Top Forex Brokers for 2016 – Comparison & Reviews

How to Choose a Forex Broker

There are so many online Forex brokers through which traders can trade in the forex market over the internet from anywhere in the world. All brokers do not offer same packages. So, all brokers might not suit your requirement.

A trader should know how to choose a reliable and suitable forex broker based on their needs. In this guide, we will explore various important criteria one should consider while comparing various brokers.

1. Type of Broker 

Forex brokers can be divided into two types, dealing desk and ECN broker.

Dealing desk brokers are also known as market maker brokers. In dealing desk broker, the dealer often takes the opposite position to your trade. First, they will search for other suitable options with your order. If they do not find any suitable orders with your order then they will open an opposite position to your trade. Dealing desk brokers generally make money from the spread. Dealing desk brokers generally do not charge any other fees besides this spread.

The Electronic Communications Network (ECN), electronically matches the orders. They do not open an opposite position to your trade if your orders do not match with others. In this case, your trade would not be executed immediately when you have placed. There are many people believe that ECN brokers do not have any interest in your trading results which is not true. In fact, ECN brokers want you to make a profit so that you will continue to trade with them as they make money from the trading commissions they charge for each side of trading.

2. Regulated or Non-Regulated 

Regulation is the most important part of a broker in case of choosing a reliable broker for forex trading. There are many problems with unregulated brokers. If they cause any problem about your deposited money or trades, then you will not have anyone to complain about them.

On the other hand, you can complain against regulated brokers if you face any problem. Only being regulated is not everything. You need to find a broker which is regulated under the strict law and legal protection. There are some countries where the law and legal protection are strict and reliable such as the United Kingdom, Australia, and the United States.

There is absolutely no point to open an account or trading in an unregulated or poorly regulated broker no matter how attractive features they offer. Most regulated brokers publish their registration number of their regulation so that one can check their regulation and know about their regulation policy. A trader should also choose regulated and reliable deposit and withdrawal methods.

3. Types of Account They Provide 

There are various types of accounts offered by different brokers. Most brokers offer standard, mini, micro and demo accounts. These accounts are different regarding the lot size or trading size. These accounts may vary broker to broker.

In the case of some brokers, a standard account means you have to trade in full standard lots. On the other hand, some brokers may allow trading partial lots in standard accounts. Trading commissions and spreads also vary depending on the types of trading account. Larger trading account types are offered with low trading commissions and spreads while smaller accounts carry larger trading commissions and spreads.

Traders should choose a trading account of a broker suitable with his initial deposit, trading strategy and risk tolerance level.

4. Types of Trading Platform They Provide 

The trading platform is a very important section on choosing a forex broker. Different brokers may offer different types of trading platforms. There is no best platform in the world, but obviously, some platforms are better than others.

Trading platforms should be enriched with charting and trading packages and features. A trader should decide a suitable trading platform for trading. Then he/she should search for a broker who offers this trading platform and also fulfill the other criteria of a reliable broker.

Meta trader based trading platforms are very popular in case of forex trading. However, there are other home-made trading platforms offered by brokers those are also popular and reliable, such as Plus 500 and FXCM.

Special Features in Trading Platform

Some brokers offer special features combined with their trading platforms. These features are handy and effective thus many traders choose these platforms for trading. For example, IBFX provides their own build EAs (Expert Advisors) and indicators, Etoro includes copy trading option to their trading platform, FXCM offers advanced multiple time frame charting technique and other additional indicators etc. If you need these additional features in your trading, then you should choose a broker that fulfills your requirements.

5. Commission and Spread 

Trading commissions and spreads are the main income of forex broker. A trader has to pay trading commission or spread or both whenever he/she makes a trade in the broker. Trading commissions and spreads are not same for all brokers and these vary broker to broker.

Some broker offers low or tight spread, some offer variable spreads, some offers fixed spreads, some offers high trading commissions etc. Generally, the larger the account size the lower the amount of spread in pips as brokers get higher commissions due to trading in larger volume.

There are also some brokers those offer low or tight spreads in small accounts as well. These brokers are very popular for small traders with smaller initial deposit. You should choose a broker that offers a suitable trading environment with lower trading commissions and spreads.

6. Deposit and Withdrawal Methods 

Deposit and withdrawal method vary broker to broker. There are many brokers who allow a wide range of payment methods for deposit and withdrawal but their regulation is not that much reliable. On the other hand, most well-regulated brokers allow limited payment methods.

This creates a crucial situation for a trader to choose a broker with strict regulation and suitable payment methods at the same time. However, there are some brokers that are well regulated and also, allow various payment methods besides bank wire, credit cards etc.

Most of the cases, deposit and payment methods should be similar as broker sends the withdrawal to the same account from which trader has deposited his investment. So, a trader should consider the deposit and withdrawal methods of the broker before opening an account.

7. Customer Service 

All the forex brokers provide customer service through various ways. Some brokers provide customer service via one method only such as email support. Other brokers may provide customer support service through various ways such as email, telephone, fax, live chat etc.

Some brokers may provide customer service 24 hours a day while others may provide support for a limited time a day or limited days per week. It is important for a trader to choose a broker who provides 24 hours a day and 7 days a week customer support so that he can contact them and a get solution immediately.

If you face any problem about the broker or need to know anything about the broker then you have to contact their customer support center. So it is important to choose a very friendly and caring broker. Some brokers also offer a call back option which is an additional feature of forex broker.

8. Bonus or Rebate 

Many forex brokers offer promotional services, rebates, and bonuses. These rebates and bonuses can be useful for a trader in many ways. The bonus or rebate offers are different and vary broker to broker.

Some broker offers no deposit bonuses which is very handy in case of newcomers as they can practice and learn to trade using these bonuses. Some brokers offer a bonus on first deposit which is useful to avoid margin calls. Some brokers have a rebate policy for their traders which work as additional income for them. The amount or percentage of bonus and rebates may vary time to time in case of the same broker.

The bonus offers also differ from broker to broker. However, high bonus offer is not the only marker of a good broker; some cases loosely regulated brokers offer high bonuses and rebate features to attract more traders. So traders should not choose a broker depending only on the bonus and rebate related promotional offers. Safety, regulation, and other factors should also consider while choosing a broker.

Conclusion 

It is not possible and necessary that a good broker should fulfill all the requirements mentioned above. But you should know what features you need before choosing a broker. Then you should search a broker that fulfills your requirement. Missing some requirements mentioned above does not mean that the broker is not good for trading. However, there are some major requirements which all brokers should fulfill.