Hi, I’m still in the process of trying to find a broker, so in comparing different ones, I came across this and wonder if it is anything to be worried about?
I was looking at Pippin’ Ain’t Easy’s Daily Chart set-up’s today, and saw one for the USDJPY -
I then checked it on another brokers chart & there seemed quite a noticeable difference -
You can see that the low of the recent breakout bar on the first image is about 101.60, on the 2nd image it’s 101.46. I checked the bar on FXCM, and the low there was 101.61.
Is that something to worry about, or due to the high volatility to be expected?
It depends on. It could be a pricing error or a liquidity problem. The latter is a bigger issue. Given that the second image is on eToro I would not be surprised if it is due to a liquidity problem.
I've been in that situation before. I agree, that it is difficult to find a trusted broker but I can suggest Trader's Way .. Im a trader at FXKMS and your investment or the money you'll send is safe and I assure you that. hope it helps you :)
The Dark Knight - thanks as well. (Is there a reason you only use the feed from FXCM but place your trades elsewhere? Is it to do with the platforms available?)
Yeah, I will answer your questions… I use the FXCM feed because it’s the most reliable I’ve found over the last 7 years for charting.
In addition, the reason I trade with other brokers is because my clients choose to trade with them for reasons such as, paying a commission instead of a pip spread, pamm accounts are easier to setup at some brokers over others, etc.
One client I trade for has his account with Interactive brokers, which the spread is about a pip or two different from FXCM’s feed which is not really a big deal to me. I also have an account setup with zulutrade for clients with smaller accounts, the spreads there are about the same as FXCM. However, I always take the pip difference into account before making any decisions.
As far as finding inconsistencies on the data feeds, normally you will find these during news events or hours when the market is not as active. I personally try to avoid being in the market during such times.
Regardless of the broker you select, choose one that is registered with the NFA or some other regulation.
This is my favorite find a broker tool. Just fill in the blanks under Broker Cyber Search. Take the list you get from that and click on Compare Broker side by side and compare them to find the best broker that you’re are looking for. I’m not vouching for anything this site is selling if they are. But I find this tool to be a huge time saver if I’m looking for a broker. Good Luck
Gp
No Oanda supporters here? I’m quite surprised. Personally I am not a fan of FXCM. I have adressed this in the past, and I can not stress it enough. Do some diligent research on broker excess capitalization. Oanda has the highest excess capitalization of all the brokers last time I checked. If you happen to make it in the 2% that actually make money in fx, what good is it if you can’t pull it out? I do not work for oanda, but I do use them and they do have excellent spreads. Good luck
I don’t use either one. Right off the bat, Oanda is a market maker. Fxcem is ECNSTP. On the otherhand neither charge a commission except for FXCM on their ECN which is standard. Oanda has a smaller pip spread for eurusd. FXCM has an excellent support person on this site. I don’t believe Oanda does. Both have been around for a long period of time .
So like everything all brokers have their good and bad points. But personally I would not trade with any broker that is a market maker. But if I had to guess why more FXCM than Oanda, I would say support received on this site. Does it not bother you that a market maker pretty much only makes money when you lose?
You do boast some valid points. I appreciate the comparisons. On the flip side Oanda doesn’t need a spokesperson to advertise for them, they have plenty of clients and they rake in many more with ease. Regardless of if the broker makes money off of only losing trades etc, what does it really matter in the grand scheme of things if 98% of people lose everything anyways? Does it bother me Oanda makes money off my losing trades? Sure. Do I hate them for it? Nah. They are smart, they know how to capitalize off opportunity, I mean you gotta give them credit, they do have a smart business model. They make money off my poor judgment, but who made the trade? Them or me?
I haven’t used FXCM’s mobile app In a while, but as far as user friendlyness… cleanliness, and smoothness, Oanda has a very nice mobile platform.
I am curious, if you don’t recommend either, what do you recommend?
Thanks The Dark Knight - its interesting to get an insight into that side of things; as you can probably imagine, I don’t have the same issues to contend with! I take your point fully about a registered broker.
gp00053, Leg0nd - what you’re talking about are the kind of discussions going on in my head right now… Oanda & FXCM are 2 of the brokers I’m trying out, it’s useful for someone in my position to see different points of view actually.
That’s what makes retail trading great. You put your money up and do what you think is right and live with what happens, you can blame the broker, the guru, the information, but like you said you’re the one who made the decision. As I said I don’t deal with either of them, but there are differences most experienced traders would tell you are big differences for retail traders.
I’m not saying they shouldn’t make money and big money as well. Nobody works for free including and especially me. Every part of trading is about making money from pre trade prep to end of session review. The idea from a retail trader’s point of view is to try and put as many probabilities on your side as you can.
So it breaks down like this IMO: Oanda not only makes money when you trade; they also make big money when you lose and lose big money when you win. The difference is FXCM makes money when you trade. Doesn’t matter to them if you win or lose as long as you trade.
But each trader makes their own decision. Now you know that going in, because your schooling at babypips and other learning has taught you the difference between market makers and STP.brokers. So you know that the information you get from a market maker is only after they see it first as well as your trade and takes the other side of your trade, is a big difference from an ECNSTP broker that only matches trades between market participants and cannot trade against the you.
So IMO a Market Maker who buys and sells and takes the other side of the of your trade, not only have a vested interest when you trade, but as well when you lose is not as wise as dealing with a ECNSTP Broker whose only interest is when you trade and if anything have a bigger interest when you win instead of lose.
Sorry I don’t recommend brokers. I recommend how I think you should choose a broker based on your interests. I make my decision about brokers the same way I decide about everything in the forex and everything else for that matter. I gather relevant information 1st that pertains to me and my situation. next I look at the relevant options; and then I choose the least of the evils. So in this case, I would list the parameters I’m looking for using this tool Forex Brokers Comparison
I take the list and compare each broker side by side to see which one offers the most of what I’m looking for. I test demo, support first, then make a small deposit and test their live platform and support. If all goes well I make a larger deposit. From there it’s method, money management and mindset.
My guess is that you are not a retail trader. Rather you trade for an institutuon. Just a guess though. Why else would you not share which broker you use?
Personally I would love to go ECN. I just haven’t figured out exactly how much money I need before it is wise to do so… 5k? 10k? Clearly the 2k I’m depositing is not enough. I fully despise FXCM, I refuse to use them
Your guess would be wrong. Retail trader and I work from an office in my home. There are a couple of reasons why I do not promote brokers, paid courses, software or anything else that is not free; I’m a retail trader in the foreign exchange market and that’s how I make my money. I’m not a salesman/trader, who makes money referring brokers, software etc.
The bigger reason I don’t share or promote brokers or software or specific indicators, is I’m trying to help new and not so new traders learn how to make their own decisions. Cause that’s what they need to do to succeed long term. Not look for someone else to do their work.
If you and I were a couple of flies on the wall and could spy on everyone who viewed this thread, there is no doubt in my mind we would find that their are a lot of traders checking to see what kind of broker they’re dealing with. My broker or brokers are not relevent. How I choose them is what’s relevent.
Anyway like I said don’t use either one, so if you’re happy with Oanda, by all means stay with them.
I like how you think my dude. Very nice. One point hit home in a way you probably didn’t think of. Broker is mostly irrelevant. What’s more relevant is spending the time to build a rock solid strategy, system, technique or whatever you want to call it. If you do not profit from fx, it doesn’t matter if you can’t get the money out etc.
I’m not advertising for Oanda. I love and hate them. I choose them for valid reasons which I believe are very important and most likely completely unthought of to 99% of all the newbs. However. One should focus on the actual trading not some mere .1 pip difference in spread. Happy trading!
Like I said, I don’t deal with either of them. Use a broker you feel comfortable with. All I’m saying is check and make sure you know what you are getting or not getting before you put up any amount of money. As far as how much to deposit, again IMO you deposit what you can afford to lose until you get a trading method that gives you more positive results than negative long term and the patience and discipline to stick to the plan. If you go to the link I provided on the broker search, you can input ECN/STP brokers that offer ECN accounts from $1 up to $100,000. Here’s a video that tells you how you can make sure you have a real ECN account YouTube
I’ve started demos with a couple of brokers from the link provided above - ECN accounts with deposits well under the 2k you mention Leg0nd, micro lots too… Let’s see how it goes.
Thank you. I’m 64 years old, cracks me up when my middle son calls me Dude. Let me add cause it’s amazing to me how some traders spend the time to build a rock solid strategy with rock solid rules, then don’t follow it.
To your point I don’t understand why people spend tons of time learning the trend is your friend, don’t use indicators by themselves, 2% to whatever money management, different trading strategies, then one of the most important items like: I spent all this time building a strategy, following it with patience and discipline finally made money left it in to build my bankroll, now when I can finally enjoy it and want to take my money out. . .this broker doesn’t answer me or worse gives me a line of BS.
My rule of thumb is don’t trust anyone and keep an eye on them always. As I quote my friend thelastbear, "it’s a tough business out there.
