Hey Guys!!
I am absolutely new to Forex trading and was introduced to this wonderful website by David Wilson-Holmes… thanks David…
I am in US right now and want to know which broker would be best for me? I started using forex.com’s demo account and compared it with my friend’s account in Dubai and looks like I am a big loser here…
I have a leverage of 50:1 against his of 400:1
I have to pay high rollover rates (EURO/USD is typically $8 per day) and his broker doesn’t charge him at all.
Though I would have to say that forex.com deosn’t charge brokerage while his does ($6 per trade).
But I read a few things online and have shortlisted these criteria, please guide me if there is anything else that I should look at and also which would be the best broker for me here in USA.?
Criteria
1.) Leverage(preferred 400:1 or 500:1)
2.) Rollover Rates(none would be good)
3.) Low Spread(around 2 pips)
4.) Brokerage (none to less)
5.) Number of Currencies that can be traded.( all majors plus cross )
6.) Metals (Gold, Silver) others like Copper, etc would be nice
7.) Commodities like oil,coffee,etc (not important)
8.) Minimum Lot Size (1 to 100)
9.) Should have trailing stop loss feature
10.) Mobile Trading
11.) MT4
12.) Automated trading (I dont use now but hopefully in future 2-3 yrs down the line )
13.) Hedging
14.) Trade Stocks( not important have another account)
15.) Non Usage fee (forex.com charges $25 if you dont use the account for 90 days)
16.) Easy money transfer options (ACH preferred)
17.) Charts and other analysis
Phewwww thats a long list and I dont even know if my asking of these things is correct or not… please guide me what all should I focus on and if anyone knows which would be a good broker considering the things that i am looking for…
forex.com charges for inactivity? Are you kidding me? Usually financial institutions are supposed to pay YOU for keeping money in their accounts. What a scam.
Take a look at some of the threads in the brokers rating area of the forums. It’s important you really educate yourself on this before depositing any real money with anyone.
I am reading the book Beat the Odds in Forex Trading that I got from the library (by Igor Toshchakov) and it has a short but informative section on choosing a broker. He says that most forex brokers act like bucket shops on some level, and I have come to believe the same. But yeah, make sure to educate yourself thoroughly on the types of brokers, and which areas are best regulated.
400:1 or 500:1 leverage is not offered in the united states (I’m talking true leverage, not what brokers post!) the maximum true leverage legal in the united states would be 50:1
Try oanda. I use them and love them. as far as rollovers, you are only charged the interest differential once per day per trade if you place a trade going against the differential. If you go In the direction of the interest differential, then they give you interest once per day per trade (including weekends) no charges for inactivity either! Plus you can open an account with less than $50. The app for the iPhone works great and is all I use to place trades. You can try their demo account which will not be deleted after 1 months use, unlike most demo’s I have tried. Only problem with the demo is that you cannot change the leverage
Other than that, they have gold and silver, but not stocks or other commodities that I know of… But they have basically any pair you can think of that exists (at least on the app, mt4 is limited). Hope this helps. I don’t work for oanda or anything, but I have used the customer service and pulled out money before. They are safe and highly recommended by many elite traders.
Just remember that Oanda is a dealing desk broker, meaning that it is in their interest for you to lose money, so do not be surprised if you see strange price spikes on your live account that take out your stops, or other such unethical behavior. I would only recommend to find ECN type brokers who charge a flat fee per lot traded, such that it is in their interest to have you trade as much as possible.
That’s why I’m careful where I place my stops etc. Any broker is out to get your money. If they stop hunted they would have been sued long ago as it is easy to prove
That’s why I’m careful where I place my stops etc. Any broker is out to get your money. If they stop hunted they would have been sued long ago as it is easy to prove
Stop hunting has very little to do with the broker. It is more related to the “smart money” that are aware of positions in the market overall. They can see an area where a lot of stops are clustered and they drive price to that level for two reasons
first they take out the stops second they sucker new money into the market and than turn around and reverse causing those players to either stay in “pain” or close there position out right.
This is just one tactic that they use. Brokers themselves can manipulate price but only to a degree. The central banks and real heavy hitters however have the ability to really move the market and it is with this power that they manupulate price swings to either sucker you in or take out your stops. It’s almost like you can’t win coz if your on the right side of the trade they will still gun for your stop and if you chase the market they will trap you in.
There is a solution to this though. Learn how to trade with the smart money and you’ll be good. If you want to know more check out ICT’s thread
edit I forgot to mention the one thing brokers can give you crappy fills or no fills, slippage and widen the spread. All these things operate against you so yea a great broker is key!
because it is obvious to them they know for example that a lot of traders will place there stops 2 pips above a swing hi or below a swing low. They are experts and they understand exactly how to take the average trader’s money. They know the characteristics of trend traders and breakout traders. They are also privy to market flows. They look for what side has more orders and than they move against them.
Hi! I am using Oanda demo account, and yes, you can change your leverage! Just go on your account in the Oanda site, then go to FxTrade Practice, there is an option called “Change Leverage”
I appreciate the insight. I was previously unaware of this until you currently brought it to my attention. I will do a more thorough search before my next post toi eliminate any future error.
FXCM called me today (I opened demo). I said that I might open a live account with £200-£500 when I feel ready to go live. They diligently recommended me to open it with at least £1,500 if i want to make money.
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