Five things to know when choosing an online broker

When it comes to online trading, the broker you work with is one of the most important considerations you’ll have to make in your trading journey. Why? Because you’ll need to trust your broker with your hard-earned money. With that in mind, here are five important things to know when choosing a broker.

Regulation is everything to become regulated; a broker must jump through hoops. They must show a high level of capitalisation; they must be transparent in their dealings and follow strict rules and regulations to comply.

Regulated brokers must put their clients’ funds in a segregated account from the company’s money to protect it. One of the most regulated brokers in the world is AvaTrade. This online broker is regulated in six continents, including the Middle east. Ava Trade Middle East is regulated by the Abu Dhabi Global Markets (ADGM) Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA No 190018). When you work with a regulated broker like AvaTrade, you know the broker is secure and reliable.

Competitive conditions
You must check the trading conditions that your broker offers you before trading. For instance, the spread. This is your trading charge; you can only profit once you have covered the spread. For that reason, the lower the spread your broker offers, the better for you. For instance, AvaTrade, one of the leading forex brokers, offers 0.9 pip spread on the EUR USD inclusive of all fees. When looking for a broker, ensure it can compete with this figure. If you like margin trading, you should check the leverage ratio that your broker offers. Margin trading allows you to use less of your capital per trade and therefore get exposure to more trades.

Someone to talk to
The best way to understand how good a broker is by speaking to customer service before you deposit. How long does it take them to answer you? Do they speak your language? Are emails from the broker informative and precise? Generally speaking, the rest of the offering tends to follow if customer support is good.

Choice of platforms
For a trader, the platform they use can be fundamental to the success of trading. For instance, you should be looking for a feature-rich platform to offer you advanced charting and reliable enough to provide near-instant execution and no downtime. This can be the difference between missing a valid exit point. Some traders prefer using the MT4 or MT5 platforms. Does your broker offer that? Do you prefer downloadable platforms, or would you prefer to trade from any browser through a WebTrader? Mobile trading for many is equally important. When using a smartphone to trade, you need to ensure that the mobile experience is rich and rewarding. An example of an enhanced trading platform for mobile is AvaTrade’s award-winning AvaTradeGO app. It’s a pleasure to use for all levels of traders. Plus, it contains a unique risk management tool called AvaProtect, which protects trades from losses when pre-set. Worth checking out.

What about the extras?
Tools, education and market research can uplift your trading. Does your broker offer these products? Education is key to enhancing your knowledge and improving your trading skills constantly. Some brokers have a rich library of educational resources, including courses, tutorials and videos. Check out the AvaAcademy for all of these materials. Additionally, market research, news and alerts can help you identify new trading opportunities and understand what is happening in the markets. It’s worth looking out for a broker that has a strong track record of award. One example is AvaTrade, which has continually won awards year on year.

Once you have clarified all the above, you are ready to trade. Remember, with AvaTrade, one of the best forex brokers around, you can get started with just $100 and trade assets like currencies, stocks, commodities and even cryptos.

To know more, visit AvaTrade

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