The VeriteFX trading community is built around the concept of providing high-probability trade calls, real-time market forecasting and analysis, with a secondary focus on education and helping traders develop their own skills to be self-sufficient in the markets.
I didn't always do this for free and I could still charge to do it. Traders were paying $200 a month and many said they would pay $500 a month to be a member of our trading community. That's all well and good but after running a paid-subscription trading site for a few months I realized it's a terrible way to trade and I lost the taste for it even though the monthly profit potentials just from subscription-fees were a nice payday in addition to money made trading the markets.
Please note:
I have a complete trade log from when I was the head EUR/USD trader at the paid site. You can request a copy by email: moderator@veritefx.com.
My heart's not in that type of business model but I still want to help traders develop their own skills to be self-sufficient. Running a paid-subscription can be a trap and severely limits the ability of a trader like myself. Sometimes I like to move fast in the market while at other times I like to have the freedom to take a spontaneous vacation so I can come back to the market refreshed. When a trader runs a paid-subscription site they are a slave to their subscribers and that's not the lifestyle I care to lead.
I made a commitment to traders to build a community free from the burden of subscription-fees and one that incorporates the best aspects of a professional, live trading site combined with a source for profitable and straight-forward information and analysis on the EUR/USD and the financial markets as a whole.
That's what led to the VeriteFX community. As soon as I shared this vision with a few friends who are fellow traders they immediately stepped up to offer their skills, time, and energy to build a professional community for the serious-minded trader. The only thing I've done is put up the money to build the site which is nothing compared to the many hours kind-hearted folks have put in to make VeriteFX a reality.
Some will say this type of concept for a trading community is destined to fail and they could be right. I've already resigned myself to the fact it could be a disaster so I can focus on making it the best trading community without the fear of it failing on me. I put my heart and soul into everything I do and I'm nothing but optimistic and hopeful that VeriteFX will be a lasting success.
When I was head trader at the paid-subscription site I instituted a 100% money-back guarantee that said I either call 200-points or more in open and closed entries within the first ten trading days of the month or a trader could get a refund. There's no charge for membership here but it is our goal to maintain that consistency level.
I'm (David) the head EUR/USD trader. As far as how the actual trading goes, when my criteria lines up to show a high-probability trade on the EUR/USD I will put this trade call out to the members of VeriteFX via our chat room and SMS.
Strict risk and money management disciplines will remain at the forefront of my trading and this means stop losses will be taken on my trade calls should real-time conditions show a change in market direction against the call. Take-profit targets will be given and trade calls will be closed as they reach the profit target. Those traders that were members of the paid-subscription site I ran know my style is straightforward, logical, and easy to follow. You can ask them to verify if you like.
I look at every trade I take as a learning opportunity in addition to an opportunity to take something from the market. When I put out a trade call I'm happy to explain what I'm seeing in the market to take that trade. That's what our chat is for, to answer those types of questions so we can all use the market to teach us how to become more consistently profitable traders.
As far as education and trader development is concerned, I believe in making as much free information available as possible. I'm not claiming my stuff is any good but I want it free for the taking. We have a blog for daily analysis and updates and EUR/USD key levels in addition to whatever educational-type commentaries I decide to write. The educational element I intend to bring mostly revolves around market psychology and human behavior patterns and how to incorporate those underlying aspects of what moves markets to our daily trading.
Anybody claiming they have a priceless indicator to trade FX is an idiot in my opinion. Trading the market is simply picking a side to fight with and choosing that side based on how price is behaving and what that particular market's correlated variables are showing. Trading is fighting with the trend, trusting the price action, respecting support and resistance levels, and staying halfway clued in on geo-political events. Trading requires a lot of work and energy and is hardly the easiest job on the planet but its not complicated stuff when you break it down to the basics.
No matter what, the market will always be right. I don't believe a trader even needs to be a bull or a bear on what they're trading but it's a matter of fighting with the market and not against it. Those are just some of my own philosophies on how I view trading and approach the market.
Conal is the head trader handling calls on the EJ and GJ. All traders should recognize the extreme risk associated with trading highly volatile yen crosses that remain mostly ill-liquid in the retail FX market. Trade calls made on the EJ and GJ will only be made after a strict set of market criteria is met and all traders are expected to use proper money management disciplines like stop losses and take-profit targets.
Repeated price action patterns for the EUR/JPY and GBP/JPY will be one of the key elements used to determine a high-probability call on the yen crosses. No trade call is made without a considerable amount of energy used to determine the probability of the trade paying out a specific number of points within a specific timeframe.
If market conditions are choppy, confused, and erratic due to issues like ill-liquidity or the potential for surprise geo-political events, our criteria takes those factors into consideration in addition to the normal factors such as the price action of spot gold, crude, Treasuries, and the S&P 500 futures. There is a game plan for all trades called whether they turn negative or run into profit.
I have a few basic philosophies on trading I want to put in plain language so there are no misunderstandings about where I stand on the most common issues in trading.
Stop losses: I use stops. I do not condone the use of using physical stops set in a trade platform as it gives your broker the ability to see exactly where you're willing to take a bullet and die. I personally use mental stops when I trade.
Margin & leverage: Margin and leverage can be our friend or enemy, it all depends on how we use it. I prefer leverage of 200:1 and the ability to take a trade going opposite directions on the same pair if I need to. I encourage traders to use just one half of one percent used margin entries on their trades and to never let their usable margin get below the 92% level.
Hedging: I highly encourage all traders to avoid any situation requiring a hedge to protect usable margin and equity. I work hard not calling trades that put me in a situation where I have to take a hedge. Small losses are easy to manage and quick to recover from.
Reporting results: We don't play the game of basing pip-totals on lot sizes. Our result totals are based on how many pips we actually won or lost on the trade. For example, if we bought the EUR/USD at 1.3180 and it went to 1.3200 and we closed the trade out there for profit our results would show a total gain of 20 pips.
The final thing I want to mention will answer the question of how the site will fund itself. Membership to VeriteFX is 100% free and all features of the VeriteFX community are 100% free. No trader will ever be put under obligation to pay a subscription fee to utilize the VeriteFX community.
After consulting many different individuals I trust to give me wise counsel, we all agreed the best route to keep the community funded and growing is to discreetly accept donations from traders that feel like they received a good service from us.
We will put no trader under any obligation to contribute and I'm willing to fully fund this operation out of my own pocket for the foreseeable future to give it an honest try. If you use our trade calls and market analysis to make consistent profits and you feel like you want to give a little something back in return, there is a spot for you to donate to the VeriteFX community through PayPal. As consistent as we are with what we give we ask traders to be as consistent with what they contribute as this should lead to a prosperous community for all.
Any questions or comments can be directed to me at: moderator@veritefx.com.