Looks like FXCM is no better than the "FPA Brokers Hall of Fame" members
Hi Eddiger,
First, I want to thank you for expressing your views here. No doubt, there are others on this forum who share your sentiments. I want to take this opportunity to say that you're right to be upset with us. FXCM should have passed on positive slippage to our clients from the beginning.
While the FCA settlement was announced just this Wednesday, the time period this relates to actually occurred from 2006 to 2010. Our system was updated in 2010 to pass all potential price improvements to clients, and our clients have received the benefit of price improvements since that time. Like the
NFA action discussed in 2011, this FCA settlement has to do with positive slippage not being passed on in full when transactions were offset with liquidity providers prior to the 2010 update.
It's important to note that FXCM is currently one of the only firms in the industry to give price improvements on market and limit orders. I have mentioned over the past couple of years how many traders with other brokers currently experience re-quotes if the market moves in their favor, but often don't receive re-quotes for the better price when the market moves against them. Earlier this month in their newsletter, the FCA announced a
thematic review of best execution, which we welcome to introduce best execution standards across the industry that benefit traders in the same way our traders have benefited for years.
Taking a look at FXCM price improvements today…
Analyzing a total of 43,128,901 forex and metal trades executed by FXCM during the six month period of August 2013 -January 2014, 6,391,641 or 15% of the trades benefitted from price improvements totaling $15,726,247. Of the total number of trades executed, 4,648,672 trades were limit and limit entry orders. Sixty percent of those limit and limit entry orders were positively slipped providing clients $7,296,520 in price improvements. Of the total trades executed in the six month period of August 2013 - January 2014 clients were executed at their requested price 73% of the time with no slippage. Only 12% of orders were slipped negatively. As mentioned before, FXCM is currently one of the only firms in the industry to give
price improvements on market and limit orders.
At FXCM, there are no re-quotes and traders benefit from the positive slippage in full whenever it's available.