FOREX Investing Compared to Other Investment Opportunities

With over $1.5 trillion changing hands daily, it might be advantageous for you to investigate the extremely lucrative business opportunity involving currency trading.
Once the domain of major banks and corporations, this field is now an open playground for the ordinary individual.
The following information gives you a comparison of different investment opportunities in comparison to Forex trading Forex could be the perfect opportunity for you if you are willing to have an open mind and investigate.
Equities are dependant on variable factors regarding when to buy and when to sell. With Forex, the opportunity to buy or sell is always present.
Futures require a person to pay exchange fees as well as commission charges. Forex requires no commission charges or fees. Futures also is limited to specific trading hours, whereas Forex is not limited and is available 24/7. Also, with Futures, once a person buys they are basically locked in for a specific amount of time. Forex offers flexibility to change position within seconds at the onset of any variable which could effect the particular economic security. When a late breaking news or factor is announced, bam--a trade is made within seconds.
Real Estate can be devastating to the novice and often requires larger amounts of investments. It is also volatile with the factors which can affect the buying and selling. Ask any real estate investor; they all can tell you the horror stories. The emotional strain of a lingering negative tenant is enough to make any investor throw up their hands and run for the hills. An investor may often have money tied up in an investment for several years depending on the situation involved. Although real estate has been up in value for the past few years, many now believe the market has bottomed out and value is growing at a snail’s pace. Many investors often have to wait on approval from banks in regards to financing or releasing money for financing; therefore, an investor may have his money wrapped up long-term. Forex is extremely flexible.
CD’s and Savings Accounts offer security but with little return on the investment dollar. With Forex, a sharp trader can often multiply his investment many times over.
Annuities are mostly safe for the long-term, but if an investor needs to pull his money out for the short term, he may have to pay surrender charges which can range as high as 6-8% if withdrawn within the first 6 to 8 years. In his article entitled, “Are Annuities a Worthwhile Investment, Don Taylor, Ph.D., CFA (bankrate.com) states that “most investors would be better off considering annuities as a last resort rather than a first choice when it comes to creating an investment portfolio.
There is a learning curve with Forex; however, the investment in time may pay multiple benefits in terms of investment. There are many avenues to achieve wealth, but few as flexible and lucrative as Forex. With a 24/7 timetable, a person can be in business starting with just a few hundred dollars, the right training and a computer. This flexibility allows a person to work from the comfort of their own home and be in control.

Forex Benefits

LIQUIDITY: FOREX investors never have to worry about being "stuck" in a position due to a lack of market interest. In this US$1.5 trillion dollar per day market, major international banks are always willing to provide both a bid (buying) and ask (selling) price. Liquidity is a powerful attraction to any investor as it suggests the freedom to open or close a position at will. Because the market is highly liquid, most trades can be executed at a single market price. This avoids the problem of slippage found in futures and other exchange-traded instruments where only limited quantities can be traded at one time at a given price. The six major currencies (JPY, EUR, CHF, GBP, CAD & AUD) are generally considered to be the most liquid.

LEVERAGE: FOREX investors are permitted to trade foreign currencies on a highly leveraged basis - up to 100 times their investment with some brokers. An investment of US $10,000 would permit one to trade up to US $1,000,000 worth of any particular currency.

HOURS: A substantial attraction for participants in the FOREX market is that it is open 24 hours per day. An individual can react to news when it breaks, rather than waiting for the opening bell when everyone else has the same information, as is the case in many markets. This may enable market participants to take positions before an important piece of information is fully factored into the exchange rate. High liquidity and 24 hour trading allow market participants to exit or open a new position regardless of the hour.

SIZE FLEXIBILITY: FOREX investors have greater flexibility with respect to their desired trade quantity. With most FOREX Brokers you can trade ANY DESIRED AMOUNT over $25,000 USD, specifically tailored to your needs or risk tolerance. Size or quantity flexibility can be especially useful to corporate treasurers who need to hedge a future cash flow or portfolio managers who need to hedge foreign equity exposure.

SETTLEMENT FLEXIBILITY: This concept, a corollary to point # 4, allows you to trade for various settlement dates or 'maturities' out to 1 year further allowing you to tailor your trades or hedges to your specific needs. This feature of trading FOREX differs from futures where settle dates are relegated to 4 'expirations' per year, and can also be quite useful to corporate treasurers and portfolio managers.

NEVER A 'BEAR' MARKET: Another advantage of the FOREX market is that there is no 'bear' market, per se. Currencies are traded in pairs, for example US dollar vs. yen or US dollar vs. Swiss franc. Every position involves the selling of one currency and the buying of another. If one believes the Swiss franc will appreciate against the dollar, one can sell dollars and buy Swiss francs. Or if one holds the opposite belief, one can buy dollars for Swiss francs. The potential for profit exists as long as there is movement in the exchange rate or price. One side of the pair is always gaining, and provided the investor picks the right side, a potential for profit ALWAYS exists.

FREE AND FAIR FLOW OF INFORMATION: Ever notice in the stock market that a certain stock is suddenly down 5% or more but you have absolutely no idea what caused such a quick spike? Usually, it's not until the next morning when you read it in the newspaper that you find out that earnings forecasts have been revised downward; or that an insider at a particular company has resigned; or that some other influential piece of information was released that you were not privy to. Imagine how much money you could have saved had you known this vital information at the same time as all other market 'insiders.' - Or how much you could even have earned in profit by acting in a timely manner… Imagine a market where there is little or no 'inside information' and all pertinent, market-moving news is released publicly to everybody in the world at the same time… Welcome to the foreign exchange market.