EFX Group - Welcome

[Temjin]

Thanks for the detailed explanation as well EFX_Justin. It was very enlightening.

So my understanding so far is the retail forex industry was largely dominated by deal desk brokers for an extended period of time, and it is only till recently, brokers like you are now offering STP and ECN platforms that have the potential to revolutionise the industry?

To tell the truth, I have heard very little about the differences between Deal Desk & STP/ECN platforms 2 years ago. It is only in the last year that more and more people (i.e. the general, unsophisticated traders) start to talk about it.

Looks like the forex retail industry has still a long long way to go.

Another question, would you offer "any size" trade like OANDA?

I don't know if OANDA is a market maker or a true ECN, but I have heard conflicting reports on this and it seem to be somewhere in the middle.

Regardless, the ability to make any size trade based on a fixed commission (with minimum) is very attractive to me. This gives us tremondous advantage when it comes to taking full advantage of our position sizing strategies.

 

[Stormin_Norman]

thank you for that information justin. that is what i had been trawling the internet for, and you provided it in one fowl swoop.

the non-biased formation of your system is really appealing.

could i ask a favour.

one trade (in + out) is supposedly worth 4 pips on the AUD/USD. that in AUD equates to $40 per trade (all else like desk dealings held equal).

at say .9000 AUD/USD rate, what would a simultaneous entry and exit cost me under the ecn/efx system?

 

[tayser]

I assume $40 means you're trading with a standard lot (100,000)?

$9USD ($10AUD) @ 0.9000 in roundtrip commission (1pip) on EFX + spread.

 

[Stormin_Norman]

I assume $40 means you're trading with a standard lot (100,000)?

$9USD ($10AUD) @ 0.9000 in roundtrip commission (1pip) on EFX + spread.

atm the spread is 1 pip. so it would be half the price.

the spread then is out to 3. so it would be the same price as currently.

i understand how the price is reflected. it seems like a much better system then being fed through a drip tube via a market maker.

i have just downloaded your demo, is there a graph add-on or something? because i cant seem to replicate the graphs i see other's using efx do.

 

[ithatheekret]

I'm interested , what is the minimum account Justin ?

I'm not worry about the currency regime , I always like to know the open for business times though .

One example : 25/12/07 The Emps birthday , all my platforms bar one weren't open , forcing me to crawl to my brother to use his Oanda a/c .

Which saw Japanese interests play with the Yen that day , I manage a piece of the action , but the difficulties was the fact that all profit was in my brothers name , who copped the tax for it . It's a lot of paper work with the ATO .

I used to have an Oanda account myself , but closed many shops when we moved back out to the country . Have been thinking of opening another due to there open times and market availablity to the trader .

If you can do the same I'm very interested , because I have had slippage problems before with Oanda and there's no real phone services except for service difficulties .

I have a few FX a/c but I try to keep them for seperate trades if at all possible , so there is no conflict in my margin when movements counteract positions held , some I'm willing to ride out , others [positions] force me to close out the position to enable further coverage in the moving instrument .

Feel free to PM me and I will send you my email address for correspondence .

regards ,

Mark

 

[nizar]

Professionals rarely use 20 to 1 leverage.

Tend to agree.
Here is something I found on another article:

Yet leverage has a point of diminishing returns, says Todd Crosland, chief executive officer of Interbank FX. By analyzing trends among Interbank's some 10,000 accounts, he noticed "the good money managers who trade with us and make money in this market just use a little bit of leverage, like 5-to-1," he says.

Temjin - OANDA is a market maker.

 

[Temjin]

Tend to agree.
Here is something I found on another article:

Because successful money managers tend to have millions of dollars (if not tens or even hundreds) under management. By then I would have significantly reduced my position size through reduction of leverage for fear of moving the market or just getting bad fills. When real professionals play with hundred of millions of dollar, leverage become non-existance.

Temjin - OANDA is a market maker.

They seem to operate like an ECN as well, but also as a market maker. As you posted, the automatic trader that was interviewed was probably making lots of money. A deal desk would have got rid of the guy by making his fills misersable. hehe

 

[efx_justin]

Temjin ~

You're very welcome.

So my understanding so far is the retail Forex industry was largely dominated by deal desk brokers for an extended period of time, and it is only till recently, brokers like you are now offering STP and ECN platforms that have the potential to revolutionize the industry?

This is correct – ECN trading in the Forex markets is still a fairly new concept, but the concept of ECN has been around for a long time and since it revolutionized the stock market with groups like Island and ARCA, don’t be surprised if over the next 24 months you see more and more brokers trying to offer their version of TRUE ECN.

Looks like the Forex retail industry has still a long long way to go.

It does, but things are getting there and over the past 4 years we have already seen tremendous changes that have only been beneficial for the industry.

Another question, would you offer "any size" trade like OANDA?

EFX does not differentiate between mini and standard accounts. We offer the ability to handle increments as low as .1 lot or 1000 currency units and open an account with as little as $400. A true ECN STP platform with good working relationships with the banks should be able to achieve this.

I don't know if OANDA is a market maker or a true ECN, but I have heard conflicting reports on this and it seem to be somewhere in the middle.

I prefer not to comment as I try not to concern myself with other brokers, but I’ll refer you back to “How Does an NDD Actual Work” article…from there you should be able to ask Oanda enough questions to decide the truth.

Regardless, the ability to make any size trade based on a fixed commission (with minimum) is very attractive to me. This gives us tremendous advantage when it comes to taking full advantage of our position sizing strategies.

 

[efx_justin]

thank you for that information justin. that is what i had been trawling the internet for, and you provided it in one fowl swoop.

the non-biased formation of your system is really appealing.

could i ask a favour.

one trade (in + out) is supposedly worth 4 pips on the AUD/USD. that in AUD equates to $40 per trade (all else like desk dealings held equal).

at say .9000 AUD/USD rate, what would a simultaneous entry and exit cost me under the ecn/efx system?

Stormin ~

You're welcome.

Commissions are based on total dollar amount traded: $5.00 per 100,000 USD traded. Here are some examples including the AUD/USD;

USD/JPY $5.00 per 100,000 traded ($10.00 roundtrip) + 1 pip = 2 pips total

USD/CAD $5.00 per 100,000 traded ($10.00 roundtrip) + 1 pip = 2 pips total

USD/CHF $5.00 per 100,000 traded ($10.00 roundtrip) + 1 pip = 2 pips total

EUR/USD $5.00 * EUR Exchange Rate ($1.48) = $7.40 ($14.80 roundtrip) $14.80 + 1 pip = 2.5 pips

AUD/USD $5.00 * AUD Exchange Rate ($0.89) = $4.45 ($8.90 roundtrip) $8.90 + 1 pip = 1.9 pip total approx

GBP/USD $5.00 * GBP Exchange Rate ($1.99) = $9.95 ($19.90 roundtrip) $19.90 + 1 pip = 3 pips total

**For higher volume traders are commissions do scale down **

 

[efx_justin]

FOR EVERYONE:

For those who have just downloaded our demo:

Training material - http://www.efxgroup.com/events.php

You may also email me at justin@efxgroup.com for my "Trading Layout" which I built for the Navigator. Many traders have found it very clean and easy to use.

I will also send you a detailed PDF with Order Type examples.

 

[efx_justin]

ithatheekret ~

Minimum deposit to open an account is $400 which you can trade as little as .1 lot or 1000 currency units.

EFX is open 24 hours a day (closed Friday at 5pm EST and reopen Sunday at 5pm EST) for traders who are outside of the US and need to contact us...I suggest using our LIVE HELPER found on our website at www.efxgroup.com.

 

[ithatheekret]

Thanks Justin will visit and look the site over , the minimum is very low , I was thinking more around 10-15K , but I like to bring profits out straight away and keep a till float to operate with , if you understand what I mean ....

Where are you based ?

 

[efx_justin]

Thanks Justin will visit and look the site over , the minimum is very low , I was thinking more around 10-15K , but I like to bring profits out straight away and keep a till float to operate with , if you understand what I mean ....

Where are you based ?

I certainly do...

We have offices in Phoenix, Arizona and El Segundo, California.

 

[ithatheekret]

That's the first gold star you've got .... US based no worries .

 

[efx_justin]

That's the first gold star you've got .... US based no worries .

WOOHOO!

 

[ithatheekret]

Are you in the desert or in the LA County office ?

 

[efx_justin]

Are you in the desert or in the LA County office ?

I personally am in the desert - Scottsdale, AZ to be exact. Busy week here...we have the Phoenix Open Golf Tournament and the Super Bowl.

 

[ithatheekret]

Ah , that's why I asked , who you got the Giants or the Patriots ?

I've got $300 on the Giants to win .

 

[efx_justin]

Ah , that's why I asked , who you got the Giants or the Patriots ?

I've got $300 on the Giants to win .

Trading against the trend?

 

[ithatheekret]

Just a contrarian and the odds were good . risk /reward ratio