TD Ameritrade

Broker Discussion Forex Brokers
1

Hello everyone! This is my first post at BP (that’s an unfortunate abbreviation for an awesome website :slight_smile:

So, in looking at a lot of reviews, and reading a ton of posts, I’ve come to the conclusion that many brokers aren’t trustworthy, and rest is subjective.

The best, consistent reviews I’ve seen are for Dukascopy (every other broker seems to have a story attached to it about someone getting screwed), but does anyone have any experience with TD Ameritrade? I use them with an institutional account for long-term investing, and they’re solid all around. I imagine they’re heavily regulated - I suppose that has it’s pros and cons. But I doubt they’re going anywhere…

Any thoughts?

Thx!

2

This broker is stocks specialized. THey have forex but commissions are heavy. I recommend you Dukascopy if you wanna jump to an ecn.

Regards.

3

Cool, thx - I’ll try Dukascopy :slight_smile:

EDIT: Because of US regs, Dukascopy can’t work with you unless you’re an Eligible Contract Participant (as an individual, you have to have more than $10MM USD. They’re suggesting Alpari or FXDD :frowning:

4

Try thinkorswim if you like td ameratrade. Thinkorswim is owned by td ameratrade and I think there commissions are a little lower. I use them for not really for Forex. I mainly use it for stocks and commodities and the like. Good company but there rates are a little high I will not argue that but I believe you pay for what you get and they have outstanding service.

5

Hello.

If you DO NOT live in the USA then there is only one broker for you: Deltastock AD (now WHY would that be coming from me I wonder)??? LOL!!! And by the way: I challenge you (or anyone else) to find a ‘story attached’ to Deltastock AD (well: a ‘story attached’ that I’ve NOT ‘taken care of’ that is)!!! LOL!!!

If you DO live in the USA then ALSO there is only one broker for you: TradeStation Securities (and no I have nothing to do with them but I know OF them and I know OF their trading platform and I know OF their reputation). And YES: I AM a supporter of the Dodd-Frank Bill!!! LOL!!!

Alas and with great sadness I do have to admit though: ThinkOrSwim is apparantely good too (but this based on knowing only ONE person who trades Options with them). The only thing that puts me off them is the shortened form of their name (‘TOS’) and their trading platform but hey: ‘that’s just me’!!! LOL!!!

Regards,

Dale.

6

Awesome, thx guys! (Dale, I AM in the US)

I’m going to talk to ThinkOrSwim tomorrow and find out more about their spreads. They definitely seems great for options.

Exto Capital looks very good too, has tight spreads, and no dealing desk.

TradeStation looks great as well, and has great spreads. The money is also held with Chase, which I like, and they got a great review from Barron’s.

I may contact CitFX as well, but not sure how competitive they are.

7

NOt sure about most you listed. I have used tradestation from FXCM there pretty good from what I can tell.

Also I agree with Dale on thinkorswims trading platform. It does take some getting used to. But there demo account (paper money account) never expires so you will get the hang of it. Plus they have many webinars on there platform.

8

Good morning.

TradeStation looks great as well, and has great spreads. The money is also held with Chase, which I like, and they got a great review from Barron’s.

I’d say ‘well there is your answer right there’!!! LOL!!!

Alright and to be honest: I’m not telling ‘the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth’ here (about TradeStation and TradeStation Securities).

Put it this way: ‘one day when I’m all growed up’ (and I’m 46-years old now) i.e. as in when I have a HUGE amount of capital they’re my ‘target’. Alright: I don’t trade Spot FOREX so the minimum capital requirements (for you) to open an account are not horrendous ($2 000) and the maximum leverage is 50:1 on Spot FOREX. But as I also noted: I am (NOW) a firm supporter of the Dodd-Frank Bill and I believe NOW that I know the reasoning for a lot of what was behind it. This ‘bullsh*t’ of trading at 200:1 or 500:1 (or 1 100:1 which is the most I’ve seen on offer) leverage is only there to lure the ‘unsuspecting’ and encourage them to overtrade and, well, in the end, this invariably ‘leads to tears’.

TradeStation Securities has been around for MANY years and they’re registered and regulated with just about every authority in the USA (if not ALL of them). They’ve ‘traditionally’ always been a ‘proper’ Stocks, Options, and Futures Broker and Spot FOREX is something relatively new to them. Their trading platform is ‘second to none’ and I can tell you that most of the ‘real deal Futures Traders’ either ‘rent’ the platform (and trade with another Stock and Futures broker for what reason is beyond me) or trade with them directly and I’ve seen what their platform is capable of etc. Unfortunately: there’s no demo account available (they call it a ‘practise account’) i.e. you get a ‘practise account’ once you’ve opened and funded your live account. Also: be aware of the fact that they are the counterparty to Spot FOREX trades (but not so with Stocks, Options, and Futures) but this is VERY clearly detailed in their account opening documents and their terms and conditions i.e. ‘no after the fact surprises’. But in THEIR case I don’t believe that’s anything you have to worry about. Dare I say that as with Deltastock: you’ll be ‘hard pressed’ to find any bad reviews about them anywhere on the Internet (I know because I’ve looked and looked HARD)!!! LOL!!!

And no: I do NOT work for them and am in NO way affiliated to them. Deltastock does not accept US Citizens (even those that are non-resident in the USA) so I don’t believe I’m ‘breaking any rules’ here by advocating that you look at another broker (because Deltastock cannot accommodate you). But I’d rather that you’re in ‘OTHER good hands’. That’s where I’m coming from in this post.

And, well, like I said: ‘when I’m all growed up’ then THAT’S where I want to be i.e. trading Stocks and Futures with them (as opposed to CFDs which is what I’m currently limited to trading). Current problem: take a look a the minimum maintenance and overnight margins for trading Stocks and Futures (and with Futures the minimum maintenance margin varies from contract to contract) and DO NOTE the LITTLE TO NO LEVERAGE available on Stocks and Futures!!! That’s for the ‘pros’ my man. That’s for the ‘pros’!!!

If you do go their route: get in touch with a chap my the name of Bruce Brotine in Sales. VERY helpful and VERY patient and VERY understanding!!! LOL!!! And if you do go their route: please let me know how things work out for you (needless to say I’ll be jealous of you)!!! LOL!!!

Regards,

Dale.

9

Bob - thanks so much.

Dale - you’re hilarious :slight_smile:

All of this is SO much appreciated - I’m going to call Bruce now! I’ll keep you posted…

10

Well: I have my ‘uses’!!! LOL!!!

And, well, as I say, seeing as I cannot help you (as much as I’d love to be able to believe me), I’d rather that you’re in ‘OTHER hands’ that I KNOW to be ‘good’. And besides: that ‘TOS’ platform will result in your requiring prescription spectacles after not TOO long a period!!! LOL!!!

Actually I’ve been meaning to comment on YOUR comment about ‘BP’!!! LOL!!! Same applies to ‘TOS’!!! LOL!!!

BE WELL and GOOD TRADING and keep in touch ANYWAY.

Regards,

Dale.

11

I talked to Bruce - he was great. I’m going to open an account :slight_smile:

BTW, he said they’re acting like an ECN with no dealing desk, and getting rates directly from the 8 or 9 major players.

12

You lucky ‘bast*rd’!!! LOL!!!

That could very well be the case. My information is a bit ‘aged’ (as am I as noted).

I’ll tell ya what: you build that FOREX account into +$20 000 and ‘when I’m growed up’ we’ll trade Stocks and ETFs together OK (at ‘TS’ not ‘TOS’)??? LOL!!!

Regards,

Dale.

13

Sounds like a plan!

14

Hey Dale, thanks for all your input. I have a question that maybe you can point me in the right direction. I’m currently trading FOREX and metals (Gold and Silver), but want to migrate to all commodities. I have been using FXCM and their platform for some time, and only getting into Metatrader recently, all on practice accounts. Read your comments on Tradestation, and probably will migrate to them (hoepfully soon), but can you point to a broker that will allow me to open a practice account that will let me trade all commodities on Metatrader? Don’t know if I’m reading the “meet the brokers” guide on the tool bookmark correctly, but only Marketiva and UPFX allows commodities. And both of them have their own platform, so how do I open a practice account with them and use Metatrader?

Thanks!

15

Hello.

Only my pleasure (for my input).

I’m afraid your question is a tough one. Deltastock only offers trading on commodities via Delta Trading (ther proprietary trading platform) and that’s not what you’re looking for. The only broker that comes to mind that offers commodities on MetaTrader (and even THIS I’m unsure of but take a look anyway) is Alpari (and I think you have to specifically apply for a certain type of account i.e. I don’t think, if memory serves me correctly, that commodities are included with a standard Spot FOREX Account but I could be wrong). That seems to ‘ring a bell’. I can give you a half a dozen other brokers that offer commodities on MetaTrader but I wouldn’t put YOUR money into an account with them let alone mine. I hope I’m not going to regret this but AvaFX and GCI Trading offer what you’re looking for i.e. commodities in MetaTrader. But we warned (and I beg of you as ‘friend’): ONLY DEMO trade with them. AvaFX I have no experience with but what I read about them every so often doesn’t exactly ‘warm the ****les of my heart’. GCI Trading was my first broker and I can tell you that if you want to lose your money: rather save yourself the time and the trouble and the frustration and just give it to them as a gift. If nothing else: you’ll save yourself the cost of your Internet Connection!!! LOL!!! Actually there’s no ‘LOL!!!’ about it. It’s true and so far as I can tell from various sites: they’re ‘pulling the same stunts’ RIGHT UP until the present day!!! That’s about as much info as I can give you at the moment. Offering all trading instruments in DeltaStock MetaTrader as are offered in Delta Trading is ‘on the cards’ but that’s not going to help you now.

Of course (doing my ‘job’ and really putting it ‘bluntly’): try to ‘move along’ from MetaTrader and open a Delta Trading Account!!! LOL!!! ‘Cheap and nasty and in your face solicitation’ I know!!! LOL!!! But you won’t be sorry. Of that I can assure you (and of course you have the ULTIMATE pleasure of my ‘helping hand’ whenever needed not to mention trading systems that were DESIGNED to trade commodities)!!! LOL!!! Of course: that’s if you’re not a US Citizen. If you are then really: TradeStation Securities, the way I see it, is the only way to go.

But if MetaTrader is your ‘thing’ then take a look at the other brokers I mentioned. You may find what you want there. If not: come back to me and I’ll do some more ‘digging around’ for you…

Sorry I cannot be of much more help (at this stage anyway).

Regards,

Dale.

16

Thanks for your reply. I downloaded and opened a demo account with Deltastock and I am playing with it trying to understand how it works. It is a step up because if offers trading of the major stock indices, but I am looking at all major commodities (cotton, sugar, coffee, etc) along with oil, indices, bonds, etc. TradeStation is the ideal.
Right now, I’m not looking to deposit any money in the account, I just want access to the historical information so I can bring it up on Metatrader and play with the charts, get a feel for the market and the trading strategy in that market. I did take a look at Alpari, in fact got a practice account with them but they made me download Metatrader all over again and I don’t want to reinstall it.
Question on Deltatrading platform. I can’t get the dates on the screen, only when I pass the cursor do they show up and when they do it’s in what looks like Russian. Also, how do I get the RSI, STO and MACD screen to completely disapear?
Thanks for you kind help!

17

Hello.

Well first let me tell you I’m NOT one of those that will tell you to ‘RTFM’ (‘Read The Fu*king Manual’) but just in CASE you’d like to do say here is a link to the manual:

Delta Trading Help | Trading Platform | Deltastock

I will try to give you a ‘quick overview’ though.

The dates that you’re seeing are in Bulgarian. I’m not sure why that is. Are you 100% sure you selected ‘English’ when you installed the platform??? Alternatively: just log out of the platform and login again and that should solve your problem (although I’m not aware of that particular problem to be honest).

Delta Trading’s default chart settings are those that you are seeing i.e. 5-minute timeframe, RSI, MACD, and Stochs. In order to remove them: place your cursor ON each indicator pane (window), and click on ‘Close selected area’.

If you like (I don’t know how busy you are or when you’ll get this response): I’m quite happy to give you a very quick live online intro if you like??? That’s a lot easier and will get you started. You just need to download and install a thing called ‘Teamviewer 6’ and then send to me your email.

Tell you what: go to my forums and you’ll find the instructions etc. there. Anybody else that feels like ‘joining in’ please feel free.

Look: Delta Trading I AM THE FIRST PERSON TO ADMIT takes a LOT of ‘getting used to’ as it’s design is rather ‘unique’. But once you ‘get the hang of it’ you’ll not look back (and that’s not ‘sales pitch’). It has many features that something like MetaTrader does not have (well: they are AVAILABLE but from third party vendors and they ‘come at a price’).

I’ll keep checking my email and the forums for about a half hour to an hour and see if you or anybody else is interested. Otherwise: feel free to ask question here and I’ll do my best to answer you. The platform is pretty involved though so short of me writing the manual in a post (which, as much as I ‘like’ you, I’m not going to do): a short online intro is the easiest way to go.

Also remember though: at Deltastock you’re trading CFDs on Indices, Commodities, Futures, Gold, and Silver etc. At TradeStation: you’re trading ‘the real deal’. You’re seeing the same CHARTS at both brokers but there are a few differences. Little to NO leverage for one thing at TradeStation (which is not a bad thing and I stronly advise MY clients to NOT opt for the maximum leverage but nobody listens). And of course: if you’re a US Citizen then unfortunately I (Deltastock) cannot accomodate you at this time.

Anyway: let me ‘fire off’ this post and see what you want to do.

Regards,

Dale.

18

Thanks for the offer Dale. Unfortunately can’t take you up on it right now, but I’ll have a go with the manual and the videos.

19

No problem.

If or when you change your mind: ‘give me a shout’. There’s ‘no strings attached’ and no ‘fees’ or other ‘bullsh*t’ involved either so you don’t have to worry about those things.

If you don’t understand something (in the manual): ‘give me a shout’. Just one thing: the manual that you’ll be looking at is slightly outdated as the new version of Delta Trading was released before the manual was updated. That being said: there’s nothing MISSING from the manual just some new features that are not yet detailed is all.

Regards,

Dale.