What do you expect from a broker?

Hey guys,

I wanted to know what you expect from a broker? What are you looking for? What influences your decision to give a broker a try?

Thanks for sharing your ideas.

   TheLastBear posted:
   Hey guys,

I wanted to know what you expect from a broker? What are you looking for? What influences your decision to give a broker a try?

Thanks for sharing your ideas.

Well, it's very annoying to switch brokers and making me do that would require the current broker to make some unacceptable errors which up until didn't happen.

Reputation is a must, so I would have to see hear some good (and real) reviews about the firm before going forward.

Yes, I agree. Reputation is very important. Where do you check a brokers reputation. I am asking cause I know there are always negative reviews for any broker out there, but I have noticed they come from people who misread bonus conditions or newbies who lost money. I also come across negative reviews from a lot of 'scam countries'.

Do you use multiple brokers?

I made PaxForex my prime broker, they are newer in the business but their customer service made my decision easier. I did check for reviews over at forex peace academy. After calling their support department and talking to a real human being I decided to give them a try and so far only had positive experiences.

As a trader I want to feel that my funds are safe and secure so I don't have to worry about. I also want my deposits/withdrawals to be handled without problems.

For reviews, I would count only on friends using the broker which can recommend it. I do read reviews on the web, although I don't pay too much attention to it as most of it is skewed by broker badmouthing each other.

I don't use multiple brokers as I don't have such large amounts for trading that I need to worry about it yet. It also creates a lot of work keeping track of multiple accounts not to mention trading them simultaneously, especially when you have a manual trading system.

I don't know your broker, but a new broker will always strive to be perfect in everything to attract new clients while building reputation for itself, as in every new business. The real test would be to see it perform over time, while it grows and still keeps you and your issues in priority.

Yes I agree that at first they strive for perfection, but if they want to stay in the business they will maintain a high level of professionalism. As you said it takes time, but unless you try you will not find out. I will stick with PaxForex and hope they will maintain their current level. They are currently growing and adding new features such a Forex recommendations and a Forex blog which I appreciate.

Since they are new and expanding it is nice to see an active broker and how they keep developing and improving. I have a good feeling about them and hope they will past the test of time.

Who do you use as your broker?

I think personal recommendations for brokers from people you know is the best as you said.

   TheLastBear posted:

Who do you use as your broker?

I think personal recommendations for brokers from people you know is the best as you said.

I use Oanda. I like their customer service very much and enjoy the Java platform, although for automated trading need to switch to their MT4.

Used IBFX a few years back, however experienced a lot of slippage and misquotes, which is why I moved to a different broker.

Oanda has more U.S. client funds than any other U.S. broker. ($190M). They have low spreads and a good transparent business model. I have nothing against Oanda - I think they are one of several good choices. However, choosing a broker is more about choosing the best 'fit' for you. First you have to decide on how you want to trade: Dealing Desk, ECN, or STP. Then you have to decide on whether you want a commission/spread model or an only spread model. Then there's value added: a live trade room, trade signals, the ability to hedge on your MT4 platform, etc.

One of the most important issues is the safety of your money. It's my personal opinion that the U.S. is the safest place to conduct business. Yes, we had regulatory disasters with MF Global & PFG. There's no denying that. However, financial fraud takes place all over the world. There's a lot more fraud that takes place outside of the United States then inside it. Personally, as a trader, I want my money in the heaviest regulated country in the FX industry. Although there's never any guarantees, I want to put my money in the safest possible location. I really don't understand why people open an account with a brokerage on some exotic island, and then wonder why their withdrawal hasn't been processed. Why take that risk? Do you know what kind of regulation brokers on Malta, Cyprus, Mauritius, and Seychelles have to adhere to? Are you familiar with the safeguards they or their regulatory agencies have in place? Do your due diligence people...

Side note: I've been seeing employees of PaxForex engage in stealth advertising across multiple forex forums. First, you aren't fooling anyone. Second, I don't think anyone should open an account with PaxForex. Whoever owns PaxForex needs to realize that with all of the fraud in the FX and Futures industry, transparency is crucial. PaxForex is NOT very transparent. Who are the owners? Who are the principals? Which agencies regulate you? What are your capital requirements? What kind of policies and safeguards do you have in place to protect customer funds? These issues should all be addressed on your website!! Maybe I'm just not seeing them, please point them out to me if that is the case...

Rant complete.

Every Trader want to get good service from Brokers and not to squeeze the Trader. Low spread, transparent in price, automatic withdrawal and authorized brokers.

Broker's reputation is determined by client satisfaction.

dlathrop posted:
Oanda has more U.S. client funds than any other U.S. broker. ($190M). They have low spreads and a good transparent business model. I have nothing against Oanda - I think they are one of several good choices. However, choosing a broker is more about choosing the best 'fit' for you. First you have to decide on how you want to trade: Dealing Desk, ECN, or STP. Then you have to decide on whether you want a commission/spread model or an only spread model. Then there's value added: a live trade room, trade signals, the ability to hedge on your MT4 platform, etc.

One of the most important issues is the safety of your money. It's my personal opinion that the U.S. is the safest place to conduct business. Yes, we had regulatory disasters with MF Global & PFG. There's no denying that. However, financial fraud takes place all over the world. There's a lot more fraud that takes place outside of the United States then inside it. Personally, as a trader, I want my money in the heaviest regulated country in the FX industry. Although there's never any guarantees, I want to put my money in the safest possible location. I really don't understand why people open an account with a brokerage on some exotic island, and then wonder why their withdrawal hasn't been processed. Why take that risk? Do you know what kind of regulation brokers on Malta, Cyprus, Mauritius, and Seychelles have to adhere to? Are you familiar with the safeguards they or their regulatory agencies have in place? Do your due diligence people...

Rant complete.

Very well said. I agree that in the current world economy and forex regulation, US is definitely the best place to have your broker based at.

As to the 'fit' - all points mentioned are excellent ones, however those who ask and look for the 'best' broker are usually the newbies which have no idea what are ecn, stp, etc', so this makes it hard for them to decide with all of the abundance of information. I think a newbie should just go for the most popular and best review broker out there, and once familiar with all of the terms, see if there's a better broker.

I try to stay away from the U.S. regulatory system and did move all my brokerage accounts out of there, but it comes down to preference.

TheLastBear posted:
I try to stay away from the U.S. regulatory system and did move all my brokerage accounts out of there, but it comes down to preference.

I couldn't agree more. Some people just prefer to not worry about whether their money is being held in a safe place or not.

Everyone should read this investor alert by the CFTC before choosing a broker and beginning to trade forex:

https://www.cftc.gov/ConsumerProtection/FraudAwarenessPrevention/ForeignCurrencyTrading/cftcnasaaforexalert

That is a good piece of literature to read.

TheLastBear posted:
That is a good piece of literature to read.

I agree. Even after reading the article and knowing how these scams operate, it's not always easy to spot one as these types of scams always get smarter.

Yes, unfortunately there are some bad apples out there which is why it is important as a community to infomr each other about those.

One more important factor is keeping all the client's funds in segregated accounts, so they can be protected.

MRodrigez posted:
One more important factor is keeping all the client's funds in segregated accounts, so they can be protected.

Do you think it makes that big of a difference? As far as I'm aware, this is simply a separation between account, however that doesn't deny access from the firm to take money out of it.

James_Bond posted:

MRodrigez posted:
One more important factor is keeping all the client's funds in segregated accounts, so they can be protected.

Do you think it makes that big of a difference? As far as I'm aware, this is simply a separation between account, however that doesn't deny access from the firm to take money out of it.

In any case it is a bit more secure ;)

When it comes down to it, how do you know they really are segregated?