Thread: Choosing an online forex broker

Foreign exchange (FOREX) is the arena where a nation's currency is exchanged for that of another. The foreign exchange market is the largest financial market in the world, with the equivalent of over $1.9 trillion changing hands daily: more than three times the aggregate amount of the US Equity and Treasury markets combined with other financial markets.

The foreign exchange market is the place where currencies are traded. Currencies are important to most people around the world, whether they realize it or not, because currencies need to be exchanged in order to conduct foreign trade and business.

Before trading Forex you need to set up an account with a Forex broker. What exactly is a broker? In simplest terms, a broker is an individual or a company that buys and sells orders according to the trader's decisions. Brokers earn money by charging a commission or a fee for their services. Deciding on a broker requires a little bit of research on your part, but the time spent will give you an insight into the services that are available and fees charged by various brokers.

When selecting a prospective Forex broker, find out with which regulatory agencies each dealer is registered. The Forex market is label as "unregulated" market, and it basically is.

In the United states a broker should be registered as a futures commission Merchant (FCM) with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and a NFA member. The CFTC and NFA is here to protect the public against fraud, manipulation, and abusive trade practices.

In fact of many of the negative things written about different brokers on the internet in forex broker reviews, come from the fact that the traders did not take the time to learn the basics and develop a proper trading strategy, and are then left feeling bitter when their trades don't make anything or lose money.

It is difficult for trader to choose the right broker or to know about the broker before going for commitment. Research is the only thing which one can do to choose the right broker for themselves.

I totally agree with you Brian. Choosing a broker is a tough job and need to research its legitimacy here, and in doing so one must get educated to understand Forex more and its complexities. There are lots of good resources out there to help. One of the best I have come across is makemoneycurrencytrading dot co dot uk as they run free webinars and training.

When I chosen my broker I made an analyse comparing them. For me, the most important thing was: to have a user-friendly platform, a good promotion, and good spreads... in the end to be trustable. The company that I chosen actually is named Traders Trust, and I’m really happy with it. However the reason why I really decided to open an account with them was their SmartForex platform, I’m really a fan of completely customizable software.

Like an advice, make demo accounts, browse web pages, and you will decide in the end... Good look!

Wouldn't it be great to have one broker that does it all?

But a stock broker doesn't have a license to trade commodities, and vice versa.

And wouldn't it be great if you could afford the best in the business, the most advanced technologically, on the cutting edge of online trading?

TerraNova is such a broker. Now you can have your cake and eat it too, and trade anything you wish from one broker, albeit, not from one account. Obviously, the laws cannot be broken. Their subsidiary, or is it parent company, Townsend Electronics, is the one that electronified and digitized the NASDAQ, and I believe they're getting ready to do the American Stock Exchange next.

You'll be amazed at their trading software. I've been using RealTick for over a year, and still haven't learned how to use all of the features.

It's all really incredible. I am just a Day Trader in index futures, and have no association with any of these companies, and have nothing to gain by applauding them; they simply deserve the applause, and you should take the opportunity to check them out.

Just info, free $100 with http://www.fecima.com/