Hi FXCM,
I’m planning to open a fxcm micro account. What’s the max trade size and leverage on this account?
Is there a max limit on account balance?
Best Regards,
Niño
Hi Niño,
Welcome to the forum 
The maximum leverage on your account could be anywhere from 20:1 up to 400:1, depending on where you live. For example, US residents have a maximum leverage of 50:1 in compliance with US regulations. If you tell me what country you live in, I can provide specifics based on your location. In regards to the max trade size, the Trading Station allows for order sizes up to 50 million per trade provided you have the funds in your account to put up as margin. For example, a US account would need to set aside $1 million as margin in order to open a trade of 50 million. It’s possible to open a larger position by breaking it up into blocks of 50 million.
Since the platform can accept orders as small as 1 micro lot or as large as 50 million, it’s important to think about what trade size will work best for you personally. For example, someone might have a car that has a maximum speed of 200 mph, but trying to drive at that speed on the road is a recipe for disaster. Depending on whether someone is driving in a parking lot, near a school, or on a highway, the best speed to drive could range from 10 mph up to 80 mph. It’s similar with trade sizes.
A good starting point in deciding your trade size is to think about how much you want to deposit in your trading account. Many experts agree that it’s a good idea not to risk more than 2% of your account on any trade. Here’s a great article on BabyPips that explains why: Don’t Lose Your Shirt | Risk Management | Learn Forex Trading
Next you want to think about how much money you want to deposit in your trading account. The research team at DailyFX.com recently published a report based on statistics from tens of thousands of trading accounts. Here’s a summary of their findings: Research shows that the amount of capital in your trading account can affect your profitability. Traders with at least $5,000 of capital tend to utilize more conservative amounts of leverage. Traders should look to use an effective leverage of 10:1 or less. Click here for the complete article.
Suppose that based on this research you decide to start with $5000 in your account. Using the 2% rule, you wouldn’t want to risk more than $100 per trade. The report suggests not using more than 10:1 leverage, which would mean not placing a trade larger than 50k, since that’s ten times your $5000. Keep in mind that on a 50k trade, you’re risking about $5 per pip. Since you want to limit your risk to $100, that would mean you could only risk 20 pips on a 50k trade.
That might work for a short term trade, but you might want to consider reducing your trade size for longer term trades. For example a trade size of 10k would mean you’re risking $1 per pip and could therefore risk 100 pips. Theoretically, your account would let you place trades as small as a 1k microlot, which is risking only 10 cents per pip. That means you could risk as much as 1000 pips on a trade and can accomodate even the longest term trades which last several months.
Let me know if you have any further questions. Good trading!
Jason
Hi Jason,
I live in the Philippines. Can I avail the 400:1 leverage? Using MT4 platform what’s the max trade size for micro account?
Thank you for your very informative response.
Best Regards,
Niño
Hi Niño,
Yes, as a resident of the Philippines, you can have access to up to 400:1 leverage, and the max trade size on MT4 is 50 million, just like on the Trading Station. You can test this out for yourself on an MT4 demo.
As I mentioned in my last post, it’s important to use a trade size that’s appropriate for your balance. A good rule of thumb is to try not to exceed 10:1 leverage even if you have the ability to use up to 400:1.
Jason
Hi Jason,
Thank you for your quick response.
I have opened live micro account at FXCM UK LTD. Can I use the MT4 platform on trading instead of FXTS2?
On forexmicrolot dot com there’s no option to download MT4 only TS2.
Best Regards,
Niño
Hi Niño,
Since this question involves information specific to your personal account, please send me an email at <[email protected]> with your full name and account number. I can then provide you with instructions on converting your account to work on the MT4 platform.
Jason
Hi, Jason
I recently opened a real account at FXCM UK. I want change my leverage settings. The only available leverage options in the FXCM portal are 0.50% & 2%, but I need to change it into 4%. I emailed them the margin request form by mentioning the new margin level as 4%. But they replied me that your margin request can’t processed. How can I change my margin level into 4%.
Thanks.
Hi Jforexpro,
Since 4% is not one of our default margin settings, there may be some additional steps required in our back office to make that possible. Perhaps, if I could understand better why you wanted to have this specific margin setting, I can explain that to our Operations department.
If it’s just that you want to reduce your leverage, it’s important to understand the difference between maximum leverage and effective leverage. For example, if your minimum margin requirement (MMR) is set to 0.50% then that allows you a maximum leverage of 200:1, since you can set aside $5 to control a $1000 position such as 1k USD/JPY. On the other hand, if your MMR is 2%, then your maximum leverage is only 50:1, since you have to set aside $20 to control 1k USD/JPY position.
Note that regardless of what your MMR is, you can limit your effective leverage to 25:1, which I’m guessing is your goal. For example, suppose you have $10,000 in your account. If you want to limit your leverage to 25:1, then you can do this by limiting your total open positions to 250k or less, since 250,000 is 25 times greater than 10,000. If you have $1000, in your trading account, then you must limit your open positions to 25k, since 25,000 is 25 times greater than 1,000.
I made a post last week regarding effective leverage that might interest you. Please let me know if you have further questions regarding this.
Jason
Hey Jason, I have started a standard FXCM Account but would like to switch to a Micro account. Would I just open a brand new account or are there options to turn my current account into a Micro?
Welcome to the forum, Chartzard 
To clarify, FXCM offers Mini accounts ($50 minimum), Standard accounts (2k minimum) and Active Trader accounts (25k minimum). All three account types allow you to trade micro lots and risk as little as 10 cents per pip.
It should be possible to convert your existing Standard account into a Mini account, if you prefer, but I will need to see your specific account settings to provide you with correct instructions. Please email me at jrogers AT fxcm DOT com with your account details, and I will follow up on your request.
Thanks,
Jason
Hi Jason,
Hope you’re doing well.
Currently on a demo account (Trading Station) and will probably open a live mini account end of September.
I would like to know, what is the maximum leverage for South African based traders.
Thanks
Welcome to the forum, Phohu! I’m well, thanks, and you?
FXCM South Africa now in Johannesburg offers traders up to 400:1 leverage.
That said, it’s important to keep in mind how leverage magnifies both gains and losses. When you use excessive leverage, a few losing trades can quickly offset many winning trades. In fact, a recent DailyFX study on trader profitability showed that traders who used 10:1 leverage or less tended to do better than those who used more than 10:1 leverage. That equates to trading one micro lot (1000 currency units or 1K which is risking approximately 10 cents per pip) for every $100 you have deposited in your trading account.
What amount of leverage do you plan to use?
Hi Jason,
Thank you for the fast reply.
Planning to use 40:1 leverage trading a maximum of 5k per time.
Hi Phohu,
With FXCM South Africa, you can trade with that amount of leverage. Do I understand correctly that your plan is to start your account with $125? (5k / 40:1 leverage)
Hi Jason,
Will be starting my account with $200, but will only be opening 5k trades at a time. The remaining $75 will only be in the account as a back up.
Oh okay
Thank you for your time Jason 