Baruch College Adjunct Professor Kiana Danial wants women involved in their financial future. An active educator, mentor, and speaker, she brings practical tools and insights that enable women to take charge of their money.
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FXStreet has some of the ‘pixie dust’ of a classic startup success story and represents a source of inspiration.
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A temporary measure to combat The Great Recession has now become a mainstay of global central bank policy. Forex investors now adjust to this new normal.
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We must recalibrate our expectations, our understanding of algorithms, where we came from, our current state, and our true potential. Only then will we unlock the true potential technology offers, writes author of this compelling article – Jordan Schneir. Complicated matters explained in simple words. Must read for traders of modern era.
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Scandinavian Capital Markets looked at the pros and cons of cTrader and MetaTrader4 (MT4) – top Forex trading platforms to provide the traders with an accurate comparison of the products.
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News releases present some of the most interesting opportunities for traders, given that they trigger substantial volatility in the market on a regular basis.
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Forex trading is a very broad field. It includes a wide variety of instruments, trading strategies, Forex brokers, and trading platforms. No matter how much experience you or your team have, all Forex traders should constantly be looking to broaden their knowledge.
There are a number of Forex educators and online Forex education websites that make it easier to learn the ins and outs of Forex trading. With these resources, beginner and advanced traders alike can learn new information and improve their skill level.
To help you narrow down your options, we’ve compiled some of the popular Forex educators and websites available. These options offer the tools and learning materials to help your team become better Forex traders.
Why bother seeking help from a Forex educator?
While your team may be very experienced, they can never stop learning. A Forex educator can help you:
Find the Right Information: With so much information available, it can be difficult to determine what is worth spending time on. There is always a new strategy, broker, or trading platform to learn about. A Forex educator will help you learn the information you need to know to be a skilled Forex trader.
Learn Effective Strategies: Forex trading often involves losing money as you test different strategies. A qualified educator will help you learn effective, proven trading strategies.
Build a Foundation: Forex educators will provide your team of traders with a solid foundation to build off of.
Learn From Someone With Experience: One of the best ways to learn how to do something is to learn from someone with experience. These Forex educators can teach you the methods that have worked for them and help you avoid some of the mistakes they’ve made throughout their careers.
Ultimately, Forex educators compile the information you need to improve your Forex trading capabilities so that you can spend less time scouring the internet and more time trading.
There is no shortage of Forex educators and education sites available online, making it difficult to know which ones are worth your time.
When determining which educator to go with, there are several factors you should consider before making your final decision.
Always read customer reviews before choosing a Forex educator.
Reviews can tell you what you will learn from the educator, whether or not it is worth the time or money, and if the program is a scam or not. Be sure to look for programs with a high number of positive reviews to ensure that the educator is qualified.
Would you take driving lessons from someone without a driver’s license?
Qualified educators should have demonstrable experience and success as Forex traders. Knowing that your educator has had success as a trader will help ensure that the strategies and other information you learn is effective.
Student success is just as important as educator success. While many educators have had success themselves, that doesn’t necessarily make them good teachers.
Read testimonials and reviews to ensure that the students of any given educator have had success themselves. This is a good indicator that the educator is not just knowledgeable, but is also an effective teacher.
Certifications and accreditation are yet another measure of experience and qualification.
Look for educators that have certifications that back up their experience. This could include Chartered Financial Analysts, Financial Risk Managers, Chartered Market Technicians, and other accreditation.
A professional website is the first sign that an educator is professional and takes their profession seriously.
In this day and age, there is no excuse to have an outdated, unhelpful website. Any educator worth your time will have made the effort to create a modern and informational web page.
Be sure to do thorough research on any educator to ensure they haven’t been the subject of any lawsuits.
Also, carefully read reviews to see if any of them indicate that the educator or website has scammed any customers or participated in any other fraudulent behavior.
To help you find the right educator for your team, we’ve compiled a list of a few of the popular Forex educators available.
These educators are experienced, reliable, qualified, and have exceptional customer satisfaction.
TradingwithRayner, by Rayner Teo, is one of the best and most popular Forex trading education programs available.
Rayner Teo will teach you everything you need to know, from trading strategies and risk management to technical indicators and more. He’ll also recommend other reliable resources, like books, group coaching sessions, and other trading tools.
One of the biggest downsides, however, is that Rayner hasn’t proven his success as a trader. While many of his students testify to the quality of his program, there’s no telling whether or not he has been able to successfully apply his teachings.
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Sam Seiden is the Chief Trading Strategist and Instructor at Online Trading Academy. He has experience trading Forex, equities, futures, interest rate markets, and more, and has used his experience to teach others how to be successful Forex traders.
Sam is famous for his original supply and demand market timing strategy. One thing that sets Sam apart is that he does live trading to prove the efficacy of his trading strategies.
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Navin Prithyani is the founder of Urban Forex — a highly-reputable Forex training program.
Prithyani is a very successful educator who has been awarded by FXStreet and Udemy for his high-quality training webinars and courses. In his years as a Forex trader, Navin has had several different mentors and has compiled what he has learned into digestible training courses.
Urban Forex will teach you the basics of Forex trading, how to trade based on price action, how to perform technical analysis, and much more.
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Francis Hunt, founder of The Market Sniper, has over 30 years of experience as a professional trader and is the creator of the Hunt Volatility Funnel trading methodology — a system for determining the next most profitable trade.
Francis created The Market Sniper community to teach traders his HVF trading methodology and to give traders a place to interact with one another and discuss Forex trading strategies.
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Dan Blystone is a very experienced trader who started his career on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, later going on to trade Bund Futures at Altea Trading.
Over a decade ago, Dan founded TradersLog.com, a website where he covers a wide range of topics relating to trading and financial markets. TradersLog is a free resource that offers a wide range of useful information for both novice and advanced traders.
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Etienne Crete (from Montreal, Canada) is a swing trader, founder of Desire to Trade, trading academy. He helps aspiring Forex traders develop a trading method that works for them so they can produce income allowing them to live with more freedom.
Etienne interviews the greatest figures of the trading world and considers it is his mission to help traders implement their advice.
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Elite CurrenSea provides effective Forex, CFDs & Crypto trading systems traders.
Members get access to price action newsletters, weekly live training sessions, video tutorials, market analysis, free tools and indicators, and more.
There are four different programs to choose from, including a free program for beginners. There are also a number of other free educational resources for anyone to take advantage of.
Elite CurrenSea offers courses taught by Chris Svorcik, creator of the Simple Wave Analysis and Trading (SWAT) method, and Nenad Kerkez, creator of the CAMMACD method.
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2ndSkiesForex is one of the highest-rated training programs on Forex Peace Army, making it one of the most reputable forex education sites available.
2ndSkiesForex offers a free beginners course along with free educational videos and training sessions.
Once you are comfortable with the basics, you can move onto the paid courses, which include the Advanced Price Action Course, the Advanced Traders Mindset Course, and the Advanced Ichimoku Course.
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Strategic Trading Systems offers Forex mentoring programs and forex trading system ebooks to help students develop a strong foundation for Forex trading.
There are four mentoring programs and three systems to choose from — each dedicated to different types of traders. All of the company’s products are under $500, making it one of the cheaper options for traders to choose from.
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Forex Mentor Pro has long been one of the most reputable Forex trading courses available online.
There are beginner courses as well as more advanced courses which can be accessed with a monthly subscription. Forex Mentor Pro offers three powerful trading systems, great tutorials, daily analysis, and much more.
Forex Mentor Pro is positively-reviewed by customers and is a great resource for novice and advanced traders alike.
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Trading Heroes was started by Hugh Kimura, who wanted to document his trading journey. It is more of a blog rather than education platform, that has valuable articles based on the real experience of a trader, who has been in the industry for many years.
“I don’t pretend to know all the answers, but I whatever I blog about here comes from real-life experiences, conversations with professional Forex traders and my own experiments in trading, both good and bad”, says the author.
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Babypips is known in the Forex trading community as one of the best free educational resources for beginner traders. The website makes no assumptions on your trading abilities and explains concepts in a very easy-to-understand manner.
Site members can access trading systems, trade ideas, analysis, quizzes, courses, and more tools. Babypips also has a very large and active community which members can interact with to develop strategies and get feedback.
Babypips is a fantastic resource for any trader looking to expand their knowledge without paying for expensive online courses.
Forex trading can be very complex. It’s easy to be overwhelmed by all the information related to Forex trading available online.
However, as a trader, it’s important to constantly broaden your knowledge in order to keep up with the market and your fellow traders.
The educators and websites listed above are great resources to help you and your team learn new strategies and improve your Forex trading capabilities.
By way of introduction into this new era of Forex trading, Scandinavian Capital Markets invited some of the top names in Forex trading. With opportunities to spend one-on-one time with Scandinavian Capital Markets founders Arif Ahmad and Michael Buchbinder, these lucky individuals are able to see how Scandinavian Capital Markets differs from the average Forex brokerage. From dinner with the team to tours of the office, and much needed r-and-r amongst the restaurants, spas, and sights, Vahalla participants get a bird’s eye view of the inner workings, and future aspirations, of Scandinavian Capital Markets.
Gone are the days of risky trading partnerships and shady brokers. The future of Forex casts aside dishonesty and subterfuge in favor of transparency and integrity. Thanks to Scandinavian Capital Markets, Forex traders can feel safe, protected, and supported as they become a part of the Valhalla experience. While other brokerages might treat their clients as numbers on a spreadsheet or as a profit center to be milked dry, the team at Scandinavian Capital Markets works as one help traders achieve their goals. The Valhalla Experience enables everyone to be a winner, by providing a high-end, concierge-level trading experience.
Earlier this year, we spoke with Stephen Nefdt, owner of Forex Wealth in Cape Town, South Africa, became one of the first Valhalla Experience participants. With over 15 years of experience in all aspects of Forex Trading, Education and Trading System Development, Stephen knows what it’s like to navigate the murky waters of Forex trading.
While he began his career as a mechanical engineer, he became intrigued with trading at an early age. While he trained for the Iron Man triathlon and worked at several different engineering firms, he admits, “in the background, I was always trading stocks.”
Eventually, that part-time interest turned into a full-time career. “At first I became involved in consulting for banking, but eventually I decided to start looking at an exit,” he says. “Around 2005, I became involved in Forex on a full-time basis.”
What Stephen enjoys most about Forex trading is the energy. “In some instances, trading can be very boring, if not mind-numbing,” he says. “What I like about Forex is that it is very dynamic. There’s a lot that is involved. You have the global influences and other factors that cause the Forex markets to be fluid and multifaceted.”
With over a decade and a half in the trenches, Stephen is very rarely surprised with the ups and downs of Forex trading. Yet even though he’s seen it all, he is still astonished by the get-rich-quick attitude he sees. “Many people seem to think Forex trading is like accessing an ATM machine,” he says. “They don’t understand that you must put in the hard work to get results. There is no silver bullet that’s going to make them a millionaire overnight.”
For Stephen, prospering within the world of Forex requires discipline, wisdom, and practicality. “It frustrates me quite a bit,” he admits, “because, in Forex, you will never be bulletproof. You need to put in the work.”
Part of that work means putting in the effort to connect. And it was that opportunity of one-on-one time that sold Stephen on the Valhalla experience. “A lot of people seem to believe that in the digital age – with Skype and Facetime – you don’t have to see the person you’re working with face-to-face,” he says. “What I liked about my initial interactions with Arif and Michael was that right from the word go it was all about being genuine. It was about that 1-to-1 connection.”
Once he got over his initial skepticism, Stephen embraced the Valhalla experience, particularly when it came to his interactions with the Scandinavian Capital Markets team. “This feeling of genuineness came through,” he says. “And in this day and age that is very rare.”
“I think what was really outstanding about the experience was meeting the people of SCM,” he continues. “What came across was the care: this is a company that actually cares about its people and their clients. They are genuinely trying to make a difference in the industry.”
“A lot of the Valhalla experience is embedded in the Swedish culture,” Stephen concludes. “It’s about doing business as ethically as possible. That you can have an honest business and still make money.”
Behind every new venture, there’s a story. Of course, there are always two sides: the real business model and the motivational legend. The first involves executive “sacred knowledge.” The second serves as a motivational legend for everyone else. In this article, I’d like to take a deeper look at the two sides that exist in any Forex story: the trader and the brokerage. More specifically, within the confines of Forex, how can a trader find profit and success?
I’d say the magic happens, as always, on the borderline. It occurs when you get a vision of both stories making sense synchronously. There’s no contradiction or limitation; comprehension arrives in a kōan-like manner. During my “ten year challenge,” in the trading industry, I’ve seen common misconceptions exploited in the service of sales mojo. Reflecting on my decade of experience, I’d like to explore those myths and legends and reveal how they affect the trader’s ability to succeed.
When it comes to Forex trading, three systems determine how a client interacts with their broker: A Book, B Book, and the hybrid model. While A Book trades favor the client, B Book, or “dealing desk” trades are more beneficial for the brokerage. In a hybrid model, the clients fall into A Book or B Book based on their profitability.
So what’s the difference and what should you keep an eye on? In A Book trading, used by ECN/STP brokers, intermediaries are used to send client trading orders to liquidity providers or multilateral trading facilities (MTFs). This trading puts the client at the forefront and eliminates the conflict of interest that can exist when brokers trade against their clients. In this scenario, brokers make money by charging commissions on volume orders or increasing the spread. Because the broker makes money on both winning and losing trades, there is no incentive to bet against the client.
For Forex brokers using B Book, client orders are collected internally and the broker profits when the client fails. Brokers manage risk through internal hedging, spread variations, and by matching opposite orders. Because so many traders lose money in Forex, B Book can be very profitable for brokerages. Unfortunately, the profit comes at a price – the disadvantage (and loss of funds) of the client.
In a hybrid model, brokerages use software to identify successful and unsuccessful clients by analyzing their orders. By filtering traders based on the deposit amount, leverage, risk, and other elements, brokers can divide their clients into two groups: winners and losers. The winners get A Book treatment, and the losers must settle for B Book.
As you can imagine, A Book is becoming the popular choice for Forex traders because they aren’t at odds with their broker. Removing the incentive to bet against the client and focus on the trades activity to create profit creates a more amicable environment and helps forge a stronger relationship between the trader and their broker. Additionally, profitable trades actually increase trading volumes and positively impact the broker’s profits, which encourages brokers to help their clients succeed.
Let’s start on the tech side. Whether your brokerage uses an A-book, B-book or ECN to execute trades is irrelevant to your performance. When choosing a brokerage, you want an organization authorized and regulated in a domain where the law is on your side. Why is that important? Because you want the ability and legal means to withdraw your profits without difficulty.
So what differentiates A/B book from ECN?
For starters, when you lose money on a B-book trade, it stays with the broker. Losses from A-Book or ECN stay with brokerage’s liquidity provider. Guess what happens when you earn more on B-book than your broker can provide? Well, in the latter case, it’s their own problem as long as you’re covered with a legit local Financial Supervisory Authority.
Another differentiator? Technically, B-book trades can sometimes execute faster because no market confirmation is needed. Of course, that depends on a fair B-book. It could be argued that the difference between A-book and B-book is illusory. For example, T4 plugins or custom bridges can use hooks to delay when an A-Book trade is communicated to the liquidity provider. It should be noted, however, that the idea of pure A-books and B-books are marketing rudiments of the past. Trades can be delayed automatically or by dealers before ever being communicated to the liquidity provider.
The illusion of faster trades is significant. If you are seeking an ECN with an advanced HFT algorithm that supposedly beats the market, for example, you might fall for a pitch that doesn’t deliver. Be vigilant when vetting brokerages. Keep in mind that some players try to trick the game with the existence of algorithms on the liquidity provider’s infrastructure. They do this by exploiting infamous arbitrage and ultra-high frequency tactics. Remember, they’ve been there for ages. Even if you plan executes, keep in mind the compliance department can block your withdrawals for any length of time based on any legal reason.
In an ideal world, we assume brokers use certified technology and can’t distort the market data or mess with your actions. Unfortunately, that’s not always the case. At present, no relevant regulations exist and, in most cases, nothing can be proven. In fact, the only reason the majority of brokerages does not do it is that 99% of traders lose their money themselves, sooner or later, legally.
Some uninformed brokers on the market do distort data or manipulate results. Fortunately, they quickly end up in the Forex Peace Army blacklist and fade away. Well, they don’t really fade away. They continue to show up periodically. Often with rebranded names, like Phoenix. You can spot them by the platform (usually not changed) and a dodgy registration location, like Vanuatu. If you’re curious, just Google the address of registration. If you see a dozen other companies registered for that same address, you know what type of beast you are dealing with.
Here’s a question: What is a forex swap? If you are like many forex traders just starting out – or even if you have many years under your belt but very little time to accumulate a lot of knowledge about the forex industry – this might be a tougher question than it appears.
Don’t worry. We’re here to help!
At Scandinavian Capital Markets, we are committed to building powerful relationships with our clients. We see ourselves as partners in our customer’s success. That means we value transparency and education. We want our clients to understand the market, have a basic understanding of how interest, earnings, and fees are calculated, and why things happen the way they do. As we travel down the road to success together, we will continue to provide insight and help our clients become forex experts.
So what is a swap and what do you need to know about them? In general terms, a forex swap is an overnight (or rollover) interest earned or paid when a trader holds positions overnight. Most of the time, a trader is required to take delivery of currency purchased within two days of the transaction date. However, if the trader chooses to roll over that position, they can extend that settlement period by one day. The rollover usually includes simultaneously closing the trader’s existing position at the close rate for that day and the re-entering the new opening rate for the next trading day.
Forex traders are interested in making money on changes in exchange rates. That means currency purchases aren’t literal – the trader wants to play the margins to make a profit when that currency’s value alters. Every forex transaction involves borrowing. A trader borrows currency from one country to buy the currency of another country. This borrowing generates interest, either owed or paid.
Swaps matter because earning or owning currency becomes a strategic decision. To earn interest, a trader may take a long position in a high-yielding currency compared to the currency they used to make the purchase. In the event the borrowed currency outperforms the purchased currency, the trader will owe interest. To avoid paying interest, it might make sense to close at the end of the business day (5pm Eastern Standard). On the other hand, if a currency is performing well – and the trader anticipates that performance will continue – a swap may be the best way to prolong the trade and increase the profit.
This piece will also contain the history related to swaps, how did swaps come to be (Central Banks history leading up to swaps being within the forex world).
Swap fees are incurred when a position is kept open overnight. The forex swap fee is determined by calculating the difference between the two currencies being traded according to whether the trader’s position is long or short. The interest rates between the two currencies in the swap can be negative or positive depending on if the trader is borrowing or lending.
Generally speaking, rollover rates are calculated by subtracting the quote currency interest rate from the base currency interest rate and dividing that sum by the amount calculated when multiplying the base.
A rollover rate can also be called a swap fee; The swap rate, on the other hand, the rate at interest at which one currency is exchanged for another. In other words, a swap rate is the difference between a traded currency pair. interest in another currency – that is, a swap rate is the interest rate differential between the currency pair traded. The rollover rate can also be known as the swap fee.
A way to see how swap rates and rollover rates work in forex, imagine trading between AUD and JPY currencies, and the JPY carries an annualized lending rate of .25% while the AUD borrowing rate is 1.64%, then you would gain 1.39% per year by holding AUD/JPY in a long position. Holding short, on the other hand, would change the lending/borrowing rates, increasing AUD to 2.74% for example, while decreasing JPY to -.15%, resulting in a decrease of annual swap charges by 2.89%
It’s true that the swap calculation equation can be complicated. Thankfully, there are many online swap calculators that can help you determine what you might owe in fees. Keep in mind that the interest you gain or pay changes across brokers and is heavily influenced by the timing of your trades. That’s why it’s important to work with a brokerage that provides clear information up front. Check with your broker (or any broker you are considering) and look at their swap rates table. In addition, if you are using the MT4 platform, you can right click on the “Market Watch” section and select “Symbols” to see your broker’s swap rates.
Finally, it’s important to remember that a trade position held open overnight from Wednesday to Thursday, will be charged triple storage because the swap involves pushing back the value date on the underlying futures contract. In other words, when a position is opened on Wednesday, Friday becomes the effective value date. If a position is kept open overnight from Wednesday to Thursday, then the value date is moved forward three days, skipping the weekend and making Monday the effective value date – so the charge is triple to reflect holding for three days rather than one. Storage is tripled because you are being paid or charged interest for three days instead of just one.
Scandinavian Capital Markets swap rates are calculated each day at 5 pm Eastern Standard Time / 12 pm MT4 platform time (GMT+2). Any trade that has been opened before 5pm and held open past this time will be subject to swap rates. Swap rates are tripled on Wednesday at 4.59 pm to account for weekends. Please note that swap rates vary by pair and are updated frequently as market movement causes swaps to adjust. It is important for traders to familiarize themselves with where to locate the current swap charges for the particular pairs they are trading.