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A Step-by-Step Guide to Checking and Changing Leverage on MT4

By Christopher Lewis
Reviewer Adam Lemon
Fact-checker DailyForex.com Team
Christopher Lewis has been trading Forex and has over 20 years experience in financial markets. Chris has been a regular contributor to Daily Forex since the early days of the site. He writes about Forex for several online publications, including FX Empire, Investing.com, and his own site, aptly named The Trader Guy. Chris favours technical analysis methods to identify his trades and likes to trade equity indices and commodities as well as Forex. He favours a longer-term trading style, and his trades often last for days or weeks.

Adam Lemon began his role at DailyForex in 2013 when he was brought in as an in-house Chief Analyst. Adam trades Forex, stocks and other instruments in his own account. Adam believes that it is very possible for retail traders/investors to secure a positive return over time provided they limit their risks, follow trends, and persevere through short-term losing streaks – provided only reputable brokerages are used. He has previously worked within financial markets over a 12-year period, including 6 years with Merrill Lynch.

The DailyForex.com team is comprised of analysts and researchers from around the world who watch the market throughout the day to provide you with unique perspectives and helpful analysis that can help improve your Forex trading.

Leverage is a core component of successful trading, but simultaneously, it ranks among the most misunderstood and misused concepts. Since MT4 is the industry-leading Forex trading platform, I have created a step-by-step guide on how traders can check and change leverage on MT4.

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How to Check the Leverage on Your Metatrader 4 Account

The precise steps may differ slightly between the MT4 Forex brokers, but that should apply to the layout, wording, and navigation.

Here is a step-by-step guide to checking your leverage on MT4:

1. Log into your secure client area.

2. Navigate to the accounts section. Most brokers have it in the left menu bar, the top menu, or the homepage of the secure client area.

3. Locate the MT4 account where you wish to check the leverage. Some brokers display it within the overview. Otherwise, click the pencil or the hamburger menu icon next to the account to retrieve your leverage information.

Changing Leverage Settings on MT4

Changing leverage settings with the high-leverage Forex brokers follows the same process as above, with the modification below.

Follow the above steps, and you can change your MT4 leverage by doing the following:

1. Click the pencil or the hamburger menu icon next to the account where you wish to change the leverage.

2. Select the desired leverage from the drop-down menu, which your broker defines.

3. Confirm your choice, but if you decrease your leverage, your margin requirement will increase, and you must adjust your lot size and risk management accordingly.

Tips and Takeaways to Changing Leverage on MT4

A useful tip is to focus on risk mitigation aspects like stop loss orders and lot size management, as these factors determine your exposure, rather than your leverage settings.

It is also a good idea to familiarize yourself with the difference between account leverage and utilized portfolio leverage. The latter leverage is notably lower but has a more significant impact.

Why Would You Change the Leverage on Your Metatrader Account?

Traders must master trading psychology, risk management, lot size management, and proper order placement before considering leverage. Therefore, traders may start with 1:1 leverage and gradually increase it until they learn how to properly use all necessary components of leveraged trading at the best high-leverage Forex brokers.

Altering your Leverage on MetaTrader – Pros and Cons

Before altering your leverage on MetaTrader with the best MT4 Forex brokers, I recommend that you consider the pros and cons.

The Pros of Altering Your Leverage on MetaTrader

  • A gradual increase in leverage as part of the educational process
  • The ability to leverage knowledge and improve profitability
  • An opportunity to take advantage of more trading opportunities
  • An increase in capital and portfolio efficiency
  • A magnification of trading profits

The Cons of Altering Your Leverage on MetaTrader

  • A magnification of trading losses due to the lack of proper risk management and lot size management
  • Many traders use leverage with insufficient trading capital
  • A rush to leverage Forex trading without the educational and trading background

Bottom Line

Traders can check and change leverage on MT4, but they should master psychology, risk management, lot size management, and proper order placement before considering leverage. Risk and lost size management define risk, not the account leverage.

FAQs

Is leverage in Forex risky?

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Leverage does not affect risk, but the lack of risk management does. Yet, many market participants, including brokers and tier-1 regulators, directly associate leverage with risk. For example, a trader with a maximum loss per trade tolerance of 3% on a $5,000 portfolio will lose $150, whether the leverage is 1:1 or 1:1000. Many traders fail to understand the relationship between lot sizes and risk management. It magnifies their risk, which is not the fault of leverage but due to their lack of understanding of how to use leverage with lot size and risk management.

What does a 1:500 leverage mean?

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1:500 leverage means that for each $1, a trader can control a $500 position, which results in a margin requirement of 0.20%. It is the industry standard for Forex trading. Traders should ensure that their broker offers negative balance protection and forced liquidation, also known as automatic stop-outs if the account margin level decreases below a select ratio.

Can you change leverage in MetaTrader 4?

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MetaTrader 4 allows traders to change leverage settings, but it depends on the broker, as some brokers disallow it and require traders to contact customer support.

Christopher Lewis
Christopher Lewis has been trading Forex and has over 20 years experience in financial markets. Chris has been a regular contributor to Daily Forex since the early days of the site. He writes about Forex for several online publications, including FX Empire, Investing.com, and his own site, aptly named The Trader Guy. Chris favours technical analysis methods to identify his trades and likes to trade equity indices and commodities as well as Forex. He favours a longer-term trading style, and his trades often last for days or weeks.

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