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i-Trade FX | Introduction

  • #1
  • First Post: Edited 2:35pm Apr 16, 2008 2:19pm | Edited 2:35pm
Hello all,

I'm Chris from the forex brokerage i-Trade FX, one of the preferred brokerages listed here on forexfactory. I'm mainly posting this to serve as an introduction like Justin did from MBT. Similar to that post, I'm not here to promote the company - I'm here to answer questions as much as possible.

There are a few ground rules for me that I'm going to set up:
1) I'm fully interested in answering questions, but there will probably be times that I cannot answer. I know some will interpret this as "He's trying to be dishonest", but really, there are some things I cannot answer, either because I don't know (I'm not an executive, I don't run the company, and I don't make corporate decisions) or because I just can't due the nature of my job. I apologize if this upsets anyone here or makes anyone doubt my veracity.
2) Linked to #1: I'm not going to debate company policies in terms of having people try to trap me in an answer. I'm human - if you keep trying, I'll undoubtedly make a mistake somewhere, and then that one mistake will become a posting that will be repeated all over the internet. If I think you're trying to trip me up in that manner, I'll just have to drop the topic. If I don't do that, I can assure you, someone above me (either an executive or compliance) will drop by my desk and you won't have me as a resource any more.
3) If you're a client and have a problem, I'll be happy to refer you to the proper person at the company to speak to. I'm not going to openly talk about a client on an open forum, because that resolves nothing.
4) This isn't exactly a rule, but I'm not on here reading every single day, so if I don't respond on a daily basis, it's probably because I haven't had time or I haven't been on. My days are very busy - between working on CFA stuff in my spare time and working with forex clients during the day, my friends wonder when I find time to sleep. Hence, I won't be on every hour of the day.

As for background on myself, I've been at i-Trade FX for nearly a year - I worked for a major investment firm prior to that (analysis and support), as well as a banking facilitator group (corporate finance). I mainly decided to do this because I saw people posting things about i-Trade FX that I know could easily be cleared up, and I saw other posts about general forex questions that could be easily answered. In other words, I don't need to do this, I'm doing this to try to help.

I'm not going to post contact information, mainly because I don't want to be accused of soliciting. Let me know if you have any questions or concerns.

(Edit: Have to add this part. The comments I post here are my personal comments and are not the official comments of i-Trade FX.)
  • #2
  • Apr 16, 2008 2:24pm Apr 16, 2008 2:24pm
What is your job title?
  • #3
  • Apr 16, 2008 2:27pm Apr 16, 2008 2:27pm
Broker
  • #4
  • Apr 16, 2008 3:21pm Apr 16, 2008 3:21pm
Why should an FX Trader open an account at I-Trade; in other words what makes I-Trade a better choice then other companies?
  • #5
  • Apr 16, 2008 4:03pm Apr 16, 2008 4:03pm
I think this is treading close to the line already on solicitation, but I see others have answered similar questions, so I'll try to answer as generally as possible.

I always try to provide my clients with superior support - lots of platforms have a lot of the same features - charts, all the stops and losses, different ways to view pricing, pip values, indicators, etc. When I get on the phone with the client, I try to make sure I'm actually putting myself in their shoes when they're looking at the screen, seeing what they see. When I talk to a new client, I make sure that forex is something they really want to do, and make sure they're not overextending themselves.

At the end of the day, you can have the best platform in the world - but if you have lousy execution and no support, then the platform isn't really an asset to the client. My job is to see what the client is looking to do and make sure they have the best experience possible. Ultimately, the rest you'll see from the platform - there's no way I can assure someone on execution of orders without them seeing something on the platform.

We're also continually innovating - I'm very excited to work here because we've come so far very quickly, and we continue to try to do things to make ourselves more competitive in these markets. We've had phenomenal growth already (look at what we've done in a year!) - obviously, we've seen growing pains, but I think that our growth is at least in part due to the fact that we're always trying to improve the client's trading experience with us.

We also have the advantage of being a newer firm - that has some disadvantages, but it also means we're not too old and established that we can't really change things to a better way. When I worked at the investment company I used to work at, it was such a huge company with almost 100 years of doing business, and making improvements was very very difficult.

Every trader has something different they're looking for - some people look solely at the charting, some solely look at pricing/the spreads, some look solely at customer service. Some of the things I can't do anything about, like spreads, but the support is something that I can DEFINITELY help out with.

I don't know if that answers your question, but I'm obviously nervous about not breaking the rules here
  • #6
  • Apr 16, 2008 4:08pm Apr 16, 2008 4:08pm
Quoting ck_itrade
I think this is treading close to the line already on solicitation, but I see others have answered similar questions, so I'll try to answer as generally as possible.

I always try to provide my clients with superior support - lots of platforms have a lot of the same features - charts, all the stops and losses, different ways to view pricing, pip values, indicators, etc. When I get on the phone with the client, I try to make sure I'm actually putting myself in their shoes when they're looking at the screen, seeing what they see. When I talk to a new client, I make sure that forex is something they really want to do, and make sure they're not overextending themselves.

At the end of the day, you can have the best platform in the world - but if you have lousy execution and no support, then the platform isn't really an asset to the client. My job is to see what the client is looking to do and make sure they have the best experience possible. Ultimately, the rest you'll see from the platform - there's no way I can assure someone on execution of orders without them seeing something on the platform.

We're also continually innovating - I'm very excited to work here because we've come so far very quickly, and we continue to try to do things to make ourselves more competitive in these markets. We've had phenomenal growth already (look at what we've done in a year!) - obviously, we've seen growing pains, but I think that our growth is at least in part due to the fact that we're always trying to improve the client's trading experience with us.

We also have the advantage of being a newer firm - that has some disadvantages, but it also means we're not too old and established that we can't really change things to a better way. When I worked at the investment company I used to work at, it was such a huge company with almost 100 years of doing business, and making improvements was very very difficult.

Every trader has something different they're looking for - some people look solely at the charting, some solely look at pricing/the spreads, some look solely at customer service. Some of the things I can't do anything about, like spreads, but the support is something that I can DEFINITELY help out with.

I don't know if that answers your question, but I'm obviously nervous about not breaking the rules here
So are you a deal desk? Or an ECN? Fixed spreads? Minimum spreads? Commissions?
  • #7
  • Apr 16, 2008 4:36pm Apr 16, 2008 4:36pm
What's your official company policy regarding scalping?

What fees do you charge for deposits and withdrawals?

Why doesn't "quick" rhyme with "Buick"?

As your company is a member of NFA and CFTC, I assume you're already in compliance with the $5mil capitalization requirement. How do you plan to meet the anticipated move up to $20mil?

Hey, Indy. Reading their promotional blurb on the FF Recommended Brokers page, I'm reasonably sure they're a deal desk. Of course, it's always better to get the info straight from the horse's mouth.
  • #8
  • Apr 16, 2008 4:48pm Apr 16, 2008 4:48pm
Man, you all are fast...

1) We have a desk. I know there are some people who consider this the equivalent of having smallpox in terms of their trading. Others like being able to have the human interaction at all hours to check on things if there is a problem. Usually, a person is in one camp or the other, and there's little I can do to sway them. My only comment to the first camp is that I don't know which broker's desk burned you in the past, but I believe you'll be happier with ours.

2) We do not have fixed spreads. Our spreads don't tend to move all that often, even during the news, but it is in theory possible. I should caution you though - a lot of the places I've seen that have "fixed" spreads usually have a portion of their client disclosure which basically says "We can basically disregard that at any time we please."

3) I'm not entirely sure what you mean by minimum spreads - our pricing tends to be around the same numbers, and any time we can improve those numbers for the client, we try to do so.

4) No commissions.

Ummmm... anything else?
  • #9
  • Apr 16, 2008 4:54pm Apr 16, 2008 4:54pm
Quoting ck_itrade
Man, you all are fast...

1) We have a desk. I know there are some people who consider this the equivalent of having smallpox in terms of their trading. Others like being able to have the human interaction at all hours to check on things if there is a problem. Usually, a person is in one camp or the other, and there's little I can do to sway them. My only comment to the first camp is that I don't know which broker's desk burned you in the past, but I believe you'll be happier with ours.

2) We do not have fixed spreads. Our spreads don't tend to move all that often, even during the news, but it is in theory possible. I should caution you though - a lot of the places I've seen that have "fixed" spreads usually have a portion of their client disclosure which basically says "We can basically disregard that at any time we please."

3) I'm not entirely sure what you mean by minimum spreads - our pricing tends to be around the same numbers, and any time we can improve those numbers for the client, we try to do so.

4) No commissions.

Ummmm... anything else?
Thanks. That's all I needed to know. Good luck.
  • #10
  • Apr 16, 2008 4:57pm Apr 16, 2008 4:57pm
> What's your official company policy regarding scalping?

We have scalpers, we don't outlaw them.

> What fees do you charge for deposits and withdrawals?

It's on our funding page - any bank wires usually have a fee from the bank. Checks don't cost anything. We can also work with you on certain fee issues depending on the situation.

> Why doesn't "quick" rhyme with "Buick"?

42.

> As your company is a member of NFA and CFTC, I assume you're already in compliance with the $5mil capitalization requirement. How do you plan to meet the anticipated move up to $20mil?

We met the $5 million, and we're above the $20 million. We're not really concerned about that, as far as I'm aware.
  • #11
  • Apr 16, 2008 5:26pm Apr 16, 2008 5:26pm
Anyways, I need to head home now. Orlando traffic can be a pain at times during rush hour. I'll be around to answer general forex questions as I see them on here. Feel free to contact me via this thread, but to be honest, most of the questions asked can be answered on our website.

Thanks all.
  • #12
  • Last Post: Apr 16, 2008 5:38pm Apr 16, 2008 5:38pm
Thanks for the replies, ck.
Quoting ck_itrade
...to be honest, most of the questions asked can be answered on our website.
Yeah, we know.
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