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FXCM Group is one of the largest, fastest growing FOREX companies, and has been awarded as such by Inc. 500 List of America’s Fastest Growing Companies three years in a row (2004-2006). The group has offices around the world including U.S.A, UK, Hong Kong and Japan, and is regulated and licensed in each of them as an established Future Commissions dealer or financial dealer.
FXCM is proud to advertise their operational and financial data, stating they have over 90,000 live accounts trading on their platform, that their average monthly trading volume is close to $200 billion, and have recently announced that they own over $120 Million in capital.
FXCM provides several account types designed for experienced traders as well as for those who are new to the FOREX market. The standard 100K account is ideal for experienced traders wishing to leverage the full advantages of FX trading. Opening a standard account requires an initial deposit of $2,000, and offers leverages of up to 1:100.
The Mini Account is designed for those who are still new to online currency trading. It requires an initial deposit of $300, and the leverages offered are up to 1:200. Mini accounts can be opened not just in US Dollars, but also in Euros, Pounds, Japanese Yen and Australian Dollars.
FXCM also offers a training account, which is available for 30 days and loaded with $50,000 demo money. Platforms for all account types are identical, however a separate username and password needs to be used for each type of account.
The advantage of dealing online is having the possibility to deal with no Dealing Desk. With this option, traders basically trade on rates provided directly by the banks, which enables FXCM to offer spreads as low as 1-2 pips. FXCM also offers the possibility to trade via a Dealing Desk, which provides traders protection against spread uncertainty. In these cases the spreads offered are typically 3-5 pips on the major currency pairs.
The registration process for real money accounts, both mini and standard, are long, and require, in addition to personal details, your financial details and employment information. If you are not a US citizen, approval of your account requires receiving copy of a photo ID and a valid utility bill to your name to prove your stated address.
Once you have an account number, depositing funds is an easy process. The payment methods available are Credit Cards, Debit Cards, Paper Checks and Wire Transfers. US residents may also submit electronic checks.
FX Trading Station (FXTS), FXCM’s trading platform needs to be downloaded to your desktop. The environment is user friendly and intuitive to use, and can be customized according to the users preferences. The products offered are day trading, stop loss & take profit, as well as trailing stop / limit orders and entry orders. A hedging feature is available in No Dealing Desk accounts. The “At Best” feature, short for At Best Price, enables being filled at the best rate streamed to FXCM at that moment from all global banks and financial institutions they work with. This feature, as opposed to the standard “At Market Range”, prevents situations in which the price you intended to make the order at has expired.
Charting tools and analysis data are available either from a website, external to the trading platform, or can be added on to the platform by plug-ins, which need to be downloaded as well.
FXCM now offers a toolbar to be downloaded to your browser, which provides instant access to FOREX market news and currency rates, and enables setting alerts for when the market reaches desired rates.
FXCM provides 24/7 customer support, including during the weekends when the market is closed. A Multi-lingual staff speaking over 20 languages is available at all times, via International toll frees calls, chat and e-mail. VIP support is offered to Gold accounts trading with over $25,000.
There are a few tools available to you if you are just getting to know the market and FX Trading station. Manuals for using FX Trading Station are available in several formats, as well as walk through videos that provide an overview of the platform’s main features. A support representative will introduce you to the system either via chat or over the phone. To get to know the FOREX market, free webinars are offered on a daily basis, trading tips are provided on their mini-site www.DailyFX.com, and an online “Power Course” (8 sessions of 45 minutes each) is offered for $19.99.
FXCM is a large and strong company, with a large world-wide user base, high liquidity and large financial assets. This enables them to offer attractive rates, innovative tools and features, and high standards of customer support. These all make FXCM a safe choice of a FOREX trading platform.
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