Ep248: Karen Foo – Risk Management Is Your Key to Success
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Quick take
BIO: Karen Foo is actively involved in speaking at various conferences, seminars, expos, workshops, toastmasters clubs, and publicly held events.
STORY: Karen’s parents exposed her to stock investing at a very age. For this reason, she assumed she knew everything she needed to know. She went on to lose money, not once but twice. Why? She failed to do her research every single time.
LEARNING: Forex trading is not a get-rich-quick scheme; don’t take shortcuts. Risk management contributes to about 40% of your success as a trader. Have a plan and strategy that fits your personality in place.
Guest profile
Karen Foo is actively involved in speaking at various conferences, seminars, expos, workshops, toastmasters clubs, and publicly held events. Having overcome numerous setbacks in her life, she has gone on to inspire thousands of young people, executives, and leaders to REALIZE THEIR ABSOLUTE WILDEST DREAMS through her INTERACTIVE, INSPIRING, AND ENGAGING TALKS.
Karen has been ranked #1 in a Singapore nationwide Forex trading competition, competing with over 200 traders and has shared the stage with top investment gurus and CEOs.
You can find her on her YouTube channel and join 94,000 other people who are gaining from her videos about forex, stocks, markets, and much more!
“In any failure in life, there’s a good side to it.”
Karen Foo
Worst investment ever
Case of the curious intern
Karen’s parents are full-time stock investors, and they exposed her to stock investing since she was young. That’s what sparked Karen’s interest in the financial markets.
When she was on internship, she took her salary and put it into the Forex market, not knowing what she was doing. She thought she was smart back then, but it turns out that she wasn’t so smart and so she lost the $1,500 she’d invested.
Once bitten twice not shy
As if the loss was not enough, Karen went on to lose $6,000 of her mom’s savings. Karen believed that she’d make money by investing in unit trusts. Again, she thought she was smart enough to get a win, and so she went in blindly. No research, no guidance, nothing. Needless to say, she lost $8,000, part of which was her mom’s savings.
Karen was broke, angry, and embarrassed. She’d assured her mom that she knew what she was doing, but now she’d lost all the money.
Asking for guidance
After losing money twice, Karen admitted that she needed help making the right moves. Now she works with various mentors, something that has seen her become the #1 Singapore Forex trader.
Lessons learned
Forget get rich quick schemes
Forex trading is not a get-rich-quick scheme, so don’t take shortcuts.
Don’t ignore risk management
One of the main reasons why a lot of traders lose money is because they don’t care about money management and risk management, which contributes to about 40% of your success as a trader.
You don’t have to figure out everything on your own
It’s ok to try and learn everything on your own, but you will be more successful if you work with a mentor. Mentors can teach you a lot more than you can learn on your own.
Focus on your risk to reward ratio
Don’t focus too much on the win rate; instead, focus on the risk-to-reward ratio because forex trading is not about returns; it is about risk-adjusted returns.
See also: Ep155: Joe Saul-Sehy – Financial Risk Management Lies in Diversification across Industries
Andrew’s takeaways
The best fund managers are risk managers
The best fund managers are not the ones that hit the home runs, but the ones that never strikeout. These are the ones who avoid massive losses and know about risk management.
Plan your success
If you want to see success in forex trading, have a plan and strategy that fits your personality in place. Do this before you commit a lot of money.
Listen to the losers
There are always going to be winners and losers in the stock market. However, people talk only about the winners. Listen to losers, and you’ll learn a thing or two from them.
Actionable advice
Find out how credible a coach is before you work with them. You can ask them a couple of questions or look at their content. Don’t fall prey to the kind of YouTubers who like to flex their lifestyle instead of teaching. You won’t learn anything from them.
No. 1 goal for the next 12 months
Karen’s goal for the next 12 months is to grow her YouTube channel. She also hopes to get back to speaking on stage and also publish a book she recently wrote.
Parting words
“Trading and investing is not a get rich quick scheme you’ve got to work hard, be patient, and you will get there. So for those people who preach to you get rich quick, just use that as entertainment.”
Karen Foo
Connect with Karen Foo
Andrew’s books
- How to Start Building Your Wealth Investing in the Stock Market
- My Worst Investment Ever
- 9 Valuation Mistakes and How to Avoid Them
- Transform Your Business with Dr.Deming’s 14 Points
Andrew’s online programs
- Valuation Master Class
- How to Start Building Your Wealth Investing in the Stock Market
- Finance Made Ridiculously Simple
- Become a Great Presenter and Increase Your Influence
- Transform Your Business with Dr. Deming’s 14 Points
Connect with Andrew Stotz:
About the show & host, Andrew Stotz
Welcome to My Worst Investment Ever podcast hosted by Your Worst Podcast Host, Andrew Stotz, where you will hear stories of loss to keep you winning. In our community, we know that to win in investing you must take the risk, but to win big, you’ve got to reduce it.
Your Worst Podcast Host, Andrew Stotz, Ph.D., CFA, is also the CEO of A. Stotz Investment Research and A. Stotz Academy, which helps people create, grow, measure, and protect their wealth.