[ad_1]
We have reviewed every major forex broker against 12 basic trading factors and elements and listed them in accordance with these factors.
✔️ Forex Broker Name | 🔎Accepts South African Traders | 📊 Leverage | 📈 Spread | 💰 Minimum Deposit |
---|---|---|---|---|
🥇Avatrade | ✔️Yes | 1 : 400 | 0.9 pips | $100 / R1600* |
🥈HFM (previously known as HotForex) | ✔️Yes | 1 : 1000 | Varies | $5 / R80* |
🥉FBS | ✔️Yes | 1 : 3000 | 0.2 pips | $1 / R16* |
Tickmill | ✔️Yes | 1 : 500 | 0.13 pip | $100 / R160* |
Exness | ✔️Yes | 1 : Unlimited | 0.1 pips | $1 / R16* |
BD Swiss | ✔️Yes | 1 : 500 | 0.0 pips | $100 / R1600* |
IC Markets | ✔️Yes | 1 : 500 | 0.1 pips | $200 / R3200* |
FP Markets | ✔️Yes | 1 : 500 | 0.0 pips | $100 / R1600* |
OANDA | ✔️Yes | 1 : 200 | 0.2 pips | $0 / R0* |
Axiory | ✔️Yes | 1:777 | 0.6 pips | $10 / R160* |
We screened over 100+ brokers accepting South African Traders but only chose the 10 best forex brokers in South Africa based on our outcomes.
10 Best Forex Brokers in South Africa (August 2022*)
1.✔️Avatrade – Best Overall Forex Broker in South Africa
2.✔️HFM (Previously known as Hotforex) – Top ZAR Trading Account for South Africans
3.✔️FBS – Best ECN forex broker for intermediate traders in SA
4. Tickmill – Best FSCA Forex Broker for Low Spreads and costs
5. Exness – #1 FSCA Regulated broker in South Africa
6. BDSWISS – Top Forex Broker for Beginner Traders in SA
7. IC Markets – One of the lowest forex fees brokers
8. FP Markets – SA’s fastest-growing forex trading broker
9. OANDA – Forex Broker Requiring a No Minimum Deposit
10. AXIORY – Best Education Broker in South Africa
Our professional team of current and ex-full-time forex traders has compiled the best of the best list of regulated forex brokers in South Africa. Choose from low minimum deposit too high leverage forex brokers.
According to our latest research in South Africa (2022), when traders choose which market or forex broker to trade with, they are looking for optimal trading conditions, the lowest minimum deposit, tight spreads, no commissions, and of course the best chance of making a decent profit.
Drumroll…for our latest broker research and testing we did for August 2022.
We have made your choice for a licensed and regulated forex broker super easy and transparent.
For only FSCA regulated brokers – click here
Let’s get started…
Read the full reviews on each broker below to see who is regulated by the FSCA / FSB (Financial Sector Conduct Authority)
🌎 Country | ✈️ South Africa |
📌 Current Traders in South Africa | 450 000+ ( Updated 2022 ) |
📉Most Traded Currency Pairs | USD / EUR – USD / GBP |
⚖️ Is Trading Legal in South Africa? | ✔️ Yes |
🔎Brokers with ZAR accounts | Avatrade, Exness , Hotforex |
🏆Top FSCA Regulated Forex Brokers | 🥇 Exness |
🥈 AvaTrade | |
🥉 IFX Brokers | |
Blackstone Futures | |
CM trading | |
Hotforex | |
💳 Funds Needed to Start Trading | R1600 ZAR or $100 USD |
📈 Fastest Growing Broker in South Africa* | Exness |
This is the ONLY forex broker guide you need if you are a South African.
Foreign exchange or better known by its abbreviations Forex (or FX for short) is the marketplace for trading all the world’s currencies and is the largest financial market in the world.
Forex has become the fastest growing and most popular type of trading for people who trade for themselves for a host of reasons with the basis being: optimal trading conditions and the best chance of making profits.
It is important to note that this list is not on a ranking basis but a comprehensive list of the BEST Forex Brokers and Trading Platforms in South Africa geared for persons trading for themselves, especially beginner Forex traders. We have taken out the guesswork for you.
Let’s go through the top 10 forex trading brokers and companies you can trust.
We leave it to you to make our decision based on their pros and cons. Let’s get started… get scrolling.
PS: this list gets updated monthly*
Here is a COMPLETE list of the Best 10 Forex brokers Operating within South Africa.
Avatrade
AvaTrade is one of the most respected, oldest, and largest online brokerages in the world. The company has won numerous awards for “Best Customer Support”, “Best Alert System”, “Best Financial Derivative Trading Provider”, and “Best Forex Broker YEAR” 2020.
Overall Pros and Cons
✔️ Pros | 🔴 Cons |
---|---|
✔️ Easy and Fast account opening | 🔴 Research tools are a little outdated |
✔️ Free deposit and withdrawal options | 🔴 Poor phone support |
✔️ Educational tools are good | 🔴 Inactivity fee |
Fees and Commissions
✔️ Features | 🟣 Prices |
---|---|
✔️ Minimum initial deposit | 🟣 $100 |
✔️ Deposit & Withdrawal Fees | 🟣 $0 |
✔️ Inactivity Fee | 🟣 $0 |
✔️ Account Fee | 🟣 Yes – $50 per quarter after 3 months of inactivity. An annual administration fee of $100 applies after 12 straight months of non-use |
✔️ Average spread EUR/USD – active | 🟣 0.62 |
✔️Average spread EUR/USD – standard | 🟣 0.92 |
✔️ VIP or active trader discounts | 🟣 Yes |
✔️ Commissions | 🟣 No – Compensated through bid-ask spread |
Hotforex
HotForex is enjoying growing success among global retail traders mainly because of its willingness to listen to clients, which led to them revamping its customer service platform.
This revamp enabled the company to receive a ton of awards from several recognized institutions from Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Middle East.HotForex is also one of the few brokers that have multiple regulatory statuses throughout the world, according to research in South Africa
Overall Pros and Cons
✔️ Pros | ❌ Cons |
Low deposit requirement for new traders with Micro accounts | Limited range of instruments |
Lots of premium trader tools available | Account opening not the easiest |
Good customer support | US clients not accepted |
Fees and Commissions
🔎 Broker | HotForex |
💵 Minimum Initial deposit to start trading | $5 |
📈 Average spread EUR/USD – active | 1.2 |
✅ VIP or active trader discounts | Yes – Rewards Loyalty Program |
FBS
FBS offers traders a choice of four accounts and all accounts offer market execution and the chance to trade in micro-lots in Cent accounts for more precise risk management.
Overall Pros and Cons
✔️ Pros | 🔴 Cons |
---|---|
✔️ MT4 and MT5 integration | 🔴 Fewer account and trading options in the EU |
✔️ Ultra-low minimum deposits | 🔴 Commissions payable on many trade types at the global firm |
✔️ Competitive zero-pip spreads | |
✔️ Range of promotions & deposit bonuses | |
Fees and Commissions
✔️ Features | 🟣 Prices |
---|---|
✔️ Minimum initial deposit | 🟣 $250 |
✔️ Inactivity Fee | 🟣 No, account disabled after 90 days of inactivity. |
✔️ Deposit Fee | 🟣 $0 |
✔️ Withdrawal Fee | 🟣 $1 |
✔️ Account Fee | 🟣 No |
✔️ GBP/USD Spread | 🟣 1.3 pips |
✔️ EUR/USD Spread | 🟣 0.7 pips |
✔️ EUR/GBP Spread | 🟣 2.7 pips |
✔️ Commissions | 🟣 Yes |
Trading Benefits
Account Type | Minimum Deposit | Minimum Trade Size | Maximum Leverage | Spreads & Commissions |
---|---|---|---|---|
📒Cent | 💲 $1 | 🔹 0.01 lot | ℹ️ 1:1000 | 💠 From 1 pip |
📒Standard | 💲 $100 | 🔹 0.01 lot | ℹ️ 1:3000 | 💠 From 0.5 pips |
📒Zero Spread | 💲 $500 | 🔹 0.01 lot | ℹ️ 1:3000 | 💠 0 pips + $20/lot |
📒Micro | 💲 $5 | 🔹 0.01 lot | ℹ️ 1:3000 | 💠 Fixed, from 3 pips |
📒ECN | 💲 $1000 | 🔹 0.1 lot | ℹ️ 1:500 | 💠 From -1 pip + $6/lot |
FBS is a popular international broker and offers clients competitive trading conditions, a wide range of trading accounts, payment methods, a choice of fixed and variable spreads, MetaTrader 4 and MetaTrader 5, as well as various promotions. An account with FBS can be opened for just $1.
Tickmill
TickMill offers traders 2 basic account types, accessible through the popular MetaTrader 4 platform, and offers market execution with an average speed of 0.3 seconds, variable spreads, leverage up to 1:30, and micro tradeable lots. The Classic account is commission-free and The Pro ECN carries a charge of a small commission fee and gets tighter spreads.
Overall Pros and Cons
✔️ Pros | 🔴 Cons |
---|---|
✔️ Competitive pricing | 🔴 Limited platform options |
✔️ Well regulated | |
✔️ High leverage | |
Fees and Commissions
✔️ Features | 🟣 Prices |
---|---|
✔️ Minimum initial deposit to start trading | 🟣 $100 |
✔️ All deposits starting from $5000 | 🟣 Zero fees policy |
✔️ Inactivity Fee | 🟣 $0 |
✔️ Deposit & Withdrawal fee | 🟣 $0 |
✔️ Account fee | 🟣 No |
✔️ Classic Account Spreads | 🟣 From 1.6 pips |
✔️ Pro Account Spreads | 🟣 From 0.0 pips |
✔️ VIP Account Spreads | 🟣 From 0.0 pips |
✔️ Commission Classic Account | 🟣 0 |
✔️ Commission Pro account | 🟣 2 units of the base currency per side per lot |
✔️Commission VIP Account | 🟣 1 unit of the base currency per side per lot |
Trading Benefits
Account Type | Minimum Deposit | Minimum Trade Size | Maximum Leverage | Spreads & Commissions |
---|---|---|---|---|
📒Classic | 💲 $100 | 🔹 0.01 | ℹ️ 1:30 | 💠 From 1.6 pips |
📒Pro | 💲 $100 | 🔹 0.01 | ℹ️ 1:30 | 💠 0.2 pips + $4 / Lot* |
*Commission is calculated per standard lot of 100 000 units round trip.
TickMill supports the MetaTrader4 (MT4) platform, available for Mac/Windows PC, Android & iOS devices and as a web-based version and accepts a wide range of payment methods: via credit/debit cards, (Visa, MasterCard, Maestro), bank wire, Skrill, Neteller, dotpay, and Sofort.
Key Features
✅Supports | 📱 Metatrader for desktop, web & mobile |
✅Minimum deposit | 💲 $100 |
✅Leverage | ℹ️ 1:500 |
✅Trading Instruments | 📊 Forex, CFDs on Stock Indices, precious metals |
EXNESS
Exness was founded in 2008 and since then the brokers have undergone significant developments. Exness accepts traders from South Africa, in fact it is one of the fastest-growing ZAR Account brokers in the country.
Exness is also the winner of the prestigious SA Shares award for the fastest-growing broker on the African continent. The Exness brand is represented by three different corporate entities. (Headquarter in Cyprus, Seychelles & United Kingdom)
Overall Pros and Cons
✔️ Pros | 🔴 Cons |
---|---|
✔️ Regulated by both CySEC and FCA | 🔴 No multi-currency accounts available |
✔️ Client funds kept in segregated accounts | |
✔️ Dealing-Desk Broker | |
✔️ Tight spreads | |
✔️ 130+ Currency Pairs with Multiple Trading Platforms | |
Fees and Commissions
✔️ Features | 🟣 Prices |
---|---|
✔️ Minimum initial deposit | 🟣 $1 |
✔️ Inactivity Fee | 🟣 No |
✔️ Deposit & Withdrawal fee | 🟣 $0 |
✔️ Account Fee | 🟣 No |
✔️ GBP/USD Spread | 🟣 1.4 pips |
✔️ EUR/USD Spread | 🟣 1.3 pips |
✔️ EUR/GBP Spread | 🟣 2.1 pips |
✔️ Commissions | 🟣 $0 on Standard & Pro Account; Up to $3.5 on Raw Account; From $3.5 on Zero Account |
Key Features
✅ Regulator | 🗺️ FSA Seychelles |
✅ Minimum Deposit | 💲 $1 |
✅ Leverage | 🔹 Up to 1:2000 |
✅ Average Spread | 🔸 0 (Zero and Raw spread) 0.3 – Standard |
✅ Platforms | 📊 MT4, MT5, Web, Mobile |
Trading Benefits
📊 Spreads | Super tight spreads |
🏦Withdrawal and Deposit Methods | Instant automated Withdrawals and deposits 24/7 Multiple withdraw and deposit methods Accepts Mobile Money deposits and withdrawals |
➖Negative Balance Protection | Yes |
📊 Regulated Broker | Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC) |
BDSwiss
According to research in South Africa, BDSwiss is a European brokerage firm that was established in 2012, in Switzerland. Today, the company has a reach that spans over 125 countries with a client base of over 1,043,859 registered accounts (as of December 2018).
BDSwiss offers traders the opportunity to trade an array of financial instruments such as currencies, stocks, commodities, indices, and more. In addition, BDSwiss also has a few trading platforms that can be used by traders.
Overall Pros and Cons
✔️ Pros | 🔴 Cons |
---|---|
✔️ Strictly regulated and authorized by three entities | 🔴 Not an extensive selection of cryptocurrencies |
✔️ Reliable trading conditions | 🔴 US and Canadian clients not allowed |
✔️ A variety of financial instruments that can be traded | |
✔️ A few trading platforms to choose from | |
Fees and Commissions
✔️ Features | 🟣 Prices |
---|---|
✔️ Minimum initial deposit | 🟣 $/€/£ 100 |
✔️ Inactivity Fee | 🟣 Yes, when account has been inactive for 90 days |
✔️ Deposit & Withdrawal fees | 🟣 No charge on credit card transactions; Fixed fee of €10 for withdrawals equal to or less than €20 Fixed fee of €10 for bank wire withdrawals equal to or less than €100 |
✔️ Overnight fees | 🟣 Yes, not applicable to Islamic/Swap free accounts. |
✔️ Account Fee | 🟣 Dormant account fees after 6 months of non-use |
✔️ GBP/USD Spread | 🟣 1.7 pips |
✔️ EUR/USD Spread | 🟣 1.2 pips |
✔️ EUR/GBP Spread | 🟣 1.3 pips |
✔️ Commissions | 🟣 Yes, 0.1% charged for stock CFD trades & when a trade roll over to the next day |
DSwiss Mobile Trader.
Trading Benefits
📒 Account Types | 🔵 Raw, Classic & VIP |
💲 Minimum deposit | 🔵 100 $/€/£ |
📈 Trade size | 🔵 0.01 |
✋ Maximum Leverage | 🔵 1:30 for European clients 1:500 for Global traders 1:40 for US traders |
💰 Spreads & Commissions | 🔵 From 1 pips |
📊 Trading Platforms | 🔵 Metatrader 4, Metatrader 5, BDSwiss Web trader, BDSwiss Mobile Trader |
MetaTrader4
This is the leading trading platform in the world and allows traders of all levels of experience to feel comfortable and secure when using it.
MetaTrader4 offers the following features:
- An interface that is customizable and easy to use
- Newsfeeds on the platform that are updated frequently
- Analytical tools that are pre-programmed
- Ability to overlay analytical studies
- Various options are available for charting and analysis
- Multi-language features, and more
MetaTrader5
While MetaTrader4 is the most popular platform, MetaTrader5 is the most advanced as it contains all the features that MetaTrader4 has, but with an array of added features unique to this platform, such as:
- More timeframes and charting options than MetaTrader 4
- Multi-asset trading on more than 250 CFDs
- The trader has access to their account and history
- Daily account statements
- Internal mailing system
- Automated trading with EAs
- 100 charts can be displayed simultaneously
- More than 80 technical indicators along with 40+ analytical objects
- MQL5 development environment, and more
BDSwiss WebTrader
This is BDSwiss’ own in-house trading platform that has been designed specifically for the various needs of a growing client base. This trading platform offers a trading environment that is not only unparalleled but accessible from all browsers along with operating systems.
The BDSwiss WebTrader has the following features to offer:
- Order window that is intuitive
- Available in more than 20 different languages
- The interface is clean and highly user-friendly
- Trading that is secure and transparent on any device
- Full synchronization with the BDSwiss application and MetaTrader 4
- Order execution, which is fast, without re-quotes, and more
BDSwiss Mobile App
This mobile app is available for download from both AppStore and Google Play on mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets. Using the mobile app, traders can have the world of trading in the palm of their hand, at any given time, from anywhere in the world.
The BDSwiss Mobile App has the following features:
- Quotes in real-time
- Charts that are interactive
- An interface that is clean and user-friendly
- Full history on both trading and transactions
- The ability to deposit and withdraw funds
- Account set up along with KYC Verification
- Trading of Cryptocurrency pairs 24 hours of the day, 7 days a week
Key Features
BDSwiss offers educational tools based on three levels of trader experience:
- Beginner
- Intermediate
- Advanced
Beginner traders have access to tools such as beginner video courses, educational material such as:
- Forex Glossary
- Forex Basic Lessons
- Educational Series Webinars
- 1 on 1 VIP Sessions (Only available to Black VIP account holders)
- Market News and articles
- Seminars (Only available to Black VIP account holders)
Intermediate and Advanced traders have the same access to basic educational tools, the only difference between the levels is the video courses that are designed specifically for the needs of very type of level and should be used accordingly and in order.
IC Markets
According to research in South Africa, IC Markets is an Australian-based company that was incorporated in 2007 when a team of financial professionals came together and started the company with the aim to bridge the gap existing between retail and institutional clients.
According to research in South Africa, IC Markets is an Australian-based company that was incorporated in 2007 when a team of financial professionals came together and started the company with the aim to bridge the gap existing between retail and institutional clients.
Overall Pros and Cons
✔️Pros | ❌Cons |
Low fees on Forex | No investor protection |
Account opening is fast and hassle free | No protection on negative balance |
Deposit and withdrawals are free of charge | Lack of research tools |
Selection of sophisticated trading platforms | |
Safe, secure and regulated | |
Variety of educational resources |
Fees and Commisions
📝 Regulation | ASIC |
💵 Minimum Deposit from | $200 |
📈 Average Spread from | 0.0 Pips |
💳 Commissions from | $3 |
🔁 Deposit/Withdrawal Fees | ❌ No |
➕ Maximum Leverage | 1:500 |
📌 Bonuses | ❌ No |
🚀 Open an Account | 👉 Click Here |
FP Markets
FP Markets is an Australian broker that was established in 2005 and offers traders access to contract for difference (CFD) trading across forex, indices, commodities, stocks and cryptocurrencies on consistently tighter spreads in supreme trading conditions.
FP Markets is globally trusted as a CFD and Forex broker where traders can access a full suite of trading products and conveniently trade from a single account.
FP Markets understands what traders need and has learned that the combination of pricing, execution speed, cutting-edge platforms, product range, customer support and market analysis are the key to giving clients trading confidence.
Overall Pros and Cons
✔️ Pros | 🔴 Cons |
✔️ Forex fees are low | 🔴 Stock CFD fees are high |
✔️ Accounts can be opened fast and easy | 🔴 Product portfolio are somewhat limited |
✔️ Deposit and withdrawal processes are quickly executed | 🔴 Web and desktop platform is somewhat outdated |
✔️ Segregated accounts and annual reports | |
✔️ Clients are assured about the services of a broker that complies with the most stringent regulations for investor protection. | |
✔️ FP Markets offers consistently tighter spreads from 0.0 pips | |
✔️ There is no price manipulation, no dealing desk, and no re-quotes. | |
✔️ Offering 24/5 Multi-lingual support | |
✔️ FP Markets covers bank withdrawal fees |
Fees and Commissions
✔️ Features | 🟣 Prices |
---|---|
✔️ Minimum initial deposit | 🟣 $100 |
✔️ Inactivity Fee | 🟣 No |
✔️ Deposit fees | 🟣 No |
✔️ Withdrawal fees | 🟣 FP Markets covers bank withdrawal fees |
✔️ Overnight fees | 🟣 Yes, swap rates |
✔️ GBP/USD Spread | 🟣 0.49 pips |
✔️ EUR/USD Spread | 🟣 0.09 pips |
✔️ EUR/GBP Spread | 🟣 0.61 pips |
✔️ Commissions | 🟣 1-25K – 0.10% with a $10 minimum 25K – 50K – 0.09% with a $9 minimum 50K plus – 0.08% – with no minimum This applies for all ASX trading |
✔️ Other fees | 🟣 $55 p.m. subscription fee for IRESS Trader/Viewpoint |
Trading Benefits
FP Markets has the technology to ensure up-to-date platforms and market integration systems for clients.
There are different platforms to choose from MT4 and MT5 platforms, IRESS platform, WebTrader platform, Traders Edge Tools, Affiliate portal, IB portal, MAM/PAMM accounts and Advanced Client portal.
MetaTrader4
The Metatrader 4 (MT4) platform offers a customizable interface, one-click trading, MarketWatch, live price streaming on live and demo, and accounts128-bit encryption for secure trading, multiple charts and is compatible with iOS, Android and Mac devices.
MT4 and MT5 Online Webtrader offer ease of trading, a complete suite of trading tools and operations, one-click trading, multiple order types and execution modes, real-time price quotes, data synchronization, and 24/5 online support in multiple languages.
Iress ViewPoint
The Iress ViewPoint has advanced functionalities to improve the trading experience with enhanced trading tools and better compatibility with different internet browsers.
Iress Suite is compatible with the latest browser versions and allows an automatic data sync between Iress Trader and Iress ViewPoint.
Key Features
MAM/PAMM
FP Markets’ forex offering is flexible with both Multi-Account Manager (MAM) and Percent Allocation Management Model (PAMM) allocations available. Both provide managers the tight control they need to maximize returns.
As one of the leading MAM/PAMM account brokers FP Markets’ software is perfect for traders or money managers using Expert Advisors (EAs). Order management monitoring for MAMs and PAMMs also aids transparency and provides more appeal to investors.
Other benefits include:
- Lot, percentage and equity allocation options
- Unlimited trading accounts and deposit levels
- Live order management within MAM
- Real-time performance and commissions reports
- Ultra-fast trade allocation
- Support for all trading styles
- Expert Advisors (EAs) for all clients
- Full stop-loss, take-profit and pending orders
OANDA
According to research in South Africa, OANDA is a trusted entity. OANDA is relied on by big global brands such as Google, KPMG, TESLA, Airbnb, FedEx, IATA, PWC, Twitter, Expedia, and others who have partnered with them.
Overall Pros and Cons
✔️Pros | ❌Cons |
---|---|
Competitive pricing | Slow response from customer service/waiting times |
Min $1 deposit | High bank withdrawal fees |
Easy to use web trading platform | |
Fees and Commissions
✔️ Features | 🟣 Prices |
---|---|
✔️ Minimum Initial deposit to start trading | 🟣 $0 |
✔️ Average spread EUR/USD – active | 🟣 1.4 |
✔️ Average spread EUR/USD – standard | 🟣 1.4 |
✔️ VIP or active trader discounts | 🟣 Yes |
AXIORY
AXIORY is a financial brokerage established in 2011 and located in Belize where it is regulated by IFSC. AXIORY is an STP broker and offers popular trading instruments and assets through MT4 and cTrader platforms. AXIORY operates as a group of companies from headquarters in Belize with a representative office in Dubai, which brought access to both EEA clients and the Middle East.
Traders at AXIORY are connected to the best possible liquidity providers and all trades go directly to the market. AXIORY’s Multi-Account Manager (MAM) software offers money managers a selection of allocation methods for their managed accounts and the MyAXIORY online platform for comfortable account overviews provides professionals with opportunities to use personalization.
AXIORY Europe is a brokerage and asset management company that provides ECN / STP direct interbank access trading accounts. It is regulated by CySec.
Overall Pros and Cons
✔️ Pros | ❌ Cons |
Corporate and management possibilities | No multi-currency accounts |
Demo account | No product descriptions |
Fees and Commissions
✔️ Features | 🟣 Prices |
---|---|
✔️ Minimum initial deposit | 🟣 $50 |
✔️ Inactivity Fee | 🟣 No |
✔️ Deposit & Withdrawal fees | 🟣 No |
✔️ Account Fee | 🟣 No |
✔️ GBP/USD Spread | 🟣 0.5 pips |
✔️ EUR/USD Spread | 🟣 0.2 pips |
✔️ EUR/GBP Spread | 🟣 0.7 pips |
✔️ Commissions | 🟣 Nano account – 6USD/lot; Standard – Nil Max – Nil |
Trading Benefits
The forex trading platform provided by AXIORY to its clients is in essence the software to carry out their trades. Some brokers provide only one, others quite a few platforms.
A multi-asset trading platform is one that allows clients to trade forex as well as other asset classes. The decision about which platform to choose will usually depend on what a client would like to trade.
AXIORY provides:
MyAXIORY
MyAXIORY is an online interface that allows traders to see and manage their accounts. MyAXIORY is optimized for PC’s and Tablets and offers account analysis.
MetaTrader 4
AXIORY Standard, Nano and MAX accounts can be used together with MetaTrader 4 (MT4) trading platform. Traders can get MT4 for PC, Mac (Mojave or Older OS) and iOS/Android devices.
cTrader
This trading platform offers a modern graphic interface and regular updates and is accessible through a web interface. You can get cTrader for PC and iOS/ Android mobile devices.
Key Features
Forex
Forex trading describes the currency exchange market which refers to the global, decentralized marketplace where individuals, companies and financial institutions exchange currencies for one another at floating rates.
Commodities
Commodity markets offer many investment opportunities for traders. Soft commodities have been traded for centuries and play a major role in portfolio diversification and risk management. Investing in contract-based tradable goods is a reliable way to mitigate risk during times of economic uncertainty.
Indices
Equity, or stock indices, are actual stock market indexes that measure the value of a specific section of a stock market. They can represent a specific stock market or a specific set of the largest companies of a nation.
Precious metals
The trading of gold and other precious metals, along with crude oil, copper, or petroleum, are hard commodities that play a major role in the commodities market and are contract-based tradable goods.
Energy
The typical feature of energy prices is high volatility due to the influence of political and environmental factors, supply and demand, extreme weather conditions and global economic growth.
AXIORY offers the following of the above:
Currencies: (60+ pairs)
CM Trading
CM Trading is one of the world’s most innovative Forex brokers and the largest broker in South Africa. As an online Forex broker, CMTrading specializes in Forex, Index, and Commodity trading. From new to more experienced traders, CMTrading provides state-of-the-art Award-winning trading platforms as well as supreme liquidity.
Traders can invest with confidence in a highly safe and regulated environment that enables traders to use Forex, Index, and Commodities, including Cryptocurrencies, through a seamless, technology-driven process.
Overall Pros and Cons
✔️Pros | ❌ Cons |
---|---|
Segregated client funds | Limited range of instruments |
Established in 2011 | Not FCA regulated |
Min. deposit from $100 | |
Fees and Commissions
✔️ Features | 🟣 Prices |
---|---|
✔️ Minimum Initial deposit to start trading | 🟣 $250 |
✔️ Deposit & Withdrawal Fees | $0 |
✔️ Inactivity Fee | 🟣 $15 after 3 month’s of inactivity |
✔️ GBP/USD Spread | 🟣 2.6 |
✔️ EUR/USD Spread | 🟣 1.5 |
✔️ EUR/GBP Spread | 🟣 2.6 |
✔️ Commissions | 🟣 No |
How to choose a forex broker
Foreign exchange trading, or forex as it’s known, has experienced a revival at a time when Covid-19 is wreaking havoc on the world. The pandemic has inflicted immeasurable damage on world economies but created opportunities for forex traders who are re-energized by market volatility.
Why forex is the best instrument to trade now
Over the past few years, the forex market has been somewhat stilted as volatility decreased and trading volumes declined. Covid-19 has resulted in the demand for currencies such as the US Dollar as investors seek a safe-haven currency as the world experiences a cosmic fall-out from the pandemic in the form of high unemployment and desperate government overborrowing.
As the Covid-19 pandemic continues, the impact on forex trading and financial markets, in general, will be huge, with emotions overriding rational investment decisions and fast-changing situations dramatically changing how traders analyze market dynamics.
Regular day traders who have had more time on their hands due to the pandemic lockdown and those dabbling part-time in forex trading who find themselves suddenly unemployed will be looking for opportunities to profit from the bear markets and currency fluctuations that this world has not seen for a very long time.
Forex trading is the most sensible option if you’re looking to profit from the erratic state of the world markets and capitalize on opportunities while the world currencies are in flux. To do this, you need to align yourself with the best forex broker in South Africa that offers a premier trading platform, high-quality analytics, and extensive knowledge-based support.
Remember the forex risks
The retail forex market is growing by the day. It’s one of the most heavily traded instruments in the world and it’s largely because the barriers to entry are fairly low. A decent computer with a good Internet connection, some trading knowledge, and a small amount of capital is all you need to access one of the most exciting markets in the world.
To make a success and, more importantly, make money from forex trading, you need to appreciate the risks involved and learn how best to manage them. Fortunately, there are tried-and-tested risk management strategies for the forex market that you can draw expertise from but they only limit the risks to some extent. Some people make money trading forex but many people lose a lot of money.
The four dominant risks to trading forex online relate to factors beyond your control. Forewarned is forearmed so consider these risks before you even start the process of choosing a forex brokerage that’s the best fit for you.
Risk 1: Market risk
Also known as systematic risk, market risk is almost impossible to predict and/or avoid. Factors such as inflation, political turmoil, a pandemic like Covid-19, terrorist attacks, and changes in legislation are just a few that affect the entire market.
Market risk is different from unsystematic risk where market conditions only affect specific assets, market sectors, countries, etc. The latter can be managed through diversification and other practices recommended in risk management strategies.
With market risk, traders are hit by anything that impacts the price of the currency they are trading. In the form of market volatility, it can be beneficial and profitable. In fact, you can’t make money in forex trading without market volatility. You need price movement to take advantage of changes in currency prices, otherwise, you have a stagnant forex market which in itself is unprofitable.
Risk 2: Liquidity risk
Liquidity in the forex market allows traders to open and close trading positions fast and conveniently. This is because there is a healthy balance of buyers and sellers in the market. Liquidity refers to the volume or number of currencies traded on a daily basis.
Forex is one of the most liquid markets in the world but during periods of low liquidity, the cost of trading and losses incurred increase. When the forex market experiences low liquidity, brokers typically increase the size of their bid-ask spreads. It’s a way of managing supply and demand and is commonly used to facilitate the orderly trading of assets that have low volume.
Illiquid instruments are difficult to trade because they can’t be easily converted to cash. In this case, brokers ask for more money in the form of commissions to handle the transaction, doing this by increasing the spread. The spread is the difference between the selling price and the buying price.
The solution to this risk factor is to find a broker that offers fixed spreads. It’s more important if you are concerned with how a specific currency pair will fare in current market conditions or if you generally favor a more aggressive trading strategy.
Risk 3: Leverage risk
Forex is highly leveraged, meaning you can borrow far more money than you have personal capital available. It lowers the barriers to entry and allows new or inexperienced traders a foot in the door, sometimes to their peril.
The money is typically borrowed for forex trading from your broker. With leverage, forex traders can build up and control a large amount of money. Likewise, they can lose a lot of money on positions if the market doesn’t work in their favor.
The standard strategy is to trade with stop-losses to limit losses from sudden price movements in the wrong direction. A disciplined approach to forex trading implementing recommended risk strategies should safeguard you against ballooning leverage and loss.
Risk 4: Broker risk
Forex traders are entirely beholden to their brokers to open and close trading positions. It’s therefore imperative that you align with the best broker in South Africa. There’s no guarantee that the top brokers in South Africa won’t pull a nasty on you but these companies are strictly regulated and are less likely to than the many new entrants that fly under the regulatory radar.
In South Africa, the regulatory authority for forex brokerages is the Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA).
Depending on which brokerage you’re interested in and where they are based, the leading financial regulatory authorities for international-based brokerages are:
Country | Regulatory Authority |
---|---|
🇺🇸 United States | National Futures Association (NFA) Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) |
🇬🇧 United Kingdom | Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) |
🇦🇺 Australia | Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC) |
🇨🇦 Canada | Investment Information Regulatory Organisation of Canada (IIROC) |
🇩🇪 Germany | Bundesanstalt für Finanzdienstleistungsaufsicht (BaFIN) |
🇨🇭 Switzerland | Swiss Federal Banking Commission (SFBC) |
🇨🇭 France | Autorité des Marchés Financiers (Financial Markets Regulator) (AMF) |
10 QUESTIONS TO ASK YOUR FOREX BROKER
Do a search online and you’ll find the number of retail forex brokers has increased substantially. There are many brilliant forex brokerages in South Africa and a few rotten apples who operate outside the boundaries of strict regulatory sanctions.
To narrow down the long list of forex brokers in South Africa, there are 10 important questions you can use to evaluate their standing in the market.
Q1: Does the broker service the South African forex market?
Q2: Is the broker regulated by a reputable authority?
Q3: Can the broker guarantee data security?
Q4: Does the broker have a reputation for good trade execution?
Q5: Does the broker offer broad coverage of currencies?
Q6: Is the broker’s fee structure fair and competitive?
Q7: What trading platform does the broker support?
Q8: Is the broker’s trading style relevant to you?
Q9: Does the broker have a reputation for good customer service?
Q10: Does the broker offer valuable trading resources and educational support?
CRITERIA USED TO JUDGE FOREX BROKERS
The retail forex market is risky, competitive, and often overwhelming. Choose the right broker for your trading style to improve your chances of making money from the most traded instrument in the world.
In no particular order, brokers are typically judged on the following criteria:
Regulated
Simple, is the broker a member of a reputable regulatory authority?
The forex market is regulated whereby brokers are required to operate within the sanctioned boundaries of strict financial rules and standards. However, the forex market, or rather its many brokers, as a whole is not as strictly regulated as traditional financial institutions.
It’s said, regulatory authorities act more like ‘watchdogs’ in the forex market. They act as arbitrators in cases of fraud, bankruptcy, or other misdemeanors and provide online retail forex customers with a regulatory body they can take their case to or voice their complaints.
When a regulated brokerage breaks any rules, the company should be subject to an inquiry and sanctioned if it comes to that. That would include incurring financial penalties and/or losing its trading license. An unregulated broker doesn’t answer to anyone and rogue forex brokers get away with things because they basically can do whatever they want.
Retail forex traders who trade online are particularly vulnerable to rogue brokers. Most don’t even know who they are dealing with when everything is conducted digitally. The most serious problem is forex brokers not honoring withdrawals and not paying their customers the money owed to them. It’s almost impossible to get your money out of an unregulated broker who does a dirty or goes bust.
As long as you trade online with a regulated forex broker, you at least have recourse that there is a higher entity that you can report them to when things go bad. It’s very easy to check the regulation credentials of a forex broker in South Africa.
Check their website. A reputable forex brokerage that is regulated will provide the name of the regulatory authority (or authorities) on its website. If it doesn’t, the chances the person or company is unregulated.
Then do a simple search on the regulatory authority’s domain to verify the broker is a registered member.
You might like: View the top 26 Forex Brokers in Nigeria
Reputation
This is self-explanatory. The forex market talks and you should listen to what investors have to say. You’re looking for recommendations for brokers who offer good customer service, are honest and reliable, follow the rules, have a track record of good trading practices, and are likely to stay in business for a long time.
However, when reading through online broker reviews, look carefully at who is reviewing the broker and what their gripe is about. Many novice or ill-disciplined traders put the blame on the broker for their trading woes when in fact, they’re the problem.
Do your research and check with the regulatory authority – if they are regulated – for any complaints or claims of fraud. If the broker is not regulated, that’s your first big red flag.
When you’ve narrowed down the list of reputable forex brokers that appeal to you, it’s best to set up a micro account (maybe with more than one). If you’re new to forex trading, you’d start with a demo account. That gives you time to experience their service first-hand.
Avoid any forex brokers that have complaints against them for any of the following pricing and account management issues:
Requoting
When a broker is not able or willing to give you a trade based upon the price you entered. This usually happens in a fast-moving market, typically before a big news announcement.
Excessive slippage
Slippage is where currency prices can change while an order is being placed, causing traders to enter or exit a trade at a price that is either higher or lower than they anticipated.
Front running
Front running in forex trading is unethical and illegal trading practices. It usually involves a broker having advanced knowledge of a specific market order in a currency pair and the broker places an order for their own account ahead of a client’s larger order.
Stop hunting
Stop hunting is an unscrupulous strategy executed by certain forex brokers that attempts to force their trading customers out of their positions by driving the price of an asset to a level where their stop-loss order has been set.
Forbidden strategy clauses
Read the fine print. Some forex brokers specifically prohibit customers from using their services for certain trading strategies. Many also include hidden terms and conditions, such as giving you a limited period of time to hold a position or they don’t allow you to scalp or pip hunt.
Transaction costs
Trading forex online isn’t free. Brokers charge for their services in a few different ways, some of which are hidden fees that catch you by surprise later. Brokers earn money through spreads, commissions and rollover fees. They compete mostly on spreads, in other words offering low, average, or high trading fees.
What is the spread in forex trading?
The spread is the difference between the bid (buy) and ask (sell) price, otherwise known as the bid-ask spread. There are always two prices given in a currency pair; the bid price, the price at which you can sell the base currency; the asking price, the price you would pay to buy the base currency.
The base currency is on the left side of the currency pair and the quote is on the right. For example, USD/EUR: the US Dollar is the base currency and the Euro is the quote currency.
If you buy a currency pair; you buy the base currency and indirectly sell the quoted currency. And if you sell the currency pair, you sell the base currency and receive the quote currency.
Forex fee structures
Trading fees are determined by the broker and differ from one to another. They even differ from one account to another. Basically, a broker charges a spread only, and all other fees (excluding the rollover rate) are included in the spread or they charge a spread plus commission. The commission is based on the amount you trade:
The spreads are either fixed, meaning they stay constant; variable, meaning they change according to the traded asset, volatility, and available liquidity. Some brokers offer zero spreads. The lowest spreads suit active or frequent traders. Forex brokers who offer low spreads are the most popular.
Forex positions that are kept open overnight incur an extra fee, otherwise known as the rollover rate. The rate is the difference between the net interest rates of the two currencies over the period of time the position was kept open. It relates to leverage where traders have borrowed money to hold open the position.
When traders roll over a position, they delay taking delivery of the currency. This happens when they want to profit from changes in the exchange rates. What happens is the existing position is closed at the daily close rate and re-entered at the new opening rate the next trading day.
The traders either earn interest in their account for a high-yielding long position or need to pay interest if the currency they borrowed has a higher interest rate relative to the currency they bought. Brokers earn interest on money borrowed for rollover trades.
Questions to ask your broker
Beware of hidden fees that will erode your profits. Here are some of the questions you need to ask when summing up one forex broker against another on the issue of fees.
- Is there a fee for opening an account?
- What is the minimum deposit for an account?
- What is the minimum loan amount and account balance?
- What is the monthly or annual account maintenance fee?
- Is the trading platform free to use under your membership contract?
- How much will it cost to upgrade your account to access advanced tools and resources?
- How much trading commission is charged based on volume?
Leverages
Forex is a highly leveraged market, meaning you can borrow money to trade. The money is typically borrowed from your broker. For an initial margin requirement, a trader can build up and trade with a large amount of money (money that they don’t personally have).
Margin-based leverage is calculated by dividing the total transaction value by the amount of margin you are required to put up. Margin-based leverage is expressed as a ratio:
ℹ️ 400:1 | 🔸 0.25% margin required of total transaction |
ℹ️ 200:1 | 🔸 0.50% margin required of total transaction |
ℹ️ 100:1 | 🔸 1.00% margin required of total transaction |
ℹ️ 50:1 | 🔸 2.00 % margin required of total transaction |
When selecting a forex broker, you need to know what leverage they offer in different circumstances. Remember, brokers offer leverage to entice people to trade more. The more you trade, the more the broker benefits from fees and commission.
Leverage is one of the main reasons traders are attracted to the forex market. Generally, you can get far higher leverage on forex than you can get on other financial instruments such as stocks. Leverage can be used to profit from relatively small price changes in currency pairs. It can increase profits but also losses.
Most traders have a love/hate relationship with leverage. Used wisely, leverage can enlarge your profits. Used irresponsibly, leverage can be your downfall. As a rule, you should not use all your available margin; only use leverage when the forex market is on your side.
Currency coverage
There are hundreds of currency combinations available to trade on a daily basis. The question to ask is whether the broker offers the currency pairs you want to trade? Most forex brokers offer the major currency pairs, but not all of them cover minor and exotic currencies.
The four major currency pairs covered by forex brokers around the world are:
💱 EUR/USD | 💶 Euro/US Dollar |
💱 USD/JPY | 💵 US Dollar/Japanese Yen |
💱 GBP/USD | 💷 British Pound/US Dollar |
💱 USD/CHF | 💵 US Dollar/Swiss Franc |
The major currency pairs are the most heavily traded pairs in the world. They are commonly cross-traded with commodity currency pairs, otherwise known as minor pairs.
The most heavily traded commodity/minor currency pairs are:
💱 GBP/JPY | 💷 Great British Pound/Japanese Yen |
💱 CHF/JPY | 💴 Swiss Franc/Japanese Yen |
💱 NZD/JPY | 💴 New Zealand Dollar/Japanese Yen |
💱 GBP/CAD | 💷 Great British Pound/Canadian Dollar |
💱 EUR/GBP | 💶 Euro/Great British Pound |
💱 EUR/AUD | 💶 Euro/Australian Dollar |
Adding commodity currency pairs in the mix, the Top 10 major currency pairs covered by forex brokers should be:
💱 EUR/USD | 💶 Euro/US Dollar |
💱 GBP/USD | 💵 US Dollar/ Japanese Yen |
💱 AUD/USD | 💵 Australian Dollar/US Dollar |
💱 USD/CAD | 💵 US Dollar/Canadian Dollar |
💱 USD/CNY | 💵 US Dollar/Chinese Renminbi |
💱 USD/CHF | 💵 US Dollar/Swiss Franc |
💱 USD/HKD | 💵 US Dollar/Hong Kong Dollar |
💱 EUR/GBP | 💶 Euro/Great Britain Pound |
💱 USD/KRW | 💵 US Dollar/South Korean Won |
Forex brokers typically ignore exotic currencies. These are lesser-known and infrequently trader currencies, mainly from developing and emerging markets. The South African Rand is considered an exotic currency pair.
As an example: USD/ZAR is a currency pair where the base currency (USD) is a major currency and the quote currency (ZAR/South African Rand) is an exotic currency.
Most forex traders exclude exotic currencies from their coverage because they’re associated with low liquidity levels and wide spreads that make them both an opportunity and a risk. On the other side of the coin, exotic currency pairs offer forex traders huge opportunities. Exotics can provide good profits where the major pairs are not offering up much in low volatility environments.
The more commonly-traded exotic pairs are:
-
💱 EUR/TRY 💶 Euro/Turkish Lira 💱 USD/SEK 💵 US Dollar/Swedish Krona 💱 USD/ZAR 💵 US Dollar/South African Rand 💱 USD/HKD 💵US Dollar/Hong Kong Dollar 💱 USD/SGD 💵 US Dollar/Singapore Dollar 💱 USD/MXN 💵US Dollar/Mexican Peso
Low-risk accounts
All forex brokers offer online retail traders a demo account as an entry-level account but they should also offer a micro account, and one with no set minimum deposit requirement. Both are important to attract newcomers to forex trading without putting them at risk of losing much money as they learn to trade.
Micro accounts, also known as cent accounts, are a stepping stone into forex trading. They’re a step up from a demo account and allow new traders to hone their trading strategy before investing real money. The difference between a micro account and a mini account is that the amount of money traded using a mini account is significantly higher than a micro account.
With a micro account, online retail traders receive the same quotes and experience trading in the same conditions as micro or real account but they trade in cents rather than Dollars. The amount of risk is about 1% compared to a Dollar account.
Micro accounts are a perfect learning environment, to not only test and adopt a trading strategy that suits your trading style but also to develop ‘emotional trading fitness’ before taking the next step from trading in cents to thousands of Dollars.
The next step is a mini trading account.
Mini accounts allow forex traders to trade in tenths of a lot (10 000 units). To compare, a single pip movements in a currency pair with the US Dollar as the base currency is equivalent to US$1 in a mini account whereas a single pip in a standard account is US$10.
You can open a mini account with as little as US$250. It’s a risk most newcomers and even seasoned forex traders can accept. In addition, a mini account allows traders to trade in 250 000 units (25 mini lots). With standard accounts, you have to trade 200 000 or 300 000 units.
Flexible, convenient withdrawals
Brokers hold onto your money to facilitate trading. Getting your money back from your broker should be convenient, fast and hassle-free. However, if you review complaints about forex brokers online, thousands of them complain about missing funds or problems withdrawing money from their forex account.
In the same vein, depositing money into your forex account should be easy. You’re looking for a broker that is flexible and offers their customers different ways to deposit and withdraw funds.
That’s why it’s so important to trade online with a regulated forex broker. You have peace of mind that there is a regulatory authority that you can elevate issues to and who will assist you to deal with a rogue brokers who isn’t releasing funds from your account.
Trading platforms
For online retail traders, the trading platform is your portal to the forex market. It’s the software that enables traders and investors to open positions and monitor their accounts through a financial third-party such as a forex broker.
Trading platforms can be accessed via your PC and on most mobile devices, ranging from smartphones to tablets. They typically come with added features such as charting tools, real-time quotes, APIs, news feeds and research resources.
The majority of forex brokers offer an electronic trading platform on license from a software developer. The most well-known, popular, and trusted trading platform is the MetaTrader 4, with MetaTrader 5 offering customers more advanced software features.
A few leading forex brokerages offer a proprietary trading platform, meaning it’s been developed in-house to their own software specifications. Some offer a customized version of MT4. Proprietary trading platforms are a way for a brokerage to differentiate themselves from their competitors. They’re suited to traders who are experienced traders and prefer to use a specific forex brokerage.
If you’re new to forex trading, MT4 is the recommended trading platform. It’s the world’s leading trading platform for a reason and the best for beginners. It supports multiple timeframes and has a large library of technical indicators that traders can access to overlay their trading accounts. What’s more, MT4 is well known for its impenetrable security.
The best forex trading platforms have this in common
Responsiveness
An important aspect of forex trading is slippage which means responsiveness is key. Slippage occurs where a trader places a stop-order loss and a high-volatility event occurs, causing a gap that results in a lower-than-expected value on the trade. Trading on a responsive platform through a quality broker should limit negative slippage.
Reliability
You don’t want your trading platform to crash at a critical time in an open position, especially minutes before a significant global event that will stir up price movements. You need a stable trading platform, particularly if you practice an aggressive trading strategy or make large, frequent trades.
User-friendly interface
A user-friendly interface is one that allows traders to place an order or close a trade smoothly and efficiently. It allows one-click trading and management of stop-loss and limits. The platform interface should also be easy to navigate and set up trading charts and tools as well as optimized to work with several charts at a time.
Automatic trading
An automated trading system allows traders to set rules for opening and closing positions. It’s basically setting your computer on auto-drive and the computer performs and monitors trades for you. A trading platform like MT4 incorporates algorithms that offer up suggestions for trades and also allows you to build your own algorithms that automatically places orders according to preloaded conditions.
Analysis tools
Analysis tools are vital to trade effectively and profitably. Without them, you’re trading in the dark. Your trading platform should provide a collection of technical indicators that forex traders rely on and add to their charts. At the very least, these should include moving average convergence/divergence (MACD), the relative strength index (RSI), and moving averages (Mas).
Forex trading tools are generally offered free of charge by forex brokers as they’re built into popular trading platforms such as MT4. In some cases, traders subscribe to forex signal trading services or apps for certain tools. Forex traders should also subscribe to online resources that provide up-to-date news on the financial and forex markets.
Trading platforms like MT4 offer a comprehensive package of technical indicators as well as automated trade capabilities. Also known as oscillators, indicators give traders entry and exit signals before an event affects price movements.
It’s important that indicators are used in context with current market conditions in order to minimize false signals. Using indicators in the technical analysis allows forex traders to set more accurate entry and exit points on the charts but keep in mind you do get false signals at times.
The most popular leading indicators are:
Stochastic Indicator (SI)
SI is used by forex traders to determine overbought and oversold conditions in the market. In other words, where there is too much buying in the market and prices could be due for a correction, or there is too much selling and a possible rebound is due.
This indicator consists of two lines that move together and interact with each other at some point. It has an upper and lower zone, where the upper zone is the overbought area and the lower zone is the oversold area.
When the two lines converge in the lower area, the SI is giving you an oversold signal. When the two lines meet in the upper area, the SI is giving you an overbought signal.
Relative Strength Index (RSI)
The RSI provides overbought and oversold signals as well as divergences. It serves the same function as the SI but the RSI only has one line which enters the upper or lower zone which are the overbought and oversold areas.
RSI indicates bullish and bearish divergences. Bullish divergences signal potential upward price moves; bearish divergences indicated potential downward moves.
Popular lagging indicators are:
-
-
- Average Directional Index (ADX)
-
In addition to indicators, trading platforms have built-in tools that provide powerful technical analysis. Technical analysis forms part of a comprehensive trading strategy and provides a framework in which forex traders analyze price movements. The data supplied is historical, with the idea being that historic price movements help traders determine current and future price movements.
Economic Calendar
An economic calendar helps forex traders by scheduling dates of significant releases or events that may have a negative or positive effect on currency price movements.
Financial News
This is up-to-date financial news that’s trending in the forex market. The content is provided by leading financial journalists and news sites such as Reuters, Bloomberg, Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, and MarketWatch.
The sites also relay breaking news on political developments, national disasters, employment issues and production health of strategic natural resources. These all have an impact on global exchange rates and positively or negatively affect the value of currency pairs.
Pip Value Calculator
A Pip Value Calculator helps forex traders determine the value per pip in their base currency relative to their position. It allows forex traders to monitor their risk per trade more accurately. A pip is the lowest trading unit for a currency pair is typically worth a different amount, depending on the base and quote currency.
Currency Correlation Tool
The forex market is made up of thousands of currency pairs and known and calculable correlations exist between currencies, either positive or negative correlations. Correlation is a statistical measure of the relationship between two trading assets. The Currency Correlation Tool shows the extent to which two currency pairs have moved in the same, opposite or completely random directions within a particular period.
Spread Comparison Tool
Evaluating a broker’s typical dealing spreads is one of the most important things to do when selecting a forex broker, particularly if you are new to forex trading and/or are a spread-sensitive trader. The Spread Comparison Tool shows prospective traders the spreads brokers usually quote on major currency pairs, typically separated by USD, EUR, and GBP pairs.
The spread analysis can be filtered by currency pair, session or time frame. It gives traders a heads-up when it comes to selecting a forex broker because the spread analysis shows which brokers offer the most competitive spreads.
Time Zone Converter
The Forex Time Zone Converter allows traders to view the major market opening and closing times in their local time zone. This is a useful tool because forex is not traded on a regulated exchange like stocks and commodities. The retail forex market has its own individual hours of operation, although most participants trade between 08h00 and 16h00 in their own time zone.
Volatility Calculator
Market volatility is an essential element of forex trading. Calculating the volatility of a currency pair is no easy and best left to a Volatility Calculator. Typically, a calculator takes historical exchange rate information and determines the implied volatility of a currency pair in real-time.
Trade Journal
A Trade Journal helps forex traders keep an accurate record of their trades. It’s a valuable tool because traders can learn from their mistakes and adapt their trading strategy accordingly.
Data security
Data security is more important than how a platform looks and performs. It’s essential that the software safeguards your personal information and you need a guarantee the data will not be compromised. The type of data encryption on the platform gives you an indication of how well your data will be protected as it is transferred across the Internet.
A reputable trading platform such as MT4 is well known for its impenetrable security. It uses firewalls both on the server and application level. It also uses two separate synced servers on which the data is stored. This allows any lost information from one of the servers to be recovered by the other server.
Customer support
Retail forex trading is typically done online through a reputable forex broker using their trading platform to access the forex market. There’s very little personal interaction with anyone at the brokerage but when you need help, you want someone alive and breathing that you can speak to. Not a chatbot.
A good broker offers 24/7 ‘round-the-clock customer support. Customer service is not usually uppermost on people’s minds when they’re reviewing forex brokers but it’s still important.
Some of the questions you can ask a potential broker include:
-
-
- Do they have a dedicated number that connects to a human for trade help and questions?
-
-
-
- Who can you contact for prompt assistance?
-
-
-
- Does the website have an online chat feature for general assistance?
- Is the customer support line manned 24/7 or only during office hours?
-
-
-
- Does the website list FAQs on common forex trading issues?
-
-
-
- Does the broker offer technical support?
-
Education resources
Good brokers give back more than they take, or they should do anyway. What they offer in educational resources is a good indication of a broker’s interest in their customers and their desire to invest in their customers forex trading journey. Forex trading is risky and a good broker will help limit the risk by investing in your forex education.
A decent trading platform such as MT4 offers a wide range of educational material as well as access to forex experts and mentors. Even seasoned forex traders benefit from ongoing learning and will draw on educational resources to hone their trading style.
Forex education resources come in the form of videos, webinars, podcasts, user forums, and written articles. They’re either generated in-house or written or produced for the brokerage by specialist traders. These resources should be produced in a professional manner and obtained from a reliable source.
Education resources are particularly important for beginners. If you’re new to trading and using a demo account, you’ll find glossaries, how-to articles very useful. As you grow as a forex trader, fundamental analysis, portfolio diversification guidelines, risk management tools and trading strategies become part of your everyday trading world.
Bonuses
Competitive forex brokers used to offer bonuses as a carrot to entice people to trade more. These came in the form of cashback, no-deposit bonuses, free trades, and deposit matches. However, bonuses are strictly regulated these days after years of abuse and only rarely pop up among certain brokerages.
Bonus offers should not be a deciding factor when choosing a forex broker. In particular, always check the terms and conditions attached to bonuses and be careful not to overtrade through these promotional schemes.
Selecting a forex broker is not as easy as Googling “best forex broker in South Africa” and picking the first broker on the first page of the search. Traders develop their own trading style and not all forex brokers are a good match. Another thing to consider is the forex market is not regulated as strictly as the traditional financial sector and rogue brokers do find their way into the mix.
There are two steps you can take to avoid finding yourself stuck with an unsuitable forex broker.
Firstly, sign up for a forex trading course with a reputable online college. The end goal is to develop a trading strategy that suits your needs and hone your trading style through education and knowledge of how the forex market works. There are many issues to consider when choosing the best forex broker for your needs and a good trading course will enlighten you on what’s most important.
Secondly, start trading with a demo account. Narrow down your list of preferred broker candidates and if need be, set up more than one demo account to test different brokers. They may all sound good on their webpages but you’ll soon discover whether they provide good customer support and deliver on their promises.
Final Verdict
Some of the reasons a great number of people who trade for themselves choose Forex trading include the possibility of very high returns, 24 four hour a day market hours, high volatility of the Forex market which provides more opportunities for profits, and higher liquidity with a daily average of 5 million dollars of turnover a day.
But in a marketplace filled with different trading platforms, how do you know which trading platform is the best one for you?
Whether you are just now becoming interested in giving Forex trading a try, or if you are a more experienced trader, a comparison of trading platforms can be helpful in helping you get started or to confirm you are trading with the best available tools at your disposal.
We hope you enjoyed our guide on the 27 best-known forex platforms in the market, as well as a brief description of what makes them good for the traders they are aiming to attract.
Did you know? South Africa and Nigeria are officially Africa’s fastest-growing forex trading communities in our latest research.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need a broker to trade forex?
No, but having a broker gives you 24-hour access to the market and the ability to speculate on currency pairs.
How long does it take to grow a forex account?
If you are a profitable trader it will take more or less 6 months – 1 year of practicing forex trading EVERY DAY. That is until you are consistent enough to pull a regular income from the forex market. Should you make money in the first few months, it is pure luck.
Who are the best forex brokers in South Africa?
All the brokers mentioned in this article are considered good to trade with.
What is the cost of Forex trading?
The total expense that a trader has to pay in order to run their trading business. Keep in mind trade execution fees.
Do forex brokers charge commissions?
Yes, it is paid in relation to what brokers and dealers call “spread.”
Do forex brokers in South Africa want you to lose?
When you consider that almost 95% of traders lose money, it a safe assumption to make. Learn more about the foreign exchange market
How difficult is Forex?
If your aim is to make money quickly, forex can be quite difficult. However, forex trading is also easy if you are willing and dedicated enough to put in the time and effort and very importantly, take the losses as being part of forex trading. (Might we suggest – Forex Trading Books every trader must read)
Does forex have a monthly fee?
Usually not, but some forex brokers do charge an inactivity fee after 3 consecutive months of non-use and every successive inactivity period.
Is forex trading better than stocks?
That depends solely on your goals as a trader, your tolerance for risk, and your trading style. Stock trading involves less leverage and regulation than forex trading, making both trading types highly lucrative and highly risky.
What Qualifications do you need to become a trader?
If you want to work for a reputable financial institution or company, a 4-year college degree is usually a basic requirement. Most traders have degrees in business, maths, economics, banking, or accounting.
What makes forex so popular right now?
The popularity of forex trading can be attributed to its online presence (ease of access) for anyone All you need is a computer and an internet connection.
Who moves the forex markets the most?
Governments and Central Banks, The Super Banks (the largest banks in the world), Large Commercial Companies, and The Speculators.
Disclaimer
CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 76% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money. Professional clients can lose more than they deposit. All trading involves risk. Understanding how cfds work is crucial to limit losses.
Other notable brokers to consider:
Featured SA Shares Writer and Forex Analyst.
[ad_2]
Source link