Need some updated advice on ECN no DD broker

Does anyone have any feedback on their experience with FXCM UK? Customer service, opening process, safety of funds, slippage, withdrawals ease (4-5 digits or more)?

Thanks in advance.

Hi MKFXTrader,

I know you were hoping for feedback from clients, but since no one else has responded yet, I wanted to offer some help in answering your questions.

"Customer service"

We offer live customer support 24 hours a day via phone, online chat and email. We have specialists to help you with all aspects of your trading from technical support, automated trading, programming services, research and execution (DailyFX.com)

"opening process"

We have a 3 step application process

1. Complete the online application from our website
2. Fax or email us a copy of your ID (driving license or passport) and proof of address (utility bill or bank statement)
3. Deposit funds via bank wire transfer, credit/debit card, electronic transfer or check

"safety of funds" & "withdrawals ease (4-5 digits or more)"

FXCM is regulated in the UK by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). That means FXCM UK client accounts are segregated in accordance with UK regulations. Furthermore, the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) protects the clients of FCA-regulated brokers for up to £50,000 in the event of insolvency. This account protection is available to FXCM UK clients worldwide regardless of where they live.

Unfortunately, the past couple of years have seen the failures of brokers regulated in the UK, the US and Australia. If that has taught us anything, it's that the financial stability of the broker you choose can have far greater implications than any other factor. Since the vast majority of forex brokers are privately held companies, it's hard to know the state of their finances. Are they profitable, or are they barely staying afloat? How can you know whether they are safe place to keep your money?

FXCM is a publicly-traded company (NYSE ticker: FXCM), so information regarding our financial data is readily available. This is one of the reasons why traders have entrusted us with $1.264 billion in client funds as of the latest publicly available data.

"slippage"

Anyone trading in the forex, stock, or futures market, has to be willing to accept the risk that goes along with having orders executed during illiquid market conditions. There's no sugar coating this. Slippage is one of the risks you assume when trading.

The risk of slippage is greatest during volatile markets such as around a news announcement like NFP, or when holding trades open over the weekend. Speaking of NFP, take a look at the chart below which shows the GBP/USD tick chart right at 8:30 EST during the March 8, 2013 NFP release.

http://img812.imageshack.us/img812/2...01332723pm.png

GBP/USD dropped from 1.50361 to 1.49972 in one tick. Yes one tick! That means there were no prices quoted by the liquidity providers in between those prices. If you had an order to sell GBP/USD at 1.5020, your order would not have been filled at 1.5020 because there was no quote at that price from a liquidity provider offering to buy when you wanted to sell. You likely would have been filled at the next available price around 1.49972. FXCM isn't deciding to fill or not fill at certain prices, your orders are filled based on liquidity and where there is liquidity on the other side of the transaction to fill your order.

Also, keep in mind that slippage works both ways. If you have a limit or take profit order, and the price gaps in favor of your trade, then you will get filled at the more favorable price which is trading in the market. This is called positive slippage or price improvement. The stats below show that FXCM clients receive price improvements on limit orders just as frequently as they receive negative slippage on stop orders. In fact, we even provide tips on our website to help clients minimize negative slippage and maximize price improvements.

http://img823.imageshack.us/img823/1...ovementspo.png

Another thing you can do to minimize negative slippage is to note the times when majors news events are scheduled. These are times when the likelihood slippage is greatest. That and weekends, which is the reason why some shorter term traders also like to go flat before trading closes on Fridays.