Did you know that 80% of people who start trading end up losing and quit within the first year? In this article, we’ll guide you through everything you need to know to become a stock trader in 2025! Don’t make the same mistakes as everyone else, and follow our advice.
So, you will learn: what is trading? What does the activity of a stock market trader consist of? What characteristics distinguish them from stock market investors? How much does a trader earn? How to become a professional trader? What budget should you plan for a trading activity? How to choose your trading style?
Discover our guide to getting started in trading: from choosing a stockbroker to developing a trading technique and a trading plan, including the use of stock market tools and trading taxation, Café de la Bourse covers the basics and offers its advice for becoming a better stock market trader.
Learn how to recognize pitfalls and avoid scams, and discover our 8 tips for successful trading. Also included in this article are our broker comparison, our video on 10 tips for getting started with online trading, and 5 key elements to remember when trading on the stock market.
What’s new and what’s new in Trading in 2025?
In 2025, the gamification of trading is experiencing a real boom. The organization of challenges, competitions between traders, and other competitions are booming, particularly within prop firms that evaluate talent according to rules inspired by video games.
The artificial intelligence craze also extends to social trading, with platforms that combine AI, intelligent copy trading, and community.
Finally, trading is entering the metaverse, with projects like TradeStation in The Sandbox, or even virtual reality trading rooms designed by independent developers, integrating 3D dashboards and immersive analysis tools.
Trading: 5 key elements to remember to become a stock market trader
As highlighted by various AMF surveys, a large proportion of retail traders make more losses than gains when it comes to actively trading on the stock markets. Therefore, you must follow certain rules to become a good stock trader and succeed in implementing a trading technique that will allow you to achieve good performance with your capital.
Trading: What is Trading?
Trading is the activity of buying and selling financial assets (stocks, currencies, indices, commodities, etc.) with the clear objective of making a profit by taking advantage of price fluctuations. A stock trader seeks to invest in the stock market by taking advantage of market movements, whether bullish or bearish, by intervening at strategic times.
Trading can take place over a variety of time frames, from transactions lasting from a few seconds to several weeks. Depending on their style, traders may specialize in:
Trading can be done manually (the trader analyzes the market and makes decisions himself) or automatically, using algorithms. This is called algorithmic trading , or “robot trading.” In this case, computer programs ( robot traders ) automatically execute buy and sell orders according to predefined rules.
Individual traders can use algorithmic trading tools (MT4, MT5, TradeStation, ProRealTime ), but algorithmic trading is mainly the preserve of large financial institutions (banks, hedge funds ), which exploit it on a very large scale in what is called high-frequency trading with millions of transactions being carried out every day, often in a few milliseconds, to capture tiny price differences.
When it comes to discretionary trading, that is, manual trading, it will be essential to develop solid technical skills, but above all to master the psychological aspect of trading, the real key to success over time.