In that reporting period that you chose to reference, Forex Capital Management (FXCM) still had more assets under management: Adjusted net capital 55,233,641 vs. 36,194,560 (Oanda) and just one month later those figures are 65,845,152 (FXCM) vs. 18,263,754 (Oanda) There are 2 designations on the CFTC list for FXCM - FXCM LLC and Forex Capital Markets LLC. And I have to assume that atticus is trying to make hay using the listing of FXCM LLC to bolster his arguement. However, he would be wrong, as FXCM LLC wasn't approved by the NFA until 9/2005, over 4 years after Forex Capital Markets LLC was approved for NFA membership. (BTW< the latter is the identity that gets all the NFA complaints.) Why they registered FXCM LLC additionally, can't say. Maybe they had advanced info on the Refco implossion and were getting ready to acquire that division. Again, just speculation. But atticus, if you are going to compare figures, the correct NFA membership numbers reflected are for Forex Capital Management LLC. And looking at these numbers, you can see that money has migrated toward FXCM and away from Oanda. So, while on surface value it can be confusing, the correct numbers indicate your statement is flawed. Either way, why anyone would want to trade with these 2 shops is beyond me. FXCM is, well, FXCM, and Oanda freezes their platform far to frequently even minor news issues, locking people out for at times up to an hour. As your "trading partner", that is just totally unacceptable. Serious traders should be trading with ECNs, not MMs.
You'd realize I edited my post well before you decided to get verbose. 5-10X? I'll admit two mistakes... I didn't find the line-item pertaining to Forex Capital Markets. Secondly, I googled for the net capital numbers and found a link to the Feb data, not the March. I was told by an officer of the company that April data will show Oanda eclipse $50mm.
Net excess capital on 4/2007 was 54M (FXCM) to 10M (Oanda) or 5.4 times, which falls within the 5-10x loose estimate. But still, I don't know why you guys choose to trade thru Market Maker bucket shops. There are more than enough ECN's out there that give you better access to the markets. MM are nothing but bucket shops. Edit: amounts reported on 4/2007 for period ending 3/31/2007.
Would you provide a link? I clear though an LLC at JPM. I have access to UBS, DB, SG, etc... I use Oanda to trade/hedge small exposures in touch-exotics, nothing more. I have three Oanda accounts, so $60,000 max debit exposure on the exotics. I average 30-50mm unit size, but not through Oanda.
I'll add that Oanda's touch-exotic markets are very competitive to ibank; and the value-add of discrete durations rather than NY or London cuts. Yes, the NFP "fast-market" blowout on spreads is a concern. I'm not a news-trader, but I have been forced to hedge my Oanda exotics with ibank spot-deals.
atticus, I believe you have the right idea trading thru JPM as the majority of your trading. Personally, I have gone thru many a broker until I have found someone I am comfortable with, and it took took many times being locked out of Oanda, a fan favorite on many forums, to push me off using forex MMs ever again. I would rather pay the commission mark-up rather than deal with these people. But again, that's just my experience.
Good luck CST. I am not an Oanda cheerleader by any stretch. I wouldn't clear any trades through Oanda were it not for the exotics. IBFX is a good alternative, although they are prone to platform problems as well.