hello, I am very new to this , but feels excited to learn, and it seems all very interesting . I went through some of the questions and answers here, well, edjucation is everywhere to find, but the broker choosing is ,just by expirience of the one who knows. so… what realy makes the difference between brokers? for example , i see most of the time the names of FXCM , HOTFOREX ,OANDA, ALPARI . is there a major thing that defines one from another . which one you like ,and why? . let say that I wish to start small, just after I will use the demo for sometime ofcourse, but to start small, is it better to use micro account? if I have between 500- 1000 is it enough ? which broker will be the easeist to start with, or “more welcomming” for newbies, from your point of view?
thank you very much for your time ! and good luck to all
When it comes to good brokers there is no such thing as good for newbies. A good broker will treat you good regardless of deposit. A higher deposit may come with additional benefits such as lower spreads, reduced commissions, personalized service etc. Know what is important to you, have a checklist and then go and due your due diligence.
I think you can choose from any of the list you mentioned, but one thing you should look out for is this: Before you open an account with a forex broker, you should make sure that they belong to a legitimate regulatory body in your country.
You can check here: How to Trade Forex: 5 Ways To Avoid Losing And Make Profit in Forex, for more things to look out for…
One important thing i take note in looking for broker is their reputation. The reputation of a broker will help you know if the service of that broker is good or not.
+1 and +1 with all the other posts. Bear’s is so so true.
I send this to any broker I’m considering for them to fill out. Depending on these answers I will open a demo or pass. If they answer these questions, I open a demo and while I demo with them, I send questions to support to see how they answer and how long it takes them. While I’m doing that I search for the broker reviews. In my opinion by themselves a couple of reviews are useless and worse if you only consider another site or sites , but if you get several different reviews from traders and they are all positive or all negative together they give you a picture.
Broker Type
Regulated
How Long in Business
ECN Size
Acct Currency
Maximum Leverage
Min. Lot Size .1 ECN
Deposit Bank Wire etc
With Draw Bank Wire etc
Commissions ECN and Standard
Scalping Yes
Hedging Yes
Trading Platform s
Demo Platform
Total Currency Pairs
Gold & Silver
Indices
Options
Swap Free
Segregated Funds.
Tread very carefully though when ticking that particular box as part of your decision making process.
Its common knowledge these review sites attract shills who deliberately disparage competitor brokers and/or offer false praise to inflate their own firm’s offerings.
Bonus incentives are also offered to clients in exchange for submitting positive & over-the-top reviews for certain brokers.
Not everything is always as it seems, especially in this game.
What you commented on is one part of a much bigger process that I use to select a broker. As well I think I said by “themselves the reviews are useless, and worse if you only consider the review sites.”
Your wrong when you say not everything is always as it seems especially in this game. Everything is exactly as it seems . . . there is no such thing as a free ride; if it’s too go to be true; to magic formulas; no magic indicators etc.
You are 100% right when you say “tread carefully” but instead “of ticking a particular
box” you might want to say, tread carefully with every part of your selection process. I find it amazing that traders who spend so much time selecting a trading method and money management plan and write a set of rules applicable to those parts of the trading plan, but don’t spend any time and don’t have a written set of rules applicable to selecting the person or company that they are giving their money to and counting on paying them if they have something coming.
Anyhow just wanted to correct the part of my post you commented on.
Gp
When it comes to reviews I am always careful. I have seen brokers receive bad reviews, even one I trade with and I never experienced what was written in those reviews. Read the review carefully and if a bonus was involved than in most cases it was the traders who did not read the conditions properly. As gp said, there is nothing for free. I always trade my own funds and think it is not wise to accept a bonus and lock your account into unnecessary conditions.
Everything needs to be checked. Start off that no matter who it is, they’re trying to take your money and go from there. A lot of bad reviews on companies are exactly as Rambo said, traders don’t take enough time to read what the offer is. Bonus, withdrawals, deposits. It’s also volan also said about review sites.
In my opinion before you select a broker to deposit real money develop your trading method and money management plans first. For example say your trading method is scalping in and out with a plan to take several trades in a 2market over lap. You wouldn’t and couldn’t do that with a broker that doesn’t allow scalp trading. And don’t rely on the " all brokers allow scalping" you don’t want to consider what all brokers do or don’t do, just the one you plan on doing business with.
I (personally) deal only with ECN brokers. Oanda and Alpari have been around for a while. I’m from Canada Oanda has regular meetings in Toronto which I’m close to, however both of them are Market Makers and one of my broker rules is not to deal with market makers. Hot forex and FXCM both offer ECN accounts. FXCM is very active on baby pips. Now Traders Way is also active, Kate will send you signals for no charge and overall they’re not bad, however, another one of my rules is broker must be regulated, and Traders Way is not.
If you do the same planning in selecting a broker that you should be doing with your trading method and money management, you in most cases have a lot less headaches when you start with real money. Demo accounts are Demo accounts, so you can open one and practice but when you’re getting ready to go to live, take the time in the beginning and you will probably be glad you did down the road. Once again my opinion and hope that helps
Gp
When looking for a broker you have to be careful .One thing you have to know is if the broker are regulated and also try and have a proper understanding of their trading condition.
its like a mini research system that traders should have despite the broker being small or big old or new, but of course well known brokers have an advantage. but usually its the regulation, transparency the system and services they offer, and a mini investment for checking is a good idea to test the broker out in terms of live spreads execution withdrawals support etc. check for complaints and how its handled all brokers have complaints its a given but they differ in terms of handling. best of luck.
I personally like AVA Trade. You can start off with as little as $100 and even get a $50 bonus with your first deposit. Here are their bonus structures. It doesn’t mention the $100 bonus but it still applies (well I got it at least).
They are also very good with customer support so if you have any questions as a newbie they will help you along the way. Definitely recommend them.
If they are so good then why do they get totally slated on FPA?
Personally I would be wary of companies with bonuses offers. They are not giving you the money, they will find a way to get it back, whether it be morally objectionable or not. Also look at the spreads, that is how most are slowly bled to death. You can check that information on myfxbook under broker comparisons.
I am talking from experience, that i have never had a problem with them. I got my 50% bonus, ended up losing it (the whole account) and they never once emailed me about it. I essentially lost $100 of theirs and they didn’t bat an eyelid… I have since made some profit and withdrew $200 without a hitch. It did take 4 days but I have had the same experience with other FX brokers. You always have that wait with regards to withdrawing with any financial institution.
And their main complaint is that ava didnt reply to FPA with regards to something that with using their automated software to trade the news. I don’t see that as a true reflection on how good/bad a broker is.
The best thing to do is get a demo account for yourself and trade as if it were your own money. And use everything that you would as if it were a live account to get the full feel of the broker. And try more than one to feel the difference. You will always get differences in opinion about everything, due to haters who love complaining and paid advertising/reviews and back links etc. It is best to get your own opinion.
thank you very much for the wise words. i take everything in considiration. what is -ECN borkers? what is market makers? and why you prefer not to deal with them?
Is there any difference between the demo’s that the brokers offer? is it suppose to be a"mirror" for there real live experience? can I count on the "feeling "I am getting from using one’s demo, as a reason to choose to deal with this broker? and last for now … , do you recommand on a book , a real book , that will be good to learn from. psy’ side, patterns; candlesticks; strategies ;and etc’
I thank you all very much for your time and advises
You are right, a broker with good reputation and having very less complains should be the best for trading. As no broker is safe from bad reviews so those with little complains can be preferable over others.
From what I have experienced, the demo should be a mirror as you say. I have heard some say that it is different but I have yet to feel that.
There are different ways to approach forex. You can go with Technical Analysis, Fundamental Analysis, Price action (using candlesticks), Just using an EA. The list goes on. HeWhat Is Forex � Range Sniperre is a simple site explaining some of these to you and from there you can choose which path you want to take.
, do you recommand on a book , a real book , that will be good to learn from. psy’ side, patterns; candlesticks; strategies ;and etc’