Five ways private investors can trade in Forex directly or indirectly:

Five ways private investors can trade in Forex directly or indirectly:

* The spot markeT
* Forwards and futures
* Options
* Contracts for difference
* Spread betting Spot transaction

A spot transaction is a direct exchange of one currency for another. The spot rate is the current market price, otherwise known as the benchmark price. Spot transactions do not require immediate settlement, or on-the-spot payment. The settlement date, or "value date," is the second business day after the "deal date" (or "trade date") on which the transaction is agreed to by the two traders. The two-day period provides time to confirm the agreement and arrange the clearing and necessary debiting and crediting of bank accounts in various international locations.

Risks Although Forex trading can lead to very profitable results, there are risks involved: exchange rate risks, interest rate risks, credit risks, and country risks. About 80% of all currency transactions last a period of seven days or less, and over 40% of forex trades will last no more than than two days. Given the extremely short lifespan of the typical trade, technical indicators heavily influence entry, exit and order placement decisions.

How To Start Trading ForexTrading Forex can be done online by the private investor anywhere in the world at any time of the day. An investor only needs a computer with broadband internet access and a Forex trading account. To obtain a forex trading account, the investor must register and then deposit the amount of cash that he wishes to have in his new margin account. Registering is relatively simple. All online forex trading sites will have a signup page available to accept payment via a major credit card or even from a PayPal account.

Leveraged Financing

The ratio of investment to actual value is called "leverage". Leveraged financing, i.e., the use of credit, such as a trade purchased on a margin, is very common in Forex. Using a $1000 to buy a Forex contract with a $100,000 value is "leveraging" at a 1:100 ratio. The invested amount of $1000 is all that is under risk in order to achieve the gain of $100,000. The loan/leveraged in the margined account is collateralized by an investor's initial deposit. As a result, this may result in being able to control $100,000 for as little as $1,000.

Managed Forex Account

A managed forex account can give an investor who cannot watch the market 24 hours a day an opportunity to participate in the colossal world of forex trading (US$10,000 minimum). A managed forex account may also be appropriate for the investor who prefers to have his capital managed by professionals. Studies of professionally managed forex accounts have shown returns that are not related to the performance of the stock market. Consequently, allocating a portion of an investment portfolio to a forex managed account may be an appropriate way to increase the portfolio's total diversification (learn more about our managed accounts).If you are interested in learning how a managed FX account can help diversify your overall portfolio, or if you are looking for an alternative to stocks,

Dukascopy Interbank Accounts

Interbank Account Interbank Accountvia API AdvancedInterbank Account VIPInterbank AccountMinimum Deposit USD 50.000 *USD 100.000 USD 250.000 USD 1.000.000Exclusive Services - API servicewith minimumvolume conditions - -Spreads Interbank Spread EUR/USD 0-1 pip Interbank Spread EUR/USD 0-1 pip Interbank Spread EUR/USD 0-1 pip Interbank Spread EUR/USD 0-1 pipBank Guarantee Funding NO NO YES YESSegregated accounts with Swiss Private Banks NO NO Yes, starting with a deposit of 500.000 USD YESVolume commission USD 10-18/ mio USD USD 10-18/ mio USD USD 10-18/ mio USD USD 10-18/ mio USDScalping YES YES YES YESLiquidity,one click trading Unlimited Unlimited Unlimited Unlimited* This limitation is only applicated on users of FIX API. No limitations apply to JForex API.Settlement procedureSettlement activities are conducted on a daily basis and include all post-trade operations such as trade settlements, rolls, volume commissions and daily p&L conversions and other end-of-day amendments (please refer to Overnight policy for relating information on value date and overnights). Settlement procedure is applied at 22:00 GMT and carried out automatically in the same currency of the account. When the settlement process is completed, changes are registered in the balance. Clients are able to view the balance history in the various reports through the trading platform or the website backoffice services.Lot SizeThe Dukascopy platform is optimized for trading 250,000 units of the primary currency as a standard order size. The minimal acceptable order size is now 100,000 units of the primary currency (for any type of orders except BID/OFFER orders). However, orders with a size between 100,000 and 250,000 units of the primary currency have an increased probability of being rejected by some counterparties.Platform SpecificationDukascopy's SWFX Trading Platform is a unique technology with specific characteristic for advanced traders. Platform's special functions and tools are created in order to suit sophisticated needs and provide additional protection of the clients against market spikes. Dukascopy strongly recommends you to become familiar with platform manual before you start live trading.Trading Accounts funding facilitiesDifferent solutions are available to clients to fund their trading accounts.They include:* Direct money transfer* Bank Guarantee or Letter of Credit (the client and the issuing bank have to contact their account manager at Dukascopy to get more information)* Trading Account linked to a personal Swiss Private Bank Account. In this case, clients trade directly in the Swiss FX Marketplace from their personal Swiss Bank Accounts, without transfering funds to Dukascopy. (the client and the issuing bank have to contact their account manager at Dukascopy for any question).

Why Forex Trading ??

* $3 trillion daily turnover
* $35 million traded every second
* 40 x the size of NASDAQ
Foreign Exchange Currency Trading (Forex) is the exchange of money between different countries. The value of one country’s currency is constantly changing against the value of another country’s currency. Forex traders make money through buying and selling currencies on the foreign exchange market.
Online Forex trading is a nonstop cash market. It is one of the fastest growing industries on the internet. It attracts a wide range of individuals, from beginners to more experienced traders. Anyone with access to the internet, a valid credit card and with a minimum cash deposit can share in the excitement.
There are many affiliate programs. Forex trading is today’s most exciting arena for investors as it offers a desirable product with mass market appeal.

Forex Live Mentor

There is nothing like learning how to trade from an experienced mentor. Have you ever tried learning from a trading e-book or website? - Not very productive, correct? That is why the training we provide our forex customers is live, not prerecorded; it's like being face to face with your mentor as you watch the currency market in action.You can ask your live trading mentor all the questions you want during your free training.We are convinced that in order to learn how to day trade, live mentoring is an absolute must. Just like it is difficult for an entrepreneur to succeed in a new business endeavor, traders without the proper guidance can have a hard time making ends meet. That is why we put so much effort in our live training program. Since every one of our customers has a different level of trading experience, a live forex trading mentor can answer individual questions more accurately and this accelerates the overall learning curve for the clients. Students will also be able to follow the trainers thought process more clearly and understand different forex strategies as they are applied in a live market environment.

Forex Price, Quotes and Indications

The price of a currency (in terms of the counter currency), is called "Quote". There are two kinds of quotes in the Forex market:The Direct Quote: the price for 1 US dollar in terms of the other currency, e.g. - Japanese Yen, Canadian dollar, etc.The Indirect Quote: the price of 1 unit of a currency in terms of US dollars, e.g. - British pound, euro.The market maker provides the investor with a quote. The quote is the price the market maker will honor when the deal is executed. This is unlike an "indication" by the market maker, which informs the trader about the market price level, but is not the final rate for a deal.Cross rates - any quote which is not against the US dollar is called "cross". For instance, GBP/JPY is a cross rate, since it is calculated via the US dollar. Here is how the GBP/JPY rate is calculated:GBP/USD = 1.7464USD/JPY = 112.29Therefore: GBP/JPY = 112.29 X 1.7464 = 196.10