Which Spread Trading Broker to Use?
Spread trading brokers are amongst the most technologically advanced and innovative brokers available. Furthermore, they are not only operating at the forefront of trading technology but their platforms are highly accessible and offer a vast range of tools and charts free of charge to account holders. Spread trading brokers no longer require knowing your financial history or current status and many will allow you to open an account for a little as $50. One of the biggest problems that you will encounter is which spread trading broker to go with considering that there are so many offering both a high quality trading experience and incentives for new account holders. This article will go through a few of the things to look for in order to find your perfect spread trading broker.
The first and most important thing to consider when you look to open a spread trading account is how much experience do you have as a trader. An honest appraisal of your understanding and skills will allow you to decide whether you need a broker that is going to offer a comprehensive educational package alongside good starter incentives and low-cost trading. As a beginner you really want to have the best access to information possible and to be able to learn how to spread trade without risking your entire savings. The good news is that spread trading brokers are generally excellent at welcoming new traders and those who want to gain some of the basics before the jump in. Spread trading brokers such as IG Index, for example, provide a 6-week TradeSense program where they will actually mail you material to put into an IG folder and which guides you through the first steps of spread betting. During this time they also offer spread trading at a discounted rate which starts at just 10p per point. This is absolutely ideal to learn what and how you want to trade without risking large sums of money.
The next consideration in looking for a spread trading broker is to know what you are wanting to trade. Although most brokers offer fairly comprehensive access to multiple markets, some provide a better range of, for example, commodities than others. Larger spread trading brokers will also offer access to exotic currency markets such as South American, Baltic and Asian currency pairs which can be highly volatile but potentially very profitable. If you are looking to trade stocks then you may want to consider a broker who will provide a wide range outside of simply the UK and North American markets.
What is particularly important are the sizes of the spreads and the quality of the trade execution. Those two qualities will determine the transparency and competitiveness of their prices. Another thing to consider is the range of markets. The better platforms will allow you access to several thousand equity prices including UK and overseas shares, indices, currencies and commodities.
Many spread trading brokers provide both French and German stocks amongst other European stock markets and, if you are looking to trade through the night you may want to consider a broker who will provide access to Japanese stocks. If on the other hand you would rather trade interest rates or house prices then you will find that there are several brokers who will offer you this amongst other special markets. The choice will really depend on your personal preference and how many options you want your spread trading broker to provide you with.
Given the competitive nature of online spread betting both the tools available to traders and the spreads will almost always be close to the best available. Charting packages which you would have had to subscribe to a few years ago have become free to all account holders and include cutting-edge technology and analytical tools to make spotting those trade set-ups much easier Many spread trading brokers use leading charting technology provided by IT Finance which allows traders to interactively apply trend lines, Fibonacci and indicators directly to the charts. This was once reserved for large downloadable programs such as Metatrader for currency analysis but these are now available online from any location. Furthermore, traders can save their editions to these charts and access them at their convenience from any computer and still maintain their studies.
The flexibility afforded by many brokers to trade on the move or from any location is a reflection of the demand by spread traders to be able to monitor, enter and exit trades on the move. One of the important factors that you may want to consider in looking for an ideal spread trading broker is whether they offer mobile application for their platform. If you are unlikely to be sitting in front of a computer in order to monitor your positions then you may prefer to be able to check, exit or enter positions on the move. This will depend largely on your trading style as swing and position traders will not necessarily need a spread trading broker with the most advanced mobile trading solution. However, if you intend to work alongside trading, have family or other commitments yet are hoping to trade intra-day and short term charts then mobile trading is a very innovative solution for you. Many of the leading spread betting brokers offer this and the quality of the charting and speed of transactions are improving all the time.