How to choose a suitable trading platform?
Trading may seem to be an excellent way of investing surplus funds. If you have capital that you would like to grow on the CFD and Forex markets, you have to use an appropriate trading platform in order to do so. If you are a beginner trader, it is natural that you may not fully know what factors should be considered when choosing such a platform. Please note that when choosing an investment platform, you are also choosing the broker with which you will sign a cooperation agreement and establish an investment account, through which you will start investing in currency pairs or contracts for differences (CFD). We will help you choose the best trading platform for you.
What is a trading platform, actually?
As an investor wishing to invest in currency pairs on the Forex market and on the CFD market, you need to obtain the tools that will enable you to make such investments from the broker. That is why you have to choose a broker and sign an agreement with it. In return, you will gain access to its investment platform. It is the platform’s functionality, simplicity of use or the wide range of assets in which you can invest that should determine with which brokerage firm you will ultimately sign the agreement.
A trading platform, also referred to as a brokerage or investment platform, is indeed a platform used for investing, but it is also more than that. It will allow you to place buy and sell orders for selected assets, as well as obtain important information about current quotations, analyses, charts, market commentaries, and economic calendars. These data will affect your investment decisions. Before opening an investment account with a given broker, check the platform and options it will make available to you.
The possibility of testing the platform
The best option from the point of view of the client is when the broker allows for testing its trading platform by potential investors. It is one thing to be able to test the available options oneself, and another thing to only read about them or rely on the opinions of other users.
Brokers (check more) provide new clients with access to the platform in the demo version and place virtual funds at their disposal. This way, you can normally place orders in conditions similar to the actual ones, but you are not risking anything that way. Even if you fail at making investment decisions, in the case of a demo trading platform, you will not lose anything. However, you will not gain anything, either. If based on such tests, you decide that the trading platform of the selected broker is what you expect, you will create an investment account and gain access to the full range of investment tools. All that will be left is for you to make the minimum deposit and place the first asset purchase order on the Forex and CFD market.
What functions of the trading platform are the most important ones?
What should the perfect trading platform be like? Easy to use, functional and intuitive, as well as reliable. It should provide access to multiple markets and instruments, along with advanced tools and indicators which will support you when making investment decisions. You will certainly be interested in a functional platform with the lowest possible fees. Therefore, look for a brokerage offer with zero fees for creating and maintaining an investment account as well as low spreads. Check whether the minimum deposit, paid at the very beginning of trading platform use, is high, and in what model the broker itself operates. You should also be interested in how quickly buy and sell orders for selected assets are executed — sometimes, literally, seconds can decide whether you lose or gain on the entire investment.