YAL Academy
What a trade actually costs
Spread, commission, swap, slippage and conversion, each isolated and then assembled into one round turn. The most product aligned module in the academy and the one place where education and the commercial argument are the same sentence.
Trading involves risk. You could lose more than your deposit.
The arc
FoundationModule 4 of 10
10 lessons, about 78 min
- AssumesMargin and account mechanics
- UnlocksThe venue and your counterparty
The lessons
What this module covers
Takes the two visible costs first, then the pricing models that trade one against the other, then the cost that only appears if you hold overnight, then the costs that are not fees at all. Assembles everything into a single round turn, shows how cost shifts break even, and closes with an honest method for comparing costs that names no competitor and claims no superiority.
Lesson 01
What a spread is
The gap between bid and ask, expressed as a cost collected on entry rather than a fee charged.
- Level
- Foundation
- Read time
- 7 min
Lesson 02
What commission is
A charge per lot or per notional, charged per side, and why it is quoted in two different ways.
- Level
- Foundation
- Read time
- 7 min
Lesson 03
Spread only pricing and commission pricing
Two ways of charging for the same trade: one that hides the whole cost inside the quote, and one that splits it between a narrower quote and a stated fee. How to reduce both to a single comparable number, and why neither is cheaper in general.
- Level
- Foundation
- Read time
- 8 min
Lesson 04
What a swap is
The financing applied to a position held past the daily rollover, why it exists, and why it has two signs.
- Level
- Foundation
- Read time
- 10 min
Lesson 05
How financing differs across instruments
Why an FX swap, an index financing charge and a shares CFD financing charge are calculated differently.
- Level
- Foundation
- Read time
- 7 min
Lesson 06
What slippage is
The difference between the price you expected and the price you received, and why it is not a charge.
- Level
- Foundation
- Read time
- 7 min
Lesson 07
Conversion and your account currency
What happens when a position settles in a currency your account does not hold.
- Level
- Foundation
- Read time
- 7 min
Lesson 08
What a round turn actually costs
One position, opened and closed, with every line of cost shown and nothing netted out silently.
- Level
- Foundation
- Read time
- 10 min
Lesson 09
How cost moves your break even
The distance price must travel before a position is even, and how that distance changes with size and time.
- Level
- Foundation
- Read time
- 7 min
Lesson 10
How to compare trading costs honestly
What an advertised headline cost leaves out, and the questions that produce a comparable number.
- Level
- Foundation
- Read time
- 8 min
Get started
Open your account in four steps.
A clear path from sign-up to your first trade, in four steps.
No depositNo documents
01/ 04step 1 of 4
Register
A few details to get started.
No deposit to open
02/ 04step 2 of 4
Verify
Confirm your identity, securely.
ID and proof of address
03/ 04step 3 of 4
Fund
Add money by bank transfer or card.
From $0
04/ 04step 4 of 4
Trade
Go live on the platform you already know.
MetaTrader 5
