A lesson from Palm Jumeirah
Starting on any new venture requires good foundations. This point was brought vividly home to me reflecting on a trip I took to Dubai where I was taking a two day intensive course for beginner traders. The hotel I stayed in was based on the 'palm'. The Palm Jumeirah is a huge man made Island that was reclaimed by engineers from the sea. The construction was an incredible feat and, with the help of some Dutch engineers, they got the island constructed where there was only previously the sea. Now I realise that there has been some ecological issues regarding the construction of the Palm, but the simple point struck me as I was teaching was that we were only able to be there because of firm foundations.
I started the course explaining the importance of fundamental analysis because this is what mainly drives the currency markets. It is very important to start with fundamental analysis because many of the resources online for beginning retail traders involves focusing purely on technical analysis. Technical analysis is , in one sense, easy to teach online. However, fundamental analysis is often ignored by beginner traders as they hear things like 'the news is already factored into the price' or the 'fundamentals don't make sense', so you are best off to avoid them. In the early years of my trading journey I followed this kind of teaching from a self proclaimed trading expert. One of my great satisfactions I get now is when I see a 'good' technical set-up that I know will most likely fail in advance because the market fundamentals are against it.
So, if you have just started out trading and you are testing the waters so to speak please ensure you start by dedicating to learn about fundamental analysis. In doing so, you are placing down a firm foundation to build a solid trading career/investment strategy. Remember, if a hotel can be built where there was only sea before, a good foundation can make for the best buildings in the unlikeliest of places. By visiting and absorbing the work of the great analysts who work here; Adam, Eamonn, Greg and Justin , you will get a leg up in making sense of what can be a daunting flow of data.
