Leonardo Di Caprio The Wolf of Wall Street

Yes, you heard correctly, almost 90% of traders won't make any money on currency speculation. That's according to a recent study carried out by French Financial Markets Authority AMF and published on the LeMonde.fr newspaper website (see here). In line with this survey, between 2009 and 2012, and on a scale of 15,000 people, each trader would have lost around €10,900.

In addition, the AMF press release states:

« (...) the more active traders were, i.e. the more transactions they made or the larger their investments were, the larger the losses they made » .

How can these figures be explained?

Unauthorised trading websites:

Highlighted in frequent press releases by the AMF, notably through its blacklist, the unauthorised online brokers operating in France and Europe are often singled out.

To make things simple, investing your money in an unregulated broker is no better than giving your money to a crook. Despite the deceptive appearance of their websites, and even their convincing client contact, don't let yourself be pulled in; according to LeMonder.Fr: « the internet is teeming with websites that pass themselves off as authorised professionals and attract regular clients through aggressive advertising. »

Reminder from the AMF:

« Before making a commitment, you must verify that the intermediary offering or advising you on your investments is on the list of financial institutions authorised to operate in your country. »

Please note that all the brokers featured in our comparison are regulated or authorised by the FCA.

Our selection of verified and recommended brokers:

Here are the brokers that our experts have rigorously hand-picked and verified to help guide you towards your financial goals with confidence and peace of mind.

🥈 4.3% interest on cash
eToro

Best for crypto 🏆

Advantages

Min deposit: £50
Spreads: 1 pip for the FTSE 100 and EUR/USD and 1.5 pips for USD/CHF

Copy the trades of the world's best investors
Wide selection of investment strategies available
Up to 4.3% annual interest on idle balance

Learn more See offer
🥇 Zero commission shares
XTB

Recommended broker 🏆

Advantages

Min deposit: £10
Spreads: 0.1 pip on eur/usd and eur/gbp, 0.3 pip for the sp500 and 0.8 pip for the FTSE 100

Buy shares and ETFs with no commission
Online courses for investors of all levels
Demo account with £20,000 virtual funds

Learn more See offer
🥉 Ideal for CFDs
Admiral Markets

Ultra-low spreads 🏆

Advantages

Minimum deposit: £250 (£1 for the Invest.MT5 account)
Spreads: 0.9 pip on EUR/USD, 1.1 pip on GBP/USD, and 0.8 on the CAC 40

0% commission on CFD trading for stocks
Competitive Forex spreads from just 0.9 pip
Invest.MT5 account with fractional shares
Over 4,500 shares and 200 ETFs available

Learn more See offer

The lack of experience from new traders:

The currency market is complex and its variations are difficult to anticipate. Because of this, you cannot dive into speculative trading head-first with no previous training.

Don't let yourself be tempted by greed: Yes it's possible to earn a living by trading, but that can take time and requires a certain degree of knowledge.

The good news is that a lot of brokers offer free seminars and webinars for their clients, and are highly recommended for online trading novices.

On a final note, before getting started, make use of the demo account using virtual money in order to take your first steps into online trading.