If you are someone interested in getting started with forex and gold investments but have never been involved in forex trading before, the first thing you should consider is not how to trade or make a profit, but rather ensuring the security of your account funds.

Some unscrupulous platforms mostly profit without withdrawal, and some even run away with the money in the end. Therefore, the first step in starting forex trading is to choose a reputable platform.

Let's talk about some key points that experienced traders consider when selecting a reputable platform!

1. Choose a Large Platform with Proper Regulation

Regulation of forex platforms is like securities companies in China, where platform regulation is similar to the China Securities Regulatory Commission, responsible for setting and implementing laws, regulations, and rules for financial markets such as securities, futures, and funds, supervising and managing market operations, preventing and resolving financial risks, and maintaining market stability and fairness. Forex market regulation is the same, where a country's government regulates the flow, use, settlement, buying and selling, exchange rates, and debt changes of foreign exchange through economic, administrative, and legal means.

Common regulatory agencies include the US NFA, UK FCA, Australia ASIC, Switzerland FINMA, etc. It is important to note that many platforms offering high leverage are regulated in small island countries like Vanuatu, the Cayman Islands, etc., where the legal effect is generally weak, and there is no guarantee for everyone's funds.

The commonly mentioned US NFA, UK FCA, Australia ASIC, Switzerland FINMA, and other regular regulatory agencies issue licenses to compliant forex platforms, including MM market maker licenses, STP straight-through processing licenses, retail forex business licenses, investment advisory licenses, AR licenses, etc.

2. Trading Costs

Compare the trading costs of different platforms, including spreads, commissions, and slippage. Choosing a platform with lower costs can help you save on trading expenses and increase profitability. Additionally, some platforms claim to have no fees means low costs, and having fees means high costs, which is usually misleading for newcomers because they may not understand spreads.

Forex platforms generally offer two types of accounts: standard accounts (STD) and ECN accounts.

1. ECN accounts involve commissions + raw spreads, with most platforms charging $5-7 in commission and rebates generally ranging from $1-2.

2. Standard accounts in STP mode involve platforms directly increasing spreads without charging commissions. Each platform's standard account varies; most have floating spreads, while some also offer fixed spread accounts, generally between 15-20, with rebates around $10; some platforms offer rebates based on a percentage of the spread.

Each platform has its own rules, some of which are very detailed, such as IC and FxPro requiring 5 clients to be opened for rebates, as well as rebates based on fund levels and trading volume levels. If you need detailed rebate and agent rules for various platforms, feel free to message me.

3. Which platforms have good trading environments and low slippage?

Slippage refers to the deviation between the actual executed price and the price seen when placing an order.

Factors affecting slippage include market liquidity, network factors, and human factors.

Basically, the trading environment of each reputable platform is similar, and slippage occurs on any platform. As long as it is within a controllable range, it is generally not a big deal! Platforms connected to international markets will experience slippage phenomena during significant news releases or events like non-farm payroll data announcements or Federal Reserve interest rate decisions, causing price discrepancies.

4. Is the Platform's Service Adequate?

Platform services encompass various aspects, including whether the official website is updated, investment advice from analysts, whether customer service can resolve issues, timely rebate payments, and whether promised support is provided, etc.

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