Forex trading is vast: from hedging against a currency to trading different currency pairs, forex traders use the different liquidity situations of currencies around the world to place objective bets on the increase or decrease in their prices. Every trader must work with a forex trading app or broker. In this piece, we will explore eToro, Alvexo, and Skilling forex trading apps, the uniqueness of each broker, leverage and pips, and other factors, and determine which of them is the best trading app in the UK.
1. eToro– FCA Regulated Broker With Social Trading Features
3. Alvexo– Trading Platform With Innovative Technology and Analysis Tools
4. Skilling– Great Platform For Advanced Traders To Practice New Strategies
Your money is at risk. 78% of retail accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider.
eToro, a Forex trading app, was founded in 2007 by Yoni Assan and Ronen Assia. The social trading platform has proved to be one of the best Forex trading apps, as it offers many assets, including currencies and cryptocurrencies, ETFs, and stock.
While eToro is a newcomer—less than two decades, the platform remains the best social trading app for foreign exchange. With eToro, you can copy trade already established and successful traders, interact with vibrant community members and gain access to tons of trading resources.
eToro is especially good for beginners who may be overwhelmed with the complexity of Forex. You can learn as you trade, practice with a demo account, and use the trade strategies of some of the smartest Forex minds on the platform. As an experienced trader, you can earn more money when people copy your trade and make a positive ROI.
Pros:
Cons:
Your money is at risk. 78% of retail accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider.
Alvexo powers seamless trading through cutting-edge and innovative technology and offers traders advanced analytical tools that will help hone trading skills and improve the bottom line. With fast order execution, daily signals, webinars, seminars, and market news, Alvexo endlessly serves its 372k active members throughout the year.
Pros:
Cons:
Trading Contracts for Difference (CFDs) involves a significant risk of loss that may not be suitable for all investors
Skilling began operations in 2016 in Malta, but has since expanded to the United Kingdom and many other international countries. The company offers flexible minimum deposits, demo account, and seamlessly integrated trading platforms, making it a favorable forex trading application.
Pros:
Cons:
Trading financial products on margin carries a high degree of risk and is not suitable for all investors.
eToro is the best app for trading Forex, and signing up is seamless, easy, and should only take 3 minutes.
Follow these steps to create an eToro account
After signing up, you should complete your profile; however, you can skip the process and visit later. If you decide not to skip it, follow these steps to complete your eToro profile:
Submit either a government-issued identification card (both back and front) or your passport. Information needed on your ID includes your full name, picture, date of birth, and the ID’s expiry date.
Follow these steps to deposit funds into your eToro Forex trading application:
Log into your trading platform and click Deposit Funds in your dashboard. Enter the currency and amount and select your preferred payment method.
Before investing in currency pairs, you must conduct research and analysis on the eToro trading platform. Forex trading apps often have resources and data points, market analysis, and trending news sections that will keep you abreast of happenings that can influence the price of a currency. Research and analysis include technical and fundamental analysis. Technical analysis studies how a currency or a commodity goes up and down, while fundamental analysis studies why.
Technical analysis is a mathematical representation of different price movements on a price chart. Factors you will study in technical analysis include ABCD patterns and forex signals. In fundamental analysis, you will study extrinsic factors that can influence the price of a currency or currency pair. For example, Central Banks’ intervention, monetary policies, demand or supply fueled by greed or fear, key economic announcements, and global news, can affect the price of a currency.
As a beginner trader, you must consistently weigh, calculate, and objectively think about the possible directions of a currency pair before trading. A trader should also accept that many people lose their money to Forex and should never invest more than they are willing to lose.
78% of retail accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider.
Forex, also called Foreign exchange market, FX, or currency market, all mean the same thing. Forex trading simply means exchanging a currency for another currency. In 2019 alone, the forex exchange market reached $6.6 trillion. In simpler terms, if you are in the United Kingdom and want to buy a three-piece suit from a trader in the United States, you have to pay the suit maker in dollars; hence, you must exchange your Pounds Sterling for dollars. Forex is usually traded in the spot, forwards, and futures markets.
When trading for the sole purpose of making profits on market directions, you are also trading forex. However, forex trading can be risky, and there is a high possibility of losing your investment, so you must learn how it works, the mechanics of the FX market, and how you can protect yourself from heavy losses.
An important factor you must consider before trading Forex is the platform, or the forex trading app (for mobile traders). The best Forex apps are almost always regulated in the United Kingdom and in the United States since both countries have the strictest form of regulations. UK forex trading apps like eToro
A central marketplace doesn’t govern the FX market; instead, people trade currencies OTC—over the counter. OTC trading means that all transactions are executed over electronic networks amongst traders worldwide. The FX market is open twenty-four hours a day and 5 and half days a week, and currencies are traded in major financial centers: Frankfurt, Hong Kong, London, New York, Singapore, Paris, Tokyo, Zurich, and Sidney. The FX market is open throughout every time zone, and currency price quotes can change anytime.
Before trading the Forex market, you must know what pulls or pushes the market the most. While beginner traders think a country’s economic situation would influence the Forex market heavily, the liquidity pools from institutional firms hold the largest and most prevalent sway over the market. In other terms, currencies’ values are highly tied to their demand and supply.
78% of retail accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider.
When you start your forex trading journey, it’s important to understand the risks. Whether forex, stocks, securities, indices, or cryptocurrencies, speculative trading carries its risk. Forex, however, has some features that make it a good starting point for beginner traders still learning the ropes of active investment. First, the forex market is extremely liquid, making it almost impossible for anyone, even institutional traders, to influence market positions. Second, unlike cryptocurrency trading, currency pairs work in a less volatile marketplace, and the odds of a thorough wipeout are not as apparent in forex as it is in crypto trading.
However, before you start trading, you must understand the terms and trading strategies. Also, choose an FX trading platform that allows substantially small initial deposits. A demo account can also help you learn FX trading within the live market, without incurring the risks of live market trading. With a demo account, the platform will equip you with virtual currencies with which you can trade, learn, and earn.
eToro is undoubtedly the best forex trading application and software for beginners. eToro operates seamlessly on its web platform and mobile application. eToro has an endless resource of trading guides, allows copy trading, and the minimum deposit fee can be as low as $10 in the UK and US and $50 in most other countries it operates. Forex trading can look daunting in the beginning. eToro solves the problem of trading complexity by integrating a value system where beginner traders can learn from live trading strategies of pro traders.
78% of retail accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider.
Before jumping into the forex trading scene and investing a lot of money, you should conduct thorough research, understand the best practices, and protect your portfolio at all times. While the purpose of investment is usually to make money, sometimes, the best path in a market situation would be to exit; you must learn appropriate entry and exit points and objectively open and close trades.
You should not start your trading experience with sums you are unwilling to lose. Everyone loses money in forex, especially when they are just beginning. You must give yourself the time, energy, and manageable funds to learn foreign exchange and the market drivers. Use platforms or brokers that accept small minimum deposit fees. Depending on your investment, a starting deposit of $20 to $500 can help give practical trading experience. Even if you have significant investment capital, you can store most of the funds in your wallet and trade with the bare minimum. As you learn and your risk appetite increases, you can increase your investment capital.
Forex trading isn't necessarily complicated; however, you must learn to read signals, understand fundamental analysis, and calculate technical analysis. Forex trading is unique even if you have experience with equity and cryptocurrency trading. For example, cryptocurrencies, especially tokens, are subject to bouts of price changes and volatility. In addition, leverages for equity are lower than forex leverages, and different factors drive each market and price movement.
What does it means to trade futures, forwards or spot? The best forex app will have intensive study materials, trading guides, resources, demo traders for beginners and even advanced trading tools for pro investors.
Emotional intelligence and equilibrium are habits you must cultivate as a forex trader. When fear and greed grips a market, traders often hold on for too long or sell too early—and then their lives are wrought with regrets, pain, highs, and lows. Should you have held on for a little longer, perhaps you would have made more money than you did. Should you close your position right away because your friends are closing theirs?
Forex trading doesn't necessarily have to lead to a heart attack. There are stories of people withdrawing their life savings and investing all the money into a forex trading app, hoping that the market will favor them by some miracle. Unfortunately, forex trading isn't guess work. It's calculated, objective, and your aim is to:
You can also handle your emotions by setting concrete investment goals based on your risk tolerance, financial situation, and the amount you are willing to lose. There isn't a one-size-fits-all approach to forex trading. It's your job to determine how much you are ready to invest. With investment, you must institute parameters that plug losses, such as the stop loss parameter. Lastly, ensure that every single day, you check your positions and ensure that there are no pending positions and you can execute future trades.
When you trade forex, you trade international currencies and pairs, so you must keep up with global news. Keep up with news like policies of Central Banks of different countries, international crisis and tension, war, and events that can shake up the liquidity, demand, and value of currencies and currency pairs. The United Kingdom exits Brexit, Russia declares war on Ukraine, the supply of oil from Russia to Western Europe and the US is cut short by President Vladimir Putin, IMF announces the list of top 10 wealthiest countries by GDP, and so many other stories, can impact forex trading.
You cannot control global events, but you can control your reaction to these events and make informed decisions that will lead to positive ROIs as you trade.
The best forex trading apps offer unique features; however, eToro has proven to be the best forex app for beginners and advanced traders. While eToro might not have the MT4 platform, its social trading scheme, ease of use, intensive mobile application, and extensive resources make it the top choice for traders. eToro also offers excellent leverage and tight spread and, most importantly, has the technology for secure commodity keeping and trade execution.
Past performance is not an indication of future results
Yes, MetaTrader 4 can be used in the UK to trade forex, precious metals, stock indices, and energies. MT4 trading fee is 1.60 pips on EUR/USD pair on the minimum deposit. There are forex trading apps that integrate with the MT4 interface.
eToro is the best forex trading platform in the United Kingdom. Other top forex trading apps include Alvexo and Skilling. eToro is excellent for copy and social trading and offers up to x30 leverage. Platforms like Skilling can offer leverages up to 1:100, but be careful about large leverages; while they open opportunities for bigger wins, they also increase the risks of losing more than you bargained.
Absolutely! Forex trading is profitable; however, you need to do your due diligence. Trading isn’t guesswork and should not be treated as such. As a beginner trader, your job is to understand your trading platform and the mechanics of trading, conduct intensive research and analysis, and trade without emotions.
Yes, forex trading is legal in the UK and regulated by the FCA—Financial Conduct Authority. Before choosing a trading platform as a UK resident, you need to ensure that the platform is regulated by the FCA.
As a UK resident, you do not pay tax on forex returns and profits. Your bets on spreads are also tax-free (both capital gain and stamp duty reserve tax). However, if you trade CFDs, binary, bitcoin, or other commodities, the UK will tax your capital gains, and Stamp Duty Reserve tax will also apply.
Kemi is a research writer and editor, and she explores news features on tech topics from blockchain to NFT, architectural rendering, metaverse, cryptocurrency, and home automation. When she isn't reading or writing, she spends time with her family.