KUALA LUMPUR, June 12 (Bernama) -- Foreign exchange (forex) trading will continue to see a steady rise in retail participation globally, due to lower entry cost and technological advancement.

Singapore-based Forex Asia Academy founder and director, Choo Koon Lip, said these factors could help bring forex trading to the retail level which was previously only accessible via banks.

He said the stock market volatility has also encouraged investors to shift from equities to forex in light of global economic uncertainties.

"The credit crunch at end-2008 was the best time for retail investors since I started trading seven years ago.

"For a few months, the markets were harsh and we got a significant profit as people exited stocks for forex," he told Bernama at the firm's introductory seminar here Saturday.

Citing a monthly profit of 5-15 per cent, Choo said, new traders must actively trade and constantly test the best forex strategy that suited them.

"We are well aware of the illegal forex trading that has been highlighted and are always telling participants that risk management is the most important factor, even before profit," he said.

Forex Asia Academy teaches newcomers the key components in retail forex trading such as fundamental and technical analyses, strategy creation process, trading techniques and psychology, money and risk management and algorithmic trading.

The academy was awarded the Best Education Project In Asia by ShowFxAsia Expo 2009, and among the criteria it had was it traded on forex instead of theoretical discussions, rejected the service of teachers who are not traders themselves and it was independent of any brokers.

The academy will be holding its workshop here from June 23-24 from 7.30pm-10.30pm and on June 25 from 12.30pm-6.30pm.

-- BERNAMA