FXCM went down today, sometime in the morning hours. (CST) Their "status" page, www.fxstatus.com is hit or miss, probably to the number of people trying to get information. I've only been trading a live account with them since December. I got them on the phone and they said this "never happens" as far as it going down and staying down so long. What I want to know is, is that true? For you that have traded on FXCM for a more substantial amount of time, have you ever been locked out for so long of a time? I will add, that the Customer Service representative did say they would honor all trades that should have gone through but didn't. i.e. stop loss, target limit, etc. That's great but if this is a common occurrence, I'll be looking for a new broker.
Hi rdlsmith, Here's the latest from FXStatus.com XCM trading will be inaccessible for the remainder of the trading day. Please log into your account as soon as trading resumes on Sunday at 5:15 est and close out any trades that you intended to close today at the market rate. If the rate you end up receiving on Sunday is better than you originally requested on Friday, you certainly keep the additional profit. If it is worse, please log the details of your trade including your account number, the ticket number, the time and rate that you originally tried to close and the rate you eventually received when things came back online through the form at this link. Our audit committee will look into the details of the trade and follow up with you directly on an appropriate adjustment. http://www.fxstatus.com/audit-form.html Please note that FXCM will not be making adjustments for potential or hypothetical profits, only on losses incurred because of the technical issue. Thank you again for your patience and we apologize for the inconvenience.
I have been trading on FXCM for a few years and no, this is not normal. I can only remember a few times the platform went down and then it was just for a few minutes up to a hour.
the terrors of online trading the CME Globex - currency futures have also had outages as has the TSX Toronto stock exchange so there's no guarantee about 100% uptime another matter is your own isp service, do you have a backup ? and what would happen if you had a local power failure ?
Well in my case, yes, I have a DSL and regular cable company as ISP. If one fails, I switch over. Also I have a UPS that would keep me going long enough to exit trades should there be a power outage. Actually, much longer. But this thread is about FXCM and their platform outage today. I'm not happy about the situation except to say that I'm glad at least one poster says it is not a normal occurrence.
I have been trading with FXCM for seven years now and can tell you that today was not normal. Login problems/platform disconnections happen every now and then, like most brokers, but usually for a few minutes up to an hour or so. While it certainly makes it a tough day, to say the least, I would not recommend bailing just because of today's problems. Give it a chance.
lol at anyone who entered a trade at 400-1 leverage and the market gaps against them on sunday! FXCM apparently will cover drain FXCM.. POS.. i trade FX with interactive brokers and 100k lot cost $2.50, fxcm would be something like $12:eek:
FXCM did send out the following: Dear Client: On behalf of all of FXCM, we want to sincerely apologize for any issues you may have experienced while trying to trade on January 22, 2010, starting at approximately 11:30 a.m. (EST). We fully expect that you will be able to log into the trading platform and resume normal trading activities as of market open on Sunday, January 24, 2010, at 5:15 p.m. (EST). The cause of the disruption was identified as a faulty network switch. We are doing a thorough assessment of the involved systems to prevent future incidents of this nature. For any position(s) that you intended to close Friday afternoon, please log into your account and close them out on Sunday at 5:15. If the rate you get on Sunday is better than the rate you attempted to get on Friday, you certainly keep the additional profit. If however the rate you receive on Sunday is worse then what you attempted to close at on Friday, please log the details of your trade at this link. http://www.fxstatus.com/audit-form.html. Enter your account number, the ticket number and the time and rate of your attempted closing order from Friday afternoon. Our client services team will then be in touch with you regarding the appropriate adjustment to your account. Thank you for understanding. Best regards, FXCM Financial Square 32 Old Slip, 10th Floor New York, NY 10005 info@fxcm.com www.fxcm.com