Bobcathy1, Your math is almost right...you are comparing apples with oranges because for example a Globex EUR/USD is 12.5 $ per pip and a EUR/USD spot contract 10 $ per pip so you have to adjust the costs you calculate accordingly..... Mister Perfect.
In addition to higher trading costs, forex traders are exposed to counterparty risk (unless they trade with a large bank). In years past I have traded with the German Bundesbank, but recently I understand that they no longer accept small accounts. Hope this helps. Best Regards, Steve46
bobcathy1, yep, you are right. the retail FX is a rip-off for now! i traded some yen (jpy) and if you are careful how you get in, you don't have much of spread issue. Maybe 1-2 tick ( a tick is $12.50). I guess if you were to do spot fx, try Oanda. I played on their sim. seems good. tight spread 1-3pips.
i chated with several FX dealers at the NYC expo. most seemed legit, just not my thing. HOWEVER, there was a group, with the biggest booth by far, called concorde forex group who was pitching a multi level scheme for forex and making outrageous claims of 100's of positive trades in a row, while veiling it as a "mentoring" program. the amway concept applied to a financial market---- how low can these guys go ?? as a retail client--- globex is the ONLY way to go. if you are big enough and need the liquidity--- -- reuters dealing is where the big boys play. surf
these threads might be relevant http://www.elitetrader.com/vb/showt...=26444&perpage=6&highlight=forex&pagenumber=2 http://www.elitetrader.com/vb/showthread.php?threadid=28049
Depends what you are trading. The euro has plenty of liquidity. The yen and pound are doable too. I wouldn't day trade any other currency via Globex though. To answer your Q, no slippage, and you get as much size as you want. Trust me, if you have to ask, you aren't big enough to have problems with fills. If you wish to trade smaller currencies, however, or non us pairs (ie GBP/EUR), then forex is your only choice. I have traded both extensively and I prefer Globex, mainly because of cost. Jay
I was under the impression that on Globex, you will be paying the bid/ask spread just like any financial instrument. Then on top of that, you are paying commissions. So what's the bid/ask spread on Globex measured in pips?
The spread on Globex is often 1 tick- i.e. 1 pip. Sometimes it can be much more. To compare it with forex. In my forex account say I want to trade the euro. They give me a spread of 3 pips. On $125,000 this is about $38 . On the Globex I pay $4.80 for commission. Sometimes on Globex I buy/sell a position and as soon as the order is filled I am in the green because of the way the bid/ask alternates. For the exact same move, same position size, on forex if it moves 3 pips in my direction I am now $0. If it moves my direction 3 ticks on Globex I am now in profit $20
and the size if prob quite small .... they prob cross trades with their small customers on gaps between friday close and sunday night open -The other reason is guaranteed stop execution. Very helpful on monday gaps sometimes- Globex Futures Open up 6:30 pm EST so there is not such a big gap usually as you might think