IB does not convert your forex gain back to your default currency. If loss, the absolutely will. Unbelievable.
odd...i trade multiple mkts that settle in diff currencies and loss/gains never shows in the base balance. it aint fx tho.
First, IB are Great!!! Great Great Great Great Second, is this just another case of a newbie who hasn't done the work to understand the environment they trade in read (rtfm for crying out loud) having yet another pathetic moan? Just because you don't understand what is happening you don't have the right to declare IB terrible. It would be like my declaring you a wanker just because I didn't understand you. When you trade in a currency other than your base IB convert base currency to the other currency for trading. Your wins or losses remain in the converted currency until you choose to convert it back. How did you manage to get losses converted back? Have you exceeded margins or something? Or are you confusing losses in one pair say eur/usd with wins in another pair like usd/jpy? Or can someone who trades (and understands) forex with IB confirm why they would treat losses and wins differently?
Come on. Oanda always settles on base currency. I used Oanda for demo trading, thought IB would do the same.
Come off it kiwi trader, almost everyone who has tried IdealPro in TWS agrees it's just not very good. Even the most experienced, "elite" forex trader in the world would have a nightmare trying to trade on a platform that doesn't show running profit and loss, doesn't show the price you were executed at and oh oops the close position button does nothing. Yes you can do these things if you click around and do the calculations but some of us want to focus on trading rather than clicking around the platform to get the information we need. IdealPro with a decent front end is a different story.
At most professional environment forex brokers/clearers you have your P/L in the quote currency of the currency pair. Normal procedure, so IB follows normal procedure. A lot of retailplatforms convert these subbalances immediately to denominated currency of your funding and have this subbalance instantly settled. In the real market this is also not possible. Anyaway, IB is not bad, you just didn't know what they're procedures are but you could have known if you had read more about the way they operate. One thing at IB still is really bad, and that's the overnight swap rates......either you pay way too much or receive far too less.... Contact Steve if you want him to explain how everything works. Again, IB is not bad!
notouch - I was under the impression that this feature will soon be implemented. Am I mistaken??? Maybe someone from IB can clarify this. TIA...