International travel is becoming more and more common these days
Paula Rodriguez
This post is written by Hao Sun ofTrade With Precision. Hao Sun is a trading mentor and active contributor to the Precision Perspectives video newsletter and group mentoring sessions. Hao holds a Bachelor’s degree in economics and a Masters degree in financial engineering. In addition, Hao also holds a level three Bloomberg product certificate in foreign exchange, fixed income and equities.Our careers and family commitments increasingly take us around the world, sometimes leading to a decision to permanently migrate to a different country. We truly are global citizens. If you are a trader who has to travel often, is there anything that you can do to keep trading while you are out and about? What if you have to cross several time zones in the course of your travel? Here are some travel trading tips.
Don't limit yourself to one market
One of first things to give way when you are living a nomadic lifestyle is attachment. Attachment to a particular market or a particular time to trade might still work if you are abroad for a short time, but it can become disruptive to your lifestyle if you are there long term. For example, the US markets open at 1am NZT, right in the middle of a good night's sleep for traders living in New Zealand. It is not going to be feasible long term to wake up to trade the open. You can either choose to set your alarm clock and stay in your set ways of trading, or adapt and look for a different market. Luckily the strategies we use are universal, meaning they can be applied to any trending market. As long as your trading rules are met, there is no reason to limit yourself to just the one market which you have traded before.
Don't stray from your strategy
A common worry when traveling is whether or not there will be good enough internet coverage. Thankfully most hotels (also BnBs/Air BnB) can nowadays provide a reasonably stable internet connection for scanning the markets. However the real reason most traders ask about internet is because they want to check-in on their open positions, and this is really a big no-no to start because it is too easy to get caught up in the emotional roller-coaster when monitoring an open trade. It’s probably better to let a trade run its natural course... meaning that once a trade is triggered we don't worry about checking-in constantly since we have followed our strategy and already set our stops and targets before the trade was initiated. Your downside risk and reward have already been determined. No internet, no problem! Gluing yourself to the screen is only going to encourage you to second guess your strategy, don't do it!
Free yourself to enjoy your time abroad, don't force yourself to trade
If you really do not feel like trading while you are traveling then do not force yourself. Maintaining the right mind-set and a positive attitude is by far more beneficial for your trading than stressing yourself out and trying to force a trade. If you are on a business trip not related to your personal trading then please focus on that; or if you are on holiday with your family then by all means enjoy your family time. Trying to do two things at once is difficult even on home turf, let alone in unfamiliar surroundings! It is always best to remain objective and methodically work through your trading checklist to achieve consistent results. This becomes progressively harder when you are not in the right frame of mind, especially if you have had a long day exploring different places and cultures.Hopefully those tips will help you the next time you pack your bags and head off on great adventures - both the geographical kind and the trading kind. Happy trading!
