Forex Help Forum Archive for 08/26/2005

Spotforex NY 12:14 GMT August 26, 2005
Subject: Athens Reply   
Spotforex NY 17:21 GMT August 25, 2005
Subject: perspective
I was scrolling through ATHENS web page (trendways)


trendways.com

SPIS PG 09:31 GMT August 26, 2005
Subject: Reply   
somebody mentioned athens website link, could u post it here again?thanks

nj jf 05:53 GMT August 26, 2005
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in signing up with any broker they are supposed to act as your liquidity providor. in doing so that means via the internet or phone. anyone who makes money is marked and not allowed to deal freely, regardless of timeframe. you have to realise this because it will take away from your ability to enter or exit in a fast market and therefore make sure your leverage is not too high to avoid complete loss. its one thing to make money by taking risk, its another to say they provide 3 point prices when in fact effectively you are trading 13.

quito_ecuador_valdez 04:42 GMT August 26, 2005
Subject: Reply   
One thing at times we all become frustrated with is the time lag between when we punch the button on our platforms to the execution. It is IMPOSSIBLE to execute "what you see is what you get" in that there is transmission time involved from the data stream you get, reaction time for "button punching" and the transmission time to the broker's server..then process time for the server to actually zing in that trade, then more time for the clearing house to finalize it. Sometimes some of the above factors aren't factors..depends on the chain of things. A dealing desk which "waits" a bit to execute a trade likewise adds to the time lag from when you punch the button to what you see show up in your trading record.

People holler "Hey, they slipped me!" when sometimes it isn't intentional..it's just the way the cookie crumbles. There are legitimate issues with slippage and from well known brokers...fact of life...if you continuously experience slip that causes you to lose, consistantly, change brokers. But remember to add up the positive "errors" in execution as well to make it a fair judgement. If you just look at the downside and not the up side, you just made a lousey decision.

If you have an issue, call the broker immediately or email giving your ticket number(s) and the issue. It works some of the time at least.

I hope you know scalping is frowned upon by most brokers (not STP brokers..the server does all the transfer, not the dealing desk) as it is like a kid on roller skates zigzagging in and out of traffic. Keep your trades longer than 10 pips. The traders who survive FX survive PARTLY because they execute longer term 50+ pip trades...the shorter term you trade in the more risk you have. Don't judge a broker on the merrits of scalping, judge a broker for uptime (no downtime..or little of it), stability in crowded times and straightforward treatment of you the client. I have known some high high volume scalpers who were literally kicked off platforms. The dealing desk couldn't trade to suit them and out went the scalpers.

Dealing desks make money for their companies. Fact, most traders are on the wrong side of a trade at any given moment. Therefore the client base as a whole is WRONG. That is a good "counter indicator" and a good dealing desk will NOT make the same mistakes as say 70% of it's wrong sided clients. Some say dealing desks trade against their clients. Well, if 70% of them are wrong, SURE! What would you expect..for the desk to lose for their company? Heck no. So along comes a scalper who is hot..he actually costs the dealing desk some profit. So out he goes on his ear.

That's the way it works. Don't scalp...don't be a pip raider.

quito_ecuador_valdez 04:12 GMT August 26, 2005
Subject: Reply   
I might add, it is not unusual for a trader, a fund or an account manager to have two or three brokers under his wing. Why? One broker for example gives fast reliable execution in congested times. Another gives a huge list of tradables..equities, fx, commods etc. but is slow in execution..but longer term position trades don't matter if a trade takes 60 seconds to execute. Yet another broker is STP (straight thru process) and takes miliseconds to execute your trade, has no dealer desk that manipulates (fully automated), therefore no stop hunts or slippage... So each type of broker fits a certain job. So it is with carry trades as well...some brokers play ball, some cut you from the lineup. You should write a standard questionaire letter that askes the following questions:

1. Do you have Straight Through Process with little or no dealing desk intervention?
2. In congested times, should I trade or not? Should I expect fast execution in congested times or not? Be honest..please level with me and I will trade as you suggest on your platform.
3. What is your policy on carried trades overnight and over the weekends? Do you give/charge that interest or part of it to me or am I charged no matter what as a negitive to my account?

Be inquisitive, seek out blogs and string forums which address issues with brokers. They exist..google them. forex blog or forex forum or forex issue. Issues being stop hunts which the platform has (that is, charting companies DON'T have those spikes and dips in their data stream but our platy does).

There is no perfect platform/broker. Period. As I said above. each has a specific niche in the woodwork and consider two brokers..one for one thing, the other for the other. Or 3.

You don't think big funds just rely on one broker, do you?

quito_ecuador_valdez 03:54 GMT August 26, 2005
Subject: Reply   
On the subject of carry accounts..some charge you no matter what, some actually fork over your carry profit (or loss). A simple email to each broker asking what their carry policy is will solve the problem of knowing or not knowing. We can't mention broker names here but most certainly there are GOOD brokers (platforms if you wish) which will reward you richly on carry trades (that are positive carrys). A LOT of traders seek carry trades instead of actual winning trades on the board and with leverage make a wad of money. I know of several platforms who would lose a LOT of their clients were it not for the fact they give carry traders what they're looking for.

Get those emails out and you'll reap the harvest.

quito_ecuador_valdez 03:45 GMT August 26, 2005
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one doesn't purchase beer, merely rents it.