There are lots of flashy advertisements that attract the attention of people looking to earn money without exerting too much effort, which is basically how many people become interested in the Forex market.Unfortunately, not everything about those promising ads is true, a lot of those are merely for advertisement purposes only to grab the attention of the viewing public.
If there’s something that’s definitely true with these ads, it is the fact that the foreign exchange market is actively generating $5 trillion in transactions every day. Because of this, this financial market is known as the most liquid market all over the world. Market participants can sell, purchase, and speculate on the currency pairs of their choice. Most of the market participants are powerful country’s central banks, investment companies, commercial firms, and hedge funds. So, is it still possible for retail traders to take advantage of this highly liquid market knowing that the competition between huge financial institutions is already tight?
The Trading Platform
There are now a lot of trading platforms available online. They are either from third-party companies such as MetaQuotes or in-house trading platforms personally developed by online brokerages. These trading platforms allow you to trade with different instruments such as commodities, currency pairs, stocks, and bonds. Here are some things that need to be checked when choosing a trading platform.
Supported Financial Instruments
Another consideration that you have to mind is the financial instruments that it offers. Trading platforms like MetaTrader 4 (MT4) perfectly suit traders who are interested in the foreign exchange market. There are also trading platforms that support other assets such as options, commodities, stocks, futures, and bonds. These platforms, namely the MetaTrader 5, are for traders who seek to have broader trading portfolios.
Reliability and Security
In any aspect of trading, security must be given utmost importance as it gives you an opportunity to stand a chance to become a successful trader. Moreover, a reliable trading platform needs to have a proper license. This gives them the authorization to operate under the supervision of the country’s financial authority. If you even think of using unregulated platforms just because they are promising fast returns, then you are on the wrong path.
The Retail Forex Traders
The market is not only for huge financial institutions and banks that are capable of investing a large amount of money. Retail traders can also take part in the forex market same as those huge banks and financial institutions. But the process of attaining success is not as easy as those forex advertisement claims. To be able to compete against those huge market players, you must first gain knowledge about how the market works. Finding a good trading platform like MetaTrader 4 (MT4) is the first thing you have to do if you are lacking with experience and knowledge.
Availability of Preferred Features
For beginners, this is an important consideration to remember. When choosing a trading platform, one must ensure that the execution speed and type of order execution are of your preference. A good trading platform must also support a vast number of technical indicators, graphical objects, and timeframes that will help you trade efficiently.
