FXCM acquires HotSpot FXr

Link to story

Can't say I've heard anything about FXCM's Active Trader platform before, anyone use it? My initial reaction is negative, as this reduces the already small number of ECNs available to retail traders. 2-3 years ago I would have imagined we'd see twice the number of retail ECN venues by now, along with more competitive commissions, but sadly that hasn't been the case. Instead, the big banks decided to take the easy route by white labeling dealer platforms. Oh well, it's good news for IB and MBT.

Forexsavior beat me to it, but the news is relevant enough to warrant its own thread imo.

I doubt the former Hotspot clients will be too happy with the fxcm fees. I personally canceld my Hots account a few weeks ago.

By the way this also means all HotspotFXi clients who signed up directly through Hotspot will now need a Prime Broker/IB for access - since they probably will do away with the retail FCM structre too, which they used for that.

True, I almost went that exact route last year, until I saw the live FXi feed and was rather unimpressed. I wonder how that side of the business is doing ever since Lehman folded.

FXCM: New Forex Trading Platform Shows Traders Market Depth

For Immediate Release:
Media Contact: Jaclyn Sales, [email protected]

New York―January 29, 2009―FXCM, (http://www.fxcm.com) launched its one-of-a-kind forex trading platform, Active Trader.

[IMG]file:///C:/DOCUME%7E1/jsales/LOCALS%7E1/Temp/msohtmlclip1/01/clip_image001.jpg[/IMG]Active Trader displays an ECN type view of total liquidity available through the platform, providing two major advantages:

·Transparency in Execution - Before trading, you should know the exact price at which a market order can be filled based on available liquidity.
·Short-Term Market Direction Indicator - If the amount of liquidity is heavily tilted towards either the bid or ask side, this indicates that short-term prices may be moving towards the side with less liquidity.

Key Features:

·5 Level Display Of Market Depth
·View of the Liquidity Available at Each Price Level
·Low Spreads - EUR/JPY typically less than 1 pip†.
·Web Based Trading. No Downloading.

To test Active Trader in real-time, click here for a two-week trial: http://www.fxcm.com/open-free-active...?CMP=PR-Active

FXCM Active Trader is an agency / external execution platform,* with commissions determined by trading volume. Opening an account on the FXCM Active Trader Platform requires a minimum deposit of $25,000, or a history of executing at least $10M in notional trading volume per month. There is a small commission charge that starts at $5 per 100,000 unit trade and decreases based on volume. Spreads are typically 1 pip less than with an FXCM Standard Account, resulting in much lower transaction costs. To see a cost comparison, click here. http://www.fxcm.com/active-trader.js...R-ActiveTrader
Contact our Active Trader group at 1-646-432-2970, or contact them by e-mail at [email protected] for more information.

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†NOTE: FXCM Active Trader strives to provide traders with tight, competitive spreads; however, there may be instances when market conditions cause spreads to widen beyond the advertised spreads here.
*References to “agency execution” in this press release refer solely to the FXCM Active Trader platform. FXCM Micro uses a different platform from FXCM Active Trader that is not an “agency execution” platform. FXCM Micro in its discretion may or may not offset individual transactions.

# # #

FXCM Facts

·Forex Capital Markets LLC is one of the Largest Forex Dealer Members
·More than 125,000 live accounts are traded on FXCM trading platforms
·As of January 2009, an average of $500 billion in notional volume is traded each month on FXCM trading platforms
·As of January 2009, in excess of $600 million in customer funds trading on platforms offered by FXCM
Leveraged foreign exchange trading carries a high level of risk, and may not be suitable for all investors. The possibility exists that you could sustain a loss of some or all of your initial investment and therefore you should not invest money that you cannot afford to lose

FXCM will not have access to Hotspot ECN’s software nor prices , IMHO is the overall reason for trading with hotspot ECN. The only thing FCXCM’s getting is the sheople ( clients ) willing to move there untested new platform ..

I just posted a thread wanting to discuss this but found this one

Anyone trying out FXCM active trader? It'll be nice to discuss this