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I've only used MB Trading personally, and of course my futures accounts elsewhere, but I would like to hear from those who have used both FXCM and MB Trading. What are the advantages/disadvantages for each firm?
"The Complaint cited FXCM for retaining gains derived from asymmetrical positive price slippage; failing to adopt or carry out adequate procedures to ensure the efficient execution of all customer orders; failing to treat all customers equally when giving price adjustments; failing to adequately investigate suspicious activity in several customers' accounts; and - together with its principal Dror Niv - failing to supervise."
I don't mean to be negative, but I have never understood why anyone want to trade forex... (Except at the institional level)
Why not use the currency futures?
I prefer to not trade against my broker, there is a conflict of interest there...
Ive used both trading a live account . The differences I noticed were that FXCM was slow(er) at times to fill both market and limit orders with more no fills , their quotes had a habit of changing (lows and highs were different from the actual highs and lows quoted in real time by FXCM) and FXCMs customer service is your best friend when soliciting you as a client but seldom on the same page as me when I was asking about these "anomalies" . MB has far superior customer service without playing dumb when you call or chat , something that carries a lot of weight when you're computer dies or internet goes down . MB is able to expose my orders to the banks immediately and I assume they have an immense liquidity pool because its rare that my order isnt hit the second it trades through , on limit orders anyway . If FXCM is a thief , I cant say that because if you use market orders and get slipped then you should expect to get filled at least +/- the spread .
As far as brokers trading against you is concerned , if your broker takes the other side of your trade to hedge their risk so they can function as a broker and stay in business , is that something a smart business person would do or something a thief would do ?
My concern is more about the price discovery mechanism, or more the absence thereof. Retail traders are already at a disadvantage, why make it worse?
But I haven't used a FX broker in nearly 7 years, maybe things are better now... But it it seems the NFA fines companies left and right, so it can't be all good.
May I ask why you prefer to trade "spot" over the futures?
It is very simple. Risk. Newer traders especially can cut their teeth in forex without losing as much money, with $1/pip (or less) risk and a very liquid market. CME offers no such thing, their Micro FX secondary market has terrible liquidity and huge spreads, plus higher commissions. For a beginner, Forex allows one to learn the ropes without losing a lot of money.
I've been using an MB Trading account for a while just to play with for some longer swing trades on the Euro that I didn't want to use my Velocity account for. I use limit orders and get filled instantly, no slippage, and the spread is 99% of the time less than 1 pip. I use limit because MBT pays me to do so.
Nothings all good , including futures trading , and theres some real scumbag forex dealers out there so its buyer beware just like anything else involving the almighty dollar . I agree with Mike about the risk factor and initially thats why I traded spot but theres other advantages as well . I like how I can carve up my positions into infinite sizes to scale out of trades . Another is the incentive to use limit orders (MB) for a lower commission rate . Theres spot pairs that arent represented by futures contracts so spot is the only way I can trade "exotics" or non USD linked currencies . I dont trade intraday so perhaps futures is a better market to do that but for the long term trades I put on I know I would need a hefty balance in a futures account .
Like I said, I haven't touched a FX account in half a decade. Back then a 5 pip spread was the norm and that was just the beginning of the shenanigans... Anyway, I am sure things are better now, and for longer term or exotic pair trading, it might be a viable solution if one is not properly capitalized to trade the interbank market.
And for beginning traders just wanting to place a few real trades, without losing their house, I agree it can indeed be worthwhile. It is at least better than sim trading...
It is not that I am against FX trading, in fact a guy down the street from me quit his executive position from Accenture to trade them full-time. He makes millions a year... It helps, of course, that he had 8 figures to begin with. That bastard!
I am staying away from spot FX trading until I can get access to the interbank market (never probably )... But everyone is free to do as they please, and I am not trying to judge anyone... I am just found of the concept of a centralized exchange, and true price discovery mechanisms...
For what it's worth, I believe that the regulated exchanges are still far behind.
With FX, I have 28 highly liquid major pairs to trade intraday. Excluding 3 overpriced pairs (spreads exceed the synthetics) all of the spreads are less than 5.
Why should I be required to pay for an external data feed to do business with a regulated exchange??
Why should I be required to have the technology burden of an external data feed???
Why should I have to trade from an eroding USD denominated trading account???
The list can go on, but really it is off topic...
Back on topic, a much better comparison would be :
To my understanding IB has a larger market share than MB and Oanda has a larger market share than FXCM.
I wouldn't touch FXCM with a ten foot pole. They had the business alliance with Refco for a good reason. They are not as aggressive so I do not expect them to fail, but I am not fond of their business culture.