Min size of lots

COB · (#1 (**permalink**))

What is the min size of lot that I can trade, can I trade less than 1.0 and how does this effect the size of commission?

Pharaoh · (#2 (**permalink**))

That depends on the account type and the broker.

For trading a standard lot, a 1 pip movement is $10 for xxxUSD pairs. 1 pip on a minilot would be $1. 1 pip on a microlot would be 10 cents. 1 pip on a nanolot would be 1 cent.

Most brokers at least allow minilots. Many brokers offer microlots, and a few brokers offer nanolots.

Since spread is in pips, spread charges will be proportional to the lot sizes you use. Some brokers may charge different spreads based on whether you have a regular or mini account. Some confuse things further by offering other variations (i.e. "Platinum" accounts for those with $50k or more).

For those brokers that charge a commission on top of spread, the commission should be proportionate to the size of the trade (read the fine print - things are not always as they should be).

Some account managers charge an additional fee per trade. This may or may not be proportional to the size of the trade. Read the details of any LPOA very carefully.

Sergei · (#3 (**permalink**))

Some of them complicate things even further by charging you different commissions based on monthy volume (the more you trade, the less they charge per trade).

Anyway, nowadays most decent brokers, in one way or another, offer "fractional" lot sizes because they realize most retail traders can't properly manage an account with 100,000 lots because they are simply not as capitalized as a large institution and need the extra "resolution" or "granularity" that smaller lot sizes allow.

This can truly make or break you as a trader so your question is a very important one.