You need to have an account with a broker before you can trade at the Forex market. So, how can you spot a broker? Simply said, a broker can be an individual or a company. The broker buys and sells orders based on the decision of the trader. Brokers take profit through commissions or fees for their rendered services.
There are so many brokers who will offer their services to you. You might feel overwhelmed. You need to make a little research before taking the offer of any broker. The time you spend researching will provide you with valuable insights about different broker services and fees.
Check if the Forex broker is registered
You need to determine the regulating agencies that exercise authority over the broker. Essentially, the Forex market is an unregulated market. Reactive regulation is the typical practice. This means that you will only get action after you lose your entire savings.
Forex brokers in the United States should be registered as a Futures Commission Merchant. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission exercise regulatory powers over them. The brokers should also be a member of the NFA. These agencies were created to protect you from abusive trading practices, fraud, and manipulation.
You will be able to verify the status of the Forex brokers with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and NFA. Registration of a broker as well as its membership can be checked by phoning the NFA at (800) 621-3570. You can also visit the NFA web site at www.nfa.futures.org/basicnet/. Here you can find basic information about the broker and its history of disciplinary actions. Stick with registered brokers and choose those with excellent financial and clean record. Always avoid unregulated brokers.
The NFA seeks to boost its campaign to educate investors like you about Forex trading. They have a brochure called “Trading in the Retail Off-Exchange Foreign Currency Market.” This brochure is worthy of a Pulitzer Prize. Before you dive into the Forex market, the NFA highly recommends that you read this book.
The NFA also has an interactive and self directed program called Forex Online Learning Program. This program explains the intricacies of trading and the shows to you the risks involved in the trading at Forex. You can get the brochure and take the online learning program at no cost to you.
Check the Customer Service
You need 24 hour customer service from a broker because Forex is open 24 hours a day. Check if you can contact the broker either through phone call, live chat, or email. When you speak with representatives, determine if they are knowledgeable. Different Forex brokers offer different qualities of customer services. So it would be best if you can check this out before you open an account.Choose several brokers and try to contact their support service. If they respond quickly then this could be a good indicator that they will respond faster to your needs.
On the other hand, do not trust a broker if your queries cannot be answered satisfactorily. If you also did not get fast replies, then you better look for other brokers. Of course, you should be aware that sometimes, pre sales services are better than post sales services.
Types of Online Trading Platform
When checking out a forex broker, do look for these details:
1. Margin provided (usually 1-4%)
2. Their spreads for the currencies you’ll be trading (the EURUSD will usually be 3-4 pips)
3. Amount of funds required to start an account
4. Any fees for small trade sizes (many don’t charge fees for smaller trade sizes, but some do)
5. Any other fees (there will be rollover fees for positions held overnight with any provider, which are usually small, though the details of this fee can vary)
6. Whether the broker automatically closes your position if the position goes against you by the entire value of your account not used as margin for that trade (not that you’re likely to face this situation if you follow system rules, but just in case it does!)
7. What their charting package and forex trading platform is like
8. Whether the trading platform provide a demo account for you to practice on
9. How established the company is, and any problems within the company.
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
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