The post FOREX.com Review by Sarah Horvath appeared first on Benzinga. Visit Benzinga to get more great content like this.
FOREX.com is a leading online platform for forex traders. Learn why many traders prefer FOREX.com over other brokers in this in-depth FOREX.com review.
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Why FOREX.com Over Others?
Should you open an account with FOREX.com? Let’s take a look at some of the benefits of working with this broker.
- Wide range of currency pairs to trade. FOREX.com allows you to buy and sell over 80 currency pairs. It’s 1 of the most comprehensive currency trading providers in the world.
- Comprehensive list of indicators. Those who use technical analysis to inform their trading will appreciate FOREX.com’s technical indicator offerings with over 90 individual indicators to choose from. You can add indicators to a currency pair’s chart with a single click and can add multiple indicators to a chart.
- Plenty of educational tools. Forex trading can be intimidating to beginners. FOREX.com offers an impressive selection of research and education tools for traders at every expertise level. From live webinars to beginner and advanced risk management courses, every trader can learn something new when they open an account with this broker.
Is FOREX.com Safe?
FOREX.com is a DBA name of GAIN Capital Group LLC, which is a wholly-owned subsidiary of publicly-traded StoneX Group Inc. (NASDAQ: SNEX). FOREX.com is regulated in 4 tier-1 jurisdictions, including the U.S. and UK. This makes FOREX.com an unusually safe forex broker to trade through.
FOREX.com Quick Summary
| Tradable assets | Forex, spot metals, futures and options. |
| Platform | Comprehensive and advanced, with a wide range of trading tools and educational resources. |
| Mobile app | Fully operational. Mirrors desktop and web-based platforms. |
| Account minimum | $100 |
| Available account types | Standard (FOREX.com and MT4), Commission, and STP Pro direct market access (DMA) accounts. |
FOREX.com makes money from the dealing or bid-ask spread. For currency pairs, the bid is the highest exchange rate the broker will pay, while the ask is the lowest exchange rate the broker will sell at. The difference between the bid and ask rates is called the “dealing spread”.
A Standard account at FOREX.com is commission-free, and you have the choice of a FOREX.com account if you plan on using the broker’s proprietary platforms or a MetaTrader 4 account if you prefer that platform. FOREX.com also charges lower average dealing spreads than many competing brokers, although its spreads are variable, so they can change depending on market conditions.
Sample currency pair quotes at FOREX.com. Source: FOREX.com
FOREX.com also offers its Commission and STP Pro accounts that involve paying commissions. Commission accounts incur a fee of $5 per 100k traded, but they have reduced spreads when compared to the Standard account. The amount of money you can expect to pay in commissions varies depending on how often you will be trading.
You may be able to access spreads as low as 0.2 in a Commission account, while minimum spreads in Standard accounts are around the 1.0 mark, depending on the currency pair. Most stock traders will be familiar with a commission structure, and comparing dealing spreads is a common way to assess pricing among forex brokers.
Using leverage by trading on margin is a common method forex traders use to control larger positions with a given amount of trading capital. This lets them amplify profits (or losses) and make more meaningful trades as a result.
Margin requirements at FOREX.com vary depending on the currency pair you’re trading. For example, the margin requirement for a position in the USD/CAD pair is 2%. This means that for every $100,000 position you wish to hold, you need to maintain a deposit of at least $2,000 in your margin account. That also implies a leverage ratio of 50:1.
The minimum balance required to open an account with FOREX.com is 100 units of your base currency. If you’re a U.S. trader, this means that you can open an account with as little as $100. However, FOREX.com recommends that most traders maintain at least $2,500 in their accounts, which helps prevent automatic position closeouts due to a lack of available margin.
FOREX.com also offers an Active Trader Program. This allows traders with a balance of at least $10,000 in their account to receive a cash rebate on their traded volume.
FOREX.com supports the popular MT4 platform suite and also provides clients with its own comprehensive trading platforms designed for currency traders, with both a web-based and mobile platform available.
To find a currency pair using FOREX.com’s web platform, just type it into the search bar. Bids and ask rates are laid out clearly and update every few seconds to give you the most accurate quotes possible.
Executing a trade through FOREX.com’s platforms is simple. Just click on the currency pair you want to trade, enter the amount of currency you’d like to exchange and execute your trade. When you close out a position, FOREX.com will show you a small summary of your trade and your overall net loss or gain.
Experienced and intermediate traders will love FOREX.com’s impressive range of technical indicators. From moving averages to the Ichimoku Cloud, you can use over 90 indicators to help inform your trading. You can even add multiple indicators to a single chart with just a few clicks.
Although FOREX.com’s platforms offer tons of indicators, little explanation is provided within them as to what each is used for and how to interpret them. Read through FOREX.com’s extensive education section for additional help, since the platform is aimed primarily at traders who already have a strong grasp of the forex market and technical analysis.
Opening an account with FOREX.com is also quite straightforward. U.S.-based applicants will need to fill out some basic information on an online form and provide details about their trading experience. They will also need their ID, social security number or ITIN, and their employer’s name, if applicable.
If your ID isn’t readable, it may take up to 1 week for FOREX.com to finish opening your account. Once your account is open, you can link your bank account or debit card, fund your account and start making trades.
You’ll likely be impressed with FOREX.com’s research and education offerings. Let’s take a look at 3 helpful features the brokerage offers for trader education.
FOREX.com is a one-stop shop for forex traders. With a massive range of tradable currencies, low account minimums and an impressive trading platform, FOREX.com is an excellent choice for brokers searching for a home base for their currency trading. New traders and seasoned veterans alike will love FOREX.com’s extensive education and research center that provides free, informative forex trading courses at multiple skill levels. While FOREX.com is impressive, remember that it isn’t a standard broker.
- MetaTrader 4 users
- Beginner forex traders
- Active forex traders
- Impressive, easy-to-navigate platform
- Wide range of education and research tools
- Access to over 80 currencies to buy and sell
- Leverage available up to 50:1
- Cannot buy and sell other securities (like stocks and bonds)
- Multi-level trading education courses. FOREX.com offers a comprehensive range of trader education courses organized by experience and skill level. You can find beginner, intermediate and advanced level courses directly on its website. Beginner lessons start by introducing basic forex concepts like pips and the most commonly traded currency pairs, while advanced courses move into trading strategies and risk management. Courses are easy to interpret and follow, no matter your skill level or previous experience. Many courses also include YouTube video tutorials to facilitate your learning process. Best of all, each of the FOREX.com courses is totally free — you don’t even need to be logged into your account to begin learning.
- Research tools. Many forex traders use fundamental analysis tools to inform their trades. FOREX.com’s brokerage platform includes an organized and comprehensive news feed that is customizable to focus on your favorite currency pairs. Begin by selecting your currency pair of choice and opening a new workspace. On the right-hand side of your screen, you’ll instantly see the latest news headlines concerning either of the currencies listed in your pair. Click on each news headline to read directly from your app and then flip back to your workstation in a fraction of a second to execute trades.
- Live webinars. Prefer to get the classroom experience when you learn how to trade? FOREX.com hosts regular live webinars at every skill level to help you boost your trading know-how. Topics range from basic forex strategy to trading psychology and risk management. You can quickly book your space at each webinar by entering your name, email address and phone number on FOREX.com’s website. Like its trading education courses, webinars are hosted free of charge for all participants.
FOREX.com currently offers 3 customer support contact methods.
- Phone. Call 877-367-3946, and select option 1.
- Email. Send a message to [email protected].
- Chat. Send a text message via FOREX.com’s website. Just look for the green rectangle on the right side of the page to get started.
Customer service is continuously available from 10 a.m. Sunday to 5 p.m. Friday ET.
Prefer to do your trading on the go? FOREX.com offers a comprehensive mobile app that fully mirrors its web platform’s capabilities. Let’s take a look at a few of our favorite features you’ll be able to take advantage of when you download the FOREX.com mobile app.
- Fast, integrated interface. Its mobile app features all of the tools of the desktop platform formatted to fit a smaller mobile screen. Buy, sell, perform currency research and view charts all from the palm of your hand.
- Easy customization. When you have limited time to make trades, you probably don’t want to spend minutes searching for currency pairs or tapping away at a tiny screen. FOREX.com’s mobile app offers a number of customization tools you can use to make the app your own. Choose between light and dark themes, add currency pairs to your watchlist, and customize your home screen to only show markets or currencies you’re interested in, all with only a few taps.
- Alert features. Prefer to trade without staring at your screen all day? FOREX.com’s app also allows you to customize exchange rate level, movement and order trigger alerts. When an alert is triggered, you’ll receive a push notification informing you of a movement or that your order has been executed.
FOREX.com’s mobile app is available for both iOS and Android platforms and is free to download.
In addition to the incredible educational opportunities FOREX.com provides, you can apply everything you’ve learned by trading directly in the forex market. You can also benefit from trading and learning in the same place because there’s no need to learn two different platforms.
You can trade around the clock during forex market hours, speculate on currency pairs without taking delivery and use a leverage ratio of up to 50:1 thanks to FOREX.com.
The broker’s website and trading platforms show market dealing spreads in real time. You can trade with or without commissions, live chat with FOREX.com’s staff, and join social media communities to learn more about how to trade forex profitably.
The user experience at FOREX.com starts well with the green live chat bar at the right side of its website page and on the mobile app. You can easily visit every page on the site with a few clicks, and the site’s useful educational information should help you make more money speculating on exchange rates.
In short, FOREX.com gives you top-quality trading platforms and a solid foundation from which to grow as a forex trader and hopefully apply your knowledge to increase your net worth.
When reviewing FOREX.com, it’s important to remember what the broker is and what it isn’t. FOREX.com focuses its resources on currency trading — and in this arena, it excels. Lower-than-average dealing spreads and a comprehensive trading platform will delight the most experienced forex trader.
Novices will also appreciate FOREX.com’s comprehensive range of educational tools and resources. Mobile traders will also be impressed with FOREX.com’s app, which mirrors the functionality of the broker’s advanced web-based trading platform. You can even use the MT4 suite at FOREX.com.
FOREX.com focuses on currencies, so it makes no effort to be a trader’s 1-stop-shop for every investing need, although the broker does provide trading in spot gold and silver, as well as futures and options. Even if you do open a FOREX.com account to speculate in the forex market, you should also open another account with a stockbroker to invest for your retirement.
FOREX.com has some limitations, but it offers impressive platforms for trading currencies and excellent educational options both beginners and experienced traders can appreciate.
FOREX.com Tutorial
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need to implement a stop-loss?
No, but it is usually a good idea. Entering a stop-loss order will automatically close out your trading position if the market reaches a predetermined level that is worse than where it currently trades. This helps you avoid taking uncomfortable losses.
How can forex charts help me?
Forex traders who use technical analysis rely on charts to make calculated guesses about how a currency pair’s exchange rate will change by observing classic chart patterns. Most charting software lets you view a variety of technical indicators to better analyze exchange rate movements and generate objective trading signals. The most common forex charts are bar charts, line charts, point and figure charts and candlestick charts. See Benzinga’s article on Best Forex Charts for more details.
The post FOREX.com Review by Sarah Horvath appeared first on Benzinga. Visit Benzinga to get more great content like this.
