So I'm trying to find an ecn forex broker, and was wondering if anyone uses Interactive Brokers to trade forex only? I noticed there margin level is 2.5% which is pretty high. If IB isn't good for me any other suggestions?
If you find the margin level too high then you are undercapitalized. Trading is a losing game ... unless you are comfortable with losers you will become one ... unless you can bet small enough to survive a run of losers you will become one. IB's spreads are small and the system is honest. But if you are truly small then you should go to Oanda.
2.5% margin for forex is comparable to forex futures margin, so to say that it is kinda high is relative. IB's ECN is a very good platform form forex ECN trading with easy fills up to 5MM+. The platform is a little tough to work thru so another front end like ninjatrader or buttontrader helps if you are one who is used to trading on the pretty graphical platforms of most dealing desk brokers. What one of the major drawbacks for spot forex trading on the IB system is the 2x margins when trading crosses not in your base currency, i.e. if trading GBP.JPY, and your base is USD, then you are taking 2 positions, GBPUSD and USDJPY, thus getting margined twice. Some other alternatives to look at for ECN's is MBTrading (but commission is REALLY high sometimes negating the spread advantage on most ECN quotes) but you get 100:1. You might want to look at a couple of Currenex providers like vCap or FXDD, both with starting balances of 25K. FXDD charges 20/mil to start and goes down with volume. vCap rates start a little higher.
Hmm, your right, I will look over my trading again to make sure I'm not over leveraged. I used IB once, but hated there FX Trader, it felt like a second thought to there tws platform. I will look at ninja and button trader to make it easier. I always felt IB was much more honest in there fills/ Trading GBP/jpy will cost me 5% margin? I trade with a 150k right now. I was wondering what percentage of your portfolio do you risk at one time in a trade?
Oh my account balance is 150k. And I trade about 1,000,000 to 2,000,0000. I scale up as my account increases, but that's the usual trade sizes. It's all chart based, and positions are closed before the end of the day.
Sounds like IB may be good for your trading. Plus, you can trade futures and hedge it against spot and vice versa all in one account.
This must be old info. I have read it on so many places on the Internet, but never encountered in live trading. I have been trading forex with IB for about a year now, and have never been charged double margin on crosses. It is 2.5% on all majors including their crosses. Only kiwi and exotics require higher margin. I trade with the UK branch, am not sure about the conditions with the US branch; but I don't think it would be any different.
Also consider Sierra Chart as a front end for IB Forex. I chart trade with SC for forex and futures now and have also developed a "robot" to trade futures using the programming functions - forex next.