Spread betting at FXCM

[Jason Rogers]

Jason

Is there an easier way to do "Simple OCO Orders" or "Complex OCO Orders"? http://www.fxcm.co.uk/order-types.jsp

Thats far too much fussing about to do something so simple and by the time one get that order placed the move is long gone.

mar.

Hi mar,

You're probably better off using a market order to get in if the market is moving that quickly.

The simple OCO is the easiest way to link two entry orders. Otherwise you would have to create the entry orders individually then link them together through a 3 step process.

-Jason

 

[hackenbush78]

Hi hackenbush,

£50 is the margin requirement to trade the 10,000 GBP/USD position. The remaining £250 is leftover to guard against losses or open new positions if you so choose.

You are also correct that the overall gearing ratio for the account would be 33:1 if you traded 10,000 in a £300 pound account.

-Jason

Jason, Thanks for the reply.

When you mention that £250 is left over to guard against losses or open new positions, am I to presume that the new positions may only be opened, ie in other currency pairs, only when the original cable position is closed off ?

And if one were to deposit say £3000 it would facilitate a 100,000 GBP/USD and the same ratio of 33:1 and protection rules would apply ?

If so, I don't really get the 200:1 ratio or why it's mentioned at all. Is it not simply the fact that the gearing is 33:1 and it's a bit of a misnomer to suggest that you offer 200:1 ?

I realise that the cable can and does move 3 or more cents in a day btw. I just need to know what my deposit can facilitate if and when I do deposit.

Many thanks.

 

[Jason Rogers]

Jason, Thanks for the reply.

When you mention that £250 is left over to guard against losses or open new positions, am I to presume that the new positions may only be opened, ie in other currency pairs, only when the original cable position is closed off ?

And if one were to deposit say £3000 it would facilitate a 100,000 GBP/USD and the same ratio of 33:1 and protection rules would apply ?

If so, I don't really get the 200:1 ratio or why it's mentioned at all. Is it not simply the fact that the gearing is 33:1 and it's a bit of a misnomer to suggest that you offer 200:1 ?

I realise that the cable can and does move 3 or more cents in a day btw. I just need to know what my deposit can facilitate if and when I do deposit.

Many thanks.

If you have £250 leftover in your account balance, you can then use that amount to open new positions in the same currency pair or other currency pairs.

In my opinion, an easier way to think of the 200:1 leverage is in terms of it as a margin requirement. At 200:1 leverage, your margin requirement is 0.5%. You are required to set aside 0.5% of the notional trade amount as the margin requirement.

In my previous post I mentioned you can trade a 10,000 unit position of GBP/USD for £50. So you leveraged your £50 X 200 = to trade 10,000 GBP/USD. OR if thinking of this in terms of the margin requirement, you set aside 0.5% of the 10,000 unit position. 0.5% of 10,000 = £50

Take a look at the screenshot below. It shows I have one position of 10,000 GBP/USD, and the Usd Mr (Used Margin) is currently £50. I put a red box around the Usd Mr.

If you decide to open a second 10,000 unit position in GBP/USD, this means you are now setting aside a total of £100 as the margin requirement and you have £200 leftover in remaining margin.

Take a look at the screenshot below. It shows I have two positions of 10,000 GBP/USD, and the Usd Mr (Used Margin) is currently £100. I put a red box around the Usd Mr.

If you were to open a 3rd position, your used margin would increase further to £150 and so forth. Also pay attention to how much Usable Margin you have leftover because you receive a margin call when the Usable Margin hits 0. All positions are closed immediately when that happens.

-Jason

 

[hackenbush78]

Ok, I understand how each time you are utilising £50 of the total account balance, you are allowing the client to trade a 10000 unit position, £50 is taken from Useable to Used and as a consequence the amount in Usable obviously diminishes by the same amount.

I also understand that when Usable goes to zero you liquidate all positions (unless of course the client has injected more capital first).

By the examples you gave, it shows that the client can trade at least 30000 units ( ie 3 x 10000) and could add further still.

What I'm still trying to understand (as per my first post) is why on the account opening form it states "£300 to Open 10,000 Trade Size" when clearly a client can trade more than that ..at least 3-4 times more as you have mentioned.

I hope you don't think I'm being a pedantic old Hector , but I can't have been the first potential client to be curious to know how much trading leeway your company is actually offering.... or the first person to find the
"£300 to Open 10,000 Trade Size" statement to be meaningless. If nothing else it delayed me three days from opening an account.


I've always traded well within limits but it's always good to know what your deposit will buy.

 

[Jason Rogers]

Ok, I understand how each time you are utilising £50 of the total account balance, you are allowing the client to trade a 10000 unit position, £50 is taken from Useable to Used and as a consequence the amount in Usable obviously diminishes by the same amount.

I also understand that when Usable goes to zero you liquidate all positions (unless of course the client has injected more capital first).

By the examples you gave, it shows that the client can trade at least 30000 units ( ie 3 x 10000) and could add further still.

What I'm still trying to understand (as per my first post) is why on the account opening form it states "£300 to Open 10,000 Trade Size" when clearly a client can trade more than that ..at least 3-4 times more as you have mentioned.

I hope you don't think I'm being a pedantic old Hector , but I can't have been the first potential client to be curious to know how much trading leeway your company is actually offering.... or the first person to find the
"£300 to Open 10,000 Trade Size" statement to be meaningless. If nothing else it delayed me three days from opening an account.


I've always traded well within limits but it's always good to know what your deposit will buy.

Not at all, that's what I'm here for

You listed the phrase "£300 to Open 10,000 Trade Size". I searched the website and was not able to find the phrase but I did find this bullet point list on the website

Is this the page you are viewing? It is listing the minimum starting balance, and the minimum trade size for the account type.


-Jason

 

[hackenbush78]

Indeed, that was the quote and as you can see from my earlier post (below) I was just about spot on.

Is it the case that £300 is the minimum deposit, 10,000 is the lowest denominated trading amount and one should not read anything into their ratios as a precedent for trading when higher amounts are deposited ?

As an aside (and this is a general observation, not just a dig at FXCM) I'm quite astonished at how many FX trading platform companies and brokers who offer online trading with commission and narrower spreads, are either reluctant to truly explain what the margin ratios and requirements are, or just simply hide them away so they are virtually impossible to find on their websites.

As someone who has traded futures for more years than I care to remember, it's the first thing I would ever want to know when placing funds with a clearer. I'm relatively new to the world of online FX trading and am averse to putting any more money into a company than I have to.

 

[hackenbush78]

Anyway Jason, it's good to make my first buddy on the forum ...now, if I could only persuade you to get your cable quotes down to a one pip spread, we might well end up being drinking buddies. :smart:

 

[Jason Rogers]

Anyway Jason, it's good to make my first buddy on the forum ...now, if I could only persuade you to get your cable quotes down to a one pip spread, we might well end up being drinking buddies. :smart:

Here's an FAQ page on the site we also have setup for margin/leverage http://www.fxcm.co.uk/forex-margin-rollover-leverage.jsp

:cheers:

-Jason

 

[hackenbush78]

Yes, thanks seen that. By the clicking of beer glasses should I surmise that your company agree to the 1 pip prices for special clients ? :innocent:

 

[Jason Rogers]

Yes, thanks seen that. By the clicking of beer glasses should I surmise that your company agree to the 1 pip prices for special clients ? :innocent:

:cheesy: I don't have that much sway unfortunately...

The way to get tighter rates is through the active trader program. It's the program we have setup to lower total transaction costs for high volume traders. Accounts with a minimum of $25,000 or 10 million in notional trading volume qualify.

 

[hackenbush78]

Well it certainly seems as though my introduction to the forum has been a thread killer !

Jason, two questions about stop placement and when stops are triggered, if I may. I'm not looking for definitive answers as I know and realise that fills on stops are dependent on numerous factors, eg volatility, liquidity, market participation etc. These are "how long's a piece of string" questions, but here goes anyway.

Firstly, if I take an example of a slow to slow/medium moving market place, that's not having pops of 30 pips in a minute, but each minute may see around 3-6 pip ranges. I'm interested to know where the best level to place an entry sell stop might be, at the price or above it ? If I have a pre-conceived plan of selling if the market broke 20 and my ideal level to sell was 19, when would I be filled at 19 ? Would it be persay on a 19/22quoted market, or would it actually need to have traded at 19 to trigger my stop ? If the latter, then obviously there is more chance that a seller with large size may wipe out all the 19s and even lower too ...and I know that I can place a stop limit. But the question remains, when does the stop actually get triggered ? As an aside, it's actually not that clear to understand how low or high the market actually traded on any individual move. The highs or lows of the day may be quite specific on the Advanced Dealing Rate windows, but on the charts (1 minute for instance) unless one is moving between bid and ask it's not that clear. If one moves to the bid quote on the charts and the low on a run down shows 19, does that mean it traded at 19, or it was quoted as a bid of 19 but may not have traded at that price ?

Secondly (and hopefully I can be more concise and precise on this one) in faster markets, let's say once again that I have a stop at 19 (this time a stop loss, as I am long from above). If the market is moving down from eg the high 20s and suddenly a large player or players who may be FXCM customers or perhaps outside players come in with sizeable sell orders at the market, am I correct in assuming that my stop will only be filled when their orders are satiated ? ... ie if 10s of millions are hitting the market down to 00 my stop is filled when they are done ?

 

[hackenbush78]

Strange goings on at FXCM this evening. I logged in, not to trade, as I had no idea the market might be open. I wanted to view the research page to see what figures were out tomorrow. I then glanced at the charts and noticed that £/$ was active and had opened much higher, around 1.5450. I looked at the one minute bar and saw that it had opened at 21.04. I then looked at the bar before and saw that it was also 21.04 and was the last bar of Friday's trading (9/4/10). I saw a build up of approx 15 x 1 minute bars appox range (1.5425-1.5450) and thought that 21.04 was a strange time to open.

I then found the relevant page regarding opening times and noted that Sunday's open should be at 22.15 (21.15 BST). I was little puzzled as to why the market had opened a few minutes early and was poised to ask the live help, but found that it wasn't yet open.

Then the strangest thing happened. I went back to the 1 minute chart to look again ....the entire 15 or so bars had been wiped and now the first bar showing was at 21.26 (the long upwards bar).

I have no intention to trade these Sunday evening sessions but find it a concern that a whole 15 minutes of trading can just vanish ...and vanish without explanation !!

I assure you all I was not taking hallucinogenic drugs at the time ...but if this is what can be expected I might very well start !

Jason, would you mind explaining to me what happened ? Thanks.

 

[Jason Rogers]

Hi hackenbush,

I'll answer both posts in this one post. If you have an order to sell at 19, then the bid will have to quote 19 in order for that order to trigger and go into process. If the order is a sell stop, then it is possible the order could experience slippage if liquidity at 19 is wiped out before your order can get filled. Does that answer everything? Trying to be as concise as possible

For your second post, I'm taking a look at the 1 minute chart for GBP/USD during the 21:00 BST period forward and I'm seeing 1 minute candles starting at 21:00 BST. Can you let me know if your chart is not displaying the information and which currency pair you are viewing?

While trading opens at 21:15 BST, you may see prices updating before then. Shortly prior to the open, the Trading Desk refreshes rates to reflect current market pricing in preparation for the open. At this time, trades and orders held over the weekend are subject to execution. Quotes during this time are not executable for new market orders. After the open, you can place new trades, and cancel or modify existing orders.

-Jason

 

[hackenbush78]

Jason, thanks for the answers. I've just scrolled back to the 1 min charts from last night's trading. I'm now just seeing the long line (the first bar of 11/4/09) up at 22.00, so I am none the wiser. I take your point that trading begins at 21.15 and that "the Trading Desk refreshes rates to reflect current market pricing in preparation for the open. At this time, trades and orders held over the weekend are subject to execution. "

But I definitely saw those trades shown as bars on the chart from 21.04 for at least 15 mins and past the point of the 21.15 open. And then they were all wiped off the chart map and a new long line appeared (as I mentioned yesterday) at 21.26, which too has ceased to exist. I'm just a little bemused as to why a chart would be adjusted/wiped clean twice.

As I said, I won't be trading those sessions and just happend across this strange activity last night. I presume if I tried to buy or sell any of those pre 21.15 prices I was seeing, the system would reject my request.

 

[Jason Rogers]

There was an update to the FX Trading Station over the weekend. Most of the update revolved around improvements to the Marketscope charts. Here are some of the changes:

1. Heiken Ashi and Fractal Indicators

2. ZigZag and Improved Pivot Points: For the pivot points, you can now set the candle period for the pivot independent of the chart time frame you are viewing. In other words you can base the pivot point off of the daily candle while looking at the 5 minute chart. Previously, the pivot was based off of the candle period of the chart period you were viewing. Also, the pivot point will now be located in the indicators list rather than as an icon in the icon menu at the top of the chart.

4. Chart Signals: Basic feature (for now) added to the charts. You can have a signal plotted onto the chart for basic indicator signals uses such as moving average crosses, RSI oversold/overbought levels, etc.

5. Charts in the Market Order window: View a 5 minute chart of the currency pair you are about to trade

As always, feel free to leave any feedback.

-Jason

 

[swandro]

Can you create a range bar chart now?

 

[Jason Rogers]

Can you create a range bar chart now?

Hi swandro,

The charts do not have an option for range bar charts. Do you know of a website that has the formula for how to create it and I can send the information to the developers for possible inclusion in the platform?

FXCM also has a programming services team that can create custom indicators for both the FX Trading Station II and MT4 if you would like to have it created immediately for a cost.

-Jason

 

[swandro]

I don't really know of a good source of information about range bars. I asked because they are quite a standard feature of most charting software and I was hoping that someone would have decided to include them in your latest release.

I do suggest you discuss it with your colleagues. I have only trialled your software but the absence of range bars is a reason why I would not be able to sign up with you. This may well be true of others because I know that they are widely used by traders.

 

[hackenbush78]

Jasson, two questions about the charts if I may.

1) Will it ever be possible to customise the charts in terms of selecting in between time bars ...eg 2 mins and 3 mins ? If not could you tell me of a suitable chart package that I could use as an add on with the FXCM price feed/trading platform.

2) Going back to the Sunday night trading ...I notice that Sunday night's price action is added into Monday's one day bar. I see the reasoning behind that because Sunday night's session is short. However, what I don't understand is why the whole line is shown from Friday's close down to Monday's low. It gives the false appearance of Monday's range being far greater than it actually is. Why is there not a gap from todays' "real" high of 1.5323 (thus far) to Friday's close of 1.5389 ? It makes no sense that the charts are compiled in the way they are. If I refer back to 19th April via the one day charts in say a week, I could easily read the range to be far greater than it actually was.

Thanks.

 

[SJD01]

Hi
I'm hoping to spreadbet through FXCM and use the MT4 Charts all on a mobile device

Is this possible?

Regards

Simon