I’ve been looking into forex for almost a year… been using a demo account with FXCM. Almost ready to open a live account, I’m thinking of doing it next week or the week after that.
Is FXCM the way to go? I am wondering, if a trader is successful, does that harm the broker in any way? I guess I’m looking for a broker who doesn’t have a reason to NOT want their customers to succeed.
I really like the FXCM interface, that’s why I’ve used it so much up until this point.
Any advice of weather they are the way to go, or should I be trying other brokers first?
I notice that no one has replied to your post yet. I’m FXCM’s online representative here on BabyPips and am here to help. To answer your question about whether a successful trader can harm a broker, it depends on the trade execution model used by the the broker.
FXCM has two types of forex execution: No Dealing Desk (NDD) and Dealing Desk (DD). The execution you choose impacts your trading experience and spreads. On the NDD execution model, FXCM immediately offsets the risk on the other side of client orders with our liquidity providers. That means a profit for our client does not mean a loss for us, or vice versa. We make our money from the pip markup on the spread.
On the DD execution, FXCM acts as a market marker taking the risk on the other side of your trades. Because we create the prices on which you trade, FXCM’s dealing desk is able to offer lower spreads than those provided by the No Dealing Desk (NDD) model. While FXCM believes that NDD execution provides the best overall trading experience, we also offer dealing desk execution as an option for traders whose primary concern is low spreads. This link has more info comparing the our two execution models: LINK
In regards to your question about trying other brokers, I encourage you to do your due diligence and see what else is out there. Later, if you have more questions about FXCM, feel free to ask me in our Broker Aid Station here: LINK
I’m really happy with FXCM and have been trading for a year or so. Also check out the Daily FX website for tips from FXCM’s forex analysts like Jamie, John, David and Ilja.
I’m curious to hear more people thoughts. I’m personally new to forex. I’ve been trading a demo account with fxcm for about a month so far, and I’m sure I don’t know how to tell the difference between a good and bad broker.
As much as I like fxcm’s web interface, and the iPhone app (really beautiful btw), I’ve unfortunately heard some very negative descriptions of fxcm… Things like “scam” and “bucket shop”. I’m just like everyone else and I want to be putting my hard earned money in the hands of an honest broker. At this point, I’m not sure if that exists. Anyone’s input is appreciated.
I’m definitely looking at getting a live account soon and I’ll be going with fxcm. I tried out the fxdailyplus service and it’s really good… they have archived webinars on specific forex topics which are super handy, and live lessons as well.
I’m just procastinating big time cos I wanna make sure I have the basic skills down pat before I put in real money. Getting closer each week though.
I do not trade with FXCM but have been pondering the idea for quite some time. One of my biggest reasons is I already trade with another broker and it would be to much of a hassle to be swapping funds around unless they showed something that stand above the rest. As of late they seem to be doing a good job of that. One thing I can assure you is FXCM is no bucket shop or scam. They are a true and legit broker. You will find the word scam tied with every single broker out there. They cant please every customer. Some customers just will not accept the fact they cant trade and lost there money and blame there brokers for it.
I can assure you FXCM is a world class broker for forex anyway and have a lot to offer you. I may not trade with them as of today but you will be a good hands there.
FXCM excellent broker with great customer service. But it depends which FXCM you get. I am in Canada and fxcm .ca spreads are much higher than fxcm UK. But Canadian accounts are insured (MF Global Canada clients got all there money back within a week) I believe it is not so for UK accounts and fxcm can put your money anywhere in the world they want and assume no responsibility for its loss.
While our new lower spreads aren’t available in Canada and this time, I’ll post on this forum should that change in the future. You are correct that Canadian clients are protected by the Canadian Investor Protection Fund, but it’s not correct to say that FXCM clients in other countries have no protection.
FXCM UK is regulated by the Financial Services Authority in London. FXCM UK client funds are held in banks in major financial centers like London and New York and are protected for up to 50,000 pounds each by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme.
Friedberg Direct (www.fxcm.ca) is regulated by the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada (IIROC) which means it can accept clients from British Columbia. Friedberg is also a CIPF member.
i’ve been with fxcm for nearly a year. I have never used another broker, so i can’t really compare. What I do know is that their spreads are a little high. EURUSD is usually 2.6-2.8 pips. During news events, the spread is sometimes twice the spread of other brokers. Apart from that I haven’t noticed anything bad about them, but found this recently: NFA levies $2,000,000 monetary sanction against FXCM and orders refunds to customers
In regards to the NFA action, that primarily concerned positive slippage not being passed on in full when transactions were offset with liquidity providers. I posted a detailed explanation here.
FXCM is a fine broker, they are the biggest and publicly trader on the NYSE. The spreads and execution are OK, the support is good, the platforms are good. Overall, they are good. Oanda and Interactive Brokers are also good. If you have a smaller account, any US based brokers will be OK. If you have a 100k+ account then you need to be more selective. They are too regulated and too under a microscope in the US under the NFA and CTFC to pull the crap that the Unregulated, Mauritius, Cyprus, Belize, Russian, etc firms can get away with. The NFA don’t play.
Accounts for Canadian residents are all opened through Friedberg Direct (www.fxcm.ca) since they are regulated by IIROC. In regards to their spreads, it would be best for you to speak with one of their account specialists directly to see what options they have available. If you would like me to arrange a follow up call for you, please send me a private message with your contact details.
Hi there
This is my first post since i started trading live a while ago. Although i have not been involved in the posting on this site, i have been following it extensively.
I would like to ask Jason Rogers a few questions. I hope he comes back.
Is it possible to ask them confidentially or do i have to do it openly on this forum. I tried sending him a private message but have not posted the minimum 20 posts.
Thanks in advance
Anton
