Your Online Forex Trading Broker -- Why Use Alerts?When you are searching out an online forex trading broker, it is worth making sure that you get a b

When you are searching out an online forex trading broker, it is worth making sure that you get a broker who will send you forex alerts. This is simply an email or cellphone text message alerting you to the latest developments in the forex market. Often the broker will recommend a particular course of action in the message, which you can follow or not as you like.

Until you get into foreign exchange trading, you may not see the value of this. It's simple to explain. Forex is a 24/7 trading platform because currency trading happens in all 24 time zones across the world. This means massive opportunities for traders with billions of transactions happening every day. But it also means that, unlike stock market traders whose day ends when their national market closes at 5 or 6 pm, forex traders have to keep track of a constant flow of information.

Nobody can be watching markets 24/7. Brokers and companies can do it, of course, by employing staff on shifts, but a sole trader has to take time out. Even if you stick with just the top five markets -- US, Euro, Britain, Australia, Japan and Switzerland -- you have 15 pairs of currencies to monitor in 4 different time zones. And sometimes big money can be made on the more volatile minor currencies. If you want to have any kind of life away from your computer without missing out on the majority of opportunities, see your kids and save your marriage, the best way to manage this is by receiving alerts.

Currency Trading Investment Techniques

I wanted to take the time and talk to you about currency trading investment techniques. There is a lot of money to be made in this $3 trillion dollar a day market, but if you don't have a strong knowledge of investing than you're really jumping into rough waters without a life jacket. It is estimated that an overwhelming majority of people that enter this market are losing money and they lose for the simple reason that they jump right in without knowing how to protect themselves from a loss. I've been doing this for a few years now, so I'll share a little of what I learned.



Your broker is the most important part of trading. It is the middleman. It holds your money and it is the gatekeeper. Having the best quality broker will take a lot of headaches and anxiety away. The first point I want to make is that all brokers are not equal. There are a lot out there that are of poor quality and some which are just scams. You need to do the necessary research to find a broker that is of quality and meets your needs. The best thing you can do is use online forex forums to read about brokers. These forums are typically full of currency trading investment talk, but there are a lot about brokers.

Forex Brokers – What you Want From Them and What you Don’t

Choosing a forex broker is simple and there are services that you want and don’t want so let’s look at how to choose a forex broker that can increase your chances of forex trading success.

Your broker’s role

Your forex broker’s role is simply to transact your forex trading signals in the market smoothly and efficiently. Many traders however think they can learn forex trading from their broker or their broker can give them advice – This is NOT their function.

If brokers were good at trading and had currency trading systems that made money they would not be brokers!

Forget getting trading advice or help from a broker concentrate on the cost of doing business with them.

Spreads

You see a lot of brokers who say they deal commission free and technically they do but you pay a cost for doing business and that’s the spread. You need to keep this as tight as possible - 2 – 3 pip spreads are common now, so look for a broker who will charge at this level

Other fees

Many brokers slip in “other fees” look at these closely and never pay an additional commission to the spread.

The trading platform

If you are trading via an online forex trading platform make sure it works and is flexible, reliable and secure. A broker will normally let you test drive a forex trading platform via a demo account which is useful in terms of judging it for yourself.

Support

Look for a broker who provides around the clock support 24 hours a day 7 days a week just in case you do run into problems.

Margin and Leverage

Look at the leverage your broker will give you. A level of 200:1 is ample for most but you can get up to 400:1 with many brokers should you require it.

Guaranteed Stops

Many novice traders are nervous about trading with a forex broker sue to the unlimited losses that trading on margin can cause. With these traders in mind many forex brokers will provide guaranteed stops and negative balance protection for peace of mind.

Minimum Deposits

A few years ago it was hard to open an account for under 10,000 today you can open one online with as little as $100.00. If you are new to currency trading and simply want to dip your toe in the market then shop around.

Look for forex brokers with online payment methods as these will enable you to fund quickly and also get your profits back quickly too.

Size and standing

There are many brokers that look big but are small and don’t offer the support or service of the bigger brokers. As a general rule look for bigger brokers and see how long they have been in business and look for a minimum of 3 – 5 years.

Your FX partners

Your broker is an important part of your forex trading strategy, not from the point of view of providing trading guidance but making sure your cost of business is low and the order process is smooth.

If you follow the above tips when choosing your forex broker you will find one that right for you and who can help you maximize your FX profits.

Forex and Forex Brokering - The Cheapest Way to Transfer Money Overseas

The foreign exchange market exists wherever one currency is traded for another. This is an international exchange market where simultaneous buying of one currency and selling of another is done. Currencies are traded in pairs, for example Euro/US Dollars (EUR/USD) or US Dollars/Japanese Yen (USD/JPY). It is by far the largest market in the world, in terms of cash value traded and includes trading between large banks, central banks, multinational corporations, governments and other financial market and institutions.

The foreign exchange market is unique because of its trading volume, the extreme liquidity of the market (i.e. price stability even with the fastest buying or selling), the large number and variety of traders in the market, its geographical dispersion, its long trading hours (24 hours a day - except weekends) and the variety of factors that affect exchange rates.

The minimum trading size in this market is usually $1 million, with an overall trading volume of about $1.9 trillion per day worldwide. Buying and Selling of currencies is basically for two reasons. About 5% of daily turnover is from companies and governments that buy or sell products and services in a foreign country or must convert profits made in foreign currencies into their domestic currency. The other 95% is mostly for profit. In fact, this market has the potential to earn almost $100,000 with an initial capital of only $500!

The ten most active traders account for almost 73% of trading volume. These are Deutsche Bank (17%), UBS (12.5%), Citigroup (7.5%), HSBC (6.4%), Barclays (5.9%), Merrill Lynch (5.7%), J.P. Morgan Chase (5.3%), Goldman Sachs (4.4%), ABN AMRO (4.2%), Morgan Stanley (3.9%). These large international banks continually provide the market with both bid (buy) and ask (sell) prices. The bid/ask spread is the difference between the price at which a bank or market maker will sell ("ask", or "offer") and the price at which a market-maker will buy ("bid") from a wholesale customer. This spread is minimal for actively traded pairs of currencies, usually only 1-3 pips. One pip is the smallest measure of price move used in forex trading and refers to 1/10,000 of the bid/ask spread. For example, the bid/ask quote of EUR/USD might be 1.2200/1.2203 (i.e. 3 pips difference).

Although the banks get the least and most stable bid/ask spread they never offer the same rates to their customers, since their key purpose of participating in this market is for profit.

Currencies are traded against one another. Each pair of currencies thus constitutes an individual product and is traditionally noted XXX/YYY, where YYY is the international three-letter code of the currency into which the price of one unit of XXX currency is expressed. For instance, EUR/USD is the price of the euro expressed in US dollars, as in 1 euro = 1.2045 dollar. According to April 2004's BIS (Bank for International Settlement) study, the most heavily traded products were: EUR/USD (28 %), USD/JPY (17 %) GBP/USD (14 %). The US currency was involved in 89% of transactions, followed by the euro (37%), the yen (20%) and sterling (17%) - (Note that volume percentages should add up to 200% - 100% for all the sellers, and 100% for all the buyers). Although trading in the euro has grown considerably since the currency's creation in January 1999, the foreign exchange market is thus still largely dollar-centred. For instance, trading the euro versus a non-European currency ZZZ will usually involve two trades: EUR/USD and USD/ZZZ. The only exception to this is EUR/JPY, which is an established traded currency pair in the inter-bank market.

According to the BIS study, 53% of transactions were strictly inter-dealer (i.e. inter-bank), 33% involved a dealer (i.e. a bank) and a fund manager or some other non-bank financial institution, and only 14% were between a dealer and a non-financial company. The inter-bank market caters for both the majority of commercial turnover and large amounts of speculative trading every day. A large bank may trade billions of dollars daily. Some of this trading is undertaken on behalf of customers, but much is conducted by proprietary desks, trading for the bank's own account.

On the other hand, retail forex brokers handle a minute fraction of the total volume of the foreign exchange market, estimated at $25-50 billion daily, which is about 2% of the whole market. In the retail forex industry market makers more often than not run two separate trading desks- one that they use to actually trade foreign exchange (essentially serving as a proprietary trading desk or "non-dealing desk") and one that is set up for the expressed purpose of off-exchange trading with retail customers (called the "dealing desk" or "trading desk"). The dealing desk operates much like the currency exchange counter at a bank. Inter-bank exchange rates, those coming in from the inter-bank system and displayed at the non-dealing desk, are adjusted to incorporate spreads that safeguard the bank's (in this instance the market maker's) profit before they are displayed in the lobby (at the dealing desk) to the retail customer. Dealing desk pricing is, therefore, not a direct reflection of the currency exchange but artificial pricing created and controlled by the originating broker.

Find the Best Broker of Foreign Exchange

Foreign exchange refers to exchanging of money in one currency for another which is traded on foreign exchange market or forex. Having an average daily trade of US$ 2 trillion and above, forex is the largest trading market in the world. Everyday new investors are jumping in forex to earning substantial profits. It’s good till they garner high return on investment but what if they tumbled down in the very first effort? Well, it may happen; especially when one is not at all exposed to the odds and calculated risks of foreign exchange. Therefore, it is suggested to move with a broker of forex, who knows foreign exchange more than him. Now how to hire an honest broker of forex? You may get the answer below:

Before hiring a forex broker make sure you know his job well i.e., for what he is assigned and how much he can do for you. Your expectation should be in tune with the experience of your broker. You may find a broker of the forex market, who is chic and cool with a long list of satisfied customers. But it’s not what you want from him. Before hiring a broker of forex, you should check out the spread of the forex broker. Go through his terms and agreements. Have an insight into the stipulations of service.

Embracing a broker who promises no risk may lead you to loss. You should not go after words of such brokers as forex involves certain amount of risks because of the nature of the market. Add to this, while selecting a broker of forex or foreign exchange market, see whether the broker has mini account or not. Mini account is designed for newcomers in the online currency trading and those who have limited investment capital.

Before selecting a broker of forex market, check out the leverage option. Leverage can be expressed as a ratio that held between total capital which is available to be traded and your actual capital. Also try to find out a broker of forex market, who has expertise in offering best resources and information about foreign exchange. A good broker of foreign exchange should offer real time news, website support, meticulous data interpretation service, updated charts, technical analysis to name a few.

Forex is the largest market marked for its geographical dispersion and 24 hour activity. Your broker should also offer you 24 hour support. He should know the demand of foreign exchange and need of urgent trade agreements of forex. Check out all possible support systems offered by the broker of the forex market.

Forex Brokers - 9 Essential Points to Consider When you Open an Account

Here are 9 points to consider when choosing a Forex broker.

1. Pip Spreads Offered

Spreads between brokers vary dramatically and the difference can be as much as double so first and foremost when trading FX you need a tight spread

Transaction costs mount up - especially if you are trading frequently and impact on your profits and add to your losses. The tighter the spread, the more profits
you will make.

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

2. Deposit Online & ease of account operation

Look for a broker who will take online payments to your Forex account via and secure online payment method. This is great for funding your account quickly - and getting your trading profits back to.

3. Negative Balance Protection

Leverage or gearing is one of the main reasons that people are attracted to online currency trading. Of course, leverage is a double-edged sword - and where there are high rewards, there is high risk.

With this in mind many Forex brokers now offer guaranteed stops and negative balance protection which is a big comfort to those traders who are new to the market or want to have a finite risk.

Fees for the service tend to be quite competitive and their a popular option with many traders

4. Leverage Offered

The leverage brokers will give you varies from broker to broker, but today 100 – 200:1 leverage is common and some brokers will go as high as 400:1 meaning you have the potential to leverage your account for greater FX profits

5. Other Charges & Broker assist accounts

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

Avoid broker assisted accounts where a broker supposedly will help you make money from Forex trading they wont! If brokers were good traders they wouldn’t be brokers!

If you trade in this way you will lose and you will extra commissions to.
You are responsible for your FX profits so accept this fact and go with an execution only broker.

6. Investment Minimum

Today, currency trading is not just the preserve of wealthy individuals and banks - anyone can get involved and minimum deposits have dropped dramatically.

You can open a trading account online with some Forex brokers with as little as $100.00.

This means that novice traders can start off with small amounts.

7. Trading Platform

If you are trading online, you will go through a Forex trading platform.

You want ease of use and reliability – Many brokers offer demo accounts so try them out.

8. FOREX Trading Education

While you should always make your own investment decisions, it’s good to get some freebies that can help you with your Forex trading strategy such as:

• FREE trading guides

• Forex trading seminars

• Trading news and charts

• Trading recommendations & ideas

• Forex trading systems

• Trading books etc

9. Look at the overall package

When choosing a Forex broker you have a lot of choice and the above tips will help you while there are a lot of small brokers around and many are good go for someone who has been around for a while and is established.

Tips For Selecting A Forex Broker

Would you like a piece of the largest market in the world? What is it and how do I get it? It is the Currency of Forex Market. To actually start trading Forex one of the first things you will need to commence is select a forex broker. Selecting a forex broker will be a key decision in your future forex trading success. Getting it wrong now may lead to problems down the road.

Before you select an online Forex broker, you as a new investor should carry out your due diligence and carefully check the services offered by a broker and the operational policies by which they conduct themselves.

It is important that you are aware that as with any business there are scammers out there looking to trick you into handing over your money without providing the service they advertise. Do some research into the broker you are looking to use.

There are at least 20 online foreign exchange brokers nowadays. When deciding on who to choose you should try the demos of around 6-8 to get a feel for their trading platform.

Using the demo platform is also a valuable learning tool as is most cases the forex broker's demo uses live data. The only difference is that you are using a paper account and not real money.

Some things to consider when selecting a forex broker include:

* The broker's hours of operation
* the minimum trading unit size
* the bid/ask pip spread on major currency pairs
* the reliability of the forex trading software
* is there a phone line backup to the forex trading software?

To execute trades you will need software that allows you to place by or sell orders. Other forex related software is used for either providing forex trading signals or providing graphical information (charting), which is used to analyse data. The forex trading software provided by your broker is normally free. The forex signal software would typically come on a subscription basis. With forex charting software there are both free and subscription options.

Once you have your trading account opened and have installed the forex trading software you will be ready to place some orders. They would include some of the following:

Market orders - this is an order to buy or sell at the current market price

Limit orders - this order is placed to buy or sell at a certain price as the market price moves up or down

Limit entry orders - this order is executed when the exchange rate touches a specific level without breaking that level
Stop-loss orders - this is a type of limit order linked to a specific order aimed at stopping the order when a loss level is reached

Online Forex Brokers - for Novice Traders

Will you make money at currency trading? This is a question most traders try and answer by trading a demo account - but the problem with demo accounts is there is no pressure, i.e no money on the line and it proves nothing.

Most traders who make money with demo account lose when they open an account with a forex broker. Now there is a fantastic way for traders to see if they have what it takes. There is a new account called a protected account and it acts as a bridge between a demo and a full trading account. The concept is:

The Protected Account works as a funded demo account in which the client pre-determines their risk level. Among its features are:

-Trade up to 100 times your initial deposit, even with a negative balance.

- Make as many trades as desired, 24 hours a day, using any currency pair.

- At the end of the a set period, (normally two weeks) any positive balance is the clients to keep the broker covers the losses.

This has significant advantages over a demo account, as it simulates the feeling of trading real money on the Foreign Exchange and let's face it when money is on the line we feel and act differently.

Trading is probably 20&% method and 89% mindset and it's a fact that most traders fail because they don't trade with discipline.

The Protected Account acts as a bridge between a demo account and a real one, providing an authentic trading experience, but of course the risk is managed and a huge advantage is - even if you go debit on the first day you can still keep trading so you get plenty of trades and plenty of practice.

Online Forex Brokers . Checklist for Choosing One

Here you will find a checklist so that you can find a broker that will maximize your trading experience.

1. Execution Only

Your broker is only there to help you transact your orders and make sure your account runs smoothly – they should NOT give trading recommendations.

Many novice traders think this is a good idea and their broker knows best, however if he could make money trading he wouldn’t be a broker!

Brokers are there to transact orders and that’s all.

If you don’t take responsibility for your trading you won’t win.

2. Look for tight spreads

This is your cost of doing business and the less you pay the more of your profits you get to keep.

Look for spreads from your forex broker of 3 – 5 pips for trading the majors.

There should be no other commissions or fees - make sure the spread is all you pay.

3. Leverage

Look fro leverage of at least 200:1, although many brokers will offer you more and some go as high as 400:1.

4. Trading platform

Check it out and see how useable and reliable it is and that you get 24 hour support, if you need it at anytime for any problems you may encouter - not all brokers offer 24 hour service so beware.

5. Ease of funding and minimum investment

Today, many forex brokers will let you fund an account online with as little as a $100.00.

If you are a novice starting small is a good way to get your feet wet.

These companies also allow small minimum trades.

If there are online payment facilities, you can fund your account quickly and equally get your profits back quickly.

6. Guaranteed stops

If you are a novice trader and worried about the unlimited liability that margin trading presents, you may want to guarantee your stop and there are many brokers who will provide this comfort for a fee.

7. Extras

A forex broker is not there to give you trading advice but it is nice to get extras such as demo accounts, free newsletters, reports and other educational material, which can help you improve your trading – You will find many brokers who offer a lot of extras and if you are new to trading they are well worth having.

How A Forex Or Stock Broker Can Help You Succeed

A Forex broker or Stock broker will be of great importance to you In every investor's life the "broker" is a figure of prime importance. It is through him that all securities transactions are handled; there is no way you can buy or sell stocks listed on any national exchange except through his services.

In the trade, he is known as a registered representative, a title that has now supplanted the old designation, "customer's man." He is a registered employee of a brokerage firm, preferably one which is a member of the New York Stock Exchange. He is not a broker as such, but is the liaison between you, the customer, and the firm's commission broker who executes orders on the exchange floor.

What He Does

The representative's job is to extend to investors all the services of his firm. He will, first of all, transmit your orders to buy or sell securities stocks or bonds, listed or unlisted (over-the-counter), domestic or foreign, in round lots, odd lots, or piecemeal through the Monthly Investment Plan. He will also buy or sell rights or warrants which, in simplest terms, are options to purchase a certain number of shares of a stock issue. He will arrange the purchase or sale of commodity futures grains, coffee, cotton, soybeans, whatever you are interested in.

He will place any type of order you specify: at the market, limit, stop. He will buy on margin or arrange a short sale.

He will be available for consultation on the merits of particular stocks or industrial groups, or for analysis of your entire portfolio. He will supply stock studies, newsletters, market analyses, and whatever other literature his firm issues. He will hold your securities for you in the firm's vault, collect your stock dividends or bond interest, and send you a periodic statement on any shares held for your ac¬count.

His fee: the standard commission you pay on the purchase or sale of securities. There are no other charges for his services (although you will pay interest, naturally, on money you borrow from him for a margin purchase).

What He Doesn't

Your representative will not and should not serve as a stock market tout or tipster. Unless you request him to, he will not volunteer advice on buying or selling. He will not choose for you between two stocks that seem equally attractive. He will not hustle you into the market and then sell you out; the fast turn-around is not his way of doing business.

What a Brokerage House Is Like

Brokerage houses are pretty much like offices everywhere, except for the presence of the fascinating paraphernalia of the market. The customers' room in the usual large brokerage house has a quotation board on one wall. The arrangement of items may vary, but basically they all offer the same data.

For each stock listed-and it is a pretty large board that shows much more than the leaders in any particular group- the quote board will indicate the present and past year's high and low, the previous day's opening, high, low, and closing prices, and the successive prices of the current day's sales.

There may also be a panel of commodity prices. Very likely there will be either a ticker machine or a projection of its tape on a screen which enlarges the figures sufficiently for them to be read across the room. There may also be a Dow-Jones ticker which taps out news, statistics, and whatever economic and financial information the extensive D-J organization may dig up.

Generally, chairs or benches are ranged in front of the quote board so that customers may take their ease while learning what the new day brings.

This is all for your convenience. Of course, you can get the same information simply by phoning your broker, but his office welcomes your visit.

What you do not see is your firm's research department, accounting department, and vault-though you can if you wish. The research department consists of a staff of securities analysts who study and report on the performance and prospects of various stocks. Many analysts hit the road frequently to examine companies firsthand.

Some specialize in oils, others in railroads or utilities. Much of their work is continuing study of one company after another, but they are also available for specific analyzes at a customer's request. (No one will do a special run-down on duPont to see whether you should buy 10 shares, however!)

The accounting department is, of course, responsible for keeping track of the thousands of transactions completed, and for maintaining records of each customer's position.

Many brokerage houses are also investment banking firms, prepared to share in underwriting new securities issued by companies seeking more capital. As will be explained in more detail further on, a company issuing stock does not sell directly to the public. It sells the entire issue to a syndicate of underwriters, which resells it at a small mark-up, or "spread," to the public.

In this case, no commission is charged because the broker's expenses and profit on the distribution are included in the premium you pay. (When 10.2 million common shares of Ford Motor Company were issued in 1956, the largest distribution in financial history, they were sold to a syndicate of more than 700 underwriters at $63 per share.

The price to the public was $64.50 per share or a spread of $1.50. As spreads go, this was very small-even though it meant a total of $15,300,000 to the syndicate.)

Brokerage houses may also "take a position" in a stock. This simply means that partners or officers, or the brokerage company itself, may follow their own advice and buy one stock or another. Since the subsequent performance of these stocks may depend on how many other people become interested in them, brokerage houses scrupulously report their holdings to the public.

As a customer, you can then decide whether Blank stock is a good buy because your smart broker has a piece, or whether his report on Blank is tinged with undue enthusiasm because he holds it.

Find a Forex Brokers List

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Newcomers to the world of foreign exchange often wonder how one would go about selecting a broker to handle orders and transactions. Perhaps the most helpful means is to find a list of brokers that would be viable options for the novice. Here are a few tips on how to go about finding a solid Forex brokers list and engage a broker that you can work with successfully.

If you already have some friends or business associates that engage in Forex investments, ask them for recommendations about reliable brokers to work with. Often, at least one or two of your contacts will have three or more brokers they can recommend. Over time, you may notice that several brokers tend to show up repeatedly on the lists. You can use the names of those brokers to start making a list of your own.

Another approach to finding helpful lists of Forex brokers is to check with associations that are set up to allow brokers to network. The foreign exchange market is perhaps the most unregulated of all investment markets. Much of the policing of broker activity is done through associations that require brokers to maintain a certain level of business ethics in order to be a member of the organization. Going to these state and national associations and obtaining lists of brokers in your area that have committed themselves to a high standard will certainly aid you in making a decision about a broker.

Online resources should not be discounted when it comes to finding lists of ethical brokers. Message boards and forums are idea places ask questions about where to find resources that include listings of recommended brokers. Often, you will find this approach will yield several links you can follow and possibly uncover someone that would be an ideal choice for you.

Keep in mind that you may also want to seek out lists of brokers to avoid as well. When you see particular brokers show up on several lists that are meant to warn investors away from working with dealers with questionable ethics, take it to heart. There is a good chance that there is at least some truth behind the placing of those brokers or dealers on the list.

By using all the resources at hand, it is possible to come into contact with quite a few lists that deal with Forex brokers. Some of the lists will be helpful in identifying brokers who have developed a reputation of being highly ethical and customer centric. In some cases, the lists will serve as a warning to not deal with certain brokers, based on the collective experience of a number of investors. In each case, just about every list will provide at least some small details that will ultimately serve the new investor well.

Online Forex Brokers - 3 Myths

There are several myths about forex brokers and here we are going to look at 3 common ones which lead to clients losing. If you don't understand and avoid these myths you will lose...

1. Brokers Hunt Stops

This is one of the biggest myths of all and is normally put about buy forex day traders and scalpers. If you are using this method of trading you may be tempted to blame your broker and think you're unlucky, but you're not day trading and scalping simply doesn't work!

Rather than blame your broker look at your methodology of trading. I have worked in a brokerage and can tell you they love day traders why? Because they get lots of trades and commission (or make on the spread) and if they are market makers ( and a huge amount are) they know that the account equity is going in their pocket 100%.

A forex broker knows 95% of traders lose. Most are market makers i.e. trading against the client so they know 95% of the account equity goes into their pockets - they don't need to hunt stops.

2. The More Leverage the Better

Many forex brokerages today offer 400:1 in leverage and many traders see that as an advantage.

The fact is most retail trader's leverage up there small accounts so much there bound to get blown out the water. More forex accounts are wiped out for over leveraging than ANY other reason.

If you choosing a broker most offer 100:1 and this is ample most traders should be leveraging no more than 10 - 20:1 anyway. Don't think your broker is being generous by giving you more leverage; they are giving you a potential noose to hang yourself.

If you want to make money in forex don't be tempted to use too much leverage or you will lose.

3. Broker Advice

They often offer research and breaking news etc but this is total waste of time and you should NEVER be looking to get any advice from a broker - that's not their role. Their role is providing you with the mechanism to trade and nothing more.

If you seek advice from a broker or trade news stories you need to forget about forex trading as you will lose. The best advice is your own from your own forex trading strategy.

Forex Brokers Provide You With the Key to Build Wealth

Today trading in forex is easier and online forex brokerages have bought trading to the masses and allow you to trade with smaller amounts and with higher leverage than ever before and that's good.

Keep in mind most brokers are market makers and to a degree that is why the service you get is so good, they are the bookmaker and you are trading in the market via them and if they are a market maker they hold the opposite position.

Forex Online Brokers List

	Brokerage Company offering foreign currency trading services
Company Name: HY Markets » more info Company Name: Dukascopy (Suisse) SA » more info Company Name: GFX Group SA » more info Company Name: MONEYFOREX FINANCIAL LTD. » more info Company Name: Western Capital Forex » more info Company Name: FxPro » more info Company Name: OANDA FXTrade » more info Company Name: ACM Advanced Currency Markets SA. » more info Company Name: MF Global UK Limited » more info Company Name: MG Financial Group. » more info Company Name: Capital Market Services LLC. » more info Company Name: GCI Financial Ltd. » more info Company Name: Saxo Bank A/S. » more info Company Name: Alipes Investment Inc. » more info Company Name: Synthesis Bank » more info Company Name: Global Forex Trading. » more info Company Name: swissDirekt » more info Company Name: Commerce Bank Foreign Exchange » more info Company Name: Titan Financial Group Ltd. » more info Company Name: ForeFront Investmenet Group » more info

Recommended Forex Broker

Why Hotspot FX?

HotspotFX is a forex ECN (Electronic Communications Network) that routes your orders to the best available price from its partner banks and/or other traders. HotspotFX offers 1-3 pip spreads on the majors, instant execution, no dealing desk, one click dealing and an anonymous trading environment.

Broker, not a Market Maker

HotspotFX acts as a broker, matching up orders between buyers and sellers and charges a fee for the transaction ($3 per $100,000 traded). HotspotFX does not profit by taking the other side of clients orders.

Earn the Spread

Every trader on the platform has the option of being a market maker. Clients can enter in their own bids and offers into the platform either inside or outside the spread, and if their bid or offer is hit, they can either eliminate or earn the spread.

Free Charts & News

Every client receives free charting from FXTrek and a free subscription to Market News International, a live news feed.

Screenshots

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Details

• Founded:
  • January 2001
• Regulated By:
  • US CFTC. Member of NFA #0351580
• Safety of Funds:
  • Insured with a Fidelity 14 Bond
• Trading Hours:
  • 24 hour trading from 6:00 PM EST Sunday - 4:30 PM EST Friday
• Execution:
  • ECN type model (Electronic Communication Network)
  • Average execution time is 17 hundredths of a second
  • Clients trade instantly on live, multibank prices (no requotes)
  • Unlike dealer platforms, Hotspot FX does not trade against client orders
  • Hotspot FX is not a market maker and does not run a trading desk
  • Individual prices are good for up to 10 million units of the base currency
  • Good for scalping
• Platform:
  • Clients have the ability to act as a market maker and earn the spread
  • Ability to trade inside the spread by entering your own bids and offers
  • Clients can see real-time display of all bids, offers and quantities on the platform
  • One click dealing
  • Free charts from FXTrek
  • Free news feed from Market News International
  • API available for automating trading systems
• Typical Spread on Majors:
  • 1-3 pips. Sometimes choice (no spread) on EUR/USD
• Margin:
  U.S. Dollar-based currency pairs and cross-currency pairs (except Polish zloty):
  • 2% of open position for accounts up to $100,000
  • 3% for accounts above $100,000
  • 4% of open position for USD/PLN (zloty) and the cross currency pair EUR/PLN (zloty). This 4% PLN margin requirement is maintained on all accounts
• Commissions:
  • $3 per 100,000 units of the base currency
• Currency Pairs:
  • (16) - EUR/USD, USD/JPY, GBP/USD, USD/CHF, USD/CAD, AUD/USD, EUR/JPY, EUR/CHF, EUR/GBP, USD/PLN, EUR/PLN, AUD/JPY, GBP/JPY, EUR/SEK, CAD/JPY, CHF/JPY
• Minimum trade size:
  • 100,000 units of the base currency
• Minimum opening balance:
  • $7,500

• Free Demo Account - Sign up for a free demo account with instant access to your account. Note that the demo only reflects business being carried out on the demo. Stop and limit orders can only be entered on the live platform.
  
• Open Live Account - Please name GoForex.net as your referring broker on your account application. Thank you!

Disclaimer:

There are risks involved in trading Foreign Exchange. Trading is not appropriate for everyone. Hotspot FXR, LLC does not provide financial advice. Consumers should consider obtaining independent advice before making any financial decisions.

Current Ratings of Forex Brokers

Click on the headings to sort the table

Broker	Type	Options	Votes	Avg. Rating	Weighted Avg. Rating	Reviews
FXCM No Dealing Desk	NDD	Rate	14	6.7	6.4	FXCM No Dealing Desk Reviews
Interactive Brokers	ECN	Rate	4	7.5	6.4	Interactive Brokers Reviews
EFX Group	ECN	Rate Compare	3	7.7	6.3	EFX Group Reviews
North Finance	MM	Rate	2	8.0	6.2	North Finance Reviews
Gain Capital	MM	Rate	1	9.0	6.0	Gain Capital Reviews
IFX Markets (cbfx)	MM	Rate Compare	1	8.0	5.8	IFX Markets (cbfx) Reviews
Saxo Bank	MM	Rate	3	6.7	5.8	Saxo Bank Reviews
Oanda	MM	Rate Compare	10	5.9	5.7	Oanda Reviews
Interbank FX	MM	Rate	9	5.9	5.7	Interbank FX Reviews
CMC Markets	MM	Rate	4	5.5	5.3	CMC Markets Reviews
CMS Forex	MM	Rate	10	4.8	4.9	CMS Forex Reviews
GCI Financial	MM	Rate	4	4.0	4.4	GCI Financial Reviews
FX Solutions	MM	Rate Compare	6	3.8	4.2	FX Solutions Reviews
FXCM	MM	Rate	5	3.4	4.0	FXCM Reviews
ACM	MM	Rate	1	1.0	4.0	ACM Reviews
Easy Forex	MM	Rate	2	1.5	3.6	Easy Forex Reviews
GFT Forex	MM	Rate Compare	10	3.1	3.5	GFT Forex Reviews
FXDD	MM	Rate	3	1.7	3.3	FXDD Reviews
Forex.com	MM	Rate	5	1.4	2.8	Forex.com Reviews
Totals & Averages:			97	5.0	5.0

Other Brokers

Broker	Options	Votes	Rating	Weighted Avg. Rating	Reviews
Capital Forex	Rate	1	10.0	7.8
Windsor Brokers	Rate	1	10.0	7.8
MB Trading	Rate	3	8.0	7.5	MB Trading Reviews
GFX Group	Rate	1	8.0	7.1	GFX Group Reviews
Synthesis Bank	Rate	1	8.0	7.1	Synthesis Bank Reviews
FXCast	Rate	1	7.0	6.8
ICF Holdings	Rate	1	7.0	6.8	ICF Holdings Reviews
One World	Rate	1	7.0	6.8	One World Reviews
Mig Investments	Rate	1	5.0	6.1	Mig Investments Reviews
IG Markets	Rate	2	5.5	6.1	IG Markets Reviews
Crown Forex	Rate	4	5.8	6.0	Crown Forex Reviews
PFG Forex	Rate	1	3.0	5.4	PFG Forex Reviews
I-Trade FX	Rate	1	2.0	5.1	I-Trade FX Reviews
Totals & Averages:		19	6.6	6.6

Related Links

• 2006-2007 Ratings
• 2005-2006 Ratings
• 2004-2005 Ratings

Rate Your Forex Broker

"Rate Your Broker" attempts to give you an opportunity to share your personal experiences of trading with a particular forex broker/dealer. Given that many dealers treat different customers differently depending on how they trade, how profitable they are, and how much business they bring in, "Rate Your Broker" attempts to reflect the average trading conditions provided to an individual trader who walks in off the street.

Instructions: Rate as many brokers/dealers as you have traded with in the last 12 months on a scale of 1-10 where 10 is the highest rating and 1 is the lowest. Do not rate the same broker more than once in each annual survey. If your broker is not listed, please enter it in the "other" column below
and give a rating. Employees, affiliates and IB's
of brokers are not eligible to participate.

Note: Questions marked with a * are required fields.

Nickname:*
Email:*
Broker	Rating	Review
ACM:	10 - Best987654321 - Worst	ACM Review:
Alpari:	10 - Best987654321 - Worst	Alpari Review:
CMC Markets:	10 - Best987654321 - Worst	CMC Review:
CMS Forex:	10 - Best987654321 - Worst	CMS Review:
Easy Forex:	10 - Best987654321 - Worst	Easy Forex Review:
EFX Group:	10 - Best987654321 - Worst	EFX Group Review:
Forex.com:	10 - Best987654321 - Worst	Forex.com Review:
FXCM No Dealing Desk:	10 - Best987654321 - Worst	FXCM No Dealing Desk Review:
FXDD:	10 - Best987654321 - Worst	FXDD Review:
FXLQ:	10 - Best987654321 - Worst	FXLQ Review:
FX Solutions:	10 - Best987654321 - Worst	FX Solutions Review:
Gain Capital:	10 - Best987654321 - Worst	Gain Capital Review:
GCI Financial:	10 - Best987654321 - Worst	GCI Financial Review:
GFT Forex:	10 - Best987654321 - Worst	GFT Forex Review:
Hotspot FXR:	10 - Best987654321 - Worst	Hotspot FXr Review:
IFX Markets (cbfx.com):	10 - Best987654321 - Worst	IFX Markets (cbfx.com) Review:
IFX Markets.com (London):	10 - Best987654321 - Worst	IFX Markets London Review:
Interactive Brokers (IdealPro Forex):	10 - Best987654321 - Worst	Interactive Brokers Review:
Interbank FX:	10 - Best987654321 - Worst	Interbank FX Review:
MG Forex:	10 - Best987654321 - Worst	MG Forex Review:
North Finance:	10 - Best987654321 - Worst	North Finance Review:
Oanda:	10 - Best987654321 - Worst	Oanda Review:
Realtime Forex:	10 - Best987654321 - Worst	Realtime Forex Review:
Saxo Bank:	10 - Best987654321 - Worst	Saxo Bank Review:
Other:	10 - Best987654321 - Worst	Other Review:
Other:	10 - Best987654321 - Worst	Other Review:
* I have traded a live account with this broker(s) in the last 12 months and I am not an employee, IB or affiliate with this firm(s).
Send me occasional newsletters from GoForex

Forex Brokers Sorted by COUNTRIES

USA [13] UK [2] Canada [2] Australia [1] Brazil [1] Bulgaria [1] Cyprus [1] Denmark [1] Germany [1] Italy [1] Japan [1] Afghanistan [-] Argentina [-] Armenia [-] Austria [-] Bangladesh [-] Belgium [-] Belize [-] Chile [-] China [-] Colombia [-] Colombia [-] Costa Rica [-] Croatia [-]

Switzerland [6] Russia [2] Jordan [1] Latvia [1] Luxembourg [1] Hong Kong [1] Hungary [1] Poland [1] Sweden [1] Czech Republic [-] Ecuador [-] Egypt [ -] Estonia [-] France [-] Georgia [-] Ghana [-] Greece [-] Guinea [-] Honduras [-] India [-] Indonesia [-] Iran [-] Iraq [-] Ireland [-]

British Virgin Islands [1] ECN FX broker [1] Jamaica [-] Kazakhstan [-] Kenya [-] Korea (South) [-] Kuwait [-] Lebanon [-] Lithuania [-] Macedonia [-] Malaysia [-] Mali [-] Malta [-] Mauritius [-] Mexico [-] Moldova [-] Mongolia [-] Morocco [-] Mozambique [-] Nepal [-] Netherlands [-] New Zealand [-] Nicaragua [-] Nigeria [-]

Pakistan [-] Israel [-] Panama [-] Philippines [-] Romania [-] Saudi Arabia [-] Senegal [-] Singapore [-] Slovenia [-] South Africa [-] Spain [-] Sri Lanka [-] Suriname [-] Taiwan [-] Tajikistan [-] Thailand [-] Tunisia [-] Turkey [-] Ukraine [-] United Arab Emirates [-] Venezuela [-] Vietnam

Oanda-Forex Broker

History

OANDA was spun out of an econometric research and development firm called Olsen and Associates by founders Richard Olsen and Michael Stumm in 1995.
6 years later…
Early 2001, OANDA launched its leading-edge FXTrade platform, allowing clients to participate directly in the forex market the largest, most dynamic market in the world. From day one, FXTrade set a new standard for service and efficiency. By opening the forex market to a new world of traders through innovative, more efficient features. By offering tangible advantages to all traders, speculators, professionals, hedge funds or corporations. By redefining the market and changing the way forex trading is done.

Today
Well earned reputation for reliability and integrity.
Flexible platform, allowing a trader to have sub accounts in numerous currencies.
Quick and easy login, 33 pairs - exotics such as usd/zar, usd/nok as well as spot gold (xau/usd) and silver (xag/usd). Spreads are perhaps the lowest around (in allot of cases matching the institutional platforms) and continuously falling (eur/usd 1.5 pips, usd/yen and aud/usd 2, gbp/usd 2.7, xau/usd 60 cents).
Fast and reliable execution.
Flexible order size/leverage that can be easily and quickly modified.
There is complete freedom in selecting trade size as a trade can be anywhere from one unit (eg. 1 dollar) up to 10 million units and 5000 units(ounces) for xau/usd per order.
Demo - FX GAME never expires and is identical to FX TRADE. Allows traders to try different strategies before going live.

From www.oanda.com site

OANDA has three lines of business based on its currency database. They include:

Currency Conversion and Localization
- For individuals
- For Businesses

Decision Support Tools for Institutional Investors

Currency Markets Transactions Services

Partners
American Express, Air Canada, British Airways, Sheraton, AOL, Travelocity, Netscape, Time, Infoseek (Disney), Cyberian Outpost, iVillage, Ernst & Young, Nokia, FedEx, Microsoft, DoubleClick, Conde Nast, Virgin Atlantic, United Airlines, Excite and 24/7 Media

FXSol general info--Forex Broker

Company name:

FX Solutions LLC

Headquartered in Saddle River, New Jersey.
A member of the National Futures Association (NFA), registered with and fully regulated by the CFTC. All client deposits are held by JP Morgan Chase Bank

Services:
Self directed and managed accounts, money manager platform, charting, news, daily FX commentary, full reporting and back office, money manager performance and column 13 reporting, 24 hour trading and adminstration support, 24 hour chat, complete Introducing Broker services.

Languages: English, Arabic, Chinese, Spanish

Minimum Investment: $250

Commissions: None

Pip spread on majors: 3-4 pip

Maximal Leverage: 50/1 100/1 200/1 400/1

Mini forex trading: Yes

Trading Platform: FX Solutions Global Trading System (GTS)

Free demo account: Yes

Contact info:
Saddle River Executive Centre, One Route 17 South, Saddle River, 07458.
United States

Phone: +1 800 9698365
Fax: +1 201 3452211
Website Address: www.fxsol.com www.fxsolutions.com
E-mail: info@fxsol.com

Regulated by:
NFA(US), CFTC(US)