what is forex: May 2013

5 Things You Must Do If You Want To Attain Financial Freedom Through Forex Trading

With the amazing growth of the forex market, you are going to see an astounding amount of traders lose all their money. Unfortunately, they haven't followed the simple steps I have laid out for you. Go through these steps and give yourself the greatest opportunity to achieve your goals.

1. Have Faith In Yourself

To reach the level of elite forex trader, you must trust in yourself and your forex trading education. You must be willing to make all your trading decisions, instead of relying on someone else's thoughts or ability (or lack of). Of course, you will prepare yourself fully before every risking any money.

2. Accept Your Learning Curve

Unless you are a veteran trader, you will lose money trading the Forex market. This is a near certainty. I don't say this to talk you out of trading. In fact, quite the opposite. You will be trading against others that fall to this reality day in and day out. You, however, will not risk a dime until you have learned the skills you need to make money trading the forex.

3. Decide What Type of Trader You Are

There are many ways to trade the forex. They range from very active to very patient. You must decide which style suits you best. The best time to learn this about yourself is while you are trading a demo account. There is no need to allow your learning curve to cost you money.

4. Get Educated

Education is the shortest path to elite forex trading. Regardless of your ultimate goals, you will reach them quicker with a great forex trading education. Take some time to review different options before deciding on who to trust with your forex trading education needs. A forex seminar will help shorten your learning curve drastically.

5. Continue to Get Educated

In order to achieve and retain elite forex trading skills, you must constantly be adding to you knowledge base. Your education should never end. In fact, one of the key points to look for in an elite forex trading course is ongoing education. It's nice to have an ongoing relationship with the person/people helping you to achieve your goals.

What separates an elite forex trader from all others is their desire and ability to be independent. Many traders are willing to follow signals, systems, strategies, or anything else you may call them. By taking this approach, however, these traders are only as good as the people they follow.

An elite forex trader will lead. Their decisions will be calculated and analyzed to near perfection. They will make decisions with no hesitation, and handle the growth of their account in a predetermined, intelligent fashion. Take your trading to their level and you will never look back.

what is forex

Before you can test the waters with a demo account, learning basic information about the FOREX markets is essential.

Foreign exchange is the simultaneous buying of one currency and selling of another. Currencies are traded through a broker or dealer and are executed in currency pairs, for example, the European Euro and the U.S. Dollar (EUR/USD) or the British Pound and the Japanese Yen (GBP/JPY). If you buy the GBP/JPY, you are long the GBP and short the JPY; if you sell the GBP/JPY, you are short the GBP and long the JPY. An account is typically funded with the currency of your resident country. A few FOREX brokers offer the option of funding with a non-local currency.

It is important to understand a FOREX transaction is effectively a spread between two currencies. You cannot simply buy the USD or sell the JPY—the purchase or sale must be in relationship to another currency. This is one of two important facts to remember as we delve into the world of foreign exchange trading.

FOREX means FOReign EXchange. The FOREX (FX) market is a more-than-$4-trillion-a-day financial market, dwarfing everything else, including stocks and futures. Because there is no centralized exchange or clearinghouse for currency trading, the FOREX market is currently less regulated than other financial markets. The FOREX (FX) market is also more than three times the total amount of the stocks and futures markets combined and almost a doubling in the past five years.
Unlike other financial markets, the FOREX spot market has neither a physical location nor a central exchange. It operates through an electronic network of banks, corporations, and individuals trading one currency against another. The lack of a physical exchange enables the FOREX market to operate on a 24-hour basis, spanning all time zones across the major financial centers. This fact—that there is no centralized exchange—is the second important fact permeating all aspects of the FOREX experience.

There are a wide variety of reasons to consider FOREX trading, including high leverage and low costs. The ability to set one’s own trading times, lot sizes, and time frames makes it a something-for-everybody opportunity. Access to the FOREX markets on the Internet has resulted in a great deal of interest by small traders previously locked out of this enormous marketplace. Always remember these two important points: (1) FOREX has no central clearinghouse and (2) a currency transaction is a spread between two currencies.

what is forex, video

what is forex

People who trade in forex market are usually directed to receive high profits. However, is it as easy as most of the novice traders think? Of course it is not.

As you know, in every business there have always been some sorts of managing your own actions and decisions that refer to the protection from the big losses. It is called the forex money management, and it contains saving, investing, budgeting, spending and controlling the accounts with the purpose of increasing gains and decreasing losses. So to do the right forex money management it is obvious to know some forex money management rules.

For every trader, this certain set of forex money management rules differ one from the other. It is based on the personality of a trader, his or her position and strategy in trading. Forex money management implies the process of managing the accounts in a rational and not emotional way. Traders who are only the beginners in this kind of business may choose the wrong way of managing money. They may think that the actions that the trader does, refer to the gambling. In fact, the gains from such type of trading would be less profitable than from the sober and sensible forex money management. That is why it is very important to realize that the traders do really need forex management rules. These rules will definitely help to deal with the accounts and find out all the necessary information for the right and profitable forex trading.

So what is the first thing the trader should know about forex money management and forex management rules?

It is the risk that has a place all over the trading process as there would be no profits without some risk. Forex money management rules are based on the position to decrease the risk and help the traders to find out what big the risk could be and is it smart to risk more than you should risk in a certain situation. These rules can help the traders to identify how much exactly shares, stocks or currencies he or she could buy or sell in a particular trade. The maximal risk that might occur during the number of situations in these forex money management rules is on the basis of the percentage of the risk. The trader decides how many trades he could open at a certain period of trading.

Also as much important as risk the reward is. It is directed to show the traders the ratio of reward. There is a particular number of rewards and it is also very important not to ignore the rules of this ratio and stick to the right forex money management strategy. It makes your profits to rise in big values. There are also many other forex management tips that are called for better trading and increasing profits. They are directed to the strategies which would help to scale up the results of trading in a profitable way.

All of these forex money management rules may be defined in some sort of a list in a program that is similar to an Excel or Open Office Calc. And all the values which are used in forex money management will be calculated automatically and will help the traders to control the accounts and trades with the less risky decisions. It would be the most important for the traders in the Forex market.

All things considered, you can see that the forex money management shows to be the most important method in the strategies of forex trading. These forex management advices help to operate with funds and accounts of traders in a strict and controlled way that is directed to fewer losses and make high profits. Furthermore, the investment management services appear to control and manage the accounts and finances.

what is forex

This aspect is one of the most important aspects you will ever read about trading.

Why is it important? In reality, we are in the business of making money, and to be able to do so we need to learn how to manage it well in order to prevent continuous loss. Ironically, this is one of the most overlooked areas in trading. Many traders are just anxious to get right into trading with no regards to their total account size. They simply determine how much they can lose in a single trade and get into the trade.

Trading on Forex, the investor has opportunities to multiply his money, but he also risks losing future profit and much more, the invested capital. Deviation from expected profit average is what determines the investor's risk on the financial market. Risk management methods are applied before and after opening positions. The main risk management method is applied to reduce losses.
Using Protective Stop-Loss to Control Risk

It is advisable to place a protective stop-loss for every open position. Stop-loss is a point when the trader leaves the market in order to avoid an unfavourable situation. When opening a position it is recommended to use stop-loss to insure against extra losses.

While in active trade it is good to protect your fund against potential total loss. That is the central purpose of money and risk management. Too often, the beginning trader will be overly concerned about incurring losing trades. Trader therefore lets losses mount, with the hope that the market will turn around and the loss will turn into a gain.

Almost all successful trading strategies include a disciplined procedure for cutting losses. When a trader is down on a position, many emotions often come into play, making it difficult to cut losses at the right level. The best practice is to decide where losses will be cut before a trade is even initiated. This will assure the trader of the maximum amount he or she can expect to lose on the trade.
Risk a Tolerable Account Portion Per Trade Position

To manage your invested fund well, you have to decide before the opening of any position how much of the money you can afford to lose in case the trade goes negative from your projection. For instance, you may decide that for every opened position your risked money will be 3%, 5% or 10% of the total fund, by so doing you have known prior to the execution of the trade the highest amount that can ever go out of your money on that single trading position, by so doing you have even taken away emotion.

The factor needed to work out this are:

    The fund balance in your account.
    The number of pip set as stop loss.
    The lot size (volume) traded.

For example:

Let's say your fund balance is $5000 and your predetermined stop loss pip is 50 pips (selecting the number of your stop-loss pips should be from your analytical research) and you are ready to risk only 2% of your fund for a position.
What do you do?
Work out the 2% of $5000
Which is = $100.
Implying that you can afford to lose $100 in case of any eventuality.
Then, Divide $100 by 50 pips
It will be $2
Your lot size must be 1 pip to $2. That will be 0.2 lot size.
So you must use 0.2 lot size.

As much as possible try not to be greedy, to be less greedy is to be able to minimize risk.

In a way leverage can help to control risk: if your leverage is relatively low it will limit you against opening a trade with high lot size.
Re-Evaluate Your Strategies

The other key element of risk control is overall account risk. If trade is going against you, at what point will you stop and re-evaluate your trading strategy? Is it when you lost 30% of your money or 50% or 80% or when you lost the entire money? Assess your market analytical methods and see if there would be need for further perfection or even a change.

Also, check out if your set lot size is too large for your entire account size.

Risk management and fund management go hand in hand, if you manage your FUNDD well you are equally reducing your risk, also if you control your risk well you are equally protecting your fund.

what is forex

Two very important concepts of forex money management are leverage and margin. Leverage allows forex traders to invest much more into currency trading than is available in their trading accounts. Thus, forex traders can operate larger funds. Margin is the real funds that are required to be held in the trading account as a collateral to cover any possible losses.

Forex Money Management: Leverage

Profits and losses in the forex market tend to be higher than what you would experience in the stock market even though the actual price of currencies may not fluctuate wildly. Most brokers allow a 100:1 leverage. This means you can buy or sell €100,000 worth of currencies, even though you have only €1,000 in your trading account. Some brokers offer leverage as high as 400:1.

Leverage can also work against you in forex trading. For example, if a currency moves against your expectations, the leverage would multiply your loss by the same factor as it would multiply the gain. Many people starting forex trading do not completely understand the concepts of leverage and margin. Leverage appears to be an amazing service provided by brokers. However, one must remember that even a 1% fluctuation of currency prices could wipe out your entire capital, depending on the amount of leverage offered by the forex broker. Using a smaller leverage could help you prevent losing too much too fast. So, you need to find the perfect balance.

Forex Money Management: Margin

In the example stated above, when you buy €100,000 worth of currencies, you are in fact borrowing €99,000 for your purchases. The €1,000 that is used to cover your losses is the margin.

Leverage


Margin Required


Amount Traded


Required Margin

20:1


5%


€100,000


€5,000

50:1


2%


€100,000


€2,000

100:1


1%


€100,000


€1,000

200:1


0.5%


€100,000


€500

A trader may choose the highest leverage (200:1), with the margin being only 0.5%. However, sound money management principles say that the trader should never trade huge lots. This would prevent leverage from hurting the trader.

Therefore, it is essential to understand how much leverage your forex broker offers and what the margin requirements are. If you are new to trading, you should compare the leverage and margin specifications of different brokers.

what is forex

If you trade the forex market you will undoubtedly be aware that it is a high risk venture. Most traders who trade currencies end up losing money. Unfortunately, some traders end up losing a substantial part of their net worth.

Many traders, especially new traders are attracted to forex because they see brokers offering "200 to 1 leverage" and in some cases even higher amounts. It is a common belief amongst new traders that they can use this leverage to generate a substantial amount of wealth. This belief nearly always ends in tears.

To be a successful forex trader, it is imperative that you treat trading like a business. It is unlikely that you could put $50 in to a business and turn it into $20,000 in a short frame of time. Granted, there are exceptions, but they are EXTREMELY few and far between.

You need to apply this same theory to forex trading. One of the biggest reasons traders lose money is having an account size that is too small.

One of the major advantages is forex is that you can effectively borrow as much money as you like from your broker. However, it is important to remember that borrowing money to trade will increase your profits, but it will also increase your losses.

There are no universal rules to state how much you should borrow. Many new traders should start off borrowing very little, if anything. Of course, it does depend on the type of strategy that you use.

If you have a $10,000 trading account, most brokers would allow you to open positions to the value of at least $500,000. If you bought a USD pair, this would be 50:1 leverage. The position size is 50 times the size of your account.

It would not take much of a price movement in the wrong direction to cause a significant loss to your account.

Many new traders start with a small account balance. The same principle can be applied to a $100 account trading a $5,000 position.

The smallest position allowed by many brokers is often $10,000, yet they may still allow you to open an account with $100.

The brokers don't mind, they know that 99% of the clients who do this will blow their account.

The point I am trying to get across is the one of being realistic. Treat trading as if it is a business. Aim for realistic returns. Think about the stock market or mutual funds. They often earn less than 10% per year on average. If you can make 30% per year trading forex, that is significantly higher!

Don't expect to make $1,000 a month from your $100 account. It almost certainly will NOT happen.

what is forex

In comparison to the amount of time, money and energy spent by some traders on Forex robots, error-proof technical strategies, and quasi-magical foreign exchange trading courses where we are promised to be made super-traders, it is a pity that money management receives insufficient attention. Although almost every trader worthy of the title is aware that success in Forex is largely dependent on careful management of losses, as well as profits, this aspect of trading is somewhat neglected in preference to indicators, statistics, analysis and strategy. Yet the first issue faced by a beginning trader is losing money while trading, and strategy or analysis doesn't say much about how to cope with it. As such, careful study and practice of money management methods must be paramount in the mind of the trader who is committed to achieving success in trading Forex.

What is analysis? It is the identification of high probability scenarios for profits. Probability does not involve any certainty, and by definition, any analytical scenario, however solid it may be, will lead to losses sooner or later. In the case of the beginner, whose skills are underdeveloped in best cases, and undeveloped in the worst, losses will come a lot sooner than profits. It is clear, then, that any trader's education must begin with a good understanding of the importance and necessity of money management skills.

Money management teaches us how to manage losses, and how to maximize profits. It all commands us to cultivate a responsible and disciplined attitude to trading by acquiring consistency in our habits. We are taught not to be erratic in trade sizes, to be consistent about the entry of stop loss or take profit orders, and above all, to regard loss as a natural, and indeed, inseparable part of a trading career. There are many ways of managing loss, but there is no way of avoiding it altogether in a trading career. Even George Soros has had a number of serious, sometimes massive blunders in his long career, but he is still regarded as a master trader by many. Warren Buffet bought the shares of an oil company at the peak of the oil bubble in 2008, and he made wrong choices with Salomon Brothers in the 90's as well. But all these traders were quick to recognize errors, and mange losses instead of denying them and letting them fester and achieve huge proportions. What happens to those who refuse to accept losses, and choose to add to them with the hope of eventual gains is obvious in the case of Nick Leeson and Jerome Kerviel, one of who bankrupted a U.K. bank, and the other lost $7 billion. Both went to jail eventually.

So money management is the heart and soul of trading, the safety valve against errors, and the shield against fear and irrationality. Forex trading brokers may give you the tools of technical analysis and tens of indicators, but money management skills can only be acquired by diligent and patient practice, and a total commitment to success in trading. On the other hand, a master of money management is a master trader, and it is but a matter of time before he perfects his skills in analysis and strategy and acquires the great riches which he deserves.

what is forex

For most of us, 'safe investments' are limited to the rate of return that we can earn on our savings accounts or long-term deposits. The return would depend on the interest rate applicable in each country. At the time of writing, November 2007, the interest rate earned on a savings account in Australia is around 7% a year. That is a return of 0.57% a month. Despite this fact, many have preconceptions regarding the type of returns they can make from trading the financial markets.

A novice trader puts on a winning trade and gains between ten to fifty percent of his trading account. He forms a belief that, by trading, he can quickly become a millionaire. Indeed, if we assume a 20% return per month on a $10,000 trading account, we can expect $89,161 by the end of our first twelve months of trading. What if we assume an estimate of 50% return per month? We would have $1,297,463 by the end of the year. Of course, the problem with expectations like these is that they are unrealistic. Even most of those who claim to have made these types of returns have only done so in simulated environments, in trading competitions using game accounts, for example, where real money was not at risk.

It is possible to make these types of returns for a short while but I have not heard of anybody achieving such steep returns consistently year after year. After testing hundreds of trading systems and ideas I have come to believe that systems, which seem to promise exorbitant returns, turn out to be over-optimized for the period they have been tested on. Or even worse, they have flaws in their logic or assumptions.

Lately, I have been looking at the performance reports of trading firms in the USA. What would you say if I told you that the top trading firm over the last ten years only made an average return of 25% a year and the median trading firm made somewhere around 15% a year? Well, this is in fact what I am telling you.

A 20% and a 15% return a year is 'only' 1.877% and 1.171% return a month, respectively. I am sure that many novice traders and investors reading this article will have a mix of reactions towards these figures. Some might laugh and scoff at such 'paltry' returns, secretly believing that they can do a lot better than just 1.877% a month. Others may be surprised or even disappointed because their dreams of living rich will not come as quickly as they hoped.

Setting aside your initial reaction to these figures however, let us refocus on what these numbers actually mean in the real world. I would like to show you that these types of returns are very powerful. With time, these seemingly small, but consistent, gains will give you enormous profits in the future.

15% A YEAR RETURN ON A $10,000 ACCOUNT

Let us start with the assumption of having a $10,000 account, making at least 1.171% return a month, or 15% a year, trading the market. Based on these, the projections are:

    $11,500 (15% growth) after 1 year.
    $13,223 (32% growth) after 2 years.
    $20,108 (101% growth) after 5 years.
    $40,432 (304% growth) after 10 years.
    $163,475 (1535% growth) after 20 years.
    $660,960 (6510% growth) after 30 years.

25% A YEAR RETURN ON A $10,000 ACCOUNT

Let us now assume having a $10,000 account, making at least 1.877% a month, or 25% a year, trading the market Based on these, the projections are:

    $12,500 (25% growth) after 1 year.
    $15,625 (56% growth) after 2 years.
    $30,519 (205% growth) after 5 years.
    $93,140 (831% growth) after 10 years.
    $867,512 (8575% growth) after 20 years.
    $8,080,034 (80700% growth) after 30 years.

It is very important to note that not all fund managers make money. Returns of 15% or 25% a year belong only to those money managers who were consistently profitable. Furthermore, these types of returns are out-of-bounds for most investors. To invest in such schemes, most of the fund managers I have been looking into will deal with you only if you are a 'sophisticated' investor with a spare $500,000 minimum to invest. In fact, the highest earner only took on investors with a minimum of $25,000,000 US dollars to invest. (I will not mention any names here, however, you can do your own research by typing "commodity trading advisors" in your favourite search engine.)

I do not know about you but I certainly do not have 25 million dollars lying around, to hand over for someone else to manage. The dilemma, however, is that life is way too short for me to be satisfied with a 7% annual return either. I guess this is why you and I have taken the decision to trade and invest in the financial markets ourselves. At least there, we have full control and responsibility over the returns we get. It has its risks, but we can all avoid being reckless if we keep realistic expectations.

(This article was first published in The Part-Time Investor Magazine, Issue 3.)

what is forex

Option overlays in the forex are a great way to control risk while taking advantage of the upside in trading. Options are a broad subject so I only intend on discussing one concept in this article and then will follow up with another article on a second overlay strategy. One of our trading systems at proftingWithForex.com uses option overlays, and you can follow along month by month to see how this strategy actually performs in real time. The two concepts I will talk about are very common and can be executed easily and without constant maintenance. Those are two things I like to look for in a system so I am not the one making all the mistakes for the first time and so I can have a life along with my forex trading. I will cover protective puts in this report and covered calls next.

PROTECTIVE PUTS

A put is an option with three components. The first is a contract. When you buy a put, you are buying the right to sell someone the underlying currency at a predetermined price for a predetermined period of time. You could buy a put today to sell a lot of the GBP/USD at $2.0000 any time between now and a date you choose in the future. If the currency pair falls to 1.9900, you can still sell it for 2.0000 and realize a profit. In fact, it doesn't matter how far the currency falls. If it is still within your time window, you can sell the currency for 2.0000 at will. The set price (2.0000) that you have selected for your contract is known as the strike price. The second component is time. Options are available in monthly increments. That means you can buy one that is good until next month or 12 months from now. The choice is up to you. Finally, options cost money. The price of an option is called the premium. The premium is higher the more valuable the options is. An option with a long time frame and a great strike price is more expensive than one with a very short time frame and a more speculative strike price. I think the best way to explain this is to use an example.

Example 1:

Let's assume that on January 22, 2007, you wanted to buy one contract of the GBP/USD. Let's assume it had a price of 1.9750. You are a prudent investor, and you want some protection from risk in the market so you buy a protective put that allows you to sell this contract at 1.9750 anytime before that contract expires. In this case, the contract would have expired a month later on the third Friday of February, the 16 th . That put will cost you the equivalent of 150 pips per contract. The pair subsequently dropped to 1.9502. In that case, the put will still be worth 248 pips because you can still sell the lot for 1.9750 (1.9750 — 1.9502 = 0.0248). That is exactly equal to the amount you would have lost on the contract you were long so they wash each other out. In fact, the only thing you are out is the 150 pips you paid to purchase the contract in the first place. You didn't have to set a stop because you were totally protected. Even though the contract value dropped significantly-more than the 150 pips you had planned for-you had a hedge that protected your capital.

Example 2:

The following month's trade, February to March, would have been another loss, but the March to April trade was a winner. For the March to April trade, you could have purchased the long position in the currency pair for 1.9372. You could have covered your position with a put at 1.9350 that would have cost you 120 pips, leaving you with some exposure between 1.9350 and 1.9372. However if you add those two positions, you had a level of total risk similar to what you had during the January to February trade. During the month, your long position rose significantly to 2.0027. That means you made 655 pips. What about your put? Well, there is no way you will want to sell this position for 1.9350 so you will just let the put expire worthless. That will reduce your gains by the amount you paid for the put so your new total is a net gain of 535 pips.

This strategy can appear to be slightly complicated at first, but it is worth learning more about it as it offers significant benefits. Institutional traders use option overlays, such as protective puts, all the time. It helps control risk and reduces total volatility in a portfolio. Here are a few more of the benefits, along with two of the cons, of this strategy.

Benefit #1-No stops

You do not need to set a stop on your long currency position. How many times have you been right in your direction but got stopped out on a whipsaw in the market? I am positive that this happens to most forex traders on a regular basis. With a protective put, you are in charge and can let the exchange rate drop to zero, if that were possible, without exceeding your maximum loss. By the way, this benefit is also true during announcements. You are now in control.

Benefit #2-Unlimited upside

Unlike many hedging strategies, this technique still allows for unlimited upside. Although gains are offset by the price of the put, gains can still be significant.

Benefit #3-Lower portfolio volatility

The total portfolio has lower volatility because your downside is capped. Here is an additional example. I will assume that pricing and volatility has been reasonably constant, on average, during the last 10 years and that your strategy is to buy a long position on the GBP/USD and an at the money put with total portfolio leverage of 20:1. That would have returned 10 percent per year during that period. When you combine this advantage with some prudent analysis, it is entirely possible to see much better returns than this.

Con #1 — Cost of the put

The put will cost you 150 pips if you let it run until expiration each month-whether the market goes up or down. That price eats into your upside and creates a predetermined downside. Even if the market dropped less than 150 pips, the maximum loss will be the same.

Con #2 — Cost of trading

If you purchase a put, you will pay a commission. With commission prices falling all the time, this is usually nominal but it adds another pip worth of losses to each month's trading.

The most difficult thing for most investors to do is to protect their capital. You will hear successful individual investors often say that if you can effectively protect your capital, profits will take care of themselves. I agree with that sentiment and use protective puts to help give me an edge. At ProfitingWithForex.com we maintain a model portfolio in the trades section that uses option overlays to illustrate the concept in real time. Log in, and check it out to see what we are up to and what this looks like over time.

what is forex

The presented article covers one of the most important (in author's opinion) aspects of trading in general and Forex trading in particular — managing of orders and positions. This includes choosing entry points, making decisions about exit points, stop-loss and take-profit of the trader. I hope this article will help new traders, who just began to work with Forex, and also to experienced traders who trade regularly and regularly make or lose their money to the market.

When I started to trade Forex and made my first big losses and profits I began to notice when very important thing about the whole trading process. While the right time to enter a position was rarely a problem for myself (nearly 80% of all my open positions had gone into the "green" profit zone), the problem was hidden in the determining the right exit point for that position. Not only was it important to cut my risk on the potential losses with stop-loss orders, but to limit my greediness and take profit when I can take it and make it as high as I can. There are many known guidelines and ways to enter a right position at a right time — like major economic news releases, global world events, technical indicators combinations, etc. But while the entering into a position is optional and trade can decide to miss as many good/bad entry point moments as they wish, this is untrue if we talk about exiting a position. Margin trading makes it impossible to wait too long with an open position. More than that, every open position in a certain way limits trader's ability to trade.

Choosing the good exit points for positions could be an easy task if only the Forex market wasn't so chaotic and volatile. In my opinion (backed by my trading experience) exit orders for every position should be toggled constantly with time and as the new market data (technical and fundamental) appear.

Let's say, you took a short position on EUR/USD at 1.2563, at the time you are taking this position the support/resistance level is 1.2500/1.2620. You set your stop-loss order to 1.2625 and your take-profit order to 1.2505. So now, this position can be considered as an intraday or 2-3 days term position. This means that you must close it before it's "term" is over, or it will become a very unpredictable position (because market will differ greatly from what it was at the time you have entered this position). After the position is taken and initial exit orders are set, you need to follow the market events and technical indicators to adjust your exit orders. The most important rule is to tighten the loss/profit limit as time goes by. Usually if I take a middle term position (2-4 days) I try to lower the stop and target order by 10-25 pips every day. I also monitor global events, trying to lower my stop-losses when very important news can hurt my position. If the profit is already quite high, I try to move my stop-loss the entry point, making a sure-win position. The main idea here is to find an equilibrium point between greed and caution. But as your position gets older the profit should be more limited and losses cut. Also, trader should always remember that if the market began to act unexpectedly, they need to be even more cautious with exit order, even if the position is still showing profits.

Every trader has their own trading strategy and habits. I hope this article will make its readers think about such an important aspect of trading as the exit orders and this will only improve their trading results.

what is forex

You may have relatives or friends who trade the markets. They could be trading shares, futures, options or forex. You may have heard of their exciting trading stories and perhaps this aroused your curiosity and you wondered whether you should trade too. One of the first questions you ask before you trade would be: what are the costs of trading.

The costs of trading depend on several factors, including the instrument and market you are trading. Most of the costs you pay are to your brokerage firm. They need to make a living in exchange for the services they provide.

Generally, you would expect to incur the following costs:

Commissions

Slippage

Spread

Platform Fees

Expenses

Commissions

These costs are charged by brokers. The commission you pay is usually calculated as a percentage of the size of your trade. For example, if you are buying or selling $10,000 worth of shares, your broker may charge you 1% of that. They may also charge in tiers: for example, if you are buying or selling shares with a total market value of less than $10,000 then your broker may charge you $30. If it is under $20,000, they may charge you $50. Therefore, if you bought $5,000 worth of shares, you would still pay $30 commission. And if you bought $12,000 worth of shares you would still pay $50 commission.

Slippage

The price of a commodity is always moving as long as the market is open. Therefore, if the price of a share is quoted at $10 now, it does not mean that when you decide to buy, you will buy those shares at $10 each. When you put in your order and it gets filled, the market price may have already changed. If your order to buy the shares was filled at a price of $10.25, and you bought 100 shares, then your total slippage cost is: $25 (that is 100 shares * $0.25). If you had the same slippage when you sell, then the entire slippage costs for you getting in and out of the market would be $50 (that is $25 * 2 trades).

Spread

The spread is the difference between the bid to buy and offer to sell for the commodity. If the most eager buyer is willing to buy US Dollars for 0.7500 Australian Dollars each, but the most eager seller is only willing to sell them for 0.7510 Australian Dollars each, then there is a spread of 10 pips. These 10 pips are referred to as the spread. If you bought 100,000 USDs, the spread would cost you 100 Australian Dollars. (Pips are discussed further in the book: The Part-Time Currency Trader .)

Platform Fees

Some brokers charge you monthly for using their trading platforms.

Expenses

These costs include those associated to your trading education like buying books, trading software, data subscription and so forth.

Some people may 'brush' these costs aside as negligible costs of having fun, much like the coins they put in poker machines. However, if you want to look at trading as a business, you have to minimize them and make sure you are getting the most for every dollar you spend to ensure your long-term survival.

what is forex

One of the most important rules of Forex trading is to keep your losses as small as you possibly can. With small Forex trading losses, you can stick it out longer than those times when the market moves against you, and be well positioned for when the trend turns around. The one proven method to keeping your losses small is to set your maximum loss before you even open a Forex trading position.

The maximum loss is the greatest amount of capital that you are comfortable losing on any one trade. With your maximum loss set as a small percentage of your Forex trading effort, a string of losses won't stop you from trading for any particular amount of time. Unlike the 95% of Forex traders out there who lose money because they haven't begun to use wise money management rules to their Forex trading system, you will be ok with this money management rule.

To use as an example, If I had a Forex trading float of $1000, and I began trading with $100 a trade, it would be reasonable for me to experience three losses in a row. This would reduce my Forex trading capital to $400. It would then be decided that they're going to bet $200 on the next trade because they think they have a higher chance of winning after having lost three times already.

If that trader did bet $100 dollars on the next trade because they thought they were going to win, their capital could be reduced to $250 dollars. The chances of making money now are practically nil because I would need to make 150% on the next trade just to break even. If the maximum loss had been determined, and stuck to, they would not be in this position.

In this case, the reason for failure was because the trader risked too much money, and didn't apply good money management to the play. Remember, the goal here is to keep our losses as small as possible while also making sure that we open a large enough position to capitalize on profits and minimize losses. With your money management rules in place, in your Forex trading system, you will always be able to do this.

what is forex

What is Money Management: describes strategies or methods a player uses to avoid losing their bankroll.

Money management in the foreign exchange currency market requires educating yourself in a variety of financial areas. First, a definition of the foreign exchange currency or forex market is called for. The forex market is simply the exchange of the currency of one country for the currency of another. The relative values of various currencies in the world change on a regular basis. Factors such as the stability of the economy of a country, the gross national product, the gross domestic product, inflation, interest rates, and such obvious factors as domestic security and foreign relations come into play. For instance, if a country has an unstable government, is expecting a military takeover, or is about to become involved in a war, then the country's currency may go down in relative value compared to the currency of other countries.

The Forex, or foreign currency exchange, is all about money. Money from all over the world is bought, sold and traded. On the Forex, anyone can buy and sell currency and with possibly come out ahead in the end. When dealing with the foreign currency exchange, it is possible to buy the currency of one country, sell it and make a profit. For example, a broker might buy a Japanese yen when the yen to dollar ratio increases, then sell the yens and buy back American dollars for a profit.

There are five major forex exchange markets in the world, New York, London, Frankfurt, Paris, Tokyo and Zurich. Forex trading occurs around the clock in various markets, Asian, European, and American. With different time zones, when Asian trading stops, European trading opens, and conversely when European trading stops, American trading opens, and when American trading stops, then it is time for Asian trading to begin again.

Most of the trading in the world occurs in the forex markets; smaller markets for trade in individual countries. Simply put forex trading is the simultaneous buying of one currency and selling of another. Over $1.4 trillion dollars, US of forex trading occurs daily and sometimes fortunes are made or lost in this market. The billionaire George Soros has made most of his money in forex trading. Successfully managing your money in forex trading requires an understanding of the bid/ask spread.

Simply put the bid ask spread is the difference between the price at which something is offered for sale and the price that it is actually purchased for. For instance, if the ask price is 100 dollars, and the bid is 102 dollars then the difference is two dollars, the spread. Many forex traders trade on margin. Trading on margin is buying and selling assets that are worth more than the money in your account. Since currency exchange rates on any given day are usually less than two percent, forex trading is done with a small margin. To use an example, with a one percent margin a trader can trade up to $250,000 even if he only has $5,000 in his account. This means the trade has leverage of 50 to one. This amount of leverage allows a trader to make good profits very quickly. Of course, with the chance of high profits also comes high risk.

Like many other speculative investments, a key part of money management for the forex trader is only using money that can be put at risk. It is wise to set aside a portion of your net worth and make that the only money you use in forex trading. While the chances of good profits are there, if you should have a problem and get wiped out, you'll only have a limited amount of money placed at risk. Also remember that the market is n constant motion. There are always trading opportunities. If a currency is becoming stronger or weaker in relation to other currencies there is always a chance for profit. For instance, if you believe that the Euro is gong to become weak compared to the US dollar then selling Euros is a good bet. If you believe that the dollar is going to become weaker than the yen, or the pound sterling, then selling dollars is wise. Staying current on the news and current events in the countries whose currency you hold is a smart move. Many people reach points where they can predict currency changes based on political or economic news in a given country. Remember though that forex trading is speculation, so be careful when managing your funds and only invest what you can afford to risk.

Please always make sure you check with the pros when dealing in this market unless you are doing this as a hobby and don't have a lot at stake in it. There are a lot of big boys playing here and they won't lose much sleep if you and thousands others lose their shirts...

what is forex

One of the cardinal rules of Forex trading is to keep your losses small. With small Forex trading losses, you can outlast those times the market moves against you, and be well positioned for when the trend turns around. The proven method to keeping your losses small is to set your maximum loss before you even open a Forex trading position. The maximum loss is the greatest amount of capital that you are comfortable losing on any one trade. With your maximum loss set as a small percentage of your Forex trading float, a string of losses won`t stop you from trading. Unlike the 95% of Forex traders out there who lose money because they haven`t applied good money management rules to their Forex trading system, you will be far down the road to success with this money management rule.

What happens if you don`t set a maximum loss? Let`s look at an example. If I had a Forex trading float of $1000, and I began trading with $100 a trade, it would be reasonable to experience three losses in a row. This would reduce my Forex trading capital to $700. What do you think those 95% of traders say at this time? They would reason, "Well, I`ve already had three losses in a row. So I`m really due for a win now."

They would decide they`re going to bet $300 on the next trade because they think they have a higher chance of winning.

If that trader did bet $300 dollars on the next trade because they thought they were going to win, their capital could be reduced to $400 dollars. Their chances of making money now are very slim. They would need to make 150% on their next trade just to break even. If they had set their maximum loss, and stuck to that decision, they would not be in this position.

Here`s a perfect illustration why most people lose money in the Forex trading market. Let`s start out with another $1,000 float, and begin our Forex trading with $250. After only three losses in a row, we`ve lost $750, and our capital has been reduced to $250. Effectively, we must make 300% return on the next trade and that will allow us to break even.

In both of these cases, the reason for failure was because the trader risked too much, and didn`t apply good money management. Remember, the goal here is to keep our losses as small as possible while also making sure that we open a large enough position to capitalize on profits. With your money management rules in place, in your Forex trading system, you will always be able to do this.

what is forex

Once you enter the Forex trading world you will immediately notice the need of using technical analysis in order to find trends when looking at the forex charts and also the importance of being aware of when they first develop so you can ride the trend until it ends. The foreign exchange market is a very strong trending market, lots of ups and downs in short periods of time, and it's, therefore, a place where technical analysis can be very effective.

But you should always remember that the indicators are only giving you a high probability behavior the markets may show when you are trading, but will never tell you the behavior of the currency prices with total certainty.

If you want to become a profitable forex trader you will need to use as many technical indicators as you can, or create a personalized trading strategy based on a combination of these indicators, to recognize with the best accuracy possible the trend. In other words, a professional forex trader will try to identify the major trend, the intermediate trend, and the short-term trend and then construct his trades in that direction based on how long their rules allow him to hold a position.

The forex markets are always changing, that's why you should always have an open criterion when using your technical indicators. Markets will be changing and different combinations of indicators may be required with time in order to have the most accurate, highest probability, prediction of future currency price behaviors.

If the action of the market shows your judgment to be correct, then you must consider staying with the market' and look for the maximum profit on each trade, according to your risk-to-reward/equity management rules. If you happen to be in a bad day and the market goes against you, the smart trader will take profits and get out of that trade. In a narrow market, when prices are not going anywhere, but move within a narrow range, there is no sense in trying to anticipate when the next big movement is going to be.

So, you must always be alert and open to use as many and as different indicators in order to stay tuned with the market and become a profitable trader at the end of the day.

what is forex

You have been highly successful with trading currencies with this new offshore Forex broker that you have been trying out of late. You have doubled your money, told all your friends about it, and now it’s time to withdraw some of your winnings and have a party. But, your withdrawal requests get ignored; customer service does not return emails; and suddenly, your account is frozen. Then they suddenly disappear.

Forex traders cringe when they hear stories like these. They know full well that it could happen to them, too, at any time. But, wouldn’t it have been better if you had performed a little more due diligence up front before you ever wired your hard-earned capital to these culprits? In the first place, Forex trading is high risk, but choosing to use a broker in another country is fraught with even higher risks. Some of the best Forex brokers are overseas, but why take the chance?

Stopping a scam is all about never getting involved in one in the first place. Make no mistake about it; the criminal element in our society is well trained in how to separate you from your money. Awareness is your first line of defense. Here are a few tell tale signs that might indicate a potential Forex scam in progress:

    Outrageous Marketing Claims: Fraudsters prey on our secret desire to get rich quick. All manner of marketing claims will spew forth, touting how easy it is to make quick gains, to use their expert assistance to pave the way to riches, or offering simply more leverage and thinner spreads. The trick is to get your deposit and then never return it. This scam applies not only to brokers, but to all other providers in the industry, from account managers to software/robot salesmen. If it seems to good to be true, then walk the other way;
    Very Little Risk: If you hear these words or that “it is almost a sure thing, nobody loses money with us”, then, once again, walk the other way;
    Urgent That You Act Now: Once again, if there is urgency connected to when you participate, beware;
    Referrals: If you think you are safe when a friend refers a broker to you, Bernie Madoff’s clients feel differently. They were duped because they relied on a friend’s suggestion, which is exactly what is written in the criminal’s playbook. He treats his first customers well, so they will deliver a host of new clients, ready for immediate fleecing;
    Forex Broker Reviews: Legitimate Forex brokers are proud of their service and their management team. They prominently display their names and addresses. No one is trying to hide, but appearances can still be deceiving. You must look for independent testimonials. Check with other traders for their valued opinions. Ensure that regulators keep a tight watch on them and see what they or other authorities have to say about your potential business partner.

Put ego aside — Let caution be your guide!

what is forex

The Forex market has a $4.2 trillion daily turnover. The market players are many and varied, and the dynamics of the market operations are something that every trader has to understand. In this market, you have the Warren Buffetts, The Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan Chase-type companies, and the brokers/dealers/central banks that have the ability to tilt the balance of trade in an instant. Then of course you now have the individual traders whose numbers are swelling by the day.

Have you ever wondered why so many individual traders lose money (about 95%) and yet the institutional players who also trade this market are still declaring billions of dollars in insane profits year in year out? This is what this article will try to explain: how several market factors that are unknown to many individual traders affect the markets.

What are these potential market shifting factors?
Broker Types

We have two types of brokers: the ECN brokers and the market makers. The Electronic Communication Network (ECN) brokers are also called non-dealing desk (NDD) brokers. These brokers give traders direct market access to pricing as delivered by the liquidity providers. With ECN brokers, what you see is truly what you get. Traders get the same pricing that comes from the liquidity providers. Usually there are several price shown by several providers, so the trader is at liberty to choose the price that is best for him. There is no intervening dealing desk; orders go straight to the liquidity providers for execution. This straight through processing system ensures that there are no re-quotes, no slippages and no price manipulations.

It costs money to maintain the structures that oil this mechanism, so this service comes to traders at a premium. Spreads are variable and there is a commission to be paid on trades and on using the platform. The high cost of operating an ECN account restricts the participation of individual traders, which is why ECN platforms are used mostly by institutional traders.

Market makers are dealing desk brokers. Their presence in the Forex market is to serve as a liquidity bridge. In a situation where many traders cannot afford the high capital requirements that are the norm in the ECN environment, the role of the market makers is to match the volume of trades with the accompanying liquidity. As such, they operate dealing desks which purchase volume orders from liquidity providers and "resell" Forex trade contracts to traders. Market makers offer fixed spreads, do not charge commissions and offer the attraction of a reduced cost of operating a trading account for traders. However, by acting as a counterparty to a trader, a market maker are basically trading against the trader. If a trader loses the trade, the market maker makes money. If a trader wins, the market maker loses money. Trading with the wrong kind of broker can subject a trader to conditions under which he has no control over, so at the end of the day, the real winners here are those who have the money to trade with the ECN brokers.
Order Flows

Ever heard of the word "dark pools"? Dark pools or dark liquidity pools are a system in which big time players in the market can trade very large volumes anonymously without suffering the effects of price fluctuations produced by such large demands. Usually, price quotes and the different parties holding interests in the asset should be available for all traders to see in Level II price quotation models. Dark pools provide an avenue to mask this information. With dark pools, liquidity and market depth information is hidden. Without access to this information, ordinary traders will never know whether there is a demand shift or not, but members of dark pools will know and can plan their trades with such information. Dark pools may be independent or may be broker-mediated.
Ultra-Low Latency Software

Latency means delay. In the markets, latency is the time delay it takes for communication from the broker's server to get to the trader's computer and vice versa. In the Forex market, it is more important during news trades. By reducing the time delay between the release of the news numbers and when it hits the trader's computer, as well as the time of order placement and execution, a trader with very low latency can beat other traders to market entries and gain from the spikes that follow high impact news trades. Companies are spending huge amounts of money on setting up servers and data centres close to the broker's servers so as to reduce latency periods. Bloomberg is a major provider of ultra-low latency news services and they sell the service to anyone who can pay for it for thousands of dollars in monthly subscriptions. How many individual traders can afford such money which is basically chicken change for the institutional traders?

These points are just to open the eyes of individual traders to know what they are dealing with when they engage the Forex market. This is not to scare away people from trading, but they have to understand that this is what obtains in the market, and they need to take steps to position themselves where the institutional players are.

Get money. Open an account and trade with an ECN broker. Setup a virtual private server located close to the location of your broker's server. Form a trader's collective that can enable several of you pool funds together to join independent dark pools. Position yourself to profit from the market like the institutional players. Remember that in any market, the smart money always gets in early, reaps the profits and gets out just in time for the retail money to get slaughtered. Join the smart money players.

what is forex

Dishonest and illegitimate brokers who defraud their customers are a disgrace to the online Forex brokerage business. Many traders are rightfully scornful of those who lack the basic decency to allow them to withdraw their funds, even after losses. And sometimes traders can't help but feel that if they could just locate that best Forex broker hidden somewhere in the far reaches of the cyber-jungle, trading and profiting would give the taste of fine French wines, instead of the usual vinegar. But are Forex brokers really such a wicked lot that even the Evil One himself is put to shame by his incompetence in comparison? Is the oversight of multiple government agencies, newspapers and the trader community insufficient to convince them to behave like normal people? Most importantly, since retail Forex is like a shower of gold and silver for online brokers, do they really need to kill their Golden Goose by defrauding traders and destroying their Forex strategies through misquotes and stop-running?

The fact of the matter is that the number of fraudsters in the Forex market is a lot smaller than what many disgruntled traders believe. If you have the misfortune of being a victim of one of them, no doubt, our words will not do much to help you trust the brokers. But we invite you to recall the fact that there are a significant number of firms which have been in operation for many years in nations where regulation and oversight is strictest. Surely, a broker with a long history in Switzerland does not prove much about the reliability of Forex brokers, but others headquartered in New York, and monitored and authorized by the authorities for years cannot have had the skills to keep everyone blind for so many years. Forex is risky, and requires patient study, but it is no longer a shady corner of the internet world: it is regulated and monitored, and more and more a part of the mainstream of financial business.

And while we'd love to send you to the best broker in this article, the good news is that we don't even need to. There are a large number of firms operating online today which cater to different kinds of investors with different expectations and skills. If you're a professional, you will not be equally satisfied by the offer of a decent, legitimate broker which caters to beginners and average traders for the most part. As a beginner, you're unlikely to have all your needs expectations fulfilled by a well-established firm with excellent services and yet a significant minimum deposit requirement. It is this diversity of offers that makes online Forex the field of pioneers, and such an exciting place to be for traders. If you're one of those brave people who want to explore this brave new world, go check your Forex broker ratings now, and who knows, maybe you'll grow to become the next Martin Schwartz of the century. Anything is possible in Forex.

what is forex

In this article we would like to address the flip side to the argument we put forward in our piece 'Choosing the Right Forex Broker'. That article focussed on broker malpractices, but do we have the right to place the blame on these firms or are our expectations of them unrealistic?

Is It Fashionable To Blame The Broker?

There are a few sites scattered throughout the Internet (ours included) that offer you the opportunity to review your broker and it seems that there is a growing trend towards the negative. What I mean is that there are a far larger number of negative reviews than positive ones. There are several reasons for this: There is a tendency to jump on the bandwagon of bad reviews if you have lost money to the market and you have negative feelings associated with this. It may also be prudent to consider the fact that human nature seems to be drawn toward the negative; when you turn on the news how many negative stories are reported compared to positive ones? Is this because more bad things happen or because we find these stories more 'entertaining'? I believe that a lot of this 'broker bashing' is due to the fact that there are currently a larger number of 'bad' brokers than 'good' ones but I also believe that some of these reviews are not entirely fair because our expectations are not realistic in the first place. Let us take a look at and evaluate some of our common complaints.

Slippage

Slippage is the difference between the price at which you set your order for execution (in the case of a stop order) or the price you attempt to have an order executed (in the case of a market order) and the price at which you are actually filled. It should be noted that stop-loss or stop entry orders actually become market orders once active i.e. once the specified price is hit, so they do not guard you against slippage. This is one of the most common complaints made against brokers by furious traders who see potential winners turn into losers and small losers turn into large ones.

A loss is an unpleasant experience at the best of times and if you feel that your broker is the reason for it, or the size of it, you are bound to direct your anger towards them (N.B. Trading Psychology and management of emotions comes into play here). This is where we need to check our expectations and put any complaints into context.

Slippage is generally associated with periods of either extremely high volatility or extremely low volatility. As an added ingredient the size of your order can also contribute. The most common times of high volatility in the forex market are at major news releases and it is no coincidence that this is also the time that traders experience the greatest amount of slippage. This is because economic announcements generate a large amount of interest and everyone is jostling for position at the same time.

Those traders that are active around these times will understand that a few pips here and a few pips there can make all the difference between closing the day with either a profit or a loss. A bad fill can be enough to make the difference and when you experience one it is natural to blame it on your broker for being too slow or for being dishonest and banking your money for themselves. However, the reality is that slippage at news times is very common and in some cases almost inevitable but rather than just blaming the broker there are steps that we can take to minimise or eliminate the bad fills, such as:

Be mindful of the times you trade: If you are not a news trader then you may wish to avoid the most highly anticipated news releases altogether. By doing so you will not be trading during times of massive volatility and your chances of experiencing slippage are greatly reduced. If you are a news trader then there are some precautionary steps that you can take (see below).

Enter with limit orders: A limit order will only be executed at the specified price or better thus eliminating slippage. However, traditional limit orders can only be placed above or below the market which requires you to enter on a retracement. This is an advanced trading technique and requires a good deal of experience. A limit order will only solve the problem of slippage on your entries and does not remove the threat of slippage on your exits if you want to cut your losses or take profit without the use of a fixed target.

Enter after the initial spike: The first move after a data release is oven extremely explosive creating what is known as a 'spike' in prices. If you wait for this move to play out then you are giving the market time to digest the news and you are avoiding the main body of volatility. This gives you time to plan your own trade based on the data released, possibly catching a retrace using a limit entry.

Choose your broker accordingly: If you use a broker with a dealing desk then you are more likely (in theory) to experience slippage than if you use an ECN style broker. It is likely that a human will actually be matching and filling orders on a dealing desk which leaves you open to an added delay, especially at busy times. An ECN broker doesn't have this limitation and that fraction of a second saved can make a huge difference. In conclusion, if you are actively trading at busy times then an ECN broker is probably most suited to your needs. On the other hand if you trade infrequently or you have a small account and cannot afford the commission fees that ECN brokers charge then a broker with a dealing desk may be adequate.

My Broker is Trading Against Me

This is an extremely common complaint that has lead to the conspiracy theory that most brokers actually want you to lose your money because they are on the other side of your trades. Let us step away from this theory for the moment and consider the fact that there is ALWAYS someone on the other side of your trades. For you to go short someone else must go long and vice versa so someone somewhere always wants you to lose! Now, some brokers claim that they match client orders at the dealing desk while others use their dealing desk to offset their clients' trades with their own overall position in the market, which is known as hedging. If a broker is perfectly hedged then they simply collect the spread that you pay them (which is greater than the spread they pay in the interbank market) and that is their profit. The conspiracy theory has come from the notion that most traders lose and so it would be more beneficial for brokers to trade in the opposite direction to their clients rather than go in the same direction and hedge themselves. Experiences of delayed orders, slippage and stop hunting have added fuel to this fire because they can be easily explained as brokers stealing your money rather than potentially legitimate problems incurred at busy trading times.

Conclusion

In this article we have attempted to point out to you alternatives to broker malpractice theories and a few ways in which you can minimise their effects. If you are a firm believer that your broker is trading against you and wants you to lose then you are developing a potentially self-destructive frame of mind. This belief may prevent you from identifying problems closer to home such as trading psychology and strategy inadequacies. But the fact remains that if you are unhappy with your broker or you are experiencing excessive slippage, multiple re-quotes, poor customer service, possible stop hunting, platform freezing and held orders then you should change brokers. At the end of the day the reasons for poor service are of secondary importance behind the effect it has on your trading. It may be that your broker is honest but technologically inept or it may be that you are the victim of a bucket shop but try to keep your complaints within the context of market dynamics. If none of the coping strategies listed above make any positive difference then it is definitely time to find a new broker.

what is forex

When you first start trading the forex market finding a broker is unlikely to be a major concern; aren't all brokers the same anyway? Lets face it if you can find a trading strategy that you are comfortable with and become consistently profitable then that is the battle won, right? Unfortunately it isn't that easy and the shame of it is that there are too many so-called brokers out there who want to rip you off.

Where Does This Mentality Come From?

The retail forex industry has been brought up on the fact that FX is worth $2 Trillion in volume every single day (in reality only a fraction of this comes from private speculators, the vast majority is generated by large banks and multinational corporations). This is quite a lure especially when we are reminded at how this figure completely dwarfs the stock market, and we've all heard how much you can make from stocks. Now add the statistic into the mix that between 90 and 95% (probably closer to 99%) of all retail speculators lose money and you have a bevy of firms climbing all over themselves to get their hands on this cash. Forex is billed as the way to become mega rich, leave your job and live the life you've always wanted but if it was that easy everyone would be doing it!

How do Retail Brokers Position Themselves?

To answer this question we need to briefly explain some market dynamics. The forex market is completely decentralised. This means that, unlike centralised exchanges such as the NYSE and LSE, there is no central location where each transaction can be traced and recorded nor do currencies have specialist market makers responsible for providing quotes for the entire market. Instead, the entities that act as market makers for the currency market are the World's largest banks. These banks carry out transactions between each other on a regular basis, hence the term 'interbank market'. In order for you to deal directly with these large banks you need to establish credit relationships with them which takes a vast amount of money and consequently most people cannot afford to do this. So this is where the retail brokers come in; they connect you with the large banks. Because they are representing many clients they have enough equity to establish credit relationships and deal with these banks, supposedly on your behalf.

This Position is Open to Exploitation

Retail Forex Brokers are the middleman between you and the interbank market so every time you place an order to buy EURUSD for example, your broker alters their currency holding positions with their large bank partners to reflect this. Rightly so your broker charges a fee for this service which usually comes in the form of spread (the difference between the bid and the ask). The spread they offer you is slightly larger than the spread they are offered in the interbank market so your broker can make a small profit on every trade you make. Everything sounds all well and good so far, agreed?

Now let me ask you a question: suppose you work in Las Vegas as a runner placing bets at sports books for several clients. Now you've been doing this for a while and you recognise that some of your clients are good at picking winners and some are good at picking losers. If you could make a little extra on top of your fee for running by doing the opposite of the clients who consistently lose bets would you do it? Now suppose that 99% of your clients lose money over a long enough period of time so all you have to do is bet against them all and you will make a fortune! Sometimes around the really big sporting events you get so busy you can't place your clients' bets and your bets quickly enough so you figure you'll make sure you get in with good odds and then sort out your clients once you are done, meaning they get slightly or sometimes much worse odds than you. This mindset is greedy and unfortunate and you won't have many friends but at least you would make a good retail forex broker!

Sorry to use a gambling analogy here (trading should never be confused with gambling) but it does explain the problem quite nicely. All you have to do to apply it to our situation is switch out a few words: Las Vegas is the interbank market, runner becomes retail broker, sports book becomes large bank, bets become client trades, running fee becomes spread, big sports events are big news items and the difference between the odds you get and the odds your client gets is the slippage you hand out.

Isn't This Slightly Cynical?

Yes the analogy used is slightly cynical; it is not the case that every broker out there is guilty of these 'bucket shop' tactics (rest assured that every brokerage will deny it however) but it is far too common. Even bank traders can experience slippage at volatile times but the degree to which it occurs at the retail level is unacceptable. Furthermore you cannot use volatility as a defence when you begin to hound profitable traders with constant re-quotes, accusations of illegal scalping (no such thing even exists!) and forced account closure. And what about a brokerage going bankrupt without returning your funds? Is it any wonder that this article is questioning the honesty of some retail brokerages?

What About Regulation?

The retail market is still fairly young and therefore loosely regulated. However, there are two organisations that police the sector and they are beginning to step in and protect the consumer on a more regular basis. These organisations are the National Futures Association (NFA) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). Of the two the CFTC is most heavily involved in the regulation of fraud, manipulation and abusive trade practices in the retail forex sector. The CFTC.gov website is an excellent source of information on customer protection and on-going legal disputes against brokers and other entities.

Lets Talk About the Positives

It's not all bad out there; certain firms do offer very attractive and honest services. Let us summarise some of the attributes you should consider looking for in a broker:

1. NFA and CFTC registered

2. No dealing desk, ECN style brokers

3. Variable spreads that reflect the volatility at interbank level

4. Firms that charge commission rather than a flat spread (the thinking here is the more you trade the more they make so it is in their interest to see you make profitable trades and continue to trade happily with them — less likely to be on the other side of your trades)

5. Friendly and efficient customer service

6. The offer to insure your capital in a secure bond (will protect client funds in the event of a broker's bankruptcy)

7. Limit entries (your broker allows you to enter the market with a specified 'chase factor' of a few pips. If your order is not filled within the acceptable 'chase factor' your order is either partially filled or not filled at all — prevents ridiculous slippage at times of high volatility)

8. A good reputation within the industry (check independent sites for user reviews)

9. No BS marketing that focuses on the multi millions you will make within months of opening your account (these firms prey on inexperienced traders and gamblers who have no chance of being profitable)

10. Realistic and modest margin/ leverage (firms that offer leverage over 100:1 are encouraging you to trade big and lose you account to them quickly - you may wish to look out for a broker who offers you a choice of margin requirements)

Of course not all of these attributes can be classed as 'golden rules'. If something is perceived as attractive then it is open to exploitation. For example, ECN brokers are becoming very popular and this has lead to several firms advertising an ECN service when they don't really have the technology to provide one.

Do Your Due Diligence

I know it can seem tedious but researching your chosen broker is definitely time well spent. At the very least you should spend time browsing a broker's website. You may like to make a list of things you like the sound of and things you don't (remember, if something sounds too good to be true then it probably is). Contact their customer support and put these issues to their representatives and see if you are offered a satisfactory response (also a great test of their customer service dept. and general professionalism). I would also seriously suggest checking the CFTC website and browsing forums, discussion boards, blogs and user review websites for any information. My last suggestion here is that you share your good and bad experiences within trading communities. Although you will probably never hear about it your efforts will save your fellow trader his/ her time, money and probably a few grey hairs.

Good luck and happy hunting!

what is forex

It`s not always easy to know what to look for in a forex broker, especially in any market, much less a market as complex as currency. But, if you want to trade in the market you need a good firm to work with. While it might be tempting to simply ask the brokers what they can do for you, you can`t always depend on them to give you a straight answer. So instead, I`ve put together a few things to consider when choosing your forex broker. You will want a forex broker that has low spreads. The spread, which is calculated in pips, is the difference between the price at which a currency can be bought and the price at which it can be sold at any specific point in time. Since forex brokers don`t charge a commission, this difference is how they make money. Low spreads will save you money.

Along with this, you should be looking for a forex broker attached to a reputable institution. Unlike equity brokers, they are usually attached to large banks or lending institutions. The firm should also be registered with the Futures Commission Merchant (FCM) as well as regulated by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).

Once you`ve narrowed your choices down to brokers that won`t cost you too much, and that are reputable, consider the trading tools that they are offering you. Forex brokers have many different trading platforms for their clients, just like brokers in other markets. These often show real time charts, technical analysis tools, real time news and data, and may even offer support for the various trading systems.

Before you commit to any one company, request free trials of their tools. Brokers generally provide technical as well as fundamental commentaries, economic calendars, and other research to help you make good trades. Shop around until you find a forex broker who will give you everything that you need to succeed.

The next item that you will need to evaluate carefully is the number of leverage options your potential partner has. Leverage is a necessity in forex trading because the price deviations in the currencies are set at fractions of a cent. Leverage is expressed as a ratio between the total capital that is available to be traded and your actual capital. For example, when you have a ratio of 100:1, your forex broker will lend you $100 for every $1 of actual capital you have. Many brokerage firms will offer you as much as 250:1. If you have low levels of capital you will need a brokerage with high levels of leverage to make reasonable profits.

If capital is not a problem, any forex broker that has a wide variety of leverage options would be a good choice for you. A variety of options will let you vary the amount of risk you choose to take. For example, less leverage (and therefore less risk) may be preferable if you are dealing with highly volatile (exotic) currency pairs.

Along with different levels of leverage, look for brokers that offer different types of accounts. Many brokers will offer you two or more types. The smallest account is known as a mini account and it requires you to trade with a minimum of around $300. The mini account also generally offers a high amount of leverage.

The standard account allows you to trade at a variety of different leverages, but it requires minimum initial capital of $2,000. And finally, there are premium accounts, which often require significant amounts of capital. They also generally have different levels of leverage available to the traders who use them, and often offer additional tools and services. You will need to make sure that the partner you choose has the right leverage, tools, and services for the amount of capital that you are able to work with.

A brokerage firm that meets all of these needs should be a good forex broker for you, but you still need to be certain that they are honest. Dishonest brokers can be prone to prematurely buying or selling near preset points (commonly referred to as sniping and hunting) or may indulge in other habits that will cost you money.

Obviously, no brokerage firm admits to doing things like these, but there are ways to know if they have. The best ways to find out more about your potential forex broker is to talk to fellow traders. There is no list or organization that reports dishonest activity, but a visit to online discussion forums, or a simple conversation will often reveal who is an honest forex broker.

You should also watch to see if a brokerage firm has strict margin rules. Since you are trading with borrowed money, your forex broker has a say in how much risk you are able to take. You agree to this when you sign a margin agreement for your account. This means your firm can buy or sell at his discretion, to cover the brokerage firm's interests, which could have repercussions for you.

Say you have a margin account, and your position takes a headlong nosedive before it begins to rebound to all time highs. Even if you have enough cash to cover it, some brokers will liquidate your position on a margin call at that low point. This action on their part can cost you dearly. You can only find out whether the firm is prone to this kind of activity by talking to other traders. Being informed on all aspects of a forex broker before you make the decision to trade with them will allow you to start trading the forex market with confidence.

what is forex

Online, Day trading has exploded across America. Some investors have been very successful and boast of huge gains made in incredibly short periods of time. However, there are many others who experience devastating losses because they have not tapped into the 6 critical factors necessary for successful Futures and FOREX Trading.

Success in any profession can be broken down into a number of critical factors. Trading is no different. A successful trading strategy incorporates the following 6 factors.

1. Determination of An Edge: Trading Futures is a zero sum game. There must be an identifiable edge over the other market participants.

2. Disciplined Execution:There is no point in identifying an edge if there is no discipline to follow thru. Create a plan, stick with it, then determine if the plan is successful. If it is not, change the plan. The important thing is disciplined execution.

3. Money Management: If the risk per trade is too aggressive, then there is the risk of blowing an account. If trades are too conservative, then the opportunity to optimize returns is missed. It is critical to establish the maximum expected draw down of any system and set money management rules accordingly.

4. Create a Trading Plan: A trading plan will determine what will be done in any given situation during the trade day. A plan helps keep one focused on execution and not distractions.

5. Responsibility: Responsibility lies with the trader. Gains, losses, success, or failure is determined by the skill, determination and discipline of the trader.

6. Commitment: There must be commitment to placing every trade according to plan, even through the losing periods where every trade seems to end up a loser. Trading seems to throw up extremes of good times and bad times. One must not be over confident during the good times, and one must not give up in the bad times. There also must be adequate time every day to compare actual performances against the trading plan.

what is forex

There are some basic notices that you should consider when you want choosing online forex broker.

#1- Spread Amount

The spread, which is calculated in pips, is the difference between how much you can buy or sell a currency at a specific point in time.

Forex currencies are not traded through a central exchange market, so the spread can be different depending on the forex broker you use. Some online forex brokers have variable spread; some of them have two spread amounts that depend to day and night.

Some of them their spread depends to the position of market. When market is quiet the spread is small and when market is busy the spread is high. I prefer forex brokers that have fixed spread, because over the long term fixed can be safer.

#2- Execution

— How fast is the broker's order execution?

— Do they offer automatic execution?

— How much can you trade before having to request a quote?

— Do they trade against their clients?

The best way to find out is to open a demo account and give them a test drive.

#3- Leverage Options

Leverage is expressed as a ratio between the total capital that is available to be traded and your actual capital. For example, when you have a ratio of 100:1, your forex broker will lend you $100 for every $1 of actual capital you have. Leverage is a necessity in forex trading because the price deviations in the currencies are set at fractions of a cent.

Before choosing an online forex broker notice that what is their leverage. Many brokerages offer a flexible margin that allows you to choose the leverage that's right for you.

#4- Account Types

Notice the forex broker you choose has mini account or not. Mini account is designed for those new to online currency trading and those with limited investment capital. There is a smaller deposit required to start trade of just $300 or less.

#5- Trading Platform

Good trading software will show live prices that you can actually trade at, not just indicative quotes. It will offer Limit and Stop orders, and ideally will let you attach these to your entry order. One-Cancels-Other orders are another useful feature — they mean you can set up your trade and then leave the software to get on with it.

#6- Dealing tools and value-added services

Find out online forex broker that offers the best resources and information to help you make the smartest trading decisions. A good company should offer real-time charts, technical analysis tools, real-time news and data, and software or website support. Be weary of any company that refuses to share information or trial versions before opening up an account. You will want to try out their system before you choose to invest money in it.

#7- Support

Forex is a 24 hour market, so your online forex broker should offer 24 hour support. You should also check if you can close positions over the phone — essential in case your PC or internet connection crash at a critical moment. You could contact to their Internet help desks to see how quickly they respond to enquiries.

#8- Get Referrals

Ask around and read forex forums to find out which forex brokers other people use and why they selected a specific broker.

what is forex

Forex trading is one of the best home based online business opportunity you can find today. The Big Sharks know that and use the demand for information about Forex market to get every possible dollar in their hands.

Who are they? The answer is always easy — Follow the Money. There is one player on currency market (and in every other market) who never loses his share in every single trade. Brokerage service on Forex trading is claimed to be commission free, right? But you always pay your minimum 3 to 10 pips fee on each trade. Where those 3 to 10 pips go? Make your best guess!

There is almost no chance for a person who has no idea for the forces driving the Info market to save himself from being robbed and abused by those well advertised money machines. You can see their banners on your e-mail provider. You can watch their infomercials on every TV channel.

Be aware about the presence of those Big Sharks and be sure that the information they will try to sell to you is always available for free online. Most of the time the quality and the real value of that free information is much better than the one you will be asked to pay for.

Here is the story of a good friend of mine. He was very excited about Forex when he first time heard about it. That happened to be on one of those popular free seminars, organized by one of the Big Sharks on that field. So he got the bite without paying attention for the hook in it. He went to the next level — two days training for $1,995, only.

He came back more excited. He opened Forex trading account on that seminar, using a special form provided by the Big Shark Company. They honestly declared that by doing that the broker agrees to pay them one pip from each trade made by the customer recruited by them.

My friend started real trading, constantly increasing the amount of his investment until he put all of his savings into that Forex trading account. Everything was fine until one beautiful day of October. On that day he got the news: his broker filed under chapter 11.

He was broke. I asked him how successful was his trading? His answer was that he actually lost 30% of his investment, from trading, only. He was able to realize know that the training was completely inefficient and not even close enough to start trading with real money.

Something big was missing here. He was missing the big picture in the entire game. His trading experience was very frustrating. After each trade he felt like just hit the wall with a car flying with 100 miles per hour.

A few days ago my friend called me on the phone. He was very enthusiastic about a new Forex training package, just delivered to him. I decided to check it by myself, too.

The package is very detailed. All the missing information about the big picture is there. More than 20 hours of free videos are revealing all you need to know about that business. Zooming towards Forex trading is very smooth and on the level every beginner and advanced trader will tremendously benefit of.

The one unbeatable and shocking advantage of this package is that it delivers information, priced from between $3,000 and $10,000, for free.

Finally we got something valuable about Forex trading, very professionally developed, for free.

Probably, that will put the Big Sharks business on hold for awhile, for the good sake to all of us.

So, be careful and keep an eye on the Internet unlimited free resources if you want to self yourself from the Forex scam.

what is forex

The best advice I can give to you is to conduct yourself like a boss interviewing a potential employee. This employee will be making major decision on your financial future (or lack there of) and therefore it is of most importance that you ask the right questions. This decision cannot be taken lightly as must be well thought out. I would interview (more like grill) at least 5 potential Brokers before picking the final two.

When choosing a forex broker there are many factors to take into account.

— Trust

— Experience

— References from past clients

— Level of success

— Amount of advice to be given

— Convenience

— Amount of margin offered

— Speed

All of the above are of course important. In any financial transaction it is important to trust the broker you work with. This trust is garnered by the experience level the broker has. Of course there are some new brokers starting out who are quite trustworthy, but most people would rather work with an experienced broker. For that reason most new brokers attach themselves to a firm where they can be mentored and gain experience.

References from past clients are important. If your broker has helped someone else is successful in the past and that person is willing to speak up for him that says a lot. You can gage the level of success your broker has had by speaking with past clients and seeing how well they did working with this broker. Next, take a look at the amount of advice your broker is willing to give you. Of course, you make your own decisions and will never take another person's word for everything, but it is good to have knowledge to work with, and advice from an experienced broker is key information to factor in. Convenience is also impotent. If you live in California then an Ohio broker might not be the best choice. But in the age of the internet that factor has become less relevant. With fax and email where you and your broker live has become less important.

The amount of margin offered is important. Margin is used to leverage your money. A broker who gives you a 50 to one margin is more valuable than one who gives you 20 to one. And of course speed. Is your broker quick? Does he return phone calls and emails promptly? If so, perhaps you can work with him.

Your broker will b a trusted advisor and someone that you may be working with for years to come so choose the relationship carefully. Ask friends and acquaintances who are active in forex trading what broker they use and how they met. It is quite possible that you can get a referral from a friend or acquaintance you trust and acquire a good forex broker that way.

Another good way to find a forex broker is to go online. There are message forums, chat rooms, and email groups through portals like Yahoo, Google and MSN that contain a wealth of information. Getting onto one of these online communities and asking other people for advice is the way that many people found their broker. If a broker has several clients in an online community who are happy with what he has accomplished for them, then that is a good indication that you might be happy with him as well. Take advantage of the number of people who are on the internet and join some of these online communities. Ask question and you'll probably learn a great deal from the experiences that other people have had. Also find trade journals, magazines and ezines to subscribe to. Read as much as you can about the subject of forex trading before going into it. Become a smart shopper and smarter trader.

Finding a good forex broker is a job in itself. When you visit with a forex broker you are in essence conducting an employment interview to determine if this is the broker you wish to handle your financial affairs, so be thorough. Ask plenty of questions. Ask for references. Don't be shy. Also check with other people in the office of the broker and see if you would trust them to fill in for your broker if he were not available. And, see if the broker is willing to offer you a demo account to use to get in some practice before you actually make an investment. If the broker is able to do so and encourages you then it means that the broker wants educated clients and is not just out for the quick buck. See what kind of training and tutoring the broker is willing to offer. A good broker will offer to answer your questions and help you through the learning process.

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