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OK, please search the NFA fines and penalties for FXCM and FOREX.COM as they have had several 'issues' with having differing settings with the way orders are filled concerning MT4 server side software. They got a big penalty for it as well did Forex.com but don't recall the exact fines.
I traded with Forex.com and FXCM between 1 and 2 years ago. Forex.com was always disconnecting me on my limit orders and I would wake up in the middle of the night catching them in the action. Most of it was because I was doing it through Zulutrade.com but also my own trading. I don't recall the exact messages, but those will be listed in the complaints with the NFA as well! When I had these discrepancies, Forex.com did little to rectify and kept blaming it on zulutrade.com but when I traced it all the way through, it was really the broker who kept disconnecting over and over.
Market makers are not there you help you build your account up. FXCM wasn't nearly as challenging as Forex.com but I used their feed through ATC Brokers as ECN from Europe. I liked it at first, but the slippage was massive. I lost money with FXCM because of my own trading and not their service, but I did get plenty of 'brokers side disconnects' and other MT4 'games' which was frustrating.
In the end, to me, that is why I departed forex as a whole because I didn't feel comfortable 'competing' with my broker for profit. Also, FXCM was better with EA's than forex.com but IBFX was the better of the 3 in my opinion.
I have had accounts with Forex.com, FXCM, FXOpen, IBFX, GOMarkets, and that one Russian broker that I can't recall... Not Alpari but the racecar one. They were the worst! Spreads would be jacked all the time. It was comical.
FXCM had good customer service though and they were very helpful and so did IBFX who sent me gifts as I was doing pretty well trading for a while!
The whole issues with the manipulation of the MT4 kind of tells me that they will do what they can to work against the client. Once I realized that I moved on, but if you swing trade you should be able to do well enough. If you are scalping, I would reconsider.
I wanted to second this. I love Linux and I searched for a long time for a way to trade from Linux. I even downloaded open source projects and compiled them for trading. In the end it was not worth bucking the trend as you don't want to be on your own when things go south.
You also want to always keep multiple options open. I use Ninja with multi-broker for that reason. Not only are there multiple windows providers for platforms to give Ninja competition, but I also have competition for brokers as I can trade anywhere. Because you are new, that may not seem important. I thought I would always be with Tradestation, then always at Interactive Brokers, now always at Optimus. In the end you realize that you are not marrying a broker, so don't give life long vows! :-)
TRAD, is an FCM and a Broker Dealer... depending how long ago you were with them, RJO was their FCM until they became their own...
IBKR, is an FCM and a Broker/Dealer... TimberHill is another one under the IBKR umbrella...
Optimus... well, they are an introducing broker... they are not an FCM, nor a Broker Dealer... your account is really with Vision Financial Markets (VFM) who is an FCM and a Broker Dealer..
not the same thing comparing optimus to the other two.. different organizational structures.. best to compare for whom Optimus introduces.. VFM..
other than that, I agree, no sense on marrying to any given broker or FCM/BD...
I started with Schwab, then I went with PaineWebber(I worked for them so it was obligatory), and after that I went with Datek, who them became Ameritrade, who then became TD Ameritrade... I've had futures accounts with Tradestation(RJO), ThinkorSwim(Penson), Mirus(Dormant), PFG, Interactive Brokers, AMP, VFM, and a few others...
I finally settled with Crossland and Velocity.. both via TT FIX Adapter at first, and now via CQG... I am not married to either.. I once the trading account approaches a size that I am trading 50+ contracts, I am going to MBFCC, while I will still maintain Crossland.. I get access to CAC40/FTSE100 from them, while velocity is only FTSE100... Crossland seems to be more diverse in terms of what is available via CQG feed...
One thing about IBKR, they do have the whole universal account going for them... there is pretty much almost no-one else that I have found that is available to retail that can offer that... OptionsXpress(Schwab) is going to try to have the same thing.. but they are years away...
Yes, I know that VFM is the FCM, but who sets the commissions and who was the front-end sales and support? For Tradestation it was Tradestation, for IB it was IB, and for Optimus it was Optimus. The back-end FCM / Broker Dealer relationship was chosen by each of these organizations, so I give credit where credit is due. In other words, as a customer I reference who I directly do business with. And as a customer part of my business decision is who they also do business with, even if it is an internal division.
IB has poor trade execution, so how much is a universal account worth? And what does it really mean to have a universal account? One portal to view trading history, or one combined platform access? I have an IB universal account and it doesn't give me anything I don't get at Optimus / VFM. - The only thing I can think of is that I could have a relative open an account and then I could trade it at IB. But with the poor trade execution I would not want my relative at IB! :-) I also think I probably could work this scenario out at Optimus anyway.
I guess I don't think of the salesperson as a broker too much, and they are still not the same though, but that is just a point if view.
as to ibkr execution... I said it all depends on what you are trading... I say, if their execution was truly that poor, they wouldn't have so many customer funds.. even more than vfm... also, the value of the universal account is on being able to trade any asset class across any market from a single account with the best margin rate out there ... nothing to do with reporting, try trading options, equities or currency with optimus, better yet... try getting access to all product in eurex or liffe with optimus and let me know how that goes.
I was with IB for little over 3 years and no problem with execution. The only time I have had an bad execution was when trade NYSE stock, which was still running by the crooks, I meant specialist. My stop loss didn't get filled until 30 seconds later, which was "only" $1 below the stop loss on a $20 stocks.
I recently started trading one of my automated NT strategies to two different brokers and discovered an amazing difference. In simple terms, I am getting significantly different fills. Now I always was a skeptic of the importance of the quality of fills …
regarding a cheap feed, I use ADVFN, they're about £10 a month, but you get good real time charts with loads of options.. I use candlesticks, MACD and Chaikin oscillator. You can do all of the currency pairs.
Just a lillte work of advice, remembers it's easy to start traind with a small outlay if you'r using levarage as opposed to stocks, but that also means it's easier to lose lots of money. Read the T+Cs'a and be careful
all... on the above thread, the individual stating that Optimus is producing better fills is yet to produce any prove.. and I think he is confusing him getting better fills when his order is above the market at limit with it being "better"... anyhow, just my assessment from looking and participating on the thread.