Forex vs Stocks

Forex inherently appeals to traders world-wide with its advantages.

24-Hour Trading

One of the foremost advantages of trading Forex is 24-hour trading. Forex is able to trade 24 hours because it isn't traded on an exchange; rather by banks around the globe. Even though it may be 9:00 pm on a Wednesday, there is a market open somewhere in the world in which currency is available for trading. Forex is a true 24-hour market, trading from Sunday afternoon ET to Friday afternoon ET. Such 24-hour trading allows investors to trade on their own schedule - and not on the schedule of an exchange.

Fewer Fees

With IBFX Australia, the only transaction cost to trade Forex is the spread - the difference between the bid and ask prices. On top of that, we have low spreads on the majors.

Enjoy low spreads with IBFX Australia

But don't take our word for it: here on our website we publish actual previous spreads to substantiate our low spreads claim. Say goodbye to commissions, account maintenance fees and service fees, inactivity fees, account closing fees, and say hello to the simple power of trading Forex with IBFX Australia.

Fewer Short Selling Restrictions

With the same margin requirements as buying long, a trader can sell short in the Forex market without added costs and hassle. This allows traders to act on a bullish market as well as a bearish one.

6 Majors vs. 45,800 Stocks

Finding a good opportunity in stocks can be like finding a needle in a haystack due to the sheer number of stocks available to a trader. The World Federation of Exchanges cites over 45,800 stock listings on 52 different exchanges in the world. Forex traders can cut down on the research with only 6 major currency pairs to evaluate and follow.
And for the traders who want to branch out from the 6 major currency pairs, IBFX Australia offers 26 different currency pairs for trading.
Much of the data that can influence the Forex market is publicly available data published by government bodies (e.g., GDP, Non-farm Employment report, Inflation, etc), where the numbers are not likely to be 'cooked'. Moreover, this data is released to everybody at the same time, which means you don't have to be an insider to be in the know.

Instant Execution

With IBFX Australia, all forex trades are 100% executed anonymously without human intervention. Removing the human element helps make placing trades fast and more accurate, which is helpful in a fast moving market.

Increased Liquidity

Forex's unmatched liquidity has many advantages for today's traders.

1. The entire foreign exchange market trades some 3.2 trillion each day* (of which the retail sector is a small portion). Because market price is based on supply and demand, large purchases of millions, or tens of millions, are miniscule compared to overall daily volume, and thus won't artificially influence market price.
2. With instant 1 click liquidity available up to 5,000,000 per trade, traders needn't worry as much about filling a large order.
3. The sheer amount of volume helps provide price stability and continuity.

*As of April 2007

Flexible Leverage and Contract Sizes

Leverage is a two-edged sword: on the one edge providing more market exposure, and on the other an increase in assumed risk*.
IBFX Australia offers flexible leverage options just about anywhere from 1:1 to 400:1. Risk conscience traders have the flexibility to zero in on the amount of leverage they are most comfortable with - all regardless of account size and trade volume.
Traders with IBFX Australia also have the ability to trade contracts in increments of 0.01. Traders can use these fractional lot sizes to help reduce exposure and try new trading strategies.

Access to Your Profits

Profits from Forex trades are treated differently than in other markets. For example:

Use Unrealized Profits

In Forex, all of your unrealized profits can be used to manage and place new positions.