Fxcm Spreads

[tar]

All brokers do it. The "Active Trader Account" - over 300k is on the Left and the standard account is on the Right. Let me state that again so that there is no confusion. The "Active Trader Account" - on the Left, has a wider spread than the "Standard Account" on the right.

The difference between the Active Trader Account and the Standard Account is this:
- The Active Trader Account has consistently made money for several months
- The Standard Account is new and has not

FXCM is by no means the only broker that does this, I hold no grudge and continue to refer traders to FXCM. Slippage and wide spreads always, and I do mean always begin to appear after an account makes money for a few months. The broker is irrelevant. MT4 platforms are notorious for this, and if you have any doubts you may call Metaquotes, explain to them that you are going to open up a retail forex brokerage and eventually they will upsell you on add-ons that you may use, as a broker, to discourage your annoying, profitable traders.


See this post for another trader's test of another large forex broker - Pipscooper's post in the middle of the page -----> http://www.elitetrader.com/vb/showthread.php?threadid=56137&perpage=6&pagenumber=19

mate standard account spreads is not that low , the spreads on the right of the screen shot is far from reality ...i think the left of the screen is the standard account and the right of the screen is the active trader one ...

 

[Black Swan]

mate standard account spreads is not that low , the spreads on the right of the screen shot is far from reality ...i think the left of the screen is the standard account and the right of the screen is the active trader one ...

Hi Tar, things good with you? If you look at the first screenshot on the right it shows a balance of circa 134K, and those are the kinda spreads experienced with active trader..although eur/usd can be 0.5 with decent fills...

This guy has an agenda, not many of us that don't on T2W these days..

 

[tar]

Hi Tar, things good with you? If you look at the first screenshot on the right it shows a balance of circa 134K, and those are the kinda spreads experienced with active trader..although eur/usd can be 0.5 with decent fills...

This guy has an agenda, not many of us that don't on T2W these days..

@ active trader: i find the commissions not that cheap , MBtrading has better commissions now ,u pay 2.95 per side /100k $ for market orders and they pay u 1.95 per side /100k $ for limit orders ...

 

[Barramundi]

This guy has an agenda, not many of us that don't on T2W these days..

Clearly, and I was too polite to begin with. Unless he comes up with solid evidence to back up his claim, as you've requested, he will come off looking a right proper twit. As if you're not going to notice your spreads suddenly tripling and staying there....

 

[FX_jake]

Jake, I have a standard account and my spreads are comparable to the ones on the left. I would never expect to be offered spreads as tight as those on the right with a standard FXCM account. It just doesn't make sense that spreads could be that tight, given that FXCM widens the spread to make their cut....

That's interesting, I thought retail forex brokers made their money on blown accounts. Perhaps more than 5% of the traders out there do make money, in which case I do feel sorry for the retail forex brokers, only making a pip or so on each trade.

I wonder why so many people are scrambling to setup retail forex shops in Europe, perhaps the 2-5m per month figure is incorrect.

 

[Barramundi]

That's interesting, I thought retail forex brokers made their money on blown accounts. Perhaps more than 5% of the traders out there do make money, in which case I do feel sorry for the retail forex brokers, only making a pip or so on each trade.

I wonder why so many people are scrambling to setup retail forex shops in Europe, perhaps the 2-5m per month figure is incorrect.

I have only discussed FXCM, which make their money from widening spreads, a risk free way to make a dollar. I wouldn't mind making a pip on every trade without risk - I would lap them up til the sun went down.

You still haven't shown us any evidence that the spreads on the right are from a standard account.....where is the image from?

 

[Jason Rogers]

Do my eyes deceive me? On the right can I see a balance of 138K (suggesting Active Trader account)...?

You'll notice the account balance was cut off on the second screenshot. The account on the right is an active trader account with reduced spreads and the one on the left a standard 10k account.

 

[Barramundi]

You'll notice the account balance was cut off on the second screenshot. The account on the right is an active trader account with reduced spreads and the one on the left a standard 10k account.

Thanks Jason. I don't think we were ever in much doubt about that. What I want to know is why FX_Jake is spluttering such nonsense with these false claims....

 

[Truth Seeker]

That doesn't change the fact that FXCM are being taken to court for underhand tricks and ripping off traders. I myself have noticed my fills are being slipped alot more than when I started trading with FXCM. This is no good to me as I feel their spreads are wide enough.

 

[Jason Rogers]

That doesn't change the fact that FXCM are being taken to court for underhand tricks and ripping off traders. I myself have noticed my fills are being slipped alot more than when I started trading with FXCM. This is no good to me as I feel their spreads are wide enough.

The same law firm is going on a hunting expedition against 9 separate brokers as you can see by the email they sent out (http://forums.babypips.com/fxcm/380...ainst-fxcm-fraud-racketeering.html#post247647) .

Slippage both for or against you is possible with FXCM's No Dealing Desk forex execution as it is in any market. Your orders are being executed back to back with one of multiple banks or financial institutions therefore the market factors of supply and demand play a role. If liquidity is available at the price you requested in your order, then the trade is done. If liquidity at the price you requested is not available, then the order is filled at the next best available price or rejected, depending on how you have setup the order.

Likewise for spreads. More than ten market makers feed prices to FXCM. Our Best Bid/ Offer Engine (BBOE), selects the best Buy price and the best Sell price, creating the best spread available. Next, FXCM automatically adds a markup to either side, which is essentially a commission. This markup is how FXCM makes money. The best spread plus markup is shown to our clients on their trading screens as a tradable price.

We have put together a video which displays how all of this works:

 

[Truth Seeker]

The same law firm is going on a hunting expedition against 9 separate brokers as you can see by the email they sent out (http://forums.babypips.com/fxcm/380...ainst-fxcm-fraud-racketeering.html#post247647) .

Slippage both for or against you is possible with FXCM's No Dealing Desk forex execution as it is in any market. Your orders are being executed back to back with one of multiple banks or financial institutions therefore the market factors of supply and demand play a role. If liquidity is available at the price you requested in your order, then the trade is done. If liquidity at the price you requested is not available, then the order is filled at the next best available price or rejected, depending on how you have setup the order.

Likewise for spreads. More than ten market makers feed prices to FXCM. Our Best Bid/ Offer Engine (BBOE), selects the best Buy price and the best Sell price, creating the best spread available. Next, FXCM automatically adds a markup to either side, which is essentially a commission. This markup is how FXCM makes money. The best spread plus markup is shown to our clients on their trading screens as a tradable price.

We have put together a video which displays how all of this works:

I know how the markets work, I've been in this game for ten years. You guys make me laugh when you mention liquidity, we are talking about the FX market, not a penny share! It's funny how Oanda doesn't have the same liquidity problem you seem to be experiencing. In my 4 years trading with FXCM I have never once had a fill slippage in my favour. I started to get more slippage after my account was pulling in on average 2k per week, and when it rose past 5k, the games really began. Coincidence?

 

[Jason Rogers]

I know how the markets work, I've been in this game for ten years. You guys make me laugh when you mention liquidity, we are talking about the FX market, not a penny share! It's funny how Oanda doesn't have the same liquidity problem you seem to be experiencing. In my 4 years trading with FXCM I have never once had a fill slippage in my favour. I started to get more slippage after my account was pulling in on average 2k per week, and when it rose past 5k, the games really began. Coincidence?

Oanda's a market maker so the liquidity and pricing available is directly dependent on what they are willing to offer since they are making the market. The same goes for the spreads. Every US broker registered by the NFA/CFTC is required to disclose in their trading agreement how their forex execution works, so you can verify this as well.

I find this paradox from traders such as yourself interesting since on the one hand traders want a trading environment free of the conflict of interest posed by trading directly against your broker acting as the market maker which can control pricing, liquidity etc over the trading environment. Yet when you're trading with NDD forex execution in which pricing, liquidity, spreads, etc is determined on a competitive basis and you're trading in an anonymous environment, you think it is being controlled by FXCM.

The sugar coated market you seek is only available through a market maker which controls the complete trading environment, but you also have to live with the conflict of interest posed by your broker potentially profiting from your trading losses and having the ability to employ trading restrictions and re-quotes.

 

[tar]

I know how the markets work, I've been in this game for ten years. You guys make me laugh when you mention liquidity, we are talking about the FX market, not a penny share! It's funny how Oanda doesn't have the same liquidity problem you seem to be experiencing. In my 4 years trading with FXCM I have never once had a fill slippage in my favour. I started to get more slippage after my account was pulling in on average 2k per week, and when it rose past 5k, the games really began. Coincidence?

Delayed executions ?

How much slippage ?

 

[Truth Seeker]

Delayed executions yes, that means there was a delay between my click to buy and the actual trade going through. A delay of five+ seconds for me costs me profits.

Slippage of between two up to six pips somedays per trade, a real profit killer with my method I was using then. You call them and they say it's the market, blah blah blah. True to the extent it's their market you're trading, but it wasn't happening on Oanda at the same time. Draw your own conclusions. If you're scalping or going for small moves, forget it, coupled with their spreads and slippage you won't make it.
If you have a method where you don't need tight spreads and don't mind having up to six pips taken off either side, and can still make money, go for it, after all it's Tax free

 

[Barramundi]

I started to get more slippage after my account was pulling in on average 2k per week, and when it rose past 5k, the games really began. Coincidence?

Did you increase your trading volumes during this period? Do you mind me asking what volumes/pairs/timeslot you were trading and getting so much slippage on?

 

[Laurel]

Delayed executions yes, that means there was a delay between my click to buy and the actual trade going through. A delay of five+ seconds for me costs me profits.

Slippage of between two up to six pips somedays per trade, a real profit killer with my method I was using then. You call them and they say it's the market, blah blah blah. True to the extent it's their market you're trading, but it wasn't happening on Oanda at the same time. Draw your own conclusions. If you're scalping or going for small moves, forget it, coupled with their spreads and slippage you won't make it.
If you have a method where you don't need tight spreads and don't mind having up to six pips taken off either side, and can still make money, go for it, after all it's Tax free

So many complains against FXCM.

I am not trading with them and planned to open an account. But it seems it doesn't worth to open an account with fxopen. I will stick with oanda.

 

[tar]

So many complains against FXCM.

I am not trading with them and planned to open an account. But it seems it doesn't worth to open an account with fxopen. I will stick with oanda.

u mean FXCM ...

 

[Jason Rogers]

So many complains against FXCM.

I am not trading with them and planned to open an account. But it seems it doesn't worth to open an account with fxopen. I will stick with oanda.

Hi Laurel,

Please feel free to let me know if you have any questions about FXCM and I would be happy to help.

Whenever trading in the forex market, it's important to understand the risks of trading (such as slippage and spreads), AND also the type of execution your broker is using.

There are basically two types of execution in the forex market: dealing desk and no dealing desk (also referred to as straight through processing). A dealing desk broker is making the market. This means they control the prices you see on the platform, the spreads, the amount of liquidity at each price they quote, and the market movement. While their pricing may follow the general market, they can directly control pricing and liquidity since they are making the market. When you send an order to a dealing desk broker, the broker takes the other side of the trade and then manages the risk. If the broker decides not to offset your trade, it means they are trading directly against you. When you profit, they lose. When you lose, they profit. This creates a conflict of interest because they could profit when you lose.

FXCM uses No Dealing Desk forex execution. FXCM receives prices from global banks, financial institutions, and other market makers int he foreign exchange market. Our best bid/offer engine sorts those prices and chooses the best prices available. You then see that best bid and ask price on the platform plus a mark-up (which is essentially a commission for FXCM). The spreads will automatically vary according to the best prices coming from the banks. Whenever you place an order on FXCM's NDD forex execution, trade is executed back to back with the liquidity provider that quoted the price. The risk from your trade is offset with the liquidity provider, and FXCM has earned the pip mark-up or commission off of the trade.

The two videos on our website go into more detail about NDD vs. dealing desk execution http://www.fxcm.com/fxcm-forex-execution.jsp.

-Jason

 

[Shaun12uk]

Not going to get any business from me Jason until your spreads become more competitive especially taking slippage into consideration as an additional factor.

 

[maxima]

So many complains against FXCM..

there are no complaints. there are 2-3 clowns who dedicated their time to splash dirt on fxcm. or paid for.