Hey all, I am thinking about moving from FXCM to another forex broker here in the USA and thought about TD Ameritrade. I used to have TDA for my Options trading so I know a bit about them.
Can someone let me know the differences between the two as far as forex goes? Is TDA a non dealing desk? How to their commissions / spreads compare to FXCM’s (i.e., If I place the same trade with both brokers, who would I pay more to)?
Thanks
Hi KarmaSenge,
As FXCM’s representative here on BabyPips, I would appreciate your feedback on why you’re looking to switch. Perhaps I can find a solution so we can better meet your trading needs. 
Well, TDA isn’ t promoting NDD or ECN, so it is reasonable to assure that it is a dealing desk broker. They mention non commission pairs, I don’t know what that is or which one are non-commission, but if the spreads are similar to that of FXCM, you pay about the same.
They charge $10 per lot, that is pretty good. But poor execution can increase your costs, I haven’t got any idea how there execution is.
Something was bugging me about my answer. I know now what it is.
TDA has a minimum commission of $1. So if you trade mini-lots (let us say 0.02) you would pay $1 commission. 50 times 0.02 lots trades sums up to $50 commission. This is significantely higher than a mor normal $ 15-20.
I was already wondering where they earn the money by asking lower commissions, well there it is…