Help with Forex Guide

Discussion in 'Forex' started by enkidu007, Jun 14, 2005.

  1. Help! I need your imputes. I’m writing a guide for newbie for the forex market so people don’t fall for the traps I did myself. If you could read and add your input that would be of great help. I know my grammar isn’t all that great but it’s the best considering English is my third language. Just focus on content! lol. My goal is to put a guide together so that someone who’s never traded forex before and wants to enter the game will get most of his questions answered.

    Here goes!!

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    What is Forex?

    Coming Soon! Anyone?

    Which Broker Should I Use?

    This is a tough task and it shouldn’t be, but it is. In the futures market and that of the securities market it is rather much simpler; one just doesn’t have to worry about their money being stolen as much, at least in obvious ways. In the Forex market, it’s a whole other beast. Lack of regulation is the main problem. Brokers in this field play all kinds of games and scams and most of them are nothing more then thieves and bucket shops. However, there are a few great honest ones too.

    Below are a few possible schemes that various brokers have pulled, and two has happened to me.

    1. The broker uses the customer funds as operating capital.
    2. The broker routes customer funds to some offshore account and the money disappears.
    3. The broker manipulates price. (happens more often then not since the interbank is not centralized, price quotes varies. However, the retail brokers have a habit of really pushing it.) Running stops is one of their most profitable engagements.

    There are so many factors that go in selecting a broker and everyone’s priorities are different. My suggestions are below:

    1. If possible, make sure that the funds are segregated.
    2. If within the United States, ensure that they are NFA and/or CFTC registered.
    3. Do your due diligence and perform some background check on the company.
    4. Ask around, some good places to start are moneytec forums and elite trader forums.

    The firms I’m now using are Oanda as the main account and FXCM as the backup and I’m very happy with them. This is in no shape or way an endorsement of the two company. It’s just what I happen to use.

    Oanda
    Benefits
    1. set your own unit size
    2. free real time charting, data, and limited technical analysis tools
    3. NFA registered
    4. easy to use interface
    5. easy withdraw of funds
    6. segregated funds (depends on account size)
    7. honest

    Drawbacks
    1. no phone support

    FXCM
    Benefits
    1. free real time charting, data, and limited technical analysis tools
    2. NFA registered
    3. easy to use interface
    4. easy withdraw of funds
    5. segregated funds (depends on account size)
    6. honest
    7. phone support

    Drawbacks
    1. cannot control the size of units
    2. I’ve heard some negative things about them but never experienced it myself.

    So which ever firm you pick make sure you do your homework or you might be very sorry!

    Tools of the Trade

    As of this writing you must be an ignorant fool to pay for charting and data. There are so many free ones that you will just be wasting your money. But if you must waste it I suggest you click on the donation button on my home page and give that entire free extra mullah to me! It would only be the right thing to do! Below are some that I use and personally recommend.

    Oanda – Sign up for a demo account and you will get awesome real-time charting and data with technical analysis.

    DailyFX – Same as Oanda’s but slightly less in quality.

    Metatrader 4 – Download the client end and sign up for a demo account. It’s about the best free charting and data program there is for forex. Unbelievably, it’s free! I highly recommend this one over all others. If you use Metatrader you will never ever need any other charting program or pay for forex data again! (The data goes back 20+ years)

    If you are a fundamental trader, you can get just about all your data from government websites. Some other good ones are currencypro.com, FX Street, and economagic.

    I’m sure if you put some time into it you will find plenty more free resources on the internet.

    Conclusion

    The forex currency market is another good avenue for you to diversify your portfolio if you are the type that likes to do your own research and make your own trades. The advantage is that it allows the small investor to participate in the same opportunities as the large investors.

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    Thanks Guys