FXCM is the number one provider of online forex in the world; they started off in 1999 as a small provider for online forex in the United States.
Since then to date, they have become one of the most dominant forex brokerage firms in the world.
FXCM UK (Review)
FXCM or Forex Capital Markets LLC has a presence in various countries around the world. They have a presence in the United Kingdom, specifically in London; they are also in Australia registered as FXCM Australia PTY. Ltd ASIC. They are also in France registered as FXCM France Ltd.
This means that they are heavily regulated, and this cross border regulation only enhances the company’s reliability and transparent dealings. They are Futures Commission Merchants and Retail foreign Exchange Dealers members of the Commodities Futures Trading Commission and the National Futures Association.
Their regulatory reference numbers are available on their website under the About Us section, and the details are well structured under the Regulation section. They are extremely open about their legal requirements which make them one of the best brokers in the business.
Jump to the History
They have gone through various changes over the years, and this has made them a better brokerage firm. They created a community in 2003 called the DailyFX where their clients could get market commentary and trade ideas from their in-house trade analysts.
They are the proprietor of No Dealing Desk style of execution which they introduced to their clients in 2007; they also decided to diversify their asset base in 2009 to give their clients more assets to trade.
They later went public in 2010 as NYSE:FXCM and this built the client confidence in the broker; in 2013 they started accepting institutional clients.
They have held their position as the leading forex retail broker by the sheer volume of trades they execute; in 2015 they executed $3.9 Trillion worth of trades.
FXCM UK: Review of Their Trading Accounts
FXCM has three major accounts based on the deposit amount the client has decided to start off with. Each account type has its perks and advantages; they have the mini account, standard account, and active trader account.
The mini account has the following aspects; it allows for deposits of any deposit from $50-$20,000, the minimum lot size traded is 1000 units, it offers 18 forex pairs, and it has a Dealing Desk execution model.
The standard account allows for deposits from $2000 and one can deposit as much as they want, the minimum lot size traded is 1000 units, they offer 39 forex pairs and the execution model applied is No Dealing Desk.
The active trader account allows for a minimum deposit of $25000 or any amount higher than this, the minimum lot size traded is 1000 units, 39 currency pairs on offer and the No Dealing Desk execution model is applied.
FXCM (UK): Trading Platform Review
FXCM UK has one best trading platforms in the world, especially for forex traders. They have a total of five trading platforms that the trader can select from.
The trading platforms are: Trade Station, MT4, Mirror Trader, Ninja Trader, and Zulu Trader. All the above named trading platforms are meant to offer the trader the best trading system and enhance the execution and ease of use.
- Trade Station is FXCM’s proprietary trading platform, and it has the following characteristics that make it unique; it has unique charting systems, it allows automated trading strategies, it has custom indicators, and one can backtest their trading strategies using the trading platform.
- The MetaTrader 4 platform allows the trader to apply expert advisors or automated trading applications; it allows one to close their positions partially, trades as low as 0.01 lots on any trade and free VPS hosting.
- The Mirror Trader platform allows the trader to automate their trading strategies which are very convenient. It has a feature where a trader can choose from a massive number of back-tested strategies and apply this strategy to their trading.
- The Ninja Trader has a strategy builder feature which the trader can use to develop their own strategy; they also have a market analyzer that provides real time quotes. For traders who want to review the market after hours and do back testing for their strategies can utilize the market replay feature and this will give them access to level 1 and level 2 data.
- Lastly, there is the Zulu Trader platform that is widely known for its peer to peer auto trade feature; this gives the trader an option to subscribe to another successful traders signal service and profit from that trader. They also have a sorting feature to help the trader select the best signals, and they know the importance of risk management and they have included the Margin Call-o-Meter to help traders get their risk parameters set well and in a sound manner.
Deposit and Withdrawal Options
FXCM has very strict rules when it comes to deposits and withdrawals. They have various deposit options that are very easy to use for both transactions.
They are very clear on their site that they do not allow any PayPal, e-Wallet, and Western Union payment options and this is in line with anti-money laundering laws that are very strict in the United States.
They, however, have other methods of payment that include credit and debit card payments, bank wire transfers and other methods that are stated clearly on their website.
Educational Resources and Customer Support
FXCM is one of the most educational based brokerage firms in the world. They offer free live webinars; they also have a free range of training guides that their clients can utilize. The DailyFX news commentary was further extended to cover their education section too.
There is the DailyFX Plus for beginners, DailyFX 360 course for the advanced traders and DailyFX On-Demand, which is an exclusive trading room that the traders get to interact with other consistently successful traders.
FXCM has a comprehensive customer support service; they have a live chat support service that clients can access 24/5 each week. They also have a contact number at the bottom section of their web page, and their support tab on their website is very comprehensive, and all your issues can be addressed there.
