The Forex market is the world‘s largest financial market with a turnover in excess of around $4 trillion a day. Despite its huge size, this market has no central exchange for Forex traders to conduct their transactions. Instead, Forex traders must conduct their trading activities through an intermediary, the Forex broker. This shows the importance of the broker’s role in the trading process. When it comes to choosing a broker, traders have literally thousands of Forex brokers to choose from on the internet. But the real question is how can you be certain that the broker you have chosen is the right fit for your trading needs.
To help you in your broker selection process, we have prepared a guide with a list of key factors that you have to look at when choosing a broker.
Guide Sections
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Regulations
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Trading Platform & Software
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Additional features
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Commissions & Spreads
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Brokers Business Model
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Forex Broker for Beginners
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Forex Broker for Professionals
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Forex Broker for Day Trading
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Forex Broker for Scalping
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Account Types
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Customer Service
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Value Added Services
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Q&A
Regulations
The first thing that you should look at when selecting a broker is to see if the broker is regulated by a competent regulatory agency(read more about Forex and CFD broker regulations). By dealing with a regulated broker, you can have the assurance that the broker has met the operating standards imposed by the regulatory body. Some of these standard regulatory requirements include having adequate capitalization and maintaining segregated accounts in order to protect the clients funds. Additionally regulation offers fund protection should the firm become insolvent and ensures the broker is upholding rigorous standards as a financial service provider.
Countries that have financial regulatory agencies that are backed with strict regulatory enforcement include:
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Australia (ASIC)
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Eurozone (Mifid and local regulators)
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India (SEBI)
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Japan (FSA and JSDA)
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Switzerland (FINMA)
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UK (FCA)
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USA (CFTC and SEC)
