Till about a decade ago, you had to make use of the telephone if you wanted to invest in the financial markets. You had to call up your broker for placing as well as closing orders. Introduction of online trading has, however, simplified every aspect of the investment process. You can carry out trades from the convenience of your home or on-the-go using the platform provided by brokers. Sounds simple, but the problem is there are umpteen number of forex brokers that offer trading platforms out there in the market. And, you need to work with the best forex broker if you want to achieve your financial goals. So, it all boils down to identifying the right broker to work with and it is definitely not an easy task. Read on to find out as to how you can identify the best forex brokers. In this post, various aspects you need to take into consideration when choosing a forex broker are discussed in detail so that the selection process becomes simpler and easier for you.

Top Recommended and The Best Forex Brokers for 2020

Risk Warning: CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 76.4% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.

Main Parameters to be Checked for Identifying the Best Forex Brokers:

#1: Regulations and Licenses

It is highly recommended that you choose only forex brokers that are regulated or authorized by leading regulatory bodies such as Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), National Futures Association (NFA) and Financial Conduct Authority (FCA in UK), among many others. This is because regulated brokers are more reliable than their non-regulated counterparts. Further, your hard earned money remains safe with such brokers for two reasons: they will be appropriately capitalized and they maintain segregated accounts for theirs as well as traders’ funds.

#2: Forex Trading Platform

The online trading platforms that recommended forex brokers provide would not only be simple, but also intuitive and easy to operate or navigate. It, therefore, makes sense to try out a few online forex platforms and see for yourself as to which one has a better user interface and is easily navigable.

#3: Customer Support Services

Customer support is a key aspect that you need to evaluate. Best Fx brokers would often be aware of the needs of the traders and provide good, efficient and responsive customer support services. During the course of trading forex on an online broker’s platform, there will be times when you need certain time sensitive clarifications. If the customer support service of the broker you are planning to work with is not good enough, you could end up losing money. It is, therefore, recommended that you evaluate the brokers’ customer support service both by speaking to their representatives on telephone and by communicating with them through email.

#4: Leverage Options

Leverage offered for forex trading varies from one broker to another. If the leverage is high, the trader can make more profits. However, the risk of accumulating losses is also equally higher. Therefore, you should choose a broker that offers leverage suiting to your needs and based on your style of trading.

#5: First Deposit Bonus

Brokers often try to attract you by offering high capital bonuses when you make your first deposit. This is good because you get more money for trading. You can choose the broker that offers the highest first deposit bonus, but you should make sure other aspects discussed above and those that are discussed below suit your needs.

#6: Deposits and Withdrawals

It is important that you understand the brokers’ policies related to deposits and withdrawals. The features to be evaluated when choosing top forex brokers are minimum amount to be deposited to start trading, deposit methods offered, currency options provided, minimum withdrawal amount specified and waiting time for withdrawals, among others. Further, it makes sense to go through all other written policies in detail.

#7: Trading Costs

Brokers make money by charging a fee for each of the trading transactions that you execute on the forex trading platform provided by them. As far as the broker and you are concerned, the significant source of revenue would be the spread, the difference between ask and bid prices. It pays, therefore, to check as to how the brokers you have shortlisted handle spreads:

Do they offer fixed or variable spreads?

What is the average and maximum spread for the currency pairs that you are planning to trade?

What spreads are offered when the volatility is very high?

Do you have to pay any commission for each trade apart from the spread?

#8: Demo Account

Before buying a car, you always go for a test drive. Similarly, look for forex brokers that offer demo accounts. This helps you to open a practice account. You can try out their platform and find out for yourself as to which of the shortlisted brokers is best suited to your requirements. Most brokers offer practice accounts these days. So, it is easy for you to get a feel of the brokers’ platform before committing to depositing money and trading.

#9: Other Parameters for Identifying the Best Forex Brokers

Account minimums

The forex brokerages that offer very low account minimums can be considered for evaluation under the category “best forex brokers”. This is good because you don’t have to deposit large amounts of money in order to trade forex. Minimum account balance can be as low as $5 in the case of some of the reliable forex brokers.

Promotions

Online forex brokers often try to snatch business through promotions. Do not fall prey to their sales gimmicks. Best forex brokers would never make unbelievable and unachievable promotional offers. It is true that cash and prizes form part of the game, but they should be reasonable.

Education

Another aspect to look for when evaluating online forex brokers is the educational services offered by them. This helps you to master the art of forex trading. Brokers that provide you with a variety of educational tools for assisting you in assessing the Forex market are the best forex brokers to work with.

Why Expert Traders Trade With Regulated Forex Brokers

If you’re looking to become a successful Forex trader, then working with a skilled and trustworthy broker is very crucial. in the Forex market, the two main types of brokers you’ll get include the regulated and the non-regulated brokers. Obviously, the former typically operates under regulations stipulated by a forex regulator. Regulated Forex brokers must also be fully licensed and registered in their country of operation, unlike their non-regulated counterparts.

Role of regulation

Of course, the role of regulation in Forex market cannot be underestimated. Regulation ensures that all players in this booming industry are strictly supervised. This way, merchants are protected from the many unscrupulous traders out there looking to swindle them off their hard earned money. Another thing, regulation also builds trust between merchants and their brokers, since most merchants don’t have enough time to monitor every investment.

Let’s take a quick look at some of the leading regulatory agencies:

CFTC and NFA: Commodity Futures Trading Commission and National Futures Association, regulate the financial services sector in United States of America (USA).

CySEC: The Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission is the regulatory watchdog within the CySEC domain. It offers services to the EU member states.

FCA: The Financial Conduct Authority regulates the operations of over 56,000 financial services and companies in the UK.

ASIC: The Australian Securities and Investment Commission regulate the financial services sector in Australia.

FSB: The Financial Services Board is a South African agency which oversees functioning, regulation, and licensing of South African Forex brokers.

BaFin: BaFin is a financial supervisory authority providing its services to Forex companies in Germany.

Advantages of regulated Forex brokers

With regulated brokers, you’ll always have some peace of mind when carrying out your real-money transactions. To expound more, here are the main reasons why expert traders prefer regulated brokers:

1. Credibility

It’s an open secret that most of us like to deal with trusted organizations, especially when money is involved. That being said, the credibility of any Forex broker is greatly enhanced if the company is regulated by the relevant agencies. Remember that all regulated forex brokers are mandated to follow some strict rules put in place by their respective regulatory bodies. Furthermore, their regulatory bodies expect them to regularly present a copy of their audit report. Therefore, if a broker is listed on its regulatory body list, then it’s safe to say that the Forex broker has fully complied.

2. Compensation

Getting compensated in case of any unfortunate scenario is arguably the best reason why most expert traders opt for regulated brokers. With most regulated brokers, you can rest assured that all your hard earned money will be refunded in case your brokerage firm goes down. For example, brokers operating under CySEC are required to remit their contribution to the ICF (Investor Compensation Fund). This pool of funds is to help settle any form of customer claims in case of any eventuality.

3. Effective Customer Service

Before choosing a Forex broker, it’s always recommended that you settle for one who can effectively and immediately resolve all customer issues. In this case, most regulated brokers are always competent enough when dealing with technical support or account issues. In addition, they are very helpful and kind during the whole account opening process.

4. Quick Deposits and Withdrawals

Any reputable Forex broker will allow their merchants to make deposits and withdrawals without any hassle. A regulated broker should have no reason whatsoever to make your earnings process difficult because they don’t have control over your funds. All they have to do is to facilitate the platform to make it convenient enough for you to trade.

5. Updated Trading Platform

Most regulated brokers are mandated by their respective regulatory authorities to provide their clients with the latest, powerful, and easy-to-use trading platforms. In fact, most of their platforms will readily provide you with all that you need to begin trading immediately. You’ll get a lot of educational materials including webinars, videos, articles, seminars, and e-courses at no extra charge. It goes without saying that regulated brokers also offer their clients free demo accounts to help them sharpen their skills before going live.

6. Legality

All over the world, governments are struggling to deal with issues concerning money laundering. Some of them have even gone ahead to pass very strict anti-money laundering laws. So to be on the safe side, you should always trade with a regulated broker. Most regulated Forex brokers will ask you to provide some of your personal identification documents such as proof of address and photo ID. This might sound tedious to you but it’s always safe to be part of a regulated organization that can prove your money is being used in a legal way.

Summary

To sum it up, regulated Forex brokers are always the best as well as the safest option to trade with. This is because they are always ahead in terms of legality, security, and safety of your funds. All in all, you can manage your risks better if you opt for a regulated Forex broker.

Understanding True ECN vs STP Broker

The foreign exchange market, also known as currency market, is a universal decentralized market that provides traders an opportunity to trade currencies. It is a market which incorporates all aspects of buying, selling, and exchanging currencies at the present-day or determined rates.

There are different kinds of forex brokers that you can choose to trade forex with. However, though all the brokers in forex are intended to provide a similar basic solution, the way they operate behind the scenes is different. Different types of brokers have varying techniques of operation, and the specific broker you cooperate with can significantly determine your success rate as a forex trader. Here are some crucial factors that will enable you determine which broker between a true ECN and STP broker is the best one to trade forex with:

Understanding True ECN vs STP Broker

True ECN i.e. Electronic Communications Network brokers operate without their individual dealing desk. These brokers provide an electronic trading platform where professional market makers at monetary organizations such as banks, and other online trading participants including traders can enter bids and offers through their particular systems.

STP i.e. Straight Through Processing brokers are brokers without a dealing desk also. These brokers apply some of the techniques utilized by market makers to provide their particular clients with trading conditions which are more flexible. By STP brokers hiring some of the tactics of market makers, they are able to bypass the limitations connected to trading exclusively within the interbank market.

General Overview of True ECN and STP Brokers

Use of Scalping Techniques

True ECN and STP forex brokers do not care about how much their particular traders make. Therefore, these types of brokers allow traders to utilize scalping techniques to close their respective positions. Note that false ECN and STP brokers cannot allow you to use scalping techniques as a trader since they will be disadvantaged anytime you make small profits.

Spread Offered

True ECN and STP brokers are types of forex brokers without a say when it comes to control on spread provided. These brokers have no control on spread offered since it’s the liquidity provider that determines the spread which is to be provided.

Though true ECN and STP brokers can add markups when necessary, they cannot in any way take it further down than the amount provided.

Difference between True ECN and STP Brokers

Commission Charged

On true ECN accounts, as a trader you will be required to pay a fixed commission to open and close trades. The Spreads offered on true ECN accounts are determined by the rates of liquidity providers.

When using STP accounts as a trader, you will not be required to pay any commissions.

Pros of Trading Forex with a True STP Broker

Cannot Bankrupt Themselves

True ECN brokers cannot trade against their specific clients to bankrupts themselves.

Similar Price Rates

If you are a forex trader, trading with a true ECN broker means you are guaranteed of price rates that are similar to those of the interbank market.

Negative Balance Protection

As a trader utilizing the trading account of a true ECN broker, the broker will be accountable for any dues with liquidity providers should your account read negative as a result of any reason beyond their control.

Cons of Choosing a True ECN Broker

Rollover fees

Dealing with a true ECN broker will require you to pay rollover fees and commission at times.

Pros of Trading Forex with an STP Broker

Their rates and the interbank prices are same

They provide their clients low entry capital requirements

Cons of Choosing an STP Broker

Dynamic Spreads

Choosing an STP forex broker means when you enter a trade you’ll not be informed what spread to expect.

The Bottom Line

Most true ECN and STP brokers are linked to several liquidity providers at the same time period. Despite both true ECN and STP brokers having incredible trading solutions which can meet your needs as a trader, their terms of operation vary. Whether you will choose a true ECN or STP broker, the rule of thumb is always ensuring you minimize losses and maximize profits as much as you can when trading forex. Ensure you compare carefully the terms of service of both a true ECN and STP broker before you choose one to handle your trading needs.

Related Pages of Top Online Forex Trading Brokers