Selecting a Forex Trading Platform
ForexNewsNow – If you're searching for the best forex broker online, nothing is more important to consider than the trading platform that you will be using. Your trading platform is the most important tool in your arsenal and is how you will transfer your knowledge of the market and graphs into actual profits in the forex market. Because of this, the best brokerage will usually have the best trading platform.
Types of Forex Trading Platforms
Your forex trading platform can come either from your individual broker or from an independent software developer. The most popular independent forex client today is the ubiquitous MetaTrader4, which has support at nearly all of the best online trading brokerages. The main advantage of using an independent client is that you can use it at any brokerage that you decide to do business with. However, proprietary clients released by the brokerages themselves might have more specialized services and features that let you get more out of your trading account. Instead of just picking one, try both types of platforms out to see which you like better.
What to Look For
There are a few things that you should look for when you're choosing the best forex trading platform for you. The most important things that you should look for include:
Reliable Trade Execution: The forex market is very volatile and quickly moving. Many times you will buy and sell within a range of just a few pips. Because of this, you need to have a platform that executes your trades quickly and reliably at the prices you set to get the maximum profit out of every trade.
Accurate Quotes: Just as important as quick trading, you also need reliable quotes. The quotes in any quality trading platform are fully streaming and give you up to the second prices for the major currency pairs that you will be trading in.
Execution of Preloaded Orders: How a trading platform handles your preloaded orders is also of the utmost importance. You should be able to quickly and accurately enter stop loss and take profit orders as well as trailing stops. Once they're entered, the orders should also execute when they are supposed to without slippage.
Technical Analysis Tools: The backbone of successful forex trading is expert level knowledge of charting and technical analysis. Your trading platform should give you all the tools that you need to chart with the strategies you use. You should be able to call up all the popular indicators on demand and the charts should be updated in real time. The importance of powerful charting tools can't be underestimated.
Data Security: You will be transferring your money and bank account information, so the forex platform should be safe and secure.
Trading Automation Support
No Downtime
News, Indicators and Other Features: Many brokers will offer you news feeds and trading alerts that can help you to make the most of your knowledge. Depending on their quality, they can be a great help in your trading.
This list is just a few of the most important things that make up a good forex trading platform. Every person feels comfortable with different platforms. Your platform should support your trading by putting the information that you need at your fingertips and giving you the powerful tools to turn that information into winning trades.