Can You Lose More Than You Invest in Forex?


Forex, or foreign exchange, is where currencies are exchanged internationally, and it is one of the most popular financial markets in the world. Forex is a common investment, but like all investments, you can lose money on your investment. But, can you lose more than you invest in Forex?

Unless you buy Forex through a margin account or leverage, you cannot lose more than you invest. If you buy on margin or with leverage and your investment has a significant decline in its value, you will have to pay back the money you borrowed, which means you lose more than you invested.

In this article, I will explain what Forex is and how you can invest in it. I’ll also explain when you cannot lose more than you invest in Forex and when you can. Finally, there are some resources you can use to learn more about investing in Forex.

IMPORTANT SIDENOTE: I surveyed 1500+ traders to understand how social trading impacted their trading outcomes. The results shocked my belief system! Read my latest article: ‘Exploring Social Trading: Community, Profit, and Collaboration’ for my in-depth findings through the data collected from this survey!

Understanding Forex Investment Value

Forex trading, or foreign exchange, is the international market for trading and converting all types of national currencies.

There is a different exchange rate for each set of currencies. For example, the exchange rate between the US dollar and the Euro will differ from the US dollar and Japanese Yen rate, which will be different from the Euro and Yen rate.

The exchange rate of any two currencies can change based on political and economic events and the exchange volume. Forex trading happens for a variety of reasons, but few main ones are tourism, international trade, and investing. 

These reasons cause so much currency exchange throughout the world that Forex is extremely liquid. If you are going to trade Forex for any reason, it will be easy to do so because of the high liquidity. 

To start Forex investing, you will need to open a brokerage account and trade through there. As a beginner, you need to educate yourself on Forex trading, markets, and strategies to set yourself up for success. 

Otherwise, you can face losses on your investment, as Forex constantly changes in value, and you need to make smart investments if you want to avoid significant losses.

Sometimes the maximum amount of money that you can lose in Forex is the amount that you invested. However, sometimes you can lose a significantly more amount than what you invested, and in the next two sections I will explain the difference between the two scenarios.

When You Can’t Lose More Than You Invest Trading Forex?

If you are investing in Forex with cash, meaning you are not borrowing money to invest, your maximum loss is the amount that you invest. 

For example, say you invest one hundred dollars in Forex. The lowest value that your investment can decrease to is zero since the value of any currency cannot be negative. So, worst case, you lose all one hundred dollars that you invested.

Even though you can lose your entire investment, it does not mean that you necessarily will. That is just the maximum that you can lose. You may only lose part of what you invested. 

On the other hand, sometimes, you will have to pay fees on your investments through your brokerage account. 

If you are paying fees, these can add to the amount of money you lose on your investment. But, you are still not losing more money than you invested. In other words, you will not have to pay any extra money than what you already invested before the Forex lost value.

When You Can Lose More Than You Invest Trading Forex? 

When you use leverage or use a margin account to buy Forex, it’s considered to be risky. The reason for this is that you are using money that is not yours to purchase the Forex. So, if you are not able to profit from your investment, you will lose money.

The first situation is when you buy on leverage. With leverage, you borrow a significant portion of your investment, usually ten to hundreds of times more than you are investing yourself.

For example, say you have one thousand dollars to invest in Forex, and your brokerage offers you 50:1 leverage. They will let you borrow up to fifty times what you are investing, so in this case, you can borrow fifty thousand dollars. 

If your investment loses value, you will still have to pay back the amount you borrowed on leverage plus any fees the brokerage charges. So, you are not only losing the amount that you invested, but you are also losing all the money that you need to pay back on the money you borrowed.

The other time you can lose money is with a margin account. Similar to buying on leverage, margin accounts let you borrow money from your brokerage for Forex investing. You will put some of your own money into the Forex investment, and the rest will be loaned to you.

You must keep a minimum amount in your margin account at all times, which is used as collateral for your investment. But, if your account balance is not enough to cover a Forex loss, you will need to pay the money back to your brokerage and any interest on the loan. So, your loss ends up being more than what you invested.

Learn More About Forex

While you can lose money when trading on margin or leverage, the high risk can also lead to a high reward. You need to decide what is best for you and your style of trading. 

The more you learn and know about Forex, the better chance you will make money on your investment. 

This video from FOREX.com on YouTube explains what Forex is:

Be sure to take some notes with this one; The Trading Channel has a whole YouTube course that will teach you the basics of Forex:

Here are a few more resources from Amazon.com to get you started trading Forex and set yourself up for success:

Author’s Recommendations: Top Trading and Investment Resources To Consider

Before concluding this article, I wanted to share few trading and investment resources that I have vetted, with the help of 50+ consistently profitable traders, for you. I am confident that you will greatly benefit in your trading journey by considering one or more of these resources.

Conclusion

If you just use cash to invest in Forex, your maximum loss is what you invested. But if you are borrowing money to invest, such as through a margin account or using leverage offered by your brokerage, you can face higher losses. 

If your Forex holding loses value, not only do you lose the money that you invested, you have to pay back the money that you borrowed, even if it amounts to hundreds or thousands of dollars. However, you can minimize your losses by educating yourself on Forex trading and making smart investment choices.

BEFORE YOU GO: Don’t forget to check out my latest article – ‘Exploring Social Trading: Community, Profit, and Collaboration. I surveyed 1500+ traders to identify the impact social trading can have on your trading performance, and shared all my findings in this article. No matter where you are in your trading journey today, I am confident that you will find this article helpful!

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    1. Beginners guide to investing. (2009, December 2). SEC.gov. https://www.sec.gov/reportspubs/investor-publications/investorpubsbegininvesthtm.html
    2. Foreign currency exchange (Forex) trading for individual investors. (n.d.). Investor.gov. https://www.investor.gov/introduction-investing/general-resources/news-alerts/alerts-bulletins/investor-bulletins/foreign
    3. Fraud advisory: Foreign currency (Forex) fraud. (n.d.). Commodity Futures Trading Commission | CFTC. https://www.cftc.gov/LearnAndProtect/AdvisoriesAndArticles/fraudadv_forex.html
    4. Prevent losses in your Forex trading. (n.d.). The Balance. https://www.thebalance.com/why-do-forex-traders-lose-money-1344936

    Navdeep Singh

    Navdeep has been an avid trader/investor for the last 10 years and loves to share what he has learned about trading and investments here on TradeVeda. When not managing his personal portfolio or writing for TradeVeda, Navdeep loves to go outdoors on long hikes.

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