When it comes to ranking Forex brokers, broker review sites make their rating selections for the top spots using a variety of different criteria. Investors use these reviews to help them decide which broker offers the features they need before opening a trading account and in most cases, they don’t scroll past the first ten names on the list before making their choice. With the start of each new year, listings of the top brokers are selected and posted online and the best Forex brokers for 2015/2016 have now been published.
Different Categories
It is interesting to note the different approaches used by review services to categorize their top broker choices. Some reviewers rate their winners according to four or five key features: credibility, responsive customer support, low spreads, good leverage options and a user friendly online website.
The broker’s reputation is also called into play and regulation and capitalizations are key components in any comparison. AvaTrade was cited as a top Forex broker in 2015 because of its long list of regulatory bodies which went way beyond the usual regulators cited by most Forex brokers. In fact, because of its ASIC regulation, it is nominated as one of the top Forex brokers in Australia by Forex-Awards.com. Choice of trading products is also highly regarded as some Forex brokers such as Plus500, offer Forex, CFDs, ETFs, and Futures CFDs while others such as Markets.com offer a wide range of Forex pairs, global stocks, commodities and more in addition to its CFDs. Markets.com is listed as one of the top Forex brokers 2015/2016 by several review sites.
Trading Platforms
Trading platforms are another consideration when comparing brokers and most of the Top Forex brokers 2015/2016 list this as a very significant feature in their rankings. Any broker offering the MetaTrader4 platform is a candidate for top rankings as this is considered the most efficient and user-friendly trading platform available in the industry today. FXCM, for example, which was third on the Daily Forex top broker list of 2015, offers its traders the choice of the MT4 platform or its own proprietary platform. FXCM is also highly regulated and was listed among the fastest growing companies by Inc. 500 List of America’s Fastest Growing Companies three years in a row.
The recent addition of mobile trading capabilities and specific mobile trading apps by most Forex brokers has become a key requirement for Forex traders and can often be the deciding factor in a trader’s choice of brokerage.
Another area of comparison is the educational material provided by the broker for both registered and non-registered account holders as well as the broker’s special services, if any, for new traders. Beginner traders are eager to see as much helpful information as possible and together with experienced traders they look for the benefits of good quality training, tutorials, lessons, blogs, e-books and other online trading tools.
The knowledge and experience provided by the top Forex brokers is highly regarded and any listing that does not discuss instructional offerings is not doing the trader any justice.
Another accolade is awarded to top Forex brokers who allow investors from North America to trade. Oanda one of the top Forex and CFD brokers and market makers that are available for traders in the U.S. and Canada as well as Asia and Europe.
Forex broker reviews should also be comparing other broker features including bonuses and promotions, news and analysis, signals, social trading, choice of trading accounts and the availability of any other special deals.
It is too early in the year to come to any definite conclusions about the top Forex brokers 2015/2016 and changes throughout the industry will certainly occur during the coming months that could alter any current rankings.
