Pelican’s Mentor — Simon Cotterill
By: Mike Read
Tags: Pelican Mentors, Trading

Pelican’s Mentor — Simon Cotterill

Every month, Pelican will be conducting an interview with one of the top traders on the Pelican platform. This is to give a deeper and more insightful analysis into the character of the best traders within the Pelican community.

After successfully running my printing company for over 12 years, I had the opportunity to work for a friends’ boutique commodities brokerage, which gave me a great insight and start in the financial industry. It afforded me the opportunity to learn the business and this lead me into Currency Trading which as from 2012 I have been trading as a full-time career.

I have managed to set my trading brain and concentrate on the psychology of trading by maintaining strict discipline, control and a detailed routine. I implement my trading principles and rules to maximise my technical analysis approach.

I have built on my experience and in the past 5 years and have been consistently profitable plus I am working to continue this success.

I currently trade, splitting my time between, managing money for LT93 Wealth Management and working for Cosen Capital, where I am responsible for daily Technical Analysis Reports. I bring years of Technical Analysis experience and a wealth of knowledge gained through trading. I provide consistent gains for LT93 with reliable and trusted daily technical analysis with clear trade signals for Cosen Capital.

When and how did you learn to trade successfully?

I started my trading career in 2012. I viewed it as a new venture so took it very seriously. I approached it like a business but was unsure I would be able to make a living from it as I began.

I was in a very fortunate position where I was able to take a gap-year and learn as much as possible by reading everything I could lay my hands on including articles or opinion pieces. I soon found that trading is very personal and is based on psychology. With that knowledge, I found that I understood Technical Analysis and was able to recognise patterns within the charts. I studied how the successful professional prop trader worked and took the best practices that suited me and applied them to my trading. I took one course at the start of my venture, but it was mostly my own research and studies that I gained my knowledge from.

How long have you been a mentor and what sent you down that path?

I have been a mentor for around 18 months which happened very naturally. Thankfully I have made consistent profits for 5 years and due to this I have had various people ask me to help them learn to trade or help refine trading strategies and offer guidance. I love to talk about trading and was happy to help others make their living trading.

In brief, what is your trading strategy?

I am a technical analysist with an eye on the news. My analysis centres on pattern recognition and candle stick formations, combined with simple support and resistance, trendlines and Fibonacci applications, mapping the markets in order to spot trading opportunities. I have attained my STA Diploma.

What is your track record in terms of performance?

I have averaged around 200% per year for 2016 and 2017.

Do you require potential students to have a level of trading expertise already or can you educate those new to trading?

I can educate but students will need a basic level of understanding. I suggest students at least understand all the basics that are offered in the free course on www.babypips.com. I will also suggest some other reading material. Students will have to be prepared put study time into this endeavour.

With regard to risk management what account size do you recommend, as a minimum, for those students following you via your Pelican group?

I would suggest £5,000 as a good base as it allows you to absorb losses. We can aim to start for 10% per month return.

Do you specialise in specific markets?

The Major and crosses, no exotic pairs.

Do you use Stops and Limits?

Always, I do not enter a trade without a stop and a target.

Do you trade directly or use orders?

Both, I will do all my technical analysis, early in the morning, around 5:30am ready for the open. I set my alerts for when price my touch a level that I want to know about, which sometimes I will set a trade to enter automatically here, other times I will just receive the alert and then watch price action from there and enter the trade if I want to.

How many trades do you average a week/month?

Perhaps 15–20 per week. (for the group around 5 trades per week)

What time commitment do you recommend to benefit from your service on Pelican?

Ideally 3–4 hours per day.

What are the subscription costs associated with your Pelican group?

£149/m

Do you have any performance offers or deals?

2 week free trail

What excites you about the future of your Pelican group?

We will be providing a Technical Analysis Daily Report and continuing a great performance record. We will also be providing some great insight into the mindset of a successful trader, providing tips and advice on how to hack your brain to become a consistently profitable trader.

We are very excited about the launch of the group to provide great insight into the markets!