Just checked the latest FCM financials. If net capital is the measure of all things, all of the top five are doing just fine save FXCM which reported a 20% decrease. The following data was extracted from the past two financial reports. Oanda increased from 35,361,139 to 49,222,317. FX Solutions increased from 12,650,227 to 17,295,130. Gain Capital remained pretty the much the same increasing from 18,694,143 to 18,930,941. CMB went from 11,512,421 to 12,087.045. FXCM dropped 20% from 55,668,469 to 44,626,492. I don't know that if really has anything to do with the popularity of retail trading but if taken at face value it certainly looks like FXCM isn't doing as well as the others.
This is interesting too COMPANY | Net capital | Required | Excess | Multiple FX Solutions| 17,295,130 | 2,064,386 | 15,230,744 | 8.38 GFT | 49,664,118 | 6,904,864 | 42,759,254 | 7.19x OANDA | 49,222,317 | 9,172,410 | 40,049,907 | 5.37 Gain Capital| 18,930,914 | 4,341,150 | 14,589,764 | 4.36x I-TRADE-FX | 3,957,357 | 1,000,000 | 2,957,357 |>3.96x FCM | 44,626,492 | 12,977,713 | 31,648,779 | 3.44x Peregrine | 13,758,638 | 5,000,000 | 8,758,638 | 2.75x InterbankFX | 8,584,434 | 3,719,721 | 4,864,713 | 2.31x 1-World | 2,308,460 | 1,000,000 | 1,308,460 |>2.31x AMTC | 2,159,273 | 1,000,000 | 1,159,273 | 2.16x Here is a quote from an official FXCM statement "Dear Client, The Forex industry could be in for a major structural change â soon. This change has the potential to benefit Forex Capital Markets, LLC (âFXCMâ); however, we believe many forex brokers may not survive." ...... ........ "In the event that some of these firms close downâor worse, are shut down by the NFAâwe are concerned that customer funds, or at least their timely and orderly repayment, could be jeopardized. We realize that many forex traders have accounts with multiple forex brokers. That is why we advise you to make sure all your trading accounts are held at firms that are adequately capitalized. If you have an account with a possibly endangered firm, we believe, depending on when the NFA proposal takes effect, that the time may be fast approaching to consider moving those funds while the opportunity still exists. Our industry is changing, and the new proposed regulations are intended to put every FDM, and the industry itself, on a more secure financial footing. We welcome the NFAâs proposed changes because the effect will ultimately lead to clients trading through regulated brokers that are better capitalized or have access to greater financial resources." Resorting to scare tactics or are they just that benevolent? Maybe FX saviour knows.
Bigmrfrank, Where did you find this "official statement? I couldn't find any reference to it on FXCM's website. Thanks.
Meanwhile... The rest of the industry is moving on to address the capital requirement issue. It's been commented on in the media, it's been commented on by numerous firms, it has spurred two mergers already. This issue is not going away and I'm glad to see a lot of the major FX firms going on the record as supporting this proposal. And this statement by FXCM is the strongest of any firm to date: http://www.forexfactory.com/news.php?do=news&id=44513#post1563220 Dear Client, The Forex industry could be in for a major structural change â soon. This change has the potential to benefit Forex Capital Markets, LLC (âFXCMâ); however, we believe many forex brokers may not survive. Our industryâs regulating agency, the National Futures Association (âNFAâ), has proposed new financial requirements for every Forex Dealer Member (âFDMâ). Spelled out in their âRequest for Comments on Forex Proposals,â dated June 19, 2007, the NFAâs proposed requirements call for the following: ⢠All FDMs must maintain at all times a net worth of $5 million; ⢠Larger FDMs, particularly those that have a dealing desk, could potentially face net excess capital requirements significantly higher than the minimum under the proposed new rules; ⢠Where appropriate, the NFA may require an FDMâs annual financial statement to be certified by an independent public accountant. FXCMâs current financial situation well exceeds NFAâs proposed requirements. As of June 30, 2007, FXCM has over $44 million in adjusted net capital, and for the last six years we have had our financial statements audited by an independent, certified public accounting firm. We believe the NFA is proposing these requirements because of the troubling number of insolvencies and near-insolvencies that have recently plagued the forex industry. According to the NFA: ⢠In 2003, a Forex Dealer Member misappropriated almost $2 million in customer funds, driving the company into bankruptcy. (The CFTC is currently attempting to salvage some of the customers' funds.) ⢠Since March of this year, eight different FDMs have fallen under the âearly warningâ requirement of $1.5 million. ⢠More recently, NFA took a Member Responsibility Action ("MRA") against an FDM whose liabilities exceeded its assets by over $1 million. Industry-wide, there is now concern that some Forex Dealer Members may be unable to meet their financial obligations to customers in the event the increased capital requirements take effect. A review of the current net capital positions of the 43 Forex Dealer Members available on the following CFTC web page clearly demonstrates that this concern is justified. View CFTC Web Page As you can see from the financial data compiled by the CFTC, FXCM reports an adjusted net capital of over $44 millionâfar greater than the proposed financial requirement. Based on the most current available CFTC financial data, at least 22 FDMs would not be able to meet the new $5 million minimum net capital requirement. These firms are currently reporting net capital levels below $5 million. If the new capital level is imposed, these firms will either have to obtain more capital or close down. Because larger brokers may also face higher capital requirements, FXCM believes that several of these larger firms may also be unable to meet the new requirements, even though they presently have in excess of $5 million in adjusted net capital. In the event that some of these firms close downâor worse, are shut down by the NFAâwe are concerned that customer funds, or at least their timely and orderly repayment, could be jeopardized. We realize that many forex traders have accounts with multiple forex brokers. That is why we advise you to make sure all your trading accounts are held at firms that are adequately capitalized. If you have an account with a possibly endangered firm, we believe, depending on when the NFA proposal takes effect, that the time may be fast approaching to consider moving those funds while the opportunity still exists. Our industry is changing, and the new proposed regulations are intended to put every FDM, and the industry itself, on a more secure financial footing. We welcome the NFAâs proposed changes because the effect will ultimately lead to clients trading through regulated brokers that are better capitalized or have access to greater financial resources. Please contact us if you have any questions regarding these changes. We look forward to serving you. Best regards, Sales & Client Services Forex Capital Markets, LLC Financial Square 32 Old Slip, 10th Floor New York , NY 10005 1-888-50-FOREX (36739) info@fxcm.com www.fxcm.com
My person favorite part is "We welcome the NFAâs proposed changes because the effect will ultimately lead to clients trading through regulated brokers that are better capitalized" as well as "This change has the potential to benefit Forex Capital Markets, LLC (âFXCMâ)"
Granted, it's only my personal opinion but I have to hand it to Forexsavior. He has orchestrated a phenomenal fear campaign that FXCM, if it isn't directly responsible for it, is obviously attempting to capitalize on. (Reference Forexsavior's quote of a recent FXCM email.) Personally, I don't care a whit about the impending industry consolidation, it's a natural development and long overdue. What continues to bother me is a lack of broker participation in these forums. Why doesn't a clearly identified representative from FXCM (or any other broker for that matter) get on this forum and discuss the issues at hand? FXCM's email echoes Forexsavior's identical concerns. Why doesn't an FXCM rep just come forward and join the discussion. I mentioned the other day that I have yet to hear of any trader who has lost his/her funds as a result of this move toward consolidation. I do, however, occasionally read NFA sanctions like this one that suggest that we have an on going problem with broker misrepresention. That, to me, is a far greater, long term concern. Perhaps we could get a representative from FXCM to explain why last December it was cited once again for using misleading advertising materials. The theme of this thread has been that if a trader has an account with any broker with less than $5M in net capital, traders should abandon them because the broker is going to either run away with their funds or be forced into bankruptcy. Time will tell, of course, but nothing that's happened recently would indicate that is the case. I would be very interested in hearing from other members whether any of their brokers, top tier or not, are sending emails out to their clients suggesting that their accounts with less capitalized firms are in imminent danger.
I've already made my preferences known - Oanda and MBTrading and I don't work for either of them. Instead of calling me names, why don't you deal with the issues here. If you check NFA, you'll find that neither of them has ever been sanctioned by the CFTC or NFA. Here's MB Trading's character reference. Here's Oanda's. I don't have the time, but it would be interesting if someone would take the time to check the actions the NFA and CFTC have taken against all other other brokers on Forexsavior's list both those that exceed the $5M requirement and those that don't.