The non-trading desk brokerage

Quote from cabletrader:

Not all bucketshops are the same though, some firms such as CMC requote if price moves (sometimes in the trader's favor) which I think is a fairer system, if you don't like the price you simply don't accept it. Oanda operate a 'bounds' system where you can preset the maximum slippage you will accept but that seems like an open invitation to me! Then there are companies like GFT who lock you in a market order and fill you where and when they like which makes trading data like NFP fun :eek:

So with CMC, if you submit a market order to buy and they can't fill at the ask shown when you placed the order, will they requote every time? Then you have a couple seconds to take that ask or cancel?

I read some of the OandA forums and people seemed to suggest you might not hit the ask you see but maybe the next one/two/N that print after your order. I agree that the slippage entry in their system encourages "margin enhancement" by the dealing desk.

I don't want to trade news though I do like watching data feeds that adjust their spreads to the volatility. Putting OandA's quote panel next to Dukascopy's is entertaining. I don't see why people would feel better about seeing a tight spread they can't hit and get filled on vs. a real bid/ask. It reminds me of price limits in futures or grocery stores with advertised loss leaders that are sold out.

Tim
 
Quote from davidmaria1:

I noticed during the UK econ numbers released at 4:30 this am that there was a quick bump in the GBP/USD to 10 pips on Oanda.
I did not try to trade it, it seemed, as usual, that the price move had already been made. I think, maybe, that some people may try to jump in without actually checking the spread first?

Do you really need to check the spread though, if I get the price I want then I'm happy.
 
Quote from PolarTim:

grocery stores with advertised loss leaders that are sold out.

Tim

lol, yes, the latest Nintendo for $9.99 but we don't have any!

You say about Dukascopy, I had Reuters 3000 xtra a while ago and comparing quotes and spreads was very entertaining on that too, I wish I'd done a video of it now.

What made you want to look at spot over futures? I thought you futures guys always looked down on us lowly retail spot traders as poor relations :(


Here's a couple of screenshots of CMC v Oanda (Oanda quotes on the right) around the BoE MPC at 12 m/day GMT today.


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Quote from cabletrader:

Do you really need to check the spread though, if I get the price I want then I'm happy.


True. It's up to the individual. If the quotes on Oanda are inaccurate, but a person gets the price they want, and is unaware of any manipulation, same thing. "It's not the deal they got, it's the deal they THINK they got."
 
Quote from davidmaria1:



"It's not the deal they got, it's the deal they THINK they got."

And I think that's what companies like Oanda rely on, the naiivity of their clients. Like you say, as long as the punters think they're getting a good deal they're happy. Their store front says 0.9 pip spread on Eur/Usd and no commission, come on in, what a great deal! It gets the punters through the door but they're oblivious to what's happening in reality. Price doesn't move on Gbp/Jpy for 15 mins after NFP and they just think the market's gone quiet. A take profit order gets missed by 1/10th of a pip and they say 'oh that was so close'!
 
Quote from cabletrader:

Sorry, only just saw your post.

Because Oanda wouldn't fill at that price.

They were a reasonable firm at one time but then once they got a place in the business and outside investment they've got worse than the worst.

Really? How could you possibly know that Oanda wouldn't fill at that price? Did you submit an order, and, if so, would you mind describing the order type and exactly what happened next?

In fact, when was the last time you placed a trade there... a year ago... 2 years ago... never? Do you even have a non-demo account with them or are all your snapshots from a demo?

I was surprised to read that pretty strong, authoritative quote above ("worse than the worst"), since I seemed to remember some good observations on cable posted by you around New Year's. So, out of curiosity, I glanced at a few of your more recent posts. Here's a little under-appreciated gem you wrote just yesterday:

Quote from cabletrader:

I think they're Oanda charts, can't remember if those little triangles are orders or trades though.
Wow. You don't say. Must be a whole lotta fun to post screenshots and make knowledgeable-sounding comments on a broker's platform you clearly have very little, if any, experience with. Way to go, to build up your cred on ET.

Even some total newb who's only played with Oanda FXGame demo for a day or two would probably not have much trouble recognizing what all those colored squares, triangles and circles stand for. Given that, hard for anyone to take any of your apparently frequent Oanda bashing even half-seriously.

It's no secret that Oanda strongly discourages news traders, for reasons that are clearly spelled out by their reps on their forum. Hence a nearly perfectly predictable widening of spreads around economic release times, affecting a given currency pair.

While Oanda - like every other market maker - is a poor choice for news traders and sub-minute scalpers - it's widely recognized as one of the best choices for many other trading styles. Even when compared against major ECNs, depending on factors such as your pairs, order types, money management, scaling in or out, hedging and holding periods.

You might want to stop pretending to be an old hand and an expert on Oanda's evil ways, when you can't even read the most basic order symbols on their charts, let alone grasp the details of their fully disclosed and transparent - and, mind you, continually benchmarked to death against other quote providers - pricing mechanism and order processing, at news times and otherwise.
 
Quote from sim03:

you can't even read the most basic order symbols on their charts

Your whole argument revolved around Oanda's charts and their little symbols which was a bit of a waste of time really....I've rarely used their charts for obvious reasons :p

But as it turned out I remembered the symbols correctly, and yes the screenshots are of a live FX Trade account.

Hey, don't shoot the messenger! I'm sorry if I burst your 'Oanda is great' bubble but instead of posting all this 'you've only traded an Oanda demo' nonsense why don't you explain why the Oanda quotes and price freezes in the screenshots would be a good thing for a trader? And please tell us, what is the reason for them to 'strongly discourages news traders'? And the reasons you think that ridiculously widening spreads and freezing quotes only affects news traders?
 
Let me add that my ECN broker also experiences stuck and inverted quotes. So it's just not an Oanda thing.

These things only happen when extreme volatility kicks in.
 
Quote from bugscoe:

Let me add that my ECN broker also experiences stuck and inverted quotes. So it's just not an Oanda thing.

These things only happen when extreme volatility kicks in.

Who is the ECN?
 
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