FXCM sets up shop locally

[amaro]

So you fellers who trade with FXCM are basically happy with them?
Any real complaints?

Hi, the people at Fxc,m are nice, but the company is big and they hire not very professional stuff as they could not answer simple questions, also somehow I was connected to US customer service in the beginning and it took 10 minutes to get to local customer service
SPREADS ARE MUCH HIGHER THEN THEY ADVERTISE! BEWARE!
other then that, nice people, just like everyone else

 

[Jason Rogers]

Hi amaro,

If everyone is on the phone in our Sydney office, then your call will be routed to our US offices so that you can speak with someone immediately. If you prefer to have someone call back from Sydney, we can arrange a call back as soon as possible.

We are also having seminars in our office if you ever want to stop by to visit.

Hi, the people at Fxc,m are nice, but the company is big and they hire not very professional stuff as they could not answer simple questions, also somehow I was connected to US customer service in the beginning and it took 10 minutes to get to local customer service
SPREADS ARE MUCH HIGHER THEN THEY ADVERTISE! BEWARE!
other then that, nice people, just like everyone else

 

[tayser]

Jason: are FXCM planning to have a local version of FXCM Micro any time soon (with AUD denomination)? Because I can't access my account through the standard account portal due to regulatory reasons... or so I've been told.

 

[amaro]

Hi amaro,

If everyone is on the phone in our Sydney office, then your call will be routed to our US offices so that you can speak with someone immediately. If you prefer to have someone call back from Sydney, we can arrange a call back as soon as possible.

We are also having seminars in our office if you ever want to stop by to visit.

I accept a misunderstand the answer but is is not a full answer, what about spreads???

 

[Jason Rogers]

I accept a misunderstand the answer but is is not a full answer, what about spreads???

Hi amaro

Yes, for the second part of your question. Just viewing our spreads right now, they're around the typical spread amounts if not below. But keep in mind the spreads are variable.

FXCM's spreads are variable because we use No Dealing Desk execution. No dealing desk means there are no re-quotes. The typical spread for each currency pair is listed here http://www.forextrading.com.au/forex-spreads.jsp but they can vary throughout the day.

FXCM is not determining what the spread is. Instead it is set by the best bid/ask price that the multiple global banks are quoting to FXCM. On no dealing desk execution, FXCM makes money through the volume of transactions going through our platform and not by trading against clients.

During peak trading hours is when you can see the spreads at their tightest. During off-peak hours is when you could see spreads widen out. If you want to compare spreads, just register for a demo. It shows you the same prices that our live accounts receive.

Jason

 

[Jason Rogers]

Hi CFD,

To get to your question, on FXCM's MT4 platform, a volume of 0.10 would be a mini lot and the pip value would be $1. Trading a volume of 1.00 would make the pip value $10.

"The free practice account is live for 30 days, then automatically expires."

Is this necessary? Does expire mean the price feed ends or that you can no longer access your past work?

Any plans to have a lesser pip value than $10-?

 

[tayser]

AUD Micro accounts? (see my question above)

 

[Jason Rogers]

Hi tayser,

Thanks for re-posting, I had lost track of your post accidentally

Micro accounts are in the works, but the key to the question is will it be released "anytime soon". I haven't heard of a time line. A lot of plans had to be put on hold unfortunately due to development attention being focused on regulatory changes in the US. A MyFXCM.com type website for FXCM Australia is scheduled to be created as well, but I haven't heard of a release time frame for it either.

I'll poke around and see what I can find out for you.

Jason

 

[tayser]

thanks, whatever info you can provide will be very useful.

 

[Jason Rogers]

thanks, whatever info you can provide will be very useful.

Ok, here's the information. For a myfxcm.com related website for FXCM Australia, it's being developed right now but no set date on release.

Also double checked on any plans to launch micro accounts for all Australia residents, and no plans in the near future.

 

[CFD]

Jason, thank you for monitoring this thread and your replies.

Does the 0.10 lot transact at the same price as the 1.00 lot?

 

[amaro]

Hello, I am glad you admitted and answered YES for the second part of the question. Where we discussed that your spreads are much higher then advertised.

 

[Jason Rogers]

Jason, thank you for monitoring this thread and your replies.

Does the 0.10 lot transact at the same price as the 1.00 lot?

hi CFD,

It does. The trade is going to be submitted for the same price regardless of the amount you are requesting.

Also keep in mind since this is direct market access, the price you are executed at depends on the liquidity (or amount) available in the market at that price. If you were submitting an order for a volume of 100.0 and there's only enough liquidity to fill 90.0 then the remaining 10 will either get slipped to the next best price or get cancelled depending on the order type you have chosen.

In the FX Trade Station you have the ability on market orders to choose either At Best or Market Range. At Best gives execution certainly. The order will always be filled, but at the best price available. So there could be slippage. With market range you have price certainty. You you can specify the range of prices you are willing to accept. This limits slippage but there is less certainty over execution.

I hope that helps, and let me know if anything is unclear.

Jason

 

[Jason Rogers]

Hi amaro,

Thank you for your post; however, I have to kindely disagree with you. Please reference previous post https://www.aussiestockforums.com/forums/showthread.php?p=453785&posted=1#post453785

The spreads will be around the typical spread the majority of the time as advertised, but the spreads can vary. During off-peak trading hours or periods of high volatility the spreads can increase. And during peak trading hours, the spread can get tighter to their lowest possible.

Jason

Hello, I am glad you admitted and answered YES for the second part of the question. Where we discussed that your spreads are much higher then advertised.

 

[Stormin_Norman]

fxcm international participates in rebate schemes. does or will fxcm-australia do the same?

do you offer improved trading conditions for larger accounts?

 

[Stormin_Norman]

in addition to my above questions : do you offer unfiltered data feeds?

 

[Jason Rogers]

fxcm international participates in rebate schemes. does or will fxcm-australia do the same?

do you offer improved trading conditions for larger accounts?

in addition to my above questions : do you offer unfiltered data feeds?

I'm going to check on the rebate availability through FXCM Australia and get back to you on it.

Our improved trading conditions program is based off of trading volume on the active trader platform. Since FXCM is making money off of the amount of volume going through our system, we reward our high volume clients.

On the regular platform, there is a pip markup on the spread we get from the bank, and that is how we are making money. On the active trader program, you receive spreads without a mark-up and a commission is charged instead. The higher your monthly trading volume, the smaller the commission that can be offered. To get more details on the active trader program, what you should do is contact the Sydney office and speak with someone directly about the commission structure.

 

[amaro]

Well a lot of people trade on or during the news time, and I found couple reliable brokers, who do not widen their spreads as much as FXCM, and all that recent movement of US based account to AU and now to UK... what's up with that???? It seems fishy to me... I mean you are a big company but sometimes stability is good.

 

[CFD]

amaro, I don't get the point of your post. Regardless of whether you trade with fxcm or not, it's good that their rep. gives us the time of day. Also there is a very good reason for many in the USA to seek O/S accounts at this time.

 

[Jason Rogers]

Well a lot of people trade on or during the news time, and I found couple reliable brokers, who do not widen their spreads as much as FXCM, and all that recent movement of US based account to AU and now to UK... what's up with that???? It seems fishy to me... I mean you are a big company but sometimes stability is good.

Hi Amaro,

Some brokers may keep spreads fixed during news events, but whether you can actually trade on those spreads is another question. That's most likely when you're going to be re-quoted by a dealer because they're not necessarily showing you the actual price they're willing to accept a trade at. Our no dealing desk model allows traders to more accurately gauge market volatility and trading risk as FXCM prices come directly from multiple global banks and not through a proxy market like those offered by market maker firms.

The recent news about clients moving from FXCM US to FXCM UK doesn't really concern FXCM Australia, but I'll give some background on the situation so everyone knows what is happening.

The National Futures Association (our regulator in the US) recently made two new rule changes to (1) ban hedging and (2) require FXCM to institute First In First Out (FIFO) ticket management. FIFO means the first trade you opened (for a currency pair) has to be the first trade you close (for that same currency pair). You can no longer choose the order in which you individually close out tickets if you have multiple tickets in the same currency pair. These rule changes only apply to FXCM US and not FXCM Australia so it won't have any effect on FXCM Australia accounts.

Stability in trading is very important which is why we're allowing clients to move from FXCM US to FXCM UK by submitting an online opt-in form without having to submit any new documentation. This way our FXCM US clients have the stability of being able to continue trading as they always have.

-Jason