FXCM is a well respected retail forex broker, providing 24 hour online forex trading with no dealing desk and low spreads. FXCM.com was founded in 1999, and they are headquartered in New York City. Forex Capital Markets (FXCM) is a registered Futures Commission Merchant (FCM) with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), and a member in good standing with the National Futures Association (NFA).
FXCM is regulated in Canada by the British Columbia Securities Commission (BCSC), in the United Kingdom by the Financial Services Authority (FSA), and in Hong Kong by the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC). With over 600 employees and offices in New York, London, Plano, Tokyo, Sydney, Paris, Hong Kong, and San Francisco, FXCM is positioned to provide 24 hour multilingual sales, administrative, and technical support.
In recent years, FXCM has made some significant changes to the way they execute trades. They now claim to pass orders on to nine major liquidity providers, by offering clients a No Dealing Desk trading platform. The transition to agency execution allows FXCM clients to place entry orders anywhere (even within the spread), to trade within periods of high volatility without requotes, and to scalp the market without trade restrictions and / or dealer intervention. These changes were made to eliminate the perceived conflict of interest between broker and trader, and to prevent dealer intervention in trades.
FXCM offers their clients various account types. The FXCM Standard Account is designed for experienced traders with anywhere from $2-25K to begin trading with; the minimum deposit on the Standard Account is $2K. The smallest trade size with this account is 10K units, and the available leverage is up to 200:1. It is FXCM’s belief that most traders will benefit from using between 4:1 and 20:1 leverage. The approximate Pip value is $1 per Pip. Additionally, accounts can be held in the following currencies: USD, JPY, CAD, AUD, NZD, EUR, and the GBP.
FXCM Micro is the discount brokerage arm of FXCM. The FXCM Micro account is designed for individuals new to trading in the foreign currency exchange markets. An FXCM Micro account can be opened with as little as $25, although they recommend an account size of $500. They offer extremely low spreads, with EUR/USD typically at 1.5 pips and USD/JPY at 1.6 pips. The smallest trade size is 1K units, available leverage is 400:1, and their approximate Pip value is $0.10 per Pip. It is worth noting that execution is automated, and accounts are held in US dollars only. Telephone support or live chat with an agent is not available with the FXCM Micro account.
The FXCM.com trading platform is known as the FX Trading Station, and claims some of the best execution in the forex industry. Additionally, it offers the ability to trade directly on charts and includes live streaming quotes. The FX Trading Station also allows for fast order entry, by providing the user with the ability to switch to a one-click trading mode. FXCM currently offers over 24 currency pairs, and the FX Trading Station can be customized to display only the currency pairs you want to see. It is also worth noting that the FX Trading Station provides traders with the ability to make 5 different types of orders; market orders, close orders, entry orders, stop/limits, and OCO orders.
Here’s what a few of our readers have had to say about FXCM:
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I opened an account with FXCM in the UK about a year ago, and so far I am very happy with them. I was recently informed that my account is now segregated, which is quite nice. I really like the new improvements they have made over the last year, though they definitely had some rough patches earlier in the year. I considered going with another broker, but none of them offer the same amount of security in terms of regulation. Some of my mates also trade with FXCM.com, and they seem to have had a similar experience. Well done, FXCM.
I started out with the FXCM Trading Station, and was initially attracted to it’s simplicity. I still use FXCM, but mainly for position trading to earn interest. If you’re new to forex trading and you would like to learn the basics of charting and getting in and out of trades with relative ease, I would certainly recommend FXCM.