I trade stocks full time (as well as some futures). I want to trade forex, first on a very small scale (<$2000). Who is the best broker for this, and what is the best platform? I sense that the correct reply will be that they all suck. In any case, how is FXCM vs. Gain Capital (forex.com/forexTrader)?
I don't trade spot anymore, but when I did, I used forex.com. My tipping point to go with them at the time was... 1) Gain Capital seemed credible and financially stable. 2) The platform... it seemed to work the way I think. Now with the *glowing* recommendation based on past experience out of way, I tell you to trade currency futures, not spot. Good luck, whichever way you go Osorico
Concur about trading currency futures. But if you must trade the spot and with a small amount like that, check out Oanda. Peace.
Great advice above to trade currency futures... not. parabolic, you'll want to stay clear of FXCM, Gain and especially futures. Besides everything else, the minimum trade size -- 10,000 units for the former two, USD 53,000-83,000 and up for the latter -- is incompatible with both your account allocation to currencies and your self-described status as a newcomer to this asset class. As a simple yet essential exercise, estimate both your maximum stop loss size, in pips / ticks, for an X% per-trade risk (you pick X) and minimum possible leverage, given minimum trade size of either 10,000 EUR/USD or, say, 1 E-mini Euro-FX. Feel free to post your 4 answers here. You may not use a spreadsheet or a calculator... if you can't do that in your head (or, at worst, on a piece of paper), you have no business trading forex. If you pass this simple test (I am being dead serious), your choices at this time are limited to: 1) demo accounts; 2) those forex dealers (they are not brokers) with minimum trade size of 1,000 units or less. Of those, Oanda should be at the top of your short list and is superior to demo accounts for your purposes, including Oanda's own demo.
Yes they do slip a bit. At least that is what I've observed during the past year and a half. Honestly, the only good FX future to trade is the Euro. The full size, not the Mini. And then the Yen futures. Pound and Swiss if you're intermediate term trading. Meaning, overnight holds with no entry/exits immediately following news releases.