Many traders in South Africa have experienced the immense fortunes that can be acquired through forex trading. In fact, for many South Africans, forex trading has been a life-changing experience, with the ability to make anyone his/her own employer and reaping the profits over an exceptionally short period of time.
While it is true that Forex trading done the right way can reap huge monetary benefits, traders must be careful with what they are getting into. Forex trading on a professional or even at a semi-professional level requires, skills, experience and technical know-how to be successful.
Forex Trading Regulations in South Africa
Forex trading platforms are regulated or supervised by an international or national level regulator and in some cases, both. In South Africa, the Financial Services Board or FSB is tasked with regulating the South African non-banking sector. The FSB has a list of providers for traders to check whether their brokerage platform is registered or not.
Additionally, almost all reputed trading platforms are regulated by an international level regulatory body as well. Examples include the FCA in the U.K., CySec for the European Union, and ASIC in case of Australia.
The Reasons Behind its Rise in Popularity
Forex trading has always been the best short-term investment which promises quick returns for those who do it right. Secondly, it empowers the trader allowing him to work flexibly and on their terms. Although stocks and bonds trading are popular too, Forex trading is arguably the fastest way of achieving significant returns.
The rise in the volume of Forex trading in South Africa coincides with the country’s economic perils, especially the deteriorating condition of the RAND. This, along with several other factors can be considered as the main driving factor of this market. Some of these are explained in brief below.
- The Presence Of Leverage: The use of CFD trading in the South African forex market makes it possible to add leverage, thereby increasing the chances of receiving good returns. In simple words, leverage allows a trader to trade a larger amount of money far exceeding his/her initial deposit. This makes it more affordable for South African traders to enter the market. However, leverage is considered as a double-edged sword and can work both ways if the trader is not competent enough.
- Trading on the Go: With the emergence of online trading platforms and brokerage services, anyone with a PC, laptop and even a smartphone can take part in trading using an active internet connection. This eliminates geographical limitations and traders in South Africa can access markets from all around the world.
- Low Entry Cost: Unlike stock trading which requires significant capital upfront as an initial deposit, Forex trading has no such requirement. In south Africa, Forex trading can be started by depositing as little as R5000 and even less in some cases.
Final Thoughts:
Making money in Forex involves a lot of hard work, substantial risk taking and patience. Thus, it becomes frustrating for the trader to lose all that effort through frauds and scams. Thus, it is important for every South African trader to conduct the required research necessary for making a well-informed choice.
Luckily there are several South African sites such as http://www.tradeforexinsa.co.za/, which compile and compare a list of trading platforms and providers available in South Africa. Traders will get all the required information necessary to make a well-informed choice when selecting a broker. One good way to mitigate the initial risk is to choose brokers which allow traders to open demo accounts. These demo accounts contain virtual money which the traders can use to develop their skills, before dive right into the active market.