Comments on Forex Trading Account Sizes, Lots and Margin Calls.
Carl's 2 Cents:
Trading Forex or Futures is a
risky business. That is why money and risk
management is very important. Size does
matter in Forex trading. It's part of the
risk and money management. I have seen
posts in the forums that traders lost thousands
of dollars or the entire investment because
there was no stop loss. The hope for a
market reverse never came true. Use a
simple 2% or 3% rule to determine the trading
size. It's a lot easier to make the money
back when the loss is 2% or 3% of the account
capital.
Forex trading is one of the best business opportunities you can
think of joining these days. No other market in the world allows
the "Leverage" that the profitable world of currency-trading
does. Leverage is all about margin trading. In the Forex market,
it is essentially the ratio of the amount used in a trade to the
required security deposit needed, by the particular broker you
chose to use, for that trade.
Normally, for most brokerages, a margin deposit of just $1,000
allows you to control a $100,000 position in the Forex market.
That's 100:1 leverage, or 1%. Or, said in a different way, a
"regular full-sized account", sometimes referred to as a 100k
account, allows you to trade with lot sizes equal to $100,000.
Each lot is worth $100,000 in currency. So It would only require
$1,000 to trade one lot.
This great feature in Forex trading is what makes this market
the hottest market to trade in right now. The Forex broker has
given you a loan of $99,000 dollars secured only by your $1,000!
This is a huge loan and, as you may know by now, this is what
allows traders to make extraordinary incomes in this market.
And, as you also are probably used to hearing , "leverage is a
two-edged sword" , it is what can cause you to lose a lot of
money if you trade without rules or Stop-loss orders.
But just as an example, let's say you were a person that likes
to trade with reckless abandon, i.e., with no strategy, no
common sense, no money- management principles, etc. That's never
recommended for anyone, but being a Forex trader has such great
advantages, that even someone with a trading mind like the one
described before, will never lose more than what he has placed
into a trade.
Unlike Futures (Commodity Trading), the market that most people
associate with High leverage, you can never have a debit balance
when trading Forex.
So, despite the greater leverage associated with FX trading, it
is still arguably less risky than futures trading. Futures
markets are often prone to sudden and dramatic moves, against
which you can't protect yourself, even by trading with
protective stops. Your position may be liquidated at a loss, and
you'll be liable for any resulting deficit in the account. But
because of the Forex markets great liquidity and 24-hour,
continuous trading, dangerous trading gaps and limit moves are
very improbable. Orders are executed quickly, without slippage
or partial fills, which is just great.
And as it was not enough, there are no margin calls, for your
protection, the Forex broker's trading platform will
automatically close out some or all of your open positions if
your account equity, meaning the total floating value of the
account, falls below the level required to hold the positions.
Think of this as a final, automatic stop, always working on your
behalf to prevent a debit balance.
About the author:
Adrian Pablo; Forex trader
and freelance writer.
Written by: Adrian Pablo
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