Choosing a Forex Broker in Australia
- Thread starter syswong
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I have just tried an australian based broker (I won't mention the name)
my advice based on my experience,
beware of the demo!
tried their demo account for 1 month
their demo server is extremely super fast (possibly to attract customers)
instant fill on orders, no downtime, etc.
after I opened a live account, surprise.. it disconnect a lot, not to mention the huge delay on buy/sell on market, and the recent error on historical price which affect my indicators on MT4
IMO, US brokers are more reliable
my advice based on my experience,
beware of the demo!
tried their demo account for 1 month
their demo server is extremely super fast (possibly to attract customers)
instant fill on orders, no downtime, etc.
after I opened a live account, surprise.. it disconnect a lot, not to mention the huge delay on buy/sell on market, and the recent error on historical price which affect my indicators on MT4
IMO, US brokers are more reliable
Any use of MT4 are simply digital bucket shops. They were designed to be use by dealing desks. Don't trust any of them. USE strictly ECN Brokers only (direct dealing quotes through banks bid/ask). Even if they advertise being an ECN do not use MT4. MT4 is game much like a slot machine.
Use an ECN's Brokers own platform. Also I recommend comparing MT4 & non directly beside one another. (Dual screens help). One thing you'll notice is the different pricing & candle formations. Wildly different patterns at times, which can make or break your trade depending on your strategy. My experience once I start making profitable trades, I have been locked out of positions when moving S/L into profit (I slide S/L as required to realize gains should market swing) or T/P as I see fit.
For example today, 0910 hrs, on both USD/CHF & EUR/USD positions I attempted to move S/L & T/P on MT4 for orders not to be filled, my ECN broker filled orders. Luckily MT4 only .05 lot. 1 contract on ECN platform.
USD/CHF Long entry: .8673 initial S/L: .85820 T/P: (Parity) 1.000 attempted to move S/L: .87685 not accepted on MT4, order accepted by ECN broker.
EUR/USD Short entry: 1.38891 initial S/L: 1.39720 T/P: 1.3500 attempted to move S/L: 1.7330 & T/P: 1.3742 not accepted on MT4, order accepted by ECN broker.
At the time of attempt I was approx. 450 pips in profit. Now that hurts to loose such a position. The MT4 platform shut me out for around 15 min then I gave it another go only to have the exact same thing happen again for the same time.
Not naming any broker just conduct your own research on brokers, but please for the sake of your wallet & sanity stay well clear of MT4(5).
Use an ECN's Brokers own platform. Also I recommend comparing MT4 & non directly beside one another. (Dual screens help). One thing you'll notice is the different pricing & candle formations. Wildly different patterns at times, which can make or break your trade depending on your strategy. My experience once I start making profitable trades, I have been locked out of positions when moving S/L into profit (I slide S/L as required to realize gains should market swing) or T/P as I see fit.
For example today, 0910 hrs, on both USD/CHF & EUR/USD positions I attempted to move S/L & T/P on MT4 for orders not to be filled, my ECN broker filled orders. Luckily MT4 only .05 lot. 1 contract on ECN platform.
USD/CHF Long entry: .8673 initial S/L: .85820 T/P: (Parity) 1.000 attempted to move S/L: .87685 not accepted on MT4, order accepted by ECN broker.
EUR/USD Short entry: 1.38891 initial S/L: 1.39720 T/P: 1.3500 attempted to move S/L: 1.7330 & T/P: 1.3742 not accepted on MT4, order accepted by ECN broker.
At the time of attempt I was approx. 450 pips in profit. Now that hurts to loose such a position. The MT4 platform shut me out for around 15 min then I gave it another go only to have the exact same thing happen again for the same time.
Not naming any broker just conduct your own research on brokers, but please for the sake of your wallet & sanity stay well clear of MT4(5).
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Duggy0FX,
Have you seen this posting?
https://www.aussiestockforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=19051&page=2 bottom of page. Might explain some of your straaaange happenings.
Have you seen this posting?
https://www.aussiestockforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=19051&page=2 bottom of page. Might explain some of your straaaange happenings.
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Boston merchant Financial (BMFN) just opened a shop in Australia, they do fx, cfd, warrants. Found them on a forex rebate site - Rebatemyforex. http://rebatemyforex.com
BMFN use a ECN set up.. so ive heard!
some others are eToro Australia though they don't have the MT4 platform, great if you want to learn
Just in response to the guy who mentioned Kinetic...they went bust
BMFN use a ECN set up.. so ive heard!
some others are eToro Australia though they don't have the MT4 platform, great if you want to learn
Just in response to the guy who mentioned Kinetic...they went bust
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Are there any good Aus brokers that have platforms other than MT4? Would rather an ecn but if spreads are low enough don't mind. It seems all aus brokers with competitve spreads only have mt4...
Also, i don't have the $20k deposit needed to use an institutional/platform broker
Also, i don't have the $20k deposit needed to use an institutional/platform broker
BMFN - Boston Merchant Financial is a Market Maker not an ECN it says it clearly in their Financial Services Guide. This means they are taking the opposite position to your trades, so they win when we lose and lose when we win.... do you want to trade with a broker whose business model is based on us losing money? are they going to help you trade and help you be profitable if they make money when we lose money.... think about it....
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havaiana,
Honestly I don't think there are.
Competitive spreads and MT4 in the same sentence is a contradictory. The MT4 platform has variable spread control at server side via spiking, freezing, spread and pricing manipulation. You cannot have MT4 with fixed spreads in FX, spreads even in futures varies around news etc.
I have accounts with nearly all Aust brokers/market makers. They are in business to make money.
The best advice I could offer would be to use a US broker like Infinity Futures who offer zero spread but charge commission per contract.
You are trading direct to CME and your order is queued etc. Sign up and trade with a min of $1500-2000. Price moves one tick and you have covered commsion with profit already. You cannot get this anywhere in Australia. The best thing is if you have ever used stops with traditional brokers and wondered why they always get hit, this doesn't happen when direct to CME market access, the price behaves more as you would expect it to. The one negative would be margins are higher than Australian brokers due to the max allowable leverage allowed in the US of 1:50. 6E EURUSD you will need to put up 500-600$ or $5,500 if you hold overnight US time. Not for the faint hearted but if you feel the urge they have demo accounts for 30 days. Unlike MT4 and others when you use a live account it behaves the same as the demo.
Deposits and withdrawls are quick. I can deposit via ANZ bank in 1-2hrs if you do it near the end of day here, ie their US day starts shortly after. Withdrawls may take up to 2 days. Only use the large banks here tho for transfers. No broker here in Aust, except one who I took to Finance Ombudsman (and wonthe case), can handle deposits and withdrawls that fast.
Just to point out how currupt these market makers are, I once notified the finance dep of a broker who uses MT4 that I had made a deposit, they adjusted my account balance accordingly even tho I hadn't made the deposit. They are very confident they will keep your money.
Honestly I don't think there are.
Competitive spreads and MT4 in the same sentence is a contradictory. The MT4 platform has variable spread control at server side via spiking, freezing, spread and pricing manipulation. You cannot have MT4 with fixed spreads in FX, spreads even in futures varies around news etc.
I have accounts with nearly all Aust brokers/market makers. They are in business to make money.
The best advice I could offer would be to use a US broker like Infinity Futures who offer zero spread but charge commission per contract.
You are trading direct to CME and your order is queued etc. Sign up and trade with a min of $1500-2000. Price moves one tick and you have covered commsion with profit already. You cannot get this anywhere in Australia. The best thing is if you have ever used stops with traditional brokers and wondered why they always get hit, this doesn't happen when direct to CME market access, the price behaves more as you would expect it to. The one negative would be margins are higher than Australian brokers due to the max allowable leverage allowed in the US of 1:50. 6E EURUSD you will need to put up 500-600$ or $5,500 if you hold overnight US time. Not for the faint hearted but if you feel the urge they have demo accounts for 30 days. Unlike MT4 and others when you use a live account it behaves the same as the demo.
Deposits and withdrawls are quick. I can deposit via ANZ bank in 1-2hrs if you do it near the end of day here, ie their US day starts shortly after. Withdrawls may take up to 2 days. Only use the large banks here tho for transfers. No broker here in Aust, except one who I took to Finance Ombudsman (and wonthe case), can handle deposits and withdrawls that fast.
Just to point out how currupt these market makers are, I once notified the finance dep of a broker who uses MT4 that I had made a deposit, they adjusted my account balance accordingly even tho I hadn't made the deposit. They are very confident they will keep your money.
I agree with Cogs,
FX futs are your best bet for short term trading. Downside is lack of pairs (ICE has just added more crosses 19/09), and liquidity compared to Spot.
If you want to run a position and avoid full margin, exit before end of US day session and re-open when night market opens.
If you avoid a bucket shop Spot is fine for position trading and you get a 24hr market unlike futs.
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BMFN offer currenex which is ECN and they have an ECN/STP setup for their floating spreads as well. They have a dealing desk for their fixed spreads, though who on earth would want to use the fixed spreads. If you spent less time reading the FSG and more time on the website you would know.
No need to educate me on how a dealing desk works kimleow, your not the only one in this world that understands the pitfalls of using a DD.
cogs
Are these Mt4 accounts?
Have you tried the dealbook 360 platform with GFT?
I'm doing a forex course and i've been asked to subscribe to esignal
are you familiar with Dealbook 360 and esignal?
cheers
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Great post,
Looking back I wish I had of done a lot more research into brokers, It would have saved me a few dollars lost due to bad/missed fills and crashes... I would only now use an ECN Broker. The commission might seem higher but i think overall its worth it.
I'm still yet to find a broker I'm 100% happy with and I've had a go with a few now.
I've used a few as well and because I do many short trades the spreads are a significant cost to me.
Have you tried Axitrader or Pepperstone?
They both have very low spreads and as they don't have dealing rooms they won't be tradings against you.
I've also registered with cashbackforex.com so I get a rebate for every trade I place (I'll get money back even for losing trades)
how does the spread make a difference whether going long or short?
do you mean counter-trend trading?
The spread is what we pay the broker for each trade so the higher the spread the more our trade has to move before it becomes profitable.
For example, if I place an order on EUR/USD and the spread is 2 pips, as soon as I place an order my account will be -2 and the price will have to move in the direction I have chosen, (long or short) BY 2 pips just for to break even.
1 pip difference between brokers means 10 or more pips in 1 night and 10 pips depending on our lot size could be $100 or more just in brokerage savings.
I hope this helps
billy appreciate you taking the time to explain.
i should've been more clear with my question.
you mentioned spread and a direct reference to your short side trading. i'm curious as to why you thought the cost of spread was more relevant to short trading as opposed to being long side?
