I’ve been using Oanda for a while and for the most part been happy. However, I had suspicious activity lately and don’t think I want to stay with them. In addition, a broker with better spreads would be nice.
If you’re in the USA and like your broker, please tell me who you use. pros and cons. It would really help since I haven’t researched brokers recently.
Thanks!
Use IG. They’re one of the biggest forex brokers in the world and everything’s totally above board. I don’t know much about any other brokers, but as far as I’m concerned the bigger the better. Don’t worry about the charges / spreads. They’re all competitive and if you’ve got a good, winning trading strategy then the little details - shaving off a few dollars here and there really don’t matter. People on these forums generally seem to get obsessed with that type of thing. People are worrying that their brokers are actually scammers etc, but that’s all so unnecessary if you just pick a household name.
Thanks for the input. I’ve been leaning towards Eaglefx. Geez… there are so many brokers now. Hard to sift through the options
I use IG. They’ve added trailing stops, if you use them. Overall, I’m very happy with them, and their charts are better than MT4, IMO.
I also have used Forex.com and they’re great, but their charts are horrible. What I like about Forex.com is their orders. They have OCOs, which come in handy. Also, their platform automatically converts the SL risk into USD. IG doesn’t do that–it only tells you the risk amount in the base currency. A small detail, but when trading frequently, it’s one less step to calculate.
There was a time I had multiple accounts. I used IG’s charts, and also traded on Forex.com
I didn’t have any problems. Their numbers are quite similar and I never had any discrepancies between the two. However, I trade D1 so my stops are quite wide compared to H4 or faster charts.
I just opened an account with Forex. I really like their app. I have just been on their demo mode for now . But for the charts I noticed if you switch the timeframe and switch it back it fixes so try that friend.
Thanks for the feedback everyone. I looked into some offshore brokers, but the unregulated brokers leave a bad taste in my mouth. Seems shady. Think I’ll set up accounts with IG and fpmarkets. See which I like better.
By the way, Ally.com is the same thing as Forex.com, just a different color. They’re under the same umbrella.
However, Ally does not have a desktop app. Forex.com has the desktop app which is downloadable.
Ally has one up, but when you try to download it the file is unavailable. I called them and told them. It feels weird how a guy like me is pointing out important things like that to a broker managing millions of dollars. Whatever…
I’ve used Ally’s platform via their website, and it works exactly the same way as forex.com
As a US trader, your options are limited:
All others aren’t licensed to operate in the U.S. so you won’t be protected under CFTC regulations.
Open a demo account with the ones you haven’t tried and see which you prefer.
Well, IG it is. fpmarkets doesn’t accept US clienhts
Interesting, how come in US there are less options than in UK? I’ve heard this before. I would have expected more options in US.
There are fewer options in the U.S. due to very strict regulatory requirements in order to operate as a retail forex “broker”.
Regulators require companies to register as either futures commission merchants (FCMs) or retail foreign exchange dealers (RFEDs),
Part of the requirements involves needing to have a lot of money “to ensure the financial integrity of firms engaging in retail forex transactions and robust customer protections.”
For example, FCMs and RFEDs 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.
Not many start-up companies have $20 million lying around so this leaves only well-capitalized companies to offer forex trading services in the U.S. Hence, the small number of players.
Oanda is pretty good but I do think their costs are a bit too high. I’m also from the US, had a hard time deciding who to go with in the beginning but wound up with CedarFX. I usually recommend them to friends because their prices are good (no commission) and there are some other perks there, so it may be worth checking them out.
I use forex.com. Haven’t really used anything else - Oanda I’ve only used their demo. So far haven’t had any issues with forex.com!
I’m actually new to forex can you take me through
Education tab up to is the place to start if you’re new. School of Pipsology.
Trading.com’s charts are the whole chart flow is no good. Not a fan. Their charts don’t even have open, close, high, low candle data. What’s up with that?!?!
Trading.com’s charts are the whole chart flow is no good. Not a fan. Their charts don’t even have open, close, high, low candle data. What’s up with that?!?!
Not sure what you’re looking at because their app provides nice charting. They even provide a walkthrough, Trading.com.
I use the WebTrader. Nice video but WebTrader needs some work. Did you see any candlestick data in the walkthrough? I’m talking about on a mouse over of a candle. Maybe I’m missing a setting.
If you have no problem considering offshore brokers, then here are some good options you can consider - turnkey forex, fxglory and lqdfx. They all have tight spreads, low commission, and low min deposit requirements. Can try them on a small account.