There are a lot of brokers in the world with a huge variety of offers and features on their platforms that make one wonder what is the difference between them? What makes a good broker? What to look for when in search for a good broker?
First of all go online and search for different websites that offer brokers reviews. It is important to see a rank of different brokers in terms of the criteria you are interested in and then pick the right one for you. In this way you can eliminate those features you are not looking for your broker to offer and can make a short list to start from.
Once you have a short list try to look for things like: lowest spread, fix spread, types of accounts offered, margin level (some brokers I know offer a 1:100 margin account and on Friday evening the leverage of the account becomes 1:30 just like that and the broker will automatically close all positions exceeding the limit or will hedge them), etc.
It may also be interested to look for the accepted ways to fund an account. This is important because when trading it may come a point when you are in urgent need to fund your account as soon as possible and you want to make sure your broker allows that. Most used ways to fund an account are through bank wire, credit cards, PayPal, etc. A quick and fast access to your account and your money (in the case of a withdrawal) is a must when looking for a good broker.
Some brokers have complicated procedures when you want to open an account. They make you sign all kind of contracts and documents, send them through regular email, and after an internal process, they will open you an account or not. Then, each time you want to withdraw money from your account you have to send an inquiry per fax or email (print a withdrawal request, sign it, scan it, and then send it for approval.
However, even if it may seem to be frustrating for such a process to take such a long time and the procedures to follow may look complicated, from my point of view this is a sign you are having in front of you a good broker as this is often a sign of strong regulated conditions from the broker’s part. And it is only in your interest that the money you deposit when funding a trading account to be safe. In this way you have no worries regarding possible frauds a broker might do with clients money.
In conclusion, when looking for a broker and the procedures to open an account seem to complicated, then there is probably the broker you should open an account with.
First of all go online and search for different websites that offer brokers reviews. It is important to see a rank of different brokers in terms of the criteria you are interested in and then pick the right one for you. In this way you can eliminate those features you are not looking for your broker to offer and can make a short list to start from.
Once you have a short list try to look for things like: lowest spread, fix spread, types of accounts offered, margin level (some brokers I know offer a 1:100 margin account and on Friday evening the leverage of the account becomes 1:30 just like that and the broker will automatically close all positions exceeding the limit or will hedge them), etc.
It may also be interested to look for the accepted ways to fund an account. This is important because when trading it may come a point when you are in urgent need to fund your account as soon as possible and you want to make sure your broker allows that. Most used ways to fund an account are through bank wire, credit cards, PayPal, etc. A quick and fast access to your account and your money (in the case of a withdrawal) is a must when looking for a good broker.
Some brokers have complicated procedures when you want to open an account. They make you sign all kind of contracts and documents, send them through regular email, and after an internal process, they will open you an account or not. Then, each time you want to withdraw money from your account you have to send an inquiry per fax or email (print a withdrawal request, sign it, scan it, and then send it for approval.
However, even if it may seem to be frustrating for such a process to take such a long time and the procedures to follow may look complicated, from my point of view this is a sign you are having in front of you a good broker as this is often a sign of strong regulated conditions from the broker’s part. And it is only in your interest that the money you deposit when funding a trading account to be safe. In this way you have no worries regarding possible frauds a broker might do with clients money.
In conclusion, when looking for a broker and the procedures to open an account seem to complicated, then there is probably the broker you should open an account with.
