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Going Live - Need Reliable Online Broker Can You help

  • #1
  • First Post: Sep 30, 2007 2:17pm Sep 30, 2007 2:17pm
Hi,

I have been using VTrader in demo mode for 12 months , ready to open my first live forex account. However I started reading reviews about them and this has made me nervous. In fact after reading about a few brokers that provide straight through orders there doesn't seem to be a stand out reliable online platform I should use.

Can you help with any recommendations for me to check out? Im looking for decent leverage but my opening balance will be quite small, (make that very small!)

Thanks
  • #2
  • Sep 30, 2007 5:54pm Sep 30, 2007 5:54pm
If your balance is small, you will need a broker that allows micro lots. I would say pick one that has been around a long time.. often the longer the better. Also check they are regulated. There are plenty to look through here:
http://forexfactory.com/brokers.php
  • #3
  • Sep 30, 2007 6:22pm Sep 30, 2007 6:22pm
Quoting bhaskar422
Im looking for decent leverage but my opening balance will be quite small, (make that very small!)
Like PeterM said, with a very small account you'll have to trade micro lots, so I would say that your best option is Oanda. No "minimum deposit" so you can open your account with just a few dollars.
"I say high, You say low, You say why, and I say I don't know..."
  • #4
  • Sep 30, 2007 11:41pm Sep 30, 2007 11:41pm
Quoting bhaskar422
Hi,

I have been using VTrader in demo mode for 12 months , ready to open my first live forex account. However I started reading reviews about them and this has made me nervous. In fact after reading about a few brokers that provide straight through orders there doesn't seem to be a stand out reliable online platform I should use.

Can you help with any recommendations for me to check out? Im looking for decent leverage but my opening balance will be quite small, (make that very small!)

Thanks
bhaskar422, one thing is the reliability of the platform and another thing is the reliability of the broker. A "great" platform from a scummy broker will do you no good. I'm guessing that you're looking for a broker that is fair to its clients and allows the opening of accounts with very low minimums. IMHO [based on dealing with a huge number of traders in my regular line of business and institutional and retail brokers/platforms] no broker that allows trading of "micro lots" is completely reliable. First of all, there's no such thing as "micro lots" in the real interbank market. In fact, you will never see a trade of less than 100,000 outside of the retail world. So then why do some brokers allow you to trade "micro lots?" - Because they are making their own market and you're trading against them. That's why there are so many people complaining about getting screwed by their retail brokers. Stop hunting, platform crashes during news releases, execution delays, messed up fills...It's all part of the retail brokerage model.

So what do I recommed? The lesser of many evils: Oanda. I agree with Ricardo that Oanda will probably be a good be for someone with a very small account (as long as you're not planning to trade news releases or anything like that). Oanda is a market maker, so it's not really pass-through - but it's probably better than all retail brokers out there in terms of fair dealing.

If you had at least $400, EFX / MB Trading might be another good option. There you'll pay a commission (like in the real interbank market), but your order will be passed through the banks/liquidity providers or matched against another customer without dealer or market maker intervention. The problem with EFX is that they have the highest commission of any ECN-based or institutional broker; but you'll need at least $25,000 to move to one of these.

Good luck.
  • #5
  • Oct 1, 2007 1:13am Oct 1, 2007 1:13am
I have an account at Oanda, my application was accepted so I was ready to send the funds. I was planning on sending something between 300 and 400 dollars, but then I saw that EFX is actually allowing their clients to trade "fractional" lots (or whatever the name is), i.e. they'll let you trade 0.1 lots for example, which would equal to 1 pip = $ 0.10 (10 cents) [1 lot is 10000 units at EFX]. Anyway, I gave up on EFX when I noticed that their online application form is a little more intimidating than Oanda's...I mean I'm almost sure that my application will be rejected as I am an "under capitalized student", so tomorrow I'll send a cashiers check to Oanda so I can finally get over this "choose the right broker" thing.

If it helps you, I think that if you have a small account, like something between 200-500 dollars these could be your options:

Oanda
EFX
InterbankFX
FXSol

...al of them offer "micro" lots. They are all market makers (except for EFX) so forget about scalping, news trading or anything like that. They are all US regulated and they are all "well" capitalized, except for EFX maybe but they're not a market maker so it's a different story. They all have "minimum deposit" under 500 dollars.

Those are my thoughts...

Good luck!
"I say high, You say low, You say why, and I say I don't know..."
  • #6
  • Oct 1, 2007 2:42am Oct 1, 2007 2:42am
Thanks for all replies so far will definately check out what's been mentioned, others please add your advice or experiences related.


Warm Regards


bhaskar
  • #7
  • Oct 1, 2007 2:52am Oct 1, 2007 2:52am
Oanda
EFX
InterbankFX
FXSol


Do any of the above guarentee stop losses and also guarentee no negative balances?


Regards
  • #8
  • Oct 1, 2007 4:09am Oct 1, 2007 4:09am
Quoting Ricardo.
Anyway, I gave up on EFX when I noticed that their online application form is a little more intimidating than Oanda's
Yes; it's true. Even though I don't think this should be a big reason to reject to reject a broker.

Quoting Ricardo.
If it helps you, I think that if you have a small account, like something between 200-500 dollars these could be your options:

Oanda
EFX
InterbankFX
FXSol

...al of them offer "micro" lots. They are all market makers (except for EFX) so forget about scalping, news trading or anything like that. They are all US regulated and they are all "well" capitalized, except for EFX maybe but they're not a market maker so it's a different story. They all have "minimum deposit" under 500 dollars.
Agree with the first two, but not with the last two unless you're trading with a much longer discretionary style. The more frequently you trade, the more you're going to have issues with the second two.
  • #9
  • Oct 1, 2007 4:13am Oct 1, 2007 4:13am
Quoting bhaskar422
Oanda
EFX
InterbankFX
FXSol


Do any of the above guarentee stop losses and also guarentee no negative balances?


Regards
No; but if they did, I would run the other way as fast as possible because there can't be such a thing. In the past, a few brokerage firms claimed this even though it wasn't really true. I'm not even sure it's possible anymore after the NFA started cracking down on all of these retail bucket shops. A brokerage firm is not going to absorb a risk that's impossible to predict; a risk that can ruin the entire firm.

Trust me; once you know how the market really works, you'll never ask for this.
  • #10
  • Last Post: Sep 9, 2008 1:33pm Sep 9, 2008 1:33pm
Quoting macfan
You may wish to take a look at fxcm as they now have micro lots...

I know you will be hit with oanda ads here and probably from oanda reps. Before you open an account with them go to their discussion board and check out the PLATFORM ISSUES. One good thing about oanda thus far anyway is that they are honest enough to let posts stand that are not so great for oanda PR.

You need to know that oanda is fraught with disconnects and outages and they will blame your computer or your isp. Please be cautious on this one.

FXSol is highly recommended by Peter Bain as well

Think Or Swim is perhaps the best up and coming in the forex market and you can do anything with them from stocks, bonds, options, futures, and forex but will cost more to join. One plan might be get your start with fxcm micro, build your account until you have enough to join tos; $3500.00 if you are not a tos student or grad and $2000.00 if you are. They have some of the best training available out there. And I understand tos is considering offering micro lots.
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