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<p style="font-size:16px">'''Quick Start Guide'''</p>
==Your Forex Quick Start and Reference Guide==


So you want to be a professional forex trader? Great! ..but before reading anything else, do understand that trading for a living can be one of the hardest professions you've ever encountered. Make no mistake, the odds are against you, and the market is designed to chew you up and spit you out.
'''"Forex" - Foreign Exchange -''' The [https://volatility.red/Price_Action_Analysis price] paid for one [https://volatility.red/Currency currency] for another [https://volatility.red/Currency currency].  


"Trading is the hardest way to make an easy living." - Anonymous
The Forex or [[FX market]] is the largest market in the world by daily notional trading volume, which reports estimating the daily turnover in the [[FX market]] at [https://www.bis.org/statistics/rpfx19_fx.htm $6.6 trillion.] That means we see more total purchasing power or value change hands in the [[FX market]] than any other asset class in the world on a day-to-day basis. Of course, this makes sense, since we're talking about [https://volatility.red/Currency currency] after all, and [https://volatility.red/Currency currency] is the great medium that connects all world markets.  


However, trading can also be one of the most rewarding careers out there (both financially and intellectually.)
The [[FX market]] isn't just traded at a single [centralized exchange] though; there is no [["New York Stock Exchange"]] of the FX world where all transactions take place for a given [https://volatility.red/Currency currency], as no single trading venue has a monopoly on trading FX. Instead, FX is considered an [[Over the Counter]] ([[Over the Counter|OTC]]) product and is traded all over the world. The backbone of the market are the FX trading desks at major international banks (connecting to each other and making up the [https://volatility.red/Interbank_market interbank market]), liquidity providers (firms who do the same function as a bank's FX desk, just without the rest of the bank attached to them.) and there is a fair bit of [[speculating]] taking place on a daily basis as well.


We are stressing this because of the huge influx in 'social media' based influencers who are pitching FX trading as "easy" and requiring only a little starting capital. Often, new traders are too greedy to see such scams for what they really are; the influencer is only trying to make money off you through referrals, selling courses, mentorship, etc.. No matter what profit track record they show you (doctored images are common, but even trading software/servers can be manipulated to display fake results,) 99.99% of the time they are out to rip you off. Here's a simple logic test: If a social media guru / mentor is showing off how they can turn $100 into $50k in a few weeks, why are they working so hard to get you to fork over a few bucks for mentorship? Or a course? Or to sign up to a given broker or service?
As an individual trader, your access to the [[FX market]]s will start with your [[Forex_broker | broker]] of choice. Your [[Forex_broker | broker's]] job is to connect you to one or more FX trading venues. Given the size and might of the [[FX market]], and its [[Over the Counter|OTC]] nature, FX trading also has one of the lowest barriers to entry for retail traders worldwide. There are no [[pattern day trading rules]] ([[Pattern day trading rules |PDT]]) like we see in the US stock markets, the brokerage industry is highly competitive so the cost of trading is low, and you can typically start an account with just a few hundred [https://volatility.red/Forex_broker dollars] (or less, but we will get into recommended account sizes later.)


There are no shortcuts in this industry.
<blockquote>This low barrier to entry can be a double-edged sword. We've seen an influx of [[Retail_Forex_Scams | scammers]] and social media 'influencers' presenting forex as an "easy" and "quick" way to get rich. Trading FX, just like any type of [[trading]], carries [[risk]]. Anyone trying to get rich overnight by trading FX will likely just end up blowing their account. We need to stress this and hope with the information you find in this wiki, you will see the [[Retail_Forex_Scams | scams]] on social media for what they really are: The social media influencer is only trying to make money off you (referrals, selling courses, mentorship, etc..) They do not actually make money from trading. If they did, they would not bother putting so many hours into a 'lifestyle' Instagram with Lambos and Gucci, or so many hours randomly messaging strangers on the net. No matter what kind of track record an influencer shows you (doctored and fake images are common, but even trading software can be manipulated to display fake results,) 99.99% of the time they are out to rip you off. </blockquote>
<blockquote>Here's a simple logic test: If a social media guru/mentor is showing off how they can turn $100 into $50k in a few weeks, why are they working so hard to get you to fork over a few bucks for mentorship? Or a course? Or to sign up for a given [[Forex_broker | broker]] or service? Why aren't they just living it up on a beach somewhere? </blockquote>


If you're serious, and want to learn, here are the resources you need to get started:
So with that said, if you are serious about learning this market, and passionate about [[trading]], the info below will help you get started:
 
 
__TOC__


==Resources==
==Resources==
By no means is this a comprehensive list, but any and all resources here have been vetted by professional traders as great resources having contributed to their own respective trader development (especially at the beginning.)


===Education and Courses===
===Education and Courses===
We do not recommend paid courses in general. They typically teach what can be found easily online when it comes to market basics, and even when they promise a trading 'system' or method it's typically not one that works consistently. Don't waste your money. See the free courses or guilds below instead:  
'''We do not recommend paid courses in general.''' You do not need to pay for a course to learn the basics of FX trading. Paid programs typically teach what can be found for free online, or for a very low cost in [[Recommended Forex Books for New and Developing Traders | book]] format. Paid courses typically hook people on the idea that after they cover the market basics, the student will learn a profitable strategy and be ready to make money from day one. This is simply not the case 99.9% of the time, as most published strategies are not effective. Don't waste your money, and instead consider the free courses or guilds below:  


[https://www.babypips.com/learn/forex BabyPips School of Pipsology] <=START HERE. THIS IS YOUR ENTRY INTO THE WORLD OF FOREX. COMPLETE THE ENTIRE SCHOOL. Despite Babypips being a 3rd party commercial resource, we will give credit where credit is due; their 'School of Pipsology' is a great example of the free and robust forex education you can find online without having to spend a dime.
* Volatility.red has many ever-expanding comprehensive resources on subjects such as [[Fundamental Analysis]], [[Sentiment Analysis]], [[Technical Analysis]], [[Trading psychology | Trading Psychology]], [[Central banks | Central Banks]], [[Economic data releases | Economic Data Releases]], [[Futures Market]], [[Speculating]], [[Trader Scouting and Prop Firms Overview and Comparison]], [[Forex broker | Forex Brokers]], and so much more. Just keep clicking through on the links and you will continue to find extremely valuable information that will help you increase your trading skills in the financial markets. Volatility.red is a free Wiki resource on all things related to trading in the financial markets.
*[https://www.babypips.com/learn/forex BabyPips School of Pipsology] '''<=START HERE. THIS IS YOUR ENTRY INTO THE WORLD OF FOREX. COMPLETE THE ENTIRE SCHOOL'''. Despite Babypips being a 3rd party commercial resource, we will give credit where credit is due: Babypips' "School of Pipsology" is a great example of the free and robust forex education you can find online without having to spend a dime.
*[https://www.studocu.com/row/document/university-of-dar-es-salaam/human-rights-law/lbex-ll-3356480-3356609/28490608 Lehman Brothers Foreign Exchange Training Manual] - Don't let the company name fool you, this is a solid manual and was used to train up institutional traders for many years.
*[https://www.marketlifetrading.com/ Market Life Trading by Adam Grimes] - Specifically the free 22 hour long course on trading in general. Adam comes from a prop trading background and structured his free material around the trader development process common in the prop trading world. The focus is on teaching people how to come up with strategies (observations in the market, testing out ideas, refining, etc...) instead of just trying to teach a system.


[https://www.jenner.com/lehman/docs/barclays/LBEX-LL%203356480-3356609.pdf Lehman Brothers Foreign Exchange Training Manual] - Don't let the company name fool you, this is a solid manual and was used to train up institutional traders for many years.


[https://www.marketlifetrading.com/ Market Life Trading by Adam Grimes] - Specifically the free 22 hour long course on trading in general. Adam comes from a prop trading background and structured his free material around the trader development process common in the prop trading world. The focus is on teaching people how to come up with strategies (observations in the market, testing out ideas, refining, etc...) instead of just trying to teach a system.
===[[Recommended Forex Books for New and Developing Traders|Books]]===
 
'''[[Recommended Forex Books for New and Developing Traders]]''' - A list of recommended books covering not only the basics, but advanced subjects and [[trading psychology]].
 
===[https://fxgears.com/index.php?pages/trading_chatroom/ Live Public Trading Chatroom]===


===[[Recommended Forex Books for New and Developing Traders|Books]]===
While there are many trading chatrooms that can be found online, most of them are commercial in nature. That is, they are built up around a commercial product or service, or are commercially biased in their existence.  
[[Recommended Forex Books for New and Developing Traders]] - A list of recommended books covering not only the basics, but advanced subjects and trading psychology.


===[[Live Public Trading Chatroom|Official Live Trading Chatroom for]] [https://www.reddit.com/r/forex /r/forex], [https://www.reddit.com/r/algotrading /r/algotrading], [[Live Public Trading Chatroom|and FXGears.com]]===
Volatiltiy.RED works closely with one of the cleanest, well moderated, and active online chatrooms in the trading space:
[https://fxgears.com/index.php?pages/trading_chatroom/ FXGears's Live Public Trading Chatroom]
This chatroom serves the following online communities:
* The [https://fxgears.com FXGears.com] Trading Forum
* [https://www.reddit.com/r/forex The Reddit extension of the FXGears.com community, /r/forex]
* [https://www.reddit.com/r/algotrading The /r/AlgoTrading subreddit]


Make sure to join the community in chat during market hours! Links also found in our sidebar and top nav links: [http://fxgears.com/out/discord Forex Trading Discord Chat]
So make sure to join us in chat during market hours! [https://fxgears.com/index.php?pages/trading_chatroom/ FXGears.com's Live Public Trading Chatroom]


===Economic Calendar===
===Economic Calendar===


You need an economic calendar. Why? As you will read in nearly every 'intro to forex' resource: news is a catalyst for change and volatility the market, so you need to know when scheduled announcements are coming.
You need an economic calendar. Why? As you will read in nearly every 'intro to [[Forex]]' resource: news is a catalyst for change and volatility the market, so you need to know when scheduled announcements are coming.


[http://tradingview.com/markets/currencies/economic-calendar/ Tradingview Economic Calendar] <br>
*[https://geni.us/financialJuice '''Highly Recommended''' -  Financial Juice] - A full featured streaming news, economic calendar, and squawk audio news feed dashboard with a free membership tier ("lite accounts) that's only delayed by 3-20 seconds. *Their economic calendar is on the left side of the dashboard and updates as releases happen, PLUS you get to see live news feeds and hear the squawk service react to the scheduled economic releases and get proper context to how impactful a given economic number might be. Contrasting live news streams, squawk commentary by financial news veterans, and scheduled economic releases can be a HUGE aid for traders seeking to better understand a given market's reaction to news events. The "lite" account, even with a slight delay, is a HUGE value and worth checking out. (Plus, for news and momentum traders out there, [https://geni.us/financialJuice '''Financial Juice''']'s Pro accounts for proper real time news streaming are a fraction of the cost other news and squawk services charge.)
[http://www.forexfactory.com/calendar.php Forex Factory Economic Calendar]


===[https://www.reddit.com/r/Forex/wiki/index/hall-of-fame-threads Reddit Hall of Fame threads Hall of Fame Threads]===
*[https://geni.us/TradingViewEconCal Tradingview Economic Calendar] - TradingView's calendar does lack some features and isn't our "go-to" for such a service, but if you're planning on using [https://geni.us/TradingViewEconCal Tradingview] as a trading or charting platform, the calendar hooks right into their charting products and is quite seamless. Being able to quickly click through related symbols of a given calendar event and have your personal chart setup pull up everything you need makes your trading analysis workflow quite streamlined with everything you need at your fingertips. Thus, even if the calendar itself isn't perfect, [https://geni.us/TradingViewEconCal Tradingview] makes the list for their integration for chart traders.


[https://www.reddit.com/r/Forex/wiki/index/hall-of-fame-threads Reddit Hall of Fame threads]
*Forex Factory's Economic Calendar - ForexFactory's economic calendar on their home page used to be our recommended option, however, in recent years we've noticed a USD centric listing of events with "impact" levels not reflecting the observed volatility during and after a scheduled economic data release. Unfortunately, some major news releases for forex major pairs can be absent by default as well, which is concerning. The only upside is the historical data points for each release they present as a histogram for quick reference on recent data.


===News Websites===
===News Websites===


[https://www.forexlive.com Forex Live] <br>
If you're new to the FX world, it's best not to get caught up in news trading until you have spent some time understanding how news impacts the markets. However, it's a good idea to read through global economic news to see how international trade, economic data, and politics can affect a [https://volatility.red/Currency currency's] exchange rates. These news sources will not be time-sensitive, but great for reading along and getting a general feel for the fundamentals of the market.
[https://www.fxstreet.com FXStreet] <br>
 
[https://www.reuters.com/finance/currencies Reuters Finance] <br>
*[https://www.reuters.com/finance/currencies Reuters Finance] - Decent global coverage of FX news
[https://www.bloomberg.com/markets/currencies Bloomberg]
 
*[https://www.bloomberg.com/markets/currencies Bloomberg] - Select your desired currency pair, and a news feed will appear on the right side of the resulting page
 
*[https://geni.us/financialJuice '''Highly Recommended''' -  Financial Juice] - Yes, another recommendation for Financial Juice. Dead center on FJ's dashboard you'll find a curated stream of financial news from major news firms to financial personalities giving hot takes on social media. [https://geni.us/financialJuice '''Financial Juice'''] allows you to customizes which feeds you want to see, and everything is updated in real time (or 5-20 seconds behind if you're on a lite account, which is still quite fast.) [https://geni.us/financialJuice '''Financial Juice'''] even highlights market impactful in red so it's hard to miss.
 
Other sources that might rank high if you search "forex news" in google, (not specifically, but not unlike: FXStreet, Forex Live, etc...) might have made the list, if not for their heavy commercial bias. Generally speaking, advertising partners (such as forex brokers) who may not offer the most reputable or competitive service, will get undue exposure on such sites if they pay more than established and trusted firms. Our team strongly prefers news sources that make their business the content or service itself, over websites that sell their audience out to the company that will pay them the most.
 
===[https://fxgears.com/index.php?threads/how-to-setup-twitter-to-stream-the-latest-fx-and-economic-news-for-2020-and-2021.1218/ Tweetdeck Economic News Streaming Setup |Twitter / Tweetdeck News Streaming]===
 
'''NOTE: Since the transition to a private company and branding shift to "X", this option is no longer "free" and is not as reliable as it once was.. We suggest reading above for streaming news services that offer a better setup for free, such as [https://geni.us/financialJuice '''Financial Juice'''].'''
 
Twitter (now "X") setup: [https://fxgears.com/index.php?threads/how-to-setup-twitter-to-stream-the-latest-fx-and-economic-news-for-2020-and-2021.1218/ '''How to setup Twitter to stream the latest FX and Economic news'''] on FXGears.com
 
Twitter is a social media platform, meaning that not everything posted by Twitter members is accurate, timely, or of practical use. Not only will there be bias in what gets popular on Twitter, but Twitter can often become an echo chamber if you only follow like-minded traders or politically slanted news sources. Stick to the list of Twitter accounts in the guide above for the best results as the accounts listed are [[central banks]], squawk services, or news agencies of good standing.


===Forums===
===Forums===


[https://fxgears.com/ Fxgears.com]<br>
Keep in mind that the majority of forum users are going to be other new traders, so take anything you read on such platforms with a grain of salt. However, for idea generation, entertainment, or the like, browsing trading forums can be a good exercise:
[https://www.forexfactory.com/forum.php Forex Factory forums]<br>
 
[https://forums.babypips.com/ Babypips forums]
*[https://fxgears.com/ The FXGears.com Trading Community] - We work closely with this community and recommend select threads by its founder, Jack Larkin, on trading professionally
*[https://reddit.com/r/forex FXGears' /r/forex Subreddit] - While not technically a forum, it's like a forum given it allows the community to post topics and comment replies
*[https://www.forexfactory.com/forum.php ForexFactory] - One of the larger FX related forums on the net
*[https://forums.babypips.com/ Babypips] - Very newb friendly, but this is a disadvantage as much as it is an advantage
*[https://elitetrader.com/ EliteTrader] - Old school trading forum that has a Forex section


===Charting===
===Charting===


'''Desktop/mobile'''
If you're going to base your trade ideas off the chart, then reliable charting is a MUST for your trading setup. It's often best to have two charting packages handy while trading (for comparison, or if one feed were to drop during your trade day.)
* [https://tradingview.com/ TradingView] - Great for HTML5 browser based charting and alerts * Use a demo account from a high quality broker, [[The "best" Forex platforms for a demo/practice account? (MT4, MT5 and cTrader)|popular retail forex platforms for demo can be found here on FXGears' demo comparison page.]]
 
*[https://geni.us/TradingViewChartNEW TradingView] - Works anywhere, on the web, on Android or Apple devices, TradingView is an excellent and free charting tool - Make sure to check out their [https://geni.us/TradingViewChartNEW 'Full Featured Chart' by clicking on the respective button from this page]
*[[The Best and Most Popular Forex Platforms for Demo| '''Overview of popular retail forex platforms for demoing''']] - Alternatively, you could use a demo account from a high quality [[forex broker]]
 
===[[Trader Scouting and Prop Firms Overview and Comparison | Prop / Scouting Firms]]===


===[[Trader Scouting and Prop Firms Overview and Comparison|Prop / Scouting Firms]]===
One way to approach the industry instead of opening your own trading account would be trading for a prop firm. [[Trader Scouting and Prop Firms Overview and Comparison| '''We have a great writeup about forex Prop / Scouting firms here.''']] - We worked closely with the industry experts at FXGears.com to bring you this info.


Some traders would rather trade for a frim than on their own. [[Trader Scouting and Prop Firms Overview and Comparison|FXGears has a great writeup on forex Prop / Scouting firms which can be found here.]]


===[[Virtual Private Servers (VPS)]]===
===[[Virtual Private Servers (VPS)]]===


If you're going to run Expert Advisers (EAs) or your own custom code to trade, you'll want to do so on a reliable computing platform. A VPS for trading will typically be managed, have good latency between the VPS provider's network and your broker's trade servers, and will always be running and connected.
If you're going to run Expert Advisers (EAs) or your own custom code to trade, you'll want to do so on a reliable computing platform. A VPS for trading will typically be managed, have good latency between the VPS provider's network and your broker's trade servers, and will always be running and connected.
[[Virtual Private Servers (VPS)|Considerations and overview of recommended VPS providers.]]
[[Virtual Private Servers (VPS) | '''Considerations and overview of recommended VPS providers.''']]
 


===[[Tick Data for Backtesting and Algo Trading]]===
===[[Tick Data for Backtesting and Algo Trading]]===


For use with a backtesting suite (ForexTester 3, TickDataSuite, etc...) or your own custom code, here you'll find instructions on how to extract tick level forex data from multiple sources: [[Tick Data for Backtesting and Algo Trading|HOWTO get free Forex Tick Data for backtesting]]
If you're using a backtesting suite, such as ForexTester, TickDataSuite, MetaTrader, BuildAlpha, etc..) or your own custom written backtest code, you'll need a source of [https://volatility.red/Price_Action_Analysis price] data. The following section of our wiki will provide instructions on how to extract tick level forex data from multiple sources: '''[[Tick Data for Backtesting and Algo Trading|HOWTO get free Forex Tick Data for backtesting.]]'''


==Paid Resources==
==Paid Resources==


===Education===
Some services are worth paying for, but aren't required to be proficient and consistent trader. Here we list commonly paid for services and give you an idea of why they are worth the fee and what they cost.
 
 
===Paid Education / Paid Courses===


The vast majority of sites charging you for FX trading courses and education are scams or ripoffs. It is highly advised that you avoid such paid courses / sites / programs.  
As per the section on finding free education / courses online, we do not currently recommend paying for FX educational material.  


===News Wires===
We will make one exception in the case of [[Trader Scouting and Prop Firms Overview and Comparison | '''Prop / Trader Scouting Firms''']] who give access to training material as part of their tryout fees. Generally speaking, the prop firm's interests are more in line with the trader, as they wish for the trader to be successful and can earn revenue from the trader's activity in the markets. This means you are less likely to get "fluff" material from such sources, and less likely to find out the course is just a big sales pitch for some more expensive program. So if you go down the route of a trader scouting program, do make sure to check out any educational material they provide to their users.


These can be expensive and some traders swear by them but they are not required to trade profitably.


[https://www.bloomberg.com/professional/ Bloomberg Terminal]: Price is estimated at USD $20,000/yr<br>
===News Wires===
[http://financial.thomsonreuters.com/en/products/tools-applications/trading-investment-tools/eikon-trading-software.html Reuters Eikon]: Price is estimated to be $3,600-$22,000/yr depending on set up<br>
[http://www.dowjones.com/products/dj-news/ Dow Jones NewsWire]: Price is estimated at $1,440 per year.


===Squawk Services===
Real-time news feeds can be quite expensive and are more commonly seen on institutional trade desks where their more advanced features are put to use.


Typically cheaper than newswires. Live running commentary on news events. Slight delay compared to wires.
*[https://www.bloomberg.com/professional/ Bloomberg Terminal] - [https://volatility.red/Price_Action_Analysis Price] is estimated at USD $20,000/yr starting, and each data feed is a separate subscription
*[https://www.refinitiv.com/en/products/eikon-trading-software Reuters Eikon] - News feeds are hooked into Reuters' Eikon platform. [https://volatility.red/Price_Action_Analysis Price] is estimated to be $3,600-$22,000/yr depending on setup
*[http://www.dowjones.com/products/dj-news/ Dow Jones NewsWire]: [https://volatility.red/Price_Action_Analysis Price] is estimated at $1,440 per year. Some brokers offer delayed Dow Jones news feeds, or filtered feeds, through their platforms at a reduced cost


[https://newsquawk.com/ Newsquawk]<br>
[https://www.livesquawk.com/ Livesquawk]


===*Other "Feeds" and news sources *===
===Squawk Services===


Recommended [Twitter] setup: [How to setup Twitter to stream the latest FX and Economic news in 2019 and 2020]
Typically cheaper than newswires, squawk services offer live running commentary on news events. By default, a squawk service will add a delay between when a time-sensitive news release hits the wire, and when you hear it come over the squawk broadcast, as they are first interpreted and then read aloud by the news anchor, but in return, you get an experienced company curating otherwise noisy feeds for you.


Free, but fair warning: Twitter is social media, meaning that not everything posted by twitter members is accurate, timely, or of use. Not only will there be bias in what gets popular on Twitter, but Twitter can often become an echo-chamber if you only follow like-minded traders / sources. Stick to the guide's list of sources for best results as they are news / squawk services and their business is reporting accurately.
*[https://geni.us/financialJuice '''Highly Recommended''' -  Financial Juice] - Audio and Text Squawk, Real Time News Feed and Econ Calendar Service - Their "lite" account is free and only 10-20 seconds delayed for audio and news. Plus, paid accounts for real time service are a fraction of the cost other squawk services charge.
*Newsquawk - Formally RANsquawk, Newsquawk has a long history in this space.
*Livesquawk - a solid option and includes a text-based news feed along with their subscription


===Paid Chatrooms===
===Paid Chatrooms===


We do not recommend any 3rd part paid chatroom; they are often not worth their costs and are usually part of an up-sell tactic to push more products. (That said, we do recommend the official free [https://www.reddit.com/r/forex /r/forex] [http://fxgears.com/out/discord community chatroom], hosted in partnership with FXGears.com, [[Live Public Trading Chatroom|(which can be found here)]].
We do not recommend any paid chatroom; they are often not worth their costs and are usually part of an up-sell tactic to push more products.  
 
The idea that you'd pay to follow another trader (or group of traders) in a chatroom and copy them as you learn might seem like a smart way of gaining experience, but the overwhelming majority of these chats are only out to earn subscription income and the people running them cannot consistently trade. Worse yet, even if you find a legit trader running a paid chat, since you can't be inside their head as they make their trades it is often quite hard to learn from such an environment beyond the basics.


==Brokers==
==Brokers==


'''YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR DUE DILIGENCE.'''
<blockquote>'''IMPORTANT:''' YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR DUE DILIGENCE WHEN CHOOSING A BROKER</blockquote>


There are many factors to consider when choosing a broker but some of the most important factors are regulation, execution quality, and ease of deposit/withdrawals. Being "regulated" on it's own is not a guarantee of protection against bad brokers; often bad brokers will be regulated out of a jurisdiction that has lax rules and weak enforcement, so their marketing team can boast about being regulated while not actually providing much protection to their clients or having much oversight by governing bodies. Consider WHERE, HOW, and by WHO a broker is regulated.
There are many factors to consider when choosing a broker but some of the most important factors are regulation, execution quality, and ease of deposit/withdrawals. Being "regulated" on it's own is not a guarantee of protection against bad brokers; often bad brokers will be regulated out of a jurisdiction that has lax rules and weak enforcement, so their marketing team can boast about being regulated while not actually providing much protection to their clients or having much oversight by governing bodies. Consider WHERE, HOW, and by WHO a broker is regulated.
Line 121: Line 163:


===https://i.imgur.com/0y2LgwJ.png - [[Forex Brokers and Regulatory Info for International Traders]]===
===https://i.imgur.com/0y2LgwJ.png - [[Forex Brokers and Regulatory Info for International Traders]]===


==FAQ==
==FAQ==


===[[The "best" Forex platforms for a demo/practice account? (MT4, MT5 and cTrader)]]===
===[[The Best and Most Popular Forex Platforms for Demo | What's the best trading platform to start with?]]===


===[[Risk Management Primer]]===
===[[Risk Management Primer]]===
Line 136: Line 179:
===Market Profile===
===Market Profile===


*[CME Group's official Market Profile Study Guide]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20170829185705/https://www.cmegroup.com/education/interactive/marketprofile/handbook.pdf CME Group's official Market Profile Study Guide]
*[Value Area Explained]
*[https://www.dropbox.com/s/p30h34ukkx1akoh/Larry%20Levin%20on%20Value%20Area%20Trade.pdf?dl=0 Value Area Explained]
 
 
==Related Wikis==
 
Readers of '''Forex''' also viewed:
 
* [[Fundamental Analysis]]
* [[Sentiment Analysis]]
* [[Having an Edge in your Trading]]
* [[Speculating]]
* [[Essential Forex Trading Guide]]

Latest revision as of 21:51, 1 May 2024

Your Forex Quick Start and Reference Guide

"Forex" - Foreign Exchange - The price paid for one currency for another currency.

The Forex or FX market is the largest market in the world by daily notional trading volume, which reports estimating the daily turnover in the FX market at $6.6 trillion. That means we see more total purchasing power or value change hands in the FX market than any other asset class in the world on a day-to-day basis. Of course, this makes sense, since we're talking about currency after all, and currency is the great medium that connects all world markets.

The FX market isn't just traded at a single [centralized exchange] though; there is no "New York Stock Exchange" of the FX world where all transactions take place for a given currency, as no single trading venue has a monopoly on trading FX. Instead, FX is considered an Over the Counter (OTC) product and is traded all over the world. The backbone of the market are the FX trading desks at major international banks (connecting to each other and making up the interbank market), liquidity providers (firms who do the same function as a bank's FX desk, just without the rest of the bank attached to them.) and there is a fair bit of speculating taking place on a daily basis as well.

As an individual trader, your access to the FX markets will start with your broker of choice. Your broker's job is to connect you to one or more FX trading venues. Given the size and might of the FX market, and its OTC nature, FX trading also has one of the lowest barriers to entry for retail traders worldwide. There are no pattern day trading rules (PDT) like we see in the US stock markets, the brokerage industry is highly competitive so the cost of trading is low, and you can typically start an account with just a few hundred dollars (or less, but we will get into recommended account sizes later.)

This low barrier to entry can be a double-edged sword. We've seen an influx of scammers and social media 'influencers' presenting forex as an "easy" and "quick" way to get rich. Trading FX, just like any type of trading, carries risk. Anyone trying to get rich overnight by trading FX will likely just end up blowing their account. We need to stress this and hope with the information you find in this wiki, you will see the scams on social media for what they really are: The social media influencer is only trying to make money off you (referrals, selling courses, mentorship, etc..) They do not actually make money from trading. If they did, they would not bother putting so many hours into a 'lifestyle' Instagram with Lambos and Gucci, or so many hours randomly messaging strangers on the net. No matter what kind of track record an influencer shows you (doctored and fake images are common, but even trading software can be manipulated to display fake results,) 99.99% of the time they are out to rip you off.

Here's a simple logic test: If a social media guru/mentor is showing off how they can turn $100 into $50k in a few weeks, why are they working so hard to get you to fork over a few bucks for mentorship? Or a course? Or to sign up for a given broker or service? Why aren't they just living it up on a beach somewhere?

So with that said, if you are serious about learning this market, and passionate about trading, the info below will help you get started:


Resources

By no means is this a comprehensive list, but any and all resources here have been vetted by professional traders as great resources having contributed to their own respective trader development (especially at the beginning.)


Education and Courses

We do not recommend paid courses in general. You do not need to pay for a course to learn the basics of FX trading. Paid programs typically teach what can be found for free online, or for a very low cost in book format. Paid courses typically hook people on the idea that after they cover the market basics, the student will learn a profitable strategy and be ready to make money from day one. This is simply not the case 99.9% of the time, as most published strategies are not effective. Don't waste your money, and instead consider the free courses or guilds below:


Books

Recommended Forex Books for New and Developing Traders - A list of recommended books covering not only the basics, but advanced subjects and trading psychology.

Live Public Trading Chatroom

While there are many trading chatrooms that can be found online, most of them are commercial in nature. That is, they are built up around a commercial product or service, or are commercially biased in their existence.

Volatiltiy.RED works closely with one of the cleanest, well moderated, and active online chatrooms in the trading space: FXGears's Live Public Trading Chatroom This chatroom serves the following online communities:

So make sure to join us in chat during market hours! FXGears.com's Live Public Trading Chatroom

Economic Calendar

You need an economic calendar. Why? As you will read in nearly every 'intro to Forex' resource: news is a catalyst for change and volatility the market, so you need to know when scheduled announcements are coming.

  • Highly Recommended - Financial Juice - A full featured streaming news, economic calendar, and squawk audio news feed dashboard with a free membership tier ("lite accounts) that's only delayed by 3-20 seconds. *Their economic calendar is on the left side of the dashboard and updates as releases happen, PLUS you get to see live news feeds and hear the squawk service react to the scheduled economic releases and get proper context to how impactful a given economic number might be. Contrasting live news streams, squawk commentary by financial news veterans, and scheduled economic releases can be a HUGE aid for traders seeking to better understand a given market's reaction to news events. The "lite" account, even with a slight delay, is a HUGE value and worth checking out. (Plus, for news and momentum traders out there, Financial Juice's Pro accounts for proper real time news streaming are a fraction of the cost other news and squawk services charge.)
  • Tradingview Economic Calendar - TradingView's calendar does lack some features and isn't our "go-to" for such a service, but if you're planning on using Tradingview as a trading or charting platform, the calendar hooks right into their charting products and is quite seamless. Being able to quickly click through related symbols of a given calendar event and have your personal chart setup pull up everything you need makes your trading analysis workflow quite streamlined with everything you need at your fingertips. Thus, even if the calendar itself isn't perfect, Tradingview makes the list for their integration for chart traders.
  • Forex Factory's Economic Calendar - ForexFactory's economic calendar on their home page used to be our recommended option, however, in recent years we've noticed a USD centric listing of events with "impact" levels not reflecting the observed volatility during and after a scheduled economic data release. Unfortunately, some major news releases for forex major pairs can be absent by default as well, which is concerning. The only upside is the historical data points for each release they present as a histogram for quick reference on recent data.

News Websites

If you're new to the FX world, it's best not to get caught up in news trading until you have spent some time understanding how news impacts the markets. However, it's a good idea to read through global economic news to see how international trade, economic data, and politics can affect a currency's exchange rates. These news sources will not be time-sensitive, but great for reading along and getting a general feel for the fundamentals of the market.

  • Bloomberg - Select your desired currency pair, and a news feed will appear on the right side of the resulting page
  • Highly Recommended - Financial Juice - Yes, another recommendation for Financial Juice. Dead center on FJ's dashboard you'll find a curated stream of financial news from major news firms to financial personalities giving hot takes on social media. Financial Juice allows you to customizes which feeds you want to see, and everything is updated in real time (or 5-20 seconds behind if you're on a lite account, which is still quite fast.) Financial Juice even highlights market impactful in red so it's hard to miss.

Other sources that might rank high if you search "forex news" in google, (not specifically, but not unlike: FXStreet, Forex Live, etc...) might have made the list, if not for their heavy commercial bias. Generally speaking, advertising partners (such as forex brokers) who may not offer the most reputable or competitive service, will get undue exposure on such sites if they pay more than established and trusted firms. Our team strongly prefers news sources that make their business the content or service itself, over websites that sell their audience out to the company that will pay them the most.

Tweetdeck Economic News Streaming Setup |Twitter / Tweetdeck News Streaming

NOTE: Since the transition to a private company and branding shift to "X", this option is no longer "free" and is not as reliable as it once was.. We suggest reading above for streaming news services that offer a better setup for free, such as Financial Juice.

Twitter (now "X") setup: How to setup Twitter to stream the latest FX and Economic news on FXGears.com

Twitter is a social media platform, meaning that not everything posted by Twitter members is accurate, timely, or of practical use. Not only will there be bias in what gets popular on Twitter, but Twitter can often become an echo chamber if you only follow like-minded traders or politically slanted news sources. Stick to the list of Twitter accounts in the guide above for the best results as the accounts listed are central banks, squawk services, or news agencies of good standing.

Forums

Keep in mind that the majority of forum users are going to be other new traders, so take anything you read on such platforms with a grain of salt. However, for idea generation, entertainment, or the like, browsing trading forums can be a good exercise:

  • The FXGears.com Trading Community - We work closely with this community and recommend select threads by its founder, Jack Larkin, on trading professionally
  • FXGears' /r/forex Subreddit - While not technically a forum, it's like a forum given it allows the community to post topics and comment replies
  • ForexFactory - One of the larger FX related forums on the net
  • Babypips - Very newb friendly, but this is a disadvantage as much as it is an advantage
  • EliteTrader - Old school trading forum that has a Forex section

Charting

If you're going to base your trade ideas off the chart, then reliable charting is a MUST for your trading setup. It's often best to have two charting packages handy while trading (for comparison, or if one feed were to drop during your trade day.)

Prop / Scouting Firms

One way to approach the industry instead of opening your own trading account would be trading for a prop firm. We have a great writeup about forex Prop / Scouting firms here. - We worked closely with the industry experts at FXGears.com to bring you this info.


Virtual Private Servers (VPS)

If you're going to run Expert Advisers (EAs) or your own custom code to trade, you'll want to do so on a reliable computing platform. A VPS for trading will typically be managed, have good latency between the VPS provider's network and your broker's trade servers, and will always be running and connected. Considerations and overview of recommended VPS providers.


Tick Data for Backtesting and Algo Trading

If you're using a backtesting suite, such as ForexTester, TickDataSuite, MetaTrader, BuildAlpha, etc..) or your own custom written backtest code, you'll need a source of price data. The following section of our wiki will provide instructions on how to extract tick level forex data from multiple sources: HOWTO get free Forex Tick Data for backtesting.

Some services are worth paying for, but aren't required to be proficient and consistent trader. Here we list commonly paid for services and give you an idea of why they are worth the fee and what they cost.


As per the section on finding free education / courses online, we do not currently recommend paying for FX educational material.

We will make one exception in the case of Prop / Trader Scouting Firms who give access to training material as part of their tryout fees. Generally speaking, the prop firm's interests are more in line with the trader, as they wish for the trader to be successful and can earn revenue from the trader's activity in the markets. This means you are less likely to get "fluff" material from such sources, and less likely to find out the course is just a big sales pitch for some more expensive program. So if you go down the route of a trader scouting program, do make sure to check out any educational material they provide to their users.


News Wires

Real-time news feeds can be quite expensive and are more commonly seen on institutional trade desks where their more advanced features are put to use.

  • Bloomberg Terminal - Price is estimated at USD $20,000/yr starting, and each data feed is a separate subscription
  • Reuters Eikon - News feeds are hooked into Reuters' Eikon platform. Price is estimated to be $3,600-$22,000/yr depending on setup
  • Dow Jones NewsWire: Price is estimated at $1,440 per year. Some brokers offer delayed Dow Jones news feeds, or filtered feeds, through their platforms at a reduced cost


Squawk Services

Typically cheaper than newswires, squawk services offer live running commentary on news events. By default, a squawk service will add a delay between when a time-sensitive news release hits the wire, and when you hear it come over the squawk broadcast, as they are first interpreted and then read aloud by the news anchor, but in return, you get an experienced company curating otherwise noisy feeds for you.

  • Highly Recommended - Financial Juice - Audio and Text Squawk, Real Time News Feed and Econ Calendar Service - Their "lite" account is free and only 10-20 seconds delayed for audio and news. Plus, paid accounts for real time service are a fraction of the cost other squawk services charge.
  • Newsquawk - Formally RANsquawk, Newsquawk has a long history in this space.
  • Livesquawk - a solid option and includes a text-based news feed along with their subscription

We do not recommend any paid chatroom; they are often not worth their costs and are usually part of an up-sell tactic to push more products.

The idea that you'd pay to follow another trader (or group of traders) in a chatroom and copy them as you learn might seem like a smart way of gaining experience, but the overwhelming majority of these chats are only out to earn subscription income and the people running them cannot consistently trade. Worse yet, even if you find a legit trader running a paid chat, since you can't be inside their head as they make their trades it is often quite hard to learn from such an environment beyond the basics.

Brokers

IMPORTANT: YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR DUE DILIGENCE WHEN CHOOSING A BROKER

There are many factors to consider when choosing a broker but some of the most important factors are regulation, execution quality, and ease of deposit/withdrawals. Being "regulated" on it's own is not a guarantee of protection against bad brokers; often bad brokers will be regulated out of a jurisdiction that has lax rules and weak enforcement, so their marketing team can boast about being regulated while not actually providing much protection to their clients or having much oversight by governing bodies. Consider WHERE, HOW, and by WHO a broker is regulated.

pqsYSgU.png - Forex Brokers and Regulatory Info for United States Residents

6D5z3ZQ.png - Forex Brokers and Regulatory Info for Canadian Residents

0Uzpsd9.png - Forex Brokers and Regulatory Info for Australian Residents

TIUOQl6.png - Forex Brokers and Regulatory Info for UK Residents

isYeIn8.jpg - Forex Brokers and Regulatory Info for Euro Residents

0y2LgwJ.png - Forex Brokers and Regulatory Info for International Traders

FAQ

What's the best trading platform to start with?

Risk Management Primer

I am confused about this - How can I get currency XXX if I'm trading YYY/ZZZ?

The remainder of the FAQ

Overview of Various Trading Strategies

Market Profile


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