Dec
18
Using Forex brokers helps to ensure that your trades are executed properly. The last thing you want is to have a winning trade, but to input it incorrectly. However, brokers are not free of charge of course. Before you choose a Forex broker, you should carefully consider the costs, to ascertain which trading method works best for you.
Commission or per Trade?
Most brokers work on either a commission or per trade basis. Ideally, find a Forex broker that works on commission. They are much more likely to put clients first as they only make money when you do. However, commission means you never know exactly how much will be made until the order is exited. With a per trade fee, you pay the broker for every trade executed, regardless of the result.
What Else Is Offered?
When you use a broker, you also use their currency trading platform. While this may be provided for a one-time fee, you may also be subject to a monthly fee for access to features such as analysis tools and software. Each broker’s fees vary greatly. Great tools are well worth the fee.
Dec
15
New business loans are hard to come by. A standard loan requires collateral. However, with an excellent credit history and profit potential, you may be eligible for invoice factoring. This only applies if you sell to other businesses on credit rather than directly to customers. Invoice finance companies help you decide whether a loan, factoring or discounting is the better option.
Factoring Requirements
The purpose of new business loans is to have immediate cash flow in the business. Factoring works the same way. When you sell to a business, you are left with outstanding debt until the customer pays. This can take one to three months, sometimes even longer. This is money you desperately need to keep the business running. To take the burden off you, factoring allows you to sell your invoices to a third party.
They keep a set percentage, which is often higher for new businesses. They also manage all debt collection to save on hiring credit management employees. Most factors require an annual turnover of at least £50,000, but with slightly higher fees, smaller, newer businesses may be eligible as well.
Dec
13
The most important starting point when considering foreign exchange trading is to identify and sign up with the right broker. This can be a daunting task and many novice traders avidly read reviews, get personal recommendations and search for evidence of reputable and trustworthy firms before making their decision.
Sometimes it is useful to prepare a list of questions to ask prospective brokers, so that a thorough comparison can be made between those offering similar services but with differing costs or conditions.
The Bigger Forex Options
The Forex market does not have any kind of central governing agency, so that brokers are able to act independently and determine what prices and quality of service they offer to individuals and institutions. Often, larger brokers such as Citgroup – trading via CitiFX Pro – are better placed to pass on a number of benefits, including improved prices and execution.
It is important to note that CitiFX reviews make it clear that CitiFX Pro is aimed at the more experienced, professional traders including institutions. Whilst this is not the right choice for a new trader, a relationship with the well-regarded CitiFX Pro is certainly one to which Forex traders can aspire once they are more experienced.
Dec
10
Selecting an efficient invoice finance service takes some careful research. One of the most respected invoice finance brokers is Touch Financial. Touch Financial works with your business to help you grow more quickly without waiting for customers to pay. By working with over 20 UK lenders, they work to find the most effective solution for every individual business. Touch Financial understands businesses are different and there isn’t a one size fits all solution. This is why they provide both factoring and invoice discount options with varying rates and requirements.
Factoring
Touch Financial acts as a broker to provide invoice factoring services to businesses that meet certain requirements. Factoring available to both large and smaller businesses. This service is best for businesses without their own in-house credit management department. The main fee associated with factoring is called the service fee, which is only a small percentage of what is borrowed.
In most cases, you can expect to be able to borrow between 80%-90% of the invoice value from a lender. This allows you to put the majority of your outstanding invoices back into the business in as little as a day.
Invoice Discounting
With factoring, the factoring company actually handles your sales ledger for you. This also means your customer details are known by them and your customers must be informed of this. With invoice discounting, you handle your ledger and everything remains confidential. Your customers’ never know you are using the service. After you create a special bank account, you place in it the money you collect. The discounter then pays you the rest of the invoice minus the lending charge. This service is only for larger businesses with a high turnover rate.
Why Touch Financial Invoicing?
Touch Financial invoicing solutions are perfect for businesses of all sizes. By working with multiple lenders, you receive the best rates possible for your situation.
Dec
8
Forex Trading Software
Forex trading software tools help investors in a number of ways: those who are planning self-trading, in particular. For example, the provision of real-time analysis of market situations is made much easier by using available software systems. In addition, forex trading software normally provides forex alert tools that signal the best opportunities for buying and selling – invaluable when trading forex in a busy environment.
A number of other aspects of trading forex are also important, namely, time management, strategy development and discipline.
Managing Time
Traders who aim to carry out trades just once or twice a week may find it deprives them of gaining access to some highly profitable opportunities. For this reason, it is important to pay attention to changing market conditions. Effective time management should allow forex investors to find some time on a daily basis just to check up on developments. This does not need to interfere with a person’s other commitments.
Developing Plans and Strategies
A strategic approach to forex trading pays dividends. Deciding on goals and setting achievable targets will determine how trading is handled. For example, is the aim to supplement existing income or to make big profits? The simple advice is to prepare a strategy that suits personal needs, follow it through and always have an exit plan.
Learning Trading Discipline
Whether trading is considered to be a science or an artform, nevertheless it demands discipline. Treating forex trading simply as a way to pass the time is not advisable: dedication, patience and commitment are needed to trade successfully. Similarly, whilst trading to supplement income is fine, it should not be considered as a replacement for income that is under par. Instead, aim to gain experience and knowledge, and to learn trading discipline at the same time.
Dec
1
The purpose of day trading in Forex is to enter and exit a trade in the same day. These positions can last anywhere from a minute to several hours. This type of trading is called intra-day. Many beginners start with short-term trades, lasting just a few minutes. Day trading is extremely popular, as it requires less time to monitor than a long-term trade, which lasts up to two days.
Finding Reliable Data
Forex charts are best used for longer terms than just a few minutes. Successful day trading requires looking at longer periods of time to see the overall trend. A few-minute trend may simply be a small portion of the bigger picture and is not indicative of the trend itself. Looking at the short term only, often means you misread the trend. Instead, look at the longer term to see at which points trends rise and fall.
Fundamental Analysis
Most trends last weeks or months at a time as economies fluctuate. Day trading means you must take advantage of intermediate term trends, which are those tending to work around the primary trend. Daily news often creates small fluctuations to the primary trend. Day traders perform short trades during these periods before the primary trend resumes. Fundamental analysis is the key to success here. Charts show past trends. Forex news lets you anticipate what may happen as political and economic news is released.
Price Always Moves
Even if no news is available, the currency prices still move. During quiet periods, prices go either in the direction of the primary trend or intra-day trend before settling back to their original positions. Be aware of the primary trend at all times so you can see exactly which direction prices are flowing during short periods.
Nov
27
For businesses operating today, the payment of invoices for services or goods supplied can present a problem. For the majority of the time your clients may pay your invoices quickly and efficiently, but this may still result in waiting for several days to receive payment. As a worst case scenario, you might typically wait several weeks for sales invoices to be paid, consequently slowing down your cash flow whilst capital is occupied by the non-payment.
For most businesses the option of debt factoring is a very viable solution. By taking unpaid invoices and essentially selling them to a third party, you can free up much needed cash at a much quicker rate. The debt factoring company will typically pay a percentage of the invoice as soon as it is sent. This makes the funds available to your business within 24 hours, meaning you have access to the money much more rapidly in comparison to if you had waited for the invoice to be paid directly from the client.
Debt Factoring can also provide you with much needed support when it comes to credit controlling. They can communicate with your invoiced clients, being the point of contact for payment and also chase payment if it becomes necessary. As well as this, they can also offer much needed insurance against non-payment of invoices. This ensures that if a company cannot pay an invoice, your business will not suffer as a consequence.
Nov
25
CitiFX Pro is an award-winning trading platform used by Citi Bank, which has impressive capabilities. It offers an advanced trading functionality that is straightforward to navigate and can be adapted to suit individual needs. CitiFX Pro reviews reveal that many Foreign Exchange traders prefer CitiFX to other platforms on offer.
There is no monthly fee and trial use of the software is free of charge. It is possible to trade from charts and there is an integrated news service, plus traders can get live support and dynamic data exchange (DDE).
Forex traders can open just one account with Citi Bank and gain access to four trading platforms. When using CitiFX Pro it is possible to trade at any time and from any location to gain access to all accounts and to enjoy real-time trading on one of any four platforms. This means it is possible to use the platform via the web, via a mobile device, using MetaTrader 4 or via the CitiFX Pro Desktop.
CitiFX Pro reviews reveal, for example, that the Desktop version is easy to download and has lots of useful features. There are more than 130 currency pairs available for trading; the desktop workspace can be customised to suit individual needs; comprehensive tools are available for charting and news and data streaming is complimentary.
Nov
22
Touch Financial Support is the largest invoice finance broker in Britain. It was founded in 2008, following the merger of Telford Jones and Simply Business and is part of the SFP Group of companies, based in Canary Wharf, London. Its website offers a valuable ‘Knowledge Base’, which is chock full of useful financial information for businesses. It is a member of the Financial Services Bureau (FSB) and the Asset Based Financing Association (ABFA)
How Touch Financial Factoring Works
The company’s financial services range from commercial mortgages to providing financial securities for import and export companies, but this article concentrates on their factoring services. A helpful infographic on their website describes how the service works. They will help put you in touch with a lender and provide ongoing support. The company is paid on a commission basis by the lender, who pays for each introduction, so their service will not cost you a penny. Once Touch Financial has found you a suitable lender, you send that company your invoices and they will pay you 80-90% of the value of the invoice and chase the creditor for the full amount. Once the invoice is paid, the lender will give you the balance, minus any charges. Touch Financial recommends the process as a solution for any small business with a turnover of more than £50,000, with no in-house credit department and whose principal asset are its invoices.
Touch Financial Services is partnered with over 20 of the UK’s leading factors (lenders). They include Lloyds TSB, the Bibby Group and Venture Finance. The Invoice Financing Forum has praised their innovative business model, but has expressed some concerns over their treatment of clients, raising questions about whether they really try to match clients to the best lender or whether there are other factors influencing their choice. However, no customer has backed up these claims, as far as this author can ascertain.
Nov
20
Large sums of money are to be earned from the forex market, yet many traders crash and burn. To set yourself apart from that crowd, avoid these common mistakes:
Not Using a Trading Plan
A plan is essential to winning any game and forex is no different. Not having a trading strategy is one of the most common and costly mistakes made by newcomers. Have a strategy, know when to open a position, what you can afford to lose and when to close it.
Not Managing Your Money
Managing your money means balancing potential profits against potential losses. Know your profit and loss potential, but also know your win/loss ratio. You not only want to pit a higher profit against a smaller risk, but also want to ensure your chances of making a trade successfully are good.
Not Using Limit Orders
It is not enough to place a mental stop loss order on the chance you might close a position just as it is about to reverse trend. Removing stop loss and other limit orders removes objectivity and leads to emotional decision-making. Conversely, keeping a profitable position open in the hope it will gain you a few more pence almost invariably leads to losses. Taking reasonable profits at regular intervals leads to substantial income in the long-term.
Closing Position Early or Running Too Long
This is a common mistake with novices. Closing position before it has realised its potential could not only reduce profits, but also cost money, as every transaction carries fees. Equally, allowing losing positions run too long, in the hope of a trend reversal, frequently leads to greater losses.
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