No commissions
No clearing fees, no exchange fees, no government fees, no brokerage fees. Most retail brokers are compensated for their services through something called the "bid-ask spread".
No middlemen
Spot currency trading eliminates the middlemen and allows you to trade
directly with the market responsible for the pricing on a particular
currency pair.
No fixed lot size
In the futures
markets, lot or contract sizes are determined by the exchanges. A
standard-size contract for silver futures is 5,000 ounces. In spot
forex, you determine your own lot, or position size. This allows traders
to participate with accounts as small as $25 (although we'll explain
later why a $25 account is a bad idea).
Low transaction costs
The retail transaction cost (the bid/ask spread) is typically less than
0.1% under normal market conditions. At larger dealers, the spread
could be as low as 0.07%. Of course this depends on your leverage and
all will be explained later.
A 24-hour market
There is
no waiting for the opening bell. From the Monday morning opening in
Australia to the afternoon close in New York, the forex market never
sleeps. This is awesome for those who want to trade on a part-time
basis, because you can choose when you want to trade: morning, noon,
night, during breakfast, or in your sleep.
No one can corner the market
The foreign exchange market is so huge and has so many participants
that no single entity (not even a central bank or the mighty Chuck
Norris himself) can control the market price for an extended period of
time.
Leverage
In forex trading, a
small deposit can control a much larger total contract value. Leverage
gives the trader the ability to make nice profits, and at the same time
keep risk capital to a minimum.
For example, a forex broker may
offer 50-to-1 leverage, which means that a $50 dollar margin deposit
would enable a trader to buy or sell $2,500 worth of currencies.
Similarly, with $500 dollars, one could trade with $25,000 dollars and
so on. While this is all gravy, let's remember that leverage is a
double-edged sword. Without proper risk management, this high degree of
leverage can lead to large losses as well as gains.
High Liquidity.
Because the forex market is so enormous, it is also extremely liquid.
This means that under normal market conditions, with a click of a mouse
you can instantaneously buy and sell at will as there will usually be
someone in the market willing to take the other side of your trade. You
are never "stuck" in a trade. You can even set your online trading
platform to automatically close your position once your desired profit
level (a limit order) has been reached, and/or close a trade if a trade
is going against you (a stop loss order).
Low Barriers to Entry
You would think that getting started as a currency trader would cost a
ton of money. The fact is, when compared to trading stocks, options or
futures, it doesn't. Online forex brokers offer "mini" and "micro"
trading accounts, some with a minimum account deposit of $25.
We're not saying you should open an account with the bare minimum, but
it does make forex trading much more accessible to the average
individual who doesn't have a lot of start-up trading capital.
Free Stuff Everywhere!
Most online forex brokers offer "demo" accounts to practice trading and
build your skills, along with real-time forex news and charting
services.
And guess what?! They're all free!
Demo
accounts are very valuable resources for those who are "financially
hampered" and would like to hone their trading skills with "play money"
before opening a live trading account and risking real money.
Now that you know the advantages of the forex market, see how it compares with the stock market!
Read more...