Today, it's easy for investors to trade in items such as stocks, ETFs, options and more. What’s needed to get started is an online broker with a strong trading platform, starting capital and a trading account. This ease, however, doesn't necessarily translate into success. Instead, cultivate the following skills to help you reach your goals more easily and quickly.

1. Management

Effectively managing your trades begins with the creation of a plan. Some aspects that this plan might include could be the approach you want to take regarding the market, what you want to trade, the risks you're willing to accept and other details about your experience.

2. Research

 Research is a vital skill for any successful trader to have. With the rapid changes that the economy can undergo in a short amount of time, it's vital that you hone your research skills. Doing so provides you with the foundation needed to become a better trader.

3. Record Keeping

Thorough record-keeping is vital in order to help successful traders develop patterns. By recording the results of each trade, it becomes easier to improve your investment strategy. If you aren't keeping accurate records regarding your results, it can be difficult to determine if you're progressing the way you want.

4. Analysis

There are two primary camps when it comes to analysis:fundamental analysis and technical analysis. Fundamental analysis looks at trading's big picture perspective. Factors such as market expectations, announcements and macroeconomic changes assist you in analyzing stocks from a fundamental point of view.

Technical analysis, on the other hand, focuses on the shift in market trends, understanding what's happening in the market and comprehending trading sentiments and volumes. When taken together, fundamental analysis and technical analysis can provide a more complete picture of the market.

5. Focus

The skill of focus -- like many of the others noted here -- tends to increase the more you use it. Today, there is an overload of financial information available. In order to be successful and effective as a trader, you need to know how to find the kind of data that's both important to you as a trader and actionable.

6. Self-Control

Being able to exercise self-control is a skill that all successful traders have mastered. It's easy to get caught up in the emotional side of trading - especially when it comes to trading to managing both losses and risks. However, staying true to your trading strategy helps ensure that you lose only a small amount during bad trades while experiencing significant gains during good trades.

7. Discipline

Set up a trading routine, and follow it each day. It may consist of pre-market analysis and trading in major market hours.  You may also choose to focus your trading on the market opening and close. Whatever strategy you choose, it’s important to be consistent and take it day by day.

8. Don’t Chase the Markets

You need to patiently wait for your trading set-up.  It’s easy to get caught up in the excitement of the moment and chase the ‘high flying’ stocks for the day. But it’s important to not get caught up in the herd mentality – this rarely works. The markets are like a shadow – if you run after it, you’ll never catch it. If you stand still, it will eventually embrace you.

9. Patience

A slow market can make it easy for you to become impatient. However, opening new trades for the sake of seeing where they might go is likely to be fruitless. Instead, by monitoring the market, you see how your choices develop into long-term profits.

10. Always Have an Exit Strategy

It’s important to continuously manage your risk on a daily basis, and to always have an exit strategy to get out of a position that’s moving against you.  You may want to consider strategies such as placing limit order (and you can keep it in long-term as a good til cancel, or GTC order), stop orders, trailing stop orders, or placing option trades that allow you hedge your existing stock positions or take advantage of a volatile market.

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