With all of the non ECN brokers, there are various problems. You have to pick one with inadequacies that wont hurt your trading strategy.
This is what I have found from various spreadbetting and non-SP brokers I have traded live with.
SmartLive:
Pros: MT4 platform. Never had a stop slipped. Never had spread widened during news.
Cons: Requotes often. Platform hangs or goes down at least once a week. Limited historical data and gaps in live data on charts.
IGIndex:
Pros: Requotes less often than SLM. Platform down maybe once a month. Spreads not widened during news.
Cons: Stoploss frequently slipped even when no news. I get the feeling this is to make you pay more for guaranteed stops. No MT4 platform.
OandA:
Pros: MT4 platform. Haven't had stop slipped or requotes.
Cons: Spread widened by as much as 20 pips during news which will knock you out of a trade.
FXPro:
Pros: MT4 platform. Comprehensive historical data.
Cons: Platform tends to go down around fast moves/news.
Of course, with real ECN brokers, you are trading the futures market which means the minimum euro lot size works out to £12.50 a pip. So you pays your money and takes your choice!
This is what I have found from various spreadbetting and non-SP brokers I have traded live with.
SmartLive:
Pros: MT4 platform. Never had a stop slipped. Never had spread widened during news.
Cons: Requotes often. Platform hangs or goes down at least once a week. Limited historical data and gaps in live data on charts.
IGIndex:
Pros: Requotes less often than SLM. Platform down maybe once a month. Spreads not widened during news.
Cons: Stoploss frequently slipped even when no news. I get the feeling this is to make you pay more for guaranteed stops. No MT4 platform.
OandA:
Pros: MT4 platform. Haven't had stop slipped or requotes.
Cons: Spread widened by as much as 20 pips during news which will knock you out of a trade.
FXPro:
Pros: MT4 platform. Comprehensive historical data.
Cons: Platform tends to go down around fast moves/news.
Of course, with real ECN brokers, you are trading the futures market which means the minimum euro lot size works out to £12.50 a pip. So you pays your money and takes your choice!
Smart Live Markets
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Hi
If you are getting re-quotes dealing in normal market conditions then please let us know.
Thank you.
Regards
SLM
Smart Live Markets
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OK, you want a comment. Then here we go.
Arbitrage is one thing. That is dealing on market price discrepancies. This actually provides the market with a service, as it brings it into line.
Knowingly dealing on wrong prices is a totally different thing, and here is the proof:
If you were arbitraging you would be selling to us and buying from someone else, thus locking in your profit for example. That is how arbitrage works.
However, if you are deliberately dealing on a price you know is wrong in the hope that it is fixed very quickly and then take your profit, with the same firm, then that is not arbitrage. Some might say that is attempted fraud.
So, if you knowingly deal on an incorrect price then we will not tolerate that.
That is not what we are here for. Yes we will invoke our Manifest Error rule in such cases. If you do not understand the logic, the reason or the fairness behind that then please close your account, before we do.
We are in business to help clients make money from a difficult market using a very sophisticated platform, in a tax free environment. There is a small element, as there always is, who try to take advantage of situations, if and when there is a problem.
We will usually take this on the chin. But when it transpires that this is all they do, then what is the point?
We do all we can to help genuine clients, and are delighted when then make money, as that means our hedges have made money and the clients will usually trade more regularly.
We will never please all of the people all of the time, but most people who use us actually to trade seem very happy.
Also, for the avoidance of doubt, every trading company or broker in the world as a clause in the T&Cs for such eventualities. It is not there to have over the clients, but the other way around.
Regards
SLM
Smart Live Markets
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Smart Live Markets
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Hello
With the greatest or respect to you, that is not the case.
I have worked in the spread betting industry for over 10 years and in the banking industry for 10 years prior to that.
Perhaps you could let us all know where your knowledge comes from??
Spread betting firms do not 'spike' the data. The prices they use are market prices. If there is a spike it is usually because a large sudden order went through, or some new announcement or some price error. If the spike was not real then they would be breaking FSA rules if they enforced it. I am not sure who you have been dealing with, but it certainly was not with us.
Yes we run residual positions. Of course we do. As you said we allow people to bet in GBP and we have to hedge in USD or JPY or whatever. We also let people trade in 10 pence, perhaps you could let me know how I am meant to hedge 10p a point of Vodafone?
All I can say is that if you have really personally experienced any of your comments then get onto the Financial Ombudsman Service. That is what they are there for.
Regards
SLM
StealthTrading
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good one! you are having a laugh right!You're a bookie like all other SP companies and you will certainly tweak things in your favour.
Personally I couldn't make money on SLM Platform, just always getting stopped out which I found very odd. Requotes are expected as you make your own price based on market price so nothing we can do about that. I suppose that's the crap that comes with tax free trading.
Using a real DMA connection is the only way to trade the real market price. Aplrai Pro or Prospreads offer DMA and they certainly can't tweak price. I'd rather pay for a better service than be fooled by a bookie.
We can only ever deal on the price that we see on our screen.
This guy might have only ever dealt on a "bad" price which I agree is wrong, but he can only do this if the price he is being fed is "bad". So if SLM system wasn't delaying/freezing or whatever the price in any manner him/we wouldn't be able to deal on a "bad" price.
I have done and the situation did not improve.
A friend who I recommended to SLM (and wish I hadn't) is also getting requotes.
There's really no excuse for this.
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B
Black Swan
Hmm...I think you need to gauge why you'd actually use an SB platform/firm..
I made a point very early on in this thread that despite their best efforts SML were really up against it given the legacy competiton that's already out there. Having Meta trader as a usp is simply not enough.
The likes of CMC/City/CS/IG/FXCM are light years ahead and imho the only way you can enter this business as a player is either by having huge backing from, for example, a swf who wants to get into this market, or being a white label..I honestly don't see how SML can ever grow. Love to be proved wrong..only time will tell
Hmm...I think you need to gauge why you'd actually use an SB platform/firm..
I made a point very early on in this thread that despite their best efforts SML were really up against it given the legacy competiton that's already out there. Having Meta trader as a usp is simply not enough.
The likes of CMC/City/CS/IG/FXCM are light years ahead and imho the only way you can enter this business as a player is either by having huge backing from, for example, a swf who wants to get into this market, or being a white label..I honestly don't see how SML can ever grow. Love to be proved wrong..only time will tell
One thing that might help is when you're about to open a bet and notice that IG's spread on a share is nearly six times as wide as SLM's.
Hmm...I think you need to gauge why you'd actually use an SB platform/firm..
I made a point very early on in this thread that despite their best efforts SML were really up against it given the legacy competiton that's already out there. Having Meta trader as a usp is simply not enough.
The likes of CMC/City/CS/IG/FXCM are light years ahead and imho the only way you can enter this business as a player is either by having huge backing from, for example, a swf who wants to get into this market, or being a white label..I honestly don't see how SML can ever grow. Love to be proved wrong..only time will tell
I of course do not know SLM's business plan, but I would imagine that they would not consider other SB firms their main competition, the very fact that one of their main USP's is the MT4 platform suggests to me that they are competing with other retail market maker forex brokers that offer MT4 as this is the most popular platform within the retail forex world. Thus their competition would be the likes of Alpari UK, FxPro, IBFX at the micro account level who are all market makers which offer the MT4 platform and targeted at the retail end of the market...thus if SLM are offering the same platform with comparable spreads with the same execution reliability then for UK residents it would be a no brainer to use them due to the tax advantage (together with the FSA regulation and compensation scheme etc.). This IMO is where their main opportunity lies.
B
Black Swan
But they're not FX solus are they and the execution and reliabilty is suspect isn't it? And they'll never move away from the micro sector until they prove they have that nailed. Wish them well but imho they'll never climb the hill, it's just too steep. I still have suspicions over their backing/just how strong they are..They need to sell up and quit whilst they're b/e imho.
Not sure what you mean by the text underlined?
From my experiences of them they are no worse than other market makers in the FX world in terms of execution and reliability and their spreads are better than IBFX and Alpari UK. You will never get as good reliability and execution with a market maker as you would an ECN broker but this of course isn't there aim.
Most people that trade Forex, whether its via a SB firm of FX broker has a small account, the average retail traders is a small trader trading from micro lots up to maybe couple lots and this this area of the market is very large within itself...hence why Alpari UK, IBFX and GOMarkets to name a few are all very popular within the FX retail world...they are all market makers desigined for the small retail trader with a relatively small account...with all of these (less so Go as they are STP) you will get re-quotes, execution delays, platform crashed and increased spreads...it's the very nature of a market maker, but as long as you know this, build into your trading business and it's the exception and not the norm.
From my usage of SLM and my experiences with market makers in the FX world that offer micro lots I'd say SLM has on average better spreads (dependent on what you trade I guess) equal reliability and execution and of course has the one advantage others don't have in that any profits are take free.
So for the market segment I think they are targetting I think they are pretty good and I know a few people who switched from Alpari UK to trade with them for these reasons. But this is just my view (P.S. I dont use them anymore as I prefer ECN brokers)
B
Black Swan
You've done it again, you continually stress SML/FX when the range of markets they cover is in fact too vast for them to handle as a tiny player. That brings them potentially many problems. These problems you refer to; platform death, platform freeze, slippage, re-quotes, increased spreads..I can count on one hand how many times it's happened to me so far this year.
BTW how do you meet these people you know who have switched to SML, do you go to a support group or something? As for the tax free angle that's particular bo11ox given they target micro punters who will never make ten grand in a year..
BTW, anyone ever seen them advertise..anywhere? Do they have a marketing/advertising budget?
Not quite sure what your point is here, I refer to FX as that is what I trade and have experience off in relation to the FX broker market and thus this is what I was comparing them too and what their likely competition is in the FX world i.e. other market makers and not other SB firms.
I know a lot of traders because it is my full time occupation.
That is a decent point in relation to tax, but then it's more of a general SB point...why would any new or small trader trade forex through an SB firm when they are likely to not make more than the CGT exemption.
francisfinley
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:whistling
Baby Clanger
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