Success within the stock market doesn’t happen accidentally. The media makes it seem easy to “buy low and sell high,” but trading stocks takes careful strategy, unending focus, and an eyes-on-the-prize mindset in order to really see the profits you want. 

Certain characteristics and qualities set you up to be a successful trader. They influence your decision-making and give you the mental flexibility to handle temporary setbacks without feeling like you want to give up.

Black Eagle Financial Group is a proprietary trading firm that offers a completely customizable way to grow as a trader. We offer competitive pricing, a support team that monitors changes, and routing options to keep your assets liquid. Our team assists traders all over the world, including Asia, South America, and Australia.

In a nutshell, we know what it takes to be a prosperous stock market trader. Continue reading for the top five notable qualities that make up a successful trader: 

1. Knowledge of Trading Strategies

Successful trading is a skill that takes time to develop. It may seem intuitive, but you don’t want to go into active trading without at least some sort of strategy in mind. If you do, you risk getting caught up in the rush of the stock market and making amateur mistakes. 

Take some time to form long-term and short-term plans, so you’re prepared no matter what happens to the stock market from day to day. You don’t necessarily need to stick to your pre-determined strategies at all times, but you should at least be aware of your options. Active traders typically employ these four main strategies:

• Scalping
• Day trading
• Swing trading
• Position trading

But some of the most successful traders develop their own avant-garde strategies that combine or expand upon the above methods. As you become a more experienced trader, you’ll learn which approaches work best for you. 

2. A Realistic View of the Stock Market

A successful trader knows that it takes time to build a portfolio that sees a growing profit margin. There’s no “magic” in the stock market; rather, being a prosperous trader involves a level of persistence, strategy, and dedication. 

If you go into trading with the assumption that you will make a ton of money right away, you will end up disappointed. Success in the stock market takes time and requires focus on strategy in order to make it worth the investment.

The stock market involves taking risks, but you must make sure they’re calculated risks. If the risk is more than you have to spare, wait it out until you find a trade that better suits your portfolio. Don’t assume that a risk you previously took that paid off will pay off every time. 

3. The Ability to Separate Your Emotions

It’s not uncommon for traders to develop an emotional attachment to a certain stock. When that happens, you may decide not to trade in hopes that things will turn around if you just hold out long enough. Or you may fall prey to the sunk cost fallacy, which makes you reluctant to abandon a stock because you’ve invested time and money into it. 

The stock market has no concern for your emotions. Hanging on to a stock when it plummets will only end up losing you money. If you can separate your emotions — one of the key habits of successful traders — you won’t fall victim to a loss because you can’t bear to let it go.

Try to maintain a constant, leveled response to trading throughout both wins and losses. Avoid letting frustration creep in and impact your trading decisions. If you feel yourself getting caught up in emotions, take a step back and return when you have a clearer head. 

4. The Inclination to Learn From Your Mistakes

Like with everything in life, you will make mistakes as you learn about the stock market. There is a lesson in every mistake, and the best traders know that. When you make a mistake, take a step back and look at the situation from an outsider’s perspective. 

Identify what went wrong and think about what you should have done instead. Ask yourself this question: Was it a mistake or a misfortune? Did I actually do something wrong, or did I just get unlucky? Distinguishing the two can help you understand what to do differently, if anything, moving forward. 

Successful investing involves taking risks, and sometimes those risks don’t pay off. That doesn’t mean you made a mistake in taking them. Instead, the mistake may have been in not fully understanding and accounting for the risk as part of your larger trading strategy. 

You can also learn from the mistakes of others. Read books written by successful traders where they discuss their own trading journeys and what they wish they had done differently as they climbed the ladder to success.

5. Up-to-Date Knowledge of World Events

The stock market doesn’t exist in a vacuum. Rather, world events can greatly impact the stock market. 

Staying informed of current events by watching the news or reading articles can help you learn how to predict when the market will shift. You can use that skill to your advantage and adjust your trading activity so you don’t experience a huge loss in a crash.

Successful traders can glean valuable insight even from small economic events. Often, these events spark chain reactions that ultimately do influence the stock market on a larger scale. Knowing how to connect the dots between a small event and its ultimate effect on your trading strategy can help you predict changes in the market and stay ahead of the curve. 

Varying your news sources is also an important step in maintaining a broad awareness of world events. Don’t just look to the mainstream news outlets; instead, search for unbiased news sources, attend financial events and conferences, and read market commentary.  

Embrace the Top Qualities of a Successful Trader

It takes a certain set of qualities to see success as a stock market trader. Success requires more than a large trading capital to start off with. It takes patience to study stock market trends and to develop your own strategies. 

An interest in world events will help you anticipate changes. Being able to separate your emotions from your trading activities will help you maintain a level head and focus on the wisest trading decisions – not the ones that feel best at the time. 

Black Eagle Financial Group offers a mentorship program to help you grow from a stock market novice to a successful trader. Reach out by filling out our online form or by calling toll-free at 1-833-BL-EAGLE (253-2453).