well actually it is regulated by the NFA. but like in anything, including stocks, option, and futures, you get scammers. every industry has them.
I beleive the NFA applies only to American brokers and i’m not 100% sure but think it is voluntary, same with the CFTC? So the FX market is largely unregulated imo. But you are right, there are scammers in every industry
I dont think its fair to call trading hard, the hardest part is the learning curve which you have with anything worth while. While its not a get rich quick scheme it is a way to make money, but I really have to disagree about how hard it is. The only reason its so hard for most people isnt because of the skill it requires, its because of the disclipline it requires. I’m not discliplined, I was spoiled as a child, I am spoiled as an adult. The only reason I have as much disclipline as I do is because there isnt much I was given, without atleast putting forth a substantial ammount of effort. If you have to ask how I can be spoiled but have to get my own things – theres alot more to life then toys, money, etc, etc…
The hardest part for me is patience, realising I cant trade the system I spent $800 on, but I can (ironically) trade a similar system that I came across sorta for free (When I started I dont think babypips was around, I was at a roadblock with information and so I bought this system etc etc, I learned ALOT from the system, I didnt understand some of it (money managment, some terms, etc)
Now here I am about 3 years later, I’ve never given up on forex, I have gotten busy for prolonged periods of time, but never left forex. Early last year I decided by the end of this year I will open an account. That means having a system that I can work (been through a few) having the mentality to be able to do it, having money to put into it, etc etc. I did it, if only because its one more goal on to a bigger goal – Living like I used to live when I was paid an obnoxious ammount of money at 15-19 years of age. Like I said I was spoiled, I was making 3 times what I make now, had no bills, no stress… I actually looked forward to going to work!
Now I look forward to going to work in the one horse town I moved to for one reason. I dont like my job. My job every day gives me motivation to study. Every day, I read, Every day I look at charts, Every day I question what I know, what I need to know, and what I may not even know about!
But hard? no, Time consuming, well I get a little wrapped up in things alot so its not uncommon for me, I studied a month straight to go from no ham license to tech to general to 1/4 - 1/2 to extra. If you did need me for somthing it was breif, or I had a book with me 
(With the exception of work, I had to hide the book 
)
Just my 02, There will ALWAYS be people who are truley ignorant, and there will always be hopfull people who are smart enough to question things. My friends dad just won an obnoxious ammount of money, he called him (and me) to find out if its real, he didnt like the short answer – no… but he still knew that more then likley we were right (unfortunatly we were, he promised to buy us a house had it been real…)
Ive never seen anything that hands me money, but I’ve never seen anything as easy as the forex. Then again I used to work with a guy who never knew anything as easy as the stock market, and never knew how people traded the forex profitably – go figure.
I actually believe that a lot of these so called experts are “resting on their laurels” and are totally out of touch with the market itself. I make it a point to spend an hour a day reading articles and blogs related to forex and so much of it is gobbledygook, Out of 20 articles, I might find one that I find potentially useful.
NFA is indeed voluntary, but the CFTC most definitely is not. It’s the futures equivalent of the SEC. I believe the wheels are in motion to put forex under the CFTC’s purview too, but I’m not totally up on that.
I won’t follow you down the “resting on their laurels” path because frankly I’ve never followed the trades other people have done or said they’ve done. As a result, I have absolutely no idea whether they are in touch or out of touch or what. So I won’t speak negatively without knowing the facts.
As for “gobbledygook”, keep in mind the law of diminishing returns. If you spend an hour a day reading articles, as you say, you are inevitably going to fast get to the point where you’re just reading repetition of the same thing with different words. It’s the same way with anything.
I love to read and do it a ton, but if it weren’t for the fact that I’m reading trading books to be able to provide reviews of them for others I would read very, very, very few of them at this point. And I read almost nothing at all on methods, techniques, systems, and that sort of thing. After 20 years I’ve read it all before.
wrong. complying by NFA rules is not voluntary. especially if youre a forex dealer, registration with the NFA is mandatory. there are many many rules every firm needs to comply with. not sure why you guys think its voluntary.
here are some examples you can check out:
IBFX: BASIC Search Results
FXCM: BASIC Search Results
Oanda: BASIC Search Results
Membership of the NFA, as far as I’ve ever been made aware, is not mandatory. As I understand it, there is at least one broker (forgetting which one) who is not a member.
Obviously, if you are a member you must abide by the rules.
no no no… membership to the NFA is mandatory (read “about NFA” on their site). why would anyone become a member if it were voluntary and subject themselves to so many rules?
just like the NASD, CFTC, SEC, etc… all mandatory.
in regards to “one broker (forgetting which one) who is not a member,” im not sure who you’re talking about. but we can look into it and see why if you remember their name. i’d be curious to see why as well. maybe they’re located offshore or something and therefore fall under a different category. not sure.
take care,
uptick
Remember that the NFA is the [I]Futures[/I] industry group. To quote:
“NFA regulates every firm or individual who conducts [I]futures[/I] trading business with public customers.”
Forex brokers are not doing futures business. I’m sure they become members for credibility’s sake - potentially because other brokers will not deal with non-NFA brokers.
just like the NASD, CFTC, SEC, etc… all mandatory.
Big difference between the three. The NASD is like the NFA - an industry group with members. The CFTC and SEC are regulators. No membership. The NFA and NASD cannot institute criminal action, but the CFTC and SEC most certainly can.
nah man. NFA oversees forex business as well. below is from the NFA… you can read the whole thing here Page Not Found | NFA (its a PDF file).
"Registration
Counterparties
[B]A firm may not act as a counterparty, or offer to act as a counterparty, to any forex transaction unless the firm is one of the regulated entities listed in the Act[/B]. These entities (authorized counterparties) are:
� financial institutions (e.g., banks and savings associations),
� certain insurance companies and their regulated subsidiaries or
affiliates,
� financial holding companies,
� investment bank holding companies,
� registered broker-dealers,
� certain affiliated entities of registered broker-dealers,
� registered FCMs, and
� certain affiliated entities of registered FCMs.
Associated Persons
[B]Individuals employed by an FCM to solicit or accept orders for exchange traded futures and options must register as associated persons of the FCM. A March 1, 2002 CFTC staff advisory (the Advisory), which is referenced in Appendix 3, states that individuals employed by an FCM acting as counterparty must register as associated persons if they solicit or accept forex business for the FCM.[/B]"
thats why FXCM, IBFX, etc have to register with the NFA as an FCM. all of their AP’s have to register with the NFA as well. if you deal with a rep in one of those firms look them up on the NFA site. they should be listed and registered if they solicit or take orders from the public.
Also, membership to the NASD is mandatory as well.