Choosing a broker

In this article, I am going to tell you what you should consider before you chose which broker to use to day trade currencies on the FOREX market.

Read reviews

You should always read reviews before you decide which broker you should open an account with. We review a small number of the top forex brokers.  If you do not find the forex broker you are looking for among our reviews then I recommend that you visit daytrading.com and read their review of the broker.

Financial instruments offered

What type of financial instruments does the broker offer? Does the broker provide FOREX futures, spot options, binary options, CFD.s, and other financial instruments? What assets are the instruments based on? Can you find the type of instruments you want to trade based on the assets you want?

Your goal should be to find a broker that allows you to trade with all the financial instruments you want to trade with. This is sometimes not possible ( or practically) and in this case, you might have to register and keep money with several brokers to be able to make all trades you want to make.

Chose the instruments you want to trade with first and then the broker. Never the other way around. You are more likely to succeed if you trade financial instruments that you are interested in and for which you have a genuine interest. This makes it easier to stay motivated to study these financial instruments closely enough to make money.

Mobile Trading

mobile tradingDo the broker offer a good solution for mobile trading. Is it available for both Android and iOS? What about Windows mobile? Most brokers make it easy to trade on your mobile device but it remains important to make sure that the broker you want to trade with offer a good mobile platform before you register. Make sure that all the features you want to use regularly are available in the mobile version of the site.

Leverage

What leverage does the broker offer? Do they offer high leverage or only lower leverage? Do they margin close losing positions automatically to limit your loses? Automatically closing losing position can be a good or bad thing depending on your trading style.

Please note that most brokers offer different leverage for different financial instruments. Your goal should be to find a broker that offer the leverage you want for the type of asset you want to trade.

Regulations and Security

Is the broker regulated by a respected and trusted regulatory body? Never register and trade with any broker that is unregulated or regulated in a small unknown jurisdiction. Chose a broker that is controlled by a well-respected regulator such as the FSA.

Banking

What banking options do the broker offer?. Do they make it easy to deposit, and perhaps more importantly, withdraw money. Make sure that the broker offer banking options that are suitable for you.

Accounts & fees

Do the broker offer a single type of account or do they offer several different types of accounts that you can choose among? Does any of these accounts suit you?

What fees do the broker charge for clients using the type of account you are considering opening? It there another type of account that you could get that would be cheaper for you to use. Estimate how much you are going to trade and chose a type of account that suits you and your needs. How much you trade will often affect which account is the cheapest for you to use.

trader

Trading Platforms

Which tradings platforms can you use when trading with the broker. Do they offer to trade in one single platform or can you choose among several different platforms? Can you use popular third-party platforms such as Meta Trader 4, Meta Trader 5, or Ninja Trader? Make sure you can use a platform you like. If the broker only provides access to their proprietary platform, then you should try trading using virtual money before you decide whether you want to deposit any real money to your account with the broker.

Contents