Clint, this is exactly what I was looking for.
I, and Im sure [U][B]A LOT[/B][/U] of people appreciate you took time to put some light in that question.
This was a very important issue for me.
Im just curious, do you know something interesting about ACM Broker?
Regard.
Here is another article I just found on broker types for those of you interestedā¦
Does anyone know of trustworthy brokers with low spreads?
Does anyone know of any trustworthy forex broker with low spreads?
yes
Oanda
melisky,
Thank you for your comments. Iām glad to help you.
About ACM: I have no direct experience with them. All I know is what Iāve read. Iāll do some fact-checking and get back to you.
Clint
Pipendale,
The link you attempted to post is to an article which is badly out-of-date. The information in that article was probably accurate
5 years ago, but not any more.
Try this: Trading Through A Market Maker Vs. An ECN This article by Grace Cheng is 2-3 years old, but it is basically accurate.
By the way, your link got edited because you havenāt posted 50 or more times, yet. See the Forum Rules for details.
Clint
Yea, oanda is good, but it does not allow enough leverage. The max leverage is 1 to 50.
Iām looking for a broker with at least 1 to 100 leverage, uses MT 4 platform, offer low spreads and of course, trustworthy.
Can anyone suggest any brokers like that?
Here are some brokers using MT4.
MetaTrader Forex Brokers, MetaTrader Brokers, MT4 Brokers
But people here seem to like very much FXCM.
Forex | currency trading | forex trading | forex broker
Why do you think you need more than 50:1 leverage?
I once thought I had a trading strategy that was so reliable that I could basically āpush all inā on every trade. I made it a
[I]part of my trading plan[/I] to put on positions which were 200 times the size of my account ā just to see what would happen.
I found out.
My strategy depended on the fact that losses were [I]very[/I] rare. But, when they came, they came in a [I]string[/I], at a risk/reward ratio of 3:1. Kiss all that money good-bye. Sometimes, I have to learn the hard way.
Maybe you have to learn the hard way, too. So, get yourself a 200:1 or 400:1 [B]Micro Account[/B], and blow $200 or $500 trading with maximum leverage.
Then, while youāre whining that the market stole your money, ask yourself āHow many more times would I like to do this?ā
I hope your answer will be āNo more of that!ā They say that doing the same thing over and over again, and expecting different results, is a symptom of insanity.
If you intend to treat forex trading [I]as a business[/I], donāt be insane with your trading capital.
On the other hand, if you think forex is just a big crap-shoot, then go ahead and bet the farm.
Good luck, whichever way you go.
Clint
melisky ā and others who may be interested,
Iāve been looking into the Swiss broker ACM, and their U.S. subsidiary ACM USA, LLC.
The more I look, the more I like this broker. More on that in a moment.
Not long ago, ACM got some really bad press. It was reported by the blog Swisster, in Switzerland, that the Swiss banking authorities had ordered a police raid on the ACM headquarters in Geneva, that files and documents were seized, and that the CEO was taken in for questioning. All pretty dramatic stuff, and apparently all a mistake based on false charges brought against ACM by a disgruntled former customer in Mexico.
ACMās side of the story is this: the customer in Mexico was somehow trying to blackmail ACM; ACM then filed a complaint against this customer; and the customer retaliated by making allegations against ACM which resulted in the inquiry by the regulatory authorities, and the police raid. Evidently, the whole episode is over. (Good luck trying to extradite the guy from Mexico.)
Hereās a link to a short blog entry in genevalaunch.com: GenevaLunch ļæ½ Blog Archive ļæ½ ACM to open Zurich office
Now that we have that out of the way, here are some of the things I have dug up on ACM.
ACM is Advanced Currency Markets SA, in Geneva, Switzerland ā not to be confused with Advanced Markets, LLC,
in Charlotte, N.C., USA.
ACM has offices in Geneva, Zurich, Dubai, Montevideo, and New York.
Hereās a link to the ACM (Geneva) website for non-U.S. customers: ACM | Advanced Currency Markets | Forex broker
Hereās a link to the ACM USA website for U.S. customers: Forex - Currency Trading - Forex Broker - ACM (USA) LLC
(note: thereās nothing on this site except company address and phone number)
ACM has applied to the Swiss banking authorities to become a bank under Swiss law. Evidently, this is a big deal in Switzerland, and (if approved) would indicate that ACM has pretty hefty financial strength.
The genevalaunch.com article refers to ACM as the worldās largest currency trader ā but, I havenāt been able to find any other source for this claim.
The size claim is interesting in view of the financial data on ACM USA. The CFTCās monthly report, Selected FCM Financial Data, shows that ACM USA reported Adjusted Net Capital of $599,981 (versus a CFTC net capital requirement of $500,000). This number makes ACM USA look tiny, but the number is deceiving. ACM USA has the financial backing of ACM (Switzerland) which accounts for the fact that the CFTC requires only $500,000 capital for ACM USA, while requiring independent brokers (such as FXCM) to have $15,000,000 (currently) and $20,000,000 beginning on the 19th of this month.
The site ForexWebShop lists ACM as an NDD (no-dealing-desk) broker. Hereās their list: STP / NDD Forex Brokers
The BabyPips Broker Listing also lists ACM as an NDD broker: Forex Brokers Guide - BabyPips.com
Here on BabyPips, the forum called Rate My Broker has some talk about ACM, and the posts that I have read are all positive. People who trade through ACM, and have posted over there, seem to be very happy with this broker.
The BabyPips Broker Listing for ACM indicates a minimum deposit of $2,000 to open an account, max. leverage of 100:1, and a minimum trade size of 100K (in other words, Standard Lot size, only).
I hope this info is helpful.
Clint
Damn Clintā¦ !!! A big thanks again!!!
Your contribution here is more that appreciated!
I was seriously worry about the raidā¦
Look like ACM is a good broker after all.
This issue about brokers is so much clear to me now!
You seems to be pretty good to find stuff on the internet.
I think a find a [U]VERY SIMPLE[/U] way to trade with very low risk and a great (risk/reward) ratio.
But I have some problem to find the tool I need: [U]a EA able to buy and sell when thereās crossover of moving average on MT4.[/U]
Do you know one?
Or, do you know where I can find one?
A big thanks again for your previous help Clint!!!
I, and this entire communauty in here appreciate it very much! 
melisky,
Sorry, now youāre out of my ball-park altogether. I donāt use EAās, so I canāt help you with this one.
Iām sure there are others on this forum who have the answer youāre looking for.
Clint
Hey iām thinking of opening an account with FxPro. Although at first i thought FXCM is rather reputable, but the spreads on FxPro are tighter.
However, iāve read some very bad reviews about FxPro online.
So what do you guys think about FxPro?
melisky,
It appears that you havenāt asked this question on the [B]Expert Advisors and Automated Trading[/B] forum, here on BabyPips.
You might want to talk to those guys.
Clint
Your location has a lot to do with your choice of broker. I donāt know where you are located.
If you are in the service region of fx-pro (Europe, part of the Middle East, and Australia), then maybe you want to consider this Cyprus-based market-maker as your broker ā but, I wouldnāt.
Maybe the reviews you have been reading are telling you something.
Clint
Iām residing in US. I was initially looking for a US based broker, but I have no luck finding one with low spreads and uses MT4.
So, do you Clint, or anyone else here, know of any reliable US based brokers that have tight spreads and use MT 4 trading platform?
Hey Clint, I sure did. But, it appear someone just deleted it because the thread was in this section tooā¦ 
ForexPerson,
Be careful taking broker claims of ātight spreadsā at face-value. If spreads are fixed at a certain value, they CANNOT be tight. If they vary (along with the Bid/Ask quotes coming in from the interbank network), then they will sometimes be very tight, and sometimes much wider.
An NDD broker who marks up the bank spreads with a single pip might advertise āspreads as low as 1 pipā ā which is technically correct, but not often the case. That one-pip spread will only exist when the bank spread momentarily drops to zero; and this is not the usual situation.
Also, accurate trade execution is as important as the spread. If you place a market order when the spread is 2 pips, but your entry price slips 3 pips from where you intended to enter, you have effectively captured a 5-pip spread ā which is not what you had in mind.
We would all like constantly tight spreads, and perfect fills. But, in a dynamic market situation, you just canāt have everything so neat, tidy and guaranteed. Consider how many moving targets are in front of you. The market is constantly in motion. The big banks, who are at the top of the food-chain, are constantly widening and narrowing their spreads, depending on their view of market direction, market volatility and their competitive environment. And these fluctuating bank spreads get passed down the food-chain to your broker, who might widen them (mark them up) manually on a deal-desk, or electronically according to some algorithm; but, even if a machine-run algorithm does the mark-up, you (the customer) may still get a variable mark-up, tight when the market is calm, and wide when the market is hectic. Given all that, how can any small retail customer demand a fixed 2-pip spread, or whatever?
As far as broker recommendations are concerned, Iāve already put my two-cents-worth, and more, into this thread. I use FXCM, and I recommend them. And, yes, they have MT4 in their Standard Account, adjusted to accommodate their NDD execution protocol. Is FXCM perfect? No. But, neither is my bank, or the car dealer where I bought my last car. But, all things considered, I have been content with FXCM.
I know that my transaction costs could be cut by 25%, or so, by switching to MB Trading. But, I really donāt like their odd order-types, and they have charting issues (although sometime soon, they say, they will be offering MT4).
I just finished some research on ACM, and liked what I found. ACM may be as good as FXCM, by my standards. But, that doesnāt give me an incentive to switch from FXCM to ACM.
In the final analysis, it will come down to what you are willing to give up in order to shave a pip or two in transaction cost off each trade. If you want tighter spreads at FXCM, then trade through their Micro account; youāll save about 2 pips on the spread most of the time, but youāll have to settle for customer service via email, rather than through a real person with a pulse. Oh, and youāll have to give up MT4. Or, if you have substantial trading funds AND do a lot of trading, you can open an Active Trader account at FXCM, and really get your per-trade transaction costs down.
Most of the people on this forum have switched brokers more than once; I have never switched. So, their perspectives would help you more than mine.
Iāve said it so many times, that Iām tired of saying it ā but, due diligence is each traderās responsibility.
Iāve done mine. You have to do yours.
Good luck with that.
Clint
I donāt know why that would happen.
Try this. [B]Reply[/B] to this recent post: 301 Moved Permanently with your question or request.