cax

Discussion in 'Forex Brokers' started by hedonQ, Jan 21, 2008.

  1. hedonQ

    hedonQ

    I am curious if anyone has kicked the tires on recently opened for business
    cax with vcap fx?

    The description on their web site sounds like un upgrade from currenex.

    I've been trading on currenex about year and half and the spreads have been tough
    recently. (probably, don't have to say why). I trade only cable but the spreads
    have been 4-6 pips. On top of that I pay about a pip for commission per trade.
    I use a day trading strategy and it does impact my profits. I am tired of it and
    the phantom liquidity and the last look bullshit that I have seen on currenex.

    If anyone wants to share experience it would be appreciated.

    Thanks.
    G.
     
  2. try efx, they have been excellent.
     
  3. It's a BBBBIIIGGG upgrade from Currenex, but you need to be an ECP to qualify to trade there (http://www.vcapfx.com/ecp.pdf).

    We are in charge of allocating capital to FX traders from a group of hedge funds, so our clients meet the ECP requirement. We're setting up a group of traders there in the next few weeks.
     
  4. EFX has some of the highest commissions in the industry. This makes it impossible to run high frequency scalping or arb systems with them. IMHO their platform sucks and if you're a trader that does a lot of size, their annoying 10,000-unit partial fills are a nuisance.
     
  5. Both IB and Dukascopy typically have a spread on cable of 0.5-2 pips during the busy times, 1-4 pips during the quieter periods. Right now (US & euro overlap), IB is showing 0.5 pip spread quite often.

    Both have commissions less than half of what MBT/EFX charge, nearly a third actually. MBT/EFX really need to lower commissions, they're completely uncompetitive at $50 per million.
     
  6. hedonQ

    hedonQ

    That's great to hear.The overall requirements on cax make me believe
    that cax might be very legitimate place to trade.

    I don't see myself anywhere near the cap qualification though.
    Maybe, taking series 3 and become cta might be on step forward.
    The account minimum is not something take lightly either.

    Anyway, certainly cax is venue to keep an eye on down the road.

    Thanks for the info.

    Good Luck.
    G.


    :D :D :D
     
  7. hedonQ

    hedonQ

    I heard Dukascopy is light on liquidity, but it's just that ... a rumor.
    Good thinks I hear about IB.

    I tested MBT as well but the commission is indeed cost prohibitive for a day trader,
    even more so if you trade cable. At $50 per million commission your cost per trade is
    the spread + 2 pips in commission, assuming cable at $2.00. That's ludicrous.

    I severed all ties with adm and its currenex. What a disappointing experience. I was hoping
    for some long term relationship, considering the company's credentials.
    Anyway, I pulled all the money out, I am done with them.

    I am taking my business to hotspot fx. The comish is $30 per "BASE" currency. This
    is very competitive. Adm charged me $30 per million "dollars" traded, which
    is double what hotspot is. Spread's on demo hotspot range between .5 to 3 pips,
    Adm's range between 3-6 pips, sometimes more. I don't think adm has enough
    liquidity providers. Their liquidity just dries up too often widening the spreads to
    6 or more pips(I am not talking eco release) . That sounds like one bank running the rates.

    Anyway, thanks for sharing.

    Good Luck.
    G.


     
  8. It can be light at times in certain cross pairs, say CADJPY (by "light", I mean 25-40M notional, but that's across 5 pip levels on both sides). Typically the majors have 100-400M notional in the book at all times (you can track this live on their homepage). Although, even with the book well over 100M in depth, sometimes the inside spread is <1M. I'm not sure why that happens, scalpers probably. That's why I use them alongside IB. I'm also usually making a market rather than lifting bids/offers, which works well on both ECNs.

    Tested them last summer. Same exact experience, what a letdown. Terrible Currenex hub.

    I assume you mean Hotspot FXr, not their FXi institutional platform right? My only concern about FXr is their order transparency. They state on their website that they directly handle the offsetting of customer orders. This leads me to believe that your static limit order is not "broadcast" or directly actionable. You'll certainly be filled when the market trades through your price, but what about touches? This is all speculation on my part. What I like about the 2 aforementioned ECNs is that my limit orders are directly actionable by any other participant in the hub, including the banks. FXr could work the exact same way, it just appears from the language on their website that orders are handled internally (which is why they allow mini-lots, etc).

    True for more expensive currencies (GBP, EUR, etc). But the opposite for pairs like kiwi and aussie. 1M kiwi would cost you $30, but cost $14-15 on Dukascopy and IB. Just food for though. Good luck. :)
     
  9. Here in Austin? Cool! :)
     
  10. Have you actually confirmed this? This would be... unusual, since everyone else is basing the commissions on the USD-value of the transaction.
     
    #10     Jan 27, 2008