As I mentioned earlier, I suppose I’m just comfortable with them. I see your point, I just figured with my particular situation, I can take advantage of a potential loophole.
Anyone that is a non-U.S. resident that trades with FXCM uses their UK branch for the obvious reasons, so I figured this would just make things easier to stay with them.
I think the CFTC would need to create some new law restricting ex-pat Americans living abroad in order for me to be affected by them?
Maybe and maybe not. The US CFTC does not bother to fully clarify their own regulations. They feel their job is to regulate, not to explain. Why take the risk?
Well, technically the CFTC could just restrict any U.S. citizen from dealing overseas, so it wouldn’t really matter what broker I decide to work with. But that would be nearly impossible.
Anyone else on this board have a situation close to mine? U.S. native born citizen, currently living out of the country. Foreign bank account, telephone number, address, work, etc. Can you open a micro account with FXCM UK?
In all honesty, I sincerely doubt you’ll find someone to help you with this matter here. You can likewise inquire with the US CFTC and they will proudly take their chance to demonstrate the huge amount of the ULTIMATE DISRESPECT they have for you, a regular American citizen, by not even bothering to respond to your inquiry. Yet no remorse to be felt - one can hardly expect a different treatment, having voluntarily and consciously elected a communist government.
Hello, Dave
A couple of points:
When my FXCM accounts were repatriated from the U.K., all of FXCM’s communications referred to “U.S. residents”, not U.S. citizens. FXCM has a heavy-duty legal department, so I assume that they don’t use these terms carelessly.
I’m guessing that, as a non-U.S.-resident, you’d be welcome at FXCM-UK.
But, why not just go for it. If you’ve had a live account anywhere, then you know that opening an account, and funding an account, are two different steps. So, just go through the account-opening process. If they welcome you with open arms, then you’re set up with them. You can delay (as long as you like) in sending them your money.
As for being comfortable with FXCM, I can relate to that. If there were some legal loophole that allowed me to keep my FXCM-UK accounts (with no change in the terms and conditions), I would still be with them, regardless of the recent CFTC crap.
FXCM has a lot of good things to offer the small retail trader, starting with a stable trading platform, and the best charting package available (IMO).
Hey, thank you for your reply.
I’m still waiting for a reply from FXCM, so hopefully I will have one soon. The more I think about it though, I’m fairly confident that my particular situation will be advantageous for me in regards to currency trading. Legally, I have not been a U.S. resident for 2009 or 2010.
I will let you know what the outcome is when I get a response.
Thanks again.
Thank you, Jeannie
I have sent an inquiry to Marketiva, asking them to confirm this information.
I will leave them on the “yes” list, pending official confirmation of your information.
How much leverage is too much leverage is a very individual question. Clearly we all agree that retail traders who have limited financial resources need some level of leverage. But if you use too much, especially on a low probability trade, you’re going to get burned. On the other hand, if you know what you’re doing you can use high leverage to your advantage, but it’s still a risky situation.
Having to consistently rely on high amounts of leverage shows that you’re much too under-capitalized. The retail Forex market is great because it has allowed people with relatively little trading money to participate in this highly dynamic and potentially very lucrative world market, but if you have insufficient capital and don’t know what you’re doing you’re probably going to blow out your account trading high margin positions. By capping margin at 50:1 the CFTC has increased the barrier to entry for retail traders. To veteran retail traders as well as traditional big money Forex credit line traders, a cut like that won’t mean anything in practice because they have such high levels of capital to work with.
The more troubling aspect with the most recent CFTC move, however, is that it could just be the steppiing stone to further reductions in margin. Remember that the CFTC originally floated reducing margin to 10:1 before they settled on 50:1. Also remember that this regulation comes on the heels of the FIFO and non-hedging regulations instituted not too long ago. My concern is that we’ll see more regulations next year or in the coming years. If the near term we see margin reduced again I’ll take it as a sign that they plan to go down to 10:1 and flee for greener pastures. 50:1 is tolerable to me, but I can appreciate how it isn’t tolerable to others who have minimal liquidity to work with.
For reference, I’ve been seriously trading Forex for about 1.25 years and think that at this point I’m finally achieving consistent profitability.
You are correct, Jeannie. I will move Marketiva to the “no” list. Here is their reply:
Dear Clint,
Thank you for contacting our team and for your interest in Marketiva.
Unfortunately we currently do not provide our services for that location;
we regret this limitation.
Please do not hesitate to contact us for any additional information.
Kind Regards,
Songnan (松南 祝)
Personnel / Manager
Marketiva MM DOO
<[email protected]>
Original message:
Good morning,
I participate on a forex traders’ forum here in the United States. We are compiling a list of
forex brokers outside the U.S. who are willing to open new forex accounts for U.S. residents.
Many of our forum members are keenly interested in moving their accounts out of the U.S.,
in view of the over-regulation of retail forex now occurring here.
We currently have Marketiva on the list of brokers who will accept U.S. clients.
I am writing to ask you to confirm that this information is correct.
At your convenience, please reply to this email, and let me know whether we have your firm listed correctly.
Thank you for your attention to this matter.
Best regards,
Clint _________
@
I was playing with tadawul demo. their spreads are:
aud/nzd 25
eur/nzd 30
etc.
[B]cough… ack…[/B] :eek:
i do a lot with NZD my favorite currency, any suggestions for offshore with more reasonable spreads? (without having to go through all the brokers we have been discussing)
Hi Dave,
As long as you can prove you are a non-US resident (i.e. submit bank statement, utility bill, etc. showing non-US address) FXCM UK can open your account. Whether you have US citizenship will not matter as we base it on residency.
-Jason
I am with Dukascopy and have talked to them about the CFTC regulations. They are still accepting US clients and have no plans whatsoever to eject US clients. You can signup with them. However, from my personal prospective USE AN INTRODUCING BROKER. A good one is molecule6.com. The IB will save you up to 45% off all your commissions which will help greatly in making you more profitable.
You might try an Australian or New Zealand broker. To them, AUD/NZD is [B]not[/B] an exotic pair!
[B]Got Money FX[/B], an Australian broker on our “yes” list, has recently joined the [I]Broker Aid Station[/I] forum. They have the MT4 platform (which, I gather, you prefer); their demo account never expires; and their spread on AUD/NZD is 4 pips.
Their website lists the following spreads (they don’t list EUR/NZD) — Forex Broker in Australia | Forex Education | Forex VPS | Forex on line | Forex Expert Advisor | Best Forex | Trading Platform | Metatrader 4 - Spreads
I’m repeating what I have read. I have no personal experience with this broker.
Edit - Wednesday morning.
You mentioned trading the AUD/NZD and the EUR/NZD. You didn’t mention the EUR/AUD. But, as I’m sure you are aware, those three pairs are mathematically bound to one another.
The current (November) issue of [I][B]Futures[/B][/I] magazine arrived in the mail yesterday, and it has a good article on the near-term prospects for the [B]EUR/AUD[/B].
You can access [I]Futures[/I] online. Here’s a direct link to the EUR/AUD article —
Extreme opportunities in the EUR/AUD - Forex - Futures Magazine
Yet another serious addition to our list: a representative of Poland-based XTB has confirmed to me on the phone they continue accepting and servicing US customers with no leverage restrictions.
Try the BVI-based FXCBS.
FXCM customer service has confirmed for me that US citizens who can prove residency in foreign countries are allowed to trade on the UK platform.
Latvia-based Maximus Capital Markets have just also confirmed to me their acceptance of US individual customers with no leverage restrictions, so, please, include them in our list as well.
Or if you want Dukas’ feed on MT4, check out Fxopen.
gotmoneyfx no longer accepts U.S clients
Then they should be called, “gotnomoneyfx”.