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“FX Open – A Recommended Broker in the correct trading conditions”
Last Updated on 29th July 2016: Trading on the Foreign Exchange Market can be easy, fun and profitable. But it’s important to know that the market is global, decentralized and absolutely gigantic. In fact, according to The Economist, the Forex market is the largest market in the world in terms of volume. The size and scope of this market means investors must always be wary of bad actors, scams and other dangers.
Forex trading is done through a broker, which is usually accessed through an internet connection or with your smartphone. There are thousands – maybe even tens of thousands – of forex brokers out there. One of the more popular brokers is FX Open. I created an account and used FX Open for a month for review purposes. My complete report is below.
History of FX Open
The FX-Open brokerage service was launched in 2005 by a group of traders. Forex trading really became popular among investors in the early 2000’s. So I felt perfectly confident using FXOpen and trusting them with my finances. They’ve been around since nearly the beginning. Heck, I personally started trading forex in the early 2000s, so I consider a company which has existed since 2005 to be rock solid.
Unlike many traders which come from a tech background, the people behind FX Open have a strong background in both tech AND finance. Before the website launched, they started as an education center which taught students how to use technology in order to analyse financial markets. Today, their expertise is available to anyone with an internet connection.
The Trading Platform Itself
FX Open uses MetaTrader 4. This should come as no surprise to anyone familiar with forex trading, since MetaTrader 4 is one of the most popular and stable trading platforms available. But FXOpen offers more than just the standard MetaTrader experience.
In 2009, they were the first to use MetaTrader to offer direct access to Interbank liquidity and ECN trading with their Liquidity Aggregator. This ensures instant and error-free order execution and, in my personal experience, resulted in quick, accurate trades. While this should be a given, you might be surprised at the experiences some users have with less reputable sites.
Aside from the website, you can also use their PDA and smartphone trading platforms. Secure and reliable, these mobile platforms allow you to keep up with market changes no matter where you are.
Features
PAMM Service
This is a powerful tool, exclusive to Forex Open, which allows trades to be copied from Master accounts to multiple Slave accounts. A Master account is the person or entity which makes the initial forex trades. A Slave is an account which is allowed to reproduce the Master’s strategies in real time. This is a great way for an inexperienced trader to replicate the success of a professional.
Multiple Currency Options
Naturally, you want to choose a broker which makes it easy to work in foreign currencies. FXOpen lets you fund your account in USD, GBP, EUR and AUD. This lets you avoid conversion commissions, which are a common way less-reputable brokers will attempt to take your money.
You can also trade in cryptocurrencies such as BitCoin, Litecoin, Namecoin and Peercoin. FX-Open was the first broker to allow this type of trade and it remains to be seen how it will affect the forex market. I liked the convenience of this as well as the idea that FX-Open is committed to new technologies.
Low Minimums
You can open an ECN account for $100 USD. For me, this is a plus. While you can find brokers with really low minimums, such as $5 minimums, those brokers are generally pretty sketchy. A reputable broker is going to have a higher minimum because they only want to deal with serious investors. One hundred dollars is a large enough amount that you’ll be able to successfully check out the system and make several trades. At the same time, you won’t lose a terrific amount of money while you’re learning.
Quotes Table
Real-time quotes are available whenever markets are open. You can easily view the currency type, bid, sell and spread directly on the front page. You can even “grab” screenshots whenever you like.
Help Center
New to forex? Staying true to their roots as an education center, FXOpen has a lot of help available for new users. This includes more information about forex training in general and info on how to use the site specifically.
Reputation
Reputation is key when choosing a broker. After all, you’re dealing with organisations which might be half a world away. There can be very little recourse if you run into a problem with a broker. So it’s better to choose wisely the first time instead of trying to fix a problem which might occur later.
They has an excellent reputation online. Their user forums are active and informative. Their help center is effective. They even offer instant online chat – which is a bit of a rarity among brokers.
My Recommendation
After researching the site for myself, and reading everything I could find online regarding the opinions of others, I feel confident giving them a high recommendation. It’s an easy, powerful way to trade foreign currencies and very newbie friendly too. The layout and operation of the site is clean and intuitive. The help options are responsive. While their minimum deposit is a tad on the high side, I still think it’s very reasonable for most traders. Whether you’re new to forex trading or an old pro, I think you’ll like what FX Open has to offer. For our bonus hit THIS LINK or click the logo below:
Tom is the owner of Elite Forex Trading. A website that provides beginner tips, trainings, reviews and strategies to help newbies get started making money in the forex markets.