Leverage In Forex Trading - The Real Problem Of Too Much Leverage!
People don't always tell the truth about leverage in Forex trading!
Why?
Because when people talk about leverage in Forex they focus in on its unique selling point, which is that it enables a trader to control large trading volumes with only a small investment.
Forex brokers are especially keen to tell you about how much leverage they will give you just to get you to open an account with them. A typical broker will often advertise the ability to leverage your account with them at a hundred to one.
This means that you can trade 100 times what you deposit. So, if you were to deposit $1000 dollars you could actually have trades open to the value of $100,000.
So, why is this dishonest?
The truth is that using leverage can be extremely risky and you can very easily lose the $1000 you deposited if not careful, and this is something brokers are not overly keen to share with their customers.
If you use leverage of a hundred to one in a trade worth $100,000, you only need to put forward $1000 and your broker will in effect 'loan' you the other $99,000 needed to cover your trade. In order to make such a large trade, you have to put forward a percentage of it as security, or as leverage.
In Forex trading we all know how volatile the market can be, and it is not unusual to find a trade will drop slightly before then moving upwards into profit. With the example we have used, if your trade fell by $1000 (just 1%), then your money will have been wiped out.
Because your broker loaned you $99,000 to enable you to make the trade, he will now prevent himself from making a loss once your money is gone. When the trade falls by the 1% your put up as security, your trade will be closed automatically. This is called a 'Margin Call', and is necessary for your broker to ensure they don't actually put their own money at risk.
After your trade gets closed, it is entirely possible that it will turn around and become profitable after all. It's too bad you won't make money on it though, because your trade got cancelled when it made a small movement against you first.
You just lost $1000 in the space of a few seconds because you were too heavily leveraged!
So, what have we learnt?
Losing on a trade in this manner would give you a valuable lesson in how to use leverage in Forex, and how not to let yourself become too heavily leveraged. You may as well flush your money down the toilet as place it on a trade where you have no room to manoeuvre.
When leverage of a hundred to one is advertised it means that this is the maximum you can leverage your account - by 100 times what you deposit. You don't actually have to use the full amount of leverage offered though, and the less leverage you use the more breathing space you will have if your trade starts to move against you.
Learning to be a safer trader
You can start using this advice right away in your trading, and stop putting your own money at undue risk by relying too much on leverage in Forex.
Learn more about different trading strategies, such as
Forex arbitrage trading, andbecome a better trader!
Leverage In Forex Trading - The Real Problem Of Too Much Leverage!
By: Mike D Weaver
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