Welcome to NexusFi: the best trading community on the planet, with over 150,000 members Sign Up Now for Free
Genuine reviews from real traders, not fake reviews from stealth vendors
Quality education from leading professional traders
We are a friendly, helpful, and positive community
We do not tolerate rude behavior, trolling, or vendors advertising in posts
We are here to help, just let us know what you need
You'll need to register in order to view the content of the threads and start contributing to our community. It's free for basic access, or support us by becoming an Elite Member -- see if you qualify for a discount below.
-- Big Mike, Site Administrator
(If you already have an account, login at the top of the page)
Does anyone here have a lot of experience trading forex in the US, and if so, would you mind sharing some details about your thoughts on brokers? I am wanting to trade forex instead of the 6s, but have never done it. I looked at IB, Oanda, Citi... IB seems like it could go either way as far as quality. The 800lb gorilla is not always the best. Opening a new account is enough of a process that I would like any seasoned advice.
Also, I am using Sierra Charts now and would prefer to keep that. Thanks.
Can you help answer these questions from other members on NexusFi?
Most important info I read a while back when considering a Spot Forex broker is to consider one who is an EXN (the term used in the U.S.) or ECN (the term used outside the U.S.).
Quick definition:
"ECN can best be described as a bridge linking smaller market participants with tier-1 liquidity providers through a FOREX ECN Broker."
Any broker who is not an EXN is probably going to have higher commissions or wider spreads or potentially sketchy practices with your fills. You'll definitely want to watch the spread like a hawk for any "abnormal activity".
I tried FXCM+NT around the beginning of the year but there were issues with historical data speed, but (according to the release notes) the latest NT may have (or may not have) resolved those issues.
I've been using MBTradings demo service (MBT is an EXN) with NinjaTrader since the beginning of the year and will probably go with them. Unfortunately Sierra Chart doesn't appear to currently support MBT even though there is some customer demand and developer support for it.
I forgot to mention I could not get over MT4's standard entry order system. Some brokers have the single
order button plugin included in their customized versions of MT4.
But I prefer just using MBT on NT. (example screenshot) ; ThinkOrSwim has a Forex DOM , something like a chart trader, and single order buttons as part of their all-in-one entry DOM, but the commissions are horrendous and their spread can be laggy. (example screenshot)
To clarify, ECN stands for Electronic Communication Network. It’s a general IT term, but when applied to finance, typically refers to a network of financial institutions/banks that are trading with each other. Take a look at the definition on Investopedia: ECN
I did not find a reliable source of information on EXN, but I was able to locate some general information on it. It appears that the goal of an EXN is to eliminate commissions on FX trades, and only compensate the broker via a markup on the spread.
THIS IS GREAT NEWS FOR YOU!
FXCM’s execution is ALREADY setup this way! FXCM is compensated via a markup on the spread; there are no routing fees, exchange fees, or anything else. You simply pay the spread (the difference between the bid and ask) and that’s it!
Additionally, there have been significant improvements in data download speeds for FXCM NinjaTrader clients. Please take another look when you have some time; make sure that, when you install (or reinstall) NT to set it to use NinjaTrader data servers. This should increase your download speed significantly.
Thank you again for your post. If you have additional questions, please let us know!
Brad
If you have any questions about the products or services provided by FXCM, please send me a Private Message or use the BMT " Ask Me Anything" thread