Brokers with great customer service

Just wonder which brokers you guys have experienced really nice customer service?

I'm from SG and so far, I've been with a few brokers.

I'd say ODL doesn't give really good response ( maybe my acct size was small?) but City Index Asia has really great service.

I believe execution is important but the service do make you feel better

Hmmm. Thanks for posting this. I'm thinking of going openning an ODL account with the minimum US$2000 requirement. What was bad about the service?

if u're in sg u can go to mfglobal singapore, i think it is a good broker...
well at least for me they're pretty good.

My experience with them was that they'd take forever to reply to any emails. I've never experienced once when they'd reply my email on 1st posting. I'd always have to re-send the same mail to different guys until they reply. I actually feel quite stupid and unimportant, and the way they reply makes me feel like I'm just asking the obvious.

If you dont re-send your mail, most prob you don't get a reply.

Well at least that's my exp with them since I joined jul 07.

Withdrawal is fast but they never really verify nor confirm it. You send them a email and then no replies and nothing but the money gets to your account in 2 days thou.

Hey tiger, been to its site but couldn't find info on the spreads.
Mind sharing what's nice for its customer service so far for you?

I have been trading Forex for a couple of years now and prior to that stocks since 1995.

I have found that customer service in general is in proportion to how much in assets I hold with a given company. This article goes a bit beyond “customer service” but also examines what is in it for FX companies to service the customer. Caveat Emptor

My first broker was Merrill Lynch from 1995 to 1996. It was old school. Everything by phone. I would get the occasional call for a trade, but I was tech savvy, from Seattle, and in my early 20's (I remember the WELL starting out when I was in middle school). I made some good bets, what computer/finance geek could make a wrong pick in those halcyon days. My broker would actually call me to "chat" and invite me to events generally populated by rotarians, masons and other people who enjoyed golf way too much. I think he liked my picks ;-).

I moved overseas and then opened an account with a online securities broker located in the US. Wow! For the first time I was in complete control ;=). Customer service, who needs’em! It was just me, Hoovers and Yahoo Stock Forums, and my double line ISDN against the financial universe. Pump and dumps, IPO’s, it was quite ridiculous period to be in the markets, like now, but different. People thought they understood the market then, now we have forces occurring where even the steady captains of finance are a bit white in the knuckles.

Currently I use three brokers. My first two accounts are for active trading. I have a small account with one because I like there data feeds and I use them as a checksum against my larger account. My third account is a nest egg account that has a key account manager who understands my financial goals with “the farm”.

My first account has a low 5 figure amount in it. If and when I do get a call from a sales associate or account manager it is always a junior one who is obviously trying to take an order or push a product for one of the trade desks.

My second active account I am contacted by key account managers and from time to time private wealth mangers. These people often behave like portfolio managers and I can tell from their nuances that while they might be still trying to pump something good, bad, or indifferent my way at least they try to with the utmost sincerity convey they have my best interests at heart.

In other words, they are a better class of salesperson selling the same products. Although, recently I was contacted by a portfolio manager from the company where the steak sounds as good as the sizzle he was selling, at least in my mind. So, they have either changed their client relations strategy or more likely I just received a call from a salesperson who thinks like a trader who thinks like a portfolio manager whom will inevitably go far in that company because he will make his company and most of his client’s money.

My third account. The nest egg, is managed by a gentleman who has been in banking for 4 generations. I think his family invented money. His time is precious but his juniors treat my money well.

As the saying goes. We get what we pay for. A mini account is like going to a used car lot. If I opened an FX brokerage I would not want to waste my time with anyone under 50,000 dollars. In my business I have found that the most difficult clients to deal with are those with the least amount of money and/or experience. For example, for someone who has never done a transaction before who is also risking a large portion of their disposable income they will naturally be apprehensive and this leads to question after question. An experienced and wealthier client generally knows the risks or at least has accepted the risks from a very rational point of view and are much easier to conduct business with. FX companies understand this as well and just offer the mini accounts so they can have something to counterparty trade against and make some extra revenue.

I think a lot of people are expecting investment markets and FX in particular as a get rich quick scheme. That is why most retail FX traders lose. I think if anyone enters investments as a consumer (as opposed to someone in the industry) and thinks they will get rich quick, I beg them to reconsider for their own net worth’s sake.

I found an interesting article on how the world’s millionaires became that way:

Business / business sales - 37%
Wage income - 24%
Inheritances - 18%
Investments - 10%
Restricted stocks/stock options - 9%
Other - 2%t

Statistically, your chances are better acquiring wealth by opening a business or working your way up the corporate ladder. If you are young or poor or both and all you can afford is a mini account I would suggest your better shot t wealth would be getting a job in the FX industry, learning the insider tricks to give you the edge, and then trade other people’s money before you trade your own. A little know fact is, many professional traders are happy to trade other people’s money all day, but do not trade their own.

Or, if he/she decides to go on with mini account, stop whining about customer service. As long as the broker treat you "fair" (no special spike where no other brokers have it, not playing around with your order, something like that), and you can withdraw your money straight away, then use them.

After all, the most important thing in this business is our trades. If you haven't make a cent out of your account, why worrying about customer service in the first place? You deposit your money to trade them, not to buy service from customer service division.

For you who cry out that customer service is also important, than grow your account up to 7 numbers. Then you'll get the good customer service you want. Because even if you not like it, and the hell if it is fair or not, money is still King.

And Krigere. Thank you for this information. I really do.

hi,

spread is dynamic mostly 1-2 for major..
the customer service is not a pro-active but always available when i need it.. u can call their 24h phone number in sg i think...

(well i only need cs during opening account, depo/wd, and if any problem happened...)

for last two years I used CMC Markets and started with little money, customer service was and still is excelent. Try calling couple of different brokers and most likely you will be able to decide on your own.

Some old school IBs have taken some serious hits lately. I know a few insiders, and most of them are, well, if not nervous, well apprehensive.

At one point it was a given you could trust a IB as they were the gold standard. I dont know if that is any longer the case.

Therefore, I would only put my money with institutions that either bond the money or guarantee it through a very stable underwriter.

Thinkorswim, awesome support, even if you have a small account with them. Very friendly and you can move funds online to and from your bank account for free. Tight spreads too, 2 pips fixed on the majors.