You've probably heard the spiel before on reddit and countless other online forums.

Are trading signals worth it? What are the benefits? How can they help me? And everybody has an opinion, so today we're going to be breaking down the pro's and cons of trading signals and how they may or may not be right for you.

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Pros:

You can learn how financial markets move:

As financial markets get more efficient, it gets harder and harder to find opportunities to make money. Alongside that also comes high frequency trading computers us humans (mere mortals that is) cannot match. But what we can do is understand how markets move and the cycles they perform. You see, trading is all is based on psychology, mainly human fear and greed and when someone is fearful they are selling, when someone is confident they are buying. Beginner traders look at signals as a way to understand why people are buying there and vice versa.

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You see where traders usually get in:

Imagine you could copy the homework of a maths genius. Well, imagine that in the financial markets. And while geniuses are not always right, they tend to be. It always pays to be sat next to them as they understand something you don't.

If you could sit next to a trader who understands how the market moves and how opportunities can present themselves, I guarantee you'd come out a better trader.

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Build confidence in chart analysis:

Building you psychology the hardest skill to learn in trading. Most people are not ready psychologically to endure losses. It hurts to lose money. And when you knew you should have bought and the price tanks, you kick yourself. "I knew I should have sold." We understand how it feels to go through that experience and I think every trader does but with signals you get an insight into what pro traders are doing, you think "I wonder what the banks are doing here?"

Often times it takes some considerable years to learn how to trade properly with the correct risk management system and to get a strategy you can rely on for a a dependable income. It's even not surprising that only 25% of traders who start, are profitable.

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Cons:

Show me, don't tell me:

We've all heard the classic saying "Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach him how to fish and you feed him for a lifetime". Well some might argue this is the case with trading. And while there is some truth to it, we see signals as a benefit. Depending on where the signals are from, users can get value by seeing where to enter, why they entered and to understand the context of the market. Often times it takes some time to learn to trade but signals can speed that process up to a degree.

Trust:

"Can I trust signal providers? They just want my money." While there are some scammers out there who will just give you any old signals to get your money, if done properly, signals can provide a wealth of information and lower the barrier to entry. Often times there is a huge learning curve that often takes years. There always has to be a level of trust, after all there is money on the line.

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The cost of signals:

While signals are a relatively new idea, people are not too sure about paying for signals. They argue costs can mount especially with a subscription model and that's true, costs can add up, but I would argue they are solving a real pain point amongst traders. Anybody can press the buy or sell button, that doesn't make them a trader. It's knowing when to buy and when to sell and that is the real problem it solves. Signal providers take the friction out of trading.

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The verdict:

Yes, we believe signals are worth it. As a Forex signal provider we definitely see the value a signal provider can bring to a trader. Not just because we provide those services but even if we didn't, it has always been a service that we wanted as traders when we were learning to trade. Even if you don't use all the signals you can pick and chose based on your preferences so there is always that element to it - take what you like and leave what you don't.