Forex trading is by no means an instant road to riches. You can only trade with however much capital you currently have, meaning that everyone has to start small and work their way up the ladder to big money. Additionally, gains in FX trading come in small increments, so you shouldn’t expect your bank balance to multiply overnight.
As with any financial market, losses are inevitable and must be factored in. Because of this and sometimes unrealistic expectations, it is easy to understand why some traders get easily frustrated. To have a better experience, remember that little progress is still progress.
Traditionally, foreign exchange market trading has been considered a man’s business. In actuality, the market is indeed male-dominated. There have always been women in the forex market, but this number has increased significantly in a few decades.
The increase in smart women carving out a name for themselves in trading is due to their exemplary analysis skills and their swift reactions to market changes. If you are a woman looking to get into forex trading, here are some top trading ladies worldwide to look up to.
1. Kathy Lien
First on the list is Kathy Lien, co-founder of BKForex.com. She is also the Managing Director of FX Strategy at BK Asset Management. Lien boasts a colorful career in finance, specifically Wall Street, which began when she was merely 18 years old. At 21 years, she joined FXCM and launched DailyFX.com, focusing on G20 currency.
Kathy Lien is also an accomplished author and writer, having published work on high-profile sites like Investopedia. Some of the books that she has written on FX trading are:
- Millionaire Traders: How Everyday People Are Beating Wall Street at Its Own GameThe Little Book of Currency Trading
- Day Trading and Swing Trading the Currency Market: Technical and Fundamental Strategies to Profit from Market Swings
- High Probability Trading Setups for the Currency Market (e-Book)
The second book on this list is great for beginners.
2. Raghee Horner
Horner is an expert in trading equities, spot currencies, options, and futures. She is one of the best and most famous female traders, particularly known for creating the GRaB Candle Indicator and the Wave Premium Indicator. She bases her trading style on a system that follows a certain sequence.
Horner uses price action and fundamental and technical analysis to identify a systematized and objective strategy to use. She is also the managing director of Futures Trading and is a writer for Simpler Trading.
3. Jennifer Fan
Jeniffer Fan founded Arbalet Capital, where she was also the hedge fund manager. This commodities fund closed its doors in 2014, after which she became the portfolio manager at Millennium Management. Fan is also Arrowhawk’s senior portfolio manager.
Having graduated from Stern School of Business of the New York University when she was 19, she worked on Wall Street before owning and managing Arbalet Capital. Currently, Fan is the CEO of Family Office, a private wealth and management company. In 2012, she was featured in the Forbes 30 Under 30: Finance list.
4. Linda Bradford Raschke
Known as one of the best futures and commodities traders worldwide, Linda Bradford began professional forex trading in 1981. In 2002, she founded a hedge fund, but she still trades for her own account. She is particularly renowned for her ability to trade with longevity and consistency and act on trading patterns.
Raschke has authored and co-written several books. One of them is Trading Sardines and Street Smarts: High Probability Trading Strategies for the Futures and Equities Markets, which she co-wrote with TradingMarkets’ Founder and Chairman, Laurence A. Connors.
5. Nelisiwe Masango
Masango is a budding neurosurgeon who discovered her calling in the investment and finance world. After switching from healthcare to finance in school, she began studying entrepreneurial management before dropping out to pursue Forex trading. At this point, she discovered her inclination toward trading, which was instrumental in her subsequent success.
Despite the risk that came with her choice to drop everything and focus on trading, she was confident because it was her own decision. Currently, Nelisiwe Masango is among the most successful FX traders in South Africa.
6. Lucy Baldwin
Lucy Baldwin and Jennifer Fan are similar in that both women have made it to the Forbes 30 Under 30: Finance list. Lucy has been featured twice. She is currently the Global Head of Sales at Credit Suisse, a global wealth management firm. Previously, she worked as the managing director of Goldman Sachs and the Bank of America Merrill Lynch, trading European equities.
Baldwin advises that traders need high IQs and emotional intelligence to succeed in the cut-throat forex trading world.
Take away
These six top female forex traders successfully broke through the male-dominated market where they still thrive, and you can do it too. Having more women in forex helps to close the gender gap creating more balance. If you want to trade, you can benefit from their tips and advice. Other excellent women traders include Nobuhle Catherine, Mary Callahan Erdoes, and Abigail Johnson.
