POTENTIAL SCR*W FACTOR
1. Must have a centralised price feed to insure reliability of quote.
1a. There should be no delays, re-quotes, rejections or manipulations of price.
2. Check fine print of contract for any unfair rules they may impose upon you as a trader.
3. Are there conditions in the broker agreement under which profits can be made void and if yes, what are they?
3a. Price latency arbitrage.
3b. Minimum holding time for trades.
3c. Other?
4. Is there an obvious stop loss hunting practise?
5. Must have a clear policy on margin calls.
5a. How much time is there to deposit extra capital in case of a margin call?
5b. Will they close all open positions when the equity in your margin account falls below the required maintenance level?
5c. Or will they close only enough positions to increase the equity, but not all open positions?
EXECUTION ENVIRONMENT
1. Must have a mobile app with a user-friendly interface, compatible with your mobile device.
2. Must have a pc app with a user-friendly interface, compatible with your pc.
3. Must have a stable and secure execution environment.
3a. Privacy protection policy.
3b. Data encryption.
3c. Secure authentication protocols.
3d. Backup systems and contingency plans.
4. Does it have a link into a charting platform to facilitate chart trading?
CUSTOMER SERVICE
1. Must have a “trade services team” to respond to inquiries / complaints / appeals regarding trades you make.
2. Must have the possibility for immediate access by phone to flatten all of your positions and cancel all orders resting in the market, in case of an emergency.
3. Questions must be handled timely and correctly by customer service.
3a. Is there an immediate channel of communication?
3b. Can you contact them by phone, email and chat?
3c. What hours are they open?
Finally, a list of items I personally find irrelevant and do not include in my decision, but I put them here for completeness, as other traders may find them relevant. Does the broker offer:
-A newsfeed?
-A managed account?
-A charting package?
-A forum to facilitate a trading community?
-Proprietary indicators / analytical tools?
-Market analysis?
-Education in the form of tutorials, guides, webinars, ebooks or trading courses?
-Trade ideas, Signals, EA´s, bots?
-A specific language other than English you are looking for?
-Start bonuses and promotions?
See also "Selecting the Right Broker for You Pt. I". See the link under Related Ideas.
1. Must have a centralised price feed to insure reliability of quote.
1a. There should be no delays, re-quotes, rejections or manipulations of price.
2. Check fine print of contract for any unfair rules they may impose upon you as a trader.
3. Are there conditions in the broker agreement under which profits can be made void and if yes, what are they?
3a. Price latency arbitrage.
3b. Minimum holding time for trades.
3c. Other?
4. Is there an obvious stop loss hunting practise?
5. Must have a clear policy on margin calls.
5a. How much time is there to deposit extra capital in case of a margin call?
5b. Will they close all open positions when the equity in your margin account falls below the required maintenance level?
5c. Or will they close only enough positions to increase the equity, but not all open positions?
EXECUTION ENVIRONMENT
1. Must have a mobile app with a user-friendly interface, compatible with your mobile device.
2. Must have a pc app with a user-friendly interface, compatible with your pc.
3. Must have a stable and secure execution environment.
3a. Privacy protection policy.
3b. Data encryption.
3c. Secure authentication protocols.
3d. Backup systems and contingency plans.
4. Does it have a link into a charting platform to facilitate chart trading?
CUSTOMER SERVICE
1. Must have a “trade services team” to respond to inquiries / complaints / appeals regarding trades you make.
2. Must have the possibility for immediate access by phone to flatten all of your positions and cancel all orders resting in the market, in case of an emergency.
3. Questions must be handled timely and correctly by customer service.
3a. Is there an immediate channel of communication?
3b. Can you contact them by phone, email and chat?
3c. What hours are they open?
Finally, a list of items I personally find irrelevant and do not include in my decision, but I put them here for completeness, as other traders may find them relevant. Does the broker offer:
-A newsfeed?
-A managed account?
-A charting package?
-A forum to facilitate a trading community?
-Proprietary indicators / analytical tools?
-Market analysis?
-Education in the form of tutorials, guides, webinars, ebooks or trading courses?
-Trade ideas, Signals, EA´s, bots?
-A specific language other than English you are looking for?
-Start bonuses and promotions?
See also "Selecting the Right Broker for You Pt. I". See the link under Related Ideas.
You don´t need to be a weatherman to know which way the wind blows - B. Dylan
