MT4 Forex Brokers

We all consent to the fact that the world is a global village. Interconnectivity among different individuals around the world is rapidly increasing. Furthermore, we have taken our trade to the internet to order specific products or services instantaneously across continents.

Most businesses have already created online platforms (Or are in a rush to do so) to scale up their business to reach national and global standards. This means that currencies from different nations are being exchanged every second.

Before we move on to learning about MetaTrader 4 Forex Brokers, let’s get the basics right.

Forex Trading

Forex (FX) is a portmanteau derived from ‘Foreign Currency Exchange.’ It refers to the changing of currencies to be used for trading in the correspondent country. As currencies are exchanged every second, the forex market makes up the largest market in the world today. Trillions of dollars are being traded every second in the forex market.

To sustain such a high market volume, the forex market uses the internet to network and connect all traders around the globe. Consequently, the forex market is conducted via electronic devices in an Over the Counter (OTC) type of transaction.

What’s more, the forex market is liquid, and electronic cash in the market is processed instantaneously.

MT4 FX Brokers

Just like any other market, the forex market requires a trading platform. You cannot access lettuce without going to a greengrocery or supermarket, a television without going to an electronic store, sushi without going to a restaurant, foreign currency without accessing a forex trading platform.

Metatrader 4 (MT4) has been voted one of the forex market’s best (possibly the best) trading platforms.

Rarely will you find any serious trader who will fail to mention the MT4 trading platform. This indicates that MT4 is widely accepted by experts, intermediate, and beginners alike as the most preferred trading platform for forex trading.

Nonetheless, just because the majority prefers a trading platform does not make it the ideal platform for you. A great platform should satisfy all the necessary features required for trading while offering you a great trading experience.

Factors to consider when selecting a forex trading platform

The choice of a trading platform can significantly affect your results as a trader. You need to have an excellent user interface that will enable you to work conveniently. Further, you need to work with a comfortable platform to easily access the trading features you require to be successful.

Here are some of the factors that you should consider before choosing the trading platform to use.

• The ability to manage accounts;
• The security of your money and personal information;
• Software uptime and downtime records;
• Trading strategy options;
• Order management;
• Accessibility and availability;
• Accuracy of the forex currency trading pairs;
• Charts and indicators;
• Fundamental analysis.

Once we are done discussing these factors, you might be able to determine if MT4 is indeed the best trading platform for your forex trading needs.

Ability to manage accounts

The ability to manage your accounts is the first factor that you should consider as you want to have the freedom to control what happens in your forex trading account. A suitable trading platform should enable you to monitor all the critical features of your account while keeping track of your trading.

You should be able to access your account balance as well as any changes in your portfolio in real-time.

The security of your money and personal information

The internet comes with its risks. As we advance more into the digital space, malicious users and hackers have taken advantage of this phenomenon and exploit any security weaknesses for their gain.

As such, an ideal trading platform should have up-to-date security protocols that feature internet encryption protocols to safeguard your financial data, personal information, and, most importantly, your money. Furthermore, the trading platform should have ideal data backup services in case data is lost.

Software uptime and downtime records

Yet another vital factor to consider is the reliability of the trading platform. A suitable trading platform should have excellent uptime records. There should be minimal to zero site downtime records as any transactions are delicate and depend on the internet connectivity to function correctly.

You do not want to lose your valuable cash simply because the trading platform is unresponsive during trading hours.

Trading strategy options

As a trader, flexibility is a key trait that can help you save time. The trading platform should offer multiple trading strategy options. You need to be able to trade smoothly. One of the most crucial trading options is the automated trading strategy.

This trading strategy will enable you to schedule your trades such that they will be automatically executed when your set parameters are met. You can go on that date or attend that family dinner without worrying about your trading hours.

Order management

When trading, you want to control the type of orders you can make at any given time. An excellent platform should enable you to execute take profit, stop-loss orders, among others.

In addition, the trading platform should also protect you from executing the same order twice through the ‘One Cancels the Other’ option. If you can execute these orders at your discretion and specifications, then the trading platform is suitable for your forex trading.

Accessibility and availability

This is an essential aspect to consider. How smooth is the accessibility of your trading platform? With many electronic gadgets in the market today, you would want to use a trading platform that is compatible and accessible via most or any of your devices.

Simply put, the trading platform should support Windows, Mac, or Linux-based platforms for PCs and Android or iOS for mobile devices and tablets. Furthermore, you should be able to access the trading platform at excellent internet speeds at no extra cost.

Accuracy of the forex currency trading pairs

This is a bit obvious. You do not want to make a trade on false information. As such, the trading platform should provide accurate real-time currency quotes to make sure that you can watch keenly how your trade progresses.

Charts and indicators

Technical indicators are critical for any forex trader. You want to view trading information easily as forex trading demands speed and swift reactions to the market factors. You do not want to waste time decrypting what a particular chart or indicator means.

Instead, you want a platform that can understandably represent their charts or indicators. You need to be able to make informed trading decisions on a real-time basis.

Fundamental analysis

This feature is equally as important as the technical analysis. Fundamental analysis refers to data from significant forex players that can affect your trading decisions.

This information is available from the news section of the trading platform. It should be up to date such that you are immediately notified of any developments that might affect your trading strategy.

Benefits of Metatrader 4

When considering all these factors, you will find that MT4 meets these criteria and is an excellent platform for beginners and experts. Listed below are some of the advantages of using the MT4 forex trading platform compared to other platforms in the market.

1. To begin with, MT4 has an automated trading strategy. It is said that time is money, and this factor couldn’t be more applicable than when considering forex trading. The automated trading feature is essential; you will save valuable time, which can be productive elsewhere. You can set your preferred starting point of a trade or even the specific time in which a trade should be executed.

2. Furthermore, the MT4 trading platform is readily available and accessible on both PC and mobile devices. Whether you are using Android or iOS, you can trade using the app. For PCs, the app is available for any Mac, Windows, or Unix system. Not only is the platform ready for use across multiple platforms, but it also has an intuitive and easy-to-use interface that makes your trading uncomplicated.

3.  In addition, MT4 has multiple and advanced charting tools that enable you to easily analyze and interpret market factors when conducting your technical analysis. It also allows you to make numerous trades simultaneously.

What’s more, the charts can be customized to fit your style and preference. You can remove the features you don’t need and incorporate or alter the trading features that are helpful in your trading experience.

4. Another advantage of using MT4 is that it requires minimal Device attributes to run your trading experience successfully. Even so, MT4 is still a top-notch platform in the industry as it has robust security protocols that safeguard your data.

The platform uses a 129-bit key to encrypt sensitive user data against users with malicious intent. MT4 will even secure your IP address such that your personal information and location cannot be traced or disclosed to anyone.

MT4 security protocol has been regarded as one of the best trading platforms to use in forex. However, there are trading platforms that are more sophisticated and have more powerful tools than MT4.

5. Another benefit of using MetaTrader 4 is that you will always get real-time notifications of events happening in the forex market. MT4 FX brokers communicate directly with their clients using the messaging feature present in the application.

6. The list of benefits will not be complete until we mention the vast choices of trading instruments that MT4 offers to its customers. Not only can you be able to trade in virtually all currencies, but also trade in equities, securities, and commodities.

The list is endless, but these essential benefits should help you evaluate your position regarding the feasibility of the trading platform for forex trading.

MT4 forex brokers

Owing to the countless benefits of using the MT4 trading platform, most forex brokers use MT4 as their primary trading platform. This means that there are many forex brokers from which to choose. Some of the top forex brokers with MetaTrader 4 include:

1. XM.COM;
2. EXNESS;
3. Instaforex;
4. FXOpen;
5. Admiral Markets;
6. ADS Securities;
7. AvaTrade;
8. ETX Capital;
9. Forex.com;
10. Forex4you.

While these are some of the top forex brokers that use MT4 and offer incredible trading experiences, hundreds of more brokers use MT4 and provide excellent services. You will undoubtedly find yourself confused, wondering which the right forex broker for you is.

First off, you have to consider the type of forex broker you wish to do business with. This is a great place to start narrowing down your options before you arrive at your answer.

There are mainly two types of forex brokers; Market making brokers and non-dealing desk brokers. Market-making brokers are the most common type of forex brokers and act as counterparties to every forex transaction.

Specifically, market-making brokers first buy orders from traders and then resell these orders to you or other customers at other specified prices. These types of brokers are ideal for trading small amounts of money as there are usually no significant losses on your part.

Non-dealing desk brokers, on the other hand, connect you directly to the liquidity provider and other traders. Most of these brokers apply Straight Through Processing (STP) and Electronic Communication Networks (ECNs) to connect you to the market itself.

Even so, we have to note that these brokers have no significant difference from the market-making brokers, with the slight exception that they do not have a limit of the market functionality. They are, therefore, most suitable for trading large sums of money.

Another factor that should help you select the right forex broker is the account requirements demanded by the broker. Some forex brokers have absurd minimum account requirements that might discourage you from trading with them.

Take Away

You need to select a forex broker that offers high leverage and is flexible with its features. When choosing the right forex broker, we encourage you to choose a broker that operates within your niche.