It looks like my options for US brokers is a bit limited and the broker I initially signed up for (Oanda) only allows leverage of 10:1 of higher. If I wanted the effects of 1:1 or 2:1 leverage, can I simply make trades with 10% or 20% of what I would do if they allowed 1:1 or 2:1? Are there any disadvantages of doing this?
There is no system completely ideal in this world. Leverage also has some advantages and disadvantages as well. But, I think for the beginners, advantages are much more viable than disadvantages. A wise person can utilize it properly. Thank you!
Hi @jmiles,
We responded to a similar post you made in another thread. To recap, the amount of leverage you use is within your control up to the maximum allowed by regulations which is 50:1 in the US. That means you are free to use less leverage if you prefer or use no leverage at all which is to trade 1:1.
For example, in order to trade one micro lot (1000 currency units) of USD/JPY without leverage, you would need $1000 in your trading account. If you wanted to trade two micro lots, then you would need $2000 in your account. You would be trading without leverage (or 1:1 leverage) in this case, because each dollar in your account would be controlling $1 in open positions.
You may find this earlier discussion on the topic helpful: Can I lose more than my deposit?