How to decide on a foreign currency trading platform
It could be intimidating to decide on a foreign currency trading platform if you first begin buying and selling – listed here are some options that any good foreign currency trading platform ought to have:
Security
Does the foreign exchange dealer supply details about the safety measures of its platform? Your buying and selling and private information must be encrypted, in order that your cash and identification are safe, whether or not you’re paying and being paid by means of PayPal or on-line financial institution transfers.
The foreign exchange dealer also needs to supply recommendation on how one can enhance your on-line safety – I’d be very suspicious of 1 that did not as a result of they may be making themselves liable if there are any issues. Also, are there backup programs the place your data could be saved in case of an IT downside?
Reliability
When can you employ the foreign currency trading platform? As foreign exchange is a 24-hour a day market, 5.5 days every week, search for one thing that you need to use consistently. Even when the market is closed, you need to have the ability to place orders to open when the market does.
The buying and selling platform also needs to be environment friendly – whether it is sluggish then the costs at which you’re buying and selling may be outdated. A superb foreign currency trading platform ought to replace a number of instances a second.
One-click buying and selling
If a foreign currency trading platform is unreliable, sluggish or susceptible to interruption, a dealer can miss a fast alternative. A platform that gives one-click buying and selling will let you purchase or promote foreign exchange contract with one click on, which suggests there isn’t any must deal a ticket, and you will not miss the value you need.
Trading fashion suitability
Does the buying and selling platform fit your buying and selling fashion?
Is it simple to know, or can it solely be interpreted by a Wall St retiree? Look for a platform the place it’s simple to seek for your market, and, if you wish to commerce greater than foreign exchange, search for one which additionally permits you to commerce on shares, choices and indices.
Where are you buying and selling from? If you employ a Mac, can you employ the platform on it? Likewise, can this system be accessed utilizing totally different browsers and totally different smart-phone handsets.
Basically, does it do what you want? A superb foreign currency trading platform must be customisable to fit your buying and selling technique – does it permit automated buying and selling, and does it let you micromanage each commerce. The buying and selling platform ought to be capable of provide you with a warning to good buying and selling alternatives, in addition to settle for complicated orders, together with the assorted stops and income that the foreign exchange dealer affords, so you’ll be able to simply minimise your danger whereas maximising your income.
Charts
Does the foreign currency trading platform have a separate charting platform, and the way simple is it to navigate? And, if you wish to commerce out of your iPhone or Blackberry, are you able to entry these out of your handset? And, are you able to commerce straight from the charts, or do it’s good to deal a ticket?
Depending in your degree of expertise, you may want a charting package deal with a sample recognition instrument that may monitor the markets in your behalf, and will even let you understand when the chart patterns are indicating buying and selling alternatives.
And, if you wish to commerce foreign exchange all through the day, it’s important that the charts are up to date in real-time.
Market Analysis
Does your foreign exchange dealer supply market analyses, and is that this obtainable utilizing their buying and selling platform or do it’s good to go to their web site?
A superb foreign currency trading platform ought to embrace market evaluation instruments, together with information feeds, in-house analysis and third-party analysis. As data is energy, you need to have the ability to entry as a lot of it as potential, and to have entry to it with out crawling the web for the data you want.
Any buying and selling that gives market evaluation also needs to have historic information obtainable, so you’ll be able to see how the foreign exchange was affected when an identical scenario occurred.
Price
Is the platform free? Many on-line foreign currency trading platforms supplied by respected brokers are free, and your solely prices will probably be for those who make a loss.
If foreign currency trading software program is not free, or if there’s a nominal cost, discover out what the added advantages are. And, if it is not free, is there a money-back assure for those who aren’t proud of the software program?
Price, 2
Does the buying and selling platform supply the identical pip spreads because the dealer has marketed, or do it’s good to telephone to get the perfect deal?
A pip is a 0.0001 unit of forex, and the pip unfold is the distinction between the purchase and promote worth of your currencies – so if the AUD/USD is quoted at 1.0578/1.0579, the promote worth is 1.0578 and the purchase worth is 1.0579. For any unfold, the value of the forex must make up the distinction of the unfold earlier than you can also make a revenue. So, within the instance, for those who purchase at 1.0579, the AUD solely must rise two pips from 1.0578 to 1.0560 so that you can make a revenue. If there’s a three pip unfold, the forex must transfer by four pips earlier than you made a revenue.
Customer assist
Is your foreign exchange dealer simply keen on getting you an account, or do they supply ongoing assist for patrons utilizing the buying and selling platform?
You ought to be capable of e mail and/or telephone your dealer with questions starting from inserting trades to the button in your buying and selling platform that is not doing what you need.
Demo account
No matter what number of questions you ask a buyer assist, it is laborious to understand how properly a foreign currency trading platform will swimsuit you with out with the ability to attempt it, so get on-line and see which corporations have demo accounts obtainable. The demo account ought to have all of the performance of the total account, or near it.
My advice
One of the businesses I at present commerce with, IG Markets, has a wonderful buying and selling platform known as PureDeal. I’ve discovered their customer support, charting packages and market data to be excellent and its interface is pretty customisable.
You may open a free demo account by means of their web site, with $20,000 faux cash to play with, so why take my phrase for it? Try it yourselves.
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