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This is probably one of the most important choices you will make when your starting on your Forex trading journey, which is selecting a trusted, regulated and reputable online broker. And you may ask, what do qualities do I look for before choosing a broker to trade Forex?

We believe there are six main factors to keep an eye on when thinking about which broker to sign up with. Ekzaga was solely created to have information accessible on top forex brokers at your fingertips and to make an online broker selection easier. Read more about what we call the “Six Points” when looking for the best forex trading platforms.

Broker regulation

Is important to know by whom the broker is regulated because if it’s not regulated by any licensing authority, it is not a trusted Forex broker under any circumstance. This is one of the most researched terms when choosing a forex broker.

The Majority of Top Tier Forex brokerage firms as we know are regulated, e.g. the FCA (Financial Conduct Authority) which regulates XTB UK brokerage offers compensation to traders that have a deposit amount of up to £85,000 in the case if the firm was to go through liquidation. Clients’ Safety of deposited funds is a critical factor when choosing the best online brokerage. All FCA-regulated brokers guarantee that all their client funds are pooled in segregated accounts to their funds for deposit protection and client peace of mind. Although the Cysec (Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission) and ASIC (Australian Securities and Investments Commission) regulate brokers that are established in their domain they are highly respected and have the stamp of approval from industry professionals. Hot Forex broker is regulated by Cysec and IC markets by ASIC. These are amongst a few that are regarded as the best forex brokers for beginners.

The ‘Spread’ Alert

It’s fundamental to have information about spreads when analysing any currency trading platform.

‘Spread’ is the difference in pips between the BID price and the ASK price quote (also called buy/sell) in a currency pair like the EUR/USD.

It is necessary to understand that the asking price needs to be higher than the bid price all the time, and that difference is banked by the broker, obviously as a profit. That is the main reason why the spread has such a significant impact on your work as a Forex trader. As a trader, you want to bank as much profit as possible and depending on what strategy or style you trade what spread you have to pay out to the broker is very important. For example, If you execute many traders or plan to have many open trading positions then one pip or two pips spread difference could mean saving pounds per trade. Obviously, this is incumbent to the size of your trades, one pip spread on a standard lot trade (100k) will mean the difference in ££s to one pip spread on micro-lot trade.

The spread is nothing more than the cost of each one of the transactions performed by you as a trader in the market; of course, the cost varies from broker to broker.

All spreads quoted below for each broker are fixed spreads.

It is also fundamental to search for the overnight carry rate and swap rate analysis when choosing a trusted forex broker.

The overnight carry rates are the trading positions that are not closed by the end of the trading day and stay held overnight; this way, they can be traded the following day.

And the swap rate is nothing more than the rate of the fixed leg of a swap as unwavering by its specific market and the parties involved.

Customer service and client support

When customer service is available in more than 15 languages, it means that they are to be trusted. That is a sure sign that you’ve found a diversified and globally recognised online trading platform for you. XM and HotForex are known for covering customer support in a broad number of languages.

Depending on what type of account you open and the number of funds you deposit the majority of brokers of one to one personal dedicated account managers. Normally, a dedicated manager is always good to have when you have issues with adjusting to a platform, issues depositing funds or withdrawing funds, and resolving queries regarding spreads, fees or even commission on trades.

A dedicated account manager is normally assigned when you sign up for a standard account, or VIP account or deposit a certain amount this varies from broker to broker. It’s not integral for having a dedicated account manager as pretty much all brokers listed on ekzaga.com have an informative step-by-step help section on their platforms for their users. In terms of client interaction, the majority of brokers can be contacted by standard e-mail, telephone and online live chat.

Use of platforms

The Interface/terminal platforms used by every Forex broker to execute trades differ from each other. Some forex brokers have their own designed platforms or even their own accessible MetaTrader 4 or MetaTrader 5 platforms (most popular forex and commodity trading platforms for beginners).

Here are some of the most known in the market:

MT4: MetaTrader 4 is one of the most famous platforms, widely used in foreign exchange. It owns web and Mobile Trading Apps support. The simplicity of using the interface makes it the best place to start for any beginner forex trader.
MT5: The MetaTrader 5 is the successor of MT4 and has the same functions as MT4, but better.
cTrader: The cTrader platform is a well-known trading platform that owns an excellent take profit and stops losses system, varying chart time frames, and a different and new interface.
Brokers such as XTB and eToro have their award-winning platforms xStation5 and eToro web trader. They have unique indicators and some additional unique features than your standard MetaTrader 4 platform.

One of the reasons why the XTB broker performed the highest is because its very own XTB station 5 platform has been voted amongst the best trading platforms. Here are some unique features:

Superior execution speeds – with fast, reliable execution speeds, you can trade safely in the knowledge that you can take advantage of fast market moves without delay.

Easy to use – innovative, intuitive and fully customisable, xStation 5 is a platform that allows you to create a trading screen suited to your style. All your settings, watchlists and workspaces are instantly accessible from your desktop, phone, laptop or tablet.

• Trading Calculator – xStation 5’s advanced trading calculator instantly determines how much profit or loss you could make depending on your stop loss, lot size, and limit order, allowing you to make more informed trading decisions in the blink of an eye.

• Advanced Chart Trading – Market orders, stop losses, take profits, pending orders – execute all your trades directly from the charts. Our one-click dealing system gives your trading a more fluid, controlled feel.

• Trader Statistics – Analyse yourself as well as the markets with live performance statistics that inform you which markets you’re most successful in, including specific win ratios on your long and short trades.

• Trader’s Talk – Tune in to the latest market news and analysis with our live audio feed directly on the platform. This free feature allows you to learn key breaking news instantly, giving you the chance to take advantage of real-time market opportunities

When you are using any kind of trading platform it is imperative to know what other compatible mediums are available; this way, you will be able to work not only through your computer but through your phone or tablet. For example, if you’re planning to trade the forex market part-time or purely to make a secondary income then your broker must have a mobile trading application i.e. one that has apple and android compatibility so you can monitor your trades.

Additional trading features

The thing that makes or breaks the trader choice of a particular broker is the additional features they offer to traders.

The main attraction for traders is the wide range of accounts available, like the ECN account (Blackbull Markets- Our Highest Rated ECN broker for Low Spreads), the Standard account or even the Micro account for those starting on their trading journey. Micro accounts are a great place to start for beginner traders as you can open small trading positions e.g. 0.1 Lot which is on average 10 pence or 10 cents per pip (percentage points).

Also, you can find some features like “one-click trading” which allows you to execute trades instantaneously in the event you want to take advantage of any volatility in currency prices.

A guaranteed stop-loss feature is another unique feature that was created to comply with risk management orders. Sometimes brokers close out trades beyond one’s desired stop-loss levels. This is not ideal because it can violate your risk management profile e.g. if you place a stop-loss risk management to 1% of the overall capital account size for a particular trade, then a Guaranteed stop-loss feature ensures you only get stopped out 1% and nothing more. At times of high volatility in the market, this would be an essential feature to have.

Opening an account

This is the main aspect that you need to clarify. The fewer steps to start, the more time you’ll have to start trading. Document verification is the standard protocol by all brokers because they all have to comply with AML (Anti-Money Laundering) and (Know Your Client) regulations.

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