Choosing a Forex broker

Today’s Forex trading is well known as a lucrative way to make money online. It became an essential part for investor’s portfolio as you can simply gain thousands in minutes by trading currencies at home. For those who are new to the trade, Forex means Foreign Exchange Market where it involves buying and selling the different currencies of the world. Profits are made through the difference of selling and buying price – you earn when you buy-low sell-high while lose when buy-high sell-low.

Besides start learning in Forex trading, choosing a suitable Forex broker is equally important to get you started in Forex market. As in any trading market, individual trades in Forex market are mostly done via currency brokers. There are certain issues you must consider when choosing for suitable Forex broker, listed below are a few of the important ones.

1. Certification of the Forex brokerage firm

Forex trading involves a huge sum of money. As a trader, I am sure you want your money handle by reliable broker. This is why certification of the Forex brokerage firm is important. Traders are recommended to deal only with authorized currency traders. If you are trading in United States, make sure your Forex brokerage firm is registered with Futures Commission Merchant (FCM) and regulated by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). Also, most large brokerage firms are connected in some way to a bank or financial institution. Since the majority of Forex business is based on credit, the partnership with financial institution is crucial to offers their clients better in Forex investment.

2. Low spread trading

Currencies are normally traded in pairs of ask-bid price. The difference of the selling (bid) and the buying (ask) is known as spread. For example of EUR/USD 1.2435/1.2440, the Forex quote here means you can buy 1 Euro Dollar with 1.2440 USD or sell 1 Euro 1.2435, and the spread is (1.2440 – 1.2435) = 0.0005. As Forex brokers do not charge commissions on their client trades, they are making money off the spreads. If the spreads are low, this means they are offering a cheaper service and thus traders have better profit value. Thus, Forex brokerage that offers lower spread is more preferred.

3. Trading tools and tips

Different Forex brokers will offer different trading tips and tools. When selecting Forex broker, check what kind of trading tools and analysis data they are offering. Not all brokers offer the same set of tools and data thus careful consideration is necessary. A good Forex brokerage firm should offers real-time charts, technical analysis tools, real-time trade alerts, and website support. If you are new to Forex trading, you also look for broker that offers demo account before opening up a real account.

4. Avoid brokers with strict margin rules

Strict Margin Rules - When you are trading with borrowed money, your broker has a say in how much risk you take. As such, your broker can buy or sell at its discretion, which can be a bad thing for you. Let's say you have a margin account, and your position takes a dive before rebounding to all-time highs. Even if you have enough cash to cover, some brokers will liquidate your position on a margin call at that low. This action on their part can cost you very much. Unfortunately, you cannot verify this factor before starting up your account with the broker. The best way to avoid this kind of brokers is to ask more in Forex trading forums or other experienced Forex traders.

5. Leverage level

Some brokers offer 1:50 trade margins and some offer 1:200. The fact is leverage level might varies a lot for different brokerage firm. While higher trade margin does not guarantee your profit in Forex market, higher trade margin however will give you a better chance to win big when the opportunity comes. High leverage level is especially important when you have little capital outlay.

By filtering Forex brokers with the condition listed above, you actually raise your profit chances in Forex trading. Without a doubt, Forex is gaining its popularity fast against other kind of trading. No limited market access, no liquidity issues-after market hours, zero commission fees, low capital requirements with high leverage rates, and no restrictions on short selling -- Forex can be very beneficial to a variety of people. Like any other trading business, if you are new to it, best advice you can get is to learn and practice more before you test your ‘wings’. Seminars, eBooks, Internet, papers, video courses – all these are helpful to raise your confidence level before you trade with your real hard-earn dollars. Plan your investment wisely by investing first on yourself; you shall get your reward at the end of the road.