Quote from blufftrader:
I was thinking of going with fxcm but now after hearing this im having my doubts does anyone have anything good to say about them
I think I would tend to agree with RedDuke. FXCM is not all bad, at least not by my experience. I have just checked my acount opening date and I have had my mini account since late 2002. I also would like to see FXCM stay competitive with their spreads.
Some general coments...
1) I am extremely happy with their platform. For the level and style I use it works great. I also like their free charting and the news plugin. I would not be able to say if the news plugin is a bit slow to "get the message out", but this is not important in the trading style I use. I do suspect that other traders more dependent upon news and/or have a trading style different than mine may have valid comments on the platform relative to their trading style.
2) I have not seen evidence of stop running. I have experienced placing my stop very close to my entry and having it quickly taken out, but upon reevaluating the situation(s), I have concluded that should I do this in the future, I could expect the same results. I don't consider this stop running, but rather putting your exit within immediate striking distance of the market. It will get taken out.
Likewise, I have experienced my stops being hit when they are placed further back and then having the market reverse and go in the favored direction of the trade leaving me out of the action. If this has occured to someone who has not placed very many trades, it may initially seem like the stop got run. For myself, I have put on enough trades to counterbalance the idea that my stop has been run by FXCM in these situations...I simply consider the amount of times that my target has been hit and then the market has reversed leaving me with my profit. Interestingly, if one tries to use a 3:1 ratio in profit to loss, by the odds they will experience more situations in which they have had their stops hit (and the market reverses) than having their profit limit hit (and the market reversing). Psychologically, it would be easy to convince oneself that stop running is occurring.
3) The commentaries from moneytech are great. Traders who experience "bullshit" from their broker should post their experiences on the net for us to read. I am happy to see the one issue was resolved by FXCM. The other certainly sounds bad on behalf of FXCM and perhaps they should address it as it is out on the net for all to see. In summary, though, I am not seeing a landslide of complaints about FXCM, but rather incidental ones that FXCM appears to attempt to resolve. Certainly I do not see a company out to get its customers.
4) I personally do not mind the term "bucketshop" being used to describe FXCM. There seem to be contrasts between the way old bucketshops operated legally and the way FXCM operates. I do not see outright dishonest activities being conducted by FXCM as have been ascribed to many of the old bucketshop activities.
5) relative to number 4, I suspect in most cases FXCM may feel the wrath of inexperienced and unsophisticated traders in their expectations of how the market operates. "Stop running" myths and assumptions seems to be a main source of fuel for this.
6) Rather than either recommend or not recommend FXCM, I would prefer to recommend to those who ask me simply to not trade. It is a very difficult game and not suitable for most.
7) A minor annoyance with otherwise a good experience with FXCM...sometimes I want to get out of a position just before the rollover so I do not need to pay interest. I have found that if I try to exit within 5 minutes of the rollover, my platform indicates that the "connection has been lost". This is a problem I have only experienced within 5 minutes to rollover and do smell something "fishy" going on here. For my trading style, though, and relative to the fact that I have been happy with my broker up to this point, it does amount to no more than an annoyance at present.
8) From my experience to date with FXCM, I am confident that any trader's success or lack thereof will not be solely the result of whether they choose FXCM or not. Likewise, I am confident that those choosing FXCM using most trading styles will experience the fruits of their own actions in the market.
OK, so the bottom line... I trade with FXCM and am happy with their service to date. Trading Forex, though, has been and remains a challenging endeavor for me.
L
