Choosing a broker

Beginner Questions
1

Right, I am a newbie to trading and forex, I have been reading as much as I can get my hands on for the last couple of weeks and am at the point of trying to work out which broker to use. So I am looking at advice on the ones I am looking at right now based on my stiuation, or possibly some others I havent yet considered.

I will initially be trading small amounts, looking to open the account with anything up to maybe $500 and see where I go from there.

I have a full time day job so my hours of trading will mostly be limited to 7pm GMT to 11pm GMT and if its software based only then it will be strictly limited to those times as I cannot install anything at work. This means it will mostly be quick scalps or trades that roll over to the next day (meaning rollover fees will be important).

Due to the small amount I wil be trading leverage will also be important in order to get reasonable gains from the limited funds. and due to the timing of my trades, I am guessing the option of a trailing stop would be useful to try and maximise my gains when not at home. I will primarily be concentrating on GBP/USD, I may look at EUR/USD and GBP/EUR after some practice.

At the moment I am looking at:
Oanda - no trailing stop!!, no rollover fee, by the second interest rates instead, interest paid on unused account balance, low spreads but only 50:1 leverage, $25 withdrawal fee (only if withdrawing more than once a month)

MB Trading (EFX group) - trailing stop, 100:1 leverage, low spreads, relatively high commission, rollover interest debited both ways on some pairs, software only, no web access

Interbank FX - trailing stop, 400:1 leverage, ok spread, rollover rate pretty steep?, $25 withdrawal fee, software only, no web access

Interactive Brokers - trailing stop, spread ok, leverage 50:1?, web and software access. minimum deposit $10000

FXCM - trailing stop, ok spreads, 200:1 leverage, interest rates for rollovers, no fees for deposit or withdrawal (assuming they let you withdraw, many complains about this one). download only, no web access

FX solutions - trailing stop, high fees for deposit and withdrawal, slightly higher spreads, 400:1 leverage, interest rates for rollovers depending on leverage used. download and web access

based on all that I think I may be favouring MBT or interactive brokers. oanadas lack of trailing stop and low leverage pretty much rule them out otherwise they would be a favourite.

anyone think thats about right or have any other suggestions? :stuck_out_tongue:

2

Uk based forex broker, Alpari, search on google, they
also have a forum, MT4 so trailing stops, 100:1 leverage,
but not too many pairs at present.

Also Oanda do have rollover or swap rates, it also is calculated for
every second you are in a trade, but they call it interest rate.
They also pay interest on account balance.

3

hmmm oanda do seem good, but their refusal to provide trailing stop after years of people demanding it and leverage of only 50:1 probably means they arent the best one for me.

alpari looks good also.

4

Just following along on this thread. I was liking the oanda demo, but then I read about trailing stops. From my point of view, trailing stops should be common sense to have available. Am I wrong thinking this way? I like oanda the best out of everyone of looked at, until now…

5

“MB Trading (EFX group) - trailing stop, 100:1 leverage, low spreads, possibly high commission, rollover interest charged both ways on some pairs?”

The commissions are not high. Less than what you give up to a fixed spread bandit… I mean broker.

6

Forexyard looks good as well, I have this platform to trade. Not because it has fantastic spreads, but also because it offers supermini oil contract as well, which I’m also interested to trade.

7

So do you prefer ECN brokers over market makers?

9

Does that Forex Tracer really work?

I’ve heard of Forex Killer and Forex Autopilot, which are very similar to that. The sites are similar too, offering the product for around $100 and claiming that there is deal that ends when the day is over.

Is it reputable?

11

I went to your site but could not find where I am supposed to learn your system. Could you give me a link besides the one that is on your signature?

12

Don’t bother, he wants to charge you.

Anybody that posts some info while purposely leaving out key details is fishing.

I get a kick out of these guys, aren’t they making enough at trading?

There are enough knowlegable people here on this forum that will help you with no strings attached.

13

Trader123,
I’m not a mod, but everywhere I look you trying to push traffic to your site(s), where you have a) a blog, b) links to other personal blogs, and c) affiliate links for forexyard. There is nothing on your blog that cannot be learned, here in a supportive environment among fellow traders of different skill levels, free of ads and ulterior motives.

On the other hand, there is much to be learned from this site not included on your own. I am not suggesting there is nothing of value at your blog; but again, as I’ve mentioned elsewhere: why not contribute helpful content here based on your inter-market trading experience, rather than discouraging someone from clicking an affiliate link but suggesting they visit your website in the same breath?

And NewFX: your spam has been reported.

14

Unless you use wire transfer theres no fee of any kind with oanda if you dont withdraw more then once a month. But I am also in your situation, I think ill start with oanda due to the no account minimum.

15

I too am doing some research on your mentioned sites…

16

I’m sorry sir that you have this impression, but reading and study my websites are the best learning material, because that is where I post my trade when I enter a trade, and I also my trade when I close my trade. Some wins some loses, so far I have much more wins than losses.

Yes, content inside is inter-market. I learned about equities investment when I started my career in a funds management industry, then I become a commodity broker where I learn to trade copper, oil, gold, nickel, tin, wheat, corn, and now a trader in a hedge fund where my responsibility is the major currency pairs.

This is my trade for today:
US dollar has strengthened across the board. Strong support at 1.0140 on the 10 min chart.

Bought 100,000 USD/CHF at 1.0166
Place a stop at 1.0120
Target level at 1.0215

17

Trader123,

Pardon my french, but you are full of &^$.

Why do you want to charge $30/hr for the “privelege” of contacting you. Make money by trading, not trolling for newbies!:mad:

18

I’m sorry sir, I’m always contactable in this forum, and I had already answered a lot of questions without any charges. That icon is NEVER intend for the newbies to use.

19

USD/CHF went to 1.0215 so my position was closed at a profit. Realised profit is US$479.69.

20

I would go with oanda, no question…except for the low leverage and lack of a trailing stop.

it seems fx solutions do actually have web and software access so i am going to go with them, they seem to have a good reputation and everything i am looking for in my situation. the onyl problem with them is i dont seem to be able to open an account in GBP, looks like its USD only.

21

I wish this thread didn’t go into a spam/arguing route. I’m noticing in the forex community that newbies with big advice, blog links and broker promotion run rampent.

I tried checking out fx solutions, but I don’t think I like their platform at all. They have premium charts, but it seems you can’t try them in demo. I’m not putting money in just to demo a system.

I’m really liking oanda. Everytime I try or read about another broker, I like oanda even better. I heard they pay 5% interest on what sits in your account as well. I wish they had a mobile platform option.

I believe there are too many players in this market. A person shouldn’t need to do this much research to ferret out the cheaters. Thats just bull (no pun). Spending time evaluating platforms and account terms is all we should have to do as new customers. It’s just like webhosting. I recently switched to a dedicated server, and it took me over a month of researching to work through all the “I think I’ll decide to go into the web hosting business today” people, those that over sell, or people who just grow to large and get too greedy.

One question that may contribute to this thread is about regulations. Which countries have the tightest regulations for forex brokers? I’ve been watching swiss pairs in my newbie learning, and was wondering if a swiss broker might be good to look at as well.

22

I currently use Forex.com and I haven’t had any problems with them except one. I have a micro account which keeps me from access to their better charting software and what-not. They do offer the MetaTrader 4 trading platform which I am looking into switching over to but I am not sure yet. Also, their customer service has been excellent this far.

I am also looking to switching to Interbank FX. They seem to be offering a lot more tools/information for free to the micro/mini brokers.

Any suggestions would be nice!