Spurred on by greater internet accessibility, more investment knowledge, and proliferation of forex brokers, online Forex trading has risen in popularity in recent years in Africa, with more and more traders emerging day-in-day-out. To trade the forex market online, choosing the best forex broker, and one you can trust, is a vital first step, as your broker will form a critical part of your trading equation, and essentially be your business partner. Online forex trading is gaining traction and momentum in Africa as a whole, and Ghana in particular, and the challenge many beginner traders are faced with, is finding a legitimate broker they can trust; one who is not only reliable but also within arm’s reach; as close and real as can be.
Forex brokers are an integral part of the forex trading equation, and a trader’s aim should be to find the best forex broker available. If you’re new to forex trading, you may get confused by the flood of advertisements from different firms. That is why we have simplified it, helping you take the guesswork out of your search for the best forex broker to trade with.
A forex broker is an entity that acts as an intermediary between institutional or individual clients and the global forex market. In addition, the forex broker’s job is to ensure your orders are executed. The forex broker market is saturated with many options, and it has become necessary to apply certain metrics in choosing the right forex broker to attend to your needs. Not all forex trading brokers are regulated, and it’s very important to be wary of unregulated firms, to avoid being scammed or your trading capital being done away with. Take your time to find a reliable forex broker to ensure your money and trades will be handled appropriately and to best industry practices.
1. REGULATORY COMPLIANCE
Simply, is the broker licensed and regulated by a reputable regulatory authority. As obvious as this may be, you will be surprised at how many unlicensed and unregulated forex brokers there are. The best forex brokers in Africa are licensed and regulated by industry regulators to grant professional and retail clients the ability to trade foreign currencies by offering them a secure online trading platform. Due to concerns regarding the integrity of a broker, and the safety of clients’ funds, accounts should be opened only with brokers who are duly licensed.
Choosing a broker who is licensed to offer the services you need, helps you avoid potential scams, and reduces the risk of losing your money should the broker go bankrupt. Being a dominantly virtual industry, many people do not really know who they are dealing with, because everything is conducted digitally. You should evaluate a broker’s license and compliance with industry regulations, and not pay too much attention to glitzy websites. We advise you to stay away from forex brokerage firms that do not display their regulatory license numbers openly, as this may be a red flag.
Many forex brokers these days also tend to show license numbers that are not theirs, hence, to be completely sure, you should visit the regulatory authority’s website to check if the said license number is true, and belongs to who they claim it belongs to. If you’re in Ghana or Africa, you can find a trustworthy broker licensed and regulated by either one of the following:
CYSEC-Cyprus (As an EU member state, CySEC’s financial regulations and operations comply with the European MiFID financial harmonization law), the FSC-South Africa, ASIC-Australia, or the FCA-United Kingdom. Forex trading companies in Ghana are most likely to be regulated by any of these reputable industry regulators, any of which can render confidence that your broker is legit. As a globally recognized brand, regulated in the most advanced capital market jurisdictions across the globe, Geldex Invest is not only licensed, but also offers you the ultimate package of an excellent trading experience, and exceptional customer responsiveness.
We are licensed and regulated by many of the leading financial regulatory authorities for international brokerage firms.
2. CHOICE OF DIFFERENT ACCOUNT TYPES
It’s a plus when a broker offers you a variety of accounts to choose from for online forex trading.
This means they can cater to traders with different financial abilities, needs, and aspirations. The best forex trading companies in Africa recognize the power of choice goes a long way.
Closely related to the above, is the offer of Demo Accounts. Trading on a Demo account is essential before trading on a live account. Trading on a Demo account gives you the opportunity to trade in real market conditions, but with virtual money. This means it’s absolutely risk-free. The main purpose of the Demo Account is to know the ins and outs of online forex trading, put your strategy to test, and discover your strengths and weaknesses before you go unto a live account. We encourage beginners to trade on demo accounts for only so long; enough to get your feet wet and move to a live account.
3. VARIETY OF TRADING INSTRUMENTS
The more tradable instruments a broker offers, the more opportunities are unveiled for you. When choosing a forex broker, go with one that doesn’t only offer the major currency pairs, but also the Minors and Exotics, as well as precious metals and other commodities, for the purpose of diversifying your portfolio. Seeing as trading comes with risks, it’s important to manage these risks in an adequate manner. The best Forex Trading companies in Africa give you the opportunity to diversify your portfolio this way, so as to manage risk in the most effective manner possible.
Gold, for instance over the years, has proven to be a very popular trading instrument during times of political and economic instability, such as is currently being experienced globally. If you find yourself in one of the largest gold-producing countries in the world, and own a smartphone, you have no excuse not to learn to trade gold on the forex market.
4. TRADING PLATFORM
Trading platforms serve as your entry point into the forex market, enabling you to buy and sell whatever instruments you wish to. As a forex trader; either a beginner or professional, you should ensure that the trading platform available to you comes with all the technical and central analytics tools you will need to trade profitably. The best forex trading platforms in Ghana operate the very popular ones – Meta Trader 4 (MT4) and Meta Trader 5 (MT5). While Meta Trader 4 is the more popular platform, Meta Trader 5 is the most advanced, containing all the features that Meta Trader 4 has, with an additional array of features unique to this platform. These include:
These include:
- More chart frames and charting options than the Meta Trader 4
- Multi-Asset trading on multiple CFDs
- Access to trading account history
- Daily Account Statements
- Automated Trading with EAs
- Simultaneous display of charts
- More than 80 technical indicators along with 40+ analytical objects
- MQL5 development environment, and more
Although Africa’s best online trading platforms will offer either of the two, the decision is up to you to choose which best suits your needs and also offers you an upper hand over others as you trade. The MT5 is a single all-inclusive platform for online trading; Forex, Stocks, and Futures, and comes with the most up-to-date functionalities on the market, including resources such as indicators and charting tools. It also boasts of advanced functionalities to improve the trading experience, with enhanced trading tools and better compatibility with different internet browsers. If you’re looking for the best stock broker platform in Ghana, look no further than the Meta Trader 5 platform, which gives you an exceptionally rich stock trading experience.
Although some brokers also offer proprietary platforms, we advise that extra vigilance is required before trading with brokers who use proprietary trading platforms.
5. RESOURCES AND EDUCATION
Education is a key player in the Forex industry and that is why the best Forex brokers in Africa will focus on delivering extensive educational resources to their clients. If a broker genuinely has your interest at heart, they will be willing to help you either as a beginner wanting to know how deep the waters are before you launch your boat or as an experienced trader seeking to keep your abilities up-to-date in this most dynamic business. Continuous education and knowledge acquisition are essential for successful investing, as you’re unlikely to make money out of something you do not understand. In our previous article, we discussed extensively, the need to get an education before trading Forex online. Many of the good forex trading companies in Ghana offer educational services, and Geldex Invest offers you a variety of resources to improve your trading skills and help you make smarter decisions; a comprehensive and regularly updated educational academy comprising video tutorials, frequent webinars, chart analysis, trading strategies, and articles to keep you updated on industry happenings. We complement this with a Demo account, where you can gain experience trading in real market conditions without risking your money.
6. TRADING CONDITIONS
Trading conditions refer to the terms within which you will be trading your preferred financial asset on the market, and your chances of trading profitably are increased with good trading conditions.
A. FEES & LOW SPREADS
To refresh our memory, a Spread refers to the difference between a Bid price and an Ask price of a currency pair. If the spreads offered by a forex broker are high, this signals a red flag. Opt for a forex broker with low spreads, as many brokers profit unduly at your expense from high spreads. It’s also important to be wary of hidden fees, including withdrawal or inactivity fees.
B. FAST EXECUTION
In a fast-paced market like the forex market, another important metric to apply when choosing a forex broker is to go with one that can execute your trade orders in a fast and efficient manner. This is because delays in execution can cause you to lose hugely.
7. PAYMENT SOLUTIONS
You will need to deposit funds into your account before you can start online forex trading. For your convenience and benefit, it’s advised that you choose a broker with multiple, quick, and easy means of deposits and withdrawals. To take advantage of opportunities that arise suddenly in the market, and support your trading position, for instance, quick deposit options come in very handy. When the time comes to withdraw your funds when you want to, withdrawals should also be simple and fast, not having to wait several days to get your money. The best forex brokers in Africa make sure to give you hassle-free deposit and withdrawal options. This is why Geldex not only accepts bank wire transfers, but also deposits through debit/credit cards, and e-wallets like Skrill, Neteller, and mobile money (MTN MoMo, Vodafone cash)
8. CUSTOMER SUPPORT
Online forex trading is typically done with the help of a trusted and reliable forex broker who grants you a trading platform and is the link between the market and you. There’s usually very little to no personal interaction with the people at the brokerage, but when there comes a time when you need assistance, you want a living, breathing being you can speak with, not just a chatbot. It’s on this premise that Geldex has revamped our customer service department, with round-the-clock support and dedicated contact numbers that connect to real humans for prompt assistance.
To conclude, the Forex broker you choose, is, in reality, the biggest trade you’ll ever make; it could make the difference between making a profit and losing money. You’ll be entrusting your capital to an entity with the expectation that you’ll be able to trade with it and withdraw it when the time comes to take your profits. Choose a broker who offers good customer service, is honest and reliable, follows the rules, has a track record of good trading practices, and is likely to stay in business for a long time. Choose the broker that will provide you with the best possible environment to succeed in. Above all, a broker you can trust.
So, whether you’re a new, intermediate, or professional expert trader, this might be the time to re-evaluate your choice of forex broker. If the worse comes to, you want to be able to walk up to your brokerage firm for a discussion about your hard-earned money, or simply a hand to hold on to when the market is being mercilessly bearish.
For long-term advancement and profitability, education in online Forex Trading is a beneficial tool that helps you prepare and make informed trading decisions, instead of impulsive emotional decisions that often lead to account failures. In our article, Why Education and Training in Online Trading is A Must before Trading Forex, we discussed extensively how important it is to adapt to how the market operates, as well as other conditions co-related to Online Forex Trading. It is only after dedicating a significant amount of time to acquiring knowledge, building strategies, and perfecting your trade, that you stand the chance of reaping profitable results from online forex trading.
In our world today, learning about any topic is within one’s reach, and Beginners who want to learn to trade the online forex market are no exception, with a number of options available to them. These include taking Trading Courses Online, downloading and reading forex trading materials online; engaging in self-paced online workshops; or Signing Up for and Taking a Face-to-Face Forex Training Course with a Trading Academy. Books and other online sources that educate people about forex, do a pretty good job of equipping them with the essentials. Nonetheless, all these internet sources have inherent limitations, which cannot guarantee the crucial outcome of ensuring you trade profitably and consistently. Of the aforementioned options, face-to-face training courses have more practical benefits, and in this article, we present to you the unique benefits of Geldex Training Courses.
Courses Taught by Professional Traders and Analysts
Geldex’ Trading Coursesare specifically designed and taught by professional traders and analysts, giving students direct access to proven industry experts and the opportunity to interact with their tutor. This option may not be available to you with other courses. The Geldex Forex Institute is very much like a Forex Boot Camp, where students earn the knowledge, tools, and required skills sooner than they would on their own. The Best Forex Trading Courses have certain essentials in common, and the key aspects of the Geldex Trading program include:
- Forex concepts
- Fundamental Analysis
- Technical Analysis
- Trading Strategies in Real Market conditions
- Development of skills, including Trading psychology
Here at Geldex, we offer you a variety of forex trading courses, tailored for each trader’s level, and pride ourselves in the quality and comprehensive nature of materials available to you, put together by our team of forex experts, analysts, and leading professionals in the industry. Our Forex Trading Coursesfor beginners, for instance, are tailored for your unique needs as a beginner or even someone without a financial background. They are streamlined, developed by experts, properly structured, and coherent in form.
Purposely Designed Course-Programs
The Forex Certification Courses for our Beginner and Intermediate programmes are purposely built to give you an in-depth understanding of online Forex Trading and set you on the path to becoming a Master Trader. From our Trading Academy, you acquire knowledge of how currency values are determined and the factors that impact exchange rates. This puts you in a better position to develop strategies and profit from market fluctuations. In addition, the Geldex Forex Institute offers you a strong grasp of risk management, using Online Trading Platforms, and money management. Our students gain hands-on experience while working on these subjects under the instruction and guidance of a professional and experienced tutor.
Trading Strategy and Mindset
All successful traders understand that trading is not a sprint, but a marathon. On the basis of this, they expect success while welcoming failure as a learning opportunity. Our programmes, which have been identified under the Best Forex Trading Courses, are designed to take you through the rudiments of developing your mindset, a critical step when preparing for a career in Forex Trading. The Geldex Trading Academy trains students to THINK like professional traders. Our Forex Trading courses are meant to discuss and explain the importance of strategy, and our students get the opportunity to experiment with several proven trading strategies to help them decide on which ones best suit their trading styles and individual investment goals. For practical purposes, we always encourage our beginners to use low-risk, yet profitable trading strategies. Armed with these, our students are able to trade on Demo Accountsafter their first few lessons.
Hands-On Practice and Live Trading
Unlike other trading courses that offer simulated trading, making it difficult for students to translate into real-life scenarios, the courses in the Geldex Forex Certificationcourses are specially designed to give you hands-on experience using real Trading Platforms, and for new or beginner traders, this is an invaluable experience you acquire, especially considering the fact that Live trading is done under the guidance of an expert trader. This gives you the opportunity to ask questions as you go, learn how to set up profitable trades, and manage risks in an actual trading environment with real-time trading conditions.
Networking Opportunities
Although Retail Online Forex Trading is an individual pursuit, it can be helpful to have a strong network of colleagues, and the Geldex Trading Academy offers you that as well. One may wonder why this is important. We believe that the best forex trading courses for beginners should offer students, the opportunity to surround themselves with both experienced trading professionals and people at their own levels, on the same journey. This ensures you have more access to knowledge and expertise and are therefore more likely to be successful. With this kind of enhanced network, you have access to a list of contacts with whom you can seek advice, and even discuss analysis and strategy. A well-established network serves as a great source of information on anything and everything forex trading.
Mentoring Opportunities
We know that beginner forex traders more often than not, experience several problems when they begin to try their hands at what they are learning. Without another experienced trader watching over your transactions, the cause of these problems can be difficult to diagnose. The trading courses Geldex offers come with the opportunity for students to be mentored by an Expert forex trader who can help you spot problems, and give you career development advice on your online forex trading journey.
In summary, the best service you can do for yourself as you venture into online forex trading is to choose Geldex, where our training courses are not only expertly designed to give you the fundamentals and tools you need to embark on, and succeed as a forex trader, but also provide hands-on experience using real-life, proven trading strategies. In addition, Our students get to develop a network of peers and can seek advice and guidance from real professional trading experts.
An Investment in Knowledge Pays the Best Interest. – Benjamin Franklin
Brought to you by Geldex Invest on behalf of Growell Capital
