Choose the Right Forex Broker (Part I)

Choose the Right Forex Broker (Part I)

by Ahmad Hassam

Almost 90% of the traders in currency markets are speculators. Most of the investors start forex day trading as a speculating venture to make capital gains. Once you have made the positive decision to start currency trading, you need to choose the right forex broker. The right choice will greatly influence the success of the whole enterprise.

Forex trading is hot right now. It is being called the Recession Proof Business of 21st Century. The market is overcrowded with companies and banks offering online forex brokerage services. Internet has opened the forex markets to individual retail traders and small investors. It will not be easy for you to make the right choice of a forex broker. You need a certain set of criteria. These criteria will mostly depend on your preferences, interests and means as an individual trader and will depend on your trading tactics and strategies.

The best method to choose the right forex broker is to compose a list of questions to ask the forex broker before making a final decision. The following are some of the suggested questions that you should ask the forex broker before making a final decision.

What is the amount of the interday and overnight margin and corresponding leverage? Many good online forex brokers offer margin between 2-5%. They provide leverage ranging from 20:1 to 50:1. Higher margin requirement means lower investment efficiency.

However, lower margin means that most of the time the forex broker will be against his own clients and will do everything possible to prevent them from winning. It will become difficult for you to work under such conditions because you will face many trading problems.

What is the minimum contract size? Now days, the standard contract size is $100,000. This contract size is quite affordable and allows for reasonably effective money management with limited capital. This contract size also allows small individual investors to participate in currency speculation.

What are the minimum deposit requirements demanded by the forex broker? It is not unusual that many new traders dont have sufficient funds to open an account. The investment and financial means of traders differ. $10,000 is the required minimum amount corresponding to the forex market conditions by good dealers. In my opinion, the optimal minimum amount is $10,000 with 2% margin requirement.

What are the terms and conditions of setting and executing stop and limit orders? The ideal condition should be the execution of the stop and limit orders at the fixed price. This should be regardless of the speed or direction of the market conditions. Good forex dealers provide this type of execution. Most brokers reserve the right to fulfill an order with slippage under unsteady market conditions. Conditions mostly defined by the broker themselves.

The value of slippage depends on the current state of the market. It can fluctuate from a few pips to tens of pips. Although it is practically impossible to arbitrate the price received from the broker during the transaction. The slippage creates favorable conditions for the abuse of the trader by the broker.

About the Author:

Mr. Ahmad Hassam is a Harvard University Graduate. He is interested in day trading and swing trading stocks and currencies. Learn Forex Nitty Gritty. Develop your own Forex Trading System.

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