Choosing a Forex Broker
I have yet to find a forex broker I have great trust in. I have opened a half dozen demo accounts, read broker web sites, read reviews, forums and blogs. You’d think that after all of that, after weeks of research I’d have at least a hand full of decent choices.
Nope!
For one reason or another they all look icky. Maybe I’m being too selective, too protective too critical but I have a list of things I’d like in my forex broker and I’m not finding any that fit.
Some desires are more subjective I understand but here’s my list of wants:
-
I want a forex broker who won’t cheat me
-
I would like an ECN broker
-
I want easy funding and withdrawal of my money
-
Low initial deposit
-
Great Customer Support with Live Chat even if it is with one of the IMs
-
MT4
-
The ability to trade in Gold
There are too many reports of unscrupulous forex brokers, dealing desk brokers in particular, artificially increasing spreads, delaying orders so they make money and you lose, etc. I don’t want to be cheated. If I am going to lose my money let me lose it on my own. This is why I believe I want a an ECN broker.
Why should I be charged to get my money? Many forex brokers charge for withdrawals. Doesn’t’ make since ot me. Some are reportedly very slow to send checks, does anyone use paper anymore?
I thought I’d found my broker then tried to fund it and tried to get help form customer service. Funding is difficult, at least for me and customer service was nonexistent.
I like MT4. I have FAPTurbo and it works with MT4. I like trading gold. I seem to understand it.
Asking which forex brokers are good is like asking ten people what the best restaurant in town is, you’ll get ten different answers. Ask the same ten people what the worst restaurant is and you’ll get ten more different answers, and some will be other folks best. It seems there is little agreement as to which brokers are best.
Our needs from a forex grocer are basic, don’t cheat us, make our money easily available and lend aid when needed. Our desires vary, MT4, Gold, Silver, Oil, etc, deposit level…. The one constant is that we are all looking for a forex broker we feel comfortable with.
I’m still searching. How about you?
If you have a great broker please list it here with why it’s great and a link. If you have had trouble with any brokers please share your experience. Be as specific as possible. No, “They suck!” and that’s it. That type of info is useless.
No related posts.
Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.
July 2nd, 2009 at 3:33 pm
Hey Jeff,
I was excited when I found your website and discovered you’re using FAPTurbo, too!
Right now, I’m testing a demo account with Alpari-US, using FAPTurbo. So I’m looking for a good broker for when I start using real money. Alpari seems to be a good broker, although I’ve read some negative reviews written about them.
What broker are you using with FAPTurbo and what have been your results?
Thanks,
Jonathan
July 3rd, 2009 at 10:20 am
Jonathan,
In researching a broker I found negative comments & experiences with them all. I have yet to find a forex broker who has overwhelming positive ratings. If I remember correctly on one site the highest rated broker came in with a 43% positive rating. That either speaks poorly for the industry or the freedom of the internet, anyone can say anything and distort the truth.
I went with Fast Brokers. I had excellent experiences with their customer service before and after opening a live account. Spreads are comparable to others, lag is minimal and I felt comfortable with them. FAPT and MegaDroid function well with FastFX as well. Originally I was interested in spot Gold and they offer that as well.
My FXPro demo account is OK. I get disconnected with them often, 10-1 compared ot any others.
ForexMeta is hyped by the makers of FAPTurbo and MegaDroid (we found out that they are apparently getting an affiliate payment for everyone they send to ForexMeta) but has by far the poorest performance. Far too few trades with both bots.
LiteForex seems to work very well. Customer service took a week to respond to my initial question and when I looked at their funding vehicles I decided against them. My demo account with them seems to work will with both bots.
If I was looking for a new broker I think I’d look closely at FXCM and Alpari.
Since I’m a noob I wanted to open a small account and I believe Alpari requires a larger deposit than I wanted to make initially.
It seems most traders either love or hate their broker, and all others. There is little middle ground. My comments are based on my personal experience in researching and demoing brokers. Take advantage of demos and run any bot or system you plan to use live for a few months.
Hope that helps. Let us know who you go with and how things are going.
TFN