[forexmat]

I've found one good broker, but he didn’t permit hedging and do not have micro forex accounts, but I need micro forex with high leverage.

[BlowFish]

Originally Posted by forexmat »

I've found one good broker, but he didn’t permit hedging and do not have micro forex accounts, but I need micro forex with high leverage.

I just got this from one of me demo bookie accounts.

Recently the NFA issued new regulations prohibiting traders from hedging (having long and short positions open on the same currency pair at the same time). We realize that said regulatory changes will affect the trading style of many customers. As a solution, ibfx's MultiTrader 4 allows users to easily manage multiple accounts at once; via this new trading tool you are able to go short in one account and long in another or vice versa!

I didn't realise that the NFA regulated bookies!

[Wilson]

Try forex-metal broker. they have high leverage and micro accounts, and permit hedging.

[BlowFish]

Originally Posted by Wilson »

Try forex-metal broker. they have high leverage and micro accounts, and permit hedging.

So they are either breaking NFA regulations or are a bucket shop operating unregulated I guess?

[sunilrohira]

I think fxcm allows MT4 and has micro accounts.
Forex Pro also has MT4 and allows hedging but I found out that they are based in Cyprus.
Check out ibfx, which has MT4 and micro accounts but doesnt allow hedging.

[Wilson]

Originally Posted by BlowFish »

So they are either breaking NFA regulations or are a bucket shop operating unregulated I guess?

they're not NFA regulated, but are not a bucket shop.

[atto]

Originally Posted by Wilson »

they're not NFA regulated, but are not a bucket shop.

They actually are. A very quick skim of their site yields that they are the counter-party to trades. Additionally, they offer no swap accounts, which is impossible if they were truly routing your order.

In general, almost all retail forex brokers are bucket shops. If you insist on trading forex, and not regulated currency futures, look for a broker with ECN access. Few do, it's expensive.

[thalestrader]

Originally Posted by atto »

In general, almost all retail forex brokers are bucket shops. If you insist on trading forex, and not regulated currency futures, look for a broker with ECN access. Few do, it's expensive.

I think bucket shops prosper for the same reason any broker, whether that broker buckets your trades or whether that broker routes your trades, prospers: The broker does not beat you, you beat yourself. (Many would be surprised, I think, at how many futures brokers routinely take the other side of customer orders. But read any broker's disclosure forms, and they all tell you that they will at times take the other side of your trade and as such will profit if you lose.)

Perhaps day trading stocks has accustomed me to trading with spreads that are at times discouragingly wide while fluctuating maddeningly (though the spreads since decimalization are much tighter than under the old invisible 1/8th system, and trading more liquid stocks usually results in true 1 penny spreads with excellent fills).

But watching what my nine year old daughter has accomplished this week with a micro account at the "notorius" fxcm has convinced me that the would-be forex speculator can win, and win big, so long as he or she trades according to price action, places stops sensibly above resistance and below support, cuts losses short, and lets profits run.

The only complaint she made this week, and I would have to agree with her, is this: fxcm will not let you place a stop or limit order within 5 ticks of the current price. So, if you decide to move your stop 5 ticks or closer to current price, you need to sit there and be ready to take yourself out of (or get into) your position with a market order (or wait until price moves farther than 5 ticks from where you want your order).

As she is not a news trader, trying to benefit from the unpredictable and wild swings that occur when economic data is released, she has not been affected by the typical retail forex trader's complaints about extremely wide spreads or requotes. Unfortunatley, most folks who are attracted to retail fx seem drawn like a bug to an electronic bug zapper to trading news events rather than price action.

I do not have any other retail FX experience (other than an old Refco Account which has been confiscated by Refco's creditors), but from what I gather, most if not all bucket shops place restrictions on how close to the market a customer can place a resting order (stop or limit). This strikes me as an unfair and undue hindrance to the customer, and I'd like to see the NFA do something about that practice.

As far as MT4, fxcm does offer it, and I think it requires a $2K minimum initial balance, but I think the leverage is 1:200, and not the 1:400 offered with microlots. In other words, the smallest tradable unit, I believe, is 1 mini lot (10K) which is the equivalent of 10 micro lots (1K). Anyone interested should go directly to fxcm to verify any of this, of course. I did download an MT4 demo account for my daughter and I. I would never have her "auto trader" so I do not know if we'd ever go the MT4 route, as we would have no need of expert advisors. It does seem to be an indicator trader's dream platform, however, if you are so inclined.

Best Wishes,

Thales