FXCM Better then Oanda?

Hey traders.

Im having problems with Oanda. I just cant take the lag, the freeze outs, and all that.

TIRED OF IT!!!

Looking to change…

Now, here is something I need to know. Is it a better solution?

Can I use Renko charts, and not have to worry about the freeze?

70% of my stress is this Broker…

I had a 5m lock-up with Oanda today, several times,…

Thanks,

I have had no problems with Oanda anytime this week, are you sure the problem isn’t with your internet provider? I do have trouble in that area and may be making a change but O. is top notch in my book. Also, do you do a HD defrag and cleanup once a week?

hey Bro, I have the fastest internet available. My MT4 freezes, My Samsung Galaxy tablet freezes at the same time…

270,000 kb per second average.

Like I said tho, I use Renko charts, could be messing it up more, but still, even when I didnt have a Renko attached, it still locks up…

havent done a cleanup in some time,( like realllllly long time)

I might have to invest in a PC strictly for Trading…

or a server that i can load up the renko and EA to run stand alone.

*shruggs, Im annoyed.

Thanks for the input

OK, guess Im just venting, looking for excuses, lol…

need to spend week cleanin up PC, alot of pics and videos, probably cloggin up… BUT, still, Oanda is freezin on my Galaxy tablet also…

I also have about 200 indicators, and 200 Experts in my Oanda Folder, bwhaha… *rolls eyes

Now that I have a pretty solid plan, i guess its time to clean house and get rid of some things…

Try with PaxForex platform, I’m using it and it works just perfect for me.

HAHA. Good luck pulling your money out IF you make money. Oanda as f***ed up as they act sometimes, they are still the best broker in the USA outside ECN. FXCM is probably ranked 2nd but definitely not as good as Oanda when it comes to broker capitalization.

Hi MoneyNVRSleeps,

Your posts mention that you’re using the MT4 platform. I’ve never used that particular version of Renko charts , so I’m not sure whether it’s the indicator itself that’s causing your problems or something else. You’re welcome to test it on an FXCM MT4 demo. It might also interest you to know that Renko charts are available on FXCM’s Trading Station and NinjaTrader platforms. If you have additional questions about any of these options, please feel free to ask me in the Broker Aid Station.

A note regarding broker capitalization:

The financial data for brokers on the CFTC website only lists the capital for FXCM’s US operations (over $63 million as of the latest report). While the US figures may account for the majority of funds for many of the forex brokers listed on that site, it represents just a fraction of FXCM’s total capitalization.

As one of the only retail forex brokers that’s regulated on four continents, we maintain capital in Asia, Australia and Europe in addition to the US. As of the latest available data, FXCM worldwide has $276.9 million in our own net cash. It’s one of the reasons that traders have entrusted us with $1.264 billion in client funds.

[B]Must remind that Interactive Brokers U.S. has received over 5,000 new customers in 2013 …

FXCM only 280 new customers in the U.S…
[/B]
I guess that way Jason working hard to get new customers

The utility of feedback from 100-1000 $ customers can also be discussed …
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My impression is that this group has little understanding of costs, FXCM operates with spead around 2.3 pips Euro / USD this excludes a number of profitable trading strategies.

I guess Interactive Brokers customers are more aware of costs since the minimum account is 10K …

The cost between 0.6 pip spread and spread 2.3 gives dramatic differences.

Unfortunately do not understand wonnabe traders this simple math piece

[QUOTE=“Jason Rogers;617196”] A note regarding broker capitalization: The financial data for brokers on the CFTC website only lists the capital for FXCM’s US operations (over $63 million as of the latest report). While the US figures may account for the majority of funds for many of the forex brokers listed on that site, it represents just a fraction of FXCM’s total capitalization. As one of the only retail forex brokers that’s regulated on four continents, we maintain capital in Asia, Australia and Europe in addition to the US. As of the latest available data, FXCM worldwide has $276.9 million in our own net cash. It’s one of the reasons that traders have entrusted us with $1.264 billion in client funds.[/QUOTE]

Valid point, now let’s wait for Oanda to counter and say they have BILLIONS worldwide in client funds. Do take Into an account this though, I’m a USA citizen who lived and resides In the US. I’m not really interested in worldwide clients just how the broker is doing in my country considering we have the largest financial market in the world. There is a reason Wall Street is known globally.

Taking out the excess capitalization, the issue I have with you guys is the minimum account funding necessary to open an account… $50. That doesn’t compare to the minimum of $1 that Oanda offers. Which by far is a much better place to start as a new trader. You Guys make bank every time the new “minimum funded accounts” are made and get wiped out. Compared to Oanda’s minimum funded $1 account consider 98% of all traders fail.

I’m sure Oanda does this too so I am not defending them, however, you guys take the opposite side of your clients trades? That’s a little f***ed up.

In my opinion, I think it all depends on what the user needs. All brokers have their pros and cons and no one should be bias towards one broker.

In the end over 98% of us retail traders lose all our investment capital. Who pockets most of the loss? The brokers that take the opposite sides of our trades of course! But don’t you think it’s important if you end up in the top .5% you should be able to pull out your hard earned cash? That is why you should be careful who you choose as a broker.

FXCM is unique in that we offer the clients the choice between two types of forex execution. The most popular option with our clients is our No Dealing Desk (NDD) model in which FXCM does not take the opposite side of our clients’ trades.

While FXCM believes that NDD execution provides the best all-around trading experience, we also offer dealing desk (DD) execution as an option for traders whose primary concern is low spreads. You’ll find these spreads to be competitive with other US brokers that use dealing desk execution including Oanda.

Above is a snapshot I just took of the live spreads table on Forex Factory comparing US brokers using dealing desk execution.

I’d link to that forum directly, but I don’t think that’s allowed here :58:. If you’re interested, I encourage you to view the table on their site for yourself to compare the spreads in real time.

Thank you, Jason.

I think that, even in the age of online trading, building a relationship with your broker is key, and if you can find one person that is your contact point for queries, and try to go back to them, you will build up something close to a relationship that may actually help you in difficult times…

Conversely, the brokers also need to remember that building a relationship with their customers goes beyond setting them up with a trading platform and an account: Jason Rogers and everyone I have dealt with at FXCM has, so far, shown that they understand this very well, and have been more than accommodating in making me feel valued (even though I only hold a small account).

In the end, shopping around may give the best deal, but once you find it, try building a relationship with your broker, because, in the end, it could mean the difference between you getting an incorrectly executed trade rectified (e.g. where it was a software error) and not…

Cheers.

[QUOTE=“Jason Rogers;617530”] FXCM is unique in that we offer the clients the choice between two types of forex execution. The most popular option with our clients is our No Dealing Desk (NDD) model in which FXCM does not take the opposite side of our clients’ trades. While FXCM believes that NDD execution provides the best all-around trading experience, we also offer dealing desk (DD) execution as an option for traders whose primary concern is low spreads. You’ll find these spreads to be competitive with other US brokers that use dealing desk execution including Oanda. <img src=“301 Moved Permanently”/> Above is a snapshot I just took of the live spreads table on Forex Factory comparing US brokers using dealing desk execution. I’d link to that forum directly, but I don’t think that’s allowed here :58:. If you’re interested, I encourage you to view the table on their site for yourself to compare the spreads in real time.[/QUOTE]

Took a long time for you to get back to me on that, no worries. You do have a job and all lol. So basically at the cost of spread (which I don’t care who you are this is absolutely critical) you guys won’t go against my trades? So I have to pay more in commission just so you won’t go against me? That’s a lose lose situation to me mate. That’s cute but no thanks, I would rather go with a registered ECN, have low spread or practically no spread at all, AND have my orders filled directly through the exchange itself, no dealer desk or broker going against my trades involved whatsoever. Alpari is my ECN of choice btw.

That picture you placed? Looks nice and all but that’s hardly any pairs. I trade 11 + pairs (not at once of course). Besides avg those spreads and Oanda still comes out on top.

Going back to what was being said earlier in the thread: it all depends on one’s trading needs AND style…

If you traded something over several months, and bagged, say, six hundred pips, how would the initial transaction cost of, say, 2.3 pips hurt your profit?

If, however, you make a lot of smaller trades, then the cost of spreads will add up…

I think that it is important to know what one wants… It would be like choosing a Ducati Desmosedici and then complaining to the shop that it was not working properly on the potholes on your commute through town… Or, trying a Honda CG125 for a two-hour motorway test ride and then complaining to the shop that it was not up to the job…

However, the newbie may not have such a knowing self-awareness as to know exactly what is important later on: what they need at the beginning is user-friendly software, to get to grips with this massive universe in front of them, the world of Forex…

Then, after many, many hours spend learning the basics, then, maybe, they will start thinking about a live account… It has to be said, though, it is not so impossible or so bad to imagine why people may choose to go from demo to live WITH THE SAME BROKER, if they had a good experience trading demo with them… That is why I stayed with FXCM… and why I happy to pay those spreads, because it suits my trading…I am not in it for the millions, I am just in it to beat the low rates of returns that your average high-street bank will give out…

Cheers.

You mentioned earlier that you live in the US, so it’s worth noting that last year FXCM acquired Alpari’s US accounts, and they no longer offer trading services to US residents.

Another thing to keep in mind is that some brokers advertising tighter spreads charge a commission on top to say nothing of how wide spreads can get during news events or the quality of execution received. At FXCM, there are no additional commissions, and we’re still one of the only firms in the industry to give price improvements on both limit and market orders.

Spreads are important, but they are just one factor out of many to consider when choosing a broker along with 24 hour customer support, trading platforms offered, charting, educational resources and safety of funds, as you mentioned earlier. At FXCM, we seek to provide competitive spreads, excellent service and a safe place for you to hold your money.

It’s no secret that the brokerage industry has been in the midst of a price war for the past couple of years. That combined with lower trading volumes over the past couple of years have caused many brokers to struggle. There was even a broker in Europe that went bankrupt after trying to entice clients with 0 pip spreads. That year also saw the failure of a US broker that had previously touted their razor thin spreads. We’ve had other brokers have to pull out of the US after being unable to meet regulatory capital requirements. Just recently an Australian broker went bankrupt as well.

If recent events have taught us anything, it’s that the financial stability of the broker you choose can have huge implications. Unfortunately, the vast majority of forex brokers are privately held companies, so it’s hard to know the state of their finances. Are they profitable, or are they barely staying afloat? How can you know whether they are safe place to keep your money?

All traders need to ask their brokers the following questions regarding their financial stability.
[ol]
[li][B]What are your revenues?
[/li][li]How profitable is your firm?
[/li][li]Do you have a top-tier third party accounting firm auditing your financials?[/B]
[/li][/ol]
FXCM is a publicly-traded company (NYSE ticker: FXCM), so information regarding our financial data is readily available. It’s one of the many reasons why our client base has grown to over 180,000 active accounts.

Sounds valid. Is FXCM an American based company? Sounds like you guys are pretty legit. Good work on your part with the convincing data. So you guys have ECN?

Yes, our global headquarters are in New York City, and we have offices around the world.

Yes, though we prefer the term NDD for the No Dealing Desk forex execution we offer to retail traders.

While the term ECN has gained currency (pun intended) in retail forex trading of late, it should be reserved for the electronic communication networks used by banks and other institional level market participants to trade amongst each other, not with retail traders. [I]“FX ECNs like Currenex, Bloomberg Tradebook (an affiliate of Bloomberg L.P.), 7Hedge FX ECN, Hotspot FX, 360T, FXall & BAXTER Financial Services Ltd with Currency Dealing provide access to an electronic trading network, supplied with streaming quotes from the top tier banks in the world.”[/I] source: Electronic communication network (Note: We do offer institutional forex trading solutions through our FXCM Pro division.)

On our NDD model, FXCM does not take a market position, eliminating a major trading conflict of interest. Instead, we act as a price aggregator taking the best available bid and best ask prices from our liquidity providers and streaming those prices to the platforms we provide. For our profit, we add a fixed pip markup which acts as a commission, and that’s the price you see.

FXCM’s liquidity providers include global banks, financial institutions, and other market makers. This deep and diverse pool helps to ensure that NDD prices are reliable - not set by a single provider - and that they do reflect the broader forex market. Also, through competition, the NDD model ensures that prices are market-driven and fair.

Your orders automatically fill from the NDD price feed, which is the best available bid and best ask prices from all of our liquidity providers after FXCM’s mark-up. Additionally, your orders are anonymous to the liquidity providers. They cannot see your stops, limits, or entry orders; they only see market and limit orders coming from FXCM.

Very nice. The benefit of NDD as you call is just that… The commission versus variable spreads. When I have a few g’s to open the account… Simple math will point out NDD is much cheaper than non NDD as far as commission goes. Exactly why I would go ECN. Plus the conflict of interest is no longer the issue. Bingo. You just amplified why I would rather go ECN or NDD as you call it. Thanks, I will look into FXCM again the the time comes In a few months.