Forex brokers serve as an intermediary between you and the market, offering traders various trading tools and services in order to facilitate trading activities. Their income comes from transaction costs such as spreads and commissions.
Traders should select a forex broker with multiple trading options and low fees in order to safeguard their capital.
Legality
Forex trading is legal, but it is essential to select a broker who abides by stringent regulations. Be wary of brokers that attempt to lure clients in with free lunches or investment seminars promising high returns or other questionable tactics.
An ideal US forex broker will offer low commissions, fast trading platforms and a diverse selection of currency pairs, in addition to access to extensive research and data. Inactive fees should not be assessed and it should also have 24-hour phone customer service center for customer inquiries.
Interactive Brokers, listed on the NASDAQ exchange and regulated by several international regulators, is one of the premier US forex brokers. Its flagship desktop platform TWS provides access to an extensive selection of currency pairs with advanced trading features, while other services offered include its web interface IBKR GlobalTrader as well as mobile apps – making this popular with US traders due to low fees and spreads.
Leverage
Leverage is an indispensable tool for forex traders, helping to accelerate potential profits but potentially increasing losses as well. Therefore, finding a broker offering low leverage risk and providing educational materials for beginners is paramount to their success.
IG provides beginners with an ideal entry-point into forex trading, offering 205 currency pairs at low trading fees with no minimum deposit requirement and charging only an inactivity fee of PS12 after two years of inactivity. Unfortunately, however, IG does not provide demo accounts and has an increased maximum leverage ratio of 30:1.
AvaTrade is an international online broker offering investment products such as forex, stocks, indices, commodities and cryptocurrencies. Regulated by several prestigious authorities including ASIC and Central Bank of Ireland. Their customer service is exceptional as is their range of educational materials designed for all levels of traders. Headquartered in Australia with offices worldwide.
Trading platform
There are many brokers that provide currency trading capabilities. Some provide comprehensive brokerage services targeted toward sophisticated active traders, investors and professionals; whereas other offer more specific offerings to cater specifically to high-volume currency traders – some may charge a spread or commission fee while offering various account types with differing price structures.
A top forex broker should offer an impressive variety of trading products, competitive fees (spreads and commissions), an outstanding trading platform and tools, educational resources such as market analysis and trading ideas as well as regulatory safeguards that are recognized authorities – which IG excels at. Furthermore, their platforms feature advanced charting capability with 21 timeframes available – more than most competitors!
Customer service
Regulated forex brokers must meet stringent standards of financial integrity and customer service to protect client funds. US regulators such as CFTC and NFA enforce these standards to ensure no dishonest practices occur or that client funds are stolen by dishonest brokers. All US Forex brokers operate under similar regulations making comparison and contrast simpler.
Most regulated forex brokers require a minimum deposit to open an account in order to cover the costs associated with opening and managing accounts, usually prominently displayed on their website. Furthermore, regulated Forex brokers are required to publish details about their licensing arrangements – usually found on an additional page on their site.
