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What's a good capital to invest in trading?

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  • What's the right starting capital for trading?
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  • First Post: Edited Apr 29, 2015 4:25am Mar 11, 2015 7:45am | Edited Apr 29, 2015 4:25am
There's a lot of confusion about this question.
Many brokers offering variables minimum deposits ranging from $ 100 or even $ 20.000.
Some trading sites (forex, futures, stock) say there's much difference between trading with a large account or small account, and it's best to start with large accounts with minumum deposit of $ 10.000 or $ 25.000.
Other sites say that it's much better to start with a small account and make it grow slowly with for example $ 1.000.
What's your opinion about it?
It's better with small account or large account?
And what's a good starting capital to invest in trading?

I have included a poll trying to put more options

For those who haven't yet done don't forget to vote the poll even if you don't agree with what you find written
Thanks
Quoting lucacol
There's a lot of confusion about this question. Many brokers offering variables minimum deposits ranging from $ 100 or even $ 20.000. Some trading sites (forex, futures, stock) say there's much difference between trading with a large account or small account, and it's best to start with large accounts with minumum deposit of $ 10.000 or $ 25.000. Other sites say that it's much better to start with a small account and make it grow slowly with for example $ 1.000. What's your opinion about it? It's better with small account or large account? And what's...
200 bucks. nothing more
i lose money for a living
Whatever you want, it's your money.
Quoting GDR3k
Whatever you want, it's your money.
Ok, but there's a big difference between $ 100 and $ 25,000 as starting capital.
Trading for fun and some little income= Money you can afford to loose.

For living income from trading= Same + $10000 or more.
Quoting GDR3k
Whatever you want, it's your money.
MT4/MT5 EAs/Indicators/Alerts coder
My vote is for 100k. Based on what I have seen with computer systems, with 50k you could do 5k a month and make a decent living. But I would rather have making 10k a month with a 100k account, then have some "leeway" built in there as well.

With my personal systems at 100k account size, it looks like 2k worst case risk per trade opportunity ("engineered" to hardly everis actually hit but still there to keep expectancy positive/ better), and if I cross the 17k point in any month, I'm just out. Yeah, that should be highly unlikely and all, but risk manager foremost right?

So I'd say to make a living and be comfortable with the risk, I'd favor 100k. And, when you do well with the 100k size, you can do really well. Read making 10-15% per month 10-15k and 180k a year. That is what I am working up to now. But yeah, I think that starting capital is hard to start with. Currently starting much smaller size and building up to that but I think it will take at least two years of pretty good execution (near perfect?) for me to build to half of that.

I'd argue that most are undercapitalized especially if they intend to make a living. Best way to lose money and suffer psychologically but just my two cents.
------------------
On a side note- with a smaller size, the process stays similar definitely but making a living seems to be crazy-pressure when you are under 100k.
Hi, I've change the title of this thread because I wanted to be more understandable
Whats more important is the source of that capital and how you trade. Capital cannot be wrong.
Quoting skillz16
My vote is for 100k. Based on what I have seen with computer systems, with 50k you could do 5k a month and make a decent living. But I would rather have making 10k a month with a 100k account, then have some "leeway" built in there as well. With my personal systems at 100k account size, it looks like 2k worst case risk per trade opportunity ("engineered" to hardly everis actually hit but still there to keep expectancy positive/ better), and if I cross the 17k point in any month, I'm just out. Yeah, that should be highly unlikely and all, but risk...
I agree with you
Undercapitalization a big issue.
Now it seems that it is fashionable to reach the million starting with little money
10-25K minimum if you're serious about this. Anything under that amount is great for beginners.
If you are not trying to make a living off of your profits right now, this is an interesting idea:
http://www.fxkeys.com/a-forex-tradin...ter-two-years/

xls sheet:
http://www.fxkeys.com/downloads/FxKeys-$1000-Forex-Plan.xls

Although I'm not trying to endorse this product or any FX product (just the idea). I might try my 100k stuff at 1/100th scale and start with 5k. the only bad thing about starting small is that your spreads and commissions are probably worse. I'd say it is realistic to make 10-15% a month (but I suppose it depends on your system).

*If I could do that with 10% return, I'd be looking at having the 100k account size sometime around the fourth year.
*If I could do that with 15% return, I'd look at having the needed 100k account size in the 3rd year.
These alone though involve huge battles and victories over yourself and human psychology (as everyone here knows).

I think my plan is going to be: build up to the 10,000 level, then build up to the 25,000 level, then go for 50,000. Hopefully I can get to 100,000 account size because then with my systems, my average expectancy seems to be 1,500 a day. I could not imagine making that!

But yeah, I think that building up like this is an interesting idea; If you believe the book market wizards, I think a lot of those people ended up starting this way.
Quoting VolTrader23
10-25K minimum if you're serious about this. Anything under that amount is great for beginners.
It's correct.
In my opinion are the very low minimum deposits that seduce people to deposit.
So is likely to become a slot machine.
An example: you deposit $ 100 and you lose them, then other deposits $ 100 and you lose them again, etc...
Finally, discover that they lost about $ 5,000.
Not accepting the loss seeking to recover and eventually lose even more.


Quoting skillz16
If you are not trying to make a living off of your profits right now, this is an interesting idea: http://www.fxkeys.com/a-forex-tradin...ter-two-years/ xls sheet: http://www.fxkeys.com/downloads/FxKeys-$1000-Forex-Plan.xls Although I'm not trying to endorse this product or any FX product (just the idea). I might try my 100k stuff at 1/100th scale and start with 5k. the only bad thing about starting small is that your spreads and commissions are probably worse. I'd say it is realistic to...
Among other things in my opinion is not necessarily a person must "trading for a living".
Trading can also be a second income with annual profits.
For example: 25% or 50% annual return is very good.
So $ 100 or $ 1,000 deposit with annual percentages become ridiculous amounts of money.


For those who haven't yet done don't forget to vote the poll even if you don't agree with what you find written
Thanks
I resume this discussion by adding this question:
According to your opinions, it's better high capital with low leverage or low capital and high leverage?
For your first account - the lower the better. You're going to blow it anyway, so it's better to waste $200 than $20,000.

In the beginning, it's hard to deal with stress and emotions after losing $20 (or winning $50). So you have to go step by step, learning how to manage $500 account before you jump into a swimming pool with sharks.

Forex is great because we are able to play micro accounts and learn how to trade before we invest some serious amounts.
Shift happens...
Quoting blackgeorge
For your first account - the lower the better. You're going to blow it anyway, so it's better to waste $200 than $20,000. In the beginning, it's hard to deal with stress and emotions after losing $20 (or winning $50). So you have to go step by step, learning how to manage $500 account before you jump into a swimming pool with sharks. Forex is great because we are able to play micro accounts and learn how to trade before we invest some serious amounts.
I agree with you.
I add that you need to start practice with a demo account (without exaggeration) before operating with real money
The more money the less is leverage and the less are risks. I think answer is obvious, more is better
Hi lucacol,

I think that it also depends on your margin requirements for your accepted drawdown which all depends on your trading system/style.
That means that it's just a matter of being correctly capitalized.

About the demo account, my opinion is that they should only serve to learn to trade, learn the platform you use and how your broker executes. Wasting more than a month on that is a waste of time, knowing that once that you trade with real money your emotions will be totally different than with demo dollars.

BT
Simplicity is the Ultimate Sophistication.
Quoting broketrader
Hi lucacol, I think that it also depends on your margin requirements for your accepted drawdown which all depends on your trading system/style. That means that it's just a matter of being correctly capitalized. About the demo account, my opinion is that they should only serve to learn to trade, learn the platform you use and how your broker executes. Wasting more than a month on that is a waste of time, knowing that once that you trade with real money your emotions will be totally different than with demo dollars. BT
I agree with you.
There are people who say that have never done trading using a demo account and have lost a bunch of money.
Then there are people who have always used a demo account without ever having tried with real money.
After some time, I would like to resume the discussion also in this thread, beacuse for me it's an underestimated topic.
There is someone else who would like to reply or vote the poll?
In this case too, I'm very curious!
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