I downloaded Dealbook 360 from GFT Forex b/c I liked what the charting package had. My question is (as a FX newbie) - is this thing any good to trade through with real money? I'll be honest here... I am skeptical of FX due to the different horror stories floating around out there but just curious. I'm considering it more from a swing trading perspective since these things can trend like a mad man at times. I'd love to hear any feedback on GFT/Dealbook. Thanks!
The dark side awaits you! Muahahahaha! Try Oanda for live trading. GFT is solid, but dishonest like most of the other firms. Oanda will be the most fair for a no commission dealer. Otherwise do IB's IDEALPRO as it's just like any other market.
I've got to be careful what I say in case they sue me for defamation so I'll just say thieving manipulating bucketshop who freeze prices, change and reverse profitable trades, lock you into unfilled market orders and fill you where they like. Apart from that they're great! If you're trading a sub 5k account use Oanda, not perfect but at least you can use sensible money management.
I tested the platform. W I D E spreads. Pushy salesperson. Never checked for variable trade size. Went with Oanda. Although, this morning around 7:30 eastern, the spreads on EUR/USD went to 2.5 up from an already high 1.3. "Market Event??"
Could have been around the time the ECB announced they were pumping 15 billion Euro into the banking system, things got a little choppy.
That would do it. Guess I'll have to stop using the sunday paper for my news feed! If I may ask, what news source do you use?
Thanks for the feedback guys, appreciate it. It'd be nice if FX was structured like futures, but no luck I guess. I like the 360 platform so far, but have to be careful apparently as well...
Try IB's dealing system. It's just like any other market, ie not fixed spread and you pay a small commission. They are very competitive for FX. I think it comes to a $2.50/trade minimum, but it varies depending on the pairs traded. Some will tell you that EFX/MBT is good also, as they have an "ECN" model. But their commissions are at LEAST 2-4x what IB's are, and spreads aren't as bad. Not to mention the rollover rates are ludicrious at EFX/MBT. IB's are competitive with the rest of the market. You could also look at HotSpotFX's retail side. I think they have even better spreads at times than IB, but don't hold me to this. There are some good threads on IB's FX commission calculations, search for that if you want to pursue using IB for FX. Hope this helps!
My opinion. Structure would come from regulation. Regulation would come from the feds. The feds are NO fun. The feds will restrict the beatings, yes, but they tend to over-regulate. I don't want just one exchange feed. We need choice. I am afraid Washington will get involved and screw the whole thing.