Oanda just another bucket shop

IB is good. Orders will hang on occasion, and the haircut is reduced on non-US crosses. The upside? 1/2 to pick-em on EURUSD and 4 ticks on GBPJPY.

 

Ok thanks, even with the commission that's still cheap by comparison. When you say orders hang, can they be cancelled as long as they're not filled or does the platform itself hang and you can't tell if you've been filled or not and at what price (on market orders)?

 

Yeah, you can cancel. Usually it's an issue of the bank slaves not maintaining an accurate market. It's essentially a legit requote.

 

That's cool, I can live with that.

 

does anyone have any experience trading the news on oanda compared to IB? which is better?

 

Hands down, IB. While the spreads will widen, as they would on any other ECN, they are very temporary and above all, the platform doesn't lock you out. The problem with Oanda, from my experience, is that their system will lock you out around news times, for up to an hour. Most news events effect is for, what, 5 minutes. So why do they have to lock the system for an hour? It's because they can't handle it. Question for you: is this the type of firm you want to leave your money with? Remember, Oanda is not regulated and does not give you any insurance protection in case they implode (Refco anyone?) but an IB Universal account is insured for 30MM.

Except for the crosses, there really is not comparison - I would never leave my money with them again!

If you are serious about being a profitable fx news trader, then you shouldn't be with any MM's, but with ECNs. It has been shouted on these pages over and over again. Why do people still want these bucket shops? Is it the $500 dollar deposit? But don't just take my word for it - go ahead, open your mini account and good luck.

 

thanks for the reply. the only reason im inquiring about oanda because they usually have decent spreads and have a c++ api ready to go. do you know of any other good ECNs with c++ apis and good spreads?

 

IB has the java api, for which many libraries of tools, ATS's, and front-ends already exist and are readily available. Their 0.5 pip spreads on EUR/USD, 1 pip on the other majors, and 2-4 pips on the crosses simply can't be beat. Though I still prefer currency futures.

 

ah im already running on IB. im looking for more liquidity though so im interested in adding another ECN similar to IB

 

ECN API's:

FxAll, Currenex, MB Trading, Redi Plus, Fimat, Soc Gen.

Easy to find if you take the time to look.

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