It’s that time of the year again… For traders, it means doing a trading review. My top three tips for reviewing your trading practice are to focus on the process (you can’t control profitability), review your play-book and to recognise your achievements.

You don’t need special skills to be on a losing or winning trade. You do need to know your trading system’s win:loss rate, and you need to remember that you’re dealing with probabilities.

Markets run in cycles similar to weather patterns. But unlike weather patterns, we cannot predict how long it will last or when the next season will start. Nevertheless, there are patterns that indicate a greater likelihood that the season is beginning or ending).

A trading strategy typically focusses on a limited number of indicators and check points. But should your strategy confine you to particular investment/trading instruments?

Seasoned traders say that the worst time to start trading or investing is in a bull market. Why? Because a bull market makes you blind to the risk that comes with playing in financial markets. If you’re wondering what happened to the profits of 2021, there’s some consolation – you’re not alone.

When your trading system says ‘do nothing’ in a bear market, it might be more difficult than you’d think

ETFs are certainly tradable and in this article Njabulo Nsibande suggests they’re a great place for new traders to learn their skills.

When the market gets volatile and goes against the prevailing trend, it is either correcting and will resume its trajectory, or it’s changing direction. The question we tend to ask is which of the two is happening. But the question you should ask concerns your assumptions about your system’s response to both.

Having a trading plan is vital for success in trading and investment. Start with what you’re aiming for – that focus will help you avoid distraction, and identify the boundaries of what you look at and when you act.