On average, over time, the changes must net out to zero.Īs the FMA says, "For every person who gains a dollar from forex trading, someone else loses a dollar. The value of Currency X will sometimes rise against Currency Y, but it's just as likely to fall. This isn't like investing in shares or property, whose values tend to rise over time. We regularly receive complaints and enquiries from consumers who have lost money in online forex trading." The main point to grasp is that you're betting on one currency rising against another. "The risk is even higher if you trade with borrowed money, as this increases any gains or losses you make. But they are just as likely to lose money as make it," says the Financial Markets Authority on its website. "Online foreign exchange trading is used by some people to try to make a quick profit by betting on the changing value of foreign currencies. Where there's smoke The fact is that forex trading for profit is not clever. But it's likely that at least some are from people who have had a bad enough experience that they're motivated to write about it. Bad reviews? Well, they could be written by competitors. Good online reviews for anything from forex trading to restaurants may be genuine, but the reviews may be written by all the owner's aunties and uncles. Good on you, too, for researching brokers on the internet.īut I'm really glad you haven't made the next move. I must say, though, that I've often heard of people doing well on dummy runs but it doesn't quite work with real money. So if you have any information that could help me make the decision, that would be great.įirst, good on you for doing dummy runs on foreign exchange - or forex - trading before putting money in. Also adding to my nervousness is the fact my demo broker was fined in the US for poor business practices there are bad reviews on YouTube for another broker. The psychology of trading plays a big part in how successful you are, so it is time to operate with real money.īut finding a reputable broker is proving very difficult, especially with the internet having conflicting reviews on almost every broker out there. After six months of trialling different strategies I feel ready to take the plunge into trading a live account. I started studying forex trading last year and have been operating a couple of demo accounts through various brokers. The FMA says online foreign exchange trading is used by some people to try to make a quick profit.