Is anyone here an institutional trader?
- #542
- Edited 2:19pm Aug 24, 2014 12:11pm | Edited 2:19pm
- Joined Oct 2007 | Status: Former institutional dogsbody | 1,253 Posts
I see that liquid (Eur/Usd etc) pairs have very small price movements (20-50 points/day), compared to less liquid pairs like Usd/Mxn (100-300/day), now does this mean that once a lot of people begin to trade a pair (increasing its liquidity by my understanding) its price range/day (pip/day) subsequently become lower?
No. The answer is actually "not necessarily". But I prefer "no".
If price is ranging sideways, it just means there's enough buying power to keep price supported, and concurrently there's also enough selling power to keep price subdued.
Size of market and/or "popularity" of a pair is a factor, but in my opinion, it's not a deal-breaker.
By the way, my definition of liquidity is the following: If I can get out of my position at current market prices without requotes, then as far as I am concerned, that market is liquid. No ifs and buts.
Naturally some will disagree.
But as per my sig, convincing these people is not my bread and butter, and I don't really care if I am wrong. Arguments on semantics never put food on anybody's table. 
I'm not trying to convince anyone. I'm not in the "convincing" business.
- #543
- Aug 25, 2014 4:22am Aug 25, 2014 4:22am
- Joined May 2011 | Status: Trader | 1,374 Posts
{quote} Yes, if I let it. Otherwise, I stop myself out early. {quote} There are all kinds.
Do Institutional Traders care about high impact news ?
Does the news affect to the Institutional Traders trade ?
Every move/swing in the market is done by Institutional Trader ? Or they Jump in the market only for specific time and level ?
-milkeyway
- #544
- Aug 25, 2014 5:38am Aug 25, 2014 5:38am
Why big players need liquidity of retailers which only 2% of fx market? All partipicants of market is here cause of hedge, speculate,currency intervention...Can you trade against big players (CB?) if you see their limit orders? Can you handle the effect of big order on market? Thanks for answers 
- #545
- Aug 25, 2014 7:07pm Aug 25, 2014 7:07pm
- Joined Oct 2007 | Status: Former institutional dogsbody | 1,253 Posts
I'm not trying to convince anyone. I'm not in the "convincing" business.
- #547
- Sep 9, 2014 7:59am Sep 9, 2014 7:59am
- Joined Apr 2006 | Status: Metatrader Programmer | 1,422 Posts
The trigger in my system which is a trend trading system so not a day trading strategy is not based on the positions hold by private parties ( it could be ).
But as long as private parties are in their majority long for example i am very comfortable with the position and it has been the case since 1.36 .
I remain short , technically its short
Fundamentaly its short
Private traders are long
So Short is the place to be .
Private traders love to be against the trend , when they are right , often for 20 pips it gives them a sentiment of power . It is of course only a sentiment because usually they fail
).But as long as private parties are in their majority long for example i am very comfortable with the position and it has been the case since 1.36 .
I remain short , technically its short
Fundamentaly its short
Private traders are long
So Short is the place to be .
Private traders love to be against the trend , when they are right , often for 20 pips
it gives them a sentiment of power . It is of course only a sentiment because usually they fail
- #549
- Sep 10, 2014 9:39am Sep 10, 2014 9:39am
- Joined Apr 2006 | Status: Metatrader Programmer | 1,422 Posts
The trigger in my system which is a trend trading system so not a day trading strategy is not based on the positions hold by private parties ( it could be
- #551
- Sep 13, 2014 2:47pm Sep 13, 2014 2:47pm
- Joined Jul 2012 | Status: CME seat owner | 6,134 Posts
Be hopeful in a winning position, and fearful in a losing position.
- #553
- Oct 12, 2014 11:29am Oct 12, 2014 11:29am
- Joined Oct 2007 | Status: Former institutional dogsbody | 1,253 Posts
where do you see Retail Forex in the next say 6 -12 years? Will it grow or decline and why?
This is just like when my former analyst colleagues poll me for my long-term currency outlooks and I give them some levels just get them out of my hair. I could give you a figure, but that would dishonest, and I'd like to think I've repented from my disingenuous interbank trader behavior of recent past!
Will it grow or decline? Dunno but I really hope it doesn't decline! I'd hate it if the only market left to trade was equities...
Can we expect Governments/regulatory bodies to imposes rules in the future which may spoil it for the rest of us...
what kind of changes could these be?
Anything's possible.
I'm not trying to convince anyone. I'm not in the "convincing" business.
- #555
- Edited 7:00pm Oct 20, 2014 12:18pm | Edited 7:00pm
- Joined Oct 2007 | Status: Former institutional dogsbody | 1,253 Posts
@skenobi You mentioned something about learning new insights from uncorrupted bad habits of IT guys. What would be some of those bad habits if you don't mind?
You must be referring to this post and/or this post.
I'm referring to the following bad habits that institutional traders have:
1. relying too much on customer flow (which is another way of saying relying too much on the bid/offer market maker spread)
2. relying too much on ORDER FLOW INFORMATION so much so that they think they can't trade without it. (sound familiar?
)3. thinking they can't do without over-priced Reuters or Bloomberg terminals.
4. (I think there are other minor ones but the above are the killer habits.)
The above "habits" are not THAT bad if you're planning on living and dying in that industry. But if you leave that line of work to trade on your own while being saddled by the above useless baggage, you won't last long as a retail trader. This is from my own observation of other former bank traders who tried to do what I've done.
The ones that made it were the ones who could wean themselves off of these crutches in time (more often than not, by proper application of price action methods), and the ones who crashed and burned (and eventually had to go back to the industry hat in hand) were the nancy boys who were too lazy to learn price action from the old-timer institutionals who knew better.
I'm not trying to convince anyone. I'm not in the "convincing" business.
- #557
- Oct 20, 2014 4:36pm Oct 20, 2014 4:36pm
I have been gone from Forexfactory for awhile and come back to a nice thread like this. Thanks skenobi for your comments.
During my time away, I learned to be a pure S/R trader. I trade WTI mainly. Very volatile and it reacts nicely to my S/R lines. And my S/R lines are nothing more than the 'magic' numbers that the market re-uses again and again. I draw them in once and leave them there indefinitely. The market really does use the same numbers year after year.
Here is my WTI chart from today. The S/R lines where all drawn in ahead of time.
The price loves to hang out, start, stop, and return to those lines.
Market the interesting areas
During my time away, I learned to be a pure S/R trader. I trade WTI mainly. Very volatile and it reacts nicely to my S/R lines. And my S/R lines are nothing more than the 'magic' numbers that the market re-uses again and again. I draw them in once and leave them there indefinitely. The market really does use the same numbers year after year.
Here is my WTI chart from today. The S/R lines where all drawn in ahead of time.
The price loves to hang out, start, stop, and return to those lines.
Market the interesting areas
- #559
- Oct 21, 2014 3:16am Oct 21, 2014 3:16am
- Joined Oct 2007 | Status: Former institutional dogsbody | 1,253 Posts
{quote} Skenobi... How you use 'Leverage' ? In average maybe... How big?
As a private trader? I have access to more, but I always assume a leverage of 100:1.
What kind of MM you applied? Fixed fractional or Fixed ratio..? Thanks -RR-
My TP is the next 1 or 2 S/R levels, and my stop loss (and half the time I don't even use stop loss orders) is 1 or 2 S/R levels in the other direction. If it means that sometimes my risk:reward ratio is more than 1, then so be it.
Party-pooping naysayers will say that's not very smart. But they can rest easy, because (as my sig below implies), I'm not trying to convince anybody.
I'm not trying to convince anyone. I'm not in the "convincing" business.
