Oanda

[Spreadbetteur]

I am considering opening an account with Oanda.

I reviewed the software, spoke to the reps. All good apart from the fact that there is no telephone dealing.

Has anyone here an account with Oanda ? General comments would be appreciated and how do you feel about the lack of telephone dealing ?

Worried about when my Internet might go down !

 

[JumpOff]

There are several threads about oanda here. type it into the search feature and have a look. To my way of thinking the platform is pretty bare bones. no trailing stops, no bracket trade management. Oanda's best features are its low spreads (1.5 pips on eur/usd) and the ability to place a stop loss order *in conjuction* with your entry. No need to fear your internet going down if you have a fail safe stop in place. The program lets you set a default stop loss - but if you have a ticket open, you need to refresh the ticket (rotate between buy/sell/buy) before you click the 'do it button ' in order to refresh the stop to the default amount.
JO
edit: I forgot to mention the other unique feature. You choose the position size. full contracts, or 1/10, 1/50, 1/200 whatever. same spread. no penalty for trading small.

 

[app127]

hi MS,

I have been using Oanda now for 8mnths. iam new to forex and nothing to compare them with, but, sso far I have found them very good. As a newbie I like the fact I can trade any amount. Only telephone dealing they would do for me is to close out a position. I wanted this incase of technology issues!.

There platform is not bad, but not fantastic. The charting needs to be much more comprehensive.

Hope this helps

 

[SvenFoster]

Telephone dealing... really not needed imho. I believe they will let you close a position over the phone...best check.

Always set a stop even if its a disaster stop when you open the trade. The defaults work well for stops and limits but as JO said if you have them enabled when you open a ticket window then the stop stays the same unless you say unclick it and re-click it(or change buy/sell/buy).
I don't think this is a bug but more a logical feature... If you change the value manually you don't want it to keep changing do you?

The variable lotsizes are a big winner...

The charts are basic as you know.. but hey you can at least see your orders on the chart and thats a winner for me.

cons:
I think its safe to say that oanda don't always react quickly to development requests. Thats either good or bad depending on where you stand.

I for one would love to see better position management like bracket trader(i.e exit strategies) or even just multiple take-profits on a position.

But I really would like a position sizing function for example...
Buy, set risk 1%, set stop to 1.2345, hit trade. And position is opened with roughly the correct number of units to risk 1% if stop is hit.
Then if I opened another with the same settings but my stop could be half the size then the units would be roughly double. Same risk, double the bang per buck... or 1/2 the target?

Still i guess i can do it manually and that just about sums it up... some things are clunky..but you can still do them.

 

[traderswin]

Telephone dealing... really not needed imho. I believe they will let you close a position over the phone...best check.

Always set a stop even if its a disaster stop when you open the trade. The defaults work well for stops and limits but as JO said if you have them enabled when you open a ticket window then the stop stays the same unless you say unclick it and re-click it(or change buy/sell/buy).
I don't think this is a bug but more a logical feature... If you change the value manually you don't want it to keep changing do you?

The variable lotsizes are a big winner...

The charts are basic as you know.. but hey you can at least see your orders on the chart and thats a winner for me.

cons:
I think its safe to say that oanda don't always react quickly to development requests. Thats either good or bad depending on where you stand.

I for one would love to see better position management like bracket trader(i.e exit strategies) or even just multiple take-profits on a position.

But I really would like a position sizing function for example...
Buy, set risk 1%, set stop to 1.2345, hit trade. And position is opened with roughly the correct number of units to risk 1% if stop is hit.
Then if I opened another with the same settings but my stop could be half the size then the units would be roughly double. Same risk, double the bang per buck... or 1/2 the target?

Still i guess i can do it manually and that just about sums it up... some things are clunky..but you can still do them.

uhm..they will NOT help you to close your position via phone/email/live chat. So always remember to set in stop loss and take profit order at the first place.

I have confirmed this on Live chat.

 

[SvenFoster]

uhm..they will NOT help you to close your position via phone/email/live chat. So always remember to set in stop loss and take profit order at the first place.

I have confirmed this on Live chat.

that just goes to show you shouldn't believe everything you read on a forum... good job I said "I believe, and best check"

That advise still stands.

 

[nbo2]

I'm an Oanda user.

No issues with them at all.

I've never found telephone dealing to be an issue regardless who I trade through. Since everything has been electronic I've never used the telephone once (and that's over quite a few years) to place any kind of order (entry exit or otherwise) with the exception of OO Futures contracts where I've spoken directly with a contact on the floor when I've been upstairs...

 

[traderswin]

I have yet to open live account with Oanda. Indeed, reputation of this firm is good, good spread and excellent customer service as well.
But, after all, retail forex is still not regulated, so with low leverage like Oanda offers, I have to deposit in more money into my account which is still unregulated in order to trade......

I consider putting money with any retail forex firm as a risk, the more they hold your cash, the higher risk you are taking.. well, this is my view.

This problem kinda stops me for a while...

since I am trading the same system (same position size), with other firm which offers a little bit higher leverage (of course, i am not looking at 400:1 , this is ridiculous), I feel more comfortable with that.

btw, anybody has experience with FXDD? 2 pip spread for EUR/USD, and 200:1 leverage for mini account. This is the alternative I am looking at. Hope to hear some comment of it.

Good day.

 

[BroadSword]

.....since I am trading the same system (same position size), with other firm which offers a little bit higher leverage (of course, i am not looking at 400:1 , this is ridiculous), I feel more comfortable with that.....

Whilst the default on Oanda is 20:1, I believe you can do upto 50:1 just by resetting the preferences. Would 50:1 be enough?

 

[traderswin]

Whilst the default on Oanda is 20:1, I believe you can do upto 50:1 just by resetting the preferences. Would 50:1 be enough?

In fact, I would prefer 100:1 leverage and 200:1 as maximum for mini account.

 

[fxmarkets]

OANDA Corporation has always been dedicated to the highest standards of
integrity, compliance and investor protection. We are registered with
the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and are a member in
good standing of the National Futures Association (NFA).

The NFA maintains an important information resource for the investing
public, and requires that all retail customers of NFA Members be made
aware of it. Through the NFA's Background Affiliation Status Information
Centre (BASIC) system, you can access NFA's extensive database about
the disciplinary history and other background of FOREX trading firms.
This service is free of charge and available 24 hours a day.

Since its inception nearly a decade ago, OANDA has never been the
subject of any disciplinary actions or any disputed resolution cases. We
encourage you to verify our credentials and compare our track record with
any other FOREX firm you may be thinking of doing business with. Just
log on to the NFA's BASIC database at:
http://www.nfa.futures.org/basicnet/. OANDA's NFA ID number is 0325821.

OANDA has also obtained permission from the NFA to distribute to our
customers e-copies of the NFA brochure entitled "Background Affiliation
Status Information Centre (BASIC) -- An Informative Resource for the
Investing Public". The brochure can be downloaded from the NFA's Web site
at: http://www.nfa.futures.org/investor/basic/basic.pdf.

We would be happy to receive any feedback or to answer any questions
you may have. Please contact us at [email protected].

Yours truly,

OANDA Corporation

 

[JTrader]

Quote:
Originally Posted by BroadSword
Whilst the default on Oanda is 20:1, I believe you can do upto 50:1 just by resetting the preferences. Would 50:1 be enough?


In fact, I would prefer 100:1 leverage and 200:1 as maximum for mini account.

Oanda will say that they have a miximum of 50:1 leverage in order to protect the trader/customer, so that they stay strictly within the boundaries of what their account size will let them trade in terms of size, so things will not get out of control, as may happen with 200:1 or 400:1 leverage.

 

[BroadSword]

Oanda will say that they have a miximum of 50:1 leverage in order to protect the trader/customer, so that they stay strictly within the boundaries of what their account size will let them trade in terms of size, so things will not get out of control, as may happen with 200:1 or 400:1 leverage.

Yeah, and that can only be a good thing from everyone's point of view, can't it?

I haven't a single bad word to say about Oanda, although 8 hr charts would be nice...

 

[traderswin]

Oanda will say that they have a miximum of 50:1 leverage in order to protect the trader/customer, so that they stay strictly within the boundaries of what their account size will let them trade in terms of size, so things will not get out of control, as may happen with 200:1 or 400:1 leverage.

YUP, definitely they will say that.
Is that another way to retain more money from customer? trader should be responsible to his/her own account and money mangement. The reason quoted above is kinda unacceptable. My view.

But, after all Oanda is a good firm, i guess. Base on experience of my demo account.
Everything seems fine. Only the low leverage stop me outside the door for now.

btw, think about Refco. well established, good reputation, regulated. Well,...it was. Just be extra careful about your hard earned money. It is not a good idea risking too much money by depositing into a firm....

 

[traderswin]

that just goes to show you shouldn't believe everything you read on a forum... good job I said "I believe, and best check"

That advise still stands.

Btw, Interbank fx does accept phone call to close your position in the event that internet service is unavailable. I have confirmed this with the customer service.

 

[Beachie41]

Oanda will say that they have a miximum of 50:1 leverage in order to protect the trader/customer, so that they stay strictly within the boundaries of what their account size will let them trade in terms of size, so things will not get out of control, as may happen with 200:1 or 400:1 leverage.

While it's 50:1 to open a postion, the maintenance margin is 100:1. This has been discussed a few times on the Oanda forum

 

[Beachie41]

btw, anybody has experience with FXDD? 2 pip spread for EUR/USD, and 200:1 leverage for mini account. This is the alternative I am looking at. Hope to hear some comment of it.

Good day.

Remember the little gotcha's like not being able to place a Stop Loss/Limit order within 5 pips of the market on the majors. More on the exotics.

 

[SvenFoster]

Yeah, and that can only be a good thing from everyone's point of view, can't it?

exactly and lets not forget....
you get "interest" on your deposits, continuously 24x7 so if you have to have 2% margin to open a trade you'll get money while you make your mind up and you only need 1% maintenance margin once open.

Also, all repeat ..all trades are fully automated on the backend and by all accounts this doesn't change if you start making money.
I'm very happy with them and I have a live account

remember apart from spreads(which are great) quality of execution is important too... in the retail world i don't think there are any better..

I haven't a single bad word to say about Oanda, although 8 hr charts would be nice...

I would settle for them using the same EOD time as everone else or even 4hr not 3hr charts(that said I'm really starting to like the 3HR)

 

[RF_TRADERTIP]

it sounds more like for the pro only