Forex Broker List

We are your virtual Forex Broker Assistant! Choosing a forex broker, online forex brokers reviews & comparisons, useful forex broker tips and information

There are many Forex brokers to choose from when trading currencies online - and choosing the right one is essential, if you’re going to maximize your FX trading profits.

This article is all about choosing the best broker to help you trade online - and help you achieve currency-trading success.

Firstly, you need to understand the following:

A Forex broker is there to help you place orders and give you a good service when doing so.

Many novice traders however choose a broker assisted account - and then expect their broker to help them make money!

You shouldn’t use a broker-assisted account.

To succeed in FX trading you need to understand that you alone are responsible for your trading success, and no one else.

Now you have your FOREX trading system / trading plan, it’s time to choose a broker. Here are some tips to help you:

Spreads Offered

Spreads can be very competitive and you need them to be. Transaction costs mount up - especially if you are trading frequently.

The tighter the spread, the more profits you will make.

Today, many brokers offer spreads as tight as 3 - 5 pips - and this is what you should look for.

Deposit Online

Look for a broker who will take online payments to your Forex account - and make sure the payment method is secure.

This is a great facility for funding your account quickly - and getting your trading profits back into your bank account!

Guaranteed Stop Loss Protection

The leverage is one of the main reasons that people are attracted to currency trading, as it increases the profit potential dramatically.

Of course, leverage is a double-edged sword - and where there are high rewards, there is high risk.

Many traders are nervous of trading with the potential to lose more than their initial deposit. With this in mind many Forex brokers now offer guaranteed stops and negative balance protection.

This is a sensible service to utilize when you first venture into trading, as it gives peace of mind for a small fee.

Leverage Offered

The leverage brokers will give you varies dramatically from broker to broker.

You should look at a broker who will grant you at least 200:1, as it will maximize your potential profits.

In fact, many brokers will give you leverage of up to 400:1.

Other Charges

Your only transaction cost should be the currency spread - you should not pay other commissions.

Always make sure that the currency spread is the only fee you’re charged, and that you don’t pay any extra brokerage commissions.

Investment Amounts

Today, currency trading is not just the preserve of wealthy individuals and banks - anyone can get involved, as deposits are affordable to all investors.

You can open a trading account online with as little as $100.00 – this means that novice traders who want to start out with a small amount can do so.

Trading Platform

If you are trading online, you will go through a Forex trading platform - and you should look at this closely when looking to trade with a broker.

You want ease of use and reliability – but also check that the broker provides assistance and support.

FOREX Trading Education

While you should always make your own investment decisions, it’s nice to get free trading tools such as:

• FREE trading guides
• Forex training seminars
• Trading news
• Trading recommendations
• Forex trading systems
• Trading books

These can be useful when you first start to learn Forex trading, and you are developing your own Forex trading strategy.

Choose Your Broker Wisely

When choosing a Forex broker you have a lot of choice, and the above tips will help you choose a broker that will be a valuable partner in your quest for profits from online Forex trading.

If you’ve already made the decision to go ahead and start trading forex, the first step you need to take is to choose the right forex broker. Currency brokers vary more than the U.S. Investment houses, so you really need to do your homework before making a decision. This is very important because your broker is almost like your business partner. They need to not only treat you fairly, but also execute when called upon. Here are some of the most important aspects to consider when picking your broker:

Low Spreads. Always look for a broker that offers low spreads (which are measured in pips). The spread is the difference between how much you can buy or sell a currency at a specific point in time. It’s very similar to the bid and ask prices in the stock market. Since you don’t pay a commission to a forex broker, they make their income through the spread. You don’t get anything in return for paying the spread, so you’ll save money on each trade if you pick a broker with low spreads.

Amount of Leverage Offered. Leverage is essential to making big money in forex. When you’re making a profitable trade, the amount of “increase” in what you’re holding amounts to just fractions of a penny per unit. So if you’re not investing tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars, your total gain is minimal. To make a stock market comparison, assume that you buy $5,000 worth of a stock for $20. A few hours pass, and you sell it for $20 1/8. Total gain? A barely noticeable $31.25. Now lets say you were able to borrow your brokers money, and buy $500,000 worth of the same stock. Your gain would now be $3,125, which is much more substantial. An equity broker would never give you that much margin, but you can find some forex brokers who will offer as much as 100:1, which means that you can borrow up to 100 times the amount of your own capital invested. Obviously, this can be risky because you can lose money as well. Do your homework on how margin and margin calls work before using it, but understand that it is the fastest way to big money.

Reputation of the Firm. All forex brokers should be registered with the Futures Commission Merchant and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. You should verify that your potential forex broker is in fact registered before giving them any money. Also, because of the massive amount of capital required in the foreign currency market, brokers are usually owned or operated by large banking institutions. Verify their financial stability to ensure the safety of your investments.

Account Types Available. Small investors should look for brokers that offer mini accounts. A mini account usually offers a high amount of leverage (otherwise it would take decades of successful trading to grow $300 into anything significant). Every broker should have standard accounts which need $2000 to start the account with and offers more leverage options. The third type of account is a premium account, which will offer access to more powerful tools, services, and research. The amount of capital needed for a premium account will vary based on institution.

Quality of Tools and Research. Just as in online stock trading accounts, the quality and availability of tools and research will vary greatly between brokers. Most will have real time charts, news, & data, along with technical analysis tools. Some will have expert analysts writing articles and reports. You can look these analysts up on Google to see how credible they are. Also look for technical trading tools, economic indicators, and good customer support. I suggest starting a demo account at several brokers to get a feel for their platforms and see what type of system is most comfortable to you.

Choosing a forex broker is a very important decision, so take your time and do your due diligence. If you end up with a good one, you’ll have everything you need to succeed and will be able to focus solely on trading the forex.

With currency trading becoming ever more popular, the number of brokers is growing at a rapid rate. What should one look at when deciding which broker to open an account with? These are the important points to consider.

Spread

Because currencies, unlike futures and stocks, are not traded through a central exchange, the spread can be different depending on the broker you use, so it’s well worth checking a few out before you open an account. Most forex brokers publish live or delayed prices on their websites so you can compare spreads, but check if the spread is fixed or variable. A fixed spread means exactly that - it will always be the same no matter what time of day or night it is. Some brokers use a variable spread, which might appear to be nice and small when the market is quiet, but when things get busy they can widen the spread which means the market must move more in your favor before you start to make a profit. Fixed spreads are generally slightly wider than the variable spreads are when at their narrowest, but over the long term fixed can be safer.

Execution

Some brokers will show live prices on their trading platform, but will they honor them when it comes to pushing the Buy or Sell button? The best way to find out is to open a demo account and give them a test drive. This will also give you the opportunity to see what the speed of execution is like - when you want to buy, you want to buy now, not sit around waiting for ten minutes whilst your order is confirmed!

Trading Platform

Good trading software will show live prices that you can actually trade at, not just indicative quotes. It will offer Limit and Stop orders, and ideally will let you attach these to your entry order. One-Cancels-Other orders are another useful feature - they mean you can set up your trade and then leave the software to get on with it. And the most important feature of all - can you actually understand the platform? Having all the bells and whistles is of no use if you can’t use them, so again, get a demo account and give it a go.

Support

Forex is a 24 hour market, so your broker should offer 24 hour support. You might not be trading at 3am, but that could be what time it is in your brokers head office on the other side of the planet, so make sure there will be somebody there to pick up the phone if things go wrong. You should also check if you can close positions over the phone - essential in case your PC or internet connection crash at a critical moment.

Backing

Finally, before opening an account do a little homework and find out about the company. Forex brokers are regulated, but that doesn’t mean they all have equal backing. If the market collapses, you want to know that they’ve got the reserves to cope with it and will still be around when you decide to withdraw your cash. If a broker is elusive when it comes to questions about their parentage and financial backing, then steer clear.

In Conclusion

Choosing a forex broker isn’t difficult, but don’t rush the decision. Check out a few, and always get a demo account first to make sure you’re happy with the way everything works before sending off your opening balance.

Until recently it was a fairly simple process to figure out which forex broker was best for you as there were only a handful available. With the rise of the internet and the explosive growth of forex trading, the number of forex brokers has skyrocketed. It may seem overwhelming given the sheer number of forex brokers available to you, but by carrying out some simple research and doing your due diligence you will be able to pick a forex broker that’s right for you.

It might be a good idea at this point to back up a bit and understand what a forex broker actually does. Basically, a forex broker is a person or group of people that carry out trades for an investor. The nice thing about using a forex broker is that they don’t charge any commission per trade like you see with the stock market. Instead, forex brokers make their money by taking the difference between the bid price and the ask price of the currency. Be wary of brokers that take too much of that spread as their fee as it can affect your profit margin. Ideally you want a forex broker that charges 2-3 pip spreads, and definitely avoid any that charge anything higher than 5-pip spreads.

Probably the most important factor to look for when choosing a forex broker is whether or not they’re regulated. Any U.S. based forex broker should be registered with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and should also be a member of the National Futures Association (NFA).

Customer service is an absolute must when deciding on a forex broker. The forex market never sleeps, meaning you can trade any time of the day or night. It’s very important that any forex broker you choose have customer support staff that can be reached at any time, and provide assistance on very short notice. Take note of any positive testimonials on their site that reference the speed and reliability of their customer service, but also visit search engines and try to find other sources that may have written about their experiences with customer service. Good customer service can make a huge difference in your online experience with forex brokers, so it pays to do your research.

Find a forex broker that offers a trading platform you’re comfortable with. The vast majority of brokers offer both web-based applications and downloadable applications. The web-based platform allows you to connect from any computer in the world that has internet access, but can be slower than its downloadable counterpart. The latter has speed on its side, but can only be run from the computer it’s installed on. Whichever you choose, make sure the platform offers at least the basics, such as real-time quotes and up-to-date account information.

The criteria listed above are the essentials to choosing the right forex broker for you. Other services offered by the broker can be considered icing on the cake, but depending on your situation may also be viewed as critical to your decision making process. Some other factors you may want to consider are the minimum account opening deposit, timely execution of your orders and free charts and analysis.

There are a mind boggling number of forex brokers available to choose from. Choosing the right broker is the most important decision you can make for your forex venture. Here is a checklist of what you need to be looking for.

1. Regulation. Just because a broker is available does not mean they are regulated. You may want to check first what country your broker is registered in. Some countries have lax laws regarding forex brokers. In the US, brokers are regulated by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission or the National Futures Association. If a broker is regulated, then they must regularly submit financial reports to these organizations. If these reports are not submitted, then they can be fined, or shut down. Any person can view these financial reports (similar to publicly traded companies). This regulation also give the investors avenues to pursue if there are any issues with the broker.
2. Company customer service. Check and see if there are any complaints about the forex broker with the Better Business Bureau. If there were complaints, see how the company resolved these complaints. Call or email the broker with any questions. You should not feel uncomfortable doing this, as they will be holding your money. The broker should be courteous and respond quickly to any and all questions. Does this particular broker have a lot of discrepancies between the price the trade was requested at and the actual value? This is called ’slippage’ and can lead to the loss of funds if it is rampant. Some brokers will compensate you for the slippage, others do not.
3. Trading options. Not all forex brokers offer the same types of platforms, spreads or leverage. You need to decide which options are the most important to you. Some things to think about regarding options are: Commissions - does the broker take a commission and a spread? Make sure the spread is small enough to compensate for the commission. Spread - what spread is offered? Does the spread vary depending on the time of day, or is it always constant? Margin - is there a maximum amount of leverage allowed by the broker? Scalping - what is the broker’s policy on scalping? Some brokers will put your account on manual execution if you scalp. This means that all your transactions have to go through a live person to be executed, which will slow down your trades and possibly keep you from getting some trades. Platform - what type of platform does the broker offer. Is it easy to use and understand? Does the platform perform quickly enough to execute trades instantly?
4. Demo account. Does the broker offer a demo account to practice with? And does the demo platform perform exactly like the live version? A demo account is a great way to test the platforms and see if you like the features the platform offers before actually sending them any funds.

Running a checklist on all the brokers you want to check out should narrow down your options and help you choose the best broker for you!