(Index) funds and ETFs – THIS is what you need to know!

Popular investment strategies Active investing is the buying and selling of securities in the short term in order to profit from short-term price fluctuations in the stock market . The mentality associated with an active investment strategy differs from the long-term, buy-and-hold strategy that passive investors often employ. Active investors believe that by using short-term trends in the market, large profits can be made. There are several methods to implement an active investment strategy, each with its own appropriate market environment and risks that arise from the strategy. Here are the four most common active investment strategies and the costs of each strategy. *Plus500 is not suitable for inexperienced investors and ‘scalping’ is not allowed. Day trading Day trading is probably the most well-known active investment strategy. It is often seen as another name for active investing as a whole. Day trading, as the name suggests, is the method of buying and selling securities within the same day. Positions are closed on the same trading day they are opened, and are never held when the markets close. Day trading is normally only done by professional traders, such as specialists or market makers. However, with the advent of electronic trading, day trading is now also possible for novice investors. Position trading Position trading is considered by some to be a buy-and-hold strategy rather than active investing. However, when executed by an experienced investor, position trading can be a form of active investing. Position trading uses longer-term prices – this can be anything from daily to monthly data – in combination with other methods to determine the current trend of the market. Depending on the trends, these types of trades can last for days, weeks, or sometimes even longer. Trend traders look for successive “higher highs” or “lower highs” to determine the trend of a position. By riding the waves of these trends, trend traders attempt to profit from both rising and falling market prices. Trend traders therefore attempt to determine the direction of the market, but do not attempt to predict the price of instruments. Typically, trend traders jump in when the trend is identified and let go of their position when the trend disappears. This means that in periods of high market volatility, trading in trends becomes more difficult and the number of positions in them decreases. Swing Trading The moment a trend breaks is when swing traders jump in. At the end of a trend, there is usually some price volatility as the next trend emerges. Swing traders start buying and selling when that volatility occurs. Swing traders typically hold their positions for longer than a day, but for a shorter time than position traders. Often, swing traders create a set of trading rules based on technical analysis or fundamental research. These rules and algorithms are designed to determine when to buy and sell a security. While a swing trading algorithm does not have to predict the exact peaks and troughs of prices, it does require the market to move widely in one direction or another. Sideways markets or markets that remain at a certain level are risky for swing traders.  It is important to note that Plus500 does not offer hedging and swing trading. Scalping The investment strategy called scalping is one of the fastest strategies to be used by active investors. It involves investors profiting from various price differences caused by bid-ask spreads . This strategy works best by creating a spread by buying at the bid price and selling at the ask price, thus receiving the difference between the two prices. Scalpers hold their position for a very short time, which reduces the risk of scalping. In addition, scalpers do not try to profit from large swings or large trades. They try to take advantage of small fluctuations that occur frequently and thus make smaller trades more often. Because the profit per trade is small, scalpers look for liquid markets in order to increase the frequency of their trades. While swing traders look for markets where large, sudden fluctuations occur, scalpers look for quieter markets that are less sensitive to this in order to repeatedly profit from the same spreads. The Costs of Investment Strategies There is a reason why active investment strategies were first used by only professional traders. Besides the fact that a professional brokerage firm can reduce the cost of high frequency trades, it also ensures better execution of the trades. Lower commissions and better execution are two factors that improve the potential profits of the strategies. Typically, significant hardware and software purchases are required to successfully implement these strategies. Combined with the necessary real-time data, these costs may seem to make active investing very inaccessible to the individual investor, but it is not unattainable. This is why passive and indexed strategies that employ buy-and-hold methods can offer this at lower costs and also less tax in the case of potential profits.  However, passive strategies can never beat the market as they are often indexed to the general market. Active investors try to capture “alpha”, hoping that the profits they make from trading will be greater than the costs, in order to maintain a successful long-term strategy. If this is not successful, it is also possible to suffer greater losses. Getting started with an active investment strategy? Are you enthusiastic about active investing after reading this article and would you like to start? Then definitely check out our range of CFD brokers ! Because CFD brokers usually work with leverage, small price changes can cause large changes in the value of your portfolio. Pay close attention, CFDs usually involve greater risks. Therefore, read up on it and try out a demo account first if you have any doubts. Our reading tips for the novice investor

Forex Investing Strategies Forex (currency) is a subject that seems complicated to many people. In reality, forex is the same as other investments, if you don’t know much about it, it can be dangerous.  The good news for those looking for a forex strategy is that there are more than enough strategies for every investment horizon. Whether you are a long-term investor or someone who watches the market at all times looking for opportunities, as long as you are curious about forex strategies, you will find a strategy that suits you. Follow the daily or weekly trends A simple forex strategy is to follow the daily or weekly trends. Use the prices and charts to spot trends that seem well-founded and jump on them. A warning for this way of trading is that your trades may seem very small in relation to the prices, but in fact they could be hundreds of pips. This means you need to trade small. Be conservative in your allocation when you buy and allow your position to develop. Set a reasonable stop and plan a target. Beginners find this a simple strategy because you don’t have to constantly monitor the market, they can trade when they have time. Carry trade Carry trading is a method in which you buy and hold a currency that pays a high interest rate against a currency that has a low interest rate. You receive a daily rollover for the interest rate difference between the two currencies. The advantage of carry trading is that you receive income daily, even when your positions are not fluctuating. In addition, since most forex investments involve leverage, you get paid on the size of your trade, not the size of your capital.  The disadvantage of carry trading is that the interest rate differentials are often not that big compared to the risk you are taking. Furthermore, the currencies that are most suitable for carry trading are usually the currencies that react the most strongly to bad news about the global markets. In other words: as long as the economy is doing well, these currencies will continue to rise and pay out, but if things (unexpectedly) get worse, they will dive hard and fast. If your leverage ratio is too high, your account can quickly become a lot smaller. Day trading The Forex market is always moving. 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Although the most active trading moments in Forex are quite specific times, the market always makes small movements. Depending on what you want to invest in, you can choose the best moment. Most day trading strategies are based on technical analysis, which has its advantages. Since the Forex market is very technical, you can profit from this with a sharp eye and a good plan. Fundamental trading Some investors take a more old-fashioned approach to their investments. They prefer to invest in something they understand rather than signals that charts and prices give. For this cautious investor, fundamental forex trading is best suited. Fundamental trading is following the news in different countries and investing in the countries with strong economic trends compared to the others. This approach is quite simple as it focuses on the long term. The tricky part is learning to understand the economic reports and comparing them to other countries. Our reading tips for the novice investor