A broker should be rewarded/paid for providing a service to a client, the act of trading in a financial market involves a certain cost and also bears some amount of risk for all parties involved (liquidity providers, takers and everyone in between). I have no problem with brokers being paid to provide the service, and accept their element of said risk (SNB events for example etc etc). However 'Some'? brokers in the past - in fact since trading was even an activity humans engaged in - have been known to participate in all manner of neferious activities to increase the profits of the business, which would objectively be deemed unfair and potentially illegal as per the regulations. Because it's a business after all, not a charity and the realities of human nature are at play here also. I don't have any personal evidence of any wrong doing by a broker, I've seen terrible fills and weird anomalies, read many stories... its a really grey area because for the brokers clients, it's probably impossible to really know for sure if that fair and orderly market is truly being maintained in all circumstances and at all times. We can only view the raw price feed and maybe some market depth as provided by the broker or data provider, watch our orders being processed and executions occur But we can't ever truly know the business logic of the actual order flow 'behind the scenes', what actually occurred to match buy and sell side by the broker "middle man". I can understand anyone who has traded for any reasonable period of time would exercise their due diligence, be aware of the games and transgressions into the unfair and illiegal - brokers have and continue to engage in... and generally view the entire brokerage industry with a certain amount of suspicion and distrust. You can talk about smart routing and NDD's all you like however conflicts of interest do abound. I don't believe anything which is said in this thread will really change anyone's opinions on the above. But it's probably appropriate too that Jason would like to represent the service his brokerage provides in the best possible light, within this murky grey. IMO.
Maybe, and maybe its time for fxcm to change names after so many fuckups. I do not fault Jason for doing his job and selling and touting his firm. Its probably hard to do so and either denying any past wrongdoing or admitting past bad behavior. The American legal system ensures that such admission will immediately kick a host of lawyers into high gear who sniff out a quick buck.
Thanks for sharing your concerns, Zzz1. Do I understand correctly from your comments that you have never traded with FXCM personally? FXCM's size means we are subject to a greater level of scrutiny than smaller firms with fewer clients. The same can be said for leading companies in other industries. Few if any other retail forex brokers in the world have offices and affiliates regulated on 5 continents. Our clients appreciate how we hold ourselves accountable to financial rules and standards for transparency which less-regulated forex brokers may not have to meet. This is a key reason for our continued popularity. Furthermore, the fact that we have so many clients compared to smaller brokers (178,782 active accounts as of December 31, 2016) means that if even less than one percent of our client base has a grievance about something that could still add up to hundreds of clients. Please note we take feedback from our clients very seriously. That is why whenever a client expresses dissatisfaction on forums like this one, I do my best to follow up and address their concerns. Often it turns out to be a simple misunderstanding by someone who is new to our platform and can be easily addressed. If there is ever an error on our part, FXCM will work on a solution for the client. Unfortunately, sometimes I will only hear of a grievance from a client on a forum after they have already closed their account in frustration. When that happens it's hard to reach an understanding even when the solution would have been quite simple had they reached out to us beforehand.
AlgoTrader 3.1 integrates InfluxDB for market data persistence. http://www.algotrader.com/algotrader-3-1-integrates-influxdb/
Here you go. Out-of job. Who can lie better than used car dealers? Bucket fx broker reps. Go wait tables, at least you can inflict less harm on people in this way. Breaking: CFTC Levies $7M Fine on FXCM, Forced to Quit US Market http://www.financemagnates.com/fore...tc-levies-7m-fine-fxcm-forced-quit-us-market/
I like Influx. Quite capable and open source . I played around with it a bit and it's quite neat. Raven is great for C# for static data storage and retrieval and Influx is definitely the better option for time series among the options mentioned so far.
Hi Zzzz1, Below is the statement we posted on the FXCM website. FXCM US Reaches Settlement with NFA and CFTC FXCM to Exit the U.S. Sells Accounts to GAIN FXCM to Pay down Loan NEW YORK, February 6, 2017-- FXCM Inc. (NASDAQ:FXCM) (“FXCM”) today announced simultaneous regulatory settlements with the National Futures Association ("NFA") and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (“CFTC”) against its U.S. subsidiary, Forex Capital Markets LLC and certain of its principals. FXCM Holdings, LLC was also named in the CFTC settlement. The named FXCM entities and principals neither admit nor deny the allegations associated with the settlements. The NFA settlement has no monetary fine, and the CFTC settlement has a $7 million fine. FXCM will be withdrawing from business in the U.S. and has signed a non-binding letter of intent with GAIN Capital Holdings, Inc. (“GAIN”) under which GAIN would purchase FXCM’s U.S. customer accounts. The transaction is subject to regulatory approval and a definitive agreement. FXCM and GAIN are working to determine the timing for the account transfer and expect to provide further information in that regard in the coming days. In 2016, FXCM’s U.S. business had unaudited net revenues of approximately $48 million and generated an EBITDA loss, but the costs associated with the business will not be transferring to GAIN. There will be no changes to FXCM customers outside of the United States. Withdrawing from this business will free approximately $52 million in capital. Proceeds from the account sale and the release of capital will go toward the further repaying of FXCM’s loan from Leucadia National Corporation. FXCM will for the interim period continue to service its U.S. customers and to provide top quality trade execution pending the customer-account sale and business withdrawal. FXCM will also be working diligently to be sure that an account transition to GAIN’s retail brand, FOREX.com, will be orderly, expeditious and seamless. FXCM wants to express its most sincere thanks to those U.S. customers who have been with FXCM over the years and wish you all the best of luck following this transition. FXCM wants to stress that these settlements have no impact on any customer of FXCM’s global businesses. FXCM and its global subsidiaries will continue to provide excellent execution and competitive pricing to its customers overseas through its award-winning technology, customer service and trading tools. Disclosure Regarding Forward-Looking Statements In addition to historical information, this release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and/or the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, which reflect FXCM's current views with respect to, among other things, its operations and financial performance in the future. These forward-looking statements are not historical facts and are based on current expectations, estimates and projections about FXCM's industry, business plans, management's beliefs and certain assumptions made by management, many of which, by their nature, are inherently uncertain and beyond our control. Accordingly, readers are cautioned that any such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and are subject to certain risks, uncertainties and assumptions that are difficult to predict including, without limitation, risks associated with FXCM’s plans to shut down its US subsidiary and a potential sale of its US customer accounts, risks associated with FXCM’s strategy to focus on its operations outside the United States, risks associated with the events that took place in the currency markets on January 15, 2015 and their impact on FXCM's capital structure, risks associated with FXCM's ability to recover all or a portion of any capital losses, risks relating to the ability of FXCM to satisfy the terms and conditions of or make payments pursuant to the terms of the finance agreements with Leucadia, as well as risks associated with FXCM’s obligations under its other financing agreements, risks related to FXCM's dependence on FX market makers, market conditions, risks associated with FXCM’s litigation with the National Futures Association or any other potential litigation or regulatory inquiries to which FXCM may become subject, risks associated with potential reputational damage to FXCM resulting from FXCM’s plans to shut down its US subsidiary, and those other risks described under "Risk Factors" in FXCM Inc.'s Annual Report on Form 10-K, FXCM Inc.'s latest Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, and other reports or documents FXCM files with, or furnishes to, the SEC from time to time, which are accessible on the SEC website at sec.gov. This information should also be read in conjunction with FXCM's Consolidated Financial Statements and the Notes thereto contained in FXCM's Annual Report on Form 10-K, FXCM Inc.'s latest Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, and in other reports or documents FXCM files with, or furnishes to, the SEC from time to time, which are accessible on the SEC website at sec.gov. These factors should not be construed as exhaustive and should be read in conjunction with the other cautionary statements that are included in this release and in our SEC filings. FXCM Inc. undertakes no obligation to publicly update or review any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise, except as required by law. About FXCM Inc. FXCM Inc. (NASDAQ:FXCM) is a publicly traded company which owns 50.1% of FXCM Group, LLC (FXCM Group). FXCM Group is a holding company of Forex Capital Markets LLC, (FXCM US), Forex Capital Markets Limited, inclusive of all EU branches (FXCM UK), FXCM Australia Pty. Limited, (FXCM AU), and all affiliates of aforementioned firms, or other firms under the FXCM group of companies [collectively "FXCM"]. FXCM Group is owned and operated by FXCM Inc. (NASDAQ:FXCM) and Leucadia National Corporation (NYSE:LUK). Leucadia National Corporation is a multi-billion dollar diversified holding company engaged through its consolidated subsidiaries in a variety of businesses. FXCM is a leading provider of online foreign exchange (FX) trading, CFD trading, spread betting and related services. The company's mission is to provide global traders with access to the world's largest and most liquid market by offering innovative trading tools, hiring excellent trading educators, meeting strict financial standards and striving for the best online trading experience in the market. Clients have the advantage of mobile trading, one-click order execution and trading from real-time charts. In addition, FXCM offers educational courses on FX trading and provides trading tools proprietary data and premium resources. FXCM Pro provides retail brokers, small hedge funds and emerging market banks access to wholesale execution and liquidity, while providing high and medium frequency funds access to prime brokerage services via FXCM Prime. Trading foreign exchange and CFDs on margin carries a high level of risk, which may result in losses that could exceed your deposits, therefore may not be suitable for all investors. Jaclyn Sales, 646-432-2463 Vice-President, Corporate Communications jsales@fxcm.com investorrelations@fxcm.com
So, let me summarize: * your company acted illegally for years and never stopped to engage in illegal and unethical conduct. Finally the day of reckoning is coming. Good bye America. * Your CEO has had the opportunity to turn this into a great franchise and business. Instead he preferred to enrich himself, fuck up the entire business with illegal conduct and subsequently, tons of law suits and now regulatory sanctions. It left him with a ridiculously badly run business of only 48 million net revenues, a business that is run at a loss. * Your entire company is deeply in debt to a hedge fund because you were forced to sell out, again because of a horribly run business, you allowed your customers to run insane risks, your risk management department was stifled, because your CEO decided he wanted it that way so he could suck out more for himself at the cost of his employees, stake holders, and customers. * That your company does not admit or deny wrongdoing is just a stupid legal technicality. Fact is you acted illegally and unethically and for that you are imposed a fine and have to exit the entire jurisdiction of your home base. Jason, you should be ashamed of yourself to come out here and still post this bullshit. You should be ashamed that you are in the same bed with a rogue company that never stopped to abuse customers and its stake holders. I have zero compassion for you and your brethren. Hope you overthink your career choice and potentially take some time off to join a more ethical and productive environment where customers actually matter. This company has been a disgrace from the very beginning and I am more than pleased to see it implode and go under. The rest of the business outside the US is just a matter of time before it will get its wrists slapped as well. Good luck to you personally, nonetheless.
They are my two technology choices at this point for their respective uses. You were right abour work needing to be done on my OMS, I've completely separated the AlphaModel from the Portfolio now, the two were mixing their concerns before... the AlphaModel just sends various signals to the Portfolio via the MainEventBus, the Portfolio then decides how to proceed based on input from RiskManager and may forward orders onto the OrderBus to route to the broker via FIX. Basically. Akka.NET helps everything occur asyncronously and concurrently with no locking, much like the TPL Data Flow you're using I imagine.
@cjdsellers great work. I'm also working on my own trading application (I would not call it a platform) and I truly appreciate and admire anyone willing to invest time to bring to life their ideas