GM Lark Traders. This is Lark Digest, the trading newsletter that’s anything but boring. We deliver the pips without any drawdown.

It’s Friday, so have that extra cup o’ Joe, sit back and launch the weekend early.

—Mr.Lark

On today’s menu:

• How to trade boring markets 😴

• What’s the biggest funding firm? 🤔 

• The Bank of Japan turns hawkish 📈 

😴 Your Guide To Boring Markets

I hate the saying, “Good trading is boring trading.”

Why?

Because it’s right!

Good trading shouldn’t have a lot of emotions and excitement.

But my goodness, who doesn’t love a little market volatility and this week we’ve had none of that.

*Okay, as of writing this, our beloved Bitcoin has absolutely tanked over 6%, but those are minor details.*

In fact, not only are boring markets well, boring, but they’re also very difficult to trade.

We see traders lose a lot more money in these types of conditions than when the market is moving quickly.

So because it’s Friday, we’re going to dive deep into how we can navigate these murky, slow-moving markets.

1/ Why is the market boring?

To understand why the market is boring, we need to understand what the market is feeling.

The market, after all, is a living and breathing thing and, like us (or at least me), can get pretty moody.

But if you’ve been following the news (which as a trader, you should), things should be pretty clear.

There’s only two things the market cares about right now:

1. Inflation

2. Interest rates

The market is waiting for interest rates to fall.

Why?

Because it will massively stimulate the economy. People are more likely to borrow and more likely to spend.

However, that can only happen once inflation gets closer to the Federal Reserve’s 2% target.

And it’s not getting there.

In fact, this week, the CPI figure came in higher than expected.

And that uncertainty is what has led to the market not moving.

If you take only one thing from this email, let it be this:

Indecision means more information is needed.

2/ How can we trade these markets?

When I was first trying to get funded in 2021, boring markets were the worst.

I couldn’t find any setups, and even if I managed to get into a trade, I’d have to hold it forever without anything happening.

No good.

But eventually I realized that my problem was trying to fight the market.

I was going against the vibe of the market.

And that’s also no good.

But I eventually (reluctantly) learned a few things that helped me tremendously.

*Warning, you might not like them.*

1/ Smaller timeframes & smaller trades.

It’s next to impossible to take on a big swing trade if the market isn’t moving. It’s just not going to happen.

So rather than trying to do the impossible, I learned to drop down timeframes and aim for smaller trades.

Instead of trading the 4-hour charts, I dropped to the 1-hour.

Instead of going for 30 pip trades, I tried going for 15-20 pip trades.

My framework was asking myself, “What does an A+ setup look like on a smaller timeframe?”

2/ Wait for the data. 

Markets don’t move when there’s uncertainty.

So, the best solution is often to sit on your hands and not trade until the market has the clarity it needs.

Is that easy to do?

Of course not!

As traders, we’re often like a hungry wolf that’s just waiting for an opportunity to pounce.

But a wolf isn’t going to expend all of its energy on a prey it knows it likely won’t catch (I’m assuming. I actually know nothing about wolves).

TLDR:

1. Indecision means more information is needed.

2. The market is waiting for more data on inflation to price in what interest rates will do this year.

3. If you’re not going to sit on your hands, going for smaller trades in smaller timeframes worked well for me.

📈 Which Firm Is The Biggest? 

Does size matter?

In the world of prop firms, it’s something that is looked at closely.

But determining just how big a firm is is anything but a science.

Many will use the amount of payouts they’ve processed, but unfortuneately, those can easily be faked.

Others will use website traffic, but as we’ll see, it isn’t always accurate.

Take a look at this recent graphic from Prop Firm Match.

It’s so interesting to see how much traffic (roughly) firms generate.

But what does this mean for traders?

1/ Bigger Isn’t Always Better

I have a prediction.

As the evaluation industry grows, it will become more like the real estate brokerage industry.

You’ve got some massive players at the top. They’ve got brand recognition, and you know what you’re getting with them. But you won’t be getting any special treatment or out-of-the-box service.

Then, with smaller firms, while not as well-known, in an attempt to make a name for themselves, you’ll likely get better service and a more “hands-on approach.” AKA, better trader support and more creativity in their offering.

For example, Lark isn’t the biggest, but we have some of the most creative features like:

• Zero denied payouts in over 650 days.

• No daily loss limit on our 3-step program.

• 75% reset discount codes.

• Actual trader support.

With such a quickly moving industry, these are things worth considering.

2/ Don’t Trust The Numbers

The above post has us at 73,000 website visits last month. But based on our numbers, we had 158,372 visits.

More than double what SimilarWeb says.

This makes me wonder what kind of discrepancy the firms near the top are experiencing.

They might be way bigger than SimilarWeb says. Or way smaller.

Either way, the battle for the top spot continues, but it is not something we’re interested in.

Quality > Quantity.

🇯🇵 The Bank of Japan Makes Noise

Japan is a wild place for a lot of reasons.

But as a trader, I’m less interested in their anime and more interested in their monetary policy.

Since February 2016, their interest rate has been -0.1%.

No, that’s not a typo. Yes, that’s a negative interest rate.

They did this back in 2016 to try and get prices to increase, and it made noise around the world.

However, the BoJ is now considering eliminating this policy, as recent pay hikes across the country are helping the central bank hit its 2% price stability target.

If they do, it would be Japan’s first interest rate hike since 2007, and it might just make the JPY way more interesting to trade.

It’s definitely something to watch.

Their meeting begins on Monday, so grab your popcorn.

🍪 DIGESTIBLE MEMES

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