I already posted this at the Broker sub forum but i got no replies so ill post it here:
Hello guys,
Im a new user but i have been reading on baby pips since i decided to start trading forex 2-4 weeks ago.
So i made a demo account and i managed to make 15% profit, so i decided to finally go live
And i would like to get your advice for a good and reliable broker
1.-Minimum deposit is not an issue since i plan to start with $1000 USD
2.-I do not live in the US so i have no problems with that
3.-It must be on the MT4 platform
4.-It’s preferable if it accepts PayPal/Skrill/Bitcoin (tough not needed)
5.-It would be awesome if it had a good website design
Also do you know if any broker works without giving ID?
I know it’s due to regulations but i don’t really feel comfortable giving my ID to some broker, but if it’s need and it’s a really good broker, i will do it
I have heard good things about OANDA, Forex4you and Fxopen but im not so sure about them (Also FXopen website seems too cluttered)
I also found Instaforex which accept a lot of withdrawal and deposit methods including bitcoin which is a big plus to me but im not sure about their reptutation
Also, could someone explain what an ECN account is and it’s benefits?
I also managed to find some reviews about this brokers on another forum, it’s a 2011 post tough so their performance might have changed:
RoboForex — a New Zealand broker with Level II Quotes (liquidity provided by Integral FX Grid) and one-click execution of the trades. Non-ECN accounts have very low spreads. Apart from that the broker is also very interesting:
Bonuses and contests among traders
Free VPS hosting for your expert advisors
Alternative payment methods: WebMoney, Handy Bank, Moneybookers, Liberty Reserve, AlertPay and other payment options
Average spread for EUR/USD is 0.8 pip
EXNESS — a Russian broker best known for its extremely low spreads, seamless execution of the trades of an volume and automatic withdrawals that are processed in seconds. EXNESS offer the following features:
Spreads from 0.3 pip
134 currency pairs and other trading instruments
A wide variety of payment options: credit cards, wire transfer WebMoney, Moneybookers, Liberty Reserve, AlertPay, CashU, Pecunix, Perfect Money, C-Gold and MoneyMail
Up to 1:1000 leverage
InstaForex — a some sort of competition to the next broker (FXOpen), this broker offers so many bonus and contest promotions to its traders that this alone is enough to make some traders join. But there are more advantages:
Trade with MetaTrader platform (both MT4 and MT5)
Leverage your trades up to 1:1000
Deposit and withdraw funds via WebMoney, Moneybookers and other ways
Earn interest on deposit
Low minimum account size
Forex4you — relatively new Forex broker that tries its best to keep up with the competition and offers extra-high quality level of service. See for yourself:
More than 50 trading instruments
Free news feeds from leading news agencies
Cent trading (if you feel cheap)
MetaTrader platform
Up to 12.5% yearly interest on trade balance
All the above-listed recommended Forex brokers have a good reputation among the news traders and will provide you an enjoyable currency trading experience, while the starting conditions make the joining process very simple and easy.
ECN basically means that all trades go directly to the market without any intervention by the broker and without any spread mark-up. Non-ECN brokers usually increase the market spread by a substantial amount to cover their cost, e.g. market spread is 0.2 pips but the broker quotes 1.2 pips instead. An ECN broker would quote the market spread of 0.2 pips, but charge you a trading commission in a range from 0.5 to 1.0 pips.
As a rule of thumb, long-term strategies usually work quite well on normal accounts while scalping and short-term strategies significantly benefit from tight ECN spreads.
(Also FXopen website seems too cluttered)