Can't decide on broker

Beginner Questions
1

Hey guys and gals, first time poster, long time lurker here.

Gotta say this is one of the best, if not the best, designed forex site on the Internet.

Anyways, my name is Jacky and I’ve been playing around with various free practice accounts at different sites, and now it has come the time for me to open a real account. Problem is, I do not know which one to choose. I have heard numerous good and bad things about various companies, but I’m more leaning towards either oanda fxtrade or forex.com. I heard fxcm has had some shady business dealings in their history, so I dunno.

Also, it seems like both oanda fxtrade and forex.com are large corporations so I guess it’s more secure than the rest, has rated oanda as one of the #10 on their top 25 online start ups list with a valuation of $1.2 billions behind the likes of facebook, wiki, linkedin, etc. So my question is… which one will you recommend?

2

I’ve only heard good things about OANDA

Forex.com makes me kind of wary since I was getting spam mail from some guy in India asking me to call him to say how my demo account was going.

I’ve been demo-ing with Interbank FX (IBFX) since February and I don’t have many complaints. If I had to make a real account right now I’d go with them, or at least another broker that supports the MT4 platform.

3

It took me a long time and a lot of research to decide … but I went with FXCM which are also one of the largest brokers and so far (3 months) I am satisfied with them, particularly customer service. I have a service rep named Tangie and she answers my emails promptly, I can always reach her by phone if necessary, and the service in general is friendly and upbeat. My experience with them has been a positive one. No problems on the trade side either, the spreads are within reason, the executions seem to be as fast as anywhere else, the only drawback, they did not have the MT4 platform, but they will have it this month.
I preferred using a MT4 platform from another broker (Interbank) just to double check the quotes, so I am not particularly concerned whether they use MT4 or not. I love theor trading platform for executions, I prefer it to MT4. (MT4 is best for charting)

Hope that helps & doesn’t further confuse :slight_smile:

4

I have to agree with yarcofin - O. is a great broker but their platform is clunky. I have a live acct with them. I’m demo-ing IBFX as you just can’t avoid MT4 eventually, it does more and many strategies are set up in MT4, some even with downloadable templates. Plus Mon-Thu they have a webinar for learning and you can ask questions at the end of the session. Runs approx 45 min. They have IBFX-U also for learning and no, i don’t work or shill for them, just like their cust. svc and platform. Will open live there soon.

5

You know if you look up IBFX on ForexPeacearmy they only got 2 stars, but then again if you lookup almost any broker on there or other sites like Fxbastards, you would run away from all brokers… :rolleyes:

6

Yes, in the end it is up to you which broker you use.

You have had some good recommendations so far.

Decide what you want from a broker.

I personally use the GFT platform because the charting is Rolls Royce and I need this for my candlestick trading. I can personally recommend them

It might be an idea to download a demo version of a whole lot of brokers, see which ones you like to get a short list, try a few to see which are user friendly and a gut feeling may be the way for you to go.

Set some questions and give the brokers some phone calls to see what they say.

All the best !! :slight_smile: :slight_smile:

7

Thanks for all the great replies, very helpful information indeed.

8

While many others tell you to research for yourself and think about it, I will tell you what I really think and why.

First, when I was searching for a broker, I did not know enough about FX to make an informed decision, I just chose the one that looked the best and ended up going through several brokers before I found the best.

So Ill tell you: GFT no ifs ands or buts.

Heres Why: GFT provides the best charting package out there in my opinion. GFT will send cellphone alerts for price levels and indicators. They have excellent customer support, I have actually heard of them refunding money after making a mistake.

GFT also will allow you to open a seperate account to trade commodity futures, there are too many to list here. I don’t personally do that yet but its a nice option to have open.

9

Take the top 5 firms/brokers and investigate, demo them.
Decide if you must have MetaTrader platform or their
own proprietary platform. Research on your own and
then demo them some more. Then get going.
But whatever you do, stop wasting time Googling
for review sites. They all bite. Why? Because the
ratings are done by trolls and scammers like
the moron running ForexBastards. And don’t think
that a hugely successful traders will have time to
run around forums and rate brokers. Please.

10

I just today saw a news release from GFT of how they’ve drastically lowered their spreads. Is GFT reputable enough? I see that they have $76mn in capital so well above the minimum capital requirements. How do others like GFT? Have the new spreads been as advertised?

11

I traded demos in a couple places, northern finance, fxcm, fxdd, and oanda. I chose oanda as my live trading because they seem to have the best ratings anywhere. Plus, supposedly there’s some new software that a third party is working on that oanda is suppose to offer. It allows only you to see your stops. This way a broker can’t do stop hunting because they can’t see it. I forgot the name of it…its like fxspider or something. If anyone knows it let me know.

EDIT:

I found the program that is supposedly working with oanda. If this comes true it’ll be a good day in forex.

*change the xx to tt

12

I tried demo’d FXCM, Forex.com, ACM, and GFT. I finally opened the account with ACM. I have been there since november 07 and I have not had any problems. They have all I need as far as chartinng goes. They allow me to set up audible alarms and I have not had any issues with stops or things like that.

I know how you feel because the hardest thing for me was to open an account and trust any broker with all the stuff you read on the net. Some people recomend one and almost immediately you read something else that the same broker stole all of some ones funds. The fact is most of those people would have lost all their money anywhere because they probably went in with $1000 and leveraged themselves 100:1 on one trade that went against them. From what I can tell, demo all the ones you can, of the big names, see which one you like and suits your trading needs. And go with that one.

There are successfull traders in FXCM, GFT, and ACM (ME!! hahaha…:wink: and many others. Go with what you feel is good for you, start out small, get your feet wet and change if you have to or increase as you get comfortable.

Well that’s my two cents…maybe worth less than that…but good luck trading.

14

Isn’t that the truth!! I am basically satisfied with FXCM, but lately have been tempted to change to EFXGroup which is a ECN and supposedly when you pay commission, you can get in & out faster with small pip trades (aka scalping, I guess).
Then there is GFT which has received high praise on this site, but if you google EFX or GFT you will find a LOT of negativity about both.

It is really confusing … and I think the #1 problem facing forex traders … how to find a truly honest broker.

15

[B]This is not a big deal …you just have to choose a broker which you seems fillfull your all requirment’s like leverage, spread’s, NFA Registration, User friendly platform etc , etc… The biggest problem in this business is your fear taking about decision’s of all kind’s related with this business…You will be successfull if you overload on your fear;) This is PipHacker’s Personal Experience:rolleyes:
PipHacker!!!:slight_smile: [/B]

16

FWIW, I’ve been with Oanda for several months and I have no complaints. They offer some of the best spreads, fast execution, and they’ve always been fair with me. Granted, as others have pointed out, their charting isn’t as good as some of the other brokers, but since I swing trade based mostly price action, it’s not too much of an issue. What attracted me to Oanda in the first place was their tight spreads and the ability to trade any size (which is great for small accounts like mine!).

Good trading,

JEB

17

This broker question is never ending and still really fail to understand the reason for this never ceasing question. Honest broker/firm you ask? If that is your primary concern, why choose an unregulated firm located in some unknown region? By all means then pick a big firm either in UK, Canada, or US that are regulated. Remember, all the negative crap out there regarding firms are written by losers. Yes, LOSERS; not successful, winning traders. Take any winning trader and give him any account at any top 5 firms and he’ll make money with that account. OK? Your knowledge, experience, and common sense will make money. Your stupidity and concentration on unimportant things will lose money. Some people have trouble thinking that big regulated firms are honest yet they go with some weird small ass firm that take e-gold deposits to open your account? Come on. This broker question seldom comes from smart people. I know this will insult some of you but it is the honest truth. Just pick one reputable, regulated firm in UK, Canada, or US and then learn to trade. Your knowledge will make you money; not the broker you pick.

18

I trade with Online Stock Trading | MB Trading Direct Access Brokerage Firm

They are an ECN. THERE IS NO FIXED SPREAD IN FOREX.

You can google and find out what I really think about “FIXED SPREAD BANDITS”.

I’ll leave it at that so I don’t get banned.

How do I avoid the spread?

I explained this to someone yesterday in an IM.

With EFX you pay a commission rather than having a “FIXED SPREAD”.

It’s “apples and oranges” so don’t try to compare. “THE MATRIX HAS YOU” and you need to “FREE YOUR MIND” to understand what I am about to explain.

Let’s say the current bid/ask is 1.5010 x 1.5015

The current spread is 5 pips.

You want to SHORT.

You SHORT at 1.5010.

You set a TP at 1.5005.

Bid/Ask becomes 1.5005 x 1.5009 and the current spread is 4 pips.

At EFX, you will get filled if the bid is 1.5005 and someone TAKES your offer.

Bid/Ask is now 1.5004 x 1.5009 and YOU HAVE YOUR PROFIT.

Note: the ASK never reached 1.5005. THIS IS IMPORTANT!

If you entered this order at a FIXED SPREAD BANDIT, whoops I mean broker, your order is STILL OPEN!!

The bid/ask must become 1.5000 x 1.5005 and your order HITS the Ask.

DO YOU GET IT?

If not, then read this over and over and over again until the LIGHT BULB goes off!!

The day I found out about EFX is the day I opened an account there and stopped trading with FIXED SPREAD BROKERS.

The simplest thing to do is to load up a demo account at EFX Group and see it with your own eyes.

When you place your TP Bid offer at 1.5005, your bid is displayed on Level II.

The point is with EFX your offer gets hit.

With FIXED SPREAD BROKERS you have to wait to hit their offer.

Maybe this might help:

First:

1.5010 x 1.5015

and price drops…

1.5009 x 1.5014

1.5008 x 1.5013

1.5007 x 1.5013

1.5006 x 1.5012

1.5006 x 1.5011

1.5005 x 1.5011 You may get hit

1.5005 x 1.5010 You may get hit

1.5004 x 1.5009 YOU COVERED 5 PIP GROSS PROFIT

AND LET’S CONTINUE

1.5003 x 1.5008

1.5002 x 1.5007

1.5001 x 1.5006

1.5000 x 1.5005 YOUR FIXED SPREAD BROKER FILLS YOUR ORDER.

Does that make it clearer??

What about the commission cost?

The commission varies depending on the pair trading.

It is $.50 per 10k minilot on USDJPY. So if I gross 2 pips, I am making money.

From the EFX site:

[B]Commission Rates

Fixed spreads are a way for FCMs to markup or markdown the best bid or offer. FCMs do this to hide their fee into the price of the currency pair instead of displaying their best quote. Common sense tells you that no one works for free, so when you see an FCM claim they have �no commission�, that should be a red flag. So how are they getting paid? Its simple: they are making money with the built-in markup/markdown in the spread.

Our FCM, MB Trading Futures, has nothing to hide. They offer tighter spreads with no markups/markdowns and openly display a low commission rate.

Commissions are based on total dollar amount traded: $5 per $100,000 traded.
[/B]

19

Rumpled’s copy and paste job is now bordering on SPAM.

20

JonnyFX:

Traders need to be made aware of THE TRUTH.

So I would consider my “copy and paste job” SPAM unless it is posted in threads that have nothing to do with the topic.

It clearly shows what FIXED SPREAD BROKERS are doing to traders who don’t know all the facts.

The world is not flat and there is no such thing as a fixed spread in forex.