Brokers, not seeing the forest through the trees

Broker Discussion Forex Brokers
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As a newbie going through School right now, I am of course also looking for a broker. I figured I will test out 1-3 brokers to see which one suits me best.

However, I am really clueless on this. Well, for a big part anyway. I know I should check if the broker is regulated, what the spreads are, how easy or difficult it is to withdraw money and so on.

I don’t care about bonuses, but I don’t feel a bonus is a bad thing. Yes, they are used to lure customers, but that is the same in any business. Even banks do it. Giving an amount if you open an account with them or wasn’t there even a bank in the US that handed out shotguns when opening an account? How’s that for a bonus?

I made a shortlist of brokers of which I might go with.

Reading this forum, I added a couple of other brokers to the initial list which I made after reading both FPA and 100forexbrokers.com. The initial list has OctaFX, ForexTime, FXCM, FXChoice, HotForex, FXGrow, Global Prime, and HY Markets. And Markets.com and Plus500.com are two others on it that I found early on with Dutch information. Plus500 isn’t the one for me, that’s for sure.

The ones added after reading this forum are VantageFX and Pepperstone.

Anyway, reviews are not to be trusted per se. I’m not even sure if the review site it self is legit. When reading up on FPA on this site, I quickly let them disappear out of my sight. But then again, 100forexbrokers.com and forexbrokerz.com also have reviews, and I don’t read bad stuff about those review sites.

OctaFX is one that I checked out a bit more. Looking around on the internet I seems to be a regulated broker, but what does regulation in St. Vincent and Grenadine mean anyway. They aren’t regulated by the FCA, since the their UK division is not open for clients yet. This was confirmed to me by their customer support.
It doesn’t have to be bad, since regulated brokers go belly-up as well. Anyway, some protection in the form of regulation doesn’t seem to be a luxury.

Any suggestions on where to find trustworthy reviews would be appreciated. Everywhere I looked I found all brokers have good and bad reviews. Which should be normal. However, it just doesn’t feel good.

Also, what’s up with the ‘Meet the brokers’ list on this forum? How old is it and why exactly are those brokers on it? On other sites I have the feeling they are more affiliate links than really objective links.

On last thing, a broker that has Dutch Shares would be a plus, but it’s not a deal breaker to me.

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Hi Martalak,

There is certainly no shortage of choices when it comes to brokers, and I see you’ve already compiled a long list to consider. While I can’t speak for others, as FXCM’s representive here on BabyPips, I’m happy to answer any questions you have about us. You can see questions others have asked me in the Broker Aid Station.

At this time, we don’t offer trading in Dutch shares (unless you count Royal Dutch Shell PLC in London). This page has a PDF file listing the share CFDs we currently offer: Trade International Shares - FXCM

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Hi, Martalak

What is it that you are looking for in a broker?
In what region do you trade?
Do you want to scalp or trade the H1 or higher charts?
What platform do you want to use?
Which pair do you want to trade?

That helps a bit to point you more in a certain direction. But if you just start and want to trade some on the demo, than don’t worry too much a bout it. Try some and see what platform you like.

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Hi Jason,

Thanks for answering. The Dutch shares are just a plus, nothing special, since Forex would be the thing to go for first. I’ll read through the Broker Aid Station and see if some questions I have are answered there. Unfortunately LiveChat on FXCM site was not helpful earlier today.

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Hi Toekan,

Thanks for responding. I’m in the Netherlands, so I don’t need a broker that accepts US clients.

I guess the most important things I am looking for in a broker are trustworthiness and quick withdrawals. And when I read reviews, the former one is really hard to find. But they can’t be all rotten apples and I am sure not all are perfect ones. I want to start with a mini account and do small trades to experience the how I control my emotions and psyche when trading with real money. Of course, after getting to know a system with a demo account. But I think emotions and psyche are very important and can never be understood with a demo account.

I’m not sure what will suit me, but common sense tells me intraday would the best for starting/learning. Maybe som medium term. Scalping seems to overwhelming at start and long term would mean more funds to begin with. At least that is how I see it now.

Reading up on the platforms, I only see three different ones. MetaTrader, Ctrader, and broker made platforms. The latter will of course have many different ones. When looking at the comparison (couldn’t add the url) on Pepperstone, CTrader seems to have two big advantages: [I]Advanced take profit/stop loss levels[/I] and [I]Detachable charts for multiple monitors[/I]. A lesser advantage, I think, of MetaTrader seems to be [I]Access to historical data through platform[/I]. So, I would say I would prefer CTrader, but then again, I’m new, so I can’t really tell yet.

For pairs I will most certainly go for majors and minors/euro crosses.

I just want to think things through upfront as much as possible. I know I can always demo, but just want to make the best possible choice for me as a starter. So when I am ready to go with a real account, I don’t have to switch, because of whatever. In a couple of years, I can have a completely different view. But then I am more experienced and know more about what I need or want.

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You really, really don’t want to trade fxcm…

Broker reverses $20K winning trades for alleged latency arbitrage @ Forex Factory

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Well, all those things I will keep in mind. And because so many bad things are on the internet, it seems that FX trading is always a complete scam. No matter which broker you use.

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Hi Pip2hunt,

The links you posted are about a different company entirely. :57:

However, if you still have any questions or concerns about FXCM, then I am happy to address them.

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It’s my pleasure, Martalak

At FXCM, we strive to provide you with excellent service whether you reach out to us via phone, live chat, email or here on the forum. That’s why I’m sorry your experience on chat was less than steller.

Your feedback is greatly appreciated and will help us improve. :slight_smile: