Forex vs. Futures and Equities

Forex trading provides several advantages over futures-and equities trading. Most important advantages are listed below.

• Typical Leverage
  
• Liquidity
• Commissions
• Short Selling Without an Uptick
• Automated Margin Watcher
• Trading Activity
• Instant Order Execution
  
  
  Commission - free trading
  
  

  Forex Compared to Futures / Equities Table
  
  

  	Forex Trading	Equities Trading	Futures Trading
  Typical Leverage Used	50:1 - 200:1	2:1	15:1
  Liquidity	Daily Liquidity: $1.9 Trillion	Limited	Limited
  Commissions	Commission Free* Trading	Commissions / Other Fees	Commissions / Other Fees
  Trading Activity	24 Hour Trading Market	6.5 Hours Trading & After Hours**	6.5 Hours Trading & After Hours**
  Typical Start Capital	$1000	$25000	$2500
  Instant Order Execution	Yes	No	No
  Short Selling Without an Uptick	Yes	No	Yes
  Automated Margin Watcher	Yes	?	?

  
  ? = Futures and equities markets generally do not have the ability to automatically close out trading positions once the account equity falls below the required margin; as a result, the possibility of a debit balance is far more real.
  
  Most currency brokers*
  Low liquidity when trading after hours**
  
  Forex Daily Turnover compared to Futures Market, Equities Market and NY Stock Echange