I trade when it is volatile . My view, rightly or wrongly, is when it is quiet the big players control/see the flows and so I am at a disadvantage. When it is volatile it is every man for themselves and it is more about market action than one order/flow. When I had an account with EFX I would want to say buy euros but becuase they had a stuck quote at 17 when the bid was 20 you either could not get a fill or it would be at a price never seen on the platform. As this happened several times in one week I decided the software was not robust enough. Another poster has said this still happens whereas Steve (Demarest I assume) at EFX has said the software is now far better. Although I am a little sceptical as my previous experience was characterised by 'false' claims I will have another look at the platform. As a comparison I have very few problems with Currenex and have been very happy with them. Ditto Lava. Hotspot the spreads are now not very competitive. Hvae used Baxter a bit recently as well and they seem good although very early days so not fair to pass a psoitive judgement. I will also see what EFX charge per million. Can't remember what it was last time but was certainly not as much as $50 per million. I currently pay $15 per million elsewhere.
Thanks all. I like MB Trading Platform. But the spreads are not as good as that of IB(I currently use) except for euro and USD/JPY, these two oairs could be even sometimes between bid/ask.
Lon, Sorry for the slow response. I have lurked on ET long enough to know the simple mention of another competing company on a thread starts a flame war. As you can see I never ventured into the world of posting because I was never motivated enough. I felt compelled because the tools I use have rewarded me with making a higher percentage of profits in FX then ever before. As such, I feel somewhat obligated to throw a few good words MBT's way. Let me say this about Currenex. It is a routing platform used by brokerages. As such not a perfect application as the destinations are up to the discretion of the FCM itself. I have found EFX/MBT/TDFX to be similar to a direct access equity firm using ARCA or BRUT from the original days of ECN vs. NASDAQ. Yes, there are issues will all platforms and the issues are understandable based on the platform selected. Much like back in the day, pick the horse you want to ride that allows you to execute your trading plan and trade. If and when something better comes along slowly move to it. I will add this. Because I trade very active pairs the ability to post in 1/10th of a Pip and the ability to use several order types not available on other trading systems I have used does give me peace of mind that I appreciate. PP
At this point I would say MB Trading has potential but still has a ways to go. My Evaluation of MB goes like this: Excellent back office Excellent support Excellent trading plarform versatility Poor platform reliability Inconsistent fills I have tested MB Trading in a wide variety of situations and markets. The only 2 knocks I have on them are these: 1.) The platform disconnects far, far too much. This happens to many people, not just myself. When MB technical supprt is asked about this, they claim that is the cable provider and networks in the S.E. region of the United States that has the problem not MB. I have to take issue wtih this explaination because the neither of the other two platforms I have running, nor my realtime charts experience these problems. This leaves us back to the simple conclusive fact that it is an MB problem. 2.) The fills with MB trading are just not consistent enough. Sometimes they are instant and sometimes you can wait for 10 seconds after the order has been accepted with no takers at all. The problem is at its worst in busy, faster moving markets. Yes, I completely understand they are not a market maker and I am waiting for a taker. But there is no such problems with good prime currenex account. So that leaves me to say that either currenex's technology is far superior to MB or they just have not procured either enough, or the correct liquidity partners. I am assuming that it is a liquidity problem. In the end, the reality is that you will get better fills from somebody like OandA. And, as far as any trader is concerned, all that matters is performance. I keep a small account with MB because I believe in what they are doing. I will continue to throw a trade at it here and there to see how they are progressing. But, for now, I will continue to make my money and the bulk of my trades elsewhere.
Could you elaborate on that please? Which currency did you trade that has that problem? Eg. if EUR/USD is now quoting bid-ask 1.3337-1.3338, at what price did you place which made you wait for 10 seconds with no takers? And what order type?
As far as retail Brokers go, I have not found anyone with a better combination of good spreads and consistent execution than OandA. I have not tried them all but I have experience with many. I am a bit curious about Tradex. If anyone is using them please speak up.