Thank you Clint. Greatly appreciated. And FWIW, I did read through the last 10 pages of the thread to learn more, as well as the first page with the updated list.
I think they are being careful after seeing what happened with FinFX. It looks like they are trying to establish that they do not actively solicit US clients.
I have not received any emails stating any policy change for [B]Tradersway [/B]neither.
Another FinFx refugee here… Maybe they weren’t sued or threatened by the CFTC/US gov’t. Perhaps they need to jettison their US customers to make a change in their business that exposes them to US regulation? It seems very sudden if that is the case. They were probably threatened. I received no detailed explanation other than the standard “Thanks for understanding” message and being notified that the account would transfer to Tallinex.
Trading is difficult enough in order to make a living. I wish I knew the real reason for the crippling CFTC regs. I can assure all of you, that it has nothing to do with protecting anybody. That’s just the cover story. Only the lobbyists and politicians know the truth.
May I ask, are you going to try Tallinex, or will you switch to a different broker, and if so, who ??? I’m looking for suggestions.
I have been corresponding with Tallinex and have received friendly, helpful and thorough responses to my questions. The two senior directors are Finns, and ex FinFX. Personally I feel as confident about them as one can, and my partner and I are comfortable in suggesting them to our clients (though, as always, we stop short of recommendation of course).
They use the same liquidity providers as FinFX, client funds are kept in the same banks. They have the same pairs, the same feed. Actually I pointed out some small discrepancies on 1hr bars, and the guy I was corresponding with investigating and found the server times were not being synchronised sufficiently frequently. It was fixed immediately. All in all, I am reasonably impressed. But of course, this is not with live account as yet.
Every country has ‘protectionists’ policies ranging from anti-money laundering laws, import/export laws, agricultural restrictions, labor/unions, etc. to enforce their culture and way of life. Different countries have different views on what industries they value the most and the extent they will go to protect their industry.
USA has a vested interest in how USD is used and circulated around the world. Basically the US wants to keep USD credits that is in the physical US separate from USD that is circulated outside of the USA. So one way to do that and protect domestic businesses was to block offshore forex businesses from transacting directly with US residents and require them to obtain a local license (with CFTC).
I’ve always admired the spirit of this thread, so I keep an eye on it. But a more permanent solution is similar to what most people would do if gambling (betting real money on sports, games, etc) was banned in a particular jurisdiction. You just go to the nearest jurisdiction that does allow it and then gamble all you want. [B]I summarize the equivalent of do this in derivatives more [I]in this post[/I][/B] about 1/3 way back.
I understand this may be initially inconvenient, but it works out much better in the long run rather than taking a risk on a non/loosely regulated broker who will either renege their decision later (volunteerism or with CFTC pressure) or gets a slap on the wrist if they mismanage client funds. One of the biggest advantages of the 2nd residency method would be access to onshore brokers in other developed countries in most cases. Scams will be everywhere, but much easier to avoid them for the avg retail trader in a more stringently regulated location.
It will be tough to operate a legit forex brokerage without having to come into contact with the USA at some point; a lot of this has to do with USD being the de-facto world reserve currency and of course having lots of infrastructure and trading volume for world financial community located in New York and Chicago. Even if a broker does initially offer to accept US residents, how long will it last? [I]Best to avoid opening any forex trading account with any US resident credentials if possible.[/I] Much harder to change it after the fact.
PFGBest essentially got a slap on the wrist for gambling with customer money in a non-segregated account and they were a US company, supposedly abiding by US regulations.
That is what makes the decision difficult. US brokers often seem to be equally as corrupt, if not moreso that foreign brokers.
That’s a perfectly reasonable conclusion for you to draw.
Choosing a broker is a very personal decision, and one that nobody can make for you.
This thread contains ratings and recommendations on various brokers by various forum members, and we link to most of those comments and opinions in our List (on posts #1 and #2). However, the List itself is not intended to be a list of recommendations. Instead, it is a raw list of offshore brokers who will open accounts for Americans. In the quest to find a good offshore broker, that’s the first step — identifying brokers who will deal with you. Our List is basically intended to get you started with that first step.
After you have a List of brokers who will deal with you, your next several steps involve your serious investigation of some (or all) of those brokers — what we call due diligence — to determine whether any of them might be right for you. Our List can help only marginally with those chores, by including info on place of domicile, regulatory status, and basic account metrics; and links to websites, and to the comments of our members. From there, you’re on your own.
Personally, I agree with you that [I]the lack of even a comment about the SNB crisis,[/I] on the part of some of the brokers on our List, throws up red flags. And, like you, I might tend to shy away from those brokers, in favor of the brokers who are open and upfront about what has transpired.
However, that being said, I don’t think a broker’s lack of response to the SNB crisis should be a reason to drop them from our List. But, as always, decisions like that should be directed by the active members of this thread, not just by me. So, I’m listening for the opinions of others.
My impression of [B]Tallinex[/B] is favorable, although I have no direct personal experience with them.
And I think it counts for a lot that FinFX recommends that you move your trading to Tallinex. FinFX has a very good reputation on this thread, and on several other forex sites, as well. And I don’t think they would knowingly tarnish their reputation by referring their (former) U.S. clients to a second-rate broker.
But, due diligence is always the order of the day. Are you comfortable with everything you read on their website? Are you comfortable with the answers you have been given via Live Chat, email or phone contacts? Do you like their platform, their leverage, their spreads, and their Terms and Conditions?
It’s all on you at this point, and it’s a decision to be taken seriously.
I agree with tomd100: the [B]TradersWay[/B] Customer Service guy, Dan (whoever he is), is being very cautious about divulging company policy in this matter. And, reading between the lines of those Live Chat transcripts, it’s pretty clear (I think) that TradersWay has no problem accepting U.S. clients, but accepts no responsibility for any trouble that you might get into with the laws or regulations of the U.S.
And, on that point, I can tell you that there are no laws or regulations prohibiting a U.S. resident (or citizen) from having offshore forex accounts, bank accounts, or any other sort of financial accounts which would be legal in the U.S.
What I [I]cannot[/I] tell you is that there [I]never will be[/I] such laws or regulations. The Nanny State is never satisfied with the control it has over our lives, and is always grasping for even more control.
Regarding the 9 brokers in Group 1 of our List who haven’t come forward with information about the SNB crisis and how they weathered it, [B]one of the 9 has spoken up.[/B]
[B]FX Glory (Republic of Georgia)[/B] displays the following 2 blog posts on their website (note the dates):
Dear clients,
Fxglory company informs the clients that:
Due to the discontinuation and volatility of the Swiss Franc minimum exchange rate, and in order to guarantee clients’ trades profit/loss by our liquidity providers, please be informed that the leverage of currency pairs which include Swiss Franc ( USDCHF, EURCHF, AUDCHF, GBPCHF, CADCHF, NZDCHF, CHFJPY ) is changed to 1:100 temporarily till further announcement.
If there are any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact us.
Financial Department
[B]January 19th, 2015[/B]|Categories: Fxglory News||0 Comments
Dear clients,
Fxglory company informs the clients that:
The Swiss National Bank’s unexpected policy reversal of capping the Swiss franc against the euro causes volatility in EUR/CHF pair that was unexpected for brokers and liquidity providers. Based on our liquidity providers’ announcement we cannot guarantee any trades on pairs which include CHF till further announcement.
Clients should be certain that all other pairs work as before and without any problems. Fxglory lifetime policy is respecting clients and revealing any information to our clients was and will be our first priority.
If there are any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact us.
Financial Department
[B]January 16th, 2015[/B]|Categories: Fxglory News||0 Comments
What they haven’t discussed is the financial impact (if any) on their capital position.
But, their announcements [I]seem to imply[/I] that it’s business as usual for FX Glory.
My initial research into Tallinex seems favorable. I’m giving myself until the end of the week to decide. For those US residents that [I]want a choice[/I] to trade a system that uses hedging, LIFO and more margin, the options are becoming scarce. How long will it be until Tallinex falls under the same pressure and dumps it’s US customers?
I was with FinFX for almost five years. I was happy with MB trading, but left them when the Dodd/Frank rules were announced. I had to take a risk on a new broker in 2010 and now I have to do it again courtesy of the CFTC.
Two things need to happen:
- I need to find a permanent solution, so I can go about my business and make a living without senseless interference and interruption.
- The Dodd/Frank legislation pertaining to FX needs to be amended, if not repealed.
Not much I can do about #2, so I’ll focus on #1.
I wish good trading to everyone here and look forward to sharing any information as we move through this forced transition.
I’d also like to say[B] thanks to Clint[/B] for all of your time and work over the last few years in maintaining this forum.
sknight1- Still on the fence. Taking the rest of the week to decide. FinFx was my secondary broker, so I’m not feeling too rushed. What about you?
[B]IKOFX (British Virgin Islands),[/B] one of the brokers in Group 1 of our List, has not posted any information about the SNB crisis. There is an official representative of IKOFX who posts a daily market analysis in the [I]Forextown[/I] forum, and even there, it’s remarkable how little has been said about the crisis.
On Black Thursday, the IKOFX analysis was posted prior to the SNB action. On Friday, January 16, the IKOFX commentary was titled “GBPCHF Under Pressure Post SNB Event”, and the only comment in that post regarding “the event” was this:
“The Swiss franc traded higher against most major currencies including the British pound. The GBPCHF pair dived more than 2000 pips and traded towards the 1.2600 support area. The move was eye-catching and caught many traders by surprise.”
The writer of that is a master of understatement: “caught many traders by surprise”. Ya think?
Yesterday’s (Monday’s) IKOFX post was all about the EUR — mainly the EUR/JPY — with no mention at all of the SNB or the CHF.
Oddly, for all their posting in the [I]Forextown[/I] forum, IKOFX does not participate in the [I]Broker Aid Station[/I] forum.
[B]Forex Metal (Panama)[/B] is registered in the [I]Broker Aid Station[/I] forum, but has never posted there — not even an introductory greeting. Supposedly, their representative will answer any questions posted in that forum, so I’m going to post some questions there and see whether anyone is even home at Forex Metal.
Good point, gpcode1.
However, an event like Black Thursday is basically a “black swan event” — an event so rare that most people would say it’s virtually impossible. I wonder whether it’s prudent to take inconvenient measures to defend against a black swan event.
I also wonder whether true segregated customer accounts would prevent that sort of pilfering of one account to cover the losses in another account. Whether the answer to that is yes or no, I think segregated customer accounts are long overdue in the U.S.
And if any new regulations come out of the CFTC or NFA as a result of the damage done by Black Thursday, I hope that segregated customer accounts will be it.
Welcome to this thread, by the way.
I suppose the easier thing to do would be to try Tallinex… after all, it requires no work on my part since FinFX will be doing the transferring of accounts. So long as the withdrawal process works and I can get my funds out should I choose to switch brokers. And I like what Clint said about hoping that FinFX, with their solid reputation, wouldn’t hand off US customers to a crappy broker.
I lost a significant amount of money during my two year learning curve. Became consistently profitable toward the end of 2014 and am now working to recover the losses. The extra leverage would be helpful even if only for a short time before there are no foreign brokers left that want to deal with US customers.
Re: about the first of the two things that you need to happen… ever consider expatriating ??? I have a trader-friend who will soon be expatriating to Belize due to all the nanny state regs here in the US. Might be an option for you. I know I’d consider it if I could afford it.
[B]aaceofspades[/B], thanks for your comments on Tallinex.
And welcome to this thread.
[B]4evermaat,[/B] it’s been months since we’ve heard from you. Thanks for “keeping an eye” on us.
And thanks for posting your thoughts on the current state of offshore trading.
Agreed. No red flags so far, so I’m leaning that way as well.
I’d like to think the same. FinFx was solid. They seem to have a lot in common with Tallinex. I’m wondering how deep their connection is. I think it’s more than coincidental. I’ll share more on that soon. Still researching.
We all did. You didn’t give up like so many do, so now you’re here. Extra leverage is always helpful. I laugh whenever I hear complaints about too much of it. It’s a tool to be used appropriately. My USD/JPY longs (on since last Friday) would be substantially smaller right now without it.
And yes, I’m worried about how much time we have left as well.
Maybe part-time. I’ve been to Belize. Nice to visit, but I wouldn’t want to live there full-time. It’s nicer than Mexico, but I’m not sure about my comfort level when it comes to banking. I’ve been able to keep all of those thoughts (expatriating, offshore corp, etc.) on the back burner for the last few years but FinFx is giving me a wake-up call. I’m interested to hear more about what your friend has learned. Please let me know more.
Keep doing what you’re doing and you’ll be able to afford it.
A permanent solution would be to become a citizen of another country. I think it’s not an unreasonable action to consider if one is able to support himself solely by trading. Just make sure any prospective domicile has reliable internet service available.
Let us know anything more that you learn about Tallinex.
Re: the first years losses… I often think I’m in too deep to give up now. lol I want my money back, plus the interest owed to me for suffering through the learning curve. 
Re: leverage… I recently posted something on a forex factory thread where others were being very critical of excess leverage… and I stated that “…leverage is not the problem, leverage used inappropriately is the problem… the responsibility to learn and employ money management strategies is on you !” So many traders refuse to take responsibility for their actions and thus, will never learn from their mistakes.
Re: usdjpy… congrats ! I was able to catch a UJ long for 33 pips @ 1 standard lot yesterday morning.
Re: expatriating… my trader friend doesn’t talk much about it, he’s only mentioned it a few times. I think this is because he’s so irritated by all the regs that he just doesn’t want to dive into the anger of the situation anymore. Understandable. I’ve no experience in international travel so I can’t speak to specific locales but, I’ve researched Belize, Acapulco, and others. I first became interested in the option through my trade friend. Then when Black Monday happened and the feds shut down online gambling, websites began to pop up to help professional poker players relocate and / or expatriate to countries where they could continue to make a living. So, there’s another area where people have been kicked in the backside by regulations.
I don’t have enough posts to send PM’s yet but, once I do, I can PM you some links to those sites if you’re interested. Otherwise, you can google “poker - relocating - expatriating” and I’m sure you’ll come across them. 
And just like every major city in the US has an area that you would not want to live in, there are also areas that are safer to live in. When considering expatriating, you’d want to look for an established expat community, in which you will find the desired services… like shopping, health care, law enforcement. It’s the expat / tourism dollars that fund those services because the location wants to keep those dollars, and thus will provide the creature comforts in order to keep the people happy. There are online services that help you set up your passports, banking, utilities, cell phone service, etc.
Another Tallinex “convert” here…I have been reading the last couple of pages of the thread and have been going through the exact same things/thought processes glad to have found that i am not alone:51:…going to go through with the account transfer on the 31st on faith in Finfx…One point i would make is that we should all write our respective senators and representatives explaining the @$$ backwards logic behind no_FIFO and no_offsetting positions (and let them have their little leverage victory for the time being) and HOPEFULLY if a Republican can win the next pres. election maybe we could get the ball rolling on amending these arcane rules they have shackled us with…(Food for CFTC thought) off-setting positions would have offered another massive layer of protection against the removal of the cap by the SNB…Please feel free to contact me at my email if any one wants to talk specifically about Tallinex going forward! I am extremely grateful that there other traders going through he same problems with our own taxpayer funded bureaucracy!
THANK YOU CLINT FOR YOUR TIME AND EFFORT INTO RESEARCHING THIS LIST YOU HAVE COMPILED!