10 PIPS – The New Wave of Forex Trading?

Just do a quick Google search on Forex brokers and you are likely to get countless companies all claiming to have the perfect Forex trading program. We went out and gave some of those brokers and companies a run to see if any of them had the results to match the hype. After putting several of them through their paces, one trading platform stood out with its unique ability to show you currency pairs, commodities, stocks and various indices, all on a single screen. And because the platform's profit is imputed in the spread, you don't have to pay out a cent in commission as a trader. This combination of pleasantly clean visuals and painless operation makes for a great trading platform overall.

In order to get a feel of the platform, we registered for the program and did some actual trading using the platform. The whole process of downloading the installer from the broker's website, setting up the program on our computer and signing into our account is very straightforward, and can be done in an astonishingly short time. Within a few minutes, you should be able to see the program's main menu, where you can choose between opening a demo or a real trader account.

Now, many forex platforms are able to do the job satisfactorily, and that's all well and good. The only problem is that those same platforms have a learning curve that doesn't make them very user-friendly, especially to newbies and rookies. Fortunately, this program does well by making the process fairly easy.

In fact, we were pleasantly surprised at how much thought seemed to have been given to the design and the interface, as most of the menus were very intuitive. More complicated tasks like switching currency pairs or changing indices was relatively easy to do, requiring just a few clicks. Best of all, you don't need to move about the platform's menus very much when you want to do any tasks; a single account and a single window will suffice for almost any job you want to do. Aside from this efficient use of display space, you can opt to delegate one window for all the big investments that you want to keep your eye on.

On this system, you work with a single dedicated broker and have 24/7 customer service available, so you don't have to worry about muddling through the interface on your own. It's comforting to know that there's always someone you can call if you need anything. The system also gives you all sorts of extras like quotations from other stock markets and automatic settings to make your account trade for clearly favorable currencies or indices. Even in the competitive world of forex trading platforms, this program is distinct because it gives you a lot of little extras that will be sure to pamper you and make day-to-day trading much easier.

Be sure to check back regularly because the system gets regular updates from the software publisher; the version you use today might be replaced by a much smoother and more efficient version next week. We found that a few analysis tools were lacking in the version that we tested, but the publishers say that they're working on delivering those in the next update.

Personally, we thank the brokerage for keeping it that way instead of issuing a half-baked analysis tool that gives faulty results. Despite this minor quibble, we're sure that you'll be able to get a lot of trading done with the platform's current version. And while the current version is sufficiently efficient and functional, we're eager to see what the publishers have in store for the next iteration. With everything that's already here, we're fairly sure the next one will be worth the wait.

Basic Program Features:

Demo Trading: Yes; no time limits or expiration dates Rating:

Initial Investment: At least $50, maximum of $100 initial deposit Rating:

Deposit/Withdrawal Options: Internet account (with company), bank to bank transfer, credit card, PayPal Rating:

Spread: Typically between 1 and 6 for popular currencies; program uses permanents that stay constant for a trading session Rating:

Leverage: Ranges from 1:200 to 1:50; varies based on investment channel used Rating:

Stop Point: To be discussed with broker

Interest: Varies with transaction; calculations for each investment channel are displayed

User Tools:

Customer/Technical Support: Customer support available 24/7

Literature and Learning Materials: Basic courses available on website

Range of Tradable Currencies: Medium range of currencies for trade, mostly popular choices

Language Support: Full support for 7 major languages

Freebies and Bonuses: monetary incentives for trading activity and minimum deposits

Software Platform: Compatible with any PC/Mac machine

Others: Has trading features for currencies, indices, commodities and stocks

Why Get It?

Easy to use interface

Above average range of commodities and currency pairs for trade

Allows for multiple trading transactions over different investment channels

No outright commission to be paid

Real-time updates on market situations

This trading platform might not be 'perfect' by any stretch of the imagination, but it certainly does come close. It suffers from underdevelopment, which would explain its shortness on diversity with regard to multiple trading of shares.

Another shortcoming of this platform is its lack of training programs and a trading room on its website for member-to-member transactions. If you're the average trader dealing in typical volumes, however, none of the above missing features will be sure to bother you. At the same time, those same features can be expected to appear in further revisions of the current program version.

Important Reminder: Please note that brokers are likely to change their trading platforms, programs, software and offers on a regular basis and without prior notice. As such, the platform version and program you eventually use may differ greatly from the one that we reviewed. Please check with the broker before signing up with any program to determine any inaccuracies in this review.