little to get a lot is the roll of TA. Finding the places where there is an unencumbered path to profit targets is also important (actually, id'ing the places where the market is probably going to pause or retrace as it moves to targets is critical), as is being willing to continue to put money at risk (as previous trades go to B/E or are in profit) as PA unfolds.
Just to put this into perspective, I trade each day with a group that includes about 6 top traders who capture a net 400-800 pips per week (I don't achieve that level but my strategy is different from theirs), risking no more than 1%-2% per trade, and where the average stop loss is less than 30 pips, and often less than 20. The distinguishing factor in this group is the conviction in our TA once PA proves we're on track, at which point holding on to trades (and adding to positions) to targets while managing risk exposure become job #1.
I am not sure how much of a monthly move you can capture, because I've never looked at that. I think it's safe to say, however, that if the market moves 100 pips tomorrow, it will move more than that when you count retracements, etc, so you should have an opportunity to get a lot of that move.
One thought on money: when trading I don't think about money as much as I do about pips. I calculate the amount of money needed to keep the risk per trade at 1%-2%, but after that I focus only on pips and targets. I can't manage the money after a trade is in, I can only manage my strategy execution.