Yes, their spreads could be better. 3 pips on Euro and 4-5 pips on Cable and Swiss are too much. But you can trade forex, futures and CFDs from the same platform, and you get a lot of free streaming news, including Dow Jones.
Are there any other similarly good sources of streaming news as this is something I like alot from Saxo?
Chood, not disputing what you say, just trying to get more specifics. I was just about to make the switch when I saw your comments, and would really like to know more about how they cheated you. Please either post here (as others would no doubt love to hear more) or PM me at your convenience. Thank you in advance, -Ivan
Saxo may be the only retail place in Denmark but it isn't the only trading bank. I have dealt with Den Danske for years. The guy who sits next to me has an account with Saxo but rarely uses them anymore due to their practices. Due to his experiences I would not open an account with them. In my view noone should open an account with a counterparty because of their free add-ons. It is not a game and if you are serious you should be prepared to pay for the best possible chart and news services, than you can justify. A broker/bank should be chosen purely on its ability to show you prices in a way that suits your trading style. This of course does mean that some counterparties may suit different traders.
Danske Bank is the biggest bank in Denmark. They are mostly a retail bank. Saxo Bank is only a trading bank, and the only one of that kind in Denmark. They are owned partly by Deutsche Bank, the biggest bank in Europe.
I am sure you are right but I feel I should comment on a couple of your points. On what basis do you say Deutsche are a part owner? I know there is a dealing relationship but not sure there is any ownership. Indeed there is no mention of this on Saxo's own website. Indeed They state that 85% of the equity is held by the holding company with the rest held by Saxo's management. Deutsche have got a subordinated loan with Saxo but this ,I believe, is for only Eur10m . Interestingly at the time of the loan it was equal in value to the bank's capital. This does show how small the bank is in reality. I would stress though that a subordinated loan does not equal ownership and indeed Deutsche have no one on the Board. As a rule you will find all very small banks have to have suboridnated loans from other banks to help the Central Bank's liquidity requirments. They are not usually cheap though. On what basis do you say Deutsche is Europe's largest bank. Its credit rating with Moodys is only Aa3 - a number of European banks have considerably better credit ratings and considered more credit worthy. Surely that is the best way to evaluate a bank's strength. I believe it is not the largest bank by capital either.
______________ Go to first page of this thread, third post (which is mine), where I briefly describe what happened. Moneytec board has additional information on Saxo, from me and from others with FX experience.