ZuluTrade: choosing a forex broker

To start trading with real money on ZuluTrade, you need to open an account with a forex broker. To help you choose, you can narrow down the list of available brokers using a several criteria. For example: whether or not they are regulated in Europe or elsewhere, whether or not they offer mobile applications (iPhone, iPad or Android), trading with micro-lots and CFD (contracts for difference), the trading platforms they offer (such as MetaTrader 4, ActForex, Trading Station, JForex etc.).

Some of these selections will direct you to the AAAFX broker, because it belongs to ZuluTrade and has the advantage of not charging extra commissions unlike with the other forex brokers.

The sliders allow you to filter the list of brokers according to the minimum required deposit, the leverage available and the minimum commission they charge.

The maximum commission is a slippage setting: the number of pips you will be charged by the broker in addition to the usual spread. For example, if the broker's EUR/USD spread is 1.5 pips and ZuluTrade's commission is 1 pip, the total cost for a trade will be 2.5 pips. The commission is used by the broker to pay ZuluTrade and to pay for the additional costs associated with the integration of ZuluTrade.

AAAFX, ZuluTrade's very own broker, does not charge a commission. With this broker, the only sort of commission is the spread. You therefore earn 1 extra pip compared with the other brokers, but this doesn't mean that AAAFX will always be the cheapest for every currency pair.

It is important to mention that due to its direct integration with ZuluTrade and its lack of commissions, AAAFX probably offers the fastest and easiest way to start trading on the social trading platform. You can start trading on AAAFX with as little as €300. Just look at the list of the investors on ZuluTrade and you'll see that most of them have chosen AAAFX.

The other factors that can influence your choice are:

• The level of customer support offered by the broker (maybe you want a personal account manager)
• The languages customer support is available in
• The account funding process (the payment options, credit card, PayPal, etc.)
• The withdrawal process, time and cost (some brokers charge a commission for withdrawals)
• The country where the broker is based (some traders prefer to use a broker based in their own country)
• Financing specials (but, quite honestly, none of them are going to offer you bonus if you use ZuluTrade because of the commissions they'll have to pay)
• Some brokers widen their spreads during news events, which will have a negative impact on the signals that you follow
• Brokers' spreads differ between instruments and especially for exotic forex pairs. For example, the performance of a signal provider that trades the AUD/JPY can vary widely between brokers
• Each signal provider uses a specific broker (although most use AAAFX, the integrated ZuluTrade broker), which can also affect performance
• Rollover costs (the financing costs when positions are held overnight) vary between brokers, so if your strategy consists in following traders who keep their positions open overnight it can affect your overall profit

Choosing a forex broker is a matter of personal taste, it depends on your investment strategy and the signals you want to follow. You can compare brokers' various features and services on our forex broker comparison page.