Trading on Margin with ForexGen

The key to FOREX popularity is margin. Without margin, the FOREX would be beyond the reach of the average investor. So, what exactly is margin and how does it work?

Margin accounts allow FOREX traders to control large amounts of currency with a relatively small deposit.

Establishing a margin account with a FOREX broker enables you to borrow money from the broker to control currency lots which are usually worth $100,000. The amount of borrowing power your margin account gives you is the leverage. Leverage is usually expressed as a ratio – a leverage of 100:1 means you can control assets worth 100 times your deposit.

What this means in FOREX is that with a 1% margin account you can control standard lots of $100,000 with a $1,000 deposit. Trading on margin increases both profits and losses, and the potential exists for the trader to lose more than his original deposit. With proper safeguards, however, loss can be limited, and usually brokers will terminate a transaction that extends beyond the margin deposit.

Benefits

As we mentioned above, trading on margin gives you more buying power and the potential for more profits (and losses). How does this work, exactly? A 1% margin account allows you to control a currency lot of $100,000 for $1,000. When dealing with $100,000 small changes in the price of the currency can result in large profits or losses.

FOREX currencies are traded in much smaller units than cash. The American dollar, for example, is traded in units down to 4 decimal places. Instead of $1.32 FOREX quotes are seen as $1.3256. The smallest unit in FOREX currencies is called the pip, and when you have a $100,000 each pip of your total lot is worth $10 (when trading American dollars).

If the price of American dollars changes from 1.3256 to 1.3356, that's a difference of 100 pips which represents a profit or loss of $1000. Without margin, if you had $1000 of currency, the price change from 1.3256 to 1.3356 represents a difference of $10. Significant to the tourist, perhaps, but not the investor.

So the benefit of margin is increased profit potential.

Risks

As there is increased profit potential, there is also increased loss potential. If you are not careful, your entire margin account could quickly be wiped out. If your margin account is 1% and the currency moves just one cent against you, you lose $1000.

FOREX trading, however, has several methods to limit loss. Stop loss orders automatically close your position if the value of the currency crosses a pre-determined point. Stop loss orders allow you to limit your losses to a specified amount while still allowing potential profit taking.

An often overlooked risk is the possibility that your broker may close your position if your potential losses approach the balance of your margin account. You may be riding out a down trend with the expectations of a market reversal, but unless you replenish your margin account you may find your position has been closed. If this happens, you lose all of your margin.

For example:

You sell EUR/USD at 1.2144 (sell 100,000 Euros and buy 121,440 US dollars) with the expectation that the euro will fall in price. You have a 1% margin account which means the required margin is $1,214.40. You have $1250 in your margin account, so to enter this position your margin account is left with $35.60.

You have not specified a stop loss order, and after you enter this position the euro suddenly rallies, gaining 0.0263 for a price of 1.2407. 100,000 Euros are now worth US$124,070 and your 1% margin requirements have risen to $1,240.70. Depending on the policy of your broker, your position may be automatically closed or the extra funds in your margin account may be used to make up the difference. In any case, if the euro continues to gain value and you wish to ride it out (bad idea) you will have to add more funds to your margin account or risk losing everything.

Another example:

You buy USD/CHF at 1.2623 with the expectation that the US dollar will gain against the Swiss franc. You buy a standard lot of 100,000 American dollars for 126,230 Swiss francs with a margin requirement of 1% or $1,000.

As expected, the US dollar rises to 1.2683 at which point you close your position. You sell 100,000 American dollars for 126,830 Swiss francs for a profit of 600 francs or US$473.08 (600 francs divided by the exchange rate of 1.2683).

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Forex Trade Sizes with ForexGen

FOREX currencies are traded in much smaller divisions than cash. Whereas the smallest division in US cash is the penny ($0.01), US currency can be traded on the FOREX in divisions of $0.0001. This smallest division is called the pip (short for Price Interest Point – sometimes just called 'points').

Since currencies are traded in large lots of (say) $100,000 - small movements in value can generate substantial profits and losses. In a lot of US$100,000 one pip is worth $10 so an increase in 40 pips (4/10 of one cent) can generate a profit or loss of $400.

Currencies are traded in lots of various sizes. The standard lot is 100,000 units of the base currency. A unit is the currency name e.g. one unit of US dollars is the dollar. So a standard lot of US currency is worth $100,000. FOREX trades can have lots of various sizes - a mini lot is 10,000 units, but the most trades are done using standard lots.

Various currencies have different sized pips. The US dollar is expressed in pips of 0.0001 while the Japanese yen is expressed in pips of 0.01. The value of a pip depends on the size of a lot and the currency pair traded. Currency pairs with USD as the quote (second) currency (e.g. CAD/USD) always have a pip value of $10 per standard lot or $1 per mini lot. A pip value calculator can be used to calculate other currencies.

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Forex Training with ForexGen

The profitable trade on foreign exchange market (Forex) requires good professional skills and experience. The trade itself, of course, gives some of both, but to get them without having to lose a considerable part of your assets, better decision will be to look for help and consultation from recognized professionals.

That’s what ForexGen educational programs are for, including practical seminars, which allow both beginner and experienced traders guided by well recognized specialists of this area to master the art of international currency trade Here you can learn the methods and techniques of working with the market; can get assistance in mastering extra materials and Forex signals in your trade, discover any of the proposed tools, even giving you the possibility of using them together in a reasonable way.

Beginner traders, confused with large amount and wide stream of the information, are being taught the skills of action planning, trade discipline and confidence, and the art of risk management.

Besides the studies taking place in real offices, there are home education programs, allowing saving the costs on commotion and living. Of course, the real physical studies have their own advantages: they involve the work with real data and materials. The physical education allows full or partial funding based on future income commissions. On real seminars, lot of attention is paid to discussions, free communication, trading experience, etc.

Education and training programs proposed for Forex market traders vary in complexity and volume of the offered information, starting from basic (“lite”) courses to extended (“complete”) and advanced (“expert”) courses.

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Forex Basics With ForexGen

To start getting income from foreign exchange market (Forex), you don’t need to have any financial experience. You just need to find your way in the multitude of possibilities offered for those looking for profit from national currencies rate variations. And ForexGen provides all beginners with an Academy of professional experts in forex. The point of classic Forex trade, meant to get a quick income, is simple (which hardly differs from other markets): you have to sell on higher price what you’ve bought on lower price.

But to get a grip on currency rates, you need more than simple mathematics. First thing, you have to learn all definitions: Besides the correct meaning of terms “currency” and “rate”, you need to know what “quotation” means, along with “currency pair” (which consists of base and counter currencies). You need to know what are “point”, “spread”, “trend”, “position” etc. Every action on Forex market is preceded by an analysis. Depending on its functions, the analysis can be fundamental (when the economic dynamics of a country are being studied thoroughly, along with prognoses on its changes), or technical (when we apply a mathematic approach to the graphs of currency rate fluctuations).

The trade on Forex market goes on twenty-four hours a day. Saturday and Sunday are traditionally considered days of rest. The same as for all the other markets, work on Forex market uses a certain set of strategies, methods and techniques. There are rules you have to try and follow, and there are things you shouldn’t do. Every market session (Asian, European and American) has its own law and established traditions, which you also have to learn about.

And finally, for the trade on Forex market you need to use certain tools (software, papers etc.) without handling which the theoretical knowledge will be useless.