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Forex Broker Guide

Introduction

The following is a list of questions you may like to ask yourself, your broker and other traders about a particular firm you have in mind. You can use this checklist to narrow down your selection of forex companies to fit your requirements. You might also like to read the forex broker ratings page on this site http://www.goforex.net/forex-broker-ratings.htm to see how other traders are rating and reviewing other brokers.

The following links will also give you some background information on U.S. FCMs (Futures Commission Merchants).

* Selected Financial Data for FCMs http://www.cftc.gov/marketreports/financialdataforfcms/
* NFA Background Affiliation Status http://www.nfa.futures.org/basicnet/

1. Word of Mouth

* What do other traders say about the broker?
* What is their customer service/dealing desk like?

2. Safety of Funds

* Is the broker regulated?
* What regulatory organisation are they registered with and what protections does this afford you?
* Are client funds insured against fraud at the firm?
* Are client funds insured against bankruptcy of the firm?

3. Execution

* What business model do they operate? i.e. Market Maker, ECN or NDD?
* How fast is their order execution?
* Are orders manually or automatically executed?
* What is the maximum trade size before you are put on manual execution?
* Are all clients trades offset?

4. Spread

* How tight is the spread?
* Is it fixed or variable?
* Is it larger for mini accounts?

5. Slippage

* How much slippage can be expected in normal and fast moving markets?

6. Margin

* What is the margin requirement? e.g. 0.25% (max 400:1 leverage), 0.5% (max 200:1 leverage), 1% (max 100:1 leverage), 2% (max 50:1 leverage), etc.
* Does it change for different currency pairs or days of the week?
* Is it the same for standard and mini accounts?

7. Commissions

* Do they charge commissions? (Most market makers commissions are built into the spread, whereas ECN's charge a small fee)

8. Rollover Policy

* Is there a minimum margin requirement in order to earn rollover interest?
* What other requirements or conditions are there for earning rollover interest?

9. Trading Platform

* How reliable is it during fast moving markets and news announcements?
* How many different currency pairs can you trade?
* Do they offer an Application Programming Interface (API) for automated trading systems?
* Does it offer any other special features? (e.g. One click dealing, trading from the chart, trailing stops, mobile trading etc.)

10. Trading Account

* What is the minimum account opening balance?
* What is the minimum trade size?
* Can you adjust the standard lot size traded?
* Can you earn interest on unused equity in your account?

More Thoughts On Forex
foreign exchange market

On the technical side of Forex trading, the first thing to do is to find out the trend in one?s trading time frame and the proper trading strategy for that trend. Some ride positions for months, while some ride positions for less than an hour or a day and their views of the trend obviously differ. For a trader who is running a position for months, a daily fluctuation may be just a meaningless noise while for a daytrader or an hour trader, a daily fluctuation could be a monstrous tsunami. Having a precise definition and a technique of identifying a trend and the turn of a trend in a trader?s time frame, and adopting the right strategies for that trend is the first elementary step in a hard school of trading. Imho.
I keep my technical side on any pair as simple as possible largely relying on other?s moves to see how I can take advantage of the situation. So for me the strategy is to "range trade". Please always give stop order per your risk profile when you open any new position. Medium-term reversals can be confirmed only in monthly, weekly and daily charts. Chart reading is not to predict the tops or bottoms of any move, but to confirm the change of trend as soon as they are made and adopt right strategies in that new trend. Good trades.

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I use very primitive Forex charting methods. Please read 8 hour charts of EUR/GBP with 20 and 40 MA, and read round figures and breakout (from consolidations, then you will realize the method cannot be more primitive than that, but still deadly effective). Buy on dips towards the support and add up on breakout of that consolidation treating the two as one trade with same stop loss and "keep them" as long as the market moves in your way.

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Forex Knowledge
Assuming one has acquired enough market knowledge and acquired one?s proven trading system. This is the second most important element of success in trading, in fact. An edge in any system is based on the quality of info one has, charts being only an info of secondary quality not the best one.
More info on Forex trading

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Economic factors and indicators are released by the government or by private organizations that can look in depth at economic performances. These indicators can be used to analyse economic performances from any country. The economic reports measure a country's economic health, in addition to government policies and current events.

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