Thanks for this update, compounder.
Back in April, john81az posted that he had been told by someone at Profiforex that they do accept U.S. clients, despite the statement to the contrary on their website —
John thought that this might be a case of a “public statement” on the website to satisfy the CFTC, versus a “private policy” of acceptance out of sight of the CFTC.
Not so, apparently.
We can forget about Profiforex, along with the rest of the Seychelles.
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First off, excellent thread! Hard to find quality info and insight on this topic. This thread is liquid gold as far as I am concerned. Thumbs up to Clint and everyone else contributing to it.
Offshore newbie here. I debated as to whether I should post here or Newbie Island. I felt this forum was appropriate so I apologize if I’m wrong.
OK - my questions and then my details and rational. Please guide me because offshore is something I know nothing about.
Does offshore make sense for me this early in the game?
I am going to do a demo account. Obviously, I’d like to demo a broker I’m serious about opening an account with. As far as I can see, the only option domestically is FXCM. I have no experience with them. I’ve heard a lot about them over the past few years and it seems to be 6 to 5 and pick 'em with that broker. Lots of good and lots of bad opinions. They are regulated and I could use Ninja Trader with them instead of MT4. Not a must but it would be nice to have that platform. Right now, I’m considering FX CHOICE (offshore Belize). Seems like they could offer close to ECN type services, and they do have MT5. Possibly the extra perks would be flipping the bird to the NFA/CFTC and having higher leverage at my disposal. To be honest, I don’t see myself ever using anything above 50:1 anyway. I was seriously only going to go up to 20:1. I don’t have enough skill or experience to utilize higher leverages.
Are the offshore money transfer fees as bad as I think?
I’ve looked at the deposit/withdrawal process and it seems to be messy. I’d have to pay my bank fees, then a company like ePayments has their own fee schedule! For now, money will not be moving. It would just be deposited to start a live account when I’m ready and then add more funds if necessary. Maybe I’m not seeing this clearly and the fees are not as bad as I imagine for a US resident?
MY CURRENT PLAN
I want to demo for the next 6 months or so then go live. I plan on depositing around $1000 or so to test the waters and trade one trade at a time and only 1 micro lot at a time. Experience, psychological discipline, skill development and successful trading are my goals for the next year, not making huge profits. I’m a swing trader looking to hold trades for a few days at most initially and not hold any trades open over the weekends. Hopefully, by this time next year I’ll consider myself ready and will then deposit 5-10k. Additionally, I was planning on using 2 different demo accounts to compare the data and prices against each other. Example - do demo trades on FX Choice and use FXCM demo for visual comparison.
ABOUT ME
Not new to trading (certainly not a pro either!) but new-ish to Forex. I live in NJ. I have run two successful businesses so I understand discipline, risk and money management all too well. I traded commodities and Forex years ago, and got eaten alive trading with some partners that ‘had a system’. Never again! lol I’ve learned and grown up a lot since then. I’ve spent the past 5 years educating myself, reading the great tomes by the likes of Alexander Elder, etc. Yes, I even went through the School of Pipsology last week. (It was excellent by the way) We all know the nightmare that is known as finding a decent broker in the USA because of the NFA/CFTC rules.
So, does it make sense for me or should I just eat it and go with a big box broker like FXCM?
Thanks for any and all advice about GOING OFFSHORE !
Hi,
Haven’t posted in awhile, but wanted to offer my thoughts. I agree you should demo with the broker you will ultimately go live with. I have been trading offshore for about 4 years now and the past year and a half have been exclusively with Trader’s Way. I have used 7 offshore brokers, including 3 that are no longer accessible to US clients, I have found Trader’s Way offers the tightest spreads, lowest commission and best execution out of all 7. Do not trade with a US broker, aside from the leverage, hedging and FIFO, the bottom line is the brokers here are crooks. Other than one broker who requires 10K and has a horrible platform, there are no ECN brokers, they are all trading against you, playing tricks like platform freezing, price spikes for no reason, etc. and despite the NFA/CFTC touting the toughest regulation in the world, they do nothing but slap some hands and issue fines. If they were really looking out for the trader, we would have segregated accounts or some type of funds protection, but the CFTC doesn’t even allow it even if the brokers wanted to offer it. So, yes, definitely go offshore, keep 70% of your trading capital in your own bank as you only need 10% to execute the same trades. I haven’t deposited in awhile, but I’ll provide you my contact there and over a certain amount, he will waive the fee. I pay 1% + a $5 fee to withdrawal. So really no big deal at all. I withdrawal weekly and always in my bank in 3 business days.
For me I’m still thinking between Trader’s Way and FXChoice!?
I really dislike MT4, SOOOO archaic compared to Ninja Trader.
FXCM, is COMPLETELY out of the question for me; NOTORIOUS and BLATANT STOP HUNTERS!
I’ll keep my reply brief because I don’t want to clutter this thread or change it’s direction or purpose.
Thanks for the response. Those were pretty much my thoughts and concerns too. I demo traded on MB Trading for a while then they got bought up by Trade (bucket shop) King. As far as I’m concerned, they were the last good Forex broker in the US. I can’t believe in this country that we have so few and such horrible options for Forex brokers. Oh wait, yes I can believe because it’s the same thing with the cable industry. lol End of rant.
I was told today by FinPro that they do not accept US clients.
I never got the email about this from them my live account is still active currently. I also have not found anything on FinPro site mentioning this. Did they tell you this in a live chat session?
fin pro platform is horrible & cust service is a mess i trade with Brendale & tradewise & LMFX so far so good all live accounts LMFX & tradeiwse has good spreads on ECN so cross my fingers .
Is there an activist group or petition that involves lobbying the CFTC/NFA to change their attitude towards offshore brokers?
I’d like to join, donate money and sign petitions if possible.
@Clint
If there is a sensible, professional type advocacy group, would you consider adding that info to this thread? I’d hazard to say creating a separate thread and linking to it probably the best idea to keep this thread lean and mean.
Food for thought.
Chewing on it.
.
Cool!
Uhmm, is that with the cigarillo, the poncho and the six shooters or the tie and blazer combo .44 magnum?? Please answer with text and not lead. On second thought and for safety’s sake…nevermind. :22:
More info on[B] FinPro[/B]…
I am considering opening an account there. Spoke with a customer rep today via email regarding acceptance of US residents. He replied, “I would like to confirm that we do accept US clients and we have many clients from US who are actively trading with us.”
Still, the UK is probably not an ideal location for brokers wishing to avoid the “long arm” of the CFTC. Wouldn’t expect this situation to last over the long term.
I think ForexExlax has a really excellent, long overdue suggestion. Just complaining for years without actually trying to do something about it makes little sense, even if some kind of activist activity or petitions fail to get results. I think a petition should be created that traders can somehow sign, carefully explaining and “spelling out” to lawmakers the [B]ludicrousness and many outright evils[/B] of what the leverage decreasing, economy stifling Dodd Frank legislation has done to currency traders and even to many small, community banks. Clint’s passion and ability to be unusually, intelligently articulate, when fully unleashed, should make a lasting, strong impression on legislators. Traders on this forum can be asked to sign the petition and also encouraged to get their mates, relatives, friends, fellow church members, and maybe even their dog to sign the petition, too. Even if it takes almost a year to get a substantial number of signers, a petition, delivered by certified mail, might at least speed up the process of rescinding Dodd Frank. Polls keep showing that Hillary will beat Trump in the final election, and she probably will leave Dodd Frank intact.
Thanks for the compliment. If a movement does not currently exist, let’s start one here. The idea of press coverage and reporters having to reference and credit the website BabyPips tickles me in a delightful way!
As far as the results of the Presidential election…it will likely have zero impact on Dodd-Frank. This is a matter of the U.S. Congress. I’m no expert on D-F. I’ll assume it should not be completely withdrawn, just amended. I’m sure there are some excellent protections and rules in it that would be best left intact. A national petition and movement is what is needed with websites and trader’s groups getting behind it. Possibly sympathetic brokers to fund some media exposure and commercials? On the individual trader level, hand-written letters, emails and phone calls to their Senators and Representatives is an absolute must. Maybe well written, clear and concise phone call scripts and form letters could be posted here (or wherever the petition may be found) and made available for that purpose.
One look at Clint’s first couple of posts should turn your blood to ice. The reality is scary! None of us can add anything that Clint hasn’t already stated in post #5.
Good Morning, Mr. Clint.
I searched the Forum but couldn’t find it…
So, I would like to ask you:
What does it mean the green spots beside some brokers saying “TRUSTED BROKER” ? Did you test them ?
I hope hearing from you as soon as possible.
Thanks for your time and attention.
Green pips for all,
MrJinks.
In the very first post, under the NOTES section - the very last paragraph explains the TRUSTED designation.
[B]ForexExlax,[/B] thanks for stepping up, and answering MrJinks’ question.
[B]MrJinks,[/B] here is some additional information on how our three Trusted Brokers came to be designated —
http://forums.babypips.com/forex-brokers/36221-going-offshore-escape-cftc-post744386.html#post744386
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Hi guys,
as the DF is always a loved topic and the political guesses are also coming back time to time, the following article might be interesting for you:
Wall Street bearish on Trump’s call to scrap financial reform law | Reuters
FE
This is very strange since I’m still actively trading with them. In fact, I have several open trades at this very moment. Been with them since January 2015 so not sure if that makes a difference. Never any problems.
Btw, I’ve been following this thread for a long, long time and really appreciate all the work put in. Thanks to all, especially Clint.
Well, this is a mystery to me, too, TheDirtySerb. (interesting name) If you really are a US resident, then try to make as much money as you can as fast as you can with Profiforex before they close your account. Apparently Profiforex will do whatever it wants to someone whenever they want to do it.