Choosing your Forex broker

Before you can start investing in Forex, you need to open a trading account with a Forex broker .

But what exactly is a Forex Broker?

In simple terms , a broker, is the company responsible for executing the orders you requested . Brokers earn money by charging a fee for their services but in Forex a fee is not charged directly but charged the so - called spread , which is the difference between the purchase price and the selling price of any currency pair.

You may feel overwhelmed by the large number of brokers who offer their services online . Decide on which one to use will require some research on your part to find out more about the services, reliability, requirements, types of accounts, ... Periodically we analyze and thoroughly tested numerous online brokers . Elaborate comparisons and rankings according to the services they offer, publish their welcome offers for new customers, ... You can find updated of what we consider the best brokers on this page information: Best Brokers

Are they regulated all Forex Brokers?

When selecting a Forex broker, you must know whether it is regulated and supervisory body is responsible for monitoring their activities.

Regulatory bodies are responsible for ensuring investor protection and ensuring good business practices by the broker. A broker be regulated does not automatically make a company reliable but at least is an extra guarantee for the investor and also serves as a mediating body for any possible conflict that may occur.

There are many regulatory bodies scattered around the world. Brokers often exceed regulatory body regulating the country where it is headquartered.

In Europe we have such organizations like the FCA (Financial Conduct Authority) in theUK, the BaFin in Germany, the CNMV (Comisión Nacional del Mercado de Valores) in Spain, the CySEC (Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission) in Cyprus (where they are present many brokers and other companies sports betting, online casinos, ... because of low taxation and be a member of the European Union country), ...

In Australia is another known regulator such as the ASIC (Australian Securities & Investments Commission)

In the US brokers must be registered as an FCM ( Futures Commission Merchant ) with the CFTC ( Commodity Futures Trading Commission ) and member of the NFA .In this case the current status of any registered broker Forex can be verified in the CFTC and NFA and check their disciplinary history by contacting the NFA or check their websitewww.nfa.futures.org/basicnet/ .

Customer Service

Forex is a 24 - hour market, so it is important that your online broker will provide good support available 24 hours if necessary resolve any question or issue. Most brokers usually have that schedule 24 × 5 to allow their customers to contact them by phone or e-mail, and in some cases more agile by Skype or chat online form. 
The quality of support can vary from broker to another so you have to either investigate these details before opening an account.

It is also important to offer help in your language. All online brokers often have customer support available in English and some in Spanish and other languages. If you are not fluent in English it is important to work with a broker with whom you can communicate in your language.

Trading platforms

Most forex brokers will allow Internet operations relatively easily. The broker is going to offer its trading platform for you to perform operations . There are simpler platforms and other more complex. Therefore, working with the right software is very important and you can decide testing the demo accounts of some online brokers and so familiar with the platform they offer and see if it fits your needs.

Examine the screen layout of the trading platform of your broker. This should include:

• The ability to view real-time prices of currency pairs
• A summary of the balance of your account, with profit and loss, margin available, and any margin locked in open positions.

Most trading platforms are basabas web format (WebTrader) or in downloadable format for the customer to install it on your computer. The option you choose depends on your personal preferences:

• The Web software is on the website of your broker . You do not have to install any software on your computer, and you can enter this platform from anywhere with an ordnador that has Internet access.
• A software program that you download and install on your ordered , only allow you to operate from their own computer, unless you install the software on each computer you are using.

Usually the programs are downloaded and installed are slightly faster, but most are developed for a specific operating system. For example, many broker only offers its platform to work with Microsoft Windows. If you use Mac, you can not install the application and have to use the Web or Java platform of your Forex broker These two types of platforms you can work from any computer since they run through Internet.

Do not forget to have a fast Internet connection

The Forex market is a market that moves quickly and you will need a second to second information to make decisions that allow you to perform operations. Then sure, to have a fast Internet connection, if you do not, better not bother to start trading Forex. If you plan to do trading online, you'll need a fast Internet connection.

Real-time pricing and Analysis Tools

Any Forex broker worth going to provide price quotes in real time and allow you to enter and exit the market quickly. These are minimal requirements of any trading platform. A major software packages are improved generally aimed at professional traders who have an extra cost per month.

Many brokers also offer trading on its platform a wide range of technical analysis tools and graphics integrated.

Accounts mini / micro

Many brokers offer mini trading accounts (to operate with minilots) and even smaller accounts, micro accounts (microlots). These small beads are a great way to start for beginners Forex traders with little capital available. You can open an account with 100 € / $ or even less, learn and test your skills by trading currencies and also gain experience.

Políticas del Brokers

When you are selecting a Forex broker, you should closely examine their policies and features, which include: 

• Availability currency : You should confirm that your Forex broker will offer the possibility to operate at least with 7 pairs of most common currencies (AUD, CAD, CHF, EUR, GBP, JPY, and USD).
• Transaction costs : These costs are calculated by the pips . The lower the number of pips operation required by the broker, the greater the benefit of trader.Comparing pip spreads of half dozen brokers, you will know the different transaction costs. For example, the average spread for EUR / USD is generally lower than 3 pips in most brokers, but there from some 0 or 4 also. These differences may be important depending on the strategy.
• Margin Requirement : The lower the required margin, the greater the potential for higher profits and losses. Low margins are good when their operations are good, but not so good when its operations are not going so well. Be realistic about margins and remember that they work to both sides (profit and loss).
• The minimum size required operations : The batch size varies from broker to another, can be 1,000 (microlote), 10,000 (mini lot) and 100,000 (lot). A batch of 100,000 units is called "standard". A batch of 10,000 units is called a "mini" and a batch of 1,000 units known as "micro". Some brokers even offer fractional lot sizes, which allow you to create your own size units.
• Rollover : This cost is determined by the difference being the interest rate of the country of the currency and interest tases another country. The higher the rate difference between the two currencies in the currency pair, the greater the rollover.For example when operating with GPB / USD, if the British pound has greater interest differential with the US dollar, the British pound rollover for will be more expensive. On the other hand, if the Swiss franc had the smallest interest differential to the US dollar, charges for USD / CHF would be the least expensive of thecurrency pair.
• Hours to work . Almost all brokers align their hours to match the operating time of global forex market Monday through Friday.

Summary

What to look for in a good Forex broker?

• Low Spreads : In forex, the spread is the difference between the purchase price and sale of any currency pair. Lower spreads save you money.
• Low requirements for opening an account : For those who are new to forex and do not have millions of dollars to risk, to open a micro account with only $ 100, $ 250 or $ 500 is a great opportunity. (Still it is advisable to start investing in Forex with a reasonable minimum, at least $ 1,000).
• Instant execution of orders : This is one of the most important things when choosing a forex broker. When working with currencies is important that the price you VSL on the trading platform is that your order is executed, and this requires instant execution of each order.
• Charts and technical analysis tools free : Choose a broker that allows access to tools for technical analysis and graphics available with real - time quotes that allow you to properly make their trading decisions.
• Leverage : Leverage can make you a very rich or very poor person. As a beginner or inexperienced trader, you should not work with a lot of leverage. A good rule is not to use more leverage to 1: 100 for standard accounts and 1: 200 for mini accounts.

Remember that you can consult and consider them as an update on the best online brokers in this section details: Best Brokers .