There are two common ways to choose a foreign exchange broker:

1. The simplified way - read broker reviews and make decisions based on star ratings or feedback. However, no one can guarantee that a 5-star broker is the best choice for your trading needs, nor can anyone guarantee that the reviews you read are actually genuine (unfortunately, this is the reality of online review opinions) .

2. Professional approach - do your own research and read reviews as part of your analysis. We will detail the steps to make a professional choice:

The first step in choosing a broker - understand what you want to get from trading

Make a broker that is completely yours Make your own list and write down your requirements for the broker. Sitting down and crafting a list of expectations for trading services and features can make choosing your first (or new) Forex broker much easier.

Add questions to your list:

What currency pair do you want to trade?

What spread is suitable for you (fixed, variable, how many basis points)?

Do you accept payment of commissions on foreign exchange transactions?

What is your minimum investment (account size)?

How much leverage do you need?

What tools and indicators do you need in trading?

Do you need a specific trading platform (eg MT4)?

Do you want to scalp?

Do you want to hedge?

Do you need a trailing stop?

Do you need one-click transaction execution function?

Do you want to have mobile phone transactions and transaction warning functions?

Do you care whether it is an ECN, STP or trading platform broker?

Do you care about the reputation of your foreign exchange broker? (Actually you have to care, for the safety of your investment)

Which method do you choose to withdraw or deposit money, wire transfer, PayPal, credit card, etc.? Your country may have restrictions on this.

How much handling fees will you spend on deposits, transfers, and withdrawals?

Category these questions by importance, add your own, and get started.

The second step in choosing a broker - search for matching brokers

Search the Internet, use search engines, and visit the website of each broker. This is a common method for traders.

The third step in choosing a broker - visit the broker's website

Narrow the scope to a few foreign exchange brokers. After that, you should visit the broker's website and read their foreign exchange information Trading rules and policies, understand the terms and conditions to conduct further research; understand the transparency of their business: address and phone number, customer service, availability of regulatory agency information.

If the contact section of a broker's website (or other section that traders can view) does not list a physical office address, you should be wary. Cell phones, chats, Internet calls, emails – none of them can be trusted without an address!

Second, the overall appearance of the website can reveal the owner. It doesn't have to be modern, interactive, use Flash, etc., but it does have to have a professional look and all pages and links must be valid.

The words "Coming Soon" on a blank web page are unacceptable! To new visitors, this always seems like a temporary message, but from our experience, this "launching soon" can take months or even years! A company that conducts business and accepts customer funds cannot allow some functions of the web page to be unactivated!

Next important factor: Your best option is to open an account with a regulated broker, one that is registered with the competent regulatory agency and remains under its supervision.

United States: National Futures Association, U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission

Canada: BCSC, Canadian Investor Protection Fund, OSC

UK: British Financial Conduct Regulation Bureau

Switzerland: Swiss Federal Ministry of Finance, Swiss Association of Financial Intermediaries, Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority

(Since 2009, all Swiss foreign exchange brokers must have a banking license)< /p>

Sweden: Swedish Financial Services Authority

Denmark: Danish Financial Services Authority

Spain: CNMV

Japan: Japan Financial Futures Association , Japan Financial Services Authority

Hong Kong: Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission

Australia: Australian Securities and Investments Commission

Dubai: Dubai Multi Commodities Centre, Dubai Gold and Commodities Exchange, Dubai Financial Services Authority, ESCA

This is not a complete list, there are other countries’ foreign exchange regulators that regulate foreign exchange trading companies.

Step 4 of Choosing a Broker – Read Reviews About Your Selected Broker

We have our own Forex Broker Reviews department, but we encourage you to search for more reviews online, To make your decision: Type in your search browser: "[Broker Name] Reviews" and click on the link to read more reviews.

Reading as many Forex broker reviews as possible can be very helpful, but can also lead to confusion and stress.

We often hear from traders who feel overwhelmed after reading reviews and are no longer sure which broker to choose because there are so many good and bad reviews about each broker. Sifting through the truth and making a decision is almost impossible. Impossible. What to do?

We recommend that you stick to simple rules:

1. If a broker has been in the industry for more than 10 years, it shows that the company has a deep understanding of conducting foreign exchange business and caring for its customers. Otherwise they wouldn't be where they are today.

2. If a broker is supervised by a country's major regulatory agency, it shows that the broker is very serious about its business and must take measures to comply with the rules and requirements of the regulatory agency.

3. If the broker provides more than one trading product, for example, in addition to foreign exchange, it also provides futures, stocks, options, commodities, and CFDs - this indicates that the broker operates a large business and assumes more responsibilities. Get More Customers

While reading the reviews, make sure there are no reviews about canceling profits or refusing withdrawals. This is a warning. If a trader makes a mistake (which is possible), several of these comments can cause considerable confusion.

Screen for good and bad reviews

Be selective about the reviews you read, and always analyze who the reviewer is: a professional trader or a novice. The actual information in the comments not only shows the trader's education level, but also how much he knows about the topic related to the comment he wrote. This way you will filter out a lot of shitty reviews where novice traders accuse the broker of getting themselves into trouble because they are actually incompetent at trading.

Screen for 5-star reviews. It is not uncommon for brokers to publish reviews themselves with the aim of boosting their own rankings. These comments have their own special "style", and although the true identity of the commenter is tried to be hidden, it is not difficult to find the marketing message hidden behind the comment. This is 100% marketing. Your task is to keep a clear mind and make every judgment objectively.

Step 5 of Choosing a Broker – Final Tips for the Right Attitude

Ultimately, you should choose a Forex broker in a similar way to how you choose a reliable bank to deposit your funds: reputation, Transparency, ease of conducting financial operations, good customer support.