SOFIA STAVROPOULOU. SIOLEENO INV. CO LTD.

SOFIA STAVROPOULOU Managing Director at SIOLEENO INV. CO LTD

Q We have known each other for many years, going back to my retail days in FX. Can you tell the readers how you got into the industry?

would rather be “smokes and mirrors” because these pieces of information are actually part of their well orchestrated game of Markets’ manipulation.

I first got familiarized with FOREX back in 2004 on my quest for a way out of my financial distress at the time having been in the midst of a painful divorce. I believe that the vast majority of new FOREX Traders, see in FOREX a “magical” cash-cow that will start generating money, saving them from debt and any other financial nightmare. That was my initial approach to it and a very naive one to say the least. I started FOREX Trading, burning money I couldn’t afford losing but my despair got me feeding the “monster” with more hard-earned “blood” taken not only from me, but from my kids as well. It took me years to realize that the affluent people hire wealth/asset managers to trade their funds at extremely low risk and almost non existent leverage, while for all of us being on the other side of the story, trading with margin –borrowing money which is not ours- at high leverage, is one of the worst forms of gambling and the least responsible ways of committing suicide, because through FOREX Gambling you will not only lose money, you’ll lose your self esteem, your physical and mental health and you’ll destroy your most precious relationships, unless if you get yourself armoured and shielded through proper Education in Technical Analysis.

Q You have written loads of books (available on Amazon) about technical analysis. How hard is it to write about such a dry subject?

You know Paul, the first thing I remember myself doing after experiencing the frustration of massive losses , at the beginning of my FOREX journey, was to order any book I could find on AMAZON on the subject. The volume of my orders was such, that books were delivered inside white plastic sacks containing the carton boxes. Can you imagine that?

Taking the books home, filled my heart with anticipation and a sense of lightness at the hope that the knowledge I was seeking was there.

To my disappointment, the books were written in a “wooden” language which was aiming at highlighting author’s expertise on Mathematics, or was regurgitating what Markets’ “sharks” want us little minnows to believe about macro-economics, calling them Fundamentals. A more suitable term

This realization made me even more persistent in my research for applicable knowledge. I knew others who had reached a certain level of understanding, were not better than me. Determined to crack the code, I also decided that once achieving it, I’d write a book in plain language so that a six years old child could understand it. So I started putting my trades under the microscope reverse engineering the process that led to gains or losses. That’s how my Methodology, piece by piece came to life. Then KISS FOREX Series of books followed were each book is dedicated to a specific Indicator or a set of them, HAPPY PIPS were next with a broader view of the Trading Disciplines and success elements and now MITOS TRADES where I present my thinking pattern behind winning trades based on my Signals, explaining each step from ENTRY to EXIT. I pour my soul in every book and its content is the result of an imaginary dialogue with the new trader. It’s an act of confessing and as such it gives me a very rewarding sense of fulfillment, because I know that the knowledge I share will help them navigate successfully the FOREX Labyrinth and will enable them to improve their financial landscape.

Q Your FXHOLIC Mobile app on Ios, Android and Kindle, what makes it so different to all the others on the market?

Paul FXHOLIC App was designed with the beginner and small portfolio trader in mind. A trader’s results depend on the source of information they base their decisions upon. FXHOLIC APP offers Signals in the form of mini VIDEO Tutorials where traders view my chart over my shoulder and get a full explanation of the WHY and the HOW of each Trade Setup. They get full sets of Entry, Stop Loss and Take Profit Target placement Criteria, -in many cases for both BUY and SELL Scenarios- and because my Signals are solely given in terms of Technical Analysis, their performance is phenomenal. APP’s Users get Push Notifications each time a fresh signal is out and quite often, a few minutes before Entry Criteria are met as well as follow up tips if necessary. This is what I call GUIDED TRADING . Furthermore, inside the APP, Users who choose to Subscribe to ForexID Academy, are getting access to a wealth of Educational Material on my Methodology including my books, MITOS eCourse, Strategies, Exercises and more. So what

makes FXHOLIC App stand out is the Combination of Guided Trading and Education and the high quality of the training material which is consistent with the quality of the Signals. I treat my APP’s Users as dear friends, not as numbers.

Q Not only are you a guru of FX trading, you also have a fabulous podcast. I find listening to your voice very calming. How did you come up with the idea for your podcast?

Thank you for your nice words. Please allow me to replace the word “guru” which does not reflect who I am and what I do, with the greek word “mentor” the one I also chose for my Premium Forex Consulting Program, which is in line with my goal to offer stimuli to the new traders that will help them make the necessary mind-shift placing FOREX Trading within the right context for them , as part of their overall life planning and financial planning. The idea for the podcast came as the necessity from my side, to make it clear that the ultimate form of Income is Recurring Passive Income, ideally from multiple sources and FOREX Trading is not such a source.

The better Trader you become, the more you realize that you need the best Investment Vehicles, -them being business models or valuable assets that appreciate in time, - that can either be funded by your trading gains or manage part of their returns via trading.

FX Trading can be a lever, an accelerator but never a primary Financial Success vehicle. My Podcasts Episodes will be continued shortly, mainly extending the conversation on the “income sources” topic and exploring the world of true

wealth that welcomes only those who are financially educated, a kind of education that is not offered in school.

Q Is there a big market in Greece, it has always seemed to have been an over looked market?

Considering the fact that FOREX to the total beginners is a “promise land” and my country has been mercilessly hit by a crisis that resembles war rather than peace time, there are far more Greeks than stats can tell , who have turned into FOREX seeking a way out of their financial constraints. A general estimate raises their number to one hundred thousand.

Q What’s next on the agenda for Sofia Stavropoulou?

Thank you for asking. My two big “loves” for now are ForexID Academy and MENTOR. More Subscribers to ForexID Academy means more traders saved from the “monster”. To make my Program attractive, I kept its monthly Subscription at the affordable rate of 48.99eur, while the value of the content is multiple times higher and I’ll keep enriching it. MENTOR on the other hand is my Premium FX Consulting Program, designed for FX Investors and Portfolio Managers giving to both reasons to celebrate excellent annual ROI’s with zero drawdown and for each new member, through a Strategy Session, the Trading Plan and the goals are determined so that they know exactly how many trades of the ones I ‘m giving through the Program they should execute and how. To me personally, MENTOR is a fascinating challenge of seeing the power of my Methodology and Guidance boosting the performance of experienced Traders or advanced Professionals and this is the highest degree of recognition I could ever ask for.