Anyone have experience investing in currency?

[icemantbi]

I remember reading a while back about FOREX. I'm thinking about trying this out, now that the Canadian dollar is high. My thinking is that the Canadian dollar isn't going to stay as high as it is and will drop below the US dollar to roughly 80-90 cents tops. A high Canadian dollar kills our exports, and this in turn will drive the dollar back down to normal levels. So my thinking is to buy a boatload of US dollars with the strong Canadian dollar, and reconvert to Canadian dollars when it drops again.

The thing is, I'm really not sure how it works. I've heard that you can use small amounts, ie between $1,000 to $10,000 to actually invest $100,000's or something along that line. Not too sure how this works. So yeah, anyone here ever try trading currency?

[nikosgr]

Try OANDA.It is the best platform out there.Keep in mind that this field in overcrowded by pros.I would say that a newbie has a 90% possibility to lose money.Indeed you can have 10 times your money, if you can afford the interest rates.
I suggest you open an account with out money, practise there for at least 1 months, and then play with small money.

[xyz359]

I've been trading currency for a year or so, and what you're talking about is called leverage. Brokerages/banks will allow you to borrow money from them for a position (with you paying or getting paid interest depending on the pair). This is what gives you the possibility to earn a 'reasonable' return. It's a double-edged sword though, as it increases both gains and losses.

Personally, I'd recommend going through www.babypips.com. It's really helpful. Also, the position you sound interested in is long the USD/CAD. Take it easy dude. =)

xyz359

[20Four7]

I invest all the time unknowingly. My sportsbook accounts are us$ and I make cnd$ by working. My value in the sportsbooks has been diminished tremendously by the strong showing. It even cut into my returns on apple shares by being so strong. ....

[Skankdog]

iceman,
do yourself a favor and just keep betting on the games, you have a better chance of making money on sports.
DO NOT get hooked in by the commission free trading. It is a LIE! They charge Pips, so in other words, I will explain it in sports terms. It looks like you are getting even money when in real life you are about -125 on all trades. If you do not have years of experience, stay away from this.

Yes, you can control 100k with 10k, but remember the loses and the wins are the same on both sides. So you hear these guys say they made 50-100% in a week. What you do not hear is the other 99 that lost 100% of their money in the same time period.

Stick to sports!

[RogueScholar]

It can be done, I've met a couple people who make a living trading currency futures

When I was a senior in high school, which was over 10 years ago so take this with a grain of salt, I did a project showing a profit trading futures contracts of Canadian Dollars, which allows you to access the relative value of $100,000 Canadian dollars, by only putting up a margin security of 10% of so. Call up Lind-Waldock, they were my brokerage back in those days, and they'll take good care of you.

[SBR_John]

The surge against the dollar could be drawing in a lot of would-be traders. Probably a good place to trade since currency trends are very long. But if you are getting in to bet against the dollar now you could find out you are late or at least the decline in the dollar is very long in the tooth.