Forex Digest

What is mean by hedging in forex trading. Plz explain. thanks

Most of the time when you hear this phrase it means that you are trying to reduce your risk in trading. It is something that everyone who plans to invest should know about. It is a technique that can protect your investments to some degree.

What Is It?

While hedging is a popular trading term, it is also one that seems a little mysterious. It is much like an insurance plan. When you hedge, you insure yourself in case a negative event may occur. This does not mean that when a negative event occurs you will come out of it completely unaffected. It only means that if you properly hedge yourself, you won’t experience a huge impact. Think of it like your auto insurance. You purchase it in case something bad happens. It does not prevent bad things from happening, but if they do, you are able to recover a lot better than if you were uninsured.

Anyone who is involved in trading can learn to hedge. From huge corporations to small individual investors, hedging is something that is widely practiced. The manner in which they do this involves using market instruments to offset the risk of any negative movement in price. The easiest way to do this is to hedge an investment with another investment. For example, the way most people would deal with this is to invest in two different things with negative correlations.

This is still costly to some people; however, the protection you get from doing this is well worth the cost most of the time. When you begin learning more about hedging, you start to understand why not many people completely know what it is all about. The techniques used to hedge are done by using derivatives. These are complicated instruments of finance and most often only used by seasoned investors.

Is There A Downside To Hedging?

When you decide to hedge, you must remember that it comes with a cost. You should always be sure that the benefits you get from a hedge should be more than enough to make it worth your while. You should make sure the expense is justified. If it is not, then you should not hedge. The goal of hedging is not to make money. You will not make large gains by hedging yourself. You have to take some risks in order to gain. Hedging is intended to be used to protect your losses.

The loss cannot be avoided, but the hedge can offer a little comfort. However, even if nothing negative happens, you will still have to pay for the hedge. Unlike insurance, you are never compensated for your hedge. Things can go wrong with hedging and it may not always protect you as you think it will.

Should I Hedge?

Keep in mind that most investors never hedge in their entire trading careers. Short-term fluctuation is something that the majority of investors do not worry with. Therefore, hedging can be pointless. Even if you choose not to hedge however, learning about the technique is a great way to understand the market a bit more. You will see large corporations and other large traders use this and may be confused at why they are acting this way. When you know more about hedging you can fully understand their strategies.


Whether you decide to use hedging to your advantage or not, you will benefit from learning more about it. You can use it like an insurance policy when trading. You should remember however that hedging can be costly. Always check to make sure the costs of hedging will not run against any profits you may or may not make. Be sure those costs are realistic and that your need for hedging is realistic as well. You will be able to use hedging to help cut your potential losses, however hedging will never guard against the negatives altogether. Learning about it will give you a better understanding at how large traders work the system however, which can in turn make you a better player in the trading game.


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2008-05-01 03:33:08 by rinku garg

I made a hedged trade today on the EUR/USD currency pair. I was able to get 60 Pips Long, which was a $1200 profit at 2 lots. The Short trade ...

you could but you stand to lose a LOT more. and the Franc still exists? I thought it went to Euro.

2007-03-04 21:10:22 by Joel

I am a private Forex trader who wants to expand into a small online hedge fund. Note: This is not code for a pyramid scheme or ponzi scheme. I am talking about trading real money.

What is the legality on this? How much money can I trade before having to register with U.S. Securities?

You can have any kind of hedge fund you want.

The key is you need certain registration, the right fund docs, the right corporate structure, and the right legal advice which can cost you $10-50,000 in total depending on your structure.

The hardest part is you will have to find qualified investors who are willing to invest with you.

2009-01-20 09:21:37 by MercedesGuy300

There are Forex options, but you are delving into a complex and dangerous world of unknowns too difficult to explain here.

A hedging strategy is essentially a method to reduce risk. Have you considered other strategies to reduce risk, that don't cost you anything or open new positions or cause greater overhead and more maintenance?

One such strategy involves not leveraging a futures position to begin with. I trade Forex and other futures for living, and rarely do I see people that understand fully the significance of leverage.

You can buy $100,000 worth of currency with $1,000 margin in a standard account. This would be the purchase of one standard lot, at 100:1 leverage. Or you can get 200:1 leverage in a mini account. Wo, how much trouble can we get into now?

Just because you "can" doesn't mean you "should" trade with this kind of leverage. Trading stocks with 2:1 leverage is considered risky.

What most people don't seem to realize, is that you don't have to trade with leverage at all. Just put $100,00 in your account, buy one lot, and you have zero leverage. Or put $10,000 into a mini account and buy one mini-lot, or $1000 and buy one micro-lot.

You can see that by controlling leverage, trading the Forex doesn't have to be any more risky than trading stocks or any other investment.

The same holds true with all or any futures contract. You decide how much leverage to use, and how much risk to accept.

You can accept the maximum leverage like most people looking to "get rich quick," and blow out like 80%-90% of all traders, or you can play it smart and ease into it slowly, starting with a simulator while you're learning, probably for at least six months.

There is no need to hedge a currency position any more than there is any need to hedge a stock position, if you control the leverage.

2006-09-20 05:07:46 by Inquisitive

If I were to trade USD/GBR on forex market, what sort of hedge would I use to reduce my level of risk? Ie would I buy other currencies at the same time, or use forward contracts / future contracts or even options. Which is the most common and effective.

Thanks

One of the greatest things about Forex trading is that it is so risky and oh so rewarding!! We especially like it because of the uncertainty surrounding the market movements. That's why the majority of us don't use "hedge" trades or safety nets, except for stop loss orders. This gives you greater freedom of movement and more rewards on the upper movement. For example, when your trade goes up a few pips, your reward is that much greater because you have allowed room for your trade to breathe or grow. If it goes down, you are limited in your loss because of the stop loss order you have in place. This is how the game is supposed to be played. If you are concerning about losing your life savings, you are investing money you didn't have in the first place and should find saver investments.

2008-08-29 10:43:11 by arvarma