Every person who decides to devote himself to trading faces this question: Where to start?
Access to the exchange and OTC markets for a private trader is possible only through a broker. Therefore, selecting a reliable partner is the most important task a potential trader must do. Forex is an international market that unites hundreds of brokerage companies. Each has its advantages and disadvantages, unique services, and capabilities. Each broker is unique in its own way. Sometimes even professionals are unable to give preference to one or another option.
Acquaintance with a broker begins with an offer agreement and regulatory documents. An offer is the main partnership agreement between a broker and a trader. It contains the terms of cooperation and links to additional documents. In the offer, pay attention to the following:
- Trading conditions. Commission availability, type, and level of spread, stop-out level, leverage levels for each instrument, and links to contract specifications, etc.
- Conditions for order execution. Execution type, requote conditions, acceptable strategies, time of trades in the market, etc. These control the points by which the broker can cancel the order or temporarily block the account.
- Deposit and withdrawal of money. Conditions, commissions (brokerage vs payment systems), and conversion conditions if the currencies are not the same.
- Verification conditions. You need to go through verification before making a deposit and receive confirmation from the support team that everything is fine.
You can check all this in practice by opening a demo account and analyzing the trading conditions on a trial basis. But a demo account is a simulator that is far from real market conditions. And the second problem is that testing will take more than one day. Therefore, it is easier to learn from the ready-made information in the section “Best Forex Brokers - Top 5 Brokers for 2021”.
The list of the Best Forex Brokers is a rating created for those who wish to choose a brokerage company for themselves, with which they will go from a beginner to a professional. Each company in the ratings was assessed according to over 120 proprietary criteria, including whether the broker is in compliance with its declared trading conditions as well as those imposed by its regulator. These factors determine whether the broker is transparent in its dealings with traders. Of the broker's conditions, the nonexistence of problems with the withdrawal of money, manufacturability, unique proprietary services and their usefulness, and the quality of their professional support are critical. Reviews were also taken into account, of course.
An independent rating of brokers was developed by the International Union of Forex Traders (Traders Union). The task of the Traders Union is to help you select the best broker for you and to reach other critical decisions in minimal time by collecting on one site detailed information about the best brokerage companies with optimal trading conditions.
Top 5 Forex Brokers With Licenses
A broker's license from a regulator is one of the advantages. The regulator can be both the central financial body of the country (the Central Bank or its authorities) and/or an organization subordinate to state authorities.
The regulator's license states that:
- The broker operates in the legal field of at least the regulatory country. If the regulator works within the framework of the legislation of the region, the broker can provide services in the entire region. An example is CySEC, a Cypriot regulator operating under the European directives MiFID I and MiFID II. Brokers licensed by CySEC can operate in Europe, but they are denied access in the United States.
- Brokers undergo periodic audits. Their operating activities and financial statements, compliance with standards and multipliers, segregation of accounts, etc. are thoroughly reviewed to add additional guarantees of each company's reliability. An audit helps at an early stage to identify a broker's financial problems or possible violations of financial legislation.
- The broker pays an annual premium from which an insurance fund is formed.
- The interests of traders are protected if, in the event of a collective well-reasoned complaint, the regulator considers the essence of the complaint and (often) takes the side of traders. Revocation of a license is a serious blow to a broker's reputation.
It’s an advantage for a broker to have several licenses. This speaks of the transparency of the broker's services and its work at the international level, taking into account the specifics of each region, where applicable. The strictest regulators in Europe are FCA (UK), BaFin (Germany), and CySEC (Cyprus).
Below you can find a list of the best 2021 brokers who have valid licenses from European regulators.
Rating | Brokers | Regulators | Minimum Deposit |
1 | FxPro | FCA, CySEC, FSCA, SCB | $100 |
2 | Admiral Markets UK | FCA, CySEC, ASIC | $200 |
3 | XM Broker | ASIC, IFCS, CySEC | $5 |
4 | AvaTrade | ASIC, FSA, FSCA | $100 |
5 | FXTM | FCA, CySEC, FSCA, FSC | $5 |
How To Choose The Best Broker
Each trader has his own preferences and trading goals, so there are no uniform criteria for the “best broker” for all traders. It is possible to single out only general rules of which you must be mindful.
Broker selection criteria:
- Transparency. The offer and regulatory documents must be posted in the public domain. These include all contract specifications and trading conditions that are readily visible without the need to first register with the brokerage firm. This is to ensure that the broker is not hiding critical information or fraudulent practices. If you find hidden commissions, confusing offer conditions, and surplus conditions, it is wise to bypass such a broker.
- Minimum deposit and leverage. Leverage of 1:1000 is rare, but with it, $20 is enough to open a minimum trade within the limits of risk management rules. For serious trading, you need at least $100. An advantage is if the broker has a cent account, which may be used to test strategies in the real market.
- Deposit and withdrawal of money. There should be no restrictions on the amount of a withdrawal, frequency, or the number of applications. Traders' accounts must be segregated, i.e., maintained separately from the brokerage’s operating account. Therefore, there can be no restrictions and a trader must be allowed to withdraw his money at any time. Note that oftentimes, the commission charged by a payment system (e.g., Visa) may be wrongly attributed to a commission charged by the broker, which is not the case in reality. Commissions charged by payment systems is normal.
There should also be no commissions for withdrawals. Sometimes the broker may pay a payment systems commission for its client-trader.
- Spread. Spreads can be expanded during market volatility. Be sure to check the actual spread by making several test trades and look at the history where the quotes are indicated. You can also use scripts.
- Platform(s). Having MT4 is an advantage. The largest number of advisors and indicators have been developed for this platform.
- Trading instruments include a wide range of assets, including cryptocurrencies.
- Availability of licenses.
- Proprietary tools and applications like Autochartist tools and Trading Central.
- Professional support services. Professionalism is determined by the specifics, quality, speed, and relevancy of answers to questions.
On the Traders Union website, you will find the best brokers that meet all these criteria.
You can choose one or several companies from among the Top 5 rankings of the best brokers. Open several trades on a demo account to evaluate the functionality and capabilities of each broker of interest to you. Risk the minimum amount: replenish the deposit and after a couple of trades create a withdrawal request to be sure that the broker is abiding by its obligations to you and is operating honestly.
Forex Brokers For Beginners
For a novice trader on the broker's website, good information and technical support are critical. These are loyal starting conditions, training materials, and instant answers to your questions.
If this is your first time choosing a broker, pay attention to the following:
- Availability of demo and cent accounts. A demo account is needed for training without verification. A cent account is for studying the real market with a minimum of acceptable losses.
- The minimum entry threshold. Ten US dollars is the best option with leverage of 1:1000.
- Platform. The MT4 platform contains the most information and support tools for any trading platform on the internet,
- Additional tools. Calculators are used for calculating the lot, collateral, and point value. The Economic Calendar shows the opinion of most indicators, etc.
- Daily analytics and reviews.
We recommend that you pay attention to several companies with a minimum starting deposit. These are most popular among novice traders. They are, for example: Admiral Markets UK - $1, XM Broker - $5, and/or FXTM - $10.
Forex Brokers For Investors
Services provided by brokers can be divided into two groups: active trading services (supported by all brokers) and investment services (supported by many brokers). The second direction provides that the investor is not actively trading and that his money is managed by professional traders, for which they receive a commission.
Services for passive investment brokers:
1. Social trading allows copying trades of other traders whereby everything a professional trader (account manager) does on his account can be copied to the investor-trader’s account at a speed of up to 100 ms.
The investor evaluates the ratio of the trader's profitability and risk, "adjusts" his parameters to the parameters of the trader's account (deposit, leverage, etc.), and selects the type of copying. You can copy trades in the ratio of the amount of deposits or percentage of the trade.
Service options:
- Own broker service. The trader can only copy the trades of the broker's traders.
- ZuluTrade. An independent platform that brings together dozens of brokers and their clients. If the investor's broker works with ZuluTrade and has a mechanism for copying trades, the investor can connect to any number of platform traders.
- MetaQuotes. This community of traders is managed by the МetaТrader developer. Signals can be received from MT4 and MT5 after registration on the MQL5 community website.
2. PAMM accounts. Transfer of money by an investor to an expert trader in trust to manage. There are also RAMM accounts that combine the functionality of PAMM, social trading, and a risk protection mechanism.
You can get acquainted with brokers who have investment services with loyal trading conditions such as: RoboForex - CopyFx; Instaforex - PAMM accounts; and service for copying trades, FxPro - RAMM.
How To Open An Account With A Forex Broker Through Traders Union
Traders Union is a community of traders that protects the interests of its clients and tries to offer the most favorable conditions for trading with brokers. The first advantage of Traders Union is that registration is free, and there are no membership fees or commissions. Participation in the Union for traders and investors is free and voluntary. The second advantage is a bonus to traders in the form of a rebate for partial compensation of the spread.
Follow these simple instructions to become eligible for this bonus:
- Register on the Traders Union website. It takes less than 10 minutes.
- Learn the site's capabilities and functionalities. Open the rating of Forex brokers. In the review of each broker there is an affiliate link to its website, follow it and open a trading account with that broker. You can choose one or many brokers.
- Link your Traders Union account with a broker's account by adding your brokerage account number to the “Accounts” section in your personal account on the Traders Union website. After confirmation of the linked accounts by the Traders Union specialists, make a deposit and start trading and receive spread compensation on the Traders Union balance, regardless of the result of trades.
Both active traders and investors can receive compensation. The money credited to the Traders Union balance can be transferred to your trading account or withdrawn to payment details.
Advantages Of Working With Brokers Through Traders Union
Traders Union is the constant support of thousands of traders who are ready to share their experience, knowledge, signals, and strategies with you. Traders Union offers free legal assistance in resolving disputes with a broker. Its spread compensation is also free!
Traders Union Advantages in Numbers | |
Total amount of rebates awarded | Over US $10,000,000 |
Rebate payment rate | 80% -100% of the broker's affiliate payout |
Number of participating traders | 300,000+ |
Number of brokers-partners | 200+ |
Free legal support | Yes |
Conclusion About Best Forex Brokers
The capabilities of the financial markets are endless. Each person can discover the path to financial independence for himself. Here, there are no restrictions; everyone can achieve almost any goal. There is no easy money here, so a lot depends on your perseverance and patience, your desire to learn and set new goals, your psychological stability, and the ability to think several steps ahead. It may be difficult at first, but everyone can become a professional trader.
A Broker is your partner and assistant in the world of trading. Traders Union will help you make the right choice and find a company with which you will walk the path of a professional trader together. And only with Traders Union, can you make your trading even more efficient, comfortable, and successful.
Together we will achieve more!
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