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Time:   Date: 03/09/2009
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Risk Management In The Foreign Currency Market

posted on: February 26th, 2010

It is important to realise that risk is a fact of life in any business. With the high degree of leverage inherent in the foreign exchange market, it’s possible to make substantial losses very quickly. This is why prudent firms have risk management strategies to make sure this doesn’t happen.

Of course, you don’t have to use foreign currency brokers. Changes in foreign exchange trading rules now allow investors to open “mini-accounts” using large amounts of leverage to trade on the margin. Basically, this means they invest a small amount of money to trade a great deal more on the foreign exchange.

If the risks aren’t fully covered, it’s possible to lose an entire trading account in a few hours. A risk management strategy is therefore essential. However, many traders don’t bother, believing (wrongly) that there’s no way you can lose if your trading position looks good.

Everybody makes losses on the foreign currency market from time to time. However, by taking appropriate risk management steps, traders can maximise profits, while keeping losses to an absolute minimum. The net result is still a tidy cash gain.

Currency brokers like us at Pure FX always use risk management strategies to limit risk exposure on the foreign exchange. Risk exposure is defined as the amount of money you can afford to lose on a single trade. It can also refer to the entire amount at risk in the brokerage account. Successful brokers have quite elaborate systems to limit risk exposure. This includes calculating risk-reward ratios and implementing stop-limit orders – all ensuring the best possible returns for their customers.