Does anyone have any experience using E*Trade FX? I’m interested in knowing more about them.
They are just market makers with huge marketing campains going on in order to bring You in. They will hunt down all your stops. Try some decent bokerage 
Thanks for the reply Tremmy. How do they hunt down my stops?
Since they are market makers they can move the prices with spikes. A spike hits out your stop and the price goes on like nothing happened but You already out of your position by loosing.
So who would you recommend that doesn’t do this stop hunting?
I am using more at the same time:
I use ducascopy, 3tgfx, and interactive brokers.
I was testing more than 40 brokers before chosing these 3. I am still testing others in order to find more good ones but it is a hard time. There are so many ways how brokers kill your trading.
Anyone know the difference between FXCM and E-Trade FX? They seem to be one in the same. I can use my demo account for either one. Does E-Trade just add to the spread and chase down the stops? Does FXCM chase down the stops also?
Tremmy you ought to do your homework a little more before commenting on a broker you know nothing about. You comments wreck of newb.
Oracleman At first I thought they were a hoax that was going to go under from lawsuits for using etrade in its name because a quick google search they were not there. However I dug a little deep and I found them. They are oned and operated by etrade financial… Etrade is more a stock trading company than forex. I do not have experience with them but I can say after surfing there site for a bit they seem alot like a company I use thinkorswim (TD Ameritrade ). With that in mind minimum account deposit is generally high due to the face they are mainly stock trading company where there is no leverage. Forex you will still get your 50:1 if in the USA. They are not going to hunt your stops. Unlike most forex only brokers where most people go broke fast and quit so they try to gouge all they can from you before you go bye bye. With companies like this they want to keep there clients and make them successful so as you grow your account so do they. You will also get the benefit of the option of various IRA accounts to move you forex profits over into safer investments for retirement aswell as your forex where you can liquidfy your funds when ever you want. You can liquify your IRA funds to but by moving your money from forex traded account to IRA account to get huge taxbreaks. I can go on and on about these guys. Again remember I dont use them as I use TD Ameritrade (thinkoorswim). But these companies all operate on the same level. Also when trading with these guys you are not actually trading spot forex. It is more option or futures based contracts. Depending on the transaction you make it can work the same a spot markets. So if you got the capitol to fund an account there I would say your good. Learn there plattforms though as there are different ways to trade forex with them. They will be more than willing to teach you the ins and outs and would be better at explaining the differences than I can. You will also get the option (or at least I do with TD ameriitrade but they should be the same) to pay a spread or a commission or your trades. This feature alone means they are going to try to hunt your stops. If its commission based they dont get paid unless you make money. So it is there best interest to make sure you are equipt to do so.
Thanks Bob.
You said " You will also get the option (or at least I do with TD ameriitrade but they should be the same) to pay a spread or a commission or your trades. This feature alone means they are going to try to hunt your stops. If its commission based they dont get paid unless you make money. So it is there best interest to make sure you are equipt to do so. "
I believe e-trade makes its profit in the spreads. So are you saying they will hunt down my stops if they make profits in the spread, or the commission or both? Please clarify. Much appreciate your comments.
Hi Tremmy,
E*TRADE forex accounts use FXCM’s NDD forex execution. With NDD, 10+ liquidity providers stream prices to FXCM, and the best bid/ask price is automatically displayed on the platform with a pip mark-up (which is essentially a commission). This means that prices are set by price competition from the liquidity providers rather than by the broker which could occur if trading through a dealing desk broker. This is all explained in thread I have open in the FXCM broker aid section 301 Moved Permanently .
ETRADE and FXCM’s compensation is earned through the pip mark-up in the spread. If best bid/ask prices being quoted by the liquidity providers on a pair such as GBP/USD is 1.5916/17, you would see 1.5915/18 on the platform considering there is a 1 pip mark-up on both the bid and ask. I go through an example of NDD forex execution from start to finish in the NDD Q&A thread here. Paying a pip mark-up means that FXCM and ETRADES revenue is based on trading volume.
Contrast this to dealing desk execution where the broker is making the market and managing the risk. If the broker decides not to hedge that risk and trade against their clients, it means your profit is their loss and your loss is their profit. If your loss is their profit, then closing out a position at your stop price would present a conflict of interest since they are making the market and determining the pricing you see on the platform.
I hope that helps, and let me know if you have any questions.
Jason
Hi Bob,
I am learning Forex (coming from stocks) and am using Ameritrade for my stocks as well as will be using for Forex. Just curious how your experience has been with Ameritrade when it comes to Forex?