Tag Archives: expert brokers

How Do Forex Brokers Make Money?

Posted by master on 2011/05/04 None comments

Forex brokers are paid commissions on the outcome of your spread. The spread is measured in pips and is the difference between what you offered and the bid. Since the market moves so quickly your broker needs to be readily available to accommodate your trading, provide advice and reliable quick access to the market.

When you begin to review the various forex brokers available make sure part of their service is to provide current advice on all currency trades, the current economic environment and options available for your best spread for your trades. These services are essential for successful trading.

The broker you select should be accredited to ensure their familiarity with the terms and rules established by the exchange for currency trading. A competent full service broker will be constantly abreast of the current market conditions and currency rates available. Their advice should guide you to making viable trades.

An accredited broker should provide the flexibility in swapping currencies depending on current market conditions without charging you high or variable commissions. You should be able to swap currencies based on your trading expectations no matter what your trading platform without outrageous commissions or fees going to your broker.

When you select a brokerage firm make sure you start out trading in small quantities until you become familiar with your broker. Get to know them by constantly speaking with them over the phone to get advice and an understanding of their services and experience level.

Determine whether your forex broker understands the markets trends, stays current with economic and currency news and the world markets impact on your exchange. Make sure they stay current along with providing multiple means of advice through conversation, newsletters, email and other sources.

These are all extremely important items to determine when reviewing the right forex broker to meet your trading needs.

For the top online forex brokers comparisons, reviews and resources CLICK HERE!

Looking for “Broker” Resources?

Posted by master on 2011/05/04 None comments

Retail forex brokers handle a minute fraction of the total volume of the foreign exchange market. According to CNN, one retail broker estimates retail volume at 25-50 billion daily, which is about 2% of the whole market. CNN also quotes an official of the National Futures Association “Retail forex trading has increased dramatically over the past few years. Unfortunately, the amount of forex fraud has also increased dramatically.”

Standard retail services include 24-hour online currency trading, and 100-to-1 leverage. Most retail brokers do not provide direct access to the interbank market, acting as dealers (buying or selling against the customer’s order for their own account) rather than as true brokers (arranging a trade for the customer with a third party). The brokers earn money by offering a bid/offer spread that is wider than the interbank spread. Retail traders should be aware of the possibility of retail forex brokers manipulating quoted spot rates, improperly trigger their clients’ stop-loss orders or charge hidden fees.

According to the Wall Street Journal (Currency Markets Draw Speculation, Fraud July 26, 2005) “Even people running the trading shops warn clients against trying to time the market. ‘If 15% of day traders are profitable,’ says Drew Niv, chief executive of FXCM, ‘I’d be surprised.’ ”

In the US, “it is unlawful to offer foreign currency futures and option contracts to retail customers unless the offeror is a regulated financial entity” according to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. Legitimate retail brokers serving traders in the U.S. are most often registered with the CFTC as “futures commission merchants” (FCMs) and are members of the National Futures Association (NFA). Potential clients can check the broker’s FCM status at the NFA. Retail forex brokers are much less regulated than stock brokers and there is no protection similar to that from the Securities Investor Protection Corporation. The CFTC has noted an increase in forex scams.

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