Created on November 25, 2024

South Africa has emerged as a forex hotspot over the past decade. The FSCA, South Africa’s Forex regulator, has established itself as the leading regulator in the industry, with South Africa leading the African Forex market in innovation and success. South African Forex trading infrastructure supports most trading strategies. I have compiled a list of the most successful Forex traders in South Africa, which beginners can use as inspiration.

Do you want to rank among the most successful forex traders in South Africa, trade for a living and fulfill the ultimate goal of being a forex trader?

Forex trading is as diverse as Forex traders. While no one approach fits all marketers and personalities in South Africa, there are some similarities. I’ve created a list to help beginners get started and guide them in an educational direction to shorten their learning curve and avoid mistakes as they embark on their Forex trading journey.

Tips on how to become a successful Forex trader in South Africa:

• Invest in education
• Master discipline
• Practice patience
• Practice flexibility
• Study risk management
• Follow your path
• Trade with a strategy that suits your personality
• Ignore the recommendations of others
• Learn from your mistakes
• Respect Forex trading as a highly skilled profession
• Fine-tune numerous Forex strategies
• Make sure you are using one of the best Forex brokers in South Africa

Jacobus Majola started Forex trading in February 2021 as a self-taught Forex trader from Cape Town. He prefers a focused approach and trades primarily EUR/USD, and if the opportunity arises, he diversifies by trading the Hong Kong 50 index.

Positive lessons in Jacobus Majola’s success story

• Jacobus Majola followed the path of many successful Forex traders by learning how to trade and partnering with trusted brokers.
• He decided to focus his trade development on EUR/USD and master the price action in one currency pair, with an average profit of $80.

Lessons of caution in Jacobus Majola’s success story

• Focusing a strategy on one currency pair or several assets adds concentration risk and missed trading opportunities

Nkosi David is a forex trader from Johannesburg who switched to full-time trading in March 2021. His strategy looks for trading opportunities in EUR/USD, GBP/USD, EUR/AUD, EUR/JPY and XAU/USD. Nkosi David prefers a medium-term strategy, which is confirmed by his results.

Positive lessons in Nkosi David’s success story

• Nkosi David trades several Forex pairs and relies on gold trading as a hedge and diversification
• Based on his results, he is looking for average profits of $100 per position

Lessons of caution in Nkosi David’s success story

• Using a fixed profit target is not appropriate for every asset and can lead to missed opportunities

James Naidoo joined the growing list of successful South African Forex traders in May 2021. He is from Maputo and exclusively trades Forex with a medium term strategy. His preferred currency pairs are EUR/USD, GBP/USD, NZD/USD, AUD/USD and AUD/JPY.

Positive lessons in James Naidoo’s success story

• James Naidoo is a pure forex trader and does not mix asset classes
• He favors the major currency pairs, where liquidity provides the lowest trading fees, which increases his profits, with an average profit of $45 per trade

Lessons of caution in James Naidoo’s success story

• James Naidoo suffers from a correlation problem, as all but one of his preferred assets have the US dollar as their quoted currency

Sandile Hlongwane became a forex trader in June 2021. This trader from Pretoria favors minor currency pairs and trades CAD/JPY, CHF/JPY, EUR/AUD, EUR/CAD, EUR/NZD and GBP/CAD.

Positive lessons in Sandile Hlongwana’s success story

• Sandile Hlongwane stays away from the crowd and prefers to trade smaller currency pairs
• He made volatility his friend and created a strategy that works in a higher cost environment, yielding an average profit of $110

Lessons of caution in Sandile Hlongwana’s success story

• His trading approach is not suitable for everyone and requires more discipline and focus

Thomas Mthethwa hails from Johannesburg and appeared on the South African Forex scene in March 2021. Unlike many colleagues, he prefers to trade non-USD currency pairs with a few exceptions, as he trades GBP/USD, CAD/CHF, EUR/GBP, and NZD /CHF.

Positive lessons in Thomas Mthethwa’s success story

• Thomas Mthethwa has successfully developed a strategy for minor and exotic currency pairs, avoiding direct USD exposure in most of his trades
• He makes an average profit of over $80 per trade

Lessons of caution in Thomas Mthethewa’s success story

• Trading smaller and exotic currency pairs requires a more demanding trading infrastructure

Jan Mabaso is a forex trader from Kimberly, active since August 2021, who built his portfolio trading AUD/NZD and XAU/USD.

Positive lessons in Jan Mabasa’s success story

• Jan Mabaso combined a highly liquid asset with a smaller currency pair
• He values ​​a focused portfolio with a long-term strategy and an average profit of $455

Lessons of caution in Jan Mabasa’s success story

• Its focused, small-scale strategy increases lost opportunities and concentration risk

Mandla Mathebula from Antananarivo trades EUR/USD, XAU/USD and GBP/USD and started making a name for himself since March 2021.

Positive lessons in Mandle Mathebula’s success story

• Mandla Mathebula consolidates his success trading major currency pairs and gold
• His medium-term strategy yields an average profit of $80 per trade

Lessons of caution in Mandle Mathebula’s success story

• His trading style is exposed to the US dollar on every trade

Tshepo Zwane from Gqeberha became popular among South African Forex traders in August 2021 despite being an index trader using DE30, US30 and US100.

Positive lessons in Tshepa Zwane’s success story

• Tshepo Zwane successfully uses his index trading strategy in the Forex market
• His average profit is $250 per trade using a medium term trading strategy

Lessons of caution in Tshep Zwane’s success story

• Using primarily American indices creates a one-sided approach and the risk of centralization

Peter Adams from Maputo ranks among the best South African forex traders for trading minor currency pairs focused on AUD/CAD, AUD/CHF, EUR/JPY and GBP/JPY.

Positive lessons in the success story of Peter Adams

• Peter Adams understands how to spot trading opportunities in less crowded markets
• His short-term approach yields an average profit above $35 per trade

Lessons of caution in Peter Adams’ success story

• Using smaller currency pairs may result in higher trading fees

Thabo Louw uses a combined Forex index strategy trading DE30 and CHF/JPY. He is from Durban and entered the South African trading scene in February 2021.

Positive lessons in Thabo Louw’s success story

• Thabo Louw successfully combines two asset classes and a liquid and illiquid trading instrument
• His low frequency strategy brings an average profit above $1,685

Lessons of caution in Thabo Louw’s success story

• Using a low-frequency, low-volume approach with illiquid assets is a niche approach

Trading with the best forex brokers in South Africa is essential, but it takes more than that to rank among the most successful forex traders in South Africa. Forex brokers provide the trading infrastructure and determine which strategies they actively support and passively discourage, but Forex traders must ensure that trading conditions are competitive. Every journey begins with an in-depth education, and while there are similarities, beginners must carve their way through the vibrant Forex market in order to become successful long-term South African Forex traders.