There are many differences between the Forex market and the Stock market. One major difference is the number of trading options available. In the Stock Market, you have thousands to choose from, where as in Forex Market, there are not that many. There are seven major currency pairs that forex traders are most active in. These pairs are EUR/USD, USD/JPY, GBP/USD, USD/CHF, EUR/JPY, USD/CAD, AUD/USD and NZD/USD. There are many other pairs, as you can combine any of the currencies, known as cross currencies. The fact that there are only a few pairs to trade, it makes Forex trading easier to understand. It forces you to focus on only a handful of pairs as opposed to trying to understand the 10,000+ options within stocks. By keeping-up with economic and political news of the major countries involved with Forex trading, you are able to get a better understanding of how the foreign exchange market reacts to certain things.
3 reasons
1. Stocks are the biggest and most followed market in the world. This means you are competing against more people who work harder and dig deeper. The market has been studied for a long time and is relatively efficient.
2. More importantly, there is a TON of insider trading in stocks. Unless you also have insider knowledge, that is a huge edge your opponents have over you. SAC made all that money over the years from the suckers in the markets who didn't have access to insider information. You know what they say in poker, if you can't spot the fish, you are the fish.
3. The opposite happens in currencies. A huge portion of the currency flows are central banks who aren't always out to make money, but often to implement particular economic strategies. This means that if you can understand their motivations, it is possible to sustainably make money off of them.
1. Stocks are the biggest and most followed market in the world. This means you are competing against more people who work harder and dig deeper. The market has been studied for a long time and is relatively efficient.
2. More importantly, there is a TON of insider trading in stocks. Unless you also have insider knowledge, that is a huge edge your opponents have over you. SAC made all that money over the years from the suckers in the markets who didn't have access to insider information. You know what they say in poker, if you can't spot the fish, you are the fish.
3. The opposite happens in currencies. A huge portion of the currency flows are central banks who aren't always out to make money, but often to implement particular economic strategies. This means that if you can understand their motivations, it is possible to sustainably make money off of them.
24-Hour Market
The forex market is a seamless 24-hour market. Most brokers are open from Sunday at 4:00 pm EST until Friday at 4:00 pm EST, with customer service usually available 24/7. With the ability to trade during the U.S., Asian, and European market hours, you can customize your own trading schedule.
Minimal or No Commissions Most Forex brokers charge no commission or additional transactions fees to trade currencies online or over the phone. Combined with the tight, consistent, and fully transparent spread, Forex trading costs are lower than those of any other market. Most brokers are compensated for their services through the bid/ask spread.
Instant Execution of Market Orders
Your trades are instantly executed under normal market conditions. Under these conditions, usually the price shown when you execute your market order is the price you get. You’re able to execute directly off real-time streaming prices (Oh yeeeaah! Big time!).
Keep in mind that many brokers only guarantee stop, limit, and entry orders under normal market conditions. Trading during a massive alien invasion from outer space would not fall under “normal market” conditions. Fills are instantaneous most of the time, but under extraordinarily volatile market conditions, like during Martian attacks, order execution may experience delays.
Short-Selling without an Uptick
Unlike the equity market, there is no restriction on short selling in the currency market. Trading opportunities exist in the currency market regardless of whether a trader is long or short, or whichever way the market is moving. Since currency trading always involves buying one currency and selling another, there is no structural bias to the market. So you always have equal access to trade in a rising or falling market.
No Middlemen
Centralized exchanges provide many advantages to the trader. However, one of the problems with any centralized exchange is the involvement of middlemen. Any party located in between the trader and the buyer or seller of the security or instrument traded will cost them money. The cost can be either in time or in fees.
Spot currency trading, on the other hand, is decentralized, which means quotes can vary from different currency dealers. Competition between them is so fierce that you are almost always assured that you get the best deals. Forex traders get quicker access and cheaper costs.
The forex market is a seamless 24-hour market. Most brokers are open from Sunday at 4:00 pm EST until Friday at 4:00 pm EST, with customer service usually available 24/7. With the ability to trade during the U.S., Asian, and European market hours, you can customize your own trading schedule.
Minimal or No Commissions Most Forex brokers charge no commission or additional transactions fees to trade currencies online or over the phone. Combined with the tight, consistent, and fully transparent spread, Forex trading costs are lower than those of any other market. Most brokers are compensated for their services through the bid/ask spread.
Instant Execution of Market Orders
Your trades are instantly executed under normal market conditions. Under these conditions, usually the price shown when you execute your market order is the price you get. You’re able to execute directly off real-time streaming prices (Oh yeeeaah! Big time!).
Keep in mind that many brokers only guarantee stop, limit, and entry orders under normal market conditions. Trading during a massive alien invasion from outer space would not fall under “normal market” conditions. Fills are instantaneous most of the time, but under extraordinarily volatile market conditions, like during Martian attacks, order execution may experience delays.
Short-Selling without an Uptick
Unlike the equity market, there is no restriction on short selling in the currency market. Trading opportunities exist in the currency market regardless of whether a trader is long or short, or whichever way the market is moving. Since currency trading always involves buying one currency and selling another, there is no structural bias to the market. So you always have equal access to trade in a rising or falling market.
No Middlemen
Centralized exchanges provide many advantages to the trader. However, one of the problems with any centralized exchange is the involvement of middlemen. Any party located in between the trader and the buyer or seller of the security or instrument traded will cost them money. The cost can be either in time or in fees.
Spot currency trading, on the other hand, is decentralized, which means quotes can vary from different currency dealers. Competition between them is so fierce that you are almost always assured that you get the best deals. Forex traders get quicker access and cheaper costs.