Alexandru's Trading Journey

Summary

This interview features Alexandro, a trader from the Republic of Moldova currently living in France and working full-time as an automotive engineer. He shares insights on his trading background, strategies, psychological approach, risk management, and experience trading both personal and proprietary (prop) accounts.

Background and Trading Experience

• Alexandro has been trading for four years, with one and a half years focused on Forex trading.
• He transitioned from stock trading to Forex because:
• • Forex allowed better applicability of his trading ideas and strategies.
  • Forex offers major currency pairs which are easier to monitor than numerous stocks.
• Currently, trading is a part-time activity, serving as a side income.

Trading Style and Strategy

• Primarily an intraday trader, previously a scalper but found scalping:
• • Energy-consuming
  • Inconsistent in results
• Currently working to evolve towards swing trading, aiming to hold trades for 1-3 days.
• Strategy relies heavily on market structure, specifically:
• • Horizontal support and resistance levels
  • Trend levels
  • Price action focus with minimal use of indicators.
• Occasionally uses:
• • Moving averages for trend confirmation.
  • Bollinger Bands as confluence.
• Prefers trading major currency pairs, especially:
• • GBP/USD (Cable) — his favorite pair
  • EUR/USD as another focus.
• Adheres to a personal rule to avoid overtrading the same pair for consecutive days; recently violated this by focusing too much on EUR/USD.

Psychological and Risk Management Insights

• Transitioned to trading a larger capital account (~$30,000), initially managing smaller personal capital.
• Adapted well psychologically to the increased capital, viewing it as a normal progression.
• Early challenges included:
• • Using full lot sizes, which was uncomfortable for risk control.
• Improved by switching to smaller lot sizes (e.g., 0.01 lots), enabling better risk management.
• Targeted a maximum risk of 1% per trade on capital.
• Took approximately five months to reach his first profit target.
• Identified that psychology and attitude were primary barriers to initial success, rather than market conditions or strategy flaws.
• Emphasizes that trading is a marathon, not a sprint; patience and continuous learning are essential.
• Advice for new traders:
• • Be curious and invest heavily in learning.
  • Understand market mechanics behind price movement, rather than predict price.
  • Manage emotions carefully and remain patient.

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Experience Trading with a Proprietary Firm

• This is Alexandro’s first experience trading with a prop firm.
• Trading a prop account helped him develop:
• • Greater discipline due to clear rules and risk parameters.
  • A sense of accountability toward capital that is not his own.
  • Better adherence to a trading plan, avoiding impulsive trades.
• Prop firm environment made him more conscious about:
• • When to close positions.
  • Avoiding trading during high-risk times (e.g., Fridays or news events).
• Views the prop firm as a partner, emphasizing mutual trust and responsibility.
• Finds that trading with a prop firm reduces the tendency to over-risk personal capital, which is common when trading alone.

Current Status and Outlook

• Started trading the $30,000 prop account about one week ago.
• Initial trades were profitable, with recent trades serving as learning experiences.
• Maintains confidence and patience, focusing on steady progress.
• Plans to continue refining his strategy, improving entries, and gradually incorporating swing trades.

Key Insights

Conclusion

Alexandro’s journey illustrates the transition from personal trading to professional prop trading, highlighting the importance of discipline, risk management, and psychological maturity. His approach centers on price action and market structure, enhanced with selective use of indicators for confirmation. Trading with a prop firm has brought greater accountability and structure to his trading, supporting his goal of sustainable profitability over time. His advice underscores that learning and patience are critical for success in trading.

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