4 Of The Most-Asked Forex Trading Questions

A field as complex as Forex trading is bound to spark curiosity amongst traders. With an extensive set of provisions from indicators to charting tools, to the vast array of strategies - Forex traders will be lost in the markets when they start off! Currency exchange is an analysis-intensive field, with several nuances pertaining to investment, planning and executing.

Trading Platforms in South Africa

Here are 4 of the most asked questions about currency exchange, and their answers: 

1) What Makes Forex Markets Different?

To be put simply, the architecture currency Trading Platform is built on is different when compared to other trading markets. Foreign exchange, in essence, is the exchange of one currency for the other, and traders profit from the value difference. In addition to this, the market volatility seen on the grounds of Forex is times more than other markets. Due to economic factors playing the major role in currency exchange, the smallest of shifts in trends can cause massive disruptions.  

2) Does Currency Exchange Make One Rich?

The answer to this is a yes, but with some twists and turns. Foreign exchange is indeed a rewarding field; with a trading value in millions, traders do have a lot to run towards. However, getting rich isn't an overnight happening in Forex. It takes years to master the art of trading and years more to become adept at it!

3) Do Bigger Forex Trading Strategies Yield Better?

Currency trading can be done on small timeframes and long ones, each with strategies of their own. Many traders are driven by the misconception that a complex Forex trading strategy somehow works better than shorter ones and brings in more profits! This isn't the case. A good trading strategy that encompasses all the elements right from currency choice to exit points, will win irrespective of anything else. 

4) Is Part-Time Forex Trading Worth It?

Undoubtedly Currency trading, when done right, is always worth it. And don't mistake part-time to be any less profitable either. Even with a day job in your hands, you can spend some spare time trading and make a good winning! 

Have more questions about Currency Trading? Don't hesitate to reach out to WesternFX and talk with one of our experts about it today! We will provide you with more than just information; our goal is to equip traders with the best of strategies and provide them with stellar platforms to trade on! Call us now to know more. 

4 Costly Mistakes Forex Beginners Tend To Make

When you're new to the field of Forex trading, making mistakes is a given. Nothing new can be learnt without making a few mistakes, and it so happens that mistakes offer an unforgettable learning experience! In Forex markets, however, making mistakes costs real money, and it gets very expensive on some days. While making mistakes is indeed essential, there are some you will have to avoid at all costs, to keep away heavy costs! 

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Here are 4 mistakes novices make in Forex that can hamper their trading experience:

1) Not Playing The Long Game: 

Always think of the long run impacts when you trade. Driven by the need to make money and see big profits, Forex traders devise their approach in ways that are far from long-term. With their short-term approach, profits may come, but they will go with a lot more of your account with them, come a bad day! 

2) Having Unrealistic Expectations: 

Forex markets don't have a button you can spam to get riches. There is no magic portal to making money as a Forex trader. You will have to work on a Forex demo account, hone your skills and mainly - keep realistic expectations from your trades! Sometimes you win and sometimes you don't - that's just how Forex Trading In South Africa is. 

3) Getting Greedy: 

"Just one more trade" - this thought has ruined more trades than you can imagine. Giving in to greed will lead to a very painful downfall. You will burn your funds in the blink of an eye when you trade out of greed. Be humble in your approach and let the smaller profits give big happiness. Money is but a relative pleasure in Forex trading - it comes and goes without notice; its best if the losses are minimal and profits and maximized! 

4) Poor Capital Management: 

The final mistake many traders make, mostly out of the lack of knowledge, is due to bad capital management. Your trading account should always have enough money, either for hedging a bad trade or for being able to make good ones! 

With a good Forex Demo Account, you can slowly learn the basics, implement strategies and improve as a trader. Establish a clear goal before Forex trading in South Africa, and achieving it will become all the easier! Sign up with WesternFX today, and avail from the plethora of Forex solutions we offer. Tailor-made to suit your needs, we will ensure you get the perfect start, devoid of hassles, and see to it that you go on to rock your trades! 

4 Of The Best Forex Trading Platforms In 2019

Without a Forex trading platform, trading is impossible. There are a variety of brokers today offering different trading platforms. Each one is unique in its own way, and classifying one as the best is difficult due to trader preference! Despite of this diversity, some boxes have to be ticked to classify a platform as a good one. This includes efficiency, system support, mobile-compatibility, and other tools like indicators and charting devices that help conduct a trade successfully while Forex trading in South Africa. 

Forex Trading In South Africa

Today we can choose from a variety of Forex trading platforms, and here are the top 4 for you to pick from: 

1) MetaTrader 4: 

MT4 is universally accepted as one of the best Forex Trading Platforms in the game today. With mobile, desktop and automation support, MT4 comes equipped with all the means to conduct a trade. You can effortlessly place your trades on this platform and ensure your trades have the necessary stop orders too! 

To top things off, the MT4 platform has impeccable levels of data protection to make sure your accounts are in safe hands. 

2) MetaTrader 5: 

While many believe MT5 to be an enhanced version of MT4, the truth says otherwise. MetaTrader 4 was designed solely to equip traders with Forex trading means, an essentially a Forex-only tool. 

The MT5 however, serves as a trading platform that comes with improved fundamental, technical and financial trading functionalities, while also providing means to trade other exchange-oriented assets like equities and commodities. 

3) cTrader:

 The winner of the best trading platform award in 2018, the cTrader comes pre-installed with stellar indicators and charting tools. This tool also lets you devise your own strategy and approach! Integrated with the cloud, on cTrader you can watch as many trades as you want and invest in the best ones. 

4) fxTrade: 

Known worldwide for its swift execution, the fxTrade platform was designed to cut down trading costs while improving the functionality. Another incredible advantage of fxTrade is that it covers an extensive range of markets right from currencies to bonds. 

Loaded with easy one-touch trading means, stops and a number of technical, fundamental Forex trading tools, this platform is undoubtedly one of the best. 

To dominate the grounds of Forex Trading In South Africa, you will have to get yourself a good trading platform to work with. 

A platform alone, however, won't do much. With the help of a reputed broker like WesternFX, you can master the art of trading currencies and work on the best trading platform. Call us today to get started! 

What is the Minimum Money Required to Start Forex Trading?

For aspirants that are looking to enter the online trading scene in South Africa, this has always been an important question. The amount with which one should get started in forex trading is a question that has never been answered satisfactorily. A reason for this could be the fact that there is no right answer.

The forex trading industry is one which is quite open and welcoming to its traders. Unlike the stock exchange, online trading in currencies does not require a huge investment. If traders spend some efforts on locating the best forex brokers, they can usually get accounts for as low as $25 as the minimum deposit. With this being the case, most professionals can reach out to brokers like WesternFX to set up an account.

Is it wise to set up an account based on the lowest investment?

No. Setting up an account should be based on the purpose it has to serve. The amount of investment one should invest in the trading account should factor several criteria.

• Style of Trading: Traders engage in different styles of trading. While some of them may engage in short term trade activity such as scalping and swing trading, others may engage in forex trading that is long term.
• Purpose behind trading: Some traders may be in the trading business to learn how it operates before they move forward and use it as a means to diversify their portfolio. Others may be pursuing it as a career. In the first case, it is advisable to open an account with a small investment and test the waters. In the second scenario, it is wise for the trader to open an account with enough liquidity that he or she can experiment and at the same time make some profits on the go. This will also ensure that even if they face a few initial losses they can still have capital left in their account.
• Profit Targets: This is yet another deciding factor on the initial investment. For traders looking to make good profits out of their forex trading platforms, they need to invest in positions that are large enough to reap decent profits. While leveraging allows them to open large positions, having a large account can help them devise trading strategies that will produce maximum profits with minimum movements in the market.

For forex traders in South Africa, the best way to solve such tricky problems is to get the support of acclaimed brokers who can guide traders to make the right decisions. WesternFX is among the best forex brokers and has helped thousands of traders succeed on the market. Partnering with them can help understand the market better.

How to Build an Effective Forex Trading Strategy?

You can read scores of online resources or pore over countless books, but it still doesn’t guarantee you success as a Forex trader. So what does establish you as a viable player in the market? Practice and planning! Yes, nothing can come close to gaining hands-on experience and applying the learned knowledge in real life. A prescribed plan of action is also vital to drive your trading approach in the right direction and make you great fortunes. Do not equate Forex trading in South Africa to gambling. Instead, adopt a practical approach, create a plan, execute it, and gain experience to better your trading performance.

Let’s take a look at six tips that will help you craft the best Forex trading plan:

#1 Start with demo trading

Avoid pooling in real currency to test out the field. Instead, open a free Forex trading account, trade with virtual currency, understand the process, get familiar with the platform and assess your skill. Once you’re confident, only then should you venture into live trading.

#2: Emotional Strength

The Forex market with its high volatility and uncertain market conditions can plunge you into periods of emotional turmoil that could jeopardize your trading career. Keep up your emotional strength at all times and devise a plan that suits your personality and lifestyle.

#3) Set targets

You need to be prepared for losses, thus making it necessary that you prescribe an amount of loss that could be borne by you. Likewise, you also need to factor in the profit you’d like to make. Be realistic and come up with trading strategies that could chase down your profit goals.

#4) Stay tuned always

The Forex trading market is accustomed to swaying as per economic, political or other events. You can’t cut yourself off from it all if you expect to succeed as a trader. Read news feeds, magazines, journals and make sure you’re well-informed. This allows you to analyze the market before entering a trade.

#5) Refine your trading system

The trading platform you choose must support your needs. MetaTrader is considered the best by many. Once you’ve opted for the right system, you need to fine-tune it. Set support and resistance levels and use visual and auditory signals to alert you on entry/exit points.

#6) Maintain a journal

One of the biggest mistakes you could make is by believing that you’ve formulated the best Forex trading strategies – because you haven’t. There’s always room for improvement. Keep a journal, record all your trading activities, and know where and why you went wrong. This could help you alter your approach accordingly.

You can always do better by allying with reputed Forex brokers in South Africa. WesternFX is leading brokerage that can equip you with a free Forex demo account, loads of educational materials, and professional guidance to help you form a better trading plan.

Key Features that a Trading Platform Must Have

One of the principal decisions that a newcomer to Forex trading would need to make is which broker to ally with. It is critical that a beginner carries out research in this process, attempting to identify a brokerage that would have all the necessary aids and facilities that he or she would require. 

Among the many features that an online broker provides, possibly the most important one that you need to keep in sight is the trading platform. The trading platform needs to have high performance, along with all the vital requirements needed to trade. The platform needs to also remain reliable and stable, without chances of crashing or freezing in the middle of the trading process. 

In this article, we’re going to be looking at some of the key features that a trading platform needs to have for optimal performance:

1) Security for deposited funds

The first thing that a platform in currency trading should offer is a security for your deposited funds, regardless of what the amount is. 

2) Streaming function

Another vital feature is the capacity to stream data in a real-time manner for the trader to see. Although this facility would be handier with stocks and commodities trading than with Forex trading in South Africa, it could still be an efficient aid. The display of this needs to be convenience-oriented, allowing the trader to identify key data points easily. 

3) Simplicity and order-making capacity

The entire trading environment is better off with a simple and to-the-point arrangement, ensuring that clients do not end up making errors. The buying and selling orders, along with the ability to exit and enter transactions, need to be presented in a more organized and efficient manner. Along with all of these, a reliable trading platform should also allow clients to implement and edit stop losses.

4) Charting aids

A vital feature that most platforms would include is charting software. Charts are central for providing the information and analytics on which traders build their decisions. The better this facility on the platform, the more informed and calculated the trader’s transactions would be. An important factor for charting instruments would be the facility to project both short and long term trading periods. 

Of trading software, the first type is built by third-party entities and is adopted by brokers across the field. A prominent example of this would be MetaTrader 4. The second type would be platforms individually designed and tailored by the brokerage for its clients. Depending on the type of aids and facilities that one would like, both types of platforms come with their own unique advantages. 

If you want to ally with a broker with a stable, high-performance platform and plenty of instruments and aids, then choose WesternFX. We are among the leading Forex brokers in the region, with clients in South Africa and multiple other countries. Get in touch with us now!