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Alpari

  • Post #1
  • Quote
  • First Post: Dec 20, 2009 4:47pm Dec 20, 2009 4:47pm
Hey, i am a novice trader and have been on a demo for about 5 months. I am starting to have some success and am going to go live soon. I have been using Alpari and really like mt4.

However, i have been doing some reading and am not sure which broker to use when i go live. I have read some things on this forum and some people say that Alpari has some bad things about it. I also could use MT4 for charting, and then use a different broker to place orders.

I am going to deposit 3,000 and want to be able to trade .01 lot size. I would assume i would want 100:1 leverage but i am not really sure (and the 50:1 leverage of Oanda makes me think twice about going with them). I usually trade the 4h charts and then use the 15min and 5min for entry signals. However, i want to go into trading the 1h and 15min charts once i get more success in the 4hour charts.

Can anyone just give me a little guidance on where to look and how to find which broker would be best to use?
Quoting Scott_16
Hey, i am a novice trader and have been on a demo for about 5 months. I am starting to have some success and am going to go live soon. I have been using Alpari and really like mt4.

However, i have been doing some reading and am not sure which broker to use when i go live. I have read some things on this forum and some people say that Alpari has some bad things about it. I also could use MT4 for charting, and then use a different broker to place orders.

I am going to deposit 3,000 and want to be able to trade .01 lot size. I would assume i...
ibfx.com
Don't confuse B roker Leverage with True Leverage. You should only be using True Leverage of 1:1 at your stage of learning and for some time after that.

Let me suggest you only start with $1000 and only trade your single 0.01 lot for the next few months. This is a trade position of $1000 (that's where the True Leverage of 1:1 comes from) and concentrate on looking for as high a win % as your method allows. After a couple of months of this you will know if you have any sort of positive expectancy from your method and then you can start topping up your account after each profitable month.

After every profitable month move another $250 - $500 into the account. If you have a losing month go back to single 0.01 lots until you're back above the level of the last winning month.

This way you won't lose all your fund too quickly and you will learn the pain that comes from losing trades that have real money attached to them.

With compounding, assuming you remain as profitable in real life as you have on demo, your account should be progressing nicely.

Patience is the key to survival.
Okay, thanks Peter that is a really good idea. And also i wanted to thank you for the guide for beginners, that was one of the first articles i read on this forum and it was very helpful.

And you also use ibfx right?
Quoting Scott_16
Okay, thanks Peter that is a really good idea. And also i wanted to thank you for the guide for beginners, that was one of the first articles i read on this forum and it was very helpful.

And you also use ibfx right?
Yes I do. You might want to look at MB Trading http://www.forexfactory.com/brokers.php?broker=720 as well. They have a ECN model that seems to be well respected by most folk around here. You pay a commission on each trade rather than the spread but at least I feel you are getting a true picture of the market.

The only reason I haven't transferred to MB Trading is that I intend to migrate my live IBFX account to a UK b roker in the New Year. I've been happy with IBFX, who suit my type of longer-term trading, and have had no issues with them. In fact, depending on the time scale for IBFX's opening of their UK office I might even stay with them.
  • Post #6
  • Quote
  • Edited 4:58am Dec 21, 2009 4:30am | Edited 4:58am
Hi Peter, could you tell me what the current spread is for GBP/JPY with IBFX? On their website it says that it averages around 5.5 (and as low as 2.0) but on my demo account it's fixed at 8.0 pips...

I'm trying to decide which broker to go for. My trading style is systematic and medium/long-term. I need MT4 and micro lots. The three brokers I have in mind are Alpari, IBFX and MBT.

The spreads are good with MB Trading but the commissions seem very high. It's about $0.60 a rounturn on a mini lot which is the equivalent of 6 pips. I like the fact that they're a true ECN but I'm wondering whether the commissions are worth it for me.

I really like the position sizing options with Oanda but unfortunately they don't offer MT4.

At the moment, I'm favouring Alpari because they have a decent spread on GBPJPY (5.5pips). They are UK based and they offer MT4 and micro lots.

The thing is I've heard more good things about IBFX than Alpari. On the other hand, I think the spread will be higher on GBPJPY with IBFX.

As you can see I'm having some difficulties deciding. I'd appreciate it if you or anyone else could offer some advice....
Hold on, I got my calculations all wrong with MB Trading. 1 pip = $1 on a mini lot, so the $0.60 commission is the equivalent of 0.6 pips.
At the moment the spread is 5 pips. To be honest I would start off with Alpari UK. If you're a med- to long-term trader the spread becomes increasingly irrelevant as your trading period gets longer.

If you are going to take my advice and start with a smaller fund then you will get a chance to test Alpari on their live servers and see how it works out.

I expect that all the main US b rokers will look to open UK offices in due course just to get back to offering more flexible trading away from NFA regulations. It's no coincidence that IBFX is on course to do this and many of the others are already over here.

A bucket shop is a bucket shop whichever way you look at it; all you can do is test the ones you fancy and see if how they function meets your requirements. Widening of spreads is part of the business and I take no notice of any of these sorts of complaints. If a trader wants to scalp he/she shouldn't be looking anywhere other than an ECN offering.

By the time you've doubled () your first account with Alpari and tried to withdraw funds you'll know if they are the ones for you. By then we may have someone like MBT across here as well!

With £1000 as a starting amount you must accept that any retail b roker will be holding some trades in house, despite what they say, so it will be a good way of sorting the wheat from the chaff.
Thanks for your advice.

To be honest I'm still really undecided. The reason I'm looking for a low spread is because my trading is systematic and a higher spread could lead to some of my trades not taking profit.

It seems that IBFX have a decent reputation and they also offer nano lots which is more effective for money management. 5 pips is also a decent spread for GBPJPY.

MB Trading has the lowest spread and they also offer micro lots. The commission isn't as high as I thought it was so now I'm favouring them Are there any advantages of staying with a market maker rather than moving to an ECN?

The spread with Oanda is 3.3 pips and I'd happily stay with them but there's no way of automating unless I pay £600 a month for an API. The only part of my strategy that really needs automating is to manually move a stop to breakeven at a certain level but it's impossible for me to watch the screen 24 hours. I can do this quite easily with MT4 but there's no way I can do it with Oanda or a spreadbetting account. It's really frustrating.
Quoting TradeOne
Are there any advantages of staying with a market maker rather than moving to an ECN?
None that I can think of!

I have no experience of trading with an EA so I can't help there. It gets back to the point I made earlier; start small and shake the problems out of your system, there are bound to be some.

Apart from execution you need to know the b roker you've chosen fits all the other criteria in terms of consistency of price and honouring stops etc.

MBT has 5 pips also at the moment but this time of year isn't always indicative of a true market as liquidity is thin and this will affect the spread.

Why not demo MBT for a month or so. I certainly wouldn't consider opening an account with real money until mid-January onwards. By that time the big boys will be back in the market and you'll have something approaching a true test of how your system will trade.
  •  onu
  • | Joined Feb 2006 | Status: superior senior member | 746 Posts
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Quoting PeterFM
At the moment the spread is 5 pips. To be honest I would start off with Alpari UK. If you're a med- to long-term trader the spread becomes increasingly irrelevant as your trading period gets longer.

If you are going to take my advice and start with a smaller fund then you will get a chance to test Alpari on their live servers and see how it works out.

I expect that all the main US b rokers will look to open UK offices in due course just to get back to offering more flexible trading away from NFA regulations. It's no coincidence that IBFX is...

"By the time you've doubled (http://cdn.forexfactory.com/images/s...im/winking.gif) your first account with Alpari and tried to withdraw funds you'll know if they are the ones for you."

U scared me to death
Was there ever a single problem or complain in the past by trying to withdraw money from Alpari UK??????????????????????????????
No. Alpari UK is really a very reliable market maker. Never had any problems with withdrawals there.
Quoting onu
"By the time you've doubled (http://cdn.forexfactory.com/images/s...im/winking.gif) your first account with Alpari and tried to withdraw funds you'll know if they are the ones for you."

U scared me to death
Was there ever a single problem or complain in the past by trying to withdraw money from Alpari UK??????????????????????????????
Heck no! All I meant was that if the time comes when he wants some of his money back that's the last great test of a borker.

I've no worries on that score, but it's not about the demo experience overall. It's what you find when real cash is on the line that defines whether we are with the right b roker.

Sorry to scare you right before Christmas; this season is hard enough what with strange men climbing down your chimney and all.

Have a good break and best wishes for the New Year.
  •  onu
  • | Joined Feb 2006 | Status: superior senior member | 746 Posts
Quoting Xaron
No. Alpari UK is really a very reliable market maker. Never had any problems with withdrawals there.
Thx, so far thats my experience with them too
  •  onu
  • | Joined Feb 2006 | Status: superior senior member | 746 Posts
Quoting PeterFM
Heck no! All I meant was that if the time comes when he wants some of his money back that's the last great test of a borker.

I've no worries on that score, but it's not about the demo experience overall. It's what you find when real cash is on the line that defines whether we are with the right b roker.

Sorry to scare you right before Christmas; this season is hard enough what with strange men climbing down your chimney and all.

Have a good break and best wishes for the New Year.
OK

Have a peaceful X-mas and a happy and successful 2010 !
  • Post #16
  • Quote
  • Edited 7:16pm Dec 21, 2009 11:32am | Edited 7:16pm
This is a very tough decision. I need to write down some of the pros and cons. If anyone can add to these I'd appreciate your advice.

The reason I'm changing broker is because I need to automate my strategy so I've narrowed it down to reputable brokers offering MT4. Aside from the emotional stress of constantly monitoring trades it's impossible for me to keep an eye 24 hours a day. I can't go for any of the bigger ECNs (like IB or Dukascopy) because I'm not ready to trade full mini or standard lots.

IBFX - has a strong reputation for a market maker, almost on a par with Oanda who I'm currently using and I've not had any problems with them. Offering nano-lots which helps with money management.

Alpari - also has a decent reputation. UK based

MB Trading - has the lowest spread. Apparently they are a true ECN but I've read differing views on this. Are they really a true ECN?
I live in the United States, but would you still recommend (or am i even allowed) to sign up live with Alpari-UK instead of Alpari-US?
Quoting Scott_16
I live in the United States, but would you still recommend (or am i even allowed) to sign up live with Alpari-UK instead of Alpari-US?
No, they don't accept US citizens! So much for the global village.
  • Post #19
  • Quote
  • Last Post: Dec 21, 2009 6:23pm Dec 21, 2009 6:23pm
CMS UK do accept US citizens. I've just chatted with a Rep - go have a look.

Note: I have no affiliation with them - just thought I'd have a look as there have been a couple of good comments about them in another thread.

Obviously you need to do your own DD.
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