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.