Hi @alexslabu23,
In this post, we provide details on the three methods retail forex brokers can use to execute your orders: Who is the counterparty in an exchange?
Regulation by a reputable financial authority can go a long way to addressing the concerns you raised. The advantage of trading with a well-regulated broker is there are both financial and trading standards set, ongoing monitoring by the regulators to ensure compliance, a framework for handling complaints from customers, and the power to enforce actions against regulated brokers for violations.
For example, the CFTC and NFA set the requirements a broker must meet in order to offer forex trading to US residents. Though not an exhaustive list, this membership application will give you an idea of some of those requirements: Compliance Requirements for Retail Foreign Exchange Dealer (RFED) Applicants | NFA
Particularly noteworthy are the requirements for financial transparency and trade execution accountability. Below is an excerpt from the CFTC site:
The final rules include financial requirements designed to ensure the financial integrity of firms engaging in retail forex transactions and robust customer protections. For example, FCMs [futures commission merchants] and RFEDs [retail foreign exchange dealers] are required to maintain net capital of $20 million plus 5 percent of the amount, if any, by which liabilities to retail forex customers exceed $10 million. Leverage in retail forex customer accounts will be subject to a security deposit requirement to be set by the National Futures Association within limits provided by the Commission. All retail forex counterparties and intermediaries are required to distribute forex-specific risk disclosure statements to customers and comply with comprehensive recordkeeping and reporting requirements.
It’s important understand that even if a retail forex broker tells you they are an ECN instead of a market maker, that does not change the fact that they must still offset your orders with a market maker. That’s because market makers provide a vital function, not only in forex, but in many financial markets, including the major futures and stock exchanges.
Consider what the world’s largest stock exchange says about how their market model works:
The cornerstone of the NYSE market model is the Designated Market Maker (DMM). DMMs have obligations to maintain fair and orderly markets for their assigned securities. They operate both manually and electronically to facilitate price discovery during market opens, closes and during periods of trading imbalances or instability. This high touch approach is crucial for offering the best prices, dampening volatility, adding liquidity and enhancing value.
DMMs apply their market experience and judgment of dynamic trading conditions, macroeconomic news and industry-specific intelligence, to inform their decisions. A valuable resource for our listed company community, DMMs offer insights, while making capital commitments, maintaining market integrity, and supporting price discovery.
Full disclosure: FOREX.com is a market maker, but that’s not why we defend this model. In fact, for institutional traders, our parent company, GAIN Capital, offers ECN solutions through the GTX marketplace. We are a market maker for retail forex traders, because we believe market making is the best way to provide retail clients with reliable pricing at retail trade sizes while effectively managing our own risk. We are fully accountable for every execution and don’t outsource that responsibility to a third party. It’s not our intention to make this discussion about ourselves, but we wanted to address the misconceptions some people have about the market makers and the vital role they play in financial markets whether you trade forex or stocks.