"Any trading strategy combined with a fixed spread!" - Roman Ostapenko, IFC Markets

On a visit to ForTrader.org magazine Roman OstapenkoDirector for Russia of the company IFC Markets.

- Hello. Roman. How did it happen that you got acquainted with stock trading?

- Good afternoon, Julia. About ten years ago, on my way home, I often passed by a company that offered opportunities to trade in financial markets. One day I got an invitation to a training course, and I signed up and began attending lectures and practical classes. After the training I seriously started trading, was interested in everything - technical analysis and trading strategies, compared trading conditions of different brokers.

- Exchange trading is becoming more and more a part of our life - many people know about it or are holders of certain securities. In your opinion, why is speculation popular in Russia and the CIS countries now?

- Speculation has been attractive at all times. The desire to make money from changes in exchange rates has always been there, but with the development of market relations and modern technology it has become even more accessible to everyone. It is not necessary to have a lot of money to start trading. It is enough to have a few hundred dollars on an account. Some people trade in their free time as a hobby, and others have made it their purpose and way of earning.

- Which exchanges are of interest to you and why?

- I am most interested in OTC markets: currencies and derivatives, because in my opinion they are the most profitable and interesting for trading. I tried to trade on stock exchanges, financial derivatives are more dynamic and happen to require less paperwork in processing.

- What don't you like about the structure of exchange or OTC trading or would you like to change?

- One of the most significant problems on the Russian market today is the lack of market regulation derivatives and, in particular, the market. This creates the ground for all kinds of fraudulent schemes that discredit the entire sphere of financial derivatives trading in the eyes of traders. Such companies promise exorbitant bonuses in their advertisements, trying to attract clients at any cost. The solution to this problem can be the creation of a legal framework that will create a transparent, trusting relationship between the traders and the company.

- In your opinion, can anyone become a trader?

- As in any other business, I believe that with proper activity and a desire to improve, you can achieve great success in trading. I think that, as in any other business, I believe that with proper activity and a desire to improve, one can achieve great success in trading. I personally know quite a few people who, starting from scratch, have become very successful in this craft.

- What qualities should a trader have in order to become a professional?

First of all, psychological stability. When trading in the financial markets, it is necessary to follow the rules of trading systems precisely, and not to be tempted by momentary profit.
You also have to have a lot of patience to gain experience and develop a certain system of thinking, the ability to learn from your own and others' mistakes.

- Many people consider trading on the exchange market to be either a frivolous business or a scam. What do you have to say about it?

- There are as many people as there are opinions. The truth, as usual, is in the middle.

Trading on the stock exchange is an intellectual activity and requires quite serious knowledge. Decision-making is based on specific information coming from the world financial markets, as well as the macroeconomic situation in different countries. Of course, just like everywhere else, there are unscrupulous companies whose quality of services leaves much to be desired. That's why it is important to choose such a broker who guarantees the high quality of his services.

- In your opinion, what is the most common mistake traders make?

- It's the unbridled euphoria after the first profit. Everyone immediately begins to calculate how much they will earn in a year at this rate, and in half an hour they are already planning where they will fly their plane. The reality is tougher. The market does not forgive mistakes.

After the first noticeable loss, most newbies make the second mistake, in further trading they immediately close positions when they receive a minimum profit, sincerely believing that it is better to take at least a few points, and when getting into a losing zone, they wait till the last moment, hoping that the market will turn in their direction. Adhering to such tactics, traders get minimum profit and maximum loss, and, regardless of the trading strategy, in the long run have a negative mathematical expectation.

Surely many traders, after reading this text, will smile, recognizing themselves at the beginning of the path.

- Why traders should work with your company?

Today, only our company offers a unique opportunity to create an unlimited number of composite trading instruments: from simple pairs (e.g. XAU/SnP500 or EUR/NIKKEI225) to complex portfolio instruments (e.g. 10 XAU + 10.000EUR/10DJI + 10SnP500). Such opportunities are offered by our new product: PCI GeWorko.

For financial analysts, this product allows you to quickly and for free get information that is unique: for example, create a composite tool that will contain key assets of one region against another, and thus show correlations that are not visible when using standard tools.

The main objectives on which the company is focused, is the creation of the most qualitative conditions for trading, reducing the response time when making a transaction, and, due to this, the minimization of requotes, the lack of slippage and the reduction of spreads.

In combination with a fixed spread This allows you to successfully apply any trading strategies and get the planned result.

- I'm sure you've had some funny situations with clients in the course of your work. Without mentioning names, could you share one with us?

- Yes, there were a lot of funny cases, I can't remember them all. The first-time traders typed asterisks instead of a password and could not log on to the terminal; they asked where to move the mouse if they ran out of a rug. And the crowning question: "How is it possible to sell first and then buy? After all, as you know from the popular cartoon, "to sell something, you must first buy something!" (laughs)

- What would you advise newcomers to the exchange?

- Don't be afraid to move forward, tune in immediately to the initial losses, accept this fact as payment for studying the market. Dig into mountains of information and find exactly what will allow you to make the right decisions. Hide away emotions, nerves and fear. Only cold-blooded calculation, combined with quality service and tools will lead you to victory on this difficult, but very interesting market.