Low spread brokers are something every trader imo is on a lookout for. Low spreads along with low commission can drastically reduce the trading cost. But besides these 2 factors, what else do you consider in a broker (cost-wise) before you go ahead with one?
1 Like
Hmmm. 
My biggest consideration was actually the user interface. But money/ cost-wise, I guess I was more attracted to brokers that don’t require a minimum deposit. (Or if they did, it wouldn’t be around $500- $1000)
1 Like
While selecting the best forex brokers or platform, one must take several criterias into account but low spread remains at the top of it. Spread in forex is the fees that every trader encounters to trade the forex market. Since each and every trade is subject to spreads, it determines how profitable you are going to be. For me, choosing a broker that charges lowest spreads helps me to cut a large part of the overall trading costs, especially in scalping strategy where tight spreads are a must. Usually when spreads are high, a trader has to work towards generating higher profits to offset the trading cost. However, the lowest spread broker gives breathing room to small traders.
1 Like
Definitely swap. Based on my experience, trading CFDs is profitable in the long run. Especially the three days swap rule is the barrier to having a decent outcome in long-term positions.
Minimum deposit - some don’t really use this much but this gives me more chances to use their platform and test their conditions…any broker that offers that as low as $5 - $10 would be nice to check out. You can find those in here: List of best regulated brokers
I am lucky as a trader in this regard.
Firstly, I live in England. This is wonderful on its own but I am also therefore able to use spread betting legally. This is tax-free and commission-free, so I only pay spreads. As an example the spread on EUR/USD is about 0.7 pips.
Although spreads are one of the main criteria I look into, I do also check the withdrawal fee. Some brokers charge a lot on certain methods, can be a killer for small traders.
Swaps, deposit and withdrawal fees.
Cost-effective trading is not achieved solely by looking at the lowest spreads. Both the spreads and commissions rates contribute largely towards overall trading costs. Therefore, along with low spreads, the traders who seek low costs should also give importance to no or lower commission fees. I always prefer to choose a forex broker who gives me fair pricing on both spreads and commissions. The size of spreads depends on a variety of factors including what currency pairs one is trading, how volatile or liquid the market is etc. and you can reduce it by picking up the right pairs at right trading hours but commissions are generally fixed and you have to pay the full cost no matter what. That is why I feel that traders should look at both the aspects and ensure that they are not compensating on one type of cost for the sake of another. Always choose a broker that gives you low spreads and low or zero commissions, more so for beginners I would say do a thorough comparison and choose brokerage with low costs in all aspects.
Withdrawals deposit fees swap fees
Do they have Crypto trading and Crypto deposit options
This is the one reason that I prefer intraday trading. Many best brokers for day trading charge very tight spreads and low commissions making it easy to earn more profits.
1 Like
That’s great. 0.7pips may be the best forex spread for you because you don’t pay commissions but I prefer brokers who are able to offer even lower spreads on EUR/USD and also low or no commissions. Anyways, May I ask why do you prefer spread betting over cfd trading? I understand the basic difference between the two but I want to know why do you think it’s better, other than no tax and no commissions obviously.
Withdrawal fees are the last thing that I’d ever want from my broker. It just makes it difficult for traders to withdraw their own profits.
These three are important factors. Carry trade is a good way to make money on swaps.
Exactly some brokers promise you low spreads but they charge very high commissions and we don’t consider the fact that for every trade we also have to pay commissions which should also be low. While looking for zero spreads, also check whether the broker is offering low commissions.
I don’t think there’s any practical difference between trading via spread betting and trading via CFD’s.
CFD’s are subject to Capital Gains Tax and therefore the trader must keep some records and submit information to the tax authorities. And also pay tax if they make a significant profit. I can’t understand why anyone would volunteer to pay a tax they don’t have to.
Low spreads and low commission brokers are undeniably my first priority because these two costs represent the major part of the trading expenses. Tight spread forex brokers reduce the operational costs making it possible for traders to make more money on the winning trades and lose less money on the losing trades. Apart from that I prefer brokers who don’t charge any withdrawal fees or inactivity fees.
In carrying out trading there is no difference between trading using spreadbetting and trading using CFD’s. It seems that SB spreads are wider than CFD spreads but the differences are small and would only matter to scalpers.
Let’s be honest with ourselves, in private retail forex trading we are all betting. We do not buy and sell the underlying currencies. We bet on the movement of the exchange rate between two currencies. The term “betting” part has negative connotations for some individuals and some religious or cultural groups. So they find that “CFD” is a useful camouflage for what they’re actually doing.
Most brokers who advertise themselves as “zero spread low commission” or “ low spread no commission forex broker” may charge other hidden trading costs. That is why it is essential to read the fine print of your forex brokers’ policies so that you are aware of brokers fees structure and not end up paying any unwanted costs. For me, the best trading platform is the one, where the forex broker is transparent about all the costs and the broker that I am currently using doesn’t incur any unnecessary costs, which is all that I need.
But this benefit is only for the residents of the UK and Ireland maybe? As far as I know, spread betting is considered as gambling under the UK law but I don’t find any major differences between cfd trading and spread betting, so I was just curious to know your perspective as you are someone who is involved in it directly.