Introduction
The late Bob Proctor once said, “A mentor is someone who sees more talent and ability within you than you see in yourself and helps bring it out of you.”
It keeps getting repeated that most high-profile celebrities or well-known people have mentors. Trading is quite a solo career. Although you can interact with other traders, you usually have yourself to rely on when it comes to pressing that buy/sell button.
Rarely will you have someone that can hold your hand during these times. It can become quite emotional, an intense psychological battle that sees traders dealing with margin calls or blowing their accounts.
Still, many self-taught and successful traders made it without forex mentors. However, most will probably admit having someone to shorten their learning curve would have saved tons of time and money.
This is where a decent mentor for forex trading can be precious. Yet, finding this person is like finding a needle in a haystack for various reasons. But it doesn’t hurt to try if you want some pips!
What is a forex trading mentor?
The Cambridge Dictionary defines a mentor as a “person who gives a less experienced person help or advice over some time.” In simple terms, a mentor is supposed to be a trusted adviser. It is an individual already successful in your field and whose success you’d like to replicate.
Therefore, the best forex mentors are existing profitable traders. They may also have other interests in the FX world, like influencing, education, affiliate marketing, working for an FX-related company, writing, vlogging, or any combination of these.
Some mentors may have coaching services they offer publicly, while others are more private and may not qualify as official coaches. Regardless, a mentor for forex trading should be a trader with a verifiable and profitable track record.
Are forex trading mentors necessary?
Here comes the ‘golden question;’ is a mentor for forex trading crucial? Like many things in life, it depends. As previously mentioned, most traders are self-taught and learn the inner workings of FX through years of trial and error.
The main reason is how informal forex trading is. There is technically no proper school or educational institution to teach you how to trade. Also, there are many ways to trade, like scalping, day trading, swing trading, position trading, etc.
Some traders go the automated route by using robots. You can observe and implement countless chart patterns, indicators, and other structures.
While this variety is good, it also means there is no right way to invest because it depends on the individual. The internet has been a key enabler in the massive retail industry and dissemination of information at scale.
However, not all information is safe to use. With no regulated forex trading mentoring programs, traders often have to experiment by themselves. The lack of formality in the industry makes it challenging to spot traders qualified to teach and guide others.
Yet, if you can find a mentor with your best interests at heart, they can help with a lot of things. Firstly, they can save you a lot of time you would have spent learning from scratch. Getting to a pro or mastery level in any traded market can take at least two years. A proper mentor for forex trading can cut this time down in half.
Another wonderful benefit is, of course, the money-saving aspect. Virtually all profitable traders have lost their capital a few times in their careers. These mistakes are primarily a result of a lack of education.
Yet, a mentor for forex trading should be able to prevent you from making these errors by teaching you proper risk or money management.
The final reason why forex mentors are necessary is that they can offer specialised knowledge not found online. Being successful in trading FX pairs is about having a proven edge, which can take several years to find.
However, a mentor with profitable long-term performance can give you ‘top secrets for forex‘ and tools you won’t find online or in a book sooner. Learning the basics is easy, but experience can only be earned over an extended period. This is what a mentor can offer.
What to look for in a mentor for forex trading
The best forex mentors can back up their claims of success with results. A proven track record is the foundation. The best way to verify a trader’s performance is by looking at their live account connected to an analytics platform like FX Blue and Myfxbook.
Most so-called experienced traders do not share their trading results in this manner. Instead, they show screenshots of positions. Yet, there needs to be an indication of their long-term consistency and profitability.
A brilliant mentor for forex trading should be happy to share their performance on analytics platforms, as in the image below.
Here, the two things you’ll want to observe are the age of the account and, most importantly, whether it shows a profit.
Two years worth of data is a decent indication of proficiency – however, the more years, the better. Regardless, live results are one of the main elements that provide a trader with strong transparency.
Other things also include reviews or testimonials, but verifiable results are the most important.
Something that offers a mentor for forex trading credibility is their general reputation online and offline. A mentor may have other interests in FX (as discussed previously) or have a normal day job. You’ll want to research what they do outside the candlestick charts and ensure their name is clean.
Should you pay for forex mentoring?
There remains an ongoing debate on whether anyone should pay for mentorship generally. We believe that the best forex mentors should have a vested long-term relationship with their mentees.
They should genuinely desire to help and see you succeed as they did. Their role is different from a coach or educator/tutor, where they provide a short-lived service that you can quantify in monetary terms. Also, it boils down to affordability. Some traders, whether they are new or have some experience, have no problem paying.
Yet, not everyone has the funds, especially if they’re new. This is why getting forex mentors from family or friend recommendations is an excellent route.
You are likely to get someone that can offer the highest personal interaction, someone you can contact at any time to answer your questions. Also, a relative or recommended friend is less likely to ask for money due to the mutual connection.
It is more challenging to get this relationship or arrangement from an outsider. Still, you can compensate your mentor or ‘thank them’ in other methods without money exchange. For instance, it may be offering a service or skill they need for free; think of it like bartering.
Where to find a mentor for forex trading
We’ve already mentioned that friends and family are a superb route for forex trading mentoring. However, the primary alternative is online if this option doesn’t work. The platform isn’t so important as the research behind your potential mentor.
Earlier, we spoke about mentors already involved in FX outside of the charts. Therefore, in your search, you’ll get to know that person through their existing work. For instance, if you’re a fan of YouTube, your potential mentor may be a YouTuber. It becomes easier to contact them, given the established familiarity.
The next option is simply asking for a mentor on niche social media networks or forums. We advise avoiding the more prominent sites like Instagram, Twitter and Facebook. This is because these platforms are filled with spam, materialism and course-selling.
Reddit is one the most well-moderated online social communities where you are less likely to get scammed or deal with bogus individuals. You are likely to receive good recommendations from other niche forums for getting forex trading mentorship.
Conclusion
The journey to consistent profitability for most traders is long and lonely, involving a lot of system-hopping and expensive mistakes. A caring and skilled mentor for forex trading can solve all these problems to increase your equity curve.
Still, finding such a person in this industry can be challenging. The tips we have offered should make your search easier.
