How Do You Select a Broker?

For this week's video, I'm answering this question which I was asked by Prasad:

Hey Rayner, how do I go about selecting a broker?

Here's what I said...

When you are selecting a broker, there are four primary questions which you should ask:

1. Is the broker regulated? Regulation Regulation Like any other industry with a high net worth, the financial services industry is tightly regulated to help curb illicit behavior and manipulation. Each asset class has its own set of protocols put in place to combat their respective forms of abuse.In the foreign exchange space, regulation is assumed by authorities in multiple jurisdictions, though ultimately lacking a binding international order. Who are the Industry’s Leading Regulators?Regulators such as the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority ( Like any other industry with a high net worth, the financial services industry is tightly regulated to help curb illicit behavior and manipulation. Each asset class has its own set of protocols put in place to combat their respective forms of abuse.In the foreign exchange space, regulation is assumed by authorities in multiple jurisdictions, though ultimately lacking a binding international order. Who are the Industry’s Leading Regulators?Regulators such as the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority ( Read this Term ensures that your broker is abiding by the rules laid out by the authorities. It also gives you piece of mind knowing that there's a 'watchdog' looking out for you.

2. Are your funds segregated away? This is to ensure that your funds are safe and not accessible to your broker to fund their business activities.

3. How easy is it to withdraw your money? Withdrawal should take a matter of days. If your broker takes weeks or even months to get your money back to you, something is wrong.

4. How is the product selection? If you're trading Forex Forex Foreign exchange or forex is the act of converting one nation’s currency into another nation’s currency (that possesses a different currency); for example, the converting of British Pounds into US Dollars, and vice versa. The exchange of currencies can be done over a physical counter, such as at a Bureau de Change, or over the internet via broker platforms, where currency speculation takes place, known as forex trading.The foreign exchange market, by its very nature, is the world’s largest tradi Foreign exchange or forex is the act of converting one nation’s currency into another nation’s currency (that possesses a different currency); for example, the converting of British Pounds into US Dollars, and vice versa. The exchange of currencies can be done over a physical counter, such as at a Bureau de Change, or over the internet via broker platforms, where currency speculation takes place, known as forex trading.The foreign exchange market, by its very nature, is the world’s largest tradi Read this Term, you want to make sure that your broker offers the currencies that you frequently trade. These could be exotic ones such as USD/CNY, USD/CZR, etc.

And back to the markets! This week I'm looking at USD/MXN, USD/ZAR, AUD/USD, and Silver.