Where is the commission in FX?

nvestors who trade stocks, futures or options typically use a broker, who acts as an agent in the transaction. The broker takes the order to an exchange and attempts to execute it as per the customer's instructions. For providing this service, the broker is paid a commission when the customer buys and sells the tradable instrument. (For further reading, see our Brokers And Online Trading tutorial.)

The FX market does not have commissions. Unlike exchange-based markets, FX is a principals-only market. FX firms are dealers, not brokers. This is a critical distinction that all investors must understand. Unlike brokers, dealers assume market risk by serving as a counterparty to the investor's trade. They do not charge commission; instead, they make their money through the bid-ask spread.

In FX, the investor cannot attempt to buy on the bid or sell at the offer like in exchange-based markets. On the other hand, once the price clears the cost of the spread, there are no additional fees or commissions. Every single penny gain is pure profit to the investor. Nevertheless, the fact that traders must always overcome the bid/ask spread makes scalping much more difficult in FX. (To learn more, see Scalping: Small Quick Profits Can Add Up.)

How does this market differ from other markets?

Unlike the trading of stocks, futures or options, currency trading does not take place on a regulated exchange. It is not controlled by any central governing body, there are no clearing houses to guarantee the trades and there is no arbitration panel to adjudicate disputes. All members trade with each other based upon credit agreements. Essentially, business in the largest, most liquid market in the world depends on nothing more than a metaphorical handshake.

At first glance, this ad-hoc arrangement must seem bewildering to investors who are used to structured exchanges such as the NYSE or CME. (To learn more, see Getting To Know Stock Exchanges.) However, this arrangement works exceedingly well in practice: because participants in FX must both compete and cooperate with each other, self regulation provides very effective control over the market. Furthermore, reputable retail FX dealers in the United States become members of the National Futures Association (NFA), and by doing so they agree to binding arbitration in the event of any dispute. Therefore, it is critical that any retail customer who contemplates trading currencies do so only through an NFA member firm.

How to Get Started

People are introduced to the exciting world of foreign exchange in many ways: friends, current events, newspapers, television, and many others. For those of you who are new to forex, the following guidelines cover the basics of currency trading.

Step 1: "Practice makes perfect"

Demo trade. The demo account was designed to help traders gain familiarity with the speed and movements of the market. When you are demo trading, you should learn how to: 1) place market orders to enter a trade, 2) place stop-loss orders to protect your positions, and limit orders to take profits, 3) place OCO orders and If Done Orders to execute more advanced strategies.

Step 2: "Study, Study, Study".

Forex traders use fundamental analysis, technical analysis, quantitative analysis and sometimes a combination of all three to make their trading decisions. Fundamental analysis involves the use of economic, financial and political news to determine trading decisions. Technical analysis involves the study of Charts to predict future price movements based on past price patterns and trends. Quantitative analysis consists of the use of preset statistical models and properties in quantifying price formations such as averages, retracements as well as identifying oversold and undersold situations.

In order to help novice and experienced traders alike, MG has developed www.forexnews.com, a leading site on foreign exchange analysis, news and education. Comprehensive previews and summaries updated 4 times per day, insightful editorials covering the latest market developments and an open forum for discussing trading tips and ideas, are just some of the many features of Forexnews.com and MG's commitment to educating and informing Forex participants.

Step 3: Manage your money wisely.

You should always be aware of the amount of money in your account before placing a trade. If you think a long-term trend is developing, then you should consider whether you have enough funds to maintain your margin and withstand any movements against your position(s) that may occur. We encourage everyone who opens an account with us to ask themselves the following questions prior to entering each trade:

1) How much am I willing to risk?
2) What is my upside and downside potential?
3) What are the market conditions? (Is the market volatile or calm?)
4) What is the logic behind entering this trade?
5) When can I conclude if the assumptions/logic behind the trade are/is correct or wrong?

Before entering an order, you should consider both your entry and exit points. One of the mistakes most commonly made by traders, especially new traders, is letting emotions get in the way of their strategy.

Forex Beginner

1: Will I get rich from Forex? Definitely! Are you ready to learn?

The Foreign Exchange market (also referred to as the Forex or FX market) is the largest financial market in the world, with over $1.5 trillion changing hands every day.

2: Online Currency Trading requires Patience

When the going gets tough, the tough get going. This adage often brings back the memories of my past days when I was trading initially in the currency exchange market. Indeed, there's nothing more hurtful than losing your invested money in the FX market. But, online currency trading is like life where you're got to learn from your wrong moves and keep moving on.

3: Forex - What is it?

The international currency market Forex is a special kind of the world financial market. Trader’s purpose on the Forex to get profit as the result of foreign currencies purchase and sale. The exchange rates of all currencies being in the market turnover are permanently changing under the action of the demand and supply alteration.

4: Short data about the origin and development of the currency exchange market

Currency trading has a long history and can be traced back to the ancient Middle East and Middle Ages when foreign exchange started to take shape after the international merchant bankers devised bills of exchange, which were transferable third-party payments that allowed flexibility and growth in foreign exchange dealings.

5: Risks by the foreign exchange on Forex

The Forex is essentially risk-bearing. By the evaluation of the grade of a possible risk accounted should be the following kinds of it: exchange rate risk, interest rate risk, and credit risk, country risk.

The Explosion of the Euro market

A major catalyst to the acceleration of Forex trading was the rapid development of the eurodollar market; where US dollars are deposited in banks outside the US. Similarly, Euromarkets are those where assets are deposited outside the currency of origin. The Eurodollar market first came into being in the 1950s when Russia’s oil revenue-- all in dollars -- was deposited outside the US in fear of being frozen by US regulators. That gave rise to a vast offshore pool of dollars outside the control of US authorities. The US government imposed laws to restrict dollar lending to foreigners. Euromarkets were particularly attractive because they had far less regulations and offered higher yields. From the late 1980s onwards, US companies began to borrow offshore, finding Euromarkets a beneficial center for holding excess liquidity, providing short-term loans and financing imports and exports.

London was, and remains the principal offshore market. In the 1980s, it became the key center in the Eurodollar market when British banks began lending dollars as an alternative to pounds in order to maintain their leading position in global finance. London’s convenient geographical location (operating during Asian and American markets) is also instrumental in preserving its dominance in the Euromarket.

Money Management

1: Forex Money Management by FX Master

Money management is a critical point that shows difference between winners and losers. It was proved that if 100 traders start trading using a system with 60% winning odds, only 5 traders will be in profit at the end of the year. In spite of the 60% winning odds 95% of traders will lose because of their poor money management. Money management is the most significant part of any trading system. Most of traders don't understand how important it is.

2: Stock Market Money Management Skills

Essential money management skills for all types of investors.

3: Forex Money Management

Forex money management is one of the most important things you can learn before you actually begin making live trades.

4: Money Management Principles

How to handle money management in forex trading: Trade With Sufficient Captial, Exercise Discipline and Employ Risk-to-Reward Ratios.

Stock Market

1: CFD Trading 95% Lose - How To Win

Everybody starts out in CFD Trading wanting to make money but a whopping 95% of Traders lose, which leaves 5% winners. So what is it that the 5% of CFD Traders are doing to make them win in CFD Trading. What are the mistakes that the 95% of people are making, and how can you avoid them!

2: Stock Market Trading - Winning Trading Plan

Successful stock market trading begins with a winning trading plan. It's as simple as that. If you develop a well-conceived trading plan to guide your actions in the stock market you will already have the advantage over most of your market competition. Put simply, it gives you the edge you need to win over the long haul when trading the stock market or forex market.

3: CFD TRADING- Indonesia

Contracts for Difference (are commonly known as a CFD) is a contract between the trader and a CFD provider, who will at the close of the contract, exchange the difference between the opening price and the closing price of the underlying index, share, commodity, per the number of specified CFD contracts.This is why CFDs are the flexible new way to trade.

4: Stock Market Trading- 3 Strategies to Make you a Millionaire

Stock Market Trading- Are you ready to become a millionaire. Here are 3 proven strategies to make you become a more successful trader and increase your wealth. They can be used if you are forex trader, stock market trader.

5: Little Known Ways Regarding FOREX Market Online : Discover Helpful Suggestions Next

FOREX is the Foreign Exchange market also known as FX. All three of these means the same thing, which is the trade of trading between different banks,

6: Stock Market Meltdown - Watching Rome Burn

Both presidential candidates want to crucify SEC Chairman Cox for failing to control our creative financial institutions. But rumor has it that Congress specifically excluded the devilish derivatives from SEC purview. Let's fire the right bunch of "poips" for a change!

7: Preventing Investment Mistakes: Ten Risk Minimizers

Losing money on an investment may not be the result of a mistake, and not all mistakes result in monetary losses. Your own misconceptions about how securities react to varying economic, political, and hysterical circumstances are your most vicious enemy. Step away from calendar year, market value thinking. Avoid these ten common errors to improve your performance:

8: Good News For Income Investors

Admittedly, even if your asset allocation has been fine tuned for years, lower portfolio market values in this area make stock market valuation shrinkage feel even worse. But the value of stable cash flow becomes painfully clear for investors who misguidedly depend on capital gains for their spending money.

9: When All Stocks Are Value Stocks - Think QDI

How do we create a confidence building Stock Selection Universe? Simply operating on blind faith with one of the common definitions may be too simplistic, particularly since many of the numbers originate from the subject companies. Here are five filters you can use to come up with a listing of higher quality companies:

10: Quarterly Window Dressing - A Recurrent Wall Street Scam

Why aren't the wizards of Wall Street assuaging our nerves by explaining the cyclical nature of the markets and pointing out that similar crises have always preceded the attainment of new all time highs? Right, because the unhappy investor is Wall Street's best friend. Why can't politicians address economic problems with capitalist-economic solutions?

Technical Analysis

1: Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD) Momentum Indicator

If you’re serious about developing your daytrading online career, you’ll want to learn about the various tools and indicators you have available to you, such as the Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD). The MACD is a momentum indicator that is based on moving averages. It helps us to determine potential buy and sell points in the trade. Developed by Gerald Appel in the late 1960s, this indicator is widely used as a part of many people’s daytrading systems.

2: Lines of trends, support and resistance

A trendline is a main initial element for the price chart analysis. While the market moves in any direction not along a straight line but along a zigzag, the mutual placement of upper and bottom points of those zigzags permits to plot a line connecting the significant highs (peaks) or the significant lows (troughs) of an appropriate zigzag using technical tools of the computer program.

3: Technical Indicators In Forex Trading - Understanding Their Limitations

Successful forex traders understand the limitations of technical indicators and realize that technical analysis should incorporate just one part of their overall trading strategy.

Trading Strategy

1: » Why "Follow-Through" Is Imperative For Your Market Position

Endurance is counted as a high merit in great accomplishments, especially in forex trading. Great men frequently advise to be consistent in big changes of market tendencies and "Follow Through" in breakthroughs.

2: » Knowing the Ins and Outs of Chandelier Exit

Have you ever heard of a stop placement strategy that trails stop based on previous 'high' points? It is called Chandelier exit as it hangs down from the high point or the ceiling of our trade, just as a chandelier hangs from a room ceiling. The distance, which is usually calculated from the high point to the trailing stop; could also be calculated in dollars or in contract based points. However, the value of this trailing stop moves upward very promptly as higher highs is reached.

3: Successful Forex Day Trading Strategies

The majority of Forex Trading Systems that are used by beginner traders are focused towards short term trading strategies, which aim to take small risk and promise to pile up massive profits and regular income. So we will look at how to succeed.

4: Forex Market Education - Simple and Effective Strategies

If you want to catch the serious profit in forex dealing you need to trend watch forex trends which are worse term. here we are going to give you a 3 step simple method which if you use it correctly, will help you catch every superior forex trend and lead you to long-term term currency dealing success.

5: Trend Following Forex - 3 Simple Steps to Catching Big Profits

If you want to catch the big profits in forex trading you need to trend follow forex trends which are longer term. Here we are going to give you a 3 step simple method which if you use it correctly, will help you catch every major forex trend and lead you to long term currency trading success.

6: Making Money by breaking ALL the Forex Trading rules

Make money from Forex trading by breaking all the rules like: never trade without a stop; cut your losses and let your profit run; and always trade in the direction of the trend.

7: Forex Profits by buying and selling at the same time?

This article shows how it is possible to make money buying and selling investments at the same time.

8: Forex News Trading Tip: How To Trade The FOMC

The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) decision on interest rates is one of the most powerful market movers in the forex market and when the markets move traders trading the news have the opportunity to make money.

9: Swing Trading Strategy

Swing trading is a popular method of capitalizing on the short-term price variations of the stock market. It has earned a reputation of being a powerful method of maximizing profits at lower risks. The best swing trading strategy involves choosing the right stock and the right market. Swing traders usually choose the stocks that fluctuate at extreme ends. Swing trading strategy is employed in a stable market, because here the prices tend to have minor variations on which the swing trader can capitalize. In a rapidly rising or crashing market, swing trading strategy cannot be employed.

10: Learn Forex Trading - Which Forex Strategy Is Right For Me

Discover how to learn the right strategy to trade he Forex market based on your personality. In the end, success or failure comes down to more than just strategy!

Trading Systems

1: forex signal provider? which one?

We have developed absolutely superb Forex Signal system based on detailed research, close market watch and careful technical analysis which has perform fabulously so far � bringing over 800 pips a month with 80-90% accuracy. The biggest advantage of our Forex Signal Trading System is that it works!It has performed numerous of winning trades over the last seven months.Forex Money Signal is the key towards a long-term profitable career in forex trading.

2: The opportunities of trading the Forex hedged grid system

This article shows high lights the dangers and opportunities of using grid trading principles in trading the Forex (currency) markets. It also constructively suggests ways of overcoming the dangers

3: Forex Trading System - A Key To Successful Forex Trading And Trading For A Living

For the trader who employs a forex trading system, he can still face the losing trade with a smile, because he has had followed through the trading signals in a disciplined way, and it is only when a trader follows a system, he can be sure of keeping his losses small and to live to trade again another day. Is there a place for day trading in a forex trading system?

Advantages of the Forex Market

What are the advantages of the Forex Market over other types of investments?

When thinking about various investments, there is one investment vehicle that comes to mind. The Forex or Foreign Currency Market has many advantages over other types of investments. The Forex market is open 24 hrs a day, unlike the regular stock markets. Most investments require a substantial amount of capital before you can take advantage of an investment opportunity. To trade Forex, you only need a small amount of capital. Anyone can enter the market with as little as $300 USD to trade a "mini account", which allows you to trade lots of 10,000 units. One lot of 10,000 units of currency is equal to 1 contract. Each "pip" or move up or down in the currency pair is worth a $1 gain or loss, depending on which side of the market you are on. A standard account gives you control over 100,000 units of currency and a pip is worth $10.

The Forex market is also very liquid. When trading Forex you have full control of your capital.

Many other types of investments require holding your money up for long periods of time. This is a disadvantage because if you need to use the capital it can be difficult to access to it without taking a huge loss. Also, with a small amount of money, you can control

Forex traders can be profitable in bullish or bearish market conditions. Stock market traders need stock prices to rise in order to take a profit. Forex traders can make a profit during up trends and downtrends. Forex Trading can be risky, but with having the ability to have a good system to follow, good money management skills, and possessing self discipline, Forex trading can be a relatively low risk investment.

The Forex market can be traded anytime, anywhere. As long as you have access to a computer, you have the ability to trade the Forex market. An important thing to remember is before jumping into trading currencies, is it wise to practice with "paper money", or "fake money." Most brokers have demo accounts where you can download their trading station and practice real time with fake money. While this is no guarantee of your performance with real money, practicing can give you a huge advantage to become better prepared when you trade with your real, hard earned money. There are also many Forex courses on the internet, just be careful when choosing which ones to purchase.

Investing in Forex

Investing in foreign currencies is a relatively new avenue of investing. There are considerably fewer people are aware of this market than there are people aware of several other avenues of investing. Trading foreign currency, also known as forex, is the most lucrative investment market that exists. There are several factors that make this true among which, successful forex traders earn realistic profits of one hundred plus percent each month. Compared to some of the better known investment markets such as corporate stocks, this is an unheard of return on investment. It's very necessary to mention here that a person who invests in forex must, without exception, make it a point to learn the detailed, but simple strategies and information surrounding the market. This very fact is what makes the difference between successful forex traders and other traders.

A few additional points, which create such powerful leverage for investors within the forex market are: The amount of capital required to begin investing in the market is only three hundred dollars. For the most part, any other investment market is going to demand thousands of dollars of the investor in the beginning. Also, the market offers opportunities to profit regardless what the direction of the market may be; In most commonly known markets investors sit and wait for the market to begin an up trend before entering a trade. Even then, investors, as a rule must sit and wait some more to be able to exit the trade with a nice profit. Given that the forex market produces several up, down, and sideways trends in a single day, it can easily be seen that forex stands head and shoulders above other markets. Additionally there are trading strategies, which are taught that provide for compounded profits; these are profits on top of profits. In addition, free demo accounts are available within the industry of forex trading, which facilitate the sharpening of skills without the risk losing any capital. And the advantage regarding the time factor in trading foreign currency is a very attractive point for any investor. Compared to one of the most sought after avenues of investing, which often requires forty or more hours each week, namely in the real-estate market, the forex market requires a much smaller demand on the investor's time. Forex trading requires approximately ten to fifteen hours each week to earn a full time income. It's easy to see that the advantages and great leverage that exist in the forex market, make it among the most lucrative, time liberating, and easy to enter by far.

I hope this information gives you a clear understanding of how you can turn your investing into a true method of making your money work harder for you.

Forex: Keeping It Simple

Keeping everything simple is a nice strategy in almost all types of activities. Sometimes, simplicity is the only way to become profitable in the Forex trading. Of course, not everyone likes to keep everything simple and not everyone should do that. But simplifying some basic aspects of the Forex trading will help you to avoid unnecessary problems and complications:

1. Simple trading strategy can be as profitable as some really complex systems. By keeping your strategy simple you make it easier to follow and execute it. Adding complexity in the future can be your next level, but trading with a simple strategy is a very good way to start trading on Forex for real.
2. Try to follow a simple money management system — trading with a fixed percentage of your account equity is easy and effective. Martingale system isn’t simple and leads to losses. So, with money management simple is almost always good.
3. Fundamental analysis is a nice tool, but it’s better to avoid reacting on all fundamental news you hear. Keep it simple — select only really important releases or indicators and monitor them when you trade.
4. One of the best ways to simplify your Forex trading is to hold the open positions for a fixed amount of time. This way, your positions are limited not only with the stop-loss and take-profit levels, but also with the time limit. I prefer limiting them to 30, 60, 360 minutes and 1 week periods, depending on the particular strategy.
5. Try not to trade on currency pairs with the base currency different from the one, in which your account is founded. For example, if you trade USD/JPY, while your account is founded in USD, your profit or loss can’t be adequately measured, because it inversely depends on the USD/JPY rate.
6. Look for a Forex broker with the fixed spreads, because trading with the variable spreads can’t be easy. You can’t rely on your strategy, especially if it’s a short-term strategy, if you don’t know the spreads values for sure.
   

Some traders adore simple approaches to the market, while others hate everything that’s easily understood by high-school graduate and prefer complexity. If you think that you are the one from the first group, then this list will probably help you. If you know some other ways to simplify Forex trading, please, leave a comment to this post.

How Do Forex Brokers Make Money?

Many beginning Forex traders wonder how the Forex brokers earn their money on the common traders, if they are not casinos. Understanding the basic principles of the brokers’ economics will help traders to distinguish real Forex brokers from the «bucket shop» scams and the ethical companies from the unethical. Here is the list of the most common ways for the Forex broker to earn money:

• Currency pair spreads. The largest source of income for the Forex brokers, spread is the difference between the Bid and Ask rates. Broker can execute your orders without a spread or with a minimal spread, earning the money that you lose for the spread.
• Leveraged spreads. Spreads alone would be too small to be a significant earning source for the brokers. So, brokers offer high leverage. Of course it’s a great tool for multiplying your profit (and also losses), but the spreads are also leveraged. With 1:100 leverage, broker earns 100 times more on spreads than it would without the leverage.
• Overnight swap spreads. Brokers pay the overnight swaps to the trader if the difference between the currency’s interest rates is positive in the trader’s position and get paid from the trader’s account if that difference is negative. But those payments are not symmetrical and they are changed so that the Forex broker would always get the advantage. When someone is selling 1 lot of EUR/USD and another trader is buying the same amount of that currency pair, the latter is earning money on overnight swaps, but the first one is losing the amount that is enough to compensate the second one’s earnings and to «feed» the broker.
• Payment processing commission. On-line Forex brokers don’t charge commission per trade (except Islamic accounts) and often advertise that as a feature. But some brokers charge payment processing fees — they are deducted only when you deposit or withdraw money and usually are quite small and fixed in currency units, not percentage points. Of course, such commissions are too small to be a part of the broker’s profit, but they are enough to compensate at least a part of the broker’s expenses.
• Trading against the trader. The most despised and unethical way the Forex broker can make money is to trade against its customers. And that’s the most profitable way too. Avoid the brokers that earn when you lose. If the spreads are too low, the leverage is insignificant, the overnight swaps are fair and there are no commissions (for payment processing and trading) then the broker is certainly trading against you to make money.

Double Impact of the Interest Rates on Forex

The interest rates, set by the world’s central banks, are widely used in the Forex trading. Their changes are monitored by the traders and investors because the interest rates determine the fundamental value of the currencies. It’s important for every Forex trader to understand the impact of the interest rates on the currencies he trades on. It’s easy to find the interest rate table to know their latest values, but how to interpret them?

In general, the higher the interest rate associated with the currency is, the better it’s for that currency. Higher interest rates attract investors, because they offer a higher yield. Forex traders prefer buying high-interest currencies versus the low-interest ones to gain the difference yield (such trading technique is called carry trade).

On the other hand, the lower interest rates are usually more popular among the traders when the global volatility rises and the world’s financial system experiences problems. The current financial crisis shows that the currencies with the lower yield are the favorites, because they are less risky than he high-yielding ones.

So what to do and how to react on the interest rates? The volatility index (VIX) is a good tool to measure the global interest rates preference. If it’s below the «normal» level of 30%, the high interest rates act as the attractors and the currencies that have high yield grow. If the index jumps up above that level, the traders prefer to move into the less risky assets and the low interest rate currencies gain.

Forex: Tools of Trade

Although, the success in the Forex trading is largely associated with the trading strategies and systems that can be usually bought for money, those are not the real tools of the Forex trader. They can only be considered as the «shortcuts to the riches». Every professional should employ his own tools of trade and the Forex traders should have them too. Independent on the professionalism level of the trader, these tools help to analyze the markets and to calculate all the necessary numbers for money management and position taking:

MetaTrader 4 platform — perhaps the most important of the tools, a successful Forex trader should have. Even if you don’t trade with MetaTrader broker you should still download this free platform and use it for charts and technical analysis. With MetaTrader you can browse charts and the past history of almost all currency pairs, you can apply dozens of standard indicators and use the custom user-tailored indicators, you can back-test strategies using their strategy tester and forward-test your systems and expert advisors on the free demo servers. MetaTrader is your number one tool if you want to go beyond the beginner’s level in Forex.

Risk and reward calculator — a helpful tool if you prefer to know your reward-to-risk ratio before opening a real money position and manage your risks correctly. This risk-to-reward calculator will only for the chart patterns with the distinctive local peak and bottom. It’s based on the Fibonacci retracements.

Pip value calculator — it’s not a trivial task to calculate the value of a pip if you trade exotic currency pairs and/or have your trading account in some exotic currency. Understanding the value of the pip is important to accurately calculate your profits and losses. The on-line pip value calculator tool will help you to determine the pip value with the minimum efforts from your side.

Pivot points calculator — this tool will be useful to you only if you prefer to trade using technical pivot levels. There are many types of pivot calculators available — floor pivots, Tom Demark’s pivots, Camarilla pivots, Woodie’s pivots, etc. I suggest you using the on-line pivot point calculator, which combines the calculation of all the possible pivot point types.

Fibonacci calculator — if you trade via the MetaTrader platform you don’t need a separate Fibonacci calculator because you can use the standard indicator to build Fibonacci retracement levels. But if you use some web-based or some other inferior platform, you’ll enjoy calculating the Fibo levels with the on-line Fibonacci calculator.

4 Guidelines for Forex Trading I Follow

Forex trading may become a much easier activity if you follow your own or someone else’s well-formulated guidelines. I’ve based my guidelines on my past Forex trading experience and knowledge gained listening to some of the best stock and Forex traders. What’s important is that the guidelines are not the laws and rules — they are not the only way to success, they just help the traders in their endeavor. Here’s the list of my four Forex trading guidelines:

• Risk only 3% of the total trading capital with each trade. Generally it’s quite hard to come up with the comfortable risk percentage value for your trades if you want to keep a good money management and still let your funds grow at a nice rate. For me 3% is the optimal level — safe enough to save and high enough to gain.
• Reward-to-risk ratio should be no lower than 1. Many currency traders prefer trading with the ratio not less than 2 or even higher. That’s a problem of risk/gain balance too. For me the opportunities with the ratio above 2 are very rare — maybe, because I prefer high accuracy trades. If your accuracy rate is far from 90% than sticking to reward-to-risk ratio of 2 would probably be a better decision.
• Don’t leave the positions open through the weekend. The weekly opening gap can be a killer. Don’t underestimate it. As a swing trader, I prefer to open my positions in the beginning of the week and I always close them before trading ends on Friday. The gap in the price rates that usually occurs after a weekend can make your stop-loss trigger far from the levels you planned it to.
• Wait before opening a new order after you’ve just traded. If you jump into another position right after you closed or opened a previous order is a straight road to overtrading and an empty balance. I always wait some time analyzing opportunities and resting from the Forex market before setting up my next order. Maybe, for the extreme scalpers this isn’t a best decision, but for the absolute majority of the medium-term Forex traders it is.

4 Easy Steps to Remove Emotions from Your Forex Trading

Emotions are the one of the greatest problems of the Forex traders. Almost every beginning trader, who starts with the demo account, experiences a great success in his trading, but fails to carry this success to the real money account. What’s the problem? Emotions! When we lose we feel frustration and sometimes even despair. Winning can cause us to lose control over our actions and turn our trading into a gambling or cause a serious overtrading. So here are the four easy steps to stop emotions from ruining your Forex trading:

1. Single loss is not your fault. It’s not even the market’s fault. And it’s not your system’s fault. It’s just a loss. No trader or system can guarantee 100% winning rate. So, losses should happen. If you lose then your system works. It may even lose again, but that won’t change the full picture. Trading doesn’t work with a single loss or win; it works with the loss rate and risk-to-reward ratios. So, next time you lose, remember that there is no one to blame, because there is no guilt in losing.
2. If the losses prevail over the winning positions then check your risk-to-reward ratio first. If each of your losses is less than a third of your single winning position then maybe your system is intended to work with 65% of your positions in the red zone? If your risk-to-reward ratio doesn’t compensate your poor loss-to-win ratio, you still don’t have to blame yourself, the market or your system. Probably, it’s just the wrong system for the market you are trading in. Time changes and the old systems stop working, while the new ones are created. Just switch to something else and continue your pursuit of success.
3. Single winning position is not an indicator of your success. The same as with the losses don’t treat a single win as your accomplishment. It’s just a part of the routine process of trading Forex.
4. If your winning rate is high during the long period of time and the risk-to-reward ratio is rather low then I can congratulate you with finding the right strategy that worked fine for the kind of market you were trading on during that period. That’s it! Stick with it until your winning rate declines below the satisfying level. Then look at the number 2.

Heiken Ashi Trading System

Heiken Ashi (or Heikin Ashi, Heikin-Ashi) is the method of representing the charts using the Japanese technique of the balanced bars. Compared to the traditional Japanese candlestick charts the Heiken Ashi charts are more easily read, provide clearer picture of the market and allow easy trend spotting. What is good about this method is that it’s included into the standard set of the MetaTrader 4 indicators. You can find it there under the Custom submenu. I won’t explain how to calculate those candlesticks here because MT4 does it all automatically for you and you don’t have to worry about how those candles are drawn. Here I will tell you how to use Heiken Ashi in trading the trends. You can see the example Heiken Ashi chart:



As you see, white bodies are the uptrend candles and the red bodies are the downtrend candles. The upper shadows are usually absent on the downtrends and the lower shadows are absent when the trend is going up. There are 5 Heiken Ashi scenarios for trends:

1. Trend is normal. Rising white bodies signal ascending trend and falling red bodies signal descending trend.
2. Trend is getting stronger. Rising longer white bodies with no lower shadows for ascending trend; falling longer red bodies with no upper shadows for descending trend.
3. Trend is getting weaker. Candle bodies become shorter and for ascending trends lower shadows occur, for descending trends — upper shadows.
4. Trend consolidation. Small candle bodies with both upper and lower shadows.
5. Trend is changing (not accurate signal). Very small candle body with long upper and lower shadows.

That’s all you have to know to trade on the trends successfully if you are using Heiken Ashi charting method. But I also recommend reading some other article on Heiken Ashi if you want to learn more about using it.

Introduction to MetaTrader 4

The MetaTrader 4 is possibly the most recognized and efficient home broker trading application nowadays on the market. It is free and available for download from the MetaQuotes Software Corporation website, the producer of MetaTrader 4. If your broker offers the possibility of having MT4 as your main trading platform, it will be likely to provide a download link directly when you sign up for your trading account. Even if many brokers have their own platforms, MT4 it is still a powerful and reliable tool for Forex, stock, and commodity traders. If your broker doesn’t support MT4, you can freely access real data from several servers on MT4, the currency pair rates differ a bit from MT4 servers and your broker, but it is not something that will significantly affect your trading performance.

Once you have successfully downloaded and installed the MT4 software, launch it. It may seem a bit complex for beginners, but all the information is very clear and divided by windows that allow you to control all your orders and a different number of pairs simultaneously. From the Market Watch feature, normally positioned on the top left size, under the menu bar, you have all the pairs available on the server, and with a click and drag mouse movement you can make that pair to appear in any of your chart windows, making it easier and faster to switch from one pair to another, and you, as trader, know how decisive can time be, when you have more than one order opened, mainly during news and market events.

One of the best features that MT4 offers is the option to create templates that fit better each and every trader needs. The profiles can have one or multiple charts. For example, 3 EUR/USD charts with different timeframes, or 3 different pair charts, in which you can totally customize them using the indicators of your choice. From colors to templates, the MetaTrader 4 offers the trader full interaction with his orders, which is often not possible in many broker platforms.

The main disadvantage that MT4 has against other web-based trading platforms is the fact that you have to download it. Many traders have to often check their orders from different places, such as: office or university. So if your broker only offers the MT4 or other downloadable software, it can be quite complicated for you to manage your orders, if you fall into this category. The optimal situation would be the possibility of using MT4 while you are on your computer, and at the same time, the option to open or close orders through your browser, in situations where aren’t using your computer.

Finally MetaTrader 4 is, doubtlessly, a tool that every Forex trader should at least download and be familiar with, in most of the cases, you will make it part of your trading experience, considering its features, for the moment, MT4 has a wide superiority against other trading software.