Whether you’re a beginner trader or an experienced one, trading styles rarely change. There are numerous trading styles traders use, and no trader sticks to one trading style. Switching trading styles every now and then means diversifying tactics to ensure the investor’s portfolio’s health.
Such is the reason why swing trading is fundamental to learn amongst traders. Experienced traders know the importance of swing trading, while newbies try to emulate it by cutting corners. Swing trading can be beneficial for short-term price swings and on medium-term assets too. In this article, we break down swing trading for beginners:
Swing Trading: An Overview
What is swing trading? Swing trading is a trading style that’s used to capture short- and medium-term gains both in stock and assets, as well as other financial instruments over a predetermined amount of time. This allotted time usually ranges from a few days to several weeks. Swing traders typically use this tactic for a specific purpose, mainly to gain market advantages.
To say that swing trading is a strategy or a tactic is misguided. For all intents and purposes, it’s a trading style where strategies are spawned from. The philosophy behind it is based on maximizing a trader’s success through his skills, intuition, and discipline. Swing trading is not a fool-proof trading style. This is the first mistake neophyte traders make. When you want to be successful in using swing trading, you need to put in the required work.
To generalize the approach of swing trading is to degrade it into a seasonal tactic. Although it’s true that swing trading only takes advantage of short time frames, it is a trading style that can be used for any investment. Assets like stock, forex pairs, even cryptocurrencies are susceptible to swing trading when done correctly. Broader trends tend to favor the style as well, which most entry-level investors miss.
Why Do You Need Swing Trading?
Swing trading is essential for traders because it creates benefits from trends, which, in turn, helps the trader gain more footing on their investments. Catching the maximum benefits from a sudden upswing helps in strengthening assets. This starts by leaving a position overnight, then checking on it every now and then for an allotted time until future downswing predictions become apparent.
Every trader needs to swing trade instead of day trade because it’s more beneficial in the long-run. While day traders generally have more stress and have excellent footing most of the time, success rate doesn’t guarantee much. Instead, a trader only gets smaller trends in the same period. As a result, a trader may find himself trading against the trend more often than on its gaining side.
Over the years, many verified statistics have proven that day trading isn’t beneficial for long-term investments. While considered more challenging, swing trading does create a more balanced approach to safeguarding existing assets. Word of caution, though: swing trading also exposes the trader to overnight risks. Leaving a position for a short amount of time only works when the specific trend is on the upswing.
How Does It Work?
Swing trading takes profit utilizing to a whole new level through short bursts of time, leveraging on an established risk and reward ratio. The primary purpose of swing trading is to capture a price hike. As an asset changes value, the rise of the potential price increase can provide a generous chunk of profit. It is up to the trader what assets to invest in.
Volatile stocks usually produce more movement, while some stocks are more conservative. There’s a difference, but when using swing trading, the important thing to note is to identify which stock will move prices next. This intuition will come with experience for most traders, but it can also be gleaned with proper knowledge and research.
This is why neophyte traders need to do their due diligence in identifying healthy and robust stocks among those that tend to skew on the conservative side. Look for the upswing trend, then capitalize on it. Technical analysis is fundamental, and it will do you good to review basic and advanced techniques to facilitate it.
The Cryptocurrency Connection
Cryptocurrencies are all the rage these days. There are at least 3,000 different kinds of cryptocurrencies as of writing, one not better than the other. Bitcoin is the most popular and is the most integrated in terms of mass adoption and usage. Swing trading and cryptocurrencies meld well in particular because Bitcoin is inherently volatile.
Swing trading is heavily used for Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. Holding one position for Bitcoin, like what’s previously mentioned, whether it’s on the upswing or downswing, can significantly affect a trader’s investment portfolio. The risk is high, but the reward will speak for itself.
Reversal trading is one of the strategies that’s employed from swing trading, and it greatly emphasizes the need for traders to adjust. Retracement trading is used when short-term price changes don’t necessarily affect the bigger overarching arc of the trend. In the realm, retracement is used for minute changes in prices, like a mini pullback, which, ultimately, won’t affect the trader’s valuation. Distinguishing between a pullback and a full-on reversal is vital.
The Strategies You Need To Adhere To
With swing trading, you need to have your guard up and on the ready. Although less stressful in nature, swing trading can absorb overnight risks. Day trading is effective against this type of pullback, but when you use swing trading, expect to have a little loss here and there. Take note that every loss you take will affect your balance, so being proactive in withholding your position is paramount.
If done correctly, swing trading will give you strength gains and profits, which for the most part, is the end-all of investment trading. It also gives you more time for other aspects of your life. Adhering to the strategy of proactive holding will benefit you the most, especially if you’re a beginner.
Takeaway
There you have it. Swing trading can be a complicated topic, but if you read up on it and understand the intricacies of how it works, you can use it to your full advantage!
