Forex Trading Guide - Chicago Forex Options Section

Indeed large multinational and individual banks and other major financial institutions have dominated FX trading (also known as Forex trading), but there is a paradigm change in the nature and type of investing. According to one estimate, in the new millennium, there are over 6 million online investment accounts, up from 1.5 million in 1997. As a result, start-up firms now compete directly with financial institutions to serve investors in the new technologically driven economy, and the clear winner is the customer. The competition between the brick and mortar institutions and the Internet-based companies has dramatically lowered the costs of investing, and empowered the individual investor to take control of their own investment strategy in Forex trading.

We know Forex trading is direct access trading of currencies. In the past, foreign exchange trading was limited to large banks and institutional traders but recent advancements in technology have allowed small traders to take advantage of the many benefits of Forex trading using online trading platforms to trade. Virtually Forex trading is done 24 hours day and almost 5 ½ days of a week. In the recent times, online trading has revolutionized the currency markets by making it accessible to the small and medium sized investor.

The Forex trading is perhaps the largest financial market in the world, with a daily average turnover of approximately $1.5 trillion. Foreign Exchange is the simultaneous buying of one currency and selling of another. The world's currencies are on a floating exchange rate and are always traded in pairs, for example EUR/USD or USD/JPY or USD/INR etc.

In the new millennium, the Forex trading has become accessible for an individual investor or small group of investors. In the current scenario, investors reap many benefits from Forex trading than stock market, e-mini futures and such other trading. Today mostly traders are choosing Forex trading than stock trading because there are approximately 4,500 stocks listed on the New York Stock exchange. Another 3,500 are listed on the NASDAQ. In spot Forex trading, you have 4 major markets, 24 hours a day 5.5 days a week. If you are so inclined, you have approximately 34 second-tier currencies to look at in your spare time. You can concentrate on the major forex and can find your trade. When you are investing in forex you can spend your afternoon on the golf course or with your spouse watching movie or celebrating holidays—in short it is easy and hassle free than stock/future market.

Not only is it an accessible, easy and less capital-intensive business opportunity, but it is much more cost efficient too to invest in the Forex market, in terms of both commissions and transaction fees. Generally, commissions for stock trades range from a low of $7.95-$29.95 per trade with on-line brokers to over $100 per trade with traditional brokers. Opposite to that, typically stock commissions are directly related to the level of service offered by the broker. At the high end, traditional brokers offer full access to research, analyst stock recommendations, etc. In contrast, on-line Forex brokers charge significantly lower commission and transaction fees.

About the Author

Anthony Trister is a currency trader and is an owner of OneDayTrades which offers free, mechanical forex signals and an automated trading program for those wanting to trade forex. Free access available here: http://www.onedaytrades.com