Forex Brokers - your experiences

[ithatheekret]

Well your own eyes don't lie to you , that's the most important thing , and if you don't feel comfortable with the trading operations , it is upto you to find one that suits your needs ........ or there will be a lingering doubt , that can interfer with your trading capabilities .

If you like the Oanda chart , why don't you try the VT trader platform , they have a sample account I believe or they use to .

I like it because they have the Ichimoku Kinko indicators in the charting format , just as does Oanda , but I must admit to liking to Oandas charts because I can quickly read them at a glance .

I have a small a/c with them and another with AMC , whilst AMC provides just about everything I need and want in my broker , their charts don't use the Ichi .
So like you , I normally have two screens up and running with different systems on each .

 

[tayser]

Hi tayser,

Who would you recommend?

For scalping: ECN only as spreads are not fixed (your entry/exit signals are made up of about 50-60% when the spreads narrow (as it gives a hint as to what the direction of the next movement is likely to be)).

If you're just a little retail trader like me, your options are limited and EFX group or Interactive Brokers are the most logical choice. I'm demoing with EFX and will go live with them when they offer AUD denominated accounts.

Can't really say with other trading styles, but I guess market makers would be fine as exact entry/exit isn't as critical when you scalp. Most swing trading systems are based on Pivots which can be automatically generated.

 

[MS+Tradesim]

Thanks for answers. Actually, Tayser I'd come to the same conclusion. I'll be using oanda demo for charting and EFX for execution but won't go live with them until they have AUD accounts. Have no interest in having my surplus held in a falling currency. Until then, I'll keep playing and refining a system.

I think ultimately this might be a good direction:
http://www.smartquant.com/platform.php

 

[IFocus]

Boggo over on the Chartist posted this link talking about futures vers Forex Brokers....

http://www.mtptrader.com/showthread.php?t=1363


Focus

 

[>Apocalypto<]

I've been looking around at a few before i decide to put my money with one of them, however the first thing to bear in mind is that your money is overseas and out of reach so that is a very high risk you have to factor into your decisions.

if the company you are with goes broke or just decides not to pay then they are difficult to chase and you will be last in a long list of creditors these companies would have. i plan to constantly keep taking money out of the account into australia and maintain only my bare minimum trading capital so my profits will be safe and sound back home where they belong. or possibly an offshore account until i decide how best to bring it home, but there are still high risks involved there too.

as for the brokers i've been trying oanda and efx (on taysers advice, thanks man) and i have come across a few things.

oanda - wider spread and i've seen the spread size fluctuate a fair whack which i don't like. also their stop chasing seems pretty suspicious to me so i have decided against putting money with these guys. their free charting service is excellent however and i pray for a broker that creates a user interface exactly the same as oanda and streams equitities, commodities any everything else there is to trade. i would gladly pay good money for a (preferably australian) company that can offer this service.

efx - more advanced and difficult for a noob like me but they have good documentation so self teaching is the go. they have a great array of order possibilities and a tighter spread than oanda, the only problem is at around 6pm or so i can't lay trades for some reason, i get offline or market not running messages so if i have a position open i can't close it for a while. i don't know what it is, reminds me to send a message to support. however there is no decent charting available so i've been running oanda charts on another screen and ordering interface of my main screen.

i think amibroker does currency pair charting (i think wayneL mentioned it?) but it was too advanced for me a while ago. jusy my opinion on what i have experienced so far.

Don't forget trading FX with Interactive Brokers they're a ECN as well, or with one of the many Australian CFD providers. I trade FX with IG or now. but i am looking at a fx specialist or IB as IG don't offer trailing stops which is a real pain.

 

[>Apocalypto<]

Thanks for answers. Actually, Tayser I'd come to the same conclusion. I'll be using oanda demo for charting and EFX for execution but won't go live with them until they have AUD accounts. Have no interest in having my surplus held in a falling currency. Until then, I'll keep playing and refining a system.

I think ultimately this might be a good direction:
http://www.smartquant.com/platform.php

MS,

I spoke to Ryan at Efx on live chat. I asked him how hard it is to turn your US$ account to AUD and back again. he told me it was not a big drama , in case the US$ bear ever comes to a end!