Best Books for Forex Brokers

8 Books to Succeed as a Forex Broker

Here are our book recommendations for learning more about best practices in the financial services industries, especially when your clients’ portfolios include forex trades.

1. Crashed: How a Decade of Financial Crises Changed the World by Adam Tooze

Who should read it: Anyone interested in the interconnectedness of global economies, including both experienced professionals and new traders.

Why you should read it: It was named one of the New York Times’ notable books and one of The Economist’s Books of the Year in 2018.

What it’s about: As the title implies, Tooze’s book is about the 2008 financial crisis and the global economic response to it. It covers the economic development and debt around the globe. It’s especially insightful in addressing the unexpected ways regional and national economies are linked to one another through finances, investments, and politics. Tooze ties information about this interdependence together with the rise of social media, China’s economic development, and competition for fossil fuels.

2. 10 Common Mistakes Financial Advisors Make & Simple Ideas to Avoid Them: How to Create Happy Loyal Clients by Howard Lashner

Who should read it: All brokers, regardless of experience level.

Why you should read it: The book provides a framework for good client relationships that all financial professions can benefit from.

What it’s about: Each chapter of 10 Common Mistakes Financial Advisors Make focuses on a different mistake, like using too much jargon or not following-up with customers. It discusses why it’s a mistake and what the best practices around that action are instead. It uses Lashner’s experience as a financial services professional. The book is a philosophical approach to how to treat clients so that they trust your advice.

3. Extraordinary Popular Delusions by Charles Mackay

Who should read it: All financial professionals.

Why you should read it: It’s a classic. Any understanding of financial markets isn’t complete without having read it.

What it’s about: Published in 1841, Extraordinary Popular Delusions addresses collective fear and greed in financial markets. It covers such catastrophes as Britain’s South Sea Bubble and the Netherlands’ Tulip Mania. Regardless of its age, the book holds up well. You’ll find yourself applying Mackay’s commentary to the dotcom boom and bust of the late-1990s and the housing crisis of the late-2000s. To get a better understanding of the book and its context, check out this edition, which has a foreword by financial strategist and historian Russell Napier.

4. How to Start Your Own Forex Signal Service: The Next Step Every Forex Trader Should Take to Build an Automated Passive Income Stream by Rimantas Petrauskas

Who should read it: Experienced traders transitioning to professional brokers.

Why you should read it: It provides detailed steps to attract leads for a new brokerage.

What it’s about: How to Start Your Own Forex Signal Service provides step-by-step directions for starting a trading signals business. It also details how to start your website and discusses what software tools you’ll need. It focuses on providing tips and information that will make it easier for you to get your business off the ground quickly. Many brokers find new clients by offering a signal service, so this book can set you on the path to success.

5. The Game of Numbers: Professional Prospecting for Financial Advisors Hardcover by Nick Murray

Who should read it: Any financial advisors who struggle with cold calling or reaching out to potential clients.

Why you should read it: It is one of the few books that address prospecting that is specifically for those in financial services industries.

What it’s about: Nick Murray has worked as a financial services professional for over five decades and has written several books for other financial professionals. In The Game of Numbers, he discusses how financial advisors can be better prospectors. The text addresses the mental blocks that might prevent you from actively prospecting and offers detailed plans for how to start prospecting and then increasing your activities to convert more leads to clients.

6. The Supernova Advisor: Crossing the Invisible Bridge to Exceptional Client Service and Consistent Growth by Rob Knapp

Who should read it: All brokers, regardless of experience level.

Why you should read it: You’ll learn about how to use the 80/20 Rule, first implemented by financial advisors at Merrill Lynch, to benefit your business.

What it’s about: The Supernova Advisor outlines the Supernova Mode, which is a client service, client acquisition, and practice management model based on the 80/20 rule (80% of profits come from just 20% of clients). It also discusses the 12/4/2 client contact system. Each chapter includes exercises to help you use the information in the book. Under all of this is a dedication to building better client relationships in order to grow your business.

7. The Million-Dollar Financial Services Practice: A Proven System for Becoming a Top Producer by David J. Mullen Jr.

Who should read it: Experienced brokers starting their own firm and managers at brokerages.

Why you should read it: It includes templates, scripts, and letters you can start using right away.

What it’s about: The Million-Dollar Financial Services Practice offers detailed advice for building a successful financial services practice. It touches on converting leads, building client relationships, and increasing the amount clients invest with you. The standout parts of this book are the sections that address marketing, which includes sections on both niche marketing and social media marketing. This fact is especially true if you read multiple books on this list; you can even skim the sections that seem repetitive and focus on the marketing chapters.

8. The End of Alchemy: Money, Banking, and the Future of the Global Economy Paperback by Mervyn King

Who should read it: Anyone interested in the interconnectedness of global economies, including both experienced professionals and new traders.

Why you should read it: It gives you the perspective of an insider who was at the heart of the financial world at one of the most tumultuous times since the Great Depression.

What it’s about: Author Mervyn King served as Governor of the Bank of England from 2003 to 2013, and The End of Alchemy is his take on the global financial crisis and the future of modern finance. The book covers not only the causes of the 2008 crisis, but also the results of the attempts at the economic stimulus that followed the recession. If you’re looking for a better understanding of how Central banks work, this text will be especially useful.

The best forex brokers and portfolio managers combine their knowledge of global economics with a deep understanding of client services. The books on this list can help you learn more about all the subjects you need to be an expert in.

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