Discuss Fxcm.com

[Triantus Shango]

Chris

I have only 2 words of advice for you: RJO'Brien (UK) and LMAX. This situation didn't happen there.

My guess is that for whatever reason as Jason mentioned (and I am giving him the benefit of the doubt) the liquidity that should have been there just wasn't. Chris, you gotta remember two things: liquidity depth and quality varies from venue to venue, and the quality of the technological backbone that powers the broker's matching engine is of utmost importance to minimize such occurrences. And if you take the time to check out the LMAX IT infrastructure and how their order processing engine is built, you will come to the realization that they are one of the best in this business. Furthermore, their LPs have no 'last look', which is not the case with FXCM, but if I am mistaken, by all means, Jason please correct me.

So, I am gonna side with Chris on this one because after all we are talking about a major such as the USDJPY and not some illiquid exotic pair.

Cheers.

Jason,

Thanks for your time. Maybe I should re-introduce myself. I've been trading successfully for several years. In fact, I love trading news events, so I'm quite familiar with slippage and what it is and why it occurs, but thanks for the explanation. 36 pips is ridiculous. I've never even paid half than that on an NFP print. Colleagues on other brokers encountered slippage, but nothing like this. I was just wondering why the slippage on FXCM was so steep for this event. In any event, thanks for the refund, and I would appreciate any answers you have about my specific question (not slippage in general), as I am now seriously concerned.

Chris

 

[Jason Rogers]

jason, i have a question for you, albeit unrelated, but since here you are i thought i'd take this opportunity to let the community here learn a little more about FXCM.

1- can you please tell us what is the maximum order size allowed on the retail FXCM system? 5M? 10M? 20M? 50M? in other words, is there an upper limit? apparently some dealers do have such limits. Interactive Brokers publishes on their site that they only allow orders up to 5M per one-time clicks of the BUY or SELL button.

2- is it the same limit or different on the FXCMPro system?

Hi TS,

I can address your questions regarding FXCM's retail forex platform. FXCMPro is our institutional trading arm that provides customized solutions for banks, hedge funds and the like, so for any questions regarding that division, it is best to contact our FXCMPro staff directly.

3- are both the retail and FXCMPro systems true DMA or just ECNs?

The maximum order size on FXCM's retail platform is 50M per individual order, but you can place as many orders of 50M as you want provided you have the necessary margin. Now just because you can trade 50M per clip doesn't mean you should actually do this. Banks don’t quote unlimited amounts of liquidity at each price. If 30M is being offered at the current price but you put an order through for 50M then you start to deal with slippage. That's why most professional traders will manage their way into very large positions rather than entering very large orders. FXCM's Active Trader platform gives you access to market depth so you can see the amount of liquidity being offered at each price level.

3- are both the retail and FXCMPro systems true DMA or just ECNs?

The terms DMA and ECN are often used interchangeably in the forex market, so I'm not sure what distinction you are making between true DMA and ECN. On our retail platform, we offer our clients the choice of two types of forex execution: No Dealing Desk (NDD) and Dealing Desk. You may also have heard of NDD referred to as STP (Straight Through Processing). On the NDD model, every order you submit is offset one for one with our liquidity providers. The position is hedged which eliminates the potential conflict of interest of a profitable trade for your resulting in a loss for us. Our compensation is the fixed pip markup which acts as a commission. Additionally, your orders are anonymous to the liquidity providers. They cannot see your stops, limits, or entry orders; they only see market orders coming from FXCM. While FXCM believes that NDD execution provides the best all-around trading experience, we also offer dealing desk execution as an option for traders whose primary concern is low spreads.

4- do you allow 'last look' to your liquidity providers on the retail and FXCMPro system?

Chris

I have only 2 words of advice for you: RJO'Brien (UK) and LMAX. This situation didn't happen there.

My guess is that for whatever reason as Jason mentioned (and I am giving him the benefit of the doubt) the liquidity that should have been there just wasn't. Chris, you gotta remember two things: liquidity depth and quality varies from venue to venue, and the quality of the technological backbone that powers the broker's matching engine is of utmost importance to minimize such occurrences. And if you take the time to check out the LMAX IT infrastructure and how their order processing engine is built, you will come to the realization that they are one of the best in this business. Furthermore, their LPs have no 'last look', which is not the case with FXCM, but if I am mistaken, by all means, Jason please correct me.

So, I am gonna side with Chris on this one because after all we are talking about a major such as the USDJPY and not some illiquid exotic pair.

Cheers.

FXCM's 10+ liquidity providers include global banks, financial institutions, and other market makers. This large, diverse group of liquidity providers is one of the things that makes this model special. It also means that the terms regarding trade execution vary from one liquidity provider to the next, so I can't comment on this question due to non-disclosure agreements we have with our liquidity providers. If you're concerned with the potential for slippage, then I would recommend using the Market Range feature which allows you to specify the amount of slippage if any that you are willing to accept on an order.

Jason

 

[Jason Rogers]

New trading contest for FXCM clients

Hi Everyone,

For those of you who've asked me about FXCM's plans for a trading contest to replace King of the Micro, the wait is over. I'm happy to announce the launch of a new contest for FXCM clients hosted by our partner, Toptradr.

Each week, the ten FXCM clients at the top of the contest leaderboard will be awarded prizes from a $7500 prize fund. That's $30,000 in prize money each month and $360,000 each year that FXCM clients will win.

You can begin competing for weekly prizes today. The first prizes will be awarded the week of July 22nd, then each subsequent week thereafter. To join the contest, download the Toptradr contest app for Android or iPhone, and "link" your FXCM live trading account.

Toptradr isn't your typical trading contest. You don't get rewarded for getting lucky or earning massive returns on a few highly leveraged trades. You are rewarded for being a good, consistent trader. To win this contest you have to be able to place low-risk/high-reward trades regularly, and you need to be able to consistently grow the equity in your account.

The contest is structured this way because Toptradr (the company) is looking for FXCM clients to back with their own money. The ultimate goal of this contest is to determine who deserves the right to be called the "Top Tradr" and manage the equivalent of a $1,000,000 fund ("Main Contest Prize").

The Main Contest Prize is awarded at the conclusion of a 6-month trading period, which begins once 5,000 FXCM clients have joined Toptradr and "link" their live trading accounts. Toptradr will make an official announcement at that time.

Download the Toptradr contest app for Android or iPhone, and "link" your FXCM live trading account to join the contest. You can then use the app to keep track of the contest and your position on the leaderboard.

Let me know if you have any questions.

Jason

 

[quando]

broker choice

Hi,

Is anyone using FXCM UK active trader platform? Can anyone share your experience?
I know pips are tight and it is ECN. Dose it lag or slippage fine?
I am using MT4 at present.

Thank you!

 

[Red Herring]

Hi,

Is anyone using FXCM UK active trader platform? Can anyone share your experience?
I know pips are tight and it is ECN. Dose it lag or slippage fine?
I am using MT4 at present.

Thank you!

Hey Quando

People are sharing their experience on FXCM here:
Broker Discussion @ Forex Factory

I hope you will find all you want to know there...

 

[navyseal]

FCXM is a famous broker, it's a good choice. I'm trading with it and Hotforex, and both two are so good.

 

[alanrox]

Hi,

Is anyone using FXCM UK active trader platform? Can anyone share your experience?
I know pips are tight and it is ECN. Dose it lag or slippage fine?
I am using MT4 at present.

Thank you!

Not a Bad Broker.

You can check broker reviews in FPA.

 

[Jason Rogers]

Hi,

Is anyone using FXCM UK active trader platform? Can anyone share your experience?
I know pips are tight and it is ECN. Dose it lag or slippage fine?
I am using MT4 at present.

Thank you!

Hi Quando,

Welcome to the forum

I'm FXCM's representative here on Forex Peace Army. I just wanted to follow up here, because you mentioned that you're currently using the MT4 platform. You might be interested to know that it's possible to get Active Trader pricing on MT4 along with the other platforms we offer. If you'd like to try a demo of our MT4 platform with Active Trader pricing, just shoot me a private message and I'll set you up with login details.

I encourage you to do your due diligence and research us along with other brokers. Since we are a publicly-traded company (NYSE ticker: FXCM), you can also review information about our financials.

Jason

 

[FringFX]

Hello Jason,

Does FXCM have any plans to tighten up spreads on its NDD platform? it has remained fairly wide for several years

 

[Whitesnake]

Heard a lot about FXCM but do not have an account yet there, they are well regulated broker so you may try if you like them, your funds will be safe with such regulated brokers.