Chosing the Right Broker

In this post, I will share with yoou how you can chose the right broker.

Reasons to choose Forex over Stocks
No Middlemen Centralized exchanges provide many advantages to the trader. However, one of the problems with any centralized exchange is the involvement of middlemen. Any party located in between the trader and the buyer or seller of the security or instrument traded will cost them money. The cost can be either in time or in fees. Spot currency trading does away with the middlemen and allows clients to interact directly with the market-maker responsible for the pricing on a particular currency pair. Forex traders get quicker access and cheaper costs. Buy/Sell programs do not control the market How many times have you heard that "fund A" was selling "X" or buying "Z"? Rumor had it that the funds were taking profits because of the end of the financial year or because today is "triple witching day", all as an explanation of why this stock is up or the market in general is down or positive on the session.
The stock market is very susceptible to large fund buying and selling. In spot trading, the liquidity of the Forex market makes the likelihood of any one fund or bank to control a particular currency very slim. Banks, hedge funds, governments, retail currency conversion houses and large net-worth individuals are just some of the participants in the spot currency markets where the liquidity is unprecedented. Analysts and brokerage firms are less likely to influence the market Have you watched TV lately? Heard about a certain Internet stock and an analyst of a prestigious brokerage firm accused of keeping its recommendations, such as "buy" when the stock was rapidly declining? It is the nature of these relationships. No matter what the government does to step in and discourage this type of activity, we have not heard the last of it. IPO's are big business for both the companies going public and the brokerage houses. Relationships are mutually beneficial and analysts work for the brokerage houses that need the companies as clients. That catch-22 will never disappear.
Foreign exchange, as the prime market, generates billions in revenue for the world's banks and is a necessity of the global markets. Analysts in foreign exchange don't drive the deal flow, they just analyze the forex market. 8,000 stocks versus 4 major currency pairs There are approximately 4,500 stocks listed on the New York Stock exchange. Another 3,500 are listed on the NASDAQ. Which one will you trade? Got the time to stay on top of so many companies? In spot currency trading, there are dozens of currencies traded, but the majority of the market trades the 4 major pairs. Aren t four pairs much easier to keep an eye on than thousands of stocks? I d say so.


Order Types
There are some basic order types that all brokers provide and some others that sound weird. The basic ones are:
Market order A market order is an order to buy or sell at the current market price. For example, EUR/USD is currently trading at 1.2140. If you wanted to buy at this exact price, you would click buy and your trading platform would instantly execute a buy order at that exact price. If you ever shop on Amazon.com, it's (kinda) like using their 1-Click ordering. You like the current price, you click once and it's yours! The only difference is you are buying or selling one currency against another currency instead of buying Britney Spears CDs.
Limit order A limit order is an order placed to buy or sell at a certain price. The order essentially contains two variables, price and duration. For example, EUR/USD is currently trading at 1.2050. You want to go long if the price reaches 1.2070. You can either sit in front of your monitor and wait for it to hit 1.2070 (at which point you would click a buy market order), or you can set a buy limit order at 1.2070 (then you could walk away from your computer to attend your ballroom dancing class). If the price goes up to 1.2070, your trading platform will automatically execute a buy order at that exact price. You specify the price at which you wish to buy/sell a certain currency pair and also specify how long you want the order to remain active (GTC or GFD).
Stop-loss order A stop-loss order is a limit order linked to an open trade for the purpose of preventing additional losses if price goes against you. A stop-loss order remains in effect until the position is liquidated or you cancel the stop-loss order. For example, you went long (buy) EUR/USD at 1.2230. To limit your maximum loss, you set a stop-loss order at 1.2200. This means if you were dead wrong and EUR/USD drops to 1.2200 instead of moving up, your trading platform would automatically execute a sell order at 1.2200 and close out your position for a 30 pip loss (eww!). Stop-losses are extremely useful if you don't want to sit in front of your monitor all day worried that you will lose all your money. You can simply set a stop-loss order on any open positions so you won't miss your basket weaving class.


How to chose a broker?

Before trading Forex you need to set up an account with a Forex broker. So what exactly is a broker? In simplest terms, a broker is an individual or a company that buys and sells orders according to the trader's decisions. Brokers earn money by charging a commission or a fee for their services. You may feel overwhelmed by the number of brokers who offer their services online. Deciding on a broker requires a little bit of research on your part, but the time spent will give you insight into the services that are available and fees charged by various brokers. Is the Forex broker regulated? When selecting a prospective Forex broker, find out with which regulatory agencies it is registered with.
The Forex market is labeled as an unregulated market, and it basically is. Regulation is typically reactive, meaning only after you ve been bamboozled out of your entire savings will something be done. In the United States a broker should be registered as a Futures Commission Merchant (FCM) with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and a NFA member. The CFTC and NFA were made to protect the public against fraud, manipulation, and abusive trade practices.
You can verify Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) registration and NFA membership status of a particular broker and check their disciplinary history by phoning NFA at (800) 621-3570 or by checking the broker/firm information section (BASIC) of NFA's Web site at www.nfa.futures.org/basicnet/. Among the registered firms, look for those with clean regulatory records and solid financials. Stay away from non-regulated firms! The NFA is stepping up their efforts in educating investors about retail forex trading. They ve created a brochure fit for a Pulitzer Prize called, "Trading in the Retail Off-Exchange Foreign Currency Market . The NFA recommends you read it before taking the forex plunge. They ve also developed a Forex Online Learning Program, an interactive self-directed program explaining how retail forex contracts are traded, the risks inherent in forex trading and steps individuals should take before opening a forex account.
Both the brochure and the online learning program are available at no charge to the public. Customer Service Forex is a 24-hour market, so 24-hour support is a must! Can you contact the firm by phone, email, chat, etc.? Do the reps seem knowledgeable? The quality of support can vary drastically from broker to broker, so be sure to check them out before opening an account. Here s a good tip: choose several online brokers and contact their help desks. Seeing how quickly they respond to your questions can be key in gauging how they will respond to your needs. If you don't get a speedy reply and a satisfactory answer to your question, you certainly wouldn't want to trust them with your business. Just be aware that as in other types of businesses, pre-sales service might be better than post-sales service.
Always check the brokers fineprint before you sign up. There are alot of nuances you need to be fully aware with. It`s crucial that you keep trading on demo first and to try out different brokers
Summary What to look for in an onlineForex broker/dealer:
1. Minimum: Since we assume you are not superrich yet , you should be able to open up accounts starting from 500 usd
2. Spreads. The spread is the difference between the buy and the ask price. It should be as low as possible as that are just extra costs
3. Good Plattforms. We prefer the metatrader plattform (currently Version 4) as its one of the most powerful forms out there and allows alot of customization + leaves space for plugins.
4. Leverage Leverage can either make or break you. Huge leverage (400:1) allows you to trade with 400 times the capital you actually loaded your account up with.On the downside a minimum pip loss can cause you a margin call.
5. Instant order execution Crucial.. You need to have live data to work with. Some brokers have problems with instant executing your orders and hang iup frequently. there is nothing more frustrating than trying to place an order and not getting through with it. Watch out and experiment.

Hope you find this post useful

happy Pipping

Sola ELeko