Saturday, July 31, 2010

Forex Trading Brokers - Selecting One That Benefits You

An essential part of trading forex is opening an account with a good broker. You always have to have a way into the market and your brokerage company will provide software so that you can control your trades online. They will also give you leverage so that you can trade on margins and control much larger sums that you have yourself. Depending on the brokers' software, you may be able to use a trading robot, like the Forex Megadroid robot on your account.
There are several things to take into account when choosing a forex broker. Here are some of the most important points to consider:
1. Reliability
Not all brokers are trustworthy, and finding one that is isn't that simple. Because the forex markets spans the entire globe, there is no universal regulatory body, so some brokers are unregulated. Find out where a broker is located and what local associations they are members of. In the US brokers are regulated by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CTFC) and/or the National Futures Association (NFA). Other countries have other associations.
Go to online forums and search for the name of a broker, to see if people have had problems with them. It is always best to find several different opinions, as just one person may have reasons to be biased. That person may have personal or financial reasons for praising or criticizing a broker.
2. Services provided
Because the forex markets operate 24 hours a day on weekdays, make sure the bokers service is available all through this time. You may also want to check if they have 24 hour customer support Monday through Friday.
Check that they cover all of the major currency pairs, that is USD against EUR, JPY, GBP, CHF, CAD, AUD. The should also allow some currency pairs that do not involve the USD, such as GBP/EUR.
All brokers will offer charts and technical analysis. Check that these meet your needs. You should also make sure that they execute orders immediately, and that you will get the price displayed at the time.
3. Charges
Forex trading brokers generally do not charge a fee or commission. Instead they make money from the spread, which is the difference between the bid and ask prices of a currency pair. Spread is usually in the range of 1-3 pips, depending on the broker and the currency pair, but it can vary at times of volatility. The size of the spread can make a big difference to whether you make profits in the long term.
4. Minimum account and lot size
Brokers usually have a minimum investment for your account. Some brokers only offer standard accounts where the minimum investment could be $10,000 or more. Mini forex trading accounts have a much lower minimum account balance, often$250-$1,000. These are better for almost all beginners.
5. Leverage
Leverage is the factor that determines how much you can control with the money that is in your account. You can often control a lot that is up to 100 times the money that you actually put in, with your broker covering the rest. There are brokers that will allow control over even greater amounts, but be careful because this does increase the risk factor.
Whether a broker will allow you to trade with a robot such as the Megadroid Forex robot is another point you may want to consider. However, the above 5 points are the main factors to take into account when selecting a forex trading broker.

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