EFX Group - Welcome

[nizar]

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 **

What does the + 1 pip mean?

Does this mean that the spread for all these pairs mentioned above is typically 0.5 pip?

So that the total (round trip) spread cost is 1 pip?

I'd love to see those GBP/JPY spreads come down, though I understand yours are already one of the best in the market.

 

[efx_justin]

What does the + 1 pip mean?

Does this mean that the spread for all these pairs mentioned above is typically 0.5 pip?

So that the total (round trip) spread cost is 1 pip?

I'd love to see those GBP/JPY spreads come down, though I understand yours are already one of the best in the market.

The majority of our currency pairs will have a 1/10th - 1 PIP spread at any given time - of course during times when the market is slow (banks are closed) the spreads might widen slightly, but whose trading at those hours anyway?

GBP/JPY has an average spread of 3-5 pips...thats pretty good. Sometimes you'll see at 2, but just figure 3-5.

 

[tayser]

Justin, just some administrative questions...

When you're a live client, what sort of reports are available? Is there simply a monthly statement which gets emailed / mailed out, or is there a facility whereby we can generate our own statements based on the timeframes we specify? Also is there any option to obtain reports in excel/csv formats?

Australia's financial year is July 1 to June 30, and to be compliant with the ATO we simply need a total for profit, a total for loss and a total for commissions charged for that year (we need to report profit + commission - loss in $AUD on our tax returns) - do you have any mock up / dummy statements available that we can get a look at?

Throwing this question wide open to anyone: When we are recording P/L in a non-AUD currency and on a frequent basis - such as when trading with an EFX account, will just getting the AUD/USD exchange rate for the end of the day suffice for converting our USD into AUD? or does the ATO require the exact exchange rate (To the pip!) on AUD/USD at the time when each single P/L is realised?

I'm trying to think of what extra administrative tasks we need to do when trading in a non-AUD currency, i.e if we can elect a single exchange rate for the day then that would be the simplest, but if its the exchange rate at the time of realising the P/L then you have a fair bit of work to do, and when you want to go straight back into a trade, it might adversely affect it (well with my trading style anyhow)....

cheers.

 

[Stormin_Norman]

Throwing this question wide open to anyone: When we are recording P/L in a non-AUD currency and on a frequent basis - such as when trading with an EFX account, will just getting the AUD/USD exchange rate for the end of the day suffice for converting our USD into AUD? or does the ATO require the exact exchange rate (To the pip!) on AUD/USD at the time when each single P/L is realised?

i'd ring them up/email them and ask. perhaps even its just the exchange rate at the time of the exchanges? (ie deposit the money in and withdraw it out).

will efx deal with australian shelf companies?

 

[disarray]

because the money in your account is held overseas, it is out of the influence of the ATO.

eg. you send $10,000 to the US to open your EFX account and trade your way to $100,000 (well done). the ATO isn't involved, it has nothing to do with them until you bring the money home so pips, points, exchange rates, gains or losses are irrelevant for taxation purposes.

now bringing the money home is another matter. so say you now have $100,000 in your EFX account and decide to bring all that money home for safe keeping, the first $10,000 you don't declare because it was the original $10,000 you sent out of the country in the first place. the next $90,000 is added to your taxable income and you have to pay tax on that at whatever your rate is.

basically the ATO has nothing to do with your trading account because it is held overseas, it is only when you bring the money back into the country that the ATO gets involved and by this stage all individuals gains/losses/exchanges etc. have already been factored into your account balance, theres no need to overcomplicate things.

looking for ways to bring the money back while minimising tax is another matter entirely

 

[tayser]

I understand what you're saying (although I'm a bit iffy on the 'it's out of the influence of the ATO bit), and quite obviously I want to bring money back into Australia!

But the concern is how / when you convert to AUD from USD. I do want to regularly withdraw from EFX and bring back to Australia so I can live etc.

Anyhow, I took storming_norman's advice, I sent an email to the ATO re: when you have to convert (i.e when it's realised, or when you bring the money back into Australia), I'll post the response when I get one.

 

[efx_justin]

Justin, just some administrative questions...

When you're a live client, what sort of reports are available? Is there simply a monthly statement which gets emailed / mailed out, or is there a facility whereby we can generate our own statements based on the timeframes we specify? Also is there any option to obtain reports in excel/csv formats?

Australia's financial year is July 1 to June 30, and to be compliant with the ATO we simply need a total for profit, a total for loss and a total for commissions charged for that year (we need to report profit + commission - loss in $AUD on our tax returns) - do you have any mock up / dummy statements available that we can get a look at?

cheers.

Tayser ~

Live clients have access to FULL reporting of all trading activity broken down by four types of reports;

1. Cash Activity - this report will show all deposits/withdrawals/debits & credits.

2. Trade Confirmation - this report will break down each and every trade that executed; trade date, buy/sell, volume, symbol, price, PnL

3. Order History - this report will give you a history of all trades executed or not (stops, limits, market orders, etc).

4. Account Statement - this report you'll use for taxes and financial reporting. A full report of your opening and closing balance, premiums debited or credited, PnL on trades & total commissions.

 

[tayser]

And the frequency of the reports? Configurable by user or on a set timeframe like monthly?

cheers.

 

[efx_justin]

And the frequency of the reports? Configurable by user or on a set timeframe like monthly?

cheers.

Daily, Monthly, Yearly, Start Date.

 

[IFocus]

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

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

ithatheekret looks like a good start to the week.....

 

[ithatheekret]

Trading against the trend?

Trend reversal ........

PS...... Hi IFocus , Every week is a good week as long as the sun keeps rising in the morning and I'm there to see it , they just made it and that was good enough .

 

[ithatheekret]

Just saw Tyree take the catch , he got it ......... on the back end of the ball and held it on his dome , unreal , the pass was pretty darn good too .

After seeing Tyree point towards his mum ( in heaven ) that money is headed for the Salvos .

 

[>Apocalypto<]

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 **

Personaly I find some of the pairs too expensive. You can get a better deal at a dealing desk. I have used the efx demo and spreads can move to 2 pips on all the majors at times. ig cmc offer locked 2 pip or 20$ round trip on a trade (10 lots or standard contract) and I am not sending my money overseas with wire fees.

Justin when do volume discounts kick in?

 

[efx_justin]

Personaly I find some of the pairs too expensive. You can get a better deal at a dealing desk. I have used the efx demo and spreads can move to 2 pips on all the majors at times. ig cmc offer locked 2 pip or 20$ round trip on a trade (10 lots or standard contract) and I am not sending my money overseas with wire fees.

Justin when do volume discounts kick in?

Hi Apocalypto ~

If you email me at justin@efxgroup.com, I'll be more then happy to send you the full volume breakdown report.

Interesting that you say "you can get a better deal at dealing desk", because here is a post from another forum that just goes to show this isn't a very accurate statment.

Those that might be interested in ONE live experience between two different brokers here it is.

The trade is Long the GBP/JPY. EFX account 360,000 long or 36 minis TS 40,000 or 4 minis. Both with a stop market at 211.20 for the full amount.

TS fills are
10,000 211.118
20,000 211.097
10,000 211.085

average of around 10 pips lower then stop.

EFX fills are
180,000 211.19
90,000 211.18
90,000 211.18

average of around 1.5 pips lower then stop

I might also add that the entry on this trade was a stop limit with 2 pip spread EFX got me in the trade at the 2 pip limit as it went through the area the first time. TS went through came back and touched when up and then came through before getting filled. Quite interesting experience...

The above post was on ForexFactory by forum member drkyle today 2:39pm.

In the argument about cost, I think many traders forget it's not just about the spread or commission, but more importantly the fill.

 

[ithatheekret]

I've lost count of the amount of times I see candles roar into my set entries and limits , not EFX can't comment there ...... others , one BIG one too ......... and the order is still sitting there after the event .

To put it bluntly it sux !

Even a brokerage I use has the same problem , Justin would know them ...... a Swiss mob .

 

[>Apocalypto<]

Hi Apocalypto ~

If you email me at justin@efxgroup.com, I'll be more then happy to send you the full volume breakdown report.

Interesting that you say "you can get a better deal at dealing desk", because here is a post from another forum that just goes to show this isn't a very accurate statment.

Those that might be interested in ONE live experience between two different brokers here it is.

The trade is Long the GBP/JPY. EFX account 360,000 long or 36 minis TS 40,000 or 4 minis. Both with a stop market at 211.20 for the full amount.

TS fills are
10,000 211.118
20,000 211.097
10,000 211.085

average of around 10 pips lower then stop.

EFX fills are
180,000 211.19
90,000 211.18
90,000 211.18

average of around 1.5 pips lower then stop

I might also add that the entry on this trade was a stop limit with 2 pip spread EFX got me in the trade at the 2 pip limit as it went through the area the first time. TS went through came back and touched when up and then came through before getting filled. Quite interesting experience...

The above post was on ForexFactory by forum member drkyle today 2:39pm.

In the argument about cost, I think many traders forget it's not just about the spread or commission, but more importantly the fill.

Thanks for the reply Justin,

I trade fx with IG markets right now. I have never had any fill problems at all. I always have 3 data sorces open at the same time while I trade. IG are always on the money or at times a pip out for a second or two max.

At the current exchange rate on the euro usd I can make a round trip for $20us per contract. I see on efx its 1 pip spread and around 7$us per side which makes roughtly 24us to make the same trade.

But in fairness on other pairs like usd/chf and usd/cad you're miles infront. I mainly trade the eur/usd and swissy so that is a minor issue to me. I have never seen a order take longer then 1-2 seconds to be filled with IG. mini or standard.

Not having a crack at u. I am just curious as the eur/usd is the markets most liquid pair. I know that your rates are directly linked to the current value of the cross.

cheers

 

[efx_justin]

Thanks for the reply Justin,

I trade fx with IG markets right now. I have never had any fill problems at all. I always have 3 data sorces open at the same time while I trade. IG are always on the money or at times a pip out for a second or two max.

At the current exchange rate on the euro usd I can make a round trip for $20us per contract. I see on efx its 1 pip spread and around 7$us per side which makes roughtly 24us to make the same trade.

But in fairness on other pairs like usd/chf and usd/cad you're miles infront. I mainly trade the eur/usd and swissy so that is a minor issue to me. I have never seen a order take longer then 1-2 seconds to be filled with IG. mini or standard.

Not having a crack at u. I am just curious as the eur/usd is the markets most liquid pair. I know that your rates are directly linked to the current value of the cross.

cheers

Thanks for the reply...I know you weren't taking a crack - I enjoy the feedback.

If you don't need a market order, it's not a bad idea to place a limit order inbetween the spread....won't always get filled since it is a limit order, but this will dramatically decrease the spread if you are filled and allow for all others traders on the system to see your order.

For Example:

GBPJPY is 209.16 X 209.19 and I want to go long. I place a limit order to long at 209.175. My order is reflected in the Market Depth and the new quote becomes 209.175 X 209.19. Thus becoming 1.5 PIPS tighter then the quote provided by our liquidity providers and much more attractive to any traders looking to go short.

Now instead of having a 3 pip spread when doing a market order, I placed a limit order and was only out 1.5 pips. Take it one step further and place a limit order at 209.165 and if I had gotten filled I would have only been out .5 pips on a currency pair that most brokers have a 7-10 pip spread on.

 

[Stormin_Norman]

what's the difference between mbtrading and efx? they seem almost identical to me, down to the software.

 

[efx_justin]

what's the difference between mbtrading and efx? they seem almost identical to me, down to the software.

EFX is the arm of MB that specializes in Forex. MB Trading offers all asset classes (stocks, options, futures, Forex) and thus offers software solutions that suit traders for all markets. Many of the owners of MB also own EFX, but EFX is set up to train people that are largely Forex-only traders.

• MB and EFX both use the same execution technology and pricing.

• Both have the same Help Desk for off-hours support.

• Both EFX and MB have the Navigator software as a front-end option.

• Only EFX has EFX Remote Trader - a web based platform for global access.

• EFX offers discounted charting with many 3rd party providers.

• EFX’s daytime help desk and on-line tutorials are designed to help you learn how to use our platforms. We’ll spend as much time as possible walking you through how to trade on the system.

• Any upgrades to the overall execution platform that MB implements will also apply to EFX.

• EFX may add software upgrades, new front-end, or even advanced Forex-only order routing via our front ends that MB may never offer.

That’s pretty much the way to look at it.

 

[efx_justin]

MB Trading Acquires EFX Group

Hey Guys ~

This was sent out today to our clients:

Dear EFX Clients,

Effective March 1st, EFX Group has been acquired by Manhattan Beach Trading, Inc. (MBTI), the financial services holding company of MB Trading Futures, Inc. (MBTF) and MB Trading. Your account is already held at MBTF, and therefore nothing will change for your account except forthcoming changes in accessing information regarding your account. Currently, the EFX website permits access to your account through its secure login and will continue to do so. Over the course of the next few weeks we will change this to access information from your account at www.mbtrading.com/fx.

The EFX team will still be available to answer your questions about how to use the platform, how the technology works, new account info, Live Helper, etc.

Over the next few weeks our operation is going to expand to help educate people about all markets that MBTI’s subsidiaries cover: including Stocks, Futures and Options. The EFX team will continue to be involved in providing you the level of service that you have become accustomed to. We have attached the Press Release related to the acquisition via the following link: EFX NEWS

Thank you for your support of EFX Group over the years - we look forward to working with you under the prestigious name of MB Trading.

Feel free to contact us directly with any questions.

Just thought you might like to know.