Here’s how forex traders manage CFD risk smartly

In the world of finance, CFDs, or Contracts for Difference, are agreements which traders use to speculate on the asset’s price movement. They do not actually own the underlying asset. CFDs are leveraged products, meaning that you can control a larger position with a small initial deposit. Profits could be generated if the market moves in a favourable direction.

However, it is important to keep in mind that leverage may increase losses too, just as quickly as profits. So, although CFD trading is widely chosen by traders it comes with risks like unexpected volatility, use of excessive leverage that could increase losses and more.

To trade effectively over a long period of time, it’s about how big your profits are compared to your losses and not how often you profit. Every trade carries the risk of loss. Even experienced and professional traders lose sometimes. A streak of winning trades can still result in an overall loss if risk isn’t managed properly.

Par conséquent, il est très important de mettre en place une gestion des risques appropriée, car vous pouvez contrôler le niveau de risque que vous êtes prêt à prendre, comprendre combien vous pouvez vous permettre de perdre sur chaque transaction et prendre les mesures nécessaires pour vous protéger contre les événements importants du marché.

5 risks in CFD trading

Risque de marché

With CFDs you can make speculations on whether the price of an asset will increase or not. If you believe it will go up, you go long but if you believe it will go down, you go short. However, even experienced traders can go wrong.

Unexpected events, news or changes in policy may lead to the market suddenly moving. Since CFDs are sensitive to small changes in the market, a small move that goes against your trade may lead to losses. In such a case, you may need to pay some more money, also known as margin call or your trade might even be closed by your provider in case of a loss.

Liquidité et gaps

There are times when there aren’t enough buyers and sellers in the market making it difficult to close a trade at a good price. This could lead to additional losses. In markets that move fast, prices can also jump unexpectedly. This also known as gapping. Therefore, if your trade is not filled at the price you expected, you may lose more money than anticipated.

Effet de levier et volatilité

You can trade CFDs with leverage which means you can use a bigger amount of money to open a larger position. Depending on whether the market moves in your favour or against you, this could result in higher profits and losses.

Markets can also move sharply and without warning leading to sudden changes in prices caused by political events, natural disasters or major news. Like leverage, volatility can create trading opportunities, but it can also increase the risk of quick losses.

How to manage risk wisely

Utilisez la marge de manière appropriée

Lors de l’ouverture d’une transaction CFD, n’utilisez qu’une petite partie des fonds dont vous disposez comme marge. Essayez de ne pas mettre tout votre capital dans une seule position, mais conservez plutôt des fonds supplémentaires dans votre compte de trading pour compenser d’éventuelles pertes tant que votre position reste ouverte.

Utilisez des ordres stop-loss

A stop-loss order will help you minimise losses since you are choosing a price level at which your trade should close automatically if the market moves in the opposite direction. This can help in hedging against bigger losses.

You can use a stop-loss either when placing a trade or afterwards. Trailing stop losses are also offered by some brokers. These move with the market and secure profits.

Use CFDs for hedging purposes

Les CFD vous permettent de trader sur des prix en baisse. Par conséquent, vous pouvez les utiliser pour protéger vos positions. Par exemple, si vous anticipez une baisse à court terme de la valeur mais que vous détenez un portefeuille à long terme, vous pouvez ouvrir une position courte sur CFD.

Si le marché baisse, vos gains provenant de votre transaction CFD peuvent aider à couvrir les pertes de votre portefeuille. C’est comme avoir une assurance pour vos transactions.

Respectez votre plan de trading

Les émotions peuvent avoir un impact négatif sur votre trading, comme conserver des pertes plus longtemps que nécessaire. C’est pourquoi il est important d’avoir un plan de trading solide avec des règles claires. Entrez ou sortez d’une transaction en vous basant sur votre plan, plutôt que sur vos émotions telles que la peur ou la cupidité.

Familiarisez-vous avec le rapport Risque/Rendement

Skilled traders constantly weigh the possible gains against potential risks. This is referred to as risk/reward ratio. Aim to choose trades where the potential profit is greater than the potential loss.

Utilisez un portefeuille diversifié

Comme déjà mentionné, essayez de ne pas investir tout votre argent dans un seul instrument ou une seule transaction. Répartissez vos fonds entre différents types d’actifs, y compris le forex, les matières premières, les actions, les indices et plus encore. Cela peut réduire le risque global sans diminuer les rendements potentiels.

Maintenez les pertes à un faible niveau

Even the best traders experience losses sometimes, so the key to minimise those losses is never to risk more than 1% of your total capital on one trade. This way, a string of losing trades won’t harm your trading account.

Dernières réflexions

Losses are normal in trading irrespective of whether you are a professional or a beginner. Understanding risk and familiarising yourself with how to handle it, is an essential part of a trading journey. You can help manage losses while still having the chance to generate revenue if you use the proper risk management tools. Learning how to control and potentially limit risk can help you stay in the game longer while protecting your capital.

A major step of managing risk properly is understanding your trading strategy and working on it until you are confident enough. In CFD trading, risk management is vital because of leverage since it increases profits and losses as well. The latter may even be bigger than the original trade, especially in markets that move fast.

To help protect against risks, stop-loss orders are often used to automatically close a trade if the market goes in a certain direction. Traders can also use a variety of other tools offered by many brokers to manage CFD trading risk more efficiently.

These include educational materials to improve trading skills, an economic calendar to monitor market events as well as built-in risk tools like stop-loss orders. By using these tools, you can reduce your exposure to large losses while maintaining your potential for revenue. Risk management does not remove risk entirely. It helps traders stay in control and trade more confidently.

Si vous souhaitez approfondir vos connaissances en trading et renforcer votre gestion des risques, explorez la IronFX Academy pour accéder à des cours éducatifs gratuits, des analyses d’experts et des outils pratiques conçus pour vous aider à trader de manière plus intelligente et avec plus de confiance.

Avertissement :
Ces informations ne sont pas considérées comme un conseil en investissement ou une recommandation d'investissement, mais plutôt comme une communication marketing.