Introduction to trading

Trading is very simple, but not easy at all. If that statement doesn’t make sense to you, you’ve probably heard of trading but don’t have much experience with it. Our educational project “The Trader’s Journey” aims to guide novice traders through everything they need to know, from the very basics and first steps in the markets to advanced topics with an emphasis on imparting practical experience. We won’t make any promises, trading is really simple, but your path to success in this business will not be easy and will require a lot of time and effort. It’s up to you how you approach it and if you are willing to do something for your success. Unfortunately, most people who try their luck in this industry started trading without dedicating their time to studying and therefore lost all their money right at the beginning. If you don’t want to belong to this group, you have come to the right place. Do you think you have what it takes to be a successful trader? Let’s find out!

As in any other industry, the basis of success in trading is an honest study of the basics, supported by the gradual acquisition of experience and the development of your skills and abilities. In this introductory section, we’ll show you what trading actually is, how and why to get started, what your prerequisites should be, and what you’ll need to learn before you can use specific strategies and apply them in the real market. We’ll cover a few basic terms from our glossary, and at the end you’ll try out a trade to get an idea of what trading actually involves.

What is trading?

The word ‘trading’ can have a fairly broad meaning, but essentially, it is the buying and selling of various financial assets to make a profit based on fluctuations in the prices of those assets. You can trade virtually any financial asset that has a financial value and as a trader you can then speculate on the rise or fall of that value. At the same time, you may have a myriad of financial assets at your disposal.

What Trading Involves?

Trading is about understanding and integrating several key areas. True mastery requires many hours of hard work. It is a very immersive activity that is a cycle of skill development, mental preparation and application of acquired knowledge. It also involves analysing results, looking for room for improvement, and correcting possible mistakes and shortcomings. If you want to become an active trader, it will be a never-ending process of learning and improving your skills with one goal, and that is consistency in attitude, in preparation, in daily routine and ideally, of course, in profitable trades.

Investing vs Trading

Many people confuse trading with investing, but there are some basic differences. The difference between trading and investing is, among other things, how you make a profit and whether or not you become the owner of the asset.

Where to Start?

If you’re like most people, you’re probably eager to open your first trade. We’ll get to that shortly to satisfy your curiosity. However, before diving into real trading, we recommend starting in a simulated environment to familiarise yourself properly and understand the essentials.

Before transitioning to real trading after studying our materials, practice with mock trading on a demo account. At Seafunded, we offer a demo account through our Seafunded trial account. Here, you can familiarize yourself with the trading platform, execute trades under real market conditions without risking your money, observe how the markets function, and gain insights into trading practices such as setting Stop Losses (the maximum acceptable loss per trade) and Take Profit levels (the desired profit).

In a demo account, you’ll also learn how to interpret charts and test basic strategies. Take your time—preparation in a demo account should not be underestimated.