On its most basic level, Forex trading is exchanging currencies. Forex traders study the international market, and exchange one currency for that of another currency. The goal is to read the direction a currency is headed, buy or sell the currency and hold until it rises or drops in value (hopefully in the direction you had hoped!), and exchange it back to make a profit on the difference. Most Forex trading is now done online, so you can trade on the foreign exchange at nearly any time day or night.

For many years, Forex trading was limited to banks, governments, corporations, and other major international institutions due to high fees of entrance. With the average trade on the foreign exchange valued at about US $100,000, most independent investors could not try their hand at Forex trading. Now, a system has been put in place called “trading on the margin,” in which investors are able to trade in hypothetical amounts without putting up massive sums when they trade. This means that the Forex trading sphere is becoming more accessible for traders who are not affiliated with a major institution.

Forex trading has also become popular with groups of people who traditionally have not been able to participate in the stock market. Many people who have day jobs during office hours were missing out on the opportunity to trade and invest in stocks because they were tied up with work during the strict schedule that Stock Exchanges operate on. In addition, Forex trading has also become popular with college students and busy parents, who also have class or childcare during the limited hours in which they can invest in the stock market.

As mentioned earlier, the beginning days of Forex trading were largely limited to major institutions because the minimum trade amount (set at $100,000) was too expensive for the average individual to put up. Now, trading has become opened up due to a process called “trading on the margin.” When you trade on the margin, you don’t actually trade with your own money; you trade through us, Genetrade, and we will basically extend our finances to cover your trades, based on the deposit you have put down in your account. This ability is called “leverage,” and is usually calculated as a ratio. The most common leverage is 100:1, meaning that for every dollar that you have in your Forex account, you can trade up to 100 dollars. This means that if an investor has $1,000 in his or her account along with a leverage of 100:1, they can trade on the minimum of $100,000 without saving up the money themselves. Here at Genetrade, we offer an extremely high leverage at 1:1000 giving you more power in your trade, without breaking your bank account. With more power though comes more responsibility and risk, so trade smart!