Who to trade with? Scalping EUR/USD, IB *was* perfect... :(

[Weatsop]

And why the hell do so many Forex-specialist platforms default to having no stops attached to the orders? Do people seriously enter without stops? What if a backhoe goes through your powerline? Man, my balls are retracting into my body from sheer terror, just thinking about it. And some folk are using 400:1! God-damn horror movie script, right there...

MT4 (apparently the most popular forex platform around) not only defaults to no-stop, I can't even see how to make it remember the stop I do like. So every time I need to create the entry, then tick "Stop" and enter "-10" before I can hit ok (since the default stop is, get this, 0.1 of a pip - you might as well just write a check and send it to your broker!).

And you can't even do that with their one-click trading,only with the right-click order-entry. One-click-entries never have an attached stop!

Who trades without stops? Even for a few seconds? Why would you, ever? Even if it's a mile out of the action, damn, have *something*.

 

[barney]

And why the hell do so many Forex-specialist platforms default to having no stops attached to the orders? Do people seriously enter without stops? What if a backhoe goes through your powerline? Man, my balls are retracting into my body from sheer terror, just thinking about it. And some folk are using 400:1! God-damn horror movie script, right there...

MT4 (apparently the most popular forex platform around) not only defaults to no-stop, I can't even see how to make it remember the stop I do like. So every time I need to create the entry, then tick "Stop" and enter "-10" before I can hit ok (since the default stop is, get this, 0.1 of a pip - you might as well just write a check and send it to your broker!).

And you can't even do that with their one-click trading,only with the right-click order-entry. One-click-entries never have an attached stop!

Who trades without stops? Even for a few seconds? Why would you, ever? Even if it's a mile out of the action, damn, have *something*.

Its painful no doubt about it Weat ......

As soon as you enter your trade and go straight to modify or delete order, the amount of "stop pips and take profit pips" you enter for that trade should remain the "default" amount for the next trade you do, which means at least the next time you have to go through the laborious process it is quicker. If it is reverting back to the Platform default of 0.01 or whatever, that would be totally dodgy

The only other solution ....... If you have a trade to place, (say a buy on the EUR/USD), place a Sell Stop at your stop loss point before you enter your BUY trade ..... Its still laborious, but with one click trading its fairly quick ..... If the Platform goes down before you place your trade, at least you are only "naked" on the order, not an open trade which might just give you enough time to fix things if Armageddon happens at an inappropriate time

Third world stuff I know, but it gives the Broker an advantage I guess

 

[Jason Rogers]

Re: Who to trade with? Scalping EUR/USD

In case anyone hits this post on a search, I've settled on FXCM after all - they've got an upcoming price change that'll put their commission to $4 per 100k each way (or about 0.4 pips).

One thing, though, is that they aren't lying - they do have negative spreads pretty often. Whether you can hit it, I can't say, but they do show.

Hi Weatsop,

I'm glad you like FXCM's raw FX spreads, and yes, the negative spreads which you can see in the tick chart below are tradable. One way to benefit from negative spreads is through the positive slippage FXCM offers. For example, if you place an order to buy EUR/USD when the spread is 0.2 pips, but the spread improves to -0.1 when your order is filled, then you will benefit from that price improvement. A recent six-month study looking at over 43 million trades executed through FXCM showed that our clients benefited from over $15 million in positive slippage over that time.

​

When comparing our commissions those of another broker, it's worth noting that FXCM charges a flat commission per lot regardless of whether you're trading EUR/USD, USD/JPY or GBP/USD. By contrast, most other brokers will charge you about 60% more in commissions the GBP-based trades (GBP/USD, GBP/JPY) compared to USD-based trades (USD/JPY, USD/CHF), because British pounds are worth about 60% more than US dollars. Another factor to consider is that high volume traders can qualify for even lower commissions through FXCM. Please free to email activetrader@fxcm.com if you are interested in knowing more about that option.

Were they the ones who couldn't attach a stop to your entry? Or was that someone else?

You can definitely attach a stop to your entry orders with FXCM. Perhaps you were thinking of the FIFO order placement restrictions that apply to US traders. However, those are the same for all brokers and would not apply to you in Australia. (Note that FXCM US clients can still set stops at the time they create their entry orders, but in a slightly different way to comply with US FIFO regulations.)

Well, I spent the day with FXCM's platform, and it is bloody awful. I actually logged 4 separate bugs. Serious. And, not a bug, but the demo account was wildly optimistic - it filled my market orders instantly and exactly on the money. LIES!

Found two more bugs in the FXCM platform (including a crash to desktop if you move your stop too often), and MT4 is making me grind my teeth down to nubs.

I haven't heard of any such issues with Trading Station (the platform to which I assume you're referring) and from the over 200,000 retail accounts currently with us. However, if there is a problem with the platform, we want to know about it, so we can fix it. I would be happy to have one of our tech specialists take a look at what's happening on your computer to determine the cause.

Still, might need to see where you can use Ninja nowadays.

FXCM offers NinjaTrader.

 

[>Apocalypto<]

Re: Who to trade with? Scalping EUR/USD

FXCM offers NinjaTrader.

Jason,

do FXCM offer the DAX cfd? spreads of 1 point on London open and is that also with Ninja Trader charting platform?

 

[Raffster]

FXCM - Is there really no trading conflict of interest between FXCM broker and trader

Hey,

I am a trader using FXCM.

I disagree with the statement that is made in FXCM advertising about "No trading conflict of interest between broker and trader".

If that is really the case, then why is it that they disallow a trader having both a short and long open orders on the same currency pair at the same time? If they only make money on the mark-up and aren't a dealing desk as they claim, then why wouldn't they want someone such as myself have as many conflicting trades on the same currency pair open at the same time? Surely they would make more money that way?

Jason, can you explain why?

 

[Jason Rogers]

Re: Who to trade with? Scalping EUR/USD

Jason,

do FXCM offer the DAX cfd? spreads of 1 point on London open and is that also with Ninja Trader charting platform?

Yes Apocalypto

Our CFD for DAX is called GER30, and it's available on all the platforms we offer including NinjaTrader. Here's a list of the CFDs available at FXCM: http://bit.ly/1wTnwvK

 

[Jason Rogers]

Re: FXCM - Is there really no trading conflict of interest between FXCM broker and tr

Hey,

I am a trader using FXCM.

I disagree with the statement that is made in FXCM advertising about "No trading conflict of interest between broker and trader".

If that is really the case, then why is it that they disallow a trader having both a short and long open orders on the same currency pair at the same time? If they only make money on the mark-up and aren't a dealing desk as they claim, then why wouldn't they want someone such as myself have as many conflicting trades on the same currency pair open at the same time? Surely they would make more money that way?

Jason, can you explain why?

Hi Raffster,

First, I want to thank you for being a client of FXCM.

Having both long and short positions in the same currency pair at the same time is called hedging. It's important to understand that FXCM does not prohibit traders from hedging. However, hedging is prohibited by CFTC regulations. That means, if you trade through FXCM US or any other US-regulated entity, then you will not be able to hedge on your trading account.

Your forum profile does not mention where you live, but if you live outside the US, then you can trade through one of our other entities worldwide. FXCM is one of the only retail forex brokers in the world that is regulated on four continents. For example, you could trade though FXCM Australia which is regulated by ASIC. Here's a link to an FXCM Australia practice account which will allow you to hedge: http://bit.ly/17LlFA6

If you live outside the US would like to transfer your FXCM US account to FXCM Australia in order to hedge or trade CFDs, please let me know.

Thanks,
Jason

 

[Raffster]

Re: FXCM - Is there really no trading conflict of interest between FXCM broker and tr

Thanks for your response Jason. I actually live in Australia and trade as far as I know through FXCM in Australia. However, I remember that when I wanted to transfer money into my FXCM account for live trading (1K), the details of the Payee were US based. Does that mean that even though I have signed up to FXCM through the Sydney office, I am really trading under US regulations?

Thanks again,

Raffster

Hi Raffster,

First, I want to thank you for being a client of FXCM.

Having both long and short positions in the same currency pair at the same time is called hedging. It's important to understand that FXCM does not prohibit traders from hedging. However, hedging is prohibited by CFTC regulations. That means, if you trade through FXCM US or any other US-regulated entity, then you will not be able to hedge on your trading account.

Your forum profile does not mention where you live, but if you live outside the US, then you can trade through one of our other entities worldwide. FXCM is one of the only retail forex brokers in the world that is regulated on four continents. For example, you could trade though FXCM Australia which is regulated by ASIC. Here's a link to an FXCM Australia practice account which will allow you to hedge: http://bit.ly/17LlFA6

If you live outside the US would like to transfer your FXCM US account to FXCM Australia in order to hedge or trade CFDs, please let me know.

Thanks,
Jason

 

[>Apocalypto<]

Re: FXCM - Is there really no trading conflict of interest between FXCM broker and tr

I am really trading under US regulations?

Thanks again,

Raffster

well it depends where the trades are conducted/routed/processed, from the sounds of it in the US so that would place regulation under CFTC and their current rules and requirements.

I did here of that rule coming in a while ago in the USA... also agree very dumb .

 

[Jason Rogers]

Re: FXCM - Is there really no trading conflict of interest between FXCM broker and tr

Thanks for your response Jason. I actually live in Australia and trade as far as I know through FXCM in Australia. However, I remember that when I wanted to transfer money into my FXCM account for live trading (1K), the details of the Payee were US based. Does that mean that even though I have signed up to FXCM through the Sydney office, I am really trading under US regulations?

Thanks again,

Raffster

well it depends where the trades are conducted/routed/processed, from the sounds of it in the US so that would place regulation under CFTC and their current rules and requirements.

I did here of that rule coming in a while ago in the USA... also agree very dumb .

Hi Raffster,

FXCM has regulated entities worldwide. If your account is with FXCM Australia, then you are trading under ASIC regulations. If you log into MyFXCM.com then you will see the local funding options available to you in Australia.

 

[moyes]

Directfx, GlobalPrime, IC Markets, CLMforex, or Synergy FX...I think all these brokers might be good for scalping. They are all Aussie brokers too.