Trade Currencies Online with the Best Forex Broker

When you trade currencies you obtain the benefits of investing in a highly liquid terrain offering myriad trading opportunities. The global Forex market – estimated to generate volumes of $5.3 trillion a day according to the Bank for International Settlements – is the world’s biggest financial market. You can trade forex online 24 hours a day, five days a week. The best forex brokers offer access to all the world’s major currencies along with minors and exotics. Currency markets enable you to make a profitable trading income from your knowledge of global economic trends and events. Still, the task of finding the best currency broker isn’t easy. Retail investors can be intimidated by the many choices for trading currencies online. Realmoney.co.uk looks at the key essentials in finding a Forex broker to meet your trading needs.

Make Your Play in Currency Markets

Forex is growing in popularity among retail investors diversifying from traditional investments such as shares. The opportunity to be able to speculate on major currency pairs such as EUR/USD and EUR/GBP is attracting increasing numbers of retail investors. When you trade currencies online you obtain access to a highly competitive investment class offering a depth of liquidity that is hard to match in other types of investing. Exposure to currencies can also be used to hedge or ensure that you have a more balanced investment portfolio. Many investors are attracted to the levels of leverage offered by currency brokers. Leverage, essentially the amount of money a currency broker will lend you for trading, enables you to obtain exposure that far exceeds the capital or margin payment that you put down on a trade. For example, if you choose a broker that offers a leverage ratio of 100:1 this amounts to that a broker is willing to lend you £100 for every £1 of actual capital initiated on a trade. Still, while leverage offers the potential for higher rewards the flip side is that it also increases the risk of you suffering losses that can exceed the sum of your brokerage account deposit.

• Zero Fees for Currency Trades
• Transparent Execution
• Low Forex Spreads and no Commissions
• Liquid Market of 5 Trillion USD per Day
• Majors, minors and exotics
• Exotic currencies

Take Your Forex Bonus

When you shop around for the best forex broker to trade currencies online you will find that leading forex brokers such as XM offer bonuses for opening an account. These bonus offers often come in the form of a cash reward. As with any advertised bonus, it pays to read the small print before opening an account. There may well be strings attached such as reaching an agreed amount of trading volume or making a minimum real money deposit into your account. Other brokers offer clients cashback based upon their trading activity. While a bonus offer should never be the sole reason for opening a real money forex brokerage account, the prospect of a cash reward bonus shouldn’t be ignored.

The Intelligent Way of Trading Currencies Online

Many of the best currency traders have taken a highly technical approach in their trading strategies. Even if you don’t consider yourself a technical trader it would be foolish to ignore what the charts are saying before making a trade. Many brokers offer clients access to charting tools such as Bollinger Bands, which use historical price patterns that give a technical indication of whether to buy or sell and tools to calculate the pip value, profit and carry out quick currency conversions. In addition, you can find blogs providing a commentary of key market moves illustrated by technical indicators along with trading guides and trading signals. The best forex brokers, such as XM, also provide clients with webinars, seminars and educational resources to help inform their trading decisions. Currency brokers are also offering clients economic calendars to enable them to stay informed of up and coming events that may move markets. If a Forex broker offers a demo trading account this can also be a great way to learn how to trade.

When choosing a broker you should also check if it offers a mobile trading app that provides all the key functions that you need to trade on the move. A mobile app should be intuitive and easy to trade on providing the tools and analytical resources that are also available on your desktop. You should also check if the app is compatible with the iOS operating system or Google Play’s Android operating system.

Spreads and Fees

One of the key criteria when choosing a trading account is the cost of trading. In currency trading, the spread – calculated in pips and represented by the difference between a bid and ask price on trade – is the key trading cost. The wider the spread, the more expensive it is to trade. Conversely, the tighter the spread, the cheaper it is to trade. As currency brokers don’t levy a commission on trades the spread represents the key trading cost to consider. The best currency brokers will not levy account handling fees but some brokers do levy fees on accounts that are left inactive for a certain time period. The most competitive spreads can be as low as 0.1 pips. When shopping around for a Forex broker you’ll find some of the most competitive offerings of spreads on major currency pairs ranging from 1.2 pips to 1.5 pips and 1.8 pips.

Beware of the Rogue Brokers

A fool and his money are easily parted. These words have a painful resonance for the many investors who are duped into parting with their cash by rogue brokers. Scam artists are targeting currency investors through bogus websites. Victims of such scams find themselves unable to withdraw the cash deposit made from their account. The best brokers are fully regulated and authorised to offer brokerage services in the UK and the European Union. You should check if your broker falls under the regulation of the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). You should also check if your broker is backed by a reputable financial institution. The best Forex brokers also typically provide clients with a live chat service and telephone support to answer questions from clients.

Choose the Best Forex Broker for Your Trading Needs

If you have a professional trading strategy and feel comfortable speculating on leveraged products, Forex certainly can’t be ignored as an investment class. Novice investors interested in speculating with currencies online can find many brokers offering demo accounts and educational resources to help them make their first trade. Trading Forex with real money can be a rewarding experience. Quantitative easing and the interest rate policies of central banks such as the European Central Bank and Bank of England have a significant impact on currency price fluctuations and have resulted in traders across the world becoming fixated by the utterances of central bankers such as Mario Draghi, the President of the ECB. You could find trading currencies to be rewarding and intellectually stimulating pursuit if you find a broker that meets your trading needs. Speculating on currency markets with real money is by no means easy but the sophistication of trading platforms and resources offered by online brokers provides you with all the resources that you need to make any foray into currency trading a successful one.

Risk Warning:Trading foreign exchange on margin carries a high level of risk and may not be suitable for all investors. Before deciding to trade foreign exchange you should carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite.