This article is the second in a series of two. To read the first, click here.

Earlier this week, Finance Magnates published the first of two parts of a recent survey of almost 700 FX traders. The survey results were rather surprising, as highlighted in the first release which indicated that strong demand for FX trading persists, despite the recent hype surrounding cryptocurrencies.

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As we look at the second part of the survey, the most lopsided results showed that technical analysis remains the key factor in their trading decision making process. It was by far the most influential factor above all others, and it helps to explain some of the other results seen in the survey.

For instance, many traders still prefer to trade on desktop versions of trading platforms, which likely is as a result of the many features available on desktop vs. mobile. Let’s dive in and see what the survey says.

Trading Platforms

The user experience for most traders lies first and foremost with the type of trading platform being used. The trading platform can influence the way a trader functions in the market, as well as the strategy that is employed based on the features and tools at a trader’s disposal.

Earlier this year, Metaquotes announced that it will no longer sell its highly popular MT4 trading platform, and will opt to instead drive the widespread adoption of the more updated MT5 platform.

The survey addressed this as well, in an attempt to see the reaction of traders to the upcoming shift toward MT5.

Of the 687 survey participants, 362 (53.08%) said that they will use the Metatrader 5 platform, while 149 (21.85%) said that they would opt to trade on a Webtrader platform instead. 171 people (25.07%) said they plan to use another platform that was not listed in the poll.

The bottom line is that more than half of the respondents will continue to use the Metaquotes software, illustrating the company’s popularity and stronghold on the industry’s traders.

Desktop vs. Mobile

In today’s modern era of technology, many companies have shifted their attention toward enabling mobile capabilities. Across a wide variety of industries, products, and services, many users prefer to access their accounts through their mobile device.

We asked FX traders to divulge their preferences for trading. 47.95% of traders said they favor desktop trading platforms over mobile versions, while a very lowly 8.80% trade exclusively on mobile apps.

Meanwhile, 43.26% of traders said that they employ some type of combination of both desktop and mobile trading platforms for trading purposes.

Perhaps the reason that so many traders trade specifically on desktop is due to the many features and tools available on these versions, which are not always available on mobile trading apps.

Technical analysis is easier to apply on desktop as well, which is part of many traders’ strategies, and could be one major reason that traders favor desktop.

Trading Decisions

What influences the trading decision of investors the most? Some traders look for fundamental analysis to gauge the market’s upcoming direction and trends, which includes economic events and the release of important financial data releases.

Others spend time analyzing markets through technical analysis, by analyzing charts using key support and resistance lines, as well as applying technical indicators that could be indicative of future market behavior.

Since so many traders employ a technical analysis strategy, these indicators and key lines often manifest themselves to become reality, as traders from around the world act on them simultaneously, leading to strong volumes and trends as a result.

The survey clearly shows that technical analysis is at the top of the list for influencing traders’ decisions. Of the total 687 survey participants, 419 (61.44%) said that technical analysis influences their decisions more than any other factor.

Meanwhile, the second leading factor that impacts decisions is economic events, with 26.39% of traders saying that they use these events to make decisions above all other factors. The release of financial data came in third place on the list, favored by 10.12% of traders.

For all the effort that many brokers put in to trading education, and trying to provide new and veteran traders with information that could help their trading strategy, only 14 traders (2.05%) say that they use this above all influencers to make trading decisions.

Market vs. Instant Execution

While education appears to be at the bottom of traders’ valuation, perhaps it shouldn’t be as many appear to be in flux when it comes to the different types of order executions offered by brokers.

We asked traders to say whether they preferred market or instant execution when trading. Almost half of traders (49.19%) prefer instant execution, compared to 31.42% who chose market execution as their preferred choice.

A staggering 1 in 5 traders (19.38%) said that they were not sure of the difference between the two execution types. The reason this is surprising is that it is such an important factor when deciding where to trade.

It is for this reason that brokers have invested time, money, and effort into enriching the knowledge of their clients with education portals, designed to provide informative information, including types of execution.

Refer a Friend

Many brokers offer their clients the option of referring their friends for a referral fee. Finance Magnates asked the survey participants what would incentivize them more to refer a friend to a particular broker: a one-time referral fee, or a percentage of the trader’s spread paid to the broker.

The results were rather even, with 52.91% saying that they would opt for the latter option, receiving a percentage of spread paid by the trader. The remaining 47.09% said they would prefer to receive a one-time fee for referring another trader.

Many brokers offer one-time referral fees, but perhaps it would be wise to consider some type of combination of the two, in order to further promote bringing in more clients from new sources.