Interview with Andrew Mitchem

Could you tell us a little about yourself?

I am a full time Currency trader, Trading coach and Money manager. I was born in England but now live in New Zealand and I have 5 children. I also invest in property and my other interests are cricket and karate.

How did you get started trading?

I was looking for a more liquid investment option than property while being able to work from home. I attended a local currency trading seminar. I immediately saw the benefits of leverage, online brokers, being able to make money from selling rather than just buying.

How long have you been trading now?

7 years with a live account and full time, although the early years were not profitable !!

What do you like best about trading?

Being able to work from anywhere. Being self employed. Controlling my investments myself. Having an understanding of world events. Knowing that I can trade for the rest of my life if I want to. Having the ability to teach my children how to trade.

What markets do you trade?

Almost exclusively Forex. I trade any currency pair on 1 Day and 4 hour charts, while I am selective when trading shorter time frame charts. I occasionally trade my same strategy on metals, oil, indicies and commodities.

What style of trading do you use?

I am mostly a technical trader. I love reading charts and understanding what they are telling me about the direction of the market. I use candlesticks along with support and resistance levels, divergence and Fibonacci levels

What have been the biggest influences on your development as a trader?

Gaining an understanding of candlestick shapes and patterns and being able to use support and resistance levels and Fibonacci levels correctly and in real time. My software scans my charts for me looking for potential trade setups and this helps me recognize new trades.

What is the one biggest lesson that you have learnt since starting trading?

That almost all indicators do not work in real time. I also avoid opening emails and websites selling the latest trading robot or e-book. I also avoid most forums as they tend to get dominated by people who cannot trade for themselves.

How did you get interested in coaching other traders?

I used to be a signal provider and I was constantly getting asked how I trade and if I would share my strategy. I then put together a course manual, along with my software and made a coaching package. My first clients were when I travelled to Australia, Sri Lanka, Spain, France and England in one trip and taught clients privately. Since then most clients have been here in New Zealand and Australia and overseas clients have been taught via private webinar.

Do you focus on coaching of one particular area of trading, e.g. risk management / psychology or finding trades?

I cover all aspects of trading. I start by teaching clients how to use the Metatrader 4 (MT4) software. We then move onto trading risk and money management, trading psychology and then look at my actual strategy and trading plan.

How do you work together with your clients? E.g. phone / email / screen sharing?

I offer my course in 3 formats. 1. One on One private coaching when I visit the client and teach them in their own home or office. This can be anywhere in the world (see my earlier answer). 2. Small group coaching when I coach up to 10 people at a time. 3. Private webinar based coaching. This can be split up into a series of sessions.

I then offer full follow up assistance by making regular trading videos. Clients can also contact me by phone, Skype and email. I send my clients regular trading suggestions so they can see the trades I am taking plus we meet fortnightly via a live webinar when we discuss trades and various issues.

What sort of results do your clients get after coaching with you?

Almost all of my past clients are now trading profitably. Occasionally some clients break the rules and end up losing money. One of my clients who I taught just 3 months ago has made 218% on his live trading account since he took my course. Personally I believe this is too much and he needs to be very careful but it does show what is possible. Personally, I aim for around 5% per month and 60% per year uncompounded by using very low risk and draw down.

What is the most satisfying part of coaching traders?

It is great to meet fellow traders and everyone who I have taught has been a wonderful person to get to know. I love hearing about a clients success after taking my course and knowing they now have the ability to trade by themselves for the rest of their life.

What is the biggest but most easily fixed mistake that you see traders make?

New traders like to force trades and trade too often rather than wait for the “A” grade setups. Most traders also don’t know where they should place their stop loss and profit targets. My trading software helps keep them away from their computer screen and it alerts them only when a new potential trade setup occurs.

Do you recommend journals or other record keeping as an important part of trading?

I recommend that my clients place a code or reason in the comments box for every trade they take. They can then look back through their trading history and see the reason they took the trade and the chart time frame they used for every trade.

What are the most common issues that you see in your clients that prevent them from becoming better traders?

Being impatient and not sticking to the rules. After a while and especially after a few winning trades, people can sway away from the strategy.

What advice would you give traders who are just starting out?

I would suggest you trade only if you think you have a real interest in trading that particular market. Treat trading as a business not a hobby or a game. Don’t expect to get rich quickly or to solve all of your money worries by trading your way out of a hole. Try to avoid most of the “rubbish” on the internet that is connected with trading. Invest some money at the beginning before you develop too many bad habits and get taught by someone who actually trades for themselves. Make sure they teach you a specific strategy that works and suits you. Be careful of flashy websites or well groomed professional speakers who will try to sell you a trading course but in reality most are not real traders.

What 3 books do you recommend traders read?

I have not bought or read any trading books. I tend to look at websites for trading information, especially when looking for the basics of trading. However, try to avoid most forums as they tend to get dominated by opinionated people that probably can’t trade profitably themselves.