The spot Forex market is a $1.4 trillion daily market, making it the largest and most liquid market in the world. This market can absorb trading volume and transaction sizes that dwarf the capacity of any other market. The market is always liquid and prices are rarely subject to being re-quoted (or, skid).

The Forex market is a seamless 24-hour market. At 2 PM Sunday, New York time, trading begins as markets open in Auckland , New Zealand , then Sydney and Singapore . At 7 PM the Tokyo market opens, followed by London at 2 AM, and finally New York at 8 AM. As a trader, this allows you to react to favorable/unfavorable news by trading immediately. It also gives traders the added flexibility of determining their trading day. By comparison, the currency futures markets in the United States , such
as the Chicago Mercantile Exchange and Philadelphia Exchange, have regulated hours. The CME, for instance, opens at 8:20 AM New York Time and closes at 2:00 PM. Therefore, if important data comes
in from England or Japan while the U.S. futures market is closed, the next day's opening could be a
wild ride.

The futures market is known for inconsistent execution, both in terms of pricing and execution time. Even with electronic trading and limited guarantees of execution speed, the price for fills on market orders is far from certain. BrewerFX offers immediate execution and price discovery. On the FX trading station, traders execute directly off real-time streaming prices. There is no discrepancy between the displayed price and the execution price. This holds true even during volatile times and fast moving markets. In the futures market, execution is uncertain because all orders must be done on the exchange. This creates a situation where liquidity is limited by the number of participants, which in turn limits quantities that can be traded at a given price. Real time streaming prices ensure that market orders, stops, and limits are usually executed without partial fills.

In the futures market traders must pay a spread and a commission. All traded financial products have a "bid" (buy) price, and an "ask" (sell) price, with the difference defining the spread, or cost of execution. Up until recently, lack of transparency in the futures market has disguised the spread. Now online trading platforms, which show the depth of the market by including both the buy and sell price, allow traders to see the real cost of the trade. Because the Forex market offers round-the-clock liquidity, traders receive tight and competitive spreads both intra-day and overnight. Futures traders are more vulnerable to liquidity risk and typically receive wider dealing spreads, especially during after-hours trading.

BrewerFX charges no commission or transactions fees to trade Forex online or over the phone. BrewerFX is compensated for its services through the bid/ask spread. The over-the counter structure of the Forex market eliminates exchange and clearing fees, which in turn lowers transaction costs. Costs are further reduced by the efficiencies created by a purely electronic marketplace that allows clients to deal directly with the clearing firm or the market maker, depending on the platform used, eliminating both ticket costs and middlemen. All clients have access to dealable bid/ask quotes. In the futures market the prices represent the LAST trade, not necessarily the price for which the contract will be filled. This lack of transparency hides the true cost of the trade.

In the spot Forex market, traders can see the value of their positions and account equity move up and down with the market in real time. The key information for every account is re-calculated and updated every time the exchange rates change. Traders have immediate access to detailed information regarding every open position, open order, and the generated P/L per trade. Traders also have 24 -hour access to full, real time snapshots of their account statement since inception, or on a daily, weekly, monthly or yearly basis. As a trader this means you never have to approximate your account equity or be uncertain in regard to available margin.

For the purpose of risk management, traders must have position limits. This number is set relative to the money in a trader's account. The trading platform will automatically generate a margin call if the required margin amount exceeds the dollar value of the account as a result of trading losses. If the account is in deficit, all open positions will be closed immediately regardless of the size or the nature of the positions held within the account. Specific policies regarding position limits, margin calls, and automatic liquidations may differ from platform to platform.

Regardless of which market you are trading - be it the futures market, Forex market, or any of the countless others - the attributes that determine the viability of a market as an investment opportunity remain the same. Good investment markets include: liquidity, market transparency, low transaction costs and trending markets. All of these attributes describe the Forex market and it is exactly these characteristics that have compelled thousands of traders to switch from trading the futures market to the Forex market. The transition from the futures market is easiest for the technical trader, but regardless of whether you trade on technicals or fundamentals, once you become familiar with the basics of the Forex market the transition should be quite simple.