Been trading for a while but still feel like I’m missing some fundamentals.
Most free PDFs I’ve found are either outdated or just marketing fluff for some course. Has anyone actually found a decent free resource that covers real trading concepts without trying to sell you something?
BIS Triennial Central Bank Survey has solid fundamentals on market structure and how currency pairs actually move. No sales pitch since it’s from central bankers.
For practical stuff, look for PDFs from established prop trading firms. They often release basic strategy guides to attract traders. Focus on risk management chapters over entry signals.
Skip anything promising quick profits or secret systems. The best free content usually comes from firms trying to build credibility, not sell courses.
Try the OANDA education PDFs. They have decent sections on position sizing and correlation basics without the usual sales garbage.
The Bank of Canada’s working papers on FX trading are pretty solid. Found their PDF on carry trade mechanics super helpful when I was figuring out why my strategies kept failing during volatility spikes.
Also check out FXCM’s old archived PDFs from before they got booted from the US market. They had some decent technical analysis content that wasn’t pure marketing.
Honestly though, most breakthrough moments came from reading actual trading journals people posted in forums like this. Real P&L screenshots and honest breakdowns of what went wrong beat any formal PDF.