Below are 5 essential things to consider if you are in the market for a Managed Forex Account. Whilst this is not a substitute for your own due diligence it will help you to identify some of the key ingredients necessary for an enjoyable and profitable managed forex experience.

1) Control of Your Funds

The absolute most important thing to consider when evaluating managed account options is ensure you always have control over your funds at all times. If you are dealing with a reputable Forex Broker, and this should always be the case, you shouldn’t have too much to worry about in this respect. Further down we cover more on this aspect. If you avoid any type of pooled fund arrangement and use a LPOA or “Limited Power of Attorney” you should then be able to revoke the right of the trader to trade the account should the unthinkable eventuate. Best to be safe than sorry.

2) Historical Performance

Obivuously there is a huge advantage in being able to see a managed forex account traders historical performance figures. They also need to be verifiable figures, in the form of original statements. A spreadsheet of numbers or a table on a website doesn’t constitute verifiable figures, no matter what the trader or company does to try and back up their claimed performance figures.

3) Good Money Management

Perhaps the most important and most overlooked part of forex trading is Money Management. You can be using the best trading strategy in the world, but if your money management is not right you can still end up losing money. It is often said that money management is the key difference between how the pros trade and how an amateur trades. Money management takes discipline and focus but the reality is that very few traders have the discipline to practice sound money management principles.

4) The Broker

Not all brokers are equal. From experience a broker can make your forex trading experience pleasant or nightmarish. Select your broker wisely. Make sure that they offer such things as competitive spreads and commissions as well as fast and efficient deposits and withdrawals as well as giving you 24/7 access to your account statistics. Small delays in processing withdrawals can cost you thousands in lost opportunities as well as time that you simply can’t get back. Search the internet for brokers that provide these types of features. If the Managed Forex provider recommends a particular broker do you own due diligence on the broker and ensure that you are satisfied that they can deliver the sort of service you are looking for.

5) Low Draw Down

Personally I set the figure at somewhere between 25-30% , others prefer a more conservative 15% whilst others can deal with 50%. For me 50% is simply to much and difficult to recover from. You basically need to then double your account just to recover your original amount. A difficult feat to achieve. Whatever amount you decide on stick to it and don’t be tempted to trade out of an impossible situation. That is simply gambling not trading.

Brendan Wilson is a forex trader with 12 years experience. Brendan is also associated with Forex Managed Accounts Performance. Managed Forex Trader provides information and services to people interested in investing in Forex these can be view at Forex Managed Accounts Performance.