Best Thread CMC Markets owner answers your questions

[x4x]

BS, I take your point but I still can't accept they're a good company.

Their spreads are typically 2 or 3 times that of CMC (and others)

If you look at their day's high and low prices (and each swing) is usually at least a point higher or lower than IG - which have a similar spread. I know this can be a good thing (depending on your trade direction) but this also has an impact on stop distances - so you have to add the additional spread AND the additional movement to your stops.

I found their customer service very bad - I didn't hang around there too long so maybe I just got unlucky on this point. I also believe there's a massive class action going on against them - maybe this isn't uncommon but it certainly taints them imo.

 

[x4x]

aaah have just got the team to cancel that function.
just in case you mean it. ha ha

:cheesy:
pc

OK OK, I promise to at least keep my budgie smugglers on!

 

[Black Swan]

BS, I take your point but I still can't accept they're a good company.

Their spreads are typically 2 or 3 times that of CMC (and others)

If you look at their day's high and low prices (and each swing) is usually at least a point higher or lower than IG - which have a similar spread. I know this can be a good thing (depending on your trade direction) but this also has an impact on stop distances - so you have to add the additional spread AND the additional movement to your stops.

I found their customer service very bad - I didn't hang around there too long so maybe I just got unlucky on this point. I also believe there's a massive class action going on against them - maybe this isn't uncommon but it certainly taints them imo.

Fair comments, I agree that their spreads for entry level accounts should be better, can be as low as 0.5 on active trader but when other companies such as CMC are offering 0.9 on trades irrespective of account size then they have a big gap to close..

 

[x4x]

Their active trader account looks miles better - I never got that far.

Whenever I try out a new SB platform the missus and I open identical trades to compare against IG - that's how I know most fixed 1 pip spreads are biased to the leading edge.

FXCM repeatedly failed even after allowing for the (typical) 2.6 spread. - CMC is the only company whereby my stop has frequently survived longer than with IG.

I still have to commend FXCM on their platform design - it is superb.

 

[BigInTheCity]

In my opinion, Oanda were the best company by far when it comes to trading, especially EUR/USD! There were the only company I could find that had no problem with me jumping in and out of the market as much as I wanted for 1-5 pips a time!!!!

But now that CMC offer 0.9 on EUR/USD with the tax free advantage of spread betting, that's going to be hard for any company to beat!!

So at this very moment, I am VERY happy trading with these two companies!!!! Just started trading live with CMC to check out execution, slippage etc. So far I have only had slippage in my favour! Early days, but so far so good. Going to continue testing the live platform until Christmas, then if all goes well, they will be getting a large amount of my funds from Oanda!! And if they increase their maximum bets on EUR/USD, they will probably get it all!!!!

And as for being able to ask Peter questions, that's absolutely fantastic and I have a lot of respect for that!

I will keep you all posted on how I find the platform, execution, etc etc over the coming months.

 

[Black Swan]

Positive slippage is a big clue as to how fair a company's operation is IMHO..

 

[Black Swan]

Their active trader account looks miles better - I never got that far.

Whenever I try out a new SB platform the missus and I open identical trades to compare against IG - that's how I know most fixed 1 pip spreads are biased to the leading edge.

FXCM repeatedly failed even after allowing for the (typical) 2.6 spread. - CMC is the only company whereby my stop has frequently survived longer than with IG.

I still have to commend FXCM on their platform design - it is superb.

Got to love all this healthy competition, the future is bright for a lot of day/self employed traders, IMHO this market has got miles still to go..

 

[x4x]

Let's hope so - but hard to imagine how they can improve much, especially once CMC have sorted out a couple of small issues, which sounds as if is something that is going to happen in the near future.

I too have noticed positive slippage with CMC.

I suppose it then comes down to customer care - I was with IG for 10 years and never felt the need to contact customer service. On the one occasion I contacted them to complain about persistent and unfair stop slippage in the early mornings (and only the early mornings) they replied by sending me a standard reply explaining what caused slippage - as if after 10 years I hadn't worked it out.

Long story short - they lost a loyal and regular client just because they didn't deal with my complaint in a reasonable fashion, if it were my company I would think 10 years = 1 complaint - let's deal with this properly....

I have seen a lot of companies sit back and rest on their laurels once established as the market leader - but it always ends in tears - Hoover, G-Plan & Golden Wonder are three that spring to mind...

 

[Ross Spur]

Without a chart showing every tic on both sides, it's very difficult or impossible to know if the instantaneous spread is 1pt, 10pt or whatever.

 

[x4x]

Not according to bedsit:

Maybe you need a better concentration - may help you to notice the widening

Think of concentration improvement as a three-step process:

1. Learn the causes of poor concentration and decide which apply to you.

2. Understand what you can do to control these factors.

3. Make your control habitual. Even if you lapse into old habits of distraction and daydreaming, keep insisting of yourself that you concentrate using these controls until you can routinely concentrate well for fifty minutes of every hour.

 

[tar]

BS, I take your point but I still can't accept they're a good company.

Their spreads are typically 2 or 3 times that of CMC (and others)

If you look at their day's high and low prices (and each swing) is usually at least a point higher or lower than IG - which have a similar spread. I know this can be a good thing (depending on your trade direction) but this also has an impact on stop distances - so you have to add the additional spread AND the additional movement to your stops.

I found their customer service very bad - I didn't hang around there too long so maybe I just got unlucky on this point. I also believe there's a massive class action going on against them - maybe this isn't uncommon but it certainly taints them imo.

Disagree , from my own experience Fxcm is a very good broker , which is why their fx volume is 750 B $ every Q ...

 

[x4x]

Disagree , from my own experience Fxcm is a very good broker , which is why their fx volume is 750 B $ every Q ...

If you're happy with them that's great - they just didn't suit me.

I wanted them to because of their platform, but I had to increase my stops by about 25% - 30% in order to get it to work - too much to pay for a bit of convenience.

 

[PC at CMC Markets]

hi 4x4 ,

that is encouraging news. many thanks for posting this comment. we have worked really hard on stop loss execution.

regards Peter

Their active trader account looks miles better - I never got that far.

Whenever I try out a new SB platform the missus and I open identical trades to compare against IG - that's how I know most fixed 1 pip spreads are biased to the leading edge.

FXCM repeatedly failed even after allowing for the (typical) 2.6 spread. - CMC is the only company whereby my stop has frequently survived longer than with IG.

I still have to commend FXCM on their platform design - it is superb.

 

[PC at CMC Markets]

thats even worse.

ha ha :cheesy:

OK OK, I promise to at least keep my budgie smugglers on!

 

[PC at CMC Markets]

Hi Mr Big.

Many thanks for your posting.
The whole pricing and execution process is fully automated. For us execution is about speed, precision and accuracy. Some times you will get better price, some times the price you wanted and some times a worst price but it is totally dependent on the market movement not on a dealer reading your position. that is why we added precision pricing so you can really get transparency across our pricing. We also added spread charts and we publish our daily typical spreads on our web page.

as for me being on this forum, I love it, I get good feed back from what clients (and non clients) want and it means I can respond to them. And you know what it is completely free. I don't have to pay anybody to research the markets for us.

In the coming weeks there will be a lot of new things coming and most of them are in direct response to people asking for them on this site.

Look forward to you working with us. I can tell you that you are not getting any special treatment just our normal service.

good luck with your trading. remember to understand the risks of trading before you trade.

please continue to feed back your experiences with our platform on this site. the good and the bad.
regards Peter

In my opinion, Oanda were the best company by far when it comes to trading, especially EUR/USD! There were the only company I could find that had no problem with me jumping in and out of the market as much as I wanted for 1-5 pips a time!!!!

But now that CMC offer 0.9 on EUR/USD with the tax free advantage of spread betting, that's going to be hard for any company to beat!!

So at this very moment, I am VERY happy trading with these two companies!!!! Just started trading live with CMC to check out execution, slippage etc. So far I have only had slippage in my favour! Early days, but so far so good. Going to continue testing the live platform until Christmas, then if all goes well, they will be getting a large amount of my funds from Oanda!! And if they increase their maximum bets on EUR/USD, they will probably get it all!!!!

And as for being able to ask Peter questions, that's absolutely fantastic and I have a lot of respect for that!

I will keep you all posted on how I find the platform, execution, etc etc over the coming months.

 

[PC at CMC Markets]

Hi blackswan,

I see it slightly differently. I don't call it slippage. I call it giving our clients the market price. If the price moves in the milliseconds between pressing buy/seller and us receiving the order then you get that price. It is market execution. we do not dress it up and say we are giving you price improvement. you are getting what you are entitled to. nothing more nothing less and because the process is automated there is no discrimination. you are in effect trading with a computer. we get the flows coming through to our risk book and we net it all off and hedge it accordingly. you get the market price we get the risk book. fair right.

thanks Peter.

Positive slippage is a big clue as to how fair a company's operation is IMHO..

 

[Truth Seeker]

Hi truth seeker,

Thanks for your post. We have a major next gen release coming very soon. I would rather not say when but you will see all sorts of improvements including generating two tickets, chart improvements and some nice new functionality to make life easier.
Not long to wait now.

pc

Good news, look forward to the update. Just checked the spreads of the Indices, why 3 pips for Dax, that's a bit steep isn't it? I would have thought it would be 1 pip like most other brokers? Any chance you can reduce it down then I can start taking some more money off you ?!

 

[Ross Spur]

Good news, look forward to the update. Just checked the spreads of the Indices, why 3 pips for Dax, that's a bit steep isn't it? I would have thought it would be 1 pip like most other brokers? Any chance you can reduce it down then I can start taking some more money off you ?!

It's 0.9pt?

 

[Black Swan]

If you're happy with them that's great - they just didn't suit me.

I wanted them to because of their platform, but I had to increase my stops by about 25% - 30% in order to get it to work - too much to pay for a bit of convenience.

Same platform used by Deutsche Bank, who then sold their book/service to Gain capital (forex.com etc), worth googling gain for some info on fines for misdemeanours (which they never held their hands up to they elected to take the pain)

.Shame Deutsche exited retail, always liked the fact (on the face of it) that you were getting a great platform and were with as safe a bank as you could have..

 

[x4x]

Same platform used by Deutsche Bank, who then sold their book/service to Gain capital (forex.com etc), worth googling gain for some info on fines for misdemeanours (which they never held their hands up to they elected to take the pain)

.Shame Deutsche exited retail, always liked the fact (on the face of it) that you were getting a great platform and were with as safe a bank as you could have..

Yeah, I remember downloading a demo from Deutsche and recognizing the platform - I assumed it was an FXCM white label and closed it quickly!

I used to use the VT platform developed by CMS who were bought out by Gain a year or two ago.