One should be very suspicious of a primary brokerage firm or FCM that runs managed accounts. Many primary brokerage firms stand accused of dealing directly against their clients, because on the law of averages their client base loses and what their clients lose to the market, they then stand to gain. This is a particular temptation for a primary brokerage firm that deals mostly with novices and has a high turnover of clients.
Wouldn't it be quite something were a primary brokerage firm to operate a managed fund, where the trades were the opposite of those traded by their very own self-trading clients. The very fact that this is feasible means it should be illegal for a primary/brokerage firm to operate a managed fund themselves. It is not in the interests of their wider client base.
With respect to FXCM, that Refco case is now history and the firm has moved on, in fairness to them. The big problem I personally have with FXCM is that it tries to be all things to all men and succeeds in being a master of very little. I mean how can a single company claim to offer the best in every aspect of a $3 trillion dollar a day market. These people should focus on being a best in class at something, though I'm not quite sure just what fits their bill just now. The mass market 'snare the novice into a false sense of security' syndrome is making them look like a giant vulture that has eaten from the carcass so often, it has lost its ability to fly.
