If you're new to Forex, here are the key reasons why we believe Foreign Exchange to be the most exciting and dynamic tradeable market in the world:

 

Liquidity

On a daily basis the Currency Markets turn over $3 Trillion, a sum which easily dwarfs the combined turnover of all the world's stock exchanges. The direct benefit of this is instant execution of trades. Under normal conditions there is always someone there to take your trade regardless of size (within reason!) and there's no waiting for matching or for a market-maker to fill an order.

Volatility

The sheer size of the market and the number of global participants serves to create a trading environment in which opportunities are endless and constantly presenting themselves, with large moves taking place over short timeframes.

Spreads

Forex spreads are super-tight and a winning position becomes profitable very quickly. Having tight spreads also facilitates the application of tight stop-losses, leading to more accurate and flexible risk management.

Leverage

Retail brokers offer leverage facilities to clients enabling them to trade $100,000 "lots" whilst only committing margin deposits of around $1000 per lot. This degree of leverage can hugely magnify profits (and losses!) but if used wisely it can be a highly effective tool in your trading arsenal.

Trading Hours

There is no central exchange for currency trading. It is a true 24-hour market and from the open in New Zealand on Monday morning to the close in New York on Friday evening the markets never close.

Clearly if you are an active trader then Forex has to be a part of your portfolio. This exciting and dynamic 24-hour global market offers tremendous opportunities for those with an effective strategy and a firm grip on risk management.

For those completely new to trading, head over to our Education Page for the basics of how to trade the Currency Markets.