When you are executing a Forex trade, you are purchasing an amount of currency, termed a lot. The amount of currency in one lot depends upon the type of account you have. In a standard account, one lot is usually equal to U.S. $100,000; in a mini account, one lot is $10,000.
But Forex trading accounts are leveraged, which means you don’t have to own that expensive lot of currency; you just have to control it, and if you do, any profit it earns is yours. To obtain the right to control a lot of currency, you put up a much smaller amount of money in a sort of rental agreement called a margin deposit. In a standard account, to control that U.S. $100,000, you must put up $1,000 of your own money; in a mini account, to control $10,000, you need to put up $100.
The leverage influences the amount of profit you earn, as well. In a standard account, one pip of a currency pair that has the U.S. dollar as the base is equal to U.S. $10; in a mini account, one pip equals to $1. This means that, should you correctly forecast the movement of the market and execute a trade that earns you two hundred pips (not an unrealistic goal), if you have a standard account, your profit will be $2,000; if you have a mini account, it’s $200.
To maximize your profits in Forex trading, you don’t have to trade a standard account; not every beginning trader can afford to. Instead, if you believe you have a good forecast on the market, you can trade more than one lot. To continue the above example, if your successful trade earned you two hundred pips and you had purchased five lots of that currency, in a mini account you would have put up $500 of your own money, but earned a profit of $1,000 (two hundred pips times five lots). In a standard account, you would have put up $5,000, and earned $10,000.
But Forex trading accounts are leveraged, which means you don’t have to own that expensive lot of currency; you just have to control it, and if you do, any profit it earns is yours. To obtain the right to control a lot of currency, you put up a much smaller amount of money in a sort of rental agreement called a margin deposit. In a standard account, to control that U.S. $100,000, you must put up $1,000 of your own money; in a mini account, to control $10,000, you need to put up $100.
The leverage influences the amount of profit you earn, as well. In a standard account, one pip of a currency pair that has the U.S. dollar as the base is equal to U.S. $10; in a mini account, one pip equals to $1. This means that, should you correctly forecast the movement of the market and execute a trade that earns you two hundred pips (not an unrealistic goal), if you have a standard account, your profit will be $2,000; if you have a mini account, it’s $200.
To maximize your profits in Forex trading, you don’t have to trade a standard account; not every beginning trader can afford to. Instead, if you believe you have a good forecast on the market, you can trade more than one lot. To continue the above example, if your successful trade earned you two hundred pips and you had purchased five lots of that currency, in a mini account you would have put up $500 of your own money, but earned a profit of $1,000 (two hundred pips times five lots). In a standard account, you would have put up $5,000, and earned $10,000.
