GFT or EFX? How are the fees at GFT?

Broker Discussion Forex Brokers
1

I have narrowed it down to 2 brokers. EFX or GFT. I have done my research and now want to get opinions from the gang here.

I know GFT blows away as far as platform and charts. Dealbook is sweet! EFX’s platform truly is horrible! But EFX is fast and can trade news nicely.

3 questions -

1 - Can someone tell me what the fees at GFT are like in reality?
I am a day trader. I will not hold positions over night. The longest I could see is maybe 6 hours…more than likely 15 minutes to 1 or 2 hours will be typical. I have heard their slippage is terrible too. I know they cannot be used for news.

2 - Does GFT allow you to have a non expiring DEMO account if you have a real account with them? I will probably deposit about 2-4k with them.

3 - If the 30 day GFT DEMO account expires, can you just sign up for another 30 day demo?
I ask because I really think I would like to use EFX for orders and GFT for charts. EFX is fast and has a flat rate commission structure that is cheap IMO.

I plan on going over all this with a rep but what they say and what actually happens can be 2 different things! lol

Thanks in advance
Brian

2

GFT fixed spread.

EFX is ECN.

It’s not even close.

EFX wins.

I have used GFT and I didn’t like it at all. NO LEVEL II.

3

Dealbook charting software does kick @ss, but ive heard good and bad about Gft. If you have a live account with them you can have a demo that doesn’t expire. I believe you can open up an account with them for as little as $250.

4

Minimum ammount to open an account at GFT is $2000. I download their platform, and their representative call me. Sales department work good, don’t know about the rest.

Regards, Zoreli

5

From other posts I’ve seen, it seems you could have your cake & eat it too and by that I mean keep your demo account with the platform you like best from which you use determine your trades, [B]AND[/B] have your live trading account with the broker you like, if they have a platform you don’t like, to actually place the trades. :slight_smile:

6

Minimum account size is $ 2500 for a Standard account, you can open up a Mini account for $250.
See attachment for there deposit information.

deposit_information.pdf (56 KB)

7

As I said, their sales department is good. They didn’t tell me nothing about mini account trying to convince me to open Standard Account I guess. :o Anyway…

8

Thanks RumpledOne,
I have seen/read your praises of EFX and I agree 100% but I will need really good charts. I am a candlestick guy! lol Although, I have read some of the material you did on how you trade. It sounds interesting. I just wish I had a bigger picture of how/what it works. lol

@GreyWolf,
Good to see you out of Tymen’s Candlestick thread buddy. lol Yes, they do allow mini for $250 but I have read on several different forums that they have stopped giving non expiring demo accounts to the $250 crowd.

@SweetPip,
I am hoping that will work for me. lol Gonna give it a try, I just want to keep frustration to a minimum and mistake to ZERO. lol

@Zoreli
Thanks for your input. I have read they are solid as far as customer service, etc.

9

I have a GFT account. The demo does expire after 30 days and you need to get it renewed. The spreads are variable not fixed similar to Oanda but not so tight

10

Hey, thanks Tony. I figured that. I really like how GFT has their setup done and how the chart platform is interactive with the orders, etc. Very smooth. Boy do I wish EFX was like that. I guess it is going to be EFX and I will use the GFT demo and just renew it every 30 days.

I probably will give them 3-4K and open an account later in the year and probably use it for swing trades/longer positions. Seems like they would be great for that. When that day comes I will not have to worry about demo renewal. lol

11

GFT sounds very flexible, I spoke with a rep and he seemed to say almost anything is possible. But maybe this is the sales side, maybe once you are with them, it is not as flexible!

$250 is not enough to trade a mini, right? I would think that could be blown out in minutes … maybe that is for a micro?? The sales rep I spoke with seemed to say that micro’s are possible, they just do not advertise them.

12

Just keep plugging away Brian keeping your risks low and you stand a chance. Sure hope you make it!

13

More than likely that is the case with any business. lol GFT does have a great reputation though. There is one ‘PEACEFUL’ Forex website with tons of reviews of brokers. It just seems to me like it is filled with foolish, angry people that probably were treated fairly by their broker, but lost money out of ignorance.

Example - many victims of ‘rollover’. Well, if you do not know what that is, maybe you should be using a demo account! DUH! lol

@tonymand
Thanks for the encouragement. I will make it I am sure. I had my rear end handed to me in the futures markets back in 2001. I was actually trading the Euro on 9/11. WOW…what a spike, and whipsaw, spike and so on and so on! I had no clue until a friend called me!

I learned a lot back then and now(after a long respite) I am ready to do Forex the right way. :wink:

14

I just cancelled my account with FXCM and have opened one with EFX Group.

I thought that brokers would want customers to succeed so they will trade more & larger lots & they make money from the spreads. However my impression so far has been they have little interest in a customers long term success. I’m not referring to losing trades which are a cost of doing business, but other incidents that drained money from the account while customer service remained indifferent.

I am going to try a straight commission broker, and MB Trading (they now own EFX Group) is one I already know. I had an equities account with them a few years ago and had no complaints … customer service very friendly & efficient and no problems in the account itself.

What I also like about EFX Group is you can trade anything from a micro to a standard lot from the same account … so as your skill grows, you can stay put & don’t have to open a different account.

I did want the GFT charting software too, but, like Brian, I’ll have to figure out another way to get that. For the moment I want to experience dealing with a fee-based ECN broker and see if that feels less like I am on one side of the fence trying to stay alive while my broker is on the other, throwing spears at me :smiley: :wink:

15

I just cancelled my account with FXCM and have opened one with EFX Group.

I have heard tons of bad things about FXCM. The only good things I heard were from NOOB traders and people with accounts less than 30 days old. I crossed them off my list of possibles a while ago.

What I also like about EFX Group is you can trade anything from a micro to a standard lot from the same account … so as your skill grows, you can stay put & don’t have to open a different account.

Exactly. I thought that too when I narrowed it down.

I did want the GFT charting software too, but, like Brian, I’ll have to figure out another way to get that. For the moment I want to experience dealing with a fee-based ECN broker and see if that feels less like I am on one side of the fence trying to stay alive while my broker is on the other, throwing spears at me :smiley: :wink:

You hit on some of my major points in your post. I might try to trade news with a micro sized lot to get the experience and feel of it. I am mostly going to be using Tymen’s Candlestick method though when I am ready. So, I figured, with an ECN like EFX, I could do it all and find out what will and won’t work for me without having to switch or get nailed by fees.

Now, I have read in another forum that MB Trading’s platform is ok, but their charts sucks. However, these same people felt the charts were going to get really good now that they have acquired EFX.

I cannot say I am impressed with the EFX setup. It is simple enough, easy to use but certainly nothing to drool over. As far as charting, I cannot find anything worthwhile with the basic charts they give you. You have to subscribe to their charting service (in other words, FEE BASED) to get better charts, what they call INTELLICHARTS. $40 per month for web based, $100 per month for download type. That seems pretty damn ridiculous to me but maybe that is the norm with ECNs??? Also, I am getting the impression that they are going to ditch their software based platform and go in favor of web based. I would prefer BOTH options being fully supported.

I will have to pick up the phone and speak with their customer service and get all my questions fully answered. Probably will do that next week.

16

Yeah, that’s about right … the first 30 days ok, but then my impression is when they see a smaller account, the main objective is to blow it out.

I am mostly going to be using Tymen’s Candlestick method though when I am ready. So, I figured, with an ECN like EFX, I could do it all and find out what will and won’t work for me without having to switch or get nailed by fees.

Me too, I will be following Tymen, also Ozfx for swing trades.

Now, I have read in another forum that MB Trading’s platform is ok, but their charts sucks. However, these same people felt the charts were going to get really good now that they have acquired EFX.

I was with them for equities a few years back & the only reason I switched was I needed better charting, went over to TradeStation. MBT charts have always been bad. But … since I use MT4 charts anyway, I just use the broker as a trading platform. I prefer seeing charts on one broker stream and my trading platform on another, just to confirm price.

You have to subscribe to their charting service (in other words, FEE BASED) to get better charts, what they call INTELLICHARTS. $40 per month for web based, $100 per month for download type.

I would not do that, I doubt that even their paid charts will be any good.
Just use MT4.

I will have to pick up the phone and speak with their customer service and get all my questions fully answered. Probably will do that next week.

Let us know what they say … customer service has always been good in the past :slight_smile:

17

I prefer seeing charts on one broker stream and my trading platform on another, just to confirm price.

Interesting thought! I did not even consider that but that is a great idea!

I would not do that, I doubt that even their paid charts will be any good. Just use MT4.

I will check it out. I know nothing about MT4. Can it be used freely or do you have to DEMO charting it like I am now with GFT’s platform?

Let us know what they say … customer service has always been good in the past :slight_smile:

Absolutely. I just have to put my list of concerns and questions together so I can inquiry intelligently. lol

18

Seriously?? MT4 is the standard, the most used platform among online traders and the one all the indicators are posted for on these threads. It’s a good idea to have it running, even if you use the GFT Dealbook (which, in many ways is better than MT4, but no one is writing indicators and code for it)

Most online brokers offer demo MT4 accounts: ODL, FXSolutions, InterbankFX among others. Some are less strict than others about keeping track of the 30day demo. Forex.com keeps strict count. But even if demo expires, you just sign up for a new one. ODL & InterbankFX are the ones preferred by Ozfx if you follow his posts. The main difference between them is how they compute their time with respect to GMT … some are 1-2 hours ahead of or behind GMT.

19

Well, I generally knew of MT4 I just have not used it. I did not know the DEMO accounts time frames could be so bad with MT4.

Which DEMO is the most accurate then? I don’t need more confusion. I am assuming you have been through all this and could save me the trouble…lol :smiley:

20

As a newbie into FOREX I have also narrowed my choices to include GFT. I spend an hour on the phone with one of their sales reps last night and have nothing but praise for their process.

As of VERY recently, they have narrowed their spread on the majors to as low as 1 pip…

Check out ttp://www.gftforex.com/forex/currency.asp for their spreads. The number in brackets in their MAXIMUM regardless of market conditions.

Regards