Max,
You don’t have a free choice re front-end – it has to compatible with their systems, and especially with regards to their oversight and control of traders. If this is not X-trader, it will still be an expensive alternative. I think it reasonable to assume 100% of arcades offer X-Trader, with maybe one or two alternatives. I’d be very surprised if Ninja Turtle Heroes is one of them since this is tied to specific quote vendors (correct me if I’m wrong) but not Reuters, Bloomberg, CQG. However, a price feed is not necessary for X-Trader – it also provides exchange prices. X-Trader charting via X-Study is problematic – a big grey area.
Although low volume, remote traders may not be as expensive to accommodate as the in-house traders, reluctance by some companies may be due to a lack of differentiation in back-office/support/admin costs. If these are fixed-costs, then higher volume traders are more cost effective.
“Remote” trading is cheaper, but it is still very expensive, as Advent illustrates. The only saving as far as I can see is the desk fee (although relocation/rent, etc will need to be included if moving to London).
The absolute minimum as far as I know are £20,000 trading capital, 2000 lots/round-trips per month. And then you have the fixed monthly costs to cover: X-Trader (£420 - £650 plus vat according to some), VPN (£100), one-off access/set-up fee (£100 - £500, but not all charge this), 80/20, 70/30 profit split (this could be based on net profit, gross profit, or drawings from account regardless of profit of loss; some take none but could be as high as 50/50). Then you have to make a good profit to breakeven.
Strings are attached to everything unfortunately.
Grant.