1. Free data feed and platform 2. MT4/5 3.Ninjatrader 4. reasonable spreads 5. good communication and help 6.free charts 7. regulated by a reputable authority I mean what else would a guy need ?
Humpy: your profile says you're located in the UK, so you have access to Alpari, FXCM Oanda etc and UK brokers whose names I don't know you're also able to take advantage of 'spread betting' meaning no tax on your winnings which you would pay if trading fx or futures if an sp doesn't provide MT, just get one from an fx broker, unlimited if possible or just keep renewing. the TW2 forum has a lot of info about various sps All brokers provide MT4 program and data feed demo and real accounts for free fx pairs spreads vary throughout the trading session and from broker to broker, plus there's 'no desk' dealing, and 'slippage' which may or may not go against you Always phone a broker, reps aren't good about emails unless they're expecting one communication, service usually varies from time to time with all brokers and depends on who you are talking with at the time. dispute resolution is a different matter all brokers are regulated now since the US CFTC and NFA began regulating fx brokers but some 'off shore' brokers are to be avoided the UK still allows high leverage, 500:1 ? in the US max is 50:1 Canada 33:1 which in part is why I trade futures. there's no such thing as spread betting in North America and fx leverage is limited but not futures. futures have 2 margins, the overnight rate and the daytrading rate: o/n: $3,300 day: $500 for the $125,000 6E Euro FX futures contract fx equivalent: via Oanda $125,000 at 50:1 leverage: $3,266 but no daytrade margin there's also the M6E micro $12,500 contract o/n: $330 day: $100 fx: 326.6 again, no lower daytrading margin futures contracts are of course traded on an exchange, so there's no 'dealing' problems associated with fx brokers. commission is not spread based but fixed and for the 6E it's $4.87 roundturn vs a variable amount for fx, at a 1 pip spread it would be $12.50 I use NinjaTrader for trading futures - 6E Euro FX contract but use MT for all analysis I wouldn't use NT to trade fx but that's just my preference, actually I'd use Oanda for an fx account and their FXTrade platform for order entry rather than their MT because the FXT platform is virtually an instant fill no delay program but crap for analysis etc what else would you need ? a lot of money and a very good trading system ;
congratulations Humpy more than you want to know . . . MetaQuotes Software of Moscow implemented a brilliant idea designing MetaTrader they not only designed the charting/order entry program but the broker accounting package also, sold it to the brokers, provided a feed, and clients got it all for free which boosted the retail fx business unfortunately imo MQ didn't go the extra step and do the same for futures trading which at the time didn't have Globex. even in MT 5 charts only go down to 1 min and bar types hasn't been expanded a futures broker won't provide MT because of the broker package, they've already got one. FXCM and Oanada both had proprietary systems but client demand eventually had them - and others ? giving in to demand. MT has better tools than NT as well as being able to be operated more efficiently, has thousands of indicators plus EAs, and is The Most stable of programs, certainly when compared to NT. since there's now a broker base of 4-500 , MT possibly has the largest user base, plus there's the many fx/mt forums and contributing to why most fx traders are using MT NT has always been futures and stocks, but increasingly NT users were asking for fx and wanted to use NT to trade with, so NT now has links with FXCM and GAIN for fx data. I trade futures via http://www.ampfutures.com/ using the CQG data feed version of NT which receives a small commission from every trade. I've used Alpari's usually unlimited demos since the MetaQuotes program - 10 years ago and currently use the http://www.alpari-us.com/ MT 4 demo, Alpari are also in the UK. some fx brokers who provide MT also offer cfds, stocks and some futures but only in some countries - http://www.fxpro.com/home located in Cyprus is one is it redundant for a futures broker to offer MT, , , from a cost pov yes, because as said a trader can now get fx data for NT so futures brokers have no need to buy MT, and if you want like me to use MT for analysis if not trading, you get a demo last thing, because retail fx trading is Big business, Globex now provides the 6E and several fx micro pairs futures contracts so some 'fx' trading can be done via futures and NT and at lower costs
ninjatrader is not offered for free, the brokers may tell you that they do, but ninjatrader forbids sub leasing of their software by brokers. they will let you use free ninjatrader for DEMO ACCT USE ONLY
your statement is completely incorrect there's 3 versions of NT: http://www.ninjatrader.com/purchase 2 are pay, 1 free whether or not NT charges a broker who provides NT to its clients to trade from I DO NOT PAY to use NT and nothing is collected from the commission I pay Total Commission & Fees $3.92 roundturn ES mini S&P Exchange $2.28 NFA $0.04 Clearing $1.00 CQG Trf $0.20 AMP Commission $0.40 AMP announced the 'special' of being able to open a trading account with $500 using NT with the CQG feed only http://www.elitetrader.com/vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=214777 https://application.ampclearing.com/account/login.aspx?ReturnUrl=/apply "NinjaTrader Direct - FREE Fully licensed Depth of Market Trading Window, Real-Time Charts & more. NinjaTrader Standard- $50/month Brackets, Trailing Stops, OCO's plus many other Advanced Order Strategies." http://www.ampfutures.com/ninjatrader_cqg.php see all 'Platform and Data Fees': http://www.ampfutures.com/platformfees.html "NinjaTrader - Direct Edition - Free"
geez...and that isn't high enough? ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- the UK still allows high leverage, 500:1 ? in the US max is 50:1 Canada 33:1 which in part is why I trade futures.
Hmm by the way is "Clearing" above a legitimate fee commonly charged by brokers? I think it may be hiding a $1.00 fee that actually gets pocketed by the broker in this case (who may use it for perfectly legitimate purposes, however, such as paying software platform costs). Look at e.g. http://www.deepdiscounttrading.com/ which does not have that in their fees. Their Clear+Exchange" is $1.14 per side total.