The post Understanding Forex Fees and Commissions by Anna Yen appeared first on Benzinga. Visit Benzinga to get more great content like this.
Traders navigating the global currency markets must understand the intricacies of forex fees and commissions. Failure to research and understand these costs can severely erode profits. Pay attention to the fee schedules published by forex brokers to determine overall trading costs and factor them into forex trading strategies.
This article sheds light on fees and commissions and offers insights on how to avoid or minimize forex fees.
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Disclosure
CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 72% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.
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What are Forex Fees?
Forex fees are the costs incurred when exchanging one currency for another on the forex markets. These costs include the spread, commissions, swap fees, inactivity fees, transaction fees, currency conversion fees and platform fees. The fees affect traders, investors and businesses engaged in international transactions and trading. Together they can have a significant effect on trading profitability and transaction costs. It is vital for traders to research and understand broker fees.
Trading Costs That Come With Forex Trading
Several forex costs may apply to forex trading. In combination, they can have a significant effect on the profits made.
Commission Structures
Though most forex brokers earn income from the spread, some charge commission. Electronic Communication Network Accounts (ECNs) running a dealing desk usually charge commissions. A trader will pay a commission on every trade made. This commission may be fixed or related to the trade volume. If the commission is volume-related, the higher the trade volume, the higher the commission charged.
Some brokers also charge a variable commission, working at a sliding rate. They may charge a lower fee over a certain trade volume to encourage larger trades. Professional traders can take advantage of these volume discounts to reduce the cost of trading. Where a spread is charged with commission, it is usually at a much lower rate. Traders must weigh the best combination of spread and commission for the volumes they trade and their trading strategies.
Spreads
The spread is the price your broker charges you to buy and sell forex. Every quote you receive will have two prices for each currency in the currency pair. These are called the bid and ask prices. They represent the buy and sell prices. The difference between the two is the spread. It is the amount your broker earns for the trade. The spread will differ for various currency pairs and is also market-dependent. The more volatile the market is, the higher the spread. The more volatile the currencies traded, the wider the spread.
Swap Rates
Swap trading fees apply to traders who hold overnight positions. Swaps or rollover fees refer to the interest or financing cost incurred for an overnight position. This fee is coupled with the interest rate differential between two traded currencies.
When you hold a forex position overnight, you borrow one currency to buy another. As a result, you may receive interest on the currency you’re holding (if the interest rate of the currency you bought is higher) or pay interest on the currency you borrowed (if the interest rate of the currency you sold is higher).
The swap fee is usually calculated and applied at the end of each trading day, typically around 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time (ET). The time will depend on your broker and its trading platform.
The swap fee is not fixed. It depends on your position size, the interest rate differential between the two currencies and how long you hold the position. Swap fees can add to traders’ profits or losses, depending on the direction of the trade and the interest rate differential. Some brokers provide a swap calculator on their trading platforms. The calculator helps to estimate the swap fees for different currency pairs.
Inactivity Fees
Some brokers charge inactivity fees when a trader’s account remains inactive or dormant for a certain period. An inactive account is one where there has been no trading activity. Inactivity fees incentivize traders to maintain an active trading presence. They help cover the administrative costs associated with maintaining inactive accounts.
Understand your broker’s terms and conditions. Some brokers don’t charge inactivity fees if you leave funds in your account. You can avoid these inactivity fees by understanding your brokers’ terms and conditions and complying. If an inactivity fee applies, set a reminder to trade and avoid the fees.
Storage Fees
Storage fees are added to the financing and swap fees. It is a superfluous charge for holding assets in the account. Avoid brokers that charge this unnecessary fee.
Custodial Fees
Brokers impose custodial fees for safekeeping and maintaining client funds and assets. These fees cover the expenses incurred by the broker for service provision. Custodial fees are more commonly associated with financial instruments like stocks, bonds and mutual funds. In the forex market, custodial fees are less common. They are relevant in forex trading in the following scenarios:
- Managed accounts: With managed accounts, professional traders or portfolio managers trade on behalf of clients. The broker may charge a management or performance fee as compensation for their trading expertise and efforts.
- Savings or interest-bearing accounts: Some brokers offer interest-bearing accounts where clients can hold unused trading capital. The broker invests these funds to earn interest and may charge custodial fees on the interest earned.
CFD Trading Fees
Contracts for difference (CFDs) are derivatives. They allow traders to speculate on financial instrument price movements. Like all securities, CFDs attract trading fees. These may include a spread, overnight financing costs, commission, transaction fees and inactivity fees.
CFD traders typically use stop-loss orders. Some brokers offer guaranteed stop-loss orders to protect from market volatility. However, guaranteed stop-loss orders may come with a premium fee.
Financing Rates
Financing rates are related to margin use. What you pay will depend on the amount of leverage you use and whether you hold overnight positions. The financing cost increases for each day that the asset is held.
Currency Conversion Fees
Your trading account has a designated currency, the base currency. This is the currency you use to deposit funds, calculate margin requirements and manage your account balance. When you trade currency pairs in currencies other than the base currency, profits or losses are in the currency of the traded pair. You pay a currency conversion fee if you wish to withdraw or convert those amounts back to the base currency. The conversion fee may be a percentage of the converted amount or a fixed fee. The fee is subtracted from the amount you’re converting, reducing the final converted value.
Choose an account denominated in your preferred currency to minimize the currency conversion effects. Compare broker conversion fees to find the most cost-effective option. Consider using several trading accounts with different base currencies if you trade in several currencies.
Different Trading Platforms Charge Different Fees
The forex fees and commissions that you’ll pay depend on the broker and trading platform you choose. All forex brokers charge fees, and traders must understand the total cost per trade. The trading platform you choose should combine the services you need at the best overall cost to trade.
Compare Benzinga’s Top Forex Brokers
Find the forex broker that suits your trading style and strategies from the table below.
Claim Exclusive Offers
get started
securely through FOREX.com’s
website
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.
Best For
- MetaTrader 4 users
- Beginner forex traders
- Active forex traders
- Demo account
- 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
- Exclusive trading tools like TradingView
- Crypto trading available on MT5 platform
- Cannot buy and sell other securities (like stocks and bonds)
- Higher inactivity fees
get started
securely through IG Markets’s
website
IG Group was established in 1974 and has over 313,000 clients worldwide. In 2019, IG launched its high-quality FX service in the US – empowering informed, decisive, adventurous people with access to over 80 currency pairs at competitive prices.
IG US operates on a commission-free basis whereby spreads are the main cost to trading forex, though overnight funding fees and currency conversion charges may apply. Spreads at IG can be as low as 0.8 pips for currency pairs like EUR/USD and USD/JPY (terms and conditions apply).
Minimum spreads for major currency pairs include:
EUR/USD: 0.8 pips
USD/JPY: 0.8 pips
GBP/USD: 1.0 pip
AUD/USD: 1.0 pip
Capital requirements are as low as 2%, or 50:1 leverage, for major currency pairs like EUR/USD.
IG offers forex trading on its own proprietary platform and application as well as MetaTrader 4 desktop, online and mobile platforms.
Best For
- New forex traders who are still learning the ropes
- Traders who prefer a simple, clean interface
- Forex traders who trade primarily on a tablet
- $0 minimum deposit
- $0 commission
- Excellent educational resources
- Volume-based rebates
- Inactivity fees
- Limited product range on MT4
Get started
securely through AvaTrade’s
website
A fully regulated broker with a presence in Europe, South Africa, the Middle East, British Virgin Islands, Australia and Japan, Avatrade deals with mainly forex and CFDs on stocks, commodities, indexes, forex, cryptocurrencies, etc. This brokerage is headquartered in Dublin, Ireland and began offering its services in 2006. It offers multiple trading platforms and earns mainly through spreads.
Best For
- Beginners
- Advanced traders
- Traders looking for a well-diversified portfolio
- Controlled by regulatory agencies of multiple countries
- Choice offered in terms of trading platforms
- Support available in 14 languages and trading platforms in 20 languages
- Practice/demo account available for trying out
- Breadth of trading assets
- Does not accept customers from the U.S. as it isn’t regulated in the U.S.
- Transferring funds to the account may take up to five days; withdrawals could take up to 10 days
Get started
securely through Plus500’s
website
86% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.
Plus500 is a European derivatives broker focusing on contracts for difference (CFDs). CFDs are similar to binary options in the U.S. where traders take all-or-nothing speculation on the prices of certain securities like indices, commodities or currencies. While not legal to trade in the U.S., CFDs are legal in many jurisdictions across the globe and Plus500 offers a wide array of tradable markets using these instruments.
Plus500 doesn’t charge commission and only profits off the spread, which is the difference between the buy and sell price of a specific security. But Plus500 is not a broker for beginners — the education materials are sparse and CFDs are risky derivatives capable of sapping out all of an investor’s capital. Only trade these instruments if you understand how they operate and the risks involved with buying them.
Best For
- Traders looking for a smooth mobile experience
- Great mobile app
- Low spreads and commissions
- Unlimited demo account
- Only derivatives are available
- Not open to U.S. residents
get started
securely through eToro’s
website
Though Australian and British traders might know eToro for its easy stock and mobile trading, the broker is now expanding into the United States with cryptocurrency trading. U.S. traders can begin buying and selling both major cryptocurrencies (like Bitcoin and Ethereum) as well as smaller names (like Tron Coin and Stellar Lumens).
eToro offers traders the opportunity to invest their assets into premade portfolios or cryptocurrencies, similar to services offered by robo-advisors through traditional brokers. Though eToro isn’t a one-stop-shop for everything an investor needs, its easy-to-use platform and low spreads is a great way to enter the cryptocurrency market.
Best For
- International Forex/CFD Traders
- New cryptocurrency traders looking for an easy-to-use platform
- Traders who want to buy and sell cryptocurrencies on-the-go
- Simple platform that is easy to master
- CopyTrader feature that allows new traders to copy the same strategies used by professionals
- Virtual dummy account that gives you $100,000 to practice trades
- U.S. traders currently limited to cryptocurrencies
- Only 15 major coins available to trade
Get started
securely through HYCM’s
website
HYCM is 1 of the world’s leading forex brokers, offering investors access to over 69 unique currency pairs. However, forex isn’t the only thing the broker offers — HYCM also offers high rates of leverage, stock and ETF trading, commodity investing and much more. Getting started with HYCM is quick and easy, and most investors can open an account in as little as 10 minutes.
HYCM offers a varying fee structure, which allows investors to choose the spread option that’s best for them. A wide range of educational and investing tools are available, which can be equally beneficial to both experienced and novice traders. Though HYCM isn’t currently available in the United States, it can be a great choice for residents of the other 140 countries where it offers service.
Best For
- Investors who want a customizable fee schedule
- Traders comfortable using the MetaTrader platform
- Islamic traders who need swap-free accounts that don’t build interest
- Mobile app with a simple trading experience
- Wide range of currency pairs available
- Excellent selection of educational tools
- Not currently available to traders based in the U.S.
get Started
securely through CedarFX’s
website
Billing itself as the world’s 1st eco-friendly broker, CedarFX makes it easy to trade and give back to the planet. You can choose a 0% Commission Account or an Eco Account — or open multiple accounts to meet all your needs.
CedarFX offers access to a wide range of tradable securities, including stocks, futures, major and exotic forex pairs, cryptocurrencies and more. Though CedarFX could introduce a few additional educational resources, the broker remains a unique option for traders invested in giving back.
Best For
- Forex investors
- Investors interested in 0% commission or eco conscious trading
- Investors looking for 24/7 customer service
- Allows users to offset their carbon footprint
- 0% commission investing
- Offers demo account access
- 24/7 customer service available through live chat
- Eco Account Option (10 trees planted for each lot traded)
- Fast deposits/withdrawals with Bitcoin
- Limited number of educational resources for new investors
Choose a Broker Offering the Best Combination of Services and Fees
Forex fees and commissions are essential costs that can significantly impact trading outcomes, especially if you trade in high volumes. As a trader, research and understand the fees involved before you sign up. Choose a forex broker that offers the best combination of services and fees that align with your forex trading strategies.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are there exchange rate fees with forex trading?
There are no specific exchange rate fees in forex trading, but traders make profits or losses from exchange rate movements. There are also associated costs like spreads and commissions.
Answer Link
Do forex brokers have fees?
Forex brokers charge fees. Traders must protect their profits by understanding and comparing broker fees.
Answer Link
How do forex brokers get their fees?
Most forex brokers get their fees by charging a spread, the difference between the currency buy and sell prices. Some brokers also charge commissions and other miscellaneous costs.
Answer Link
The post Understanding Forex Fees and Commissions by Anna Yen appeared first on Benzinga. Visit Benzinga to get more great content like this.