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<ol>
 	<li><strong>WHAT AN END TO 2016:</strong></li>
</ol>
I had stopped trading for my end of year break with THE PREMIUM SERVICE when the FED rate hike was announced. So, I was more of an observer rather than a trader with the follow through. I did scalp the odd trade here and there but for most of the time my hands were well away from my keyboards.

To say that the moves were explosive would be an understatement. The EUR/USD on the previous weeks ECB Press Conference peaked at around 1.0860 and within 18 hours of the FED rate hike it was printing below 1.0400, not seen since 2002. Big moves with the USD/CAD, USD/CHF and USD/JPY followed the FED rate hike as well. The USD/SEK hit 9.3800, a level not seen since 2002.

As I say to all new traders I meet, there is a market every day when trading forex, some days the market moves are just more exaggerated. I must work on new phraseology for this statement moving forward!

<strong> </strong>
<ol start="2">
 	<li><strong> (A BRIEF) “PREMIUM SERVICE” REVIEW OF 2016:</strong></li>
</ol>
The third year of the PREMIUM SERVICE is now officially concluded. I am now most definitely on a trading vacation until 8<sup>th</sup> January 2017.

As usual, when reporting on the closing annual PREMIUM SERVICE statistics I will also take this opportunity to quickly overview the year from a very, very, high macro level and take a brief look into the next 12 months.

Looking back, 2016 was a strange year for trading the currency market. I started the year with a new trade style PART-TIME TRADER TRADES, now renamed POSITION TRADES, to take advantage of what I thought would be a year when Central Bank Monetary Policy Divergence would be a trading factor for most of the year.

Well… I got that wrong…. sensationally wrong!!

I quickly established a change in my trading behavior and style to compensate for what was not there in the way currencies were behaving; happy days, I thought.

Wham… here in Montreal we were hit with the mother of all ice-storms from the frozen north. This took down power lines, trees, equipment posts… you name it. Home generators froze… nothing worked we were without power for 2.5 days. When the power came back the ISP lines went off for a day or so, as their systems were malfunctioning. For almost a week, I had no trading capabilities, even using a mobile / cell phone was impossible as they were on emergency numbers only!

This disaster of course coincided with the Boris Johnson announcement that he was going to vote for a BREXIT. The cable crash and the knock-on effect in the FX market cleared all my pips of profit for the year so far, and, the PREMIUM SERVICE was basically at zero to start the year again in March 2016.

Then, as if to really test the patience of traders we entered, apart from the GBP which did its own thing, range trading, that just went on and on. Between range trading and the constant, will the FED hike or wont the FED hike… week after week it was pure boring repetition. Amongst this I worked out a way to focus off longer-term trading to avoid the smaller minute charts trading noise. The false breakouts and breakdowns that are associated with range trading really hit hard at times and screwed many traders who were just chasing moves one way then the other.

It was very obvious to me. Stand back, widen stops, reduce position sizes, manage risk, change your trade plan and then TRADE IT. Very logical. I had teething problems, it was NOT 100% plain sailing, it never is with FX trading and at times it was both frustrating and annoying taking a longer-term view to let trades develop. At the end of the day however, it worked and POSITION trades are now firmly a part of my on-going trading style options.

After all the year’s nonsense, the PREMIUM SERVICE ended 2016 with a total of new net pips added 13,575 pips… the highest total in a year since inception in 2014.

To say that I am delighted would be an understatement. I did trade for a large part of August which I would normally take as vacation to re-charge batteries, however, as the first two months of the year were a trading non-event for me, I traded for a few weeks in summer doldrums to try to meet my “pips” target of 10,000.

Other highlights were: -

77% of all trades were profitable.
2016 beat the 2015 performance by 2,889 pips.

I move into 2017, with just a few small POSITION sized trades primarily in my core AUD/NZD long trade which is still working out it’s inverted head and shoulders pattern.

Moving on…

Below I show the NET PROFITABILITY sheet showing the performance based upon trading just one micro, mini or standard lot, less the costs to trade including an annual PREMIUM SERVICE subscription.

<a href="http://weeklyfxdrivethru.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/2016-PREM-SERVICE-COMPLETE.png"><img class="aligncenter size-large wp-image-8831" src="http://weeklyfxdrivethru.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/2016-PREM-SERVICE-COMPLETE-976x1024.png" alt="" width="976" height="1024" /></a>

The net income is based off single lot trading: -
$0.10 for micro lot trades
$1.00 for mini lot trades and
$10.00 for standard lot trades.

My goal each year from the 40 weeks minimum that I guarantee to trade is 10,000 pips.

I have achieved this in 2014, 2015 and now 2016. There is nothing to indicate at the moment, that I will not achieve over 10,000 pips in 2017.

Below, I have added two excel spreadsheets, firstly, what I call my CONSOLIDATED PERFORMANCE ANALYSIS for the year and secondly, my PIP COMPARISON analysis broken down month by month comparing the results to 2015 (Next year, I must think of more catchy names for these documents).

<a href="http://weeklyfxdrivethru.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/CONS-PERF-DEC2016-YTD.png"><img class="aligncenter size-large wp-image-8815" src="http://weeklyfxdrivethru.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/CONS-PERF-DEC2016-YTD-852x1024.png" alt="" width="852" height="1024" /></a>

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<strong><a href="http://weeklyfxdrivethru.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/PIP-COMPARISON-2016-COMPLETE.png"><img class="aligncenter size-large wp-image-8816" src="http://weeklyfxdrivethru.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/PIP-COMPARISON-2016-COMPLETE-1024x615.png" alt="" width="1024" height="615" /></a> </strong>

Finally, in 2016 I launched POSITION TRADES as a new trade style.

In January 2016, I posted to the PART-TIME FOREX TRADERS section of my landing page menu bar, a cashflow projection for a trading account based on my projected performance trading POSITION TRADES in 2016. Each quarter I updated the performance versus the projection.

I am pleased to say that the PREMIUM SERVICE beat the projection. A complete review can be found in the PART-TIME FOREX TRADERS section of my landing page at www.weeklyfxdrivethru.com. I do however show below the final excel sheet containing the final numbers.

<a href="http://weeklyfxdrivethru.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/POS-TRADES-ACTUAL-V-PROJ-2016.png"><img class="aligncenter size-large wp-image-8818" src="http://weeklyfxdrivethru.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/POS-TRADES-ACTUAL-V-PROJ-2016-997x1024.png" alt="" width="997" height="1024" /></a>

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<ol start="3">
 	<li><strong> PREMIUM SERVICE: ARE THERE ANY CHANGES PLANNED FOR 2017?</strong></li>
</ol>
The simple answer is yes.

Notable changes next year are: -

The 4-week subscription is going to disappear. Whilst there are some genuine traders who look at the 4-week option as a trial, the clear majority of 4 week subscriptions are from gamblers rather than traders. There are sadly only a few exceptions. The gamblers expect multiple trade set ups a day. The concept of RISK MANAGEMENT, POSITION SIZING and waiting for the trade to come to your price is lost.

Dealing with constant emails demanding more and more trades was both time consuming and at times deflating. Moving forward, I only want committed and serious traders who are in FX trading for the long haul.

Therefore, managing my time better moving forward = no 4-week subscription option. I will focus my energy on Serious and Committed Traders.

Secondly, I want to increase my “VALUE ADD”. In 2016, I launched a Platinum level of subscription, whereby annual subscribers received a discounted subscription price upon renewal. When I launched this subscription level I added that I wanted to offer other FREE but optional benefits. This fell by the wayside in 2016 due to time limitations (somewhat caused by dealing with 4-week subscribers).

The first optional benefit is a 20-30 minute personal REVIEW MEETING via SKYPE. This can take the form of basically what the individual subscriber wants. It will be structured and reviewed monthly and documented (As every trader is different in RISK TOLERANCE, experiences and trading styles, I do not want a rigid structure but a more personalized option). This option will be open only to Platinum (Annual) subscribers.

Thirdly, I will be starting weekly PERISCOPE broadcasts. This will be open for all to begin with. Over the next couple of weeks, I will be testing out the technology to see how easy or difficult it’s going to be.

Fourthly, several changes to the speed about my website will take place, so if the site is down it should only be a short time. We apparently have two options so tests will take place. In addition, I will be renaming some of my reporting documents to streamline my administration time and whilst this will affect PREMIUM SERVICE subscribers mostly, subscribers to this FREE NEWSLETTER will see only a few subtle changes.

In addition, THE WEEKLY FX DRIVE THRU will change once again, but this will only be 100% completed by the end of Q1 2017.

There are a few additional minor changes that I need to tinker with. I am hoping these are quick fixes. If 2016 remains true to form, the quick fixes are usually very painful and time delayed and those changes that I deem awkward and slow usually sail though in record time.

Finally, as usual I have revised subscriptions prices not just to keep pace with the market, but to also reflect the trading consistencies of the PREMIUM SERVICE and my value adds over and above what other providers offer. These increases will take place in the first week of 2017. There is no fixed date, it will be in effect as soon as my website developer implement it after the holidays.

Therefore, to ensure “this years” prices for “next years” performance you need to subscribe in 2016.

FROM JANUARY 1st 2017: -
4 week subscriptions – will cease first week of January 2017.
10 week subscriptions -  will increase to CAD $1,000.00 (CAD$100.00 per week).
20 week subscriptions – will increase to CAD $1,500.00 (CAD$75.00 per week).
40 week subscriptions – will increase to CAD $2,500.00 (CAD$62.50 per week).

40 week subscriptions are classified as PLATINUM MEMBERSHIP and renewals for PLATINUM MEMBERS will be CAD $2,000.00 (CAD$50.00 per week).

As mentioned before I only want to work with committed traders. Based upon the 2016 performance this brings up my fees in 2017 to just under 6.5% of the income generated by just 3 x mini lot trades (based upon an annual subscription). This still represents excellent value despite the increase.

Therefore, to reiterate, if YOU want a piece of a potential 10,000 pip annual performance and want to beat the price rise go to my website <a href="http://www.weeklyfxdrivethru.com">www.weeklyfxdrivethru.com</a> and subscribe before the end of 2016 to make sure that you obtain the current year prices.

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<ol start="3">
 	<li><strong> TRADING PREDICTIONS for 2017:</strong></li>
</ol>
Given that my thoughts around this time of the year in 2015 about 2016 were a little off point, and, having studied most of the big banks Forex predictions, no one got it correct, I am good company…. or should that be bad company?

Regular subscribers will know that I am NOT backward in coming forward about issues in the EUROZONE. Without doubt, I think that we have many big issues to address and trade through next year in addition to the continuing woes in the EUROZONE.

Below I have listed 8 factors / events that I believe will be in focus for most if not all next year.
<ol>
 	<li>THE EUROZONE</li>
 	<li>CENTRAL BANK MONETARY POLICY DIVERGENCE</li>
 	<li>THE DONALD TRUMP EFFECT</li>
 	<li>BREXIT THE ARTICLE 50 TRIGGER</li>
 	<li>THE GROWTH OF POPULARISM</li>
 	<li>OPEC and OIL PRICES</li>
 	<li>THE USD &amp; EMERGING MARKETS</li>
 	<li>THE FED EFFECT ON THE YEN</li>
</ol>
There are others items, but this list is enough to keep me very interested in 2017.

I am not going to predict currency moves one way or the other, but what I will say is that the USD should strengthen, and, if DONALD TRUMP’S policies are enacted upon, the FED could be raising rates twice, maybe three times a year for the next couple of years.

Whilst most of the attention is focused on THE DONALD, I believe that Central Bank monetary policy divergence will be the big news next year. The FED has helped the ECB and BOJ by raising rates. Whilst I can see the ECB tapering by the year end of 2017, I cannot see the BOJ following, given what has been said so far. Hence, why the divergence and the behavior with the JPY will be interesting to follow. The EUR/JPY and CHF/JPY could be the trades of the year.

These 8 points listed above, I will come back to in my first blog of next year.

I move into 2017 with a few CORE TRADING POSITIONS already in place with THE PREMIUM SERVICE, ready to capitalize, on what I believe will happen based upon my longer-term FUNDAMENTAL views.

<strong> </strong>
<ol start="4">
 	<li><strong> CLOSING THOUGHTS:</strong></li>
</ol>
Nothing more to add here except,

As usual…

Always remember longevity in Forex trading can only be achieved through trading with good RISK and MONEY MANAGEMENT, and above all set your position sizes in accordance with the size of your account and allow for some flexibility.

The WEEKLY FX DRIVE THRU blog returns January 8<sup>th</sup> 2017.

Take care, have a Happy Christmas / Happy Holidays whatever and here’s to another great trading year in 2017.

&nbsp;

Scott Pickering
The Pip Accumulator
<a href="http://weeklyfxdrivethru.com/disclaimer/">http://weeklyfxdrivethru.com/disclaimer/</a>

BLOG VERSION: #225 FREE NEWSLETTER
DATE: 17<sup>th</sup> December 2016.

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