AN INTRODUCTION TO
THE FOREX MARKET

Largely due to its size and longstanding history, the Forex market is the most common starting point for new traders looking to profit from fluctuating exchange rates.

The attraction is easy to understand – a highly-liquid market offers the potential for substantial returns, fast withdrawals, and an easy trading process.

START TRADING IN 3 EASY STEPS

1 Apply - 4 step online application process

2 Fund - Easy, safe and secure

3 Trade

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CFDs and FX are high risk leveraged products.

HOW FOREX TRADING WORKS

Forex [foreign exchange] trading is the exchange global currencies in pairs with the intention of benefiting from ever-changing exchange rates.

Forex trades take place over the counter (OTC), which means that they go through a financial institution, such as One Financial Markets. You do not physically touch the currencies themselves.

GETTING STARTED WITH YOUR FOREX TRADING ONLINE ACCOUNT

In order to get started with Forex trading, you will need your own trading account. This allows you to trade with peace of mind knowing that your funds are secure, while meeting all safety and security regulations.

There are a number of trading platforms available worldwide, and it is important to do thorough research before signing up with one of them. While almost all trading platforms look professional and welcoming, they are not all legally compliant. Many difficult situations can be entirely avoided by reading user reviews and confirming the legitimacy of a brokerage in advance.

Once you are statisfied that your chosen broker is legitimate and meets your country's legal requirements, the next step is to practice trading with a demo trading account. Not all platforms offer this function, but One Financial Markets is one that does.

You can sign up for your free demo account here, and trade with $10,000 worth of virtual funds risk-free. No deposits or cash investments are necessary.

Once you have familiarised yourself with our dashboard and trading platform, you can begin to formulate and test your own trading strategies. When you are confident of your abilites , you can create your free live account and start to trade with real money.

Platform Time is set to Eastern European Time (EET). During Daylight-Saving Time, EET is 3 hours ahead of Greenwich Mean Time (GMT +3).

COMPETITIVE SPREADS

Product Symbol Exchange Product margin Indicative spread (pips) Average spread (pips) Typical spread (pips) Trading hours Timezone
AUD/CAD AUDCAD N/A 5% 1.2 1.9 1.9 Monday 00:01 - Friday 23:58 Platform Time
AUD/CHF AUDCHF N/A 5% 1 1.6 1.4 Monday 00:01 - Friday 23:58 Platform Time
AUD/JPY AUDJPY N/A 5% 1.4 1.45 1.4 Monday 00:01 - Friday 23:58 Platform Time
AUD/NOK AUDNOK N/A 5% 2.1 3.97 3.3 Monday 00:01 - Friday 23:58 Platform Time
AUD/NZD AUDNZD N/A 5% 1.3 3.3 3.3 Monday 00:01 - Friday 23:58 Platform Time
AUD/SGD AUDSGD N/A 5% 1.4 2.1 2 Monday 00:01 - Friday 23:58 Platform Time
AUD/USD AUDUSD N/A 5% 1.2 1.2 1.2 Monday 00:01 - Friday 23:58 Platform Time
CAD/CHF CADCHF N/A 3.33% 1.3 2.2 1.7 Monday 00:01 - Friday 23:58 Platform Time
CAD/JPY CADJPY N/A 3.33% 1.4 1.783 1.7 Monday 00:01 - Friday 23:58 Platform Time
CAD/SGD CADSGD N/A 3.33% 1.4 2.6 2.6 Monday 00:01 - Friday 23:58 Platform Time
CHF/JPY CHFJPY N/A 3.33% 1.4 2.039 1.8 Monday 00:01 - Friday 23:58 Platform Time
CHF/SEK CHFSEK N/A 5% 2.2 5.96 5.24 Monday 00:01 - Friday 23:58 Platform Time
CHF/SGD CHFSGD N/A 3.33% 1.6 3.7 2.8 Monday 00:01 - Friday 23:58 Platform Time
EUR/AUD EURAUD N/A 5% 1.5 2 1.9 Monday 00:01 - Friday 23:58 Platform Time
EUR/CAD EURCAD N/A 3.33% 1.3 2.6 2.2 Monday 00:01 - Friday 23:58 Platform Time
EUR/CHF EURCHF N/A 3.33% 1.3 1.5 1.3 Monday 00:01 - Friday 23:58 Platform Time
EUR/CZK EURCZK N/A 5% 3.3 12.47 9 Monday 00:01 - Friday 23:58 Platform Time
EUR/GBP EURGBP N/A 3.33% 1 1.2 1 Monday 00:01 - Friday 23:58 Platform Time
EUR/HUF EURHUF N/A 5% 3 12.157 12 Monday 00:01 - Friday 23:58 Platform Time
EUR/JPY EURJPY N/A 3.33% 1.3 1.486 1.3 Monday 00:01 - Friday 23:58 Platform Time
EUR/NOK EURNOK N/A 5% 1.3 2.52 2.1 Monday 00:01 - Friday 23:58 Platform Time
EUR/NZD EURNZD N/A 5% 1.8 3.1 2.8 Monday 00:01 - Friday 23:58 Platform Time
EUR/PLN EURPLN N/A 5% 1.3 2.19 1.3 Monday 00:01 - Friday 23:58 Platform Time
EUR/RUB EURRUB N/A 5% 8.6 27.42 16.1 Monday 00:01 - Friday 23:58 Platform Time
EUR/SEK EURSEK N/A 5% 1.2 2.47 2 Monday 00:01 - Friday 23:58 Platform Time
EUR/SGD EURSGD N/A 5% 1.8 2.7 2.4 Monday 00:01 - Friday 23:58 Platform Time
EUR/TRY EURTRY N/A 5% 2.4 22.5 17.2 Monday 00:01 - Friday 23:58 Platform Time
EUR/USD EURUSD N/A 3.33% 1 1.1 1 Monday 00:01 - Friday 23:58 Platform Time
EUR/ZAR EURZAR N/A 5% 3.3 48.9 31.3 Monday 00:01 - Friday 23:58 Platform Time
GBP/AUD GBPAUD N/A 5% 2.4 2.7 2.4 Monday 00:01 - Friday 23:58 Platform Time
GBP/CAD GBPCAD N/A 3.33% 1.8 3.8 3.6 Monday 00:01 - Friday 23:58 Platform Time
GBP/CHF GBPCHF N/A 3.33% 1.8 3.3 2.6 Monday 00:01 - Friday 23:58 Platform Time
GBP/HUF GBPHUF N/A 5% 11.4 28.74 25.4 Monday 00:01 - Friday 23:58 Platform Time
GBP/JPY GBPJPY N/A 3.33% 1.4 2.671 2.3 Monday 00:01 - Friday 23:58 Platform Time
GBP/MXN GBPMXN N/A 5% 8.1 12.65 11.2 Monday 00:01 - Friday 23:58 Platform Time
GBP/NOK GBPNOK N/A 5% 10 40.5 21.5 Monday 00:01 - Friday 23:58 Platform Time
GBP/NZD GBPNZD N/A 5% 2 4.1 3.7 Monday 00:01 - Friday 23:58 Platform Time
GBP/SEK GBPSEK N/A 5% 5 29 38.3 Monday 00:01 - Friday 23:58 Platform Time
GBP/SGD GBPSGD N/A 5% 2.2 4.8 4.5 Monday 00:01 - Friday 23:58 Platform Time
GBP/TRY GBPTRY N/A 5% 10 48.1 54.7 Monday 00:01 - Friday 23:58 Platform Time
GBP/USD GBPUSD N/A 3.33% 1 1.4 1.2 Monday 00:01 - Friday 23:58 Platform Time
MXN/JPY MXNJPY N/A 5% 10.8 21.1 19.8 Monday 00:01 - Friday 23:58 Platform Time
NOK/JPY NOKJPY N/A 5% 5 35.6 24.7 Monday 00:01 - Friday 23:58 Platform Time
NOK/SEK NOKSEK N/A 5% 1.1 2.7 2.2 Monday 00:01 - Friday 23:58 Platform Time
NZD/CAD NZDCAD N/A 5% 1.3 2.2 2 Monday 00:01 - Friday 23:58 Platform Time
NZD/CHF NZDCHF N/A 5% 1.2 2 1.7 Monday 00:01 - Friday 23:58 Platform Time
NZD/JPY NZDJPY N/A 5% 1.1 1.536 1.5 Monday 00:01 - Friday 23:58 Platform Time
NZD/USD NZDUSD N/A 5% 1.4 1.5 1.5 Monday 00:01 - Friday 23:58 Platform Time
SGD/JPY SGDJPY N/A 5% 1.1 1.52 1.5 Monday 00:01 - Friday 23:58 Platform Time
USD/CAD USDCAD N/A 3.33% 1 1.3 1.2 Monday 00:01 - Friday 23:58 Platform Time
USD/CHF USDCHF N/A 3.33% 1 1.8 1.3 Monday 00:01 - Friday 23:58 Platform Time
USD/CNH USDCNH N/A 5% 1.6 5.6 3.2 Monday 00:01 - Friday 23:58 Platform Time
USD/CZK USDCZK N/A 5% 2.2 11.08 13.9 Monday 00:01 - Friday 23:58 Platform Time
USD/HUF USDHUF N/A 5% 3.6 11.594 11.3 Monday 00:01 - Friday 23:58 Platform Time
USD/JPY USDJPY N/A 3.33% 1 1.356 1.2 Monday 00:01 - Friday 23:58 Platform Time
USD/MXN USDMXN N/A 5% 11.7 32.5 27.8 Monday 00:01 - Friday 23:58 Platform Time
USD/NOK USDNOK N/A 5% 1.8 2.52 1.8 Monday 00:01 - Friday 23:58 Platform Time
USD/PLN USDPLN N/A 5% 2.3 3.07 2.3 Monday 00:01 - Friday 23:58 Platform Time
USD/RUB USDRUB N/A 5% 8.6 14.11 14 Monday 00:01 - Friday 23:58 Platform Time
USD/SEK USDSEK N/A 5% 1.3 2.49 2 Monday 00:01 - Friday 23:58 Platform Time
USD/SGD USDSGD N/A 5% 1.2 1.8 1.7 Monday 00:01 - Friday 23:58 Platform Time
USD/THB USDTHB N/A 5% 1.5 5.2 5.5 Monday 00:01 - Friday 23:58 Platform Time
USD/ZAR USDZAR N/A 10% 21.5 49.5 48.9 Monday 00:01 - Friday 23:58 Platform Time
ZAR/JPY ZARJPY N/A 5% 6.5 9.15 8.6 Monday 00:01 - Friday 23:58 Platform Time

DO YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS ON Forex ?

LEVERAGE AND MARGIN TRADING

Many trading platforms offer leverage, or access to margin when opening positions. Forex margins are typically in the form of a ratio, such as 30:1. With a margin of 30:1, for instance, a trader has access to 30 times more than the required deposit to open a trade. In essence, he/she can control $45,000 with only $1500 in his/her account.

LEVERAGE VS. RISK

In Forex trading, risk and leverage are not the same thing, although the terms are often confused. Risk describes the percentage of your capital that you are willing to lose on a bad trade, and leverage should be selected accordingly.

For example, with an account balance of $20,000, you may decide that you are willing to lose up to 1 percent of your total capital, which caps potential loss to $200 per trade. With this in mind, the lot size of your trade needs to be adjusted in line with your stop-loss order, while remaining aware of your selected leverage.

Lot size can be calculated as follows:

$Risk= %Risk*Account Equity/100
Lot Size= $Risk/(PipValue*SL)

WHEN TO USE LEVERAGE ON FOREX TRADES

Novice traders often make the mistake of selecting the highest possible leverage with the thinking that it will reap far greater profits. While this can be true in some cases, it more often ends in disaster when inexperienced individuals lose funds due to ill-informed decisions.

The best option for new traders is to avoid leverage altogether – at least until they understand the market well and have developed their unique trading strategies. At this point, small degrees of leverage can be experimented with, provided that the trades in question are carefully monitored.

WHEN TO USE A STOP-LOSS ORDER ON FOREX TRADES

A stop-loss is an order made to the broker or online Forex trading platform to close (sell) a position once it drops to a certain point, in order to minimize the loss carried by the trader. If you aren't sure when to use one, the short answer is: always – especially when you are not closely watching your open positions for the duration that they are active.

If you intend to monitor open positions, however, stop-loss orders are not strictly necessary, as you have the option to close positions manually at any point within the trading window.

While stop-loss orders can and do save traders from painfully large losses, they can also be triggered by a brief but steep dip in value. A trader watching closely may have chosen not to close the position at that stage, fully expecting the market to recover almost instantaneously.

A stop-loss, however, does not have this discretion. A position closed in a sudden but very brief dip will still render a loss, despite subsequent quick market recovery. It all comes down to your goals, risk-tolerance, and trading strategy.

HOW TO OPEN A FOREX TRADING ACCOUNT

If you need a Forex trading account, opening one is a quick and simple process. It usually involves answering a few short questions about yourself and/or providing your personal details such as your name and surname, country of residence and email address. This is most often followed by uploading your identifying documentation in line with KYC requirements.

While some trading platforms have a brief waiting period pending document validation, others with automated onboarding systems allow you to trade immediately after signing up. Should there be any problems with your documentation, they will contact you accordingly.

It is crucial to familiarize yourself with the Forex market before depositing any funds or attempting to make live trades. As mentioned further above, be sure to practise with a demo account for some time before live-trading using your own funds.

AN ONLINE FOREX TRADING PLATFORM

One Financial Markets offers a free forex trading account with no initiation fees or monthly account fees.

Kindly check the FAQ section on the right of the application page, where you will find a complete list of required documents per country to open an account.

Note that all documents should be clear and provided in colour where applicable. Both the front and the back of any submitted cards or identification documents must be scanned and submitted together.

If you experience difficulty with the application or document uploading process, or are unable to provide certain documents, kindly contact our client services department for assistance. In certain cases, possible alternatives may be offered.

FOREX TRADING

An important message to remember is that successful traders are careful traders. Never allow sentiment or emotion to control your actions.

Profitable Forex trading requires the diligence of thorough research and the discipline to stay up to date with events, political or otherwise, that may impact exchange rates. Traders who act with clarity of mind on logical decisions are far more likely to be successful than those who take extreme risks or act without information.

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CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 76.3% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.

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One Financial Markets is the trading name of Axi Financial Services (UK) Ltd, a company registered in England with company number 6050593. Axi Financial Services (UK) Ltd is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority in the UK (under firm reference number 466201) and the Financial Sector Conduct Authority in South Africa (with FSP number 45784).

The information on this site is not directed at residents of the United States, Belgium, Poland or any particular country outside the UK and is not intended for distribution to, or use by, any person in any country or jurisdiction where such distribution or use would be contrary to local law or regulation.

www.onefinancialmarkets.com is owned and operated by Axi Financial Services (UK) Ltd.

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