FX and People｜Vol.2 Love Cat Trader Kousuke

While we are often drawn to various analyses such as fundamentals and technicals, and to investment methods like automated trading and system trading, the essence of Forex lies in price movements born from the interactions between people. Analysis or methods do not move the markets. Any market is moved by countless people. In this series, we will thoroughly zoom in on the “people” in FX. The second guest is Kosuke, who has achieved strong results in domestic and international FX competitions, including the Robins Cup. He also shares the transition from being a musician to a trader.

Kosuke profile

A discretionary trader with a 3rd place in the Robins Cup Japan, and a 2nd place in the US competition. He focuses on technical analysis and specializes in short-term trading. Former musician; he was active as a guitarist during his band days.

Twitter：https://twitter.com/KOUSUKE_TRADER

● Interviewer: Takeo Shikanai (FX writer)

※This article is a reprint and edited version of an article from FX Sekiryaku.com October 2020 issue. Please note that the market information written here may differ from the current market.

Main activity is music. Investment trusts as a side job

——Please tell us what sparked Kosuke to start investing.

In my case, I didn’t start with FX at first; I began with investment trusts. It was right after the Lehman Shock in 2008, so I chose investment trusts as a relatively stable financial product.

At that time I was mainly focused on band activities, but I could feel the whole music industry losing vigor, so to dispel my anxiety I decided to take on investment trusts as a side job.

——Did investment trusts turn profitable?

I kept buying REITs, and since the timing was right after the Lehman Shock, after about 4–5 years I saw significant profits. This experience sparked a desire to earn more, and while researching whether there was a better method than investment trusts, I came across FX and decided to try it.

——What kind of trading style did you have when you started FX?

As I researched FX, I realized fees were cheaper than foreign currency deposits, so I repeatedly bought USD/JPY whenever it fell, and put in capital.

Additionally, I followed what online articles said and traded accordingly. It was around the time when the consumption tax was raised to 8%. I read articles saying “the yen will weaken after the tax increase,” so I kept buying USD/JPY.

——You bought based on a belief in anomalies. What happened as a result?

I made quite a profit (laughs). From around 2014, USD/JPY surged greatly and rose to about 120 yen at one point. I became more greedy after that. For the sake of swaps, I bought AUD/JPY, NZD/JPY, and ZAR/JPY aggressively.

If things had continued smoothly, it would have been fine, but the following year’s China shock (the major stock plunge in August 2015) caused a big hit, and I lost half of the profits I had earned up to that point.

——It looked fine, but you experienced a significant loss during the China shock.

Until then I had followed information I happened to encounter, but I realized I needed to study properly to avoid this. That was the turning point for me.