It is very important that you keep an open mind when it comes to matters like this. Do not wipe out the possibilities that respected forex brokers that have been in the market for long are isolated from practices like this, as it may surprise you that even reputable forex brokers are involved in acts like this. I would not list out brokers that in my opinion are involved in acts like this as this article would remain unbiased. I would only outline tips on how you can discover if your broker is involved in this act. There are facts that you’ll need to know in order to understand how forex traders can trade against you. This involves the simple truth that these brokers posses the technology that allows then not to show you THE REAL MARKET QUOTES as quoted on the interbank market, rather they could choose to show your some DEVIATED QUOTES.

Having said this, I believe that the forex broker can trade against their clients as your broker can employ a cheating scheme that allows it revert quotes to go against its clients once they are in the profit region and are close to their take profit margin. This software could start showing you deviated quotes that are not in tune with real market quotes and this can be just go against your trading strategy and wipe you out on profits.

It’s not as simple as I place the facts, although we have very honest brokers out there. It is important to state that we also have brokers out there that want to make big profits and make it fast.

We have the Retail Brokers and the Forex Brokers without dealing desk (ECN type), the Retail Forex Broker basically want to see you fail so they can make more money. They do this by applying price change tactics, Spread widening and to crown it all trade against you. The ECN type Broker is most likely your best bet to honesty as they just execute your trades just like the interbank brokers do. They do this with slim leverages and generally they offer high minimum account deposits.

Therefore, if you really want to know if your forex broker is trading against you then start trading live with a small sum before you go invest the big bucks.

We find quite an awesome number of forex brokers out there on the internet, and we also have these forex brokers offer juicy bonuses and promotions, terms and conditions, and some other features to lure customers into signing up for live accounts on these platforms. Getting a forex broker that is regulated should be one of those criteria that every forex trader should be looking out for and this can be a time consuming process after all.

A regulated forex broker is one that is under the watch of a higher regulatory supervision that enhances transparent and efficient transactions between the client and the broker. These forex brokers that are supervised by these higher regulatory bodies have the brokers submit documented financial reports to them and when they fail to do this sometimes a fine is levied on them or their licenses could be revoked sometimes depending on the gravity of the offense perpetrated. Investor protection is maximized under a regulated forex broker. The forex regulatory bodies would protect investors in the market against fraud, shoddy trade practices and other manipulations that are carried out by forex brokers sometimes.

To get a forex broker out there that is regulated, you would have to find out the country of origin or that broker. Some regulated forex brokers are more flexible than other. Therefore your must get a broker that is regulated by the local authorities in that country or region.

I would list out clearly below criteria to look out for to know if your broker is regulated or not;

1. Check out the country in which the broker operates and verify if it is registered with the regulatory body in that country. You can always get the forex broker’s address and registration ID on the forex site. If this information is absent on the site you can call customer support or I’ll advise that you run fast.
2. In the United States for instance we have the NAtiona Futures Association (NFA) and Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) that is responsible for forex brokers’ registration in that country. In Swiss forex brokers are regulated by the Swiss federal Department of Finance or FDC. Due to their regions of operation their flexibilities varies.

Recently the NFA did publish a brochure called “Trading in the Retail Off-Exchange Foreign Currency Market” and this is used to educate investors on retail forex trading. Investors can consult this brochure before selection.

We can gauge the quality of the service offered by a particular Forex Broker by examining four different criteria.

Reliability

To know whether a company is reliable or not you need to look at things like the number of years they have been in operation. If they have been around for a long time then it is likely that they have experience and a proven track record. Another good indicator of reliability is to check whether the broker is registered with the appropriate regulatory bodies in their country – in the UK it would be the FSA. If the firm is a member of a body such as the FSA then this indicates that they have to adhere to certain standards and codes of practice.

Spreads and Leverage

Take a look at how low the spreads are. If a broker has a solid and stable foundation, and is well established with the major banks then they will be able to offer much lower spreads. If a broker offers high leverage then you will have to deposit less money with them.

Tools and Resources

A good broker will have a range of research tools and information resources available for their clients. If you can see that the company has clearly invested time and money into what it offers its clients then you can have confidence in them as a serious business entity.

Technical Support

Make sure that there is constant access to help and support available to you. Bearing in mind that the Forex market is traded 24 hours a day, you want to know that if you have a software problem at any time of the day and night you can access the assistance you need.

Once you have established these basics, then it is time to dig a little deeper and ask some more specific questions about the service on offer. Examples of things you might want to know include:

Does any part of the spread go to anyone outside of the firm? Sometimes there is an agreement by the broker to pay introduction fees or affiliate sales agents a percentage of your trading activity.

Will you be subject to trading restrictions around the time of news announcements? This is the case with some firms so make sure you are aware of the policy.

Find out more about the spreads, specifically whether they are different according to the size of the ticket? Also find out whether all clients are offered the same spreads? Does the broker offer any rebates or volume discounts? What are the typical spreads for the various currency pairs?

Something else which is useful to check out is to see whether the firm has a discussion forum for their clients. If they do and the forum postings are open and uncensored this can give you an excellent indication of what it is like to be a client of this broker.

Most brokers offer a demo account facility which will enable you to try out the service without risking your own money. You need to check if it is different to the real account in terms of functionality, available spreads and execution.

If, having checked all of these points, you feel happy with the service being offered, check how much you need to open an account and go ahead! Once you have found a good broker you are well on your way to success in the Forex market.

Reviewer: Forex Trader Website Reviewed: Official Dukascopy Website Type: Forex Trading Broker

Dukascopy is a Swiss ECN forex broker that was founded around 1998 with the mandate to offer real time Forex interbank rates alongside low spreads within 0.5 to 1 pip on all majors. This forex broker is regulated by FFA and ARIF, a Swiss self regulatory organization that has a primary goal of ensuring that all its members ensure existing Anti Money – Laundering legislation. This forex broker is able to combine access to the Swiss Foreign Exchange Marketplace alongside this forex broker’s enhanced trading platform and strong financial services via its counterpart banking partnership. Dukascopy has continued to set the standards in the global financial industry through its interbank forex trading. The Swiss Foreign Exchange Marketplace offers Dukascopy access to the largest pool of interbank spot forex liquidity that is solely available for banks, hedge funds and pro-traders. This forex broker is able to utilize the extensive network of banking partners to offer full prime broker capability.

Dukascopy has a minimum deposit of $10.000 for live account opening with a sole funding option of wire options that can be handled through its Segregated Accounts with its Swiss Private Banks, however it’s recommended to start with deposit of $50.000. Dukascopy would not allow payment methods such as Paypal or Google Checkout or even Credit Card. It is important to note that you can start practicing on its platform called the SWFX (Swiss Forex Marketplace: Terminal Level II, SWFX 3.0i) that is available on Java as well as Web based platforms. Please ensure that you have a stable and appropriate internet connection speed whilst trading with this forex broker.

It is very important for investors to know that base on the location of these forex broker (Switzerland) the land of secrecy, this forex broker offers individuals the required strict professional ethics, integrity and the security of funds. Dukascopy owns an overnight policy that allows investors have attractive cost of carry conditions and thus strengthens its hold as one of industry’s leaders. I must say that for traders who can handle Dukascopy’s minimum deposit requirement then you’ll find its multi-lingual platform in English, Germany, Russia, Spanish, Chinese, Japanese and Arabic very useful. To be a part of this awesome experience you’ll be require downloading the available documents online and filling up the papers, sign and send them back to this splendid forex broker. Upon completion you’ll be able to fund your account and start trading after you must have received a Unique Identification Number and Dukascopy’s bank details. You’ll require providing the UIN during the funding process.

Nonetheless, Dukascopy is perhaps the most efficient forex broker around, thanks to the combined liquidity of centralized marketplaces and a number of banking partners, making it the biggest marketplace in the world. There are sometimes daily network volumes that exceed $80 billion USD.

Reviewer: Forex Trader Website Reviewed: Official eToro Website Type: Forex Trading Broker

eToro is a forex tbroker that offers investors a new way to trade the global financial market with style and ease. This forex broker show cases a ground breaking technology in the use of visual interface that makes the financial market very interesting especially for new comers. It does not matter if you are an experienced trader or a beginner, you can join this forex broker today and move your online trading experience to the next level. This forex broker is a registered member of NFA with an ID no of 0382918. eToro Inc. was formed in 2006 with its head office in Cyprus. You can actually open a live account with as low as $50 with eToro, whilst you can get a minimum lot size of 0.1 lots & leverages that ranges around 1:100, 1:200 and 1:400.

You can start your trading experience by opening a practice account on eToro and all you’ll need to do is to follow the simple steps that I’ll outline. First you’ll have to download and run the eToro platform. On completion you’ll find the eToro icon on your computer desktop. Double click on the icon and a window would pop up asking you if you want to trade for Real or Practice Trading. Please go ahead and click the Practice Trading button. This would lead you being prompted to a Practice Registration screen, which requires you to select a username and fill in some light personal information. Just beneath the page after you must have completed filling of the form, you would be processed immediately for full access into the Practice Account. From this point you would be directed to an Expert/Visual Mode based on your trading experience. You can actually switch between modes at any time. It is worth note taking, as you’ll need to select a password & enter a username in order to log on to the platform in the future, but you’ll not have to go through all that trouble on your Practice mode as the system recognizes you upon launch of the platform.

You can improve your trading skills upon live trading with eToro’s Forex Matador. This is a forex trading course from eToro that is very user friendly and easy to understand. You can sign up for the first lessons free E-course once you have an eToro Real Account and have deposited a minimum amount. Note that Gold or VIP account holders are entitled to receive a personal trading coach, and they would be walked through the entire E-Course step by step.

eToro have innovative and easy to use currency trading technology, it’s mixes the traditional forex platform with elements of a video game. eToro tracks score of every individual user forex performance, just like video arcade games list user high scores. eToro’s trading platform serves retail segment of the Forex community. eToro charge absolutely zero commissions on all forex trading activity, including no overnight rollover fees. Users of eToro would very well agree with me that this forex broker is easy going and dynamic.

Reviewer: Forex Trader Website Reviewed: Official Easy Forex Website Type: Forex Trading Broker

Easy-Forex is an online trading company that was established in 2001; they are located in Cyprus and registered with an NFA ID # 0358754. Easy Forex holds the position of a market maker, with its liquidity providers being UBS (in Switzerland) and The Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS). This forex broker is regulated and does operate with proficient ethical and professional standards that suits investor’s needs. This forex broker prides itself with a team that is well organized, and comprises of a CEO O. Y. Konem and co-ounder S. Zelig. Although, you can get full details on easy-forex team of experts, this reputable broker looks out for its clients, Easy Forex offers its customers a section on the forex brokers’ web page for the download of useful forex articles and other related forex educational materials. This is due to the fact that a good understanding of the forex market is very relevant for investors that are willing to make strides in this business and also take control of their trading destiny. This is because forex as we all know is a very dynamic and fast growing market and requires traders at all levels to continue educating themselves in this market.

Easy Forex is the first broker offering no download platform. It uses proprietary foreign currency exchange trading platform. Visual Trading Machine™ is an online trading platform providing users the ability to trade at any time or place without having to download software. It is available in languages English, Arabic, Chinese, Hebrew, Polish, Greek and German. Easy Forex also provides Islamic account terms and Orthodox Jewish account transaction permits. It has user-friendly interface and the “point and click” trade controls.

Furthermore, it is important to state out here that smart traders can utilize the available tools on Eay-Forex which includes the inside viewer™, the trade controller™, the SMS Alert Service that offers free market information to your phone directly, Daily and Weekly Outlooks that allows traders know what is going to happen in the forex world in the coming days or week. Other tools available include multiple charts for technical analysis and live news feed from Reuters that keeps traders equipped with the latest currency news. Currency rates table, interest rates table and financial calendar of economic indicators are other tools avail on this forex broker’s site.

You can start trading with live on Easy-Forex by going through the easy steps of filling out the form available on its website. Alternatively you can also try out its free practice account platform as this allows you master the trading features on Easy-Forex. Minimum account opening size on Easy-Forex is $200 with a minimum lot size of 0.025 lots. You can get considerable spreads with this broker as they offer 3 pips of spread on the Euro/USD pair. Leverages can run to 1:100 on Easy-Forex, while live trading accounts can be funded via PayPal funding and credit cards funding.

By using a competitive spread, the company eliminates the need for commissions by making its money through the spreads already figured into the currency rates. The obligation to calculate and to pay taxes is the client’s responsibility.

In the verge of problems you can send an email to the compliance officer on complaints@easy-forex.com or you can call the numbers +35725828299 for phone support. This forex broker also in line with social responsibilities offers jobs and careers and welcomes candidates interested in working with Easy-Forex to submit applications. Easy Forex as the name suggests offer a very easy-to-use trading platform, further strengthening it’s suitability to new traders and they also offer some great features on the account such as extra currency pairs that other brokers do not offer.

Reviewer: Forex Trader Website Reviewed: Official FXCM Website Type: Forex Trading Broker

FXCM is a Forex broker that has been online since 1999 and is registered with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and is a member of the National Futures Association (NFA). Also this broker is regulated by the official regulators in UK, Canada, Hong Kong, Australia and France. FXCM is one of the largest and well capitalized Forex brokers with well over 150,000 live accounts that are traded via FXCM’s, along with its $100,000,000 in capital base this forex broker is here to provide experience and professionalism in the currency market.

The FXCM trading platform is installed via downloadable software. FXCM provides No Dealing Desk trading execution†, eliminating any conflict of interest between broker and trader, and ensuring that there is no dealer intervention in trades. No Dealing Desk trades are executed back to back with one of the world’s premier banks or financial institutions, which compete to provide FXCM with bid and ask prices, providing spreads as low as 1 pip.

FXCM offers its clients Real-Time Charts that enables you analyze the charts, place trades and manage positions. With these advanced charts you can create market entry positions from the charts directly. This is made possible via the over 30 technical indicator tools found on its charting software. You can as well find over 30 times frames available on the charts, while you can set price alerts to help you get on the spot information on price movements. You can also download FXCM’s software that allows for Real-time Signals with blue arrow indicating a buy while the red arrow indicates a sell. It is very interesting as the trading software offers six different strategies covering a lot of market conditions.

FXCM offers a demo account with $50,000 for a 30-day period. Start trading on FXCM by trying out with a demo account, as this would give you a grab of how things would go on live trade. Most times it is advised that you try out the demo account for at least 1 month before moving ahead to live trading. FXCM offers six trading accounts; you’ll have the FXCM STANDARD that has a minimum deposit of $2,000 for new accounts, the Active Trader can start on this account with a minimum deposit of $25,000 and with features of lower commissions for high volume trading. The FXCM MICRO ha a minimum account opening size of $25 and it is designed for small investors, you can grow an FXCM MICRO account from $25 to $2,000 with the right strategy in place. It is important to note that with a $2,000 worth of equity you can trade on FXCM’s Forex System Selector that allows a minimum account size of $2,000 and allows you access to over 40 back-tested trading systems that you can apply on this trading platform. Running on the same trading minimum account balance of $2,000 is the MetaTrader 4 platform that runs on the MT4 platform and is available through Forex Capital Markets Ltd. Lastly we have the Non-USD Account platform that allows traders based outside the United States hold funds in their local currencies.

Forex Capital Market also known as FXCM offers the following On-line checks, bank wire, paper checks and credit cards as its funding options. Select any of the following and start your live trading with FXCM. It is an excellent broker for the newbie and experienced trader alike.

Reviewer: Forex Trader Website Reviewed: Official FXPro Website Type: Forex Trading Broker

FxPro is a forex broker that was formed in 2006 to provide a competent online trading experience for its client’s base, and has the strategic aim of becoming one of the biggest and most competent Forex brokers out there. Sometime ago they were called Euro Orient Securities & Financial Services Ltd and in 2009 they changed their name to FxPro Financial Services Ltd. FxPro is a forex broker that is regulated by the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission.

This forex broker offers an explicit range of financial instruments that ranges from forex, futures and indices. They are also involved in the trading of metals and CFD’s (Contracts for Differences) on stocks. Due to this, FxPro offers is vast client base in more than 170 countries the ability to trade 24 hours daily, five days a week. This forex broker has been able to prove its constant growth by having some presence in UK, Russia, Austria, France and Greece. FxPro also prides itself in a show of social responsibility where it gives back to the society, and these achieved via its donations to organizations that help coordinate community support schemes.

Trading conditions offers energy, commodities, equities, precious metals, shares and forex market as easy options on its single trading platform. The fair, transparent and efficient trading conditions offered on FxPro’s platforms are very competitive quoted prices, and this is made possible via its multiple price provisions. Prices offered on FxPro are quoted in five digits and this can help clients make gains on smaller price movements. Talking about gains, this forex broker offers competitive spreads that starts from 0.5 pips for EUR/GBP, 0.8 pips for EUR/USD and 0.8 pips GBP/USD. Other trading features includes FxPRo’s provision of a forex trading news feed on its Trading Platform that allows its users get on the second updates on all market conditions that can affect their strategies.

FXPro has a well designed trading platform that is suited for its diverse clients; this is run on 6 Trading Platforms that comes with advanced charting functionality and sophisticated order management tools to help control your positions effectively and wisely. FxPro offers its users trading on the MetaTrader 4 platform that is downloadable on your PC; you also have the FxPro Web Trader that is a web version and log on via any internet browser thus eliminating download hassles. The FxPro Iphone Trader is available for Iphone users and allows easy access to your trading platform via an Iphone. There’s also the MT4 multi terminal for clients that wish to trade multiple accounts simultaneously, while the FxPro MT4 Smartphone allows traders access into the global market via a smart phone. Finally the FxPro MT4 mobile is FxPro’s MT4 Mobile edition that allows you trade the market on your mobile.

You can start of your trading experience via FXPro Forex broker’s online demo platform that allows you to start trading with as little as $100,000. Just download FX Pro MT4 at their website, and directly open demo account at the trading platform.

Reviewer: Forex Trader Website Reviewed: Official Interbank FX Website Type: Forex Trading Broker

It is very interesting what forex brokers can do to the currency market. Their emergence in the forex market has been able to provide especially small investors the ability to get into the market and trade alongside big movers like the big banks and other multi nationals. The global nature of the forex market allows 24 hours trading every 5 week days of the week and Interbankfx gives you the freedom to trade in that vein during the week days trading session. Interbankfx has been online since 2001 and a registered member of the Futures Commission Merchant (FCM) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). With Interbank FX you would be able to trade on the currency market given the tools that is made available on its trading platform alongside the unique technological revolutionary approach for the forex market.

Start your currency trading experience on Interbankfx as they offer a library of free forex trading tools to help investors in their trading experience. You can decide to take on a demo account or live account as this forex broker offers a library of free trading tools that can assist you in your trading and analytical market research. The demo and live accout offers you a dependable technical analysis tool that can be used as a comprehensive technical analysis tool/product. One of the trading tools includes the IBFX Basics that includes a list of indicators and EA’s and can be downloaded for free. This forex broker also parades the candlestick Pattern Recognition (CPR) tool to spot out forming candle pattern on your trading charts. This software is plugged in for your trading chart and it helps monitors multiple candle patterns. The Daily Pivot Points is a great tool that is used to measure support and resistance levels for the trading session via the use of pivot points. You can check the website out for an array of other forex trading tools like the IBFX Data Reader, IBFX Instrument Monitor, IBFX MACD Traditional, IBFX Mini Monitor, IBFX Partial Close Expert Advisor, IBFX Quick Scripts, IBFX Trade Analyzer and IBFX Waves.

Furthermore, for this to be real you’ll have to go accounts section on the website and open a live forex account with InterbankFX. All you’ll need to do is select the account type; Individual Account, Joint Account and Partnership or Corporate Account. Once you select of the options you would then be directed to submit your identification which is part of the account opening procedures. Once verified you can now go ahead and deposit funds via wire transfer, cashier’s check, official bank draft or even credit card. You can have your funds processed for withdrawals within 1-2 business days.

It is important that investors know that Forex brokers don’t give investors free funds, and thus mastery is a very important aspect of Forex trading. IBFX is committed to maintaining the high standards of service, allowing traders to focus on trading opportunities in the forex market, while helping them control their margin and liquidity risk along with timely and effective customer support.

Reviewer: Forex Trader Website Reviewed: Official OANDA Website Type: Online Forex Trading Broker

OANDA is a market maker that employs the use of innovative and advance financial technology and trading tools to enhance internet-based forex trading. The most intensely used and best known global tool of Oanda is the online currency converter. But OANDA’s greatest pioneering product is the round-the-clock forex trading platform which allows the execution of very small transactions in the currency market.

OANDA as a brokerage firm started its operations in 1995 as an online foreign currency exchange informant. It has continued over the years in its stride towards becoming industry leader in a very competitive market. OANDA is well suited in the financial world in that it provides quality information and services to hundreds of financial related businesses and web sites for their internet presence. For online stores that require automated foreign exchange tools and services in their daily accounting and corporate applications, then employing the use of OANDA’s currency tools should be a welcome idea. This is possible via if the client can subscribe to any of OANDA’s most popular rate services and begin using it on their website. OANDA employs the use Secure Sockets Layer for its encryption and the protection of clients personal information during the transmission of sensitive information between clients and OANDA. It is estimated that about 20% of the world’s online currency transaction is transmitted via OANDA’s servers.

OANDA is registered with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and is a member of the National Futures Association with NFA ID #: 0325821.

For some of you out there that have not used OANDA’s services, I would love to outline some Pro’s and Cons when using this online retail broker.

It is important to note here that for some people out there who loses money trading forex and portion the blames to a particular broker, should rather go back to the educational drawing board, get adequate training and come back to OANDA.