Forex Profit Monster Results - April 2012

April 2012 was a "ranging" month, to be expected after the nice start to the year.  Some small wins, some small losses... all adding up to a small losing month, the first losing month of the year.  The nice thing is that during the month of May several large trends began on a few of the pairs and I'm currently carrying an equity profit of over 1,500 pips which is almost a guarantee of a very profitable May (as long as the trades close out in the next week or so)!

Here are the results for April:

36 total trades
12 wins for 1,172 pips
24 losses for 1,465 pips

Total for April (-293)

33% win rate
Avg win: 97
Avg loss: 61
Avg risk/reward: 1.59 to 1

And the results by currency pair as traded on the 4 Hour chart:

GBP/JPY  2W, 0L  +259
EUR/JPY  2W, 1L  +143
GBP/USD 1W, 3L   +36
EUR/USD 2W, 2L  (-21)
USD/JPY 1W, 3L  (-98)
USD/CHF 2W, 3L (-143)
AUD/USD 1W, 5L (-188)
USD/CAD 1W, 7L (-282)

The yearly results and total so far:

January: +891
February: +206
March: +1,667
April: (-293)

That's a total of +2,471 pips and an average of +617 pips per month.

For more information regarding purchasing Forex Profit Monster (or my day trading system Forex Day Monster), please visit the website at www.forexprofitmonster.com or my eBay page at http://myworld.ebay.com/jimsgr8stuff4less where I list one or two items per week at a discount.

I got a question this month through the blog about the MT4 platform slowing down and freezing while using FPM and FDM.  Unfortunately the MT4 platform is a "memory hog" and this is almost always a RAM issue with the computer being used.  The lower the time frame you are trading the more of an issue this becomes.  The only remedies are:

1.  Use fewer active charts on your platform.  You can always use one chart and "drag" the new currency pair you'd like to see into the chart from the navigator window instead of running several charts at once.

2. Trade a higher time frame that requires less of your computer's memory resources (combined with fewer charts this is even more effective).

3.  Upgrade to higher RAM for your computer.

Thanks for visiting the results blog and best of luck in your trading!

Jim
www.forexprofitmonster.com
http://myworld.ebay.com/jimsgr8stuff4less

Forex Profit Monster Results - December 2011

Here it is... the new equity curve for Forex Profit Monster. As mentioned in previous posts, the software that I use to plot the equity curve has a limitation of the number of data points you can use, and as of a couple of months ago that limit was reached. I decided to recompute the curve on a quarterly plot instead of monthly so that I can continue to post the curve on the results blog using the same software.

The funny thing is, the difference in the equity curve can teach a lesson as far as trading discipline is concerned. Look at the graph above and compare it to the last monthly graph:

Do you see how the drawdowns are more noticeable in the monthly graph than the quarterly graph? While technically the information is exactly the same, it shows that seen over a longer time frame the same results seem less volatile. While many small drawdowns can be seen in the monthly graph (every time there is a losing month there is a drawdown in the graph)... there are hardly any visible in the quarterly graph. The only one of any relevance at all is in Q3 of 2010... and even that is extremely small and lasts for only that quarter. Want to take it to the "next level"? Here's a graph of the yearly results:

See how there are NO drawdowns in the yearly results at all?

So what lesson is to be learned here as a trader? With a viable trading method that has a positive expectancy, you CAN'T allow the results of single trades (or even single weeks or months worth of trades) to cause you to lose your focus. If you become undisciplined because you have a losing streak or enter a drawdown, you may miss out on the profits that will help you to overcome the losses. You must keep focused on the "big picture"... or making money over time. Days, weeks, or even a couple of months of losses in a row don't mean anything over the long haul.

With that covered, here are the results for December:

29 trades total

11 wins: 1,251 pips

18 losses: 1,158 pips

Total pips: +93

37% win rate

Avg win: 113

Avg loss: 64

Avg risk/reward ratio: 1.76 to 1

Here are the results by currency pair on the 4 Hour chart:

AUD/USD 2W, 1L +268

EUR/USD 2W, 1L +239

EUR/JPY 1W, 0L +195

USD/CAD 2W, 1L +137

USD/CHF 1W, 2L +42

USD/JPY 0W, 5L (-118)

GBP/JPY 2W, 3L (-126)

GBP/USD 1W, 5L (-544)

And the totals for 2011:
January (-35)
February (-334)
March +869
April +2,168
May +503
June (-811)
July +225
August +221
September +2,227
October +2,634

November +1,286

December +93

That's a total of 9,046 pips in 2011, and an average per month of +753 pips. For more information about Forex Profit Monster (and my day trading system Forex Day Monster), visit the website at www.forexprofitmonster.com.

To purchase either system (or both) at a discount, visit my eBay page at http://myworld.ebay.com/jimsgr8stuff4less where I list one or two items per week at a discount.

Best of luck in your trading!

Jim

www.forexprofitmonster.com

Forex Profit Monster Results - April 2011

It's been almost a year since I've had a "windfall" month like April. It always feels good to reap the rewards of being a patient trend follower... and when the pips come flowing in like they did last month, you can't help but feel good! After all was said and done, I finished April with a profit of +2,168 pips across the 8 currency pairs I trade on the 4 Hour chart. I'm at a new account balance high, a new equity high, and I have a few trades still open that have carried over into May with a current total of about 1,500 pips of profit!

I'll get into the exact details of the month's performance in a little bit, but first the time seems right to address a question I got about 2 weeks ago from a fellow trader. I'll keep this person's name anonymous because I didn't ask to publish his question, but I think it's important to answer it and discuss the subject matter he brings up in an open forum so that others who may have the same mindset can learn.

The question posed was regarding my year end results with Forex Profit Monster over the past few years and the "sub-par" performance of the first two months of 2011:

"With regards to decreasing ROI year after year (2008: 300%, 2009: 60%, 2010: 30%, 2011: ?% do you consider FPM to be slowly losing its edge?"

I don't mean to be rude, but if this seems like a good question then you have a LOT to learn, young Jedi. :-)

The fact that the ROI has decreased each year for the past 3 years is not because the trading system is becoming less effective... it's actually quite the opposite! This system is very robust, and it adapts to the current market conditions. The reason that I experienced a 300% return in 2008 was because of the global "market meltdown" toward the end of that year. FPM helped me to achieve the incredible results in 2008 (not only a 300% return for the year, but more than a 100% profit in the month of October alone) while many other traders and investors were losing 40-50% of their account values (or more... there were a lot of account "KABOOMS" heard toward the end of 2008!). It was the "black swan" event that drove the profits for 2008... those profits were extraordinary and they can't be expected EVERY year. However sooner or later they will happen again (with things the way they are more likely sooner than later), and if you're trading a sound trend following system like FPM you'll be in the same position I was in 2008 when they do.

As far as 2009 and 2010 are concerned, all veteran traders know that after a huge event like we had in 2008 it will always take some time for markets to "settle down" again while volume and volatility move from one extreme to the other... and because of this profits during these times can be squelched. I don't know if that's what you can call a 60% and 30% return, but I guess you can if you're comparing it to 300%. However, any way you look at it even 30% is a great year. Even suggesting that a 30% return on the year is "poor" performance (as the person who asked the question seems to think) shows someone who is far removed from reality!

Here's some "homework" for you if you think a 30% return on the year is poor performance... go to your local bank and ask them how much of a return they're willing to give you on a savings account; or better yet, tell an investment adviser that you think a 60% or 30% ROI on the year is poor performance and tell them you'd like to invest with them... I'd almost guarantee they won't take you on as a customer... in fact they may call security and have you escorted from the building LOL!

If you are a new trader (or even an experienced trader) who thinks the question asked was valid, then you need to adjust your view of the market(s). Trading systems can only deliver what the market allows them to under the current market conditions. If you think you have any control other than to follow your trading plan and accept the returns available then you should probably give up trading because you're going to lose all of your money in the long run. Find someone who is a good trader/money manager, give them your money to trade and let them make you some money... or just donate the money you were going to use in your account to a worthy charity... at least then it will do some good since you're probably going to lose it all anyway! As an added bonus of doing this you can claim the tax write-off!

And here's some more advice for those of you who might feel better selecting a professional to manage your money... invest it in a trend following fund... and do the opposite of human nature and buy in during a drawdown (when the fund is actually temporarily losing money) so that you can maximize your returns when the new trends kick in! If you buy in during the "good times" (like after a 300% ROI year), you may start out in a drawdown or during a long stagnant period while the market consolidates. If you're going to be successful even placing your money with someone else, this is the way you need to learn to think!

Now with that out of the way, here are the results for April:

19 trades

11 wins: +2,876
8 losses: (-708)

Total: +2,168 pips

Win rate: 57%
Avg win: 261 pips
Avg loss: 88 pips
Avg Risk/Reward ratio: 2.96 to 1

Here are the results by currency pair:

USD/JPY 2W, 0L +472
EUR/JPY 1W, 3L +444
AUD/USD 1W, 0L +421
GBP/JPY 2W, 1L +344
EUR/USD 1W, 1L +213
USD/CHF 2W, 0L +203
USD/CAD 1W, 1L +90
GBP/USD 1W, 2L (-19)

And the up to date yearly results so far for 2011:

January (-35)
February (-334)
March +869
April +2,168

That's +2,668 pips total so far for 2011, or an average of +667 pips per month.

I hope your April was as profitable as mine, here's to a successful May!

If you'd like more information about Forex Profit Monster (and my daytrading system Forex Day Monster), visit my website at www.forexprofitmonster.com. You can purchase both systems there on the "Purchase" page.

You can also buy each system individually on my eBay page at http://myworld.ebay.com/jimsgr8stuff4less/ where I list one or two trading systems per week at a discount.

Jim
www.forexprofitmonster.com
http://myworld.ebay.com/jimsgr8stuff4less/

Forex Profit Monster Results - July 2010

Ah, the summer doldrums of trading. While I enjoy summertime and the warmer weather where I live, I don't enjoy the lack of volume in the markets. I feel like I'm wishing my life and favorite time of the year away, but as far as business is concerned I just can't wait for September to get here so that trading volumes can get back to "normal"!

I'm reminded of the summer trading doldrums by July's results. Not a bad month, but not a good month... just sort of a "month". Technically a losing month, but when those losses can almost be completely explained by the transaction costs of the trades, it really wasn't much of a loss. Plus, once again there were some significant moves on the 4 Hour chart toward the end of the month of July and I have over 2,000 pips of open equity profit across several trades while writing this post. Even with the volatility caused by the poor jobs numbers during the Non-Farm Payroll here in the U.S. today, most of those trades either remained largely unaffected or actually moved in my direction. Because of this I look forward to closing out these trades in the next couple of weeks to make August a profitable month.

Here are the results for July on the 4 Hour chart across the 8 pairs I trade:

31 trades

10 wins: 1,641 pips
21 losses: 1,826 pips

(-185 pips)

32% win rate
Avg win: 164 pips
Avg loss: 86 pips
Avg r/r: 1.9 to 1

Results by pair:

USD/CHF: 1 W, 3 L +812
USD/JPY: 2 W, 3 L +115
EUR/USD: 2 W, 0 L +69
USD/CAD: 2 W, 1 L +36
AUD/USD: 2 W, 1 L (-12)
EUR/JPY: 1 W, 3 L (-175)
GBP/USD: 0 W, 4 L (-351)
GBP/JPY: 0 W, 6 L (-679)

It seems that during the month of July I've reached another milestone in my trading career. If you look at the equity graph above, you'll notice that this is start of the 4th year of my results of trading with Forex Profit Monster. The funny thing is that during the past month since I've hit the mark of having an established and verifiable 3 year track record, I've been contacted by several entities regarding getting professionally involved with them. Some of these were brokers offering me the opportunity to become an "Introducing Broker" to other traders and handle transactions through them with a branded website, and others were small firms inquiring about my availability to trade other people's money.

While I can appreciate the opportunities that are now open to me after several years of trading, and I know that some traders would be excited to have the chance to expand their business with these opportunities, I really have no interest in getting involved with any of these scenarios. After reading the "horror" stories of other traders losing their freedom to trade as they see fit once they start to trade money for clients, I've decided not to follow this path, at least at this point in my life. I also have no interest in having to sell my current customers on using my services as a broker. I prefer to just keep trading my own account and offering my trading systems to those looking to learn how to trade a profitable method... these two things provide me with a nice living plus I get to keep total control of my business, which is important to me. I spent years looking for a business that I could run by myself without large overhead and having to deal with employees... I've achieved that in the past few years and am not really interested in changing it now. So I guess I'll chalk these experiences up to "it's flattering to be asked, but no thanks".

Speaking of "track records", here are the FPM results for 2010 so far:

January: +823
February: +669
March: +434
April: (-446)
May: +4,597
June (-1,870)
July (-185)

Total: +4,022 pips
Average: 574 pips per month

For more information about Forex Profit Monster (or my day trading system Forex Day Monster), visit www.forexprofitmonster.com.

To purchase either or both trading systems, visit www.forexprofitmonster.com or my eBay page at http://myworld.ebay.com/jimsgr8stuff4less.

Thanks for visiting the Forex Profit Monster results blog, and best of luck in your trading!

Jim
www.forexprofitmonster.com
http://myworld.ebay.com/jimsgr8stuff4less

Forex Profit Monster Results - June 2010

As is expected after a large winning month like I had in May (+4,597 pips), there was a lot of ranging and many false breakouts across the 8 pairs I trade on the 4 Hour chart as price settled down in June. In the past I've considered taking a week or two off from trading after large winning months to avoid some of the losses that are almost guaranteed, but I don't... because part of being successful when trading a trend following method (like I do) is to take EVERY signal. While most times after large moves there is some ranging, sometimes the new trend is established very quickly on the very next signal. History shows this to be more true the higher the time frame you trade... you'll see it many times on the Daily chart (higher time frames = less noise). Missing these new trends because of adding a rule about NOT trading could end up making the system less profitable instead of more profitable! Once again there is a lesson here... to be a successful trader you must learn to accept your losses. As long as you know history shows you that your losses are smaller than your profits, there is no reason to get upset when you have a loss.

Even though the month of June was a losing month for me, there are still a few trades open from June that continued into July that show a profit in equity of almost as much as June's losing trades. As of this writing the USD/CHF is showing an open equity profit of over 1,000 pips alone! Continued moves in these trends means that I could see a new high in my account balance as early as the end of July.

Here are the results from June on the 4 Hour chart:

36 trades
10 wins: 1,087 pips
26 losses: 2,957 pips
Total: (-1,870 pips)

27% win rate
Avg win: 108 pips
Avg loss: 113 pips
Avg R/R: .95 to 1

And the details by currency pair:

EUR/JPY - 2W, 2L - (-4 pips)
USD/JPY - 1W, 2L - (-39 pips)
EUR/USD - 2W, 3L- (-81 pips)
GBP/USD - 1W, 2L - (-146 pips)
USD/CHF - 0W, 3L - (-213 pips)
USD/CAD - 1W, 3L - (-238 pips)
AUD/USD - 1W, 6L - (-563 pips)
GBP/JPY - 2W, 5L - (-586 pips)

Here are the results for the year 2010 so far:

January: +823
February: +669
March: +434
April: (-446)
May: +4,597
June (-1,870)

Total: +4,207
Average: 701 pips per month

For more information about Forex Profit Monster (and my daytrading system Forex Day Monster), visit www.forexprofitmonster.com.

To purchase, visit the website or my eBay page at http://myworld.ebay.com/jimsgr8stuff4less/

Thanks for visiting the results blog, and best of luck in your trading!

Jim
www.forexprofitmonster.com
http://myworld.ebay.com/jimsgr8stuff4less/

Forex Profit Monster Results - April 2010

April started off looking great with over 1,700 pips of profit in equity... but quickly turned into one of those ranging months that whipsaws your open profits away. The month's total loss was only (-446 pips), once again a blip on the radar screen according to the big picture (look at the chart above... can you even see the drawdown?) In fact as I write this results post the market has been moving fast and furious again and every pair I trade has an open trade that is well into profit... well over 3,000 total pips right now. While I obviously won't count these pips as profit yet (you only have to look at April to understand why you can't do that), I feel good knowing that these trades are there to help me reach a new high in my account balance before the end of May.

During months like April I inevitably get questions about why I don't close out the trades when they're "overextended" and take the profits before they can retrace. It's simple... you're looking at the trades with hindsight. You know now that they retraced and set up in ranges that cost the open equity... but you didn't know that when it was the present time and you had to make the decision. It's just as likely that the moves could have continued in the same direction and instead of losing 446 pips in April I could have profited 4,000 pips! But if you exited the trades early before getting an exit signal you would have missed out on these pips. A similar situation is setting itself up for May as we speak... if I close out the 3,000+ pips I have now will I be better off than waiting to see if the moves continue? Maybe, maybe not... but I don't have to make this decision... I let my trading plan/system make it for me. This removes my emotional attachment to the "paper" equity money that I don't really have yet and allows me to make intelligent decisions regarding my trend following. When you start second guessing your trading plan is when you invite disaster. FPM has proven itself to be extremely reliable and resilient (again, look at the graph above of my account value in pips since I started tracking my live trading). Have a good plan (including good money management) and stick to it... and forget about your small losses... they don't do any damage to your trading... only your emotions about them do!

Here's a breakdown of my April results trading the 8 pairs I trade on the 4 Hour chart:

42 total trades
14 wins - 1,932 pips
28 losses - 2,378 pips

(-446 pips)

33% win rate

Avg win - 138 pips
Avg loss - 84 pips
Avg risk/reward ratio - 1.64 to 1

Here are the details by currency pair (best to worst):

USD/JPY: 2 W, 2 L +252 pips
GBP/JPY: 2 W, 4 L + 88 pips
USD/CHF: 3 W, 1 L + 34 pips
EUR/USD: 1 W, 3 L (-28 pips)
EUR/JPY: 2 W, 4 L (-160 pips)
AUD/USD: 1 W, 5 L (-199 pips)
USD/CAD: 1 W, 4 L (-214 pips)
GBP/USD: 2 W, 5 L (-219 pips)

That's it for April... if we don't see a repeat of all of this open equity vanishing I'll once again be at a new account high by the end of May!

Here are the results for the year so far:

January: +823
February: +669
March: +434
April: (-446)

Total: 1,480 pips
Avg: 370 pips per month

For more information regarding the Forex Profit Monster system (and my day trading system Forex Day Monster) visit www.forexprofitmonster.com.

To purchase either system visit my eBay page at http://myworld.ebay.com/jimsgr8stuff4less.

Thanks for reading this and best of luck in your trading!

Jim

www.forexprofitmonster.com
http://myworld.ebay.com/jimsgr8stuff4less

Forex Profit Monster - November Results

November was a tough month for trend trading the Forex. Almost every pair was in a range and there were a lot of false breakouts. It's times like these that test your discipline. Having losses and months like these isn't the problem... it's not taking your losses until they become bigger then they should or getting upset/mad and letting it affect your trading decisions. It took me a long time to learn this... and it's still hard to control after several years of trading. However, time is on my side... there will always be good trends (especially in the currency market) and a quick glance at the equity chart above that spans over two years shows the power of trading this system. If I just showed you the graph you probably wouldn't even notice the drawdown that I entered into at the end of November... that's because in the grand scheme of things it's just a blip on the radar screen.

The other thing to note is that even though November ended up being a losing month, I did close out several trades in the first few days of December that accounted for enough pips to wipe out almost 50% of the draw down already! Plus, I have some good trades that I've opened over the last couple of days that look like they may take care of the rest. I don't know what will happen the rest of December (especially because it will be shortened by the holidays) but I am confident that my equity will be hitting new highs very soon.

Here are the details of my November results trading the 4 Hour chart:

38 trades taken
12 wins - 896 pips
26 losses - 2,298 pips

Total - (-1402 pips)

Win rate - 31%

Avg win - 74 pips
Avg loss - 88 pips

And the results by each pair that I trade:

USD/JPY - 1 win, 1 loss - +176 pips
AUD/USD- 1 win, 3 losses - + 2 pips
EUR/JPY- 2 wins, 2 losses- (-1 pip)
EUR/USD- 1 win, 4 losses- (-180 pips)
USD/CHF- 2 wins, 4 losses- (-218 pips)
GBP/USD- 3 wins, 4 losses- (-290 pips)
GBP/JPY- 0 wins, 4 losses- (-442 pips)
USD/CAD- 2 wins, 4 losses- (-449 pips)

So there goes November... and I can't say I'm sorry to see it go :-)

For those of you having a hard time dealing with your whipsaw losses for November and doubting the effectiveness of this system (or any trend following method), here's a video that sums everything up you need to know and should put a smile on your face. It's by one of the most successful trend followers of all time (and a pretty good banjo player too); Ed Seykota and "The Whipsaw Song":


Here's the overall monthly totals for the year so far:

January - 3,795 pips
February - 890 pips
March - 779 pips
April - 151 pips
May - 2,494 pips
June - 253 pips
July - 775 pips
August - (-230 pips)
September - 1,530 pips
October - 1,047 pips
November - (-1,402 pips)

That's a total of 10,082 pips so far for 2009, an average of 916 pips per month.

For more information about the Forex Profit Monster system (or my day trading system Forex Day Monster), visit www.forexprofitmonster.com

To purchase either Forex Profit Monster or Forex Day Monster visit my eBay page at http://myworld.ebay.com/jimsgr8stuff4less


Best of luck in your trading!

Jim

www.forexprofitmonster.com

http://myworld.ebay.com/jimsgr8stuff4less