Choosing the right online forex broker will play a large role in whether your trading is successful or not. When choosing your online forex broker there are certain key criteria that you will want to evaluate before making your choice. This guide will explain what you need to known before you choose your forex broker.
The rise of online trading has opened up a whole new world of opportunities to the home trader. The Forex market is actually the biggest financial market in the world. Not only this but it can be traded at almost any time of the day. The reason for this is because the forex market is open at least somewhere in the world at all times. This means that it is the perfect market to trade for people who may already have a full time job. Your trading can easily fit around whatever commitments you may have. In addition trading in Forex is generally very short term. You can trade for a couple of hours and then close out all your positions when the trading session ends. In the past trading from your home was much more difficult. But thanks to the internet it is now possible to trade easily from your own without being at a disadvantage to bigger market players.
The internet not only provides convenient online access to trading it also offers a wealth of fast and accurate information which is available at a fraction of its previous cost. Probably the most important decision you will first have to make is not whether to trade Forex or not, but which online forex broker you would like to choose.
The first criteria you will want to look at is the trading platform that your Forex broker employs. The reliability of the platform used will be vital to your trading success. If the platform moments before you are about to execute a trade the results can be disastrous. You may find yourself unable to get out of an unfavourable position at a crucial moment. Most online forex brokers will offer a free trial of their platform and it is well worth taking them up on this. Not only is reliabitlity important but you will also want to assess the usabitliy of the platform. Can you easily understand how to use the interface? Make sure that you are completely comfortable with the system before you start seriously trading. And of course you must make sure that the platform is compatabile with your current operating system or any other software that you might be running on your computer.
Next have a look at how you can fund your account. Every forex account requires an opening margin balance. This will be the collateral for your trading account. Traditionally these funds would have had to be put up in US dollars. These days however there are many more options. It is often possible to put up EUR, JPY, GBP and a host of other currencies. As many people who trade in Forex maybe using a foreign online broker it is important to see if they will accept deposits in your local currency.
Finally make sure that your broker is financially regulated. This is very important because the forex online broker will have access to your funds that you deposit as well as your trading profits. The last thing you want is to see the broker collapse along with your money. If the broker is regulated then your funds should be covered in the case of bankruptcy.