Two VERY different things, of course, but I know what you mean. From my own experiences (limited, but aren't they all, necessarily, with a "young company"?) I can really recommend Capital Spreads. You just have to decide whether the limited trading hours are going to be a problem for you. I decided they weren't.GammaJammer said:
JTrader
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Hi Roberto
I'm just wondering what type of service do Capital Spreads offer with forex trading (EURUSD) inparticular. Do they offer instant automatic executions or guaranteed fills, no requotes, limit and stop limit orders, trailing stop loss, etc.........It would be really good to find a spreadbet firm that offers a forex trading service comparable with the good retail fx brokers - are capital spreads anywhere close?
In what ways are the trading hours limited?
Cheers
jtrader.
I'm just wondering what type of service do Capital Spreads offer with forex trading (EURUSD) inparticular. Do they offer instant automatic executions or guaranteed fills, no requotes, limit and stop limit orders, trailing stop loss, etc.........It would be really good to find a spreadbet firm that offers a forex trading service comparable with the good retail fx brokers - are capital spreads anywhere close?
In what ways are the trading hours limited?
Cheers
jtrader.
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Hi
having spoken with Capital Spreads CS people, it would seem that their spreadbetting service is pretty much comparable with CMC spreadbet in most ways - but slightly better in a few ways - such as lower margin requirements. This is what I was led to believe................
I was told that orders are not executed automatically - they have about five staff members manually confirming all orders - which normally takes 2-5 seconds. However, the price you click on is the price you get regardless. However, they will soon be revamping the system so that orders up to maybe £100 per pip are automatically executed.
If the underlying market is quoting a 10 pip spread - they will maintain a 3 pip spread with the 10 pip spread - and again the price you click on is the price you are filled at - no requotes or slippage.
They may well not execute trades around major economic news releases.
margin requirements of around £40 @ £1 per pip on EURUSD.
They have never made a margin call to any client in around 1 year of business.
They only hedge positions when the value of the position is $2000,000 or more, and this will not affect the speed of the trades execution.
They have stop, limit orders, and are working on introducing "if done" orders.
jtrader.
Sorry, jtrader, I didn't see your earlier post, but now it seems like you've got the answers you wanted directly from CapitalSpreads. I see absolutely nothing in your post above which conflicts in any way with my experiences and impressions of them. Their customer service is probably second-to-none for a SB firm. The trading hours are basically 7.00am to 9.15pm (some things are until 9.00pm). You can hold futures and "rolling" positons overnight, of course, but can't do anything with them until 7.00am the next day! As mentioned above, the very long thread here called "Capital Spreads" is definitely worth reading. A lot of information in there, and as many members have rightly said, they are to be highly commended indeed for the way in which one of their Directors answers any and all questions so transparently, in public.
Previously on this forum I was advised to have accounts with at least two SB firms.
Capital Spreads being the first, but D4F getting far too much flak here and in other threads.
As there is no point having a forum to communally point out the ropey operations
only to end up using them through lack of suitable alternatives,
who then outside CS and D4F/CMC would be the best choice for a backup/second SB firm?
Are there then any recommendations for other examples (that can be specifically classed as
spreadbetting firms that specialise in forex?)
Capital Spreads being the first, but D4F getting far too much flak here and in other threads.
As there is no point having a forum to communally point out the ropey operations
only to end up using them through lack of suitable alternatives,
who then outside CS and D4F/CMC would be the best choice for a backup/second SB firm?
Are there then any recommendations for other examples (that can be specifically classed as
spreadbetting firms that specialise in forex?)
jtrader said:
I imagine this is in response to something I wrote so thought I would answer it !
IG Markets do not charge for holding a position intra day - if it is held overnight then there is an adjustment that can be for or against you depending on the relative interest rate. I don't know how Oanda charge as have never used them.
Both IG and ODL quote me and other people I know 2 pips on the euro. Ring them and ask what they will do for you. Depending on the size of your transactions I am sure they would give you 2 pips.
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I think I prefer this way (bold outline) of operating to all others. This way, although you may not be aware of problems/a lack of liquidity in the underlying market - you know that if you are already in a trade - you can get out of it within the same 3 pip spread.
My second preferred option is whereby the retail broker mirrors large spreads in the underlying market - as do Oanda. If you see that that the EURUSD spread has widened to 10 pips you simply do not enter. But if you are already in a trade - when you exit the trade - you canl lose through the spread increase. But at least this system is transparent.
The least favourable option for me would be when the retail broker maintains a "superficial cover" 3 pip spread at all times - but will not execute without a requote - if the underlying market spread has widened beyond the 10 pips. This gives you the impression that all is well in the market - when perhaps it isn't. But at least you can decide if you want to accept the requoted price.
jtrader.
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Hi
through reading a comprehensive review of the Oanda FXTrade platfrom - by ERA - I have learned the following -
This does sound expensive. I am used to not paying to withdraw my money with CMC.
Also I learned that -
Is it possible to set audio alerts on the FXTrade platform - in order to highlight when the spreads have become wider or narrower on a particular currency pair?
Many thanks
jtrader.
through reading a comprehensive review of the Oanda FXTrade platfrom - by ERA - I have learned the following -
First withdrawal in a calendar month is 40 euro and any other in the month is 15 Eurr £25 for first and £15 for second, and in USD acc international transfer is $40 and $15 for subsequent.. So maybe a tip for regular monthly withdrawers is to make first withdrawal at the beginning of the month and second just before the end of the month and then skip the next month and do the same in the subsequent month,saves a little.
This does sound expensive. I am used to not paying to withdraw my money with CMC.
Also I learned that -
Is it possible to set audio alerts on the FXTrade platform - in order to highlight when the spreads have become wider or narrower on a particular currency pair?
Many thanks
jtrader.
jtrader said:
Hi jtrader,
No there is no audio alert faciliies at all, I hadn't thought of that, and think it would be a useful addition. Its quick and effective as a platform but lack the bells and whistles
They do show graphs of their speads over the last 7 day period this is ongoing, and is available at the bottom of the FX rates table at www.fxtrade.oanda.com , in the interest of transparency.
I also picked this interesting bit of info off their site, I see previously in this thread a lot of talk about SB, this is enough to put people of trades with wide spreads for life.
Here goes....
''.......the FXTrade client, spreads are important because they significantly affect the overall profitability of a particular trading strategy. A professional trader who opens and closes a position once per day, pays approximately 5 percent in spread costs per unit of market exposure during the course of a year. For example, with an average leverage of two for his trading strategy (e.g., 1 Mio USD in capital with an average position size of 2 Mio USD), the trader pays 10 percent in spread costs on his equity base. With an annual return objective of 15 percent on his equity, the spread costs amount to 66 percent of his return. If the trader has to pay an average of 3 basis points as opposed to 2 basis points, the same trading strategy will only yield 10 percent as opposed to the targeted 15 percent return. For a trader executing 5 trades per day, the annual spread cost per unit of exposure is 25 percent. With an average leverage of two and a return target of 25 percent, his spread costs are 200 percent of his return. If the trader has to pay 3 basis points spread as opposed to 2, the same trading strategy that was highly profitable at 2 basis points will not generate a profit at all.....''
And this talking about 2 or 3 point spreads, when it gets to 5-8 points like SB its quite scary. Food for thought.
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Thanks ERA.
as you mentioned the Oanda spreads can also widen. This on the one hand is useful as it shows you when there is volatility in the underlying market and can serve as a warning/deterrent about when not to open a trade. However, if you enter a trade under normal spread conditions, and the spread suddenly widens - leading you to want to exit the market - you will get hit in the pocket on the exit spread............
but at least this system mirrors the underlying market..........
I like the idea of audio alerts - particularly when the spread widens - as you would then not need to keep a close eye on the spreads yourself..........
I like the idea of a broker like CapitalSpreads - who say that they will maintain their (EURUSD3 pip) spread and execute trades without slippage - even if the underlying market widens to a 10 pip spread. But then the Oanda spread is usually 1.8-2 pips - so its a case of weighing up where you think your interests lie.
CapitalSpreads did however say that they do not/may not execute trades around major news releases.
Both of these options are however better, in my opinion, than a broker who maintains a superficial 3 pip spread on the surface - but then if you were to try and trade at that price - they would requote you.
I also found it interesting that you said in your review that you have not had any problems with the FXTrade platform/web browser in 14 months.
Cheers
jtrader.
