No matter what type of instruments you intend to trade, there are some concerns you should have regarding a broker. The most important of these is the ability to control your trade executions. From a practical perspective, this means two things. You need a broker that will allow you to execute trades reliably, when you intend to execute them. With electronic trading, this should be a given, but there are still some brokers who will only execute at certain times a day in exchange for very low commissions. This might seem like a good tradeoff, except that the commission savings is rather small and seldom outweighs the costs of not being able to place a trade when the opportunity arises. Also, be sure to understand what sort of commission structure the firm actually offers. Frequently, the large print commission is the one you pay for a market order, while other types of orders have a different commission associated. Because our trading systems absolutely require the use of stop orders, a broker that charges extra for stop orders would probably be unsuitable for our subscribers.

Some brokers see control over trade execution as a means to attract clients and offer services specifically to enhance execution control. In some cases, if a trade is not executed within a certain timeframe, the broker will waive the commission. The money you'll save on commissions probably won't be very much but when the broker offers this sort of guarantee, it's probably a good sign that they can provide good executions. Even better are the brokers who can guarantee your fill price when you place a stop order. If you place an order to close your position once a price is reached, you may not actually get to exit at that price depending on market action. Some brokers, however, will actually guarantee your fill. Even if they can't get the transaction to happen while the price is still at the level where you placed the stop, they'll bear the difference in cost.

In addition to the ability to control your executions, you should be careful to learn what type of service your broker will provide. Some brokers will provide monthly paper statements, 24/7 telephone support and various other services, all in exchange for higher commissions. These services can be well worth the additional costs but if you are paying for them and not getting the advertised quality of service, it may be time to reconsider where you keep your money. Of all of the various services that might be available, the one that you'll use the least, telephone order placement, is probably the one not to be without. Electronic execution is generally very reliable, but it's probably not adequate to be your only means of conducting trading operations.

Our forex signals will require the use of leverage, but not anywhere near the amounts offered by certain brokers. If a broker is offering 400 to 1 margin, fine, but it's not a requirement. Some brokers will also advertise that they offer the ability to trade all manner of exotic currencies. This isn't a requirement either, but we may expand the forex portfolio tracked in our newsletter if other pairs present quality trading opportunities. So the ability to trade exotic currency pairs can't hurt and it may be helpful later. Once you set up your account with a forex broker, you may need to download a piece of software called an order execution platform or dealing system in order to place your trades. In other cases, the order execution software is entirely web based or run using a java applet. The quality of such software can vary and should not be ignored. Before establishing an account with a broker, see if the software is available for prospective clients to try. If it's not, look elsewhere. Ideally, try to find a broker that will allow you to use their order execution software with a "play money" account prior to committing actual funds. Also, take a look at the lot size requirements imposed by the broker. In some cases, you can trade any lot size you please while in other cases you have to trade set amounts. For large accounts, this shouldn't make much of a difference, but traders who are starting small will need to be able to work with small lot sizes in order to get the full benefit of our system position size algorithms.

Because your broker is a vital component in your ability to conduct trading operations, you should give careful thought to which broker you will do business with. Make sure that you select a broker that allows you full control over your trade executions, competitive commissions and provides the quality of service you believe you are paying for.