1- Offshore Forex Broker
An Offshore forex broker may sound appealing and may possibly have tax advantages. However, the big issue can be the lack of regulation. If the offshore broker goes bankrupt, what will happen to your funds? It’s always important to find out before going offshore.
2- Regulated Forex Broker
It is almost important to understand the type of regulation that your broker has. Some offshore brokers are not even regulated at all. So in theory they could do whatever they like with your money! In the US, a brokerage house should be registered as a Futures Commission Merchant (FCM) with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and a NFA member. The CFTC and NFA were made to protect the public against fraud, manipulation, and abusive trade practices. UK based brokered are regulated by the FSA (Financial Services Authority). You can do a check with CFTC registration and NFA membership status of a particular broker and check their disciplinary history by checking the NFA's Web site at http://www.nfa.futures.org/basicnet/. In Singapore a brokerage house should be registered with Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) holding a Capital Markets Services License. You can also do a check at MAS's Web site http://www.mas.gov.sg/fi_directory/index.html
3- ECN Forex Broker
An ECN Forex broker actually links buyers and sellers together and charges a commission fee. ECN brokers often have lower spreads than standard retail brokers. They can be ideal for scalping strategies.
4- Forex Broker Web Based Trading
Some brokers offer web based trading platforms, some of them can be used be mobile phones giving you the opportunity to monitor your trades wherever you are!
5- Automated Forex Brokers
FX Brokers that use the popular Metatrader platform have the option to run Expert Advisors. These are automated forex trading strategies.
Note:
There are a lot of scams involving forex investments on the Internet, and since it is easy to find a forex broker online than offline, all the reason you ought to be more careful. It’s advisable that you investigate and learn about the forex broker with whom you are planning to open an account. Don’t let yourself to be sucked into a scam.
