Correctly choosing an online broker is essential for the success of your trading career. If you go for a broker that does not care about your needs and preferences, then you could just be shooting yourself in the foot. You need to engage the services of a binary options broker that has earned the industry’s reputation in delivering quality service and demonstrated commitment in addressing the needs of clients. And, with the hundreds of brokers littering every corner of the industry, deciding which broker to choose can be a demanding task.
As such, we have identified the key factors that you should consider before settling down on a broker. Here are the factors.
Credibility
Credibility is one of the most important factors you should consider before choosing a broker. The lucrative binary options industry is full of hoaxers who are out to suck the capital of innocent investors. Nonetheless, there are a several financial regulation authorities located around the world that endeavor to enforce sanity and transparency in the industry.
Therefore, to shield yourself from the haughty eyes of the so-called online fraudsters, you should ensure your chosen binary options broker has received certification from any of the regulatory agencies.
When choosing an online broker and discover that it has not gone through the thorough certification process provided by the regulatory agencies, then do not trust it with your hard-earned money.
Some of the respected regulating authorities include Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC), Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySec), Bundesanstalt fur Finanzdienstleistungsaufsicht (BaFin), Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), and U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).
You can also confirm the credibility of a binary options broker by doing an online search and checking what other traders are honestly saying about it. If traders are pointing too much on its mistakes and failures, then trying it out could also land you in problems. Go for a broker that is well spoken of and is not engaged in underground, cheeky activities.
Trading Bonuses
Binary options bonuses are considered to be some kind of reward, and usually they are represented as virtual funds, so you can trade with your bonus money but you can not withdraw your funds until an appropriate moment. In most of the cases a broker sets a certain limit based on trading volume. For instance is you have got $100, then you will be able to withdraw your money only when you will have trading volume around $3000.
Practically all the brokers are offering you very tempting bonuses programs that require you to replenish your trading account and after the first replenishing you will receive additional funds. However some brokers are offering you 100% of contributed sum of money and others are offering only 30% that is why it is very important to pay your attention to this aspect while choosing a company.
Trading platform
Choosing a brokerage firm with a user-friendly, convenient, and simple trading platform is key to realizing your dreams as a binary options broker. If you will be spending a significant amount of your trading time just trying to navigate around the trading platform, then that is not a broker worth your time and money.
Complicated trading platforms normally cause troubles and losses to traders. You can sign up for a demo account and check whether the trading platform works according to your expectations.
In the binary options industry, most brokers offer web-based platforms; as such, you will not be required to download any software and install on your computer before trading. Other brokers also offer non web-based platforms. Whichever type of platform you use, ensure it provides efficient conditions for making the most profits from binary options trading.
Furthermore, most brokers are currently offering mobile versions of their platforms. With this innovation, you do not need to glue yourself in front of the computer looking for suitable trading opportunities. If choosing an online broker offering this feature, you will just need to install an application on your mobile device and enjoy trading on the go, anywhere and anytime.
In addition, when deciding which broker to choose, look for other extra features on its trading platform. Some of these additional features include availability of technical tools, social trading (copying the strategies of other successful traders), and news affecting the financial markets.
Amount of minimum deposit
Another valuable argument for private traders is an amount of minimum deposit. It is obvious that if you do not have an impressive capital on you then it will be quite difficult for you to succeed in options trading, but luckily there are brokers who gives us an opportunity to trade with insignificant deposits and rates. Conservative brokerage firms who have been in this business for more then a year they are setting a very considerable sum of money for the first replenishment of the trading account – $1000 and even more. However in this day and age the contemporary companies are breaking this tendency and as a result we can observe well-functioned, prosperous brokers with minimum deposit of $10, at the same time when the minimum rate with this brokers is just $1.
That is why in case you do not have significant funds for an investment then you should consider cooperating with a broker who will give you an opportunity to create a small trading account.
Profitability
A high percentage from successful deals is a calling card of every broker. It is actually very simple, the company guarantees you a certain percentage of profitable deals, for instance if a broker promises you 80% consequently 7 out of 10 deals have to be profitable.
By all means not all the companies are completely honest with their potential clients, and that is why for advertising purposes they promise their clients a very high percentage of income. Regarding this fact it will be better to look through several of characteristics while choosing a broker, but it will not hurt to keep this one in mind.
An early-sale options function
An early closure deals is a very useful function, because you will have an opportunity to get rid of assets when it is on a peak of its profitability or when you made wrong prediction. In this way it will be possible to transform losing trades into profitable once. And it is obvious that brokers usually offer this possibility not for free but for an additional fee.
All the trader has to do is to choose a broker who offers the most attractive terms, and some companies are taking 20% of a total sum of a deal for using this function and other are taking 30%. Especially investors need an early-sale options function because they trade assets with a minimum period for expiration.
Demo-account as criteria for choosing a broker
Unfortunately not every broker will offer you an opportunity to try your trading skills using binary options demo-account. However this function is very useful, because you will have an opportunity to get acquainted with trading and you will receive a unique chance to study functional abilities of trading platform. By all means it is not a good idea to run mad after trading that is based on virtual money, because the terms of a real market truly differ from demo-account. But it would be better if your broker will have this function, especially if you have never trade binary options before.
Deposits and Withdrawals
Security, privacy, and convenience of payment are critical when choosing an online broker. You need a broker that will provide a fast deposit option so that you can immediately start trading without any worries of your hard-earned money getting lost.
More so, the ability to withdraw your funds seamlessly is always a priority. You do not need a broker that will place unnecessary restrictions when it comes to reaping the fruits of your sweat. To avoid regrets later, ensure you properly check the withdrawal policy when choosing a brokerage firm.
You should also assess the minimum deposit requirement and the deposit bonuses offered by your preferred broker. If the offerings meet your expectations, they will assist you have the right foundation for succeeding in the binary options market.
Importantly, going for a broker that is not committed to the security of your funds is not a good idea. A secured trading environment, especially of deposits and withdrawals, will give you a peace of mind and ensure you remain focused in your trading activities.
Most brokers secure their transactions and trading environment using the latest encryption technology, such as the 128-bit SSL encryption key. This way, the brokers are able to assure clients that their funds are protected from any unauthorized interference.
Trading Assets
When trading binary options, you will need to forecast the direction of the underlying asset before expiry time elapses. If you make the correct prediction, hurray, you will get some profits.
Therefore, if you can access a wide variety of tradable instruments, you can confidently trade the assets that resonate well with your trading style. Furthermore, you can also practice diversification to cushion your investments from economic hardships.
For example, if you are experienced in trading currency pairs, you can stick with that. Or, if stocks get volatile and difficult to predict, you could move to indices or commodities. When deciding which broker to choose, ensure that your preferred broker has a comprehensive and populated list of assets for trading. Here is the rule of thumb: the higher the number of assets available, the more serious the brokerage company.
Brokers offer different types of binary options, such as Up/Down or Put/Call, One-Touch, and Boundary or Range options. When choosing a broker, ensuring that it has the type of binary options you want to trade is a vital factor. With the right binary options that fit your trading style, making profits will be much easier.
You should also consider the expiry times of the binary options. Most brokers offer varied expiry times, ranging from 60 seconds to 24 hours, while some offer long-term expiry times of up to 365 days. Depending on your experience, you should settle for a broker that offers comfortable expiry times to your needs and preferences. For example, if you prefer long-term trading, sticking with an online broker that concentrates on short-term expiry times is not preferable.
If you make correct predictions, you will earn profits. Most brokers offer payouts ranging from 65% to as high as 90%, or even more. Choosing a brokerage firm that offers high returns and payouts could make you achieve your dreams faster.
Nonetheless, selecting a broker with high returns may not be the best decision, because it could be the pit dug by the broker to drive you to failure. So, instead of being lured by the glossy and glittering advertisements of a broker promising huge returns, carefully weigh the broker against other parameters before grabbing the opportunity with both hands.
Customer Service
Customer service is crucial! When choosing an online broker, go for the one with responsive, professional, and experienced customer support representatives.
Check if the broker offers support in your preferred language. How can you get in touch with the customer service department? How fast do they respond to issues?
The quality of customer service usually indicates whether the brokerage company values its clients or not. If you send an email or contact them via live chat, how professionally is your issue handled?
Furthermore, you should assess how the broker is committed to improving the skills and trading conditions of its clients. Does it offer education programs, especially for newbies? Does it offer account managers to assist traders curve a successful career?
(*Hint: The above questions should be answered ‘yes’). As such, when choosing a broker, it is imperative that you go for the one that will not abandon you immediately after making the first deposit into a live trading account, but will be with you throughout the way.