Account base currency

With several FX brokers (e.g. IB), you can choose which currency you want your account to be based in. How many of you with that facility use it to choose a base currency other than your 'home' one? Or, do you set up an account in each base currency you trade in?

Max

Someone, please? This is an issue the educators don't talk about, so many of us won't be up to speed on it.

Thanks, Max

hi man, take a look to the largers time frames currencies index and look for a bulish one, thats all.

Hi Max, unless you live somewhere with a spectacularly falling currency I would stick with your local currency.

Look at this way, to do otherwise is to effectively have a trade running even when you are not trading.

I see you live in the UK, suppose you decided to denominate your account in USD. The only reason to do this would be that you believe with some certainty that by the time you come to take money out of your account the GBP will have fallen against the USD and you will get more Pounds for your Dollars. In other words by denominating in USD you are effectively shorting the GU.

But then, if you are going to short the GU why not do it in a real trade in the first place?

We're doing that even in our own currency. If we hold currency, we're always in the market.

yes but the difference is - you pay your bills and taxes in your currency.

So at the counter/shop till - a dollar is still a dollar in the USA and a pound is a pound in the UK, but if you live in one country and trade using another - suddenly you find your account is being devalued against your cost of living.

so i say choose your currency based on 3 things

1- do you hedge
2 - Tax laws
3 - Paying the bills

which ever is the biggest problem or benifit should be the deciding factor.

Thanks guys - so I live in UK (although I spend some time and money in a USD zone), and I'll be trading mainly GBPUSD. Does an account in GBP makes most sense?

Max