UK non dealing desk spread bet broker?

Another No Dealing Desk UK broker offering spread betting is http://www.activtrades.co.uk/

When reading this thread be sure to know the difference between STP, ECN, NDD and DD.
http://www.forex-central.net/ECN-NDD-STP-brokers.php
I don't fully understand the difference between

re: FXCM. I am in testing but early findings are going towards the NDD solution under MT4 being somehow different to their own platform (Trading Station). I have found the NDD solution with their TradingStation acceptable (support is very good), but too early to say excellent yet. So far I've had trouble when purely with MT4, but again it seems too early to be sure. The NDD solution still allows the broker to increase spread and delay response times - they are perfectly entitled and within their rights to do this.

The ideal setup from what I can tell is Electronic Communication Network or Straight Through Processing(not sure of the difference), with commission on volume and set spreads, independently audited by an unbiased third party for response times against a competitor using Guardian. I am unaware of any brokers offering this as spreadbetting but I haven't searched a whole bunch as yet - the search continues.

AtivTrades: Recieved a penalty from the FSA in 2011 but I can't see mention of manipulation, it's more about inadequate care of client funds. Poor reviews.

Are any of these true ECN's? Any with fixed spreads?

Hi Jago,

FXCM offers our clients the choice between two types of forex execution: No Dealing Desk (NDD) and Dealing Desk (DD). Both execution options are available on all our platforms including Trading Station, MT4 and NinjaTrader. That's why I'm curious why you said that "early findings are going towards the NDD solution under MT4 being somehow different to their own platform (Trading Station)". Could you give me an example of what you mean by this?


I can't speak for other brokers, but what you have described is not the case with FXCM's NDD execution. On our NDD model, the sell and buy prices you see on the screen are the best bid and ask prices received from 10+ competing liquidity providers plus our fixed pip markup that acts as a commission. FXCM's deep and diverse pool of liquidity providers helps to ensure that NDD prices are reliable - not set by a single provider - and that they do reflect the broader forex market. Also, through competition, the NDD model ensures that prices are market-driven and fair.

FXCM rewards liquidity providers with order flow when they provide the best bid or ask prices. The more advantageous their prices are the more order flow the liquidity provider will receive. The less advantageous, the less order flow they will receive. This efficient selection method keeps a single liquidity provider from adversely affecting your price. We make our money from client trading volume, not client losses, so we have no incentive to want you to lose on a trade, a we have every incentive to execute your order properly.

It's good for us if you make money, because it means you'll most likely trade more, and we can make money off the trading volume. Your orders are offset one-for-one with our liquidity providers. Since FXCM is not taking a position in the market, we have no incentive to increase the spread or delay response times. That means when you see the spreads widen on our platform it's because the spreads from our liquidity providers have widened, and they include several of the largest banks in the world.



You can find more information on FXCM's website about our two forex execution options.

Jason does a very good job at what he does. He never says anything untrue per sec but I will act as the counterbalance here for one and all. That said when he says that they can't delay prices I know they certainly can - because I can. How? Well an attacker could DDOS the FXCM server for a start - that would introduce delay. Just simple delays in connectivity are very possible to do and easy. I'm not saying this is what happens - just that it can happen - the technology is as simple as an iptables rule linked to an algo. So don't buy into the marketing spiel of NDD being the panacea for all woes - judge your broker on results - measure ping and slippage, use Guardian and submit your results online so quality brokers are justly rewarded.

I believe FXCM can offer a great service but it depends on which service you are using. I attest to experiencing problems with the MT4 execution with spreadbetting. These are what I have experienced directly in testing:
- pending trade not executed
- delay in cancelling order
- spread widening. Nothing wrong with this; actually pretty useful as an indicator!
- Invalid parameter when moving a stop that was 300pips away from price - this closed the trade... perhaps a MT4 bug, I don't know... but the price quickly went against me as soon as the position closed out... unlucky...

I still think FXCM is a good broker. I didn't lose many funds as I've considered this testing all through. I just don't rate the MT4 platform. I don't know why these things have happened as they have. There has been trade enquiries but at the end of the day I have a screen shot showing both ask and bid below a pending buy order and I'm sure all thee incidents can't be coinsidence. Maybe 2 could be my or other errors but not all. I don't profess to explain how this happens and indeed I don't see how it's even possible with a No Dealing Desk model... only that it has happened. I can confirm that this happened with NDD and MT4 accoutn type and MT4 platform.

I haven't had any of those problems with the TS2 interface meshed with MT4 account type.
I am switching over to TS2 interface now and also non-MT4 account type too. Because I chart on MT4 I'll be placing trades manually and separately on TS2. I highly recommend you look into this if your thinking of trading with FXCM.

The key to trust is not judging a person or entity. What is key is finding just how easy it is for someone to be dishonest - the process not the person. While it is true that FXCM had a fine in the past from a regulator that does not mean they are bad all round. By switching to NDD that is a strong step in that direction. But somehow the MT4 platform and MT4 account type with FXCM isn't coming away from that bad rep.

What I would like to learn is the technical details of MT4 account types vs TS2 or trades placed over the phone. I think if I knew how MT4 data connections work vs FXCM's OpenAPI I might be able to confirm whether MT4 is indeed still prone to 'problems' in a similar way that it was with the dealing desk. I don't really need to do this though - just test your broker and see how they perform.

At the end of the day FXCM is the only broker of any standing to offer spreadbetting status. Testing continues, but now more in depth with TS2 and non MT4 on no dealing desk.

Hope this helps everyone :-)
...including FXCM!

Yes, and aliens can come around to your house and cover it with a magnetic force field, thereby delaying your connection to FXCM. I'm not saying it will happen, but it can.

Hi Jago,

I'm glad that you've had a positive experience with the trade execution on our Trading Station platform. However, I would still like to follow up with you regarding the poor experience with the MT4 platform. It's the same NDD forex execution that's available on both platforms. In fact, if you have an MT4 account with FXCM, you can even use your MT4 username and password to log into the Trading Station platform and place trades from there. That said, it's possible that one platform may be faster than another at sending and receiving orders, but that would be a limitation of the software itself. For manual trading, I value the speed of Trading Station myself, and it includes built-in features like one-click trading and the ability to place orders directly from the charts.

Jason

https://www.activtrades.co.uk/

https://www.intertraderdirect.com/

or https://www.intertrader.com/

NDD STP spreadbet broker. Though Gibraltar based.

Are there any other NDD STP spreadbet brokers based in or near the UK yet?

Hi Nebula,

FXCM provides No Dealing Desk (NDD) forex execution to all Standard accounts (5k minimum opening balance) and Active Trader accounts (25k mimimum). This includes spread betting accounts for traders in the UK and Ireland.

In addition, we offer Mini accounts ($50 minimum) with DD execution.