Contents:
If so, how did you spot it and what can, if anything, be done about it? Perhaps I should clarify my question. My suspicions are in place because of way in which trades I make respond. I will sit and watch a pair for some time, and when I see it steadily rising I mark it for trade. When it continues to rise, I place the trade, but as soon as I hit the trade button, it drops, usually by three or four pips not including the spread.
Sorry for delay in replying to this post. There are dealing desk broker, non-dealing desk, and hybrid brokers. Most of my trades go against me some, but remember, as traders, we watch for movement, and as goobers we are getting in after price has moved some. There are days if someone watched me, they would say that is impossible…yea, take me down.
I am still inexperienced, and only time will bring me up to par. If the broker is trading against you there is nothing you can do about it, only to leave that broker and find some other one. It certainly might feel that your broker is trading against you but I suspect this is more likely to be simply the normal see-saw of price action. If you are watching for price to start rising and then rise some more before entering then it is quite normal, and typical, for the market to reverse a few ticks before progressing further. Maybe you could take advantage of this by actually waiting for this pull-back after you have identified a trade before you enter your position.
Then you also improve both your stop-loss position and your profit potential. Or even compare charts at the end of the day to spot any variations during the periods you had open trades. It is not ethical, but it does happen and it should make us wary when reading a negative review and lead us not to take it at face value.
Having adequately addressed and debugged the three main myths circulating around about choosing your forex broker, it is time to let you in to some important tips with regards to what it is you should really be concerned about and look out while you are in pursuit of your preferred forex broker:. The presence or absence of requotes and slippages is a key parameter you should examine when searching for the best forex broker for you. This results in your order not being accepted and executed.
A slippage is when your broker fails in executing your order at your desired price, and the transaction proceeds according to the nearest following quotation, which may be either above or below the price you wanted and it is well possible that execution occurs at a price level that is less favourable for you. Market conditions, especially at times of high volatility, for example during important economic events or announcements cause sudden changes in the quoted forex prices.
Unfortunately, though, evaluating the quality of the execution of orders, which is crucial when choosing your broker, cannot happen unless you actually open and fund a live account and start to trade. It is not possible to check this when trading on a demo account, since there are different servers managing demo accounts and different for real accounts.
The only real way to properly evaluate and address this issue then would perhaps be, provided your available funds allow it, to open up live accounts with more than one brokers and compare how they fare with order execution under live trading conditions. As spreads and commissions are pivotal in effectively implementing a profitable trading strategy what you should be seeking in a broker is clarity in the trading conditions, i. So, decide the instruments you are interested in and compare the trading conditions for those instruments, from broker to broker, remembering to compare like with like and not apples with oranges.
It is thus important when comparing brokers and before opening an account to be absolutely certain and clear what the available methods for deposits and withdrawals are, what exactly the process is for depositing or withdrawing and what are all the possible fees and costs that may be incurred when using each method.
You should also clarify whether you can only withdraw using the same method used when making a deposit. Brokers using their own proprietary trading platforms should not be excluded just for that as chances are they have invested heavily in developing them and have the capacity and technical expertise and supporting staff to ensure a smooth trading journey, or perhaps not? As a personal opinion we strongly believe that the MetaTrader platforms, the MT4 and MT5 are far better than any proprietary or hybrid individual brokers have come up with.
Especially for novice traders, it is important to trade on a tried and tested, reliable platform that has over the years being established as the industry standard. Our advice would then be to show preference to brokers using the MetaTrader platforms when comparing brokers.
Surprisingly not all brokers offer a demo account option and this is perhaps one point that should help you eliminate some from your list when comparing, because you will need a demo account for practice purposes, especially if you are just starting out in the world of trading. Moreover, most brokers offer several account types each requiring different minimum deposit levels and being attached to differing sets of perks and features.
When comparing brokers, it is worth thoroughly examining what account types are available and what is offered with each one, to discern which best suits you and matches your needs and requirements. Having covered the basic areas we feel you should look out for when seeking to discern the best forex broker, let us know turn to a couple of other interesting and important considerations that should be taken into account. As already pointed out, for first-time, novice traders the wise and prudent thing to do is choose a broker that offers a demo account and start trading in demo mode, allowing them to get a good grasp of the fundamentals of trading and also get a good command of how to effectively trade on the specific platform offered by their broker, without risking any real money.
Knowing when the time is both right and ripe to switch from your demo account to a live, funded account and start trading for real, is a crucial milestone in your trading endeavour, so let us try to help you identify when that time will be. The most significant barrier you need to cross before starting to trade with real money is having devised very clearly in your head the trading strategy that you will be following. This entails having defined your entry and exit points for each transaction, understanding how to apply technical analysis and take into account the trade volume for each transaction, and recording the maximum risk for each transaction.
If all this makes no sense to you, then stop here, as you clearly not ready to switch to a real trading account. Ideally, and if you have chosen a solid broker, charts, price and order execution speed should be the same whether you are trading on a demo account or a real one. However, what is entirely different is your own emotions, psychology and stress levels, since through a real account all profits and losses are real money!
This is why the rush or panic of the moment may blur your judgement and prevent you from following your strategy effectively and correctly. It is equally important when deciding to make the switch that the money with which you will fund your trading account for the first time is not your last and that the amount committed does not deplete your savings.
In fact, it is best if the amount is insignificant to you and that you will not mind losing it, because chances are that if you put all your eggs in one basket, fear of losing that money will interfere with your good judgment and you will succumb to the pressure of real time trading, probably being unable to close an unprofitable trade on time. No matter how prudently you choose your forex broker, it is highly likely that at one point or another a conflict might arise between you, whether it is over a price slippage, an order that was not executed or not executed on time, or some kind of hidden fee that you were charged that was not explicitly stated in the initial terms.
Collect all the supporting documents and evidence to substantiate your complaint and clearly formulate a written request explaining what happened and what it is you are contesting. Contact your broker in writing, using an official communications channel, for example write a ticket in your account or email the broker, and then wait to receive an official answer.
If the answer is not forthcoming, or you are not satisfied with the response you got, or even more if the reply does confirm that the broker is in the wrong but does not offer to active take measures to rectify the situation, then you have two options. If your broker is regulated then you can address your substantiated complaint to the pertinent regulatory authority. However, if the broker is unregulated your safest bet is to mount up the pressure by calling the support team, as it more effective when talking to an actual person, who is obliged to give some sort of response in real time, and warning them that you will be vocal about their wrongdoing in all available venues, including review sites, trader chatrooms and on social media.
Oftentimes, this is also enough to force them to take action towards resolving the conflict in a mutually acceptable manner. More than mere brokerage. If you are still looking for a straight, single answer to this question you are in for a disappointment!
The simple reason there is no one answer, is that there is no single broker who is simply the best. The best broker for your own particular case, may well not be the best broker for the next person. The question then should not be who is the best broker, but instead who is the best broker for me? In trying to give the right response it is also worth taking into account that most forex brokers have over time enriched their range of services provides to extend far beyond mere brokerage services.
The reason for this is simply because the online retail forex landscape is so inundated and so fiercely competitive, that brokers need to do their utmost to enrich and differentiate their offering, in order to stand out and remain relevant, as well as competitive. Within this framework of differentiation, many brokers have chosen to invest heavily on forex trading training and education, thus putting at the disposal of their clients a vast array of material, in the form of ebooks, webinars and even one on one training sessions.
Such services are not only of immense importance for novice traders who are in dire need of learning the basics, but also for more seasoned traders and one cannot know everything as the more educated and prepared you are the better results you can yield. For an in-depth account of innovative ways put forward by brokers and investment platforms to enhance the trading experience of traders and maximize their chances for success, including the very popular and effective option of copy or social trading, you can read our dedicated post on the matter of copy trading and innovative investment platforms.
Besides social trading, many brokers have nowadays incorporated the provision of trading signals to their core offering to their clients, while also making PAMM accounts available, via which you can trade without actually doing the trading yourself. Top notch brokers also provide a dedicated account manager for their clients, albeit this is a privilege reserved only for those ready to commit big amounts in terms of funds deposited. Having a personal account manager giving you trading tips and be available to always offer advice is really helpful not only for novice traders, but also for seasoned traders as well, as they can gain new ideas and perspectives to take their trading to the next level.
The list of additional services offered by forex brokers cited above is not exhaustive, but indicative, serving the purpose of illustrating that there is so much more to consider when choosing your broker. To put it simply, in order to discern who is the best broker for you, you should find the broker whose offering as a whole better suits you, better meets your needs and matches your level of expertise, which is more likely to better gear you be a successful trader and inspires you with enough confidence to trust them with your funds.
As a parting thought, and since we have established that the best broker for you can only be determined by you alone, remember when selecting to factor in that whether a broker is indeed the best for you largely depends on:. The only one who can clearly know your own risk appetite is none other than you. Since higher leverage comes at a higher risk, but can also lead to much greater profits, it is entirely up to you match the leverage ratio that matches the risk level you are after.
If you are willing and able to risk more then go for brokers offering high leverage rations, while if your risk appetite is lower then seek brokers offering lower leverage too.