The popularity of online forex trading has increased multi-fold in the recent times. More and more individuals are joining the bandwagon with the hope of achieving their financial dreams. The question that most new people who take up forex trading ask is “which is the best place to trade forex?” Obviously, the best place for currency trading is the online platform that caters to an individual’s specific needs. As the needs are different for each person, a platform that is suitable for one person need not necessarily be the best for another person as well. So the clue to succeeding in forex trading is writing down your needs, wants and goals and then choosing the right forex broker that provides an online platform. In this post, we have listed down a few criteria that you must take into consideration when searching for the best place for trade currencies online .
#1: Educational Material
Many people who take up forex trading are newbies. In the last five years, the number of people who actively trading forex has tripled. However, most forex brokers are of the opinion that two-thirds of their customers are losing money. There can be many reasons for this, including the relentlessness and speed of operations in the market and the risks associated with leverage), but lack of knowledge about the market and trading strategies play a big role according to most brokers. Therefore, the best place to trade forex is a platform that provides sufficient educational material to help investors overcome the issues associated with lack of knowledge. However, the most important aspect to be kept in mind when evaluating the offerings of different brokers is that the material they offer should be easy to understand.
#2: Software
Lessons in forex trading are important, but when investors start trading with real money the performance of the platform software becomes crucial. Forex traders use technical analysis heavily to make investment decisions. Therefore, they need access to historical data, price quotes in real-time and multiple choices for technical analysis. The speed of execution of orders is also an important aspect to be evaluated when choosing a forex broker. The best place to trade forex, therefore, is a platform that offers all the tools and executes orders without time delay.
#3: Cost
Cost of trading has a direct impact on profitability. Every penny that a trader pays as fees or commission is a penny that does not fetch him any returns whatsoever. Most forex brokerages make it difficult for traders to find out as to how much they charge. As such, the platform offered by a brokerage that is transparent as regards fees and commissions is the best place for currency trading online. Some of the ways in which costs accrue are:
Currency options available
Deposit and withdrawal conditions and charges
Spreads
Other fees and commissions
#4: Customer Service
Customer service is a key aspect to be taken into consideration when choosing a forex broker or best platform to trade forex. The customer service environment provided by a forex broker includes such aspects as modes of communication offered (live chat, email and telephone), time taken to respond to investors’ queries and willingness to help clients have the best trading experience.
#5: Regulation
It is always better to work with regulated currency trading brokers. However, the regulatory environment in some countries is stricter compared to others. In countries where the the regulation is strictly enforced, the chances of investors losing money because of broker scams are much less.
The above is not an exhaustive list of things to check prior to identifying the best place for forex trading online. There are other aspects to be considered too. However, these are the key aspects to be looked into. We have analyzed a number of forex brokers and recommend that you consider choosing one of the following based on your specific needs and what the brokers are offering.
XM.co.uk
XM.co.uk, a trade name of Trading Point of Financial Instruments UK Limited and is owned as well as operated by Trading Point of Financial Instruments UK Ltd, which is regulated by Financial Conduct Authority. It is also European Union-registered forex broker. XM has its headquarters in Limassol, Cyprus. On XM’s platform, you can trade CFDs on Indices, Commodities, Stocks, Metals and Energies.
Broker Type – DMA/STP, MM
Regulatiion – Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC), Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC)
Minimum Deposit – $5
Deposit Options – Bank Wire, Neteller, Skrill, WebMoney, Credit Card, WesternUnion, MoneyGram, SOFORT, UnionPay (China), etc.
Maximum Leverage – 888:1
Minimum Lot Size – 0.01
Spreads – Variable
Lowest Spreads for EUR/USD – more than 1
FBS
FBS, an international forex broker, has presence in over 120 countries. The online forex company boasts of 2,000,000 traders (clients) and 130,000 partners. For Muslim traders, the broker provides swap-free or Islamic accounts. FBS was founded in 2009 and they do not offer financial services to people in the USA, Belize and Japan.
Broker Type – ECN/STP, DMA/STP, MM
Minimum Deposit – $5
Deposit Options: Visa/Master Card, Neteller, Skrill (7.5% commmission), Webmoney, Perfectmoney, OKPAY, FBS Exchanger, Wire Transfer, YuuPay (3% commission), etc.
Maximum Leverage – 500:1
Minimum Lot Size – 0.01
Spreads – Fixed and variable
Lowest Spreads for EUR/USD – 2 pips for Mini accounts and 1 – 2 for Standard accounts
Pepperstone
Pepperstone, an execution-only forex as well as CFD broker Australia, provides trading solutions that cater to both veteran and novice traders. Founded in 2010, the company has its headquarters located in Melbourne, Australia. The company has offices in Shanghai, China and Dallas, USA.
Broker Type – Electronic Communication Network/Straight Through Processing and Direct Market Access/Straight Through Processing
Regulation – Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC), Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), U.K.
Platforms – MetaTrader 4, cTrader
Minimum Deposit – $200
Deposit Options – Bank Wire, Debit Card, Credit Card, WebMoney, Neteller, FasaPay, Skrill, BPAY, POLi, QIWI, PayPal, UnionPay(China), etc.
Maximum Leverage – 400:1
Minimum Lot Size – 0.01
Spreads – Variable
Lowest Spreads for EUR/USD – more than 0.5 pips for Mini and Standard; more than 0.1 pips for ECN
In 2013, FXOpen launched its online trading platform. FXOpen UK, based in London, is regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority in the UK.
Broker Type – ECN/STP
Regulation – FCA, UK
Platforms – Three versions of MT4
Minimum Deposit – $300
Deposit Options – Bank Wire Transfer, Credit/Debit Cards, WebMoney, Neteller, Skrill, Payza
Maximum Leverage – 500:1
Minimum Lot Size – 0.01
Spreads – Variable
Lowest Spreads for EUR/USD – Starts from 0 pips
eToro, an online forex broker, offers trading in currencies, indices, commodities and CFD stocks. More than 4.5 million users from over 170 countries around the world make use of the online forex broker’s website. Founded in 2006 in Tel Aviv, the multi-asset brokerage company has registered offices in Israel, the United Kingdom and Cyprus. One of the key features of eToro is the social investment platform with Copy-Trading feature that it offers. On their platform you can trade and invest in Stocks, Indices, Commodities and Currencies CFDs.
Broker Type – Market Maker
Regulation – Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC), Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID), Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), Financial Conduit Authority (FCA), National Futures Association (NFA), Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC)
Platforms – eToro OpenBook, eToro WebTrader, eToro Mobile Trader
Minimum Deposit – $50
Deposit Options – Bank Wire Transfer, Credit/Debit Card, Skrill, Moneygram, PayPal, Neteller, Webmoney, Western Union
Maximum Leverage – 400:1
Minimum Lot Size – 0.01
Spreads – Fixed
Lowest Spreads for EUR/USD – 3
OctaFx
Octa Markets was incorporated 2011 and the forex brokerage serves clients in more than 100 countries around the world. The company is registered in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. The company operates under the regulatory purview of IFSA.
Broker Type – DMA/STP
Minimum Deposit – $5
Deposit Options: Bank Wire, Debit Card, Credit Card, Skrill, Neteller, UnionPay (China), FasaPay, etc.
Maximum Leverage – 500
Minimum Lot Size – 0.01
Spreads – Variable
Lowest Spreads for EUR/USD – more than 1.5