A Forex broker is a legal entity licensed to provide access to the foreign exchange market. Over the past few years, brokers have significantly expanded their services. In particular, almost all companies offer CFDs for trading in addition to regular trading instruments, thus providing money-making opportunities on commodities markets and stock exchanges.

So brokerage firms are basically intermediaries between a trader and financial markets. The service of online trading is provided through special trading platforms. Brokers make most of their money on spreads, the difference between the bid and ask prices, or on commission from deals. Brokers are commercial companies meant for getting as much profits as possible so they are interested in having active clients. The more deals traders will open, the greater profits a company will yield.

Selecting a broker, you should pay attention to not only trading conditions, but also to spreads and orders execution. Moreover, your broker should have a long-term market presence. It is crucial that it is a stable company having a wide network of representative offices. A company's reputation among its peers is one more criterion for identifying a reliable broker.