Summer vacation is upon us, and if you're anything like me, you probably feel conflicted between the call of the great outdoors and the desire to remain tethered to your computer as you search for a profitable trade. Fortunately, one of the most popular advances in trading technology over the last couple of years has been the advent of mobile trading. The ability to check your positions and adjust them while on the go has made the market accessible in ways that were only dreamt of a few short years ago.
The real question is whether or not mobile Forex trading is actually beneficial for traders. The truth is that it really depends on the trader you ask. There are various types of traders, and each will need a different type of trading experience in order to be successful in their trading efforts.
One of the most common problems that many traders have with the mobile platforms is speed. Because of this, it is financial suicide to try and scalp the markets with large positions via your smartphone. The connections are reliable, but are simply not as fast as a desktop computer. The technology isn't quite to that point. Because of this, a scalper simply won't find the mobile platform that helpful.
However, not everyone needs massive amounts of speed in order to make money. A swing trader that holds onto positions for several days might find the platform perfectly acceptable as the slippage of a pip or two isn't going to make much of a difference on the trade. When you are aiming for several hundred pips, losing one or two simply won't matter that much in the end.
What I have found over time is that the mobile charting leaves a little bit to be desired. This makes sense as the screen is much smaller than my duel 21 inch monitors at home. The fact is that you will have some difficultly looking at the big picture because of it. However, not all is lost as I have found the mobile platform I use, MetaTrader 4 Mobile, to be quite useful for monitoring the market.
If I have already placed a trade at home, there is certainly nothing wrong with the platform. I can check my position for its P&L, whether or not I am in trouble or coming out ahead, or my favorite – whether or not I should move my stops up because I want to lock in profits! For these kinds of things, the platform is perfectly acceptable.
Notice how I didn't mention placing a trade. This is because I generally know what levels matter in my existing trade when I am out and about. Because of this – the charting isn't as important, and neither is speed. For example, I might know that when USD/CAD gets to 0.9900, I want to move my stop loss to 1.0020 in order to protect my profits. I check my mobile platform and make the decision whether or not it is time to lock in profits based upon price. For these types of things – these platforms are great. As far as taking the place of a desktop computer, we are quite a ways from that it appears. But then again, I remember when BetaMax video tapes were all the rage! It certainly is only a matter of time for this sector of trading to become the norm.