"The foreign exchange (currency or forex or FX) market exists wherever one currency is traded for another. It is by far the largest financial market in the world, and includes trading between large banks, central banks, currency speculators, multinational corporations, governments, and other financial markets and institutions. The average daily trade in the global forex markets currently exceeds US$ 2 trillion. Retail traders (individuals) are a small fraction of this market and may only participate indirectly through brokers or banks."
The Retail forex
Retail Forex is usually highly leveraged
-->The idea of margin (leverage) and floating loss is another important trading concept and is perhaps best understood using an example. Most retail Forex market makers permit 100:1 leverage, but also, crucially, require you to have a certain amount of money in your account to protect against a critical loss point. For example, if a $100,000 position is held in Eur/USD on 100:1 leverage, the trader has to put up $1,000 to control the position. However, in the event of a declining value of your positions, Forex market makers, mindful of the fast nature of Forex price swings and the amplifying effect of leverage, typically do not allow their traders to go negative and make up the difference at a later date. In order to make sure the trader does not lose more money than is held in the account, Forex market makers typically employ automatic systems to close out positions when clients run out of margin (the amount of money in their account not tied to a position). If the trader has $2,000 in his account, and he is buying a $100,000 lot of EUR/USD, he has $1,000 of his $2,000 tied up in margin, with $1,000 left to allow his position to fluctuate downward without being closed out.
Typically a trader's trading platform will show him three important numbers associated with his account: his balance, his equity, and his margin remaining. If trader X has two positions: $100,000 long (buy) in EUR/USD, and $100,000 short (sell) in GBP/USD, and he has $10,000 in his account, his positions would look as follows: Because of the 100:1 leverage, it took him $1,000 to control each position. This means that he has used up $2,000 in his margin, out of a $10,000 account, and thus he has $8,000 of margin still available. With this margin, he can either take more positions or keep the margin relatively high to allow his current positions to be maintained in the event of downturns. If the client chooses to open a new position of $100,000, this will again take another $1,000 of his margin, leaving $7,000. He will have used up $3,000 in margin among the three positions. The other way margin will decrease is if the positions he currently has open lose money. If his 3 positions of $100,000 decrease by $5,000 in value (not at all an unusual swing), he now has, of his original $7,000 in margin, only $2,000 left. As discussed above, if you have a $10,000 account and only open one $100,000 position, this has committed only $1,000 of your money plus you must maintain $1,000 in margin. While this leaves $9,000 free in your account, it is possible to lose almost all of it if the position dives. On the other hand, if you have 5 positions open in a $10,000 account, you can lose only $5,000 because the other $5,000 is held in margin. However, this does not make it safer to hold more positions. The Forex market fluctuates so rapidly, that with shallow margins, you are much more likely to be closed out of your position and lose it entirely when it might have recovered from a temporary fluctuation if you had had sufficient margin to cover the variation. The more positions open at one time, the more risk the trader is exposed to.
Marginal Trading on FOREX
Marginal trading is the term used for trading with borrowed capital. It is appealing because of the fact that in FOREX investments can be made without a real money supply. This allows investors to invest much more money with fewer money transfer costs, and open bigger positions with a much smaller amount of actual capital. Therefore, one can conduct relatively large transactions with a small amount of initial capital. Marginal trading in an exchange market is quantified in lots. The term "lot" refers to approximately $100,000, an amount which can be obtained by putting up as little as 0.5% or $500.
But you always should remember these rules:
Margin trading can make you responsible for losses that greatly exceed the dollar amount you deposited.
Many currency traders ask customers to give them money, which they sometimes refer to as "margin," often sums in the range of $1,000 to $5,000. However, those amounts, which are relatively small in the currency markets, actually control far larger dollar amounts of trading, a fact that often is poorly explained to customers.
Don't trade on margin unless you fully understand what you are doing and are prepared to accept losses that exceed the margin amounts you paid.
The CFTC lists 9 warning signs for foreign exchange trading fraud:
1. Stay away from opportunities that seem too good to be true
Always remember that there is no such thing as a "free lunch." Be especially cautious if you have acquired a large sum of cash recently and are looking for a safe investment vehicle. In particular, retirees with access to their retirement funds may be attractive targets for fraudulent operators. Getting your money back once it is gone can be difficult or impossible.
2. Avoid any company that predicts or guarantees large profits
Be extremely wary of companies that guarantee profits, or that tout extremely high performance. In many cases, those claims are false.
The following are examples of statements that either are or most likely are fraudulent:
"Whether the market moves up or down, in the currency market you will make a profit."
"Make $1000 per week, every week"
"We are out-performing domestic investments."
"The main advantage of the forex markets is that there is no bear market."
"We guarantee you will make at least a 30-40% rate of return within two months."
3. Stay Away From Companies That Promise Little or No Financial Risk
Be suspicious of companies that downplay risks or state that written risk disclosure statements are routine formalities imposed by the government.
The currency futures and options markets are volatile and contain substantial risks for unsophisticated customers. The currency futures and options markets are not the place to put any funds that you cannot afford to lose. For example, retirement funds should not be used for currency trading.
g. You can lose most or all of those funds very quickly trading foreign currency futures or options contracts. Therefore, beware of companies that make the following types of statements:
"With a $10,000 deposit, the maximum you can lose is $200 to $250 per day."
"We promise to recover any losses you have."
"Your investment is secure."
4. Don't Trade on Margin Unless You Understand What It Means
Margin trading can make you responsible for losses that greatly exceed the dollar amount you deposited.
Many currency traders ask customers to give them money, which they sometimes refer to as "margin," often sums in the range of $1,000 to $5,000. However, those amounts, which are relatively small in the currency markets, actually control far larger dollar amounts of trading, a fact that often is poorly explained to customers.
Don't trade on margin unless you fully understand what you are doing and are prepared to accept losses that exceed the margin amounts you paid.
5. Question Firms That Claim To Trade in the "Interbank Market"
Be wary of firms that claim that you can or should trade in the "interbank market," or that they will do so on your behalf.
Unregulated, fraudulent currency trading firms often tell retail customers that their funds are traded in the "interbank market," where good prices can be obtained. Firms that trade currencies in the interbank market, however, are most likely to be banks, investment banks and large corporations, since the term "interbank market" refers simply to a loose network of currency transactions negotiated between financial institutions and other large companies.
6. Be Wary of Sending or Transferring Cash on the Internet, By Mail or Otherwise
Be especially alert to the dangers of trading on-line; it is very easy to transfer funds on-line, but often can be impossible to get a refund.
It costs an Internet advertiser just pennies per day to reach a potential audience of millions of persons, and phony currency trading firms have seized upon the Internet as an inexpensive and effective way of reaching a large pool of potential customers.
Companies offering currency trading on-line will usually be located in different legal jurisdictions to you. Even if they display an address or any other information identifying their nationality on their Web site it may be false. Be aware that if you transfer funds to foreign firms it may be very difficult or impossible to recover your funds.
7. Currency Scams Often Target Members of Ethnic Minorities
Some currency trading scams target potential customers in ethnic communities, particularly persons in the Russian, Chinese and Indian immigrant communities, through advertisements in ethnic newspapers and television "infomercials."
Sometimes those advertisements offer so-called "job opportunities" for "account executives" to trade foreign currencies. Be aware that "account executives" that are hired might be expected to use their own money for currency trading, as well as to recruit their family and friends to do likewise. What appears to be a promising job opportunity often is another way many of these companies lure customers into parting with their cash.
8. Be Sure You Get the Company's Performance Track Record
Get as much information as possible about the firm's or individual's performance record on behalf of other clients. You should be aware, however, that It may be difficult or impossible to do so, or to verify the information you receive. While firms and individuals are not required to provide this information, you should be wary of any person who is not willing to do so or who provides you with incomplete information. However, keep in mind, even if you do receive a glossy brochure or sophisticated-looking charts, that the information they contain might be false.
9. Don't Deal With Anyone Who Won't Give You His Background
Plan to do a lot of checking of any information you receive to be sure that the company is and does exactly what it says.
Get the background of the persons running or promoting the company, if possible. Do not rely solely on oral statements or promises from the firm's employees. Ask for all information in written form.
If you cannot satisfy yourself that the persons with whom you are dealing are completely legitimate and above-board, the wisest course of action is to avoid trading foreign currencies through those companies.
Good luck, you will need it ;)
