Good day, could a real user tell me if IB is a good place for trading forex (execution, spreads, comissions...). And i'am looking for eplanations on their Ideal and Ideal Pro things. Concerning the funding of account it seems to be at minimum 10000$, but is it a standard account or mini, or maybe it is a non standard lot size. If someone could enlight it'll be nice. Thanks.
I would not recommend IB for forex especially with small starting account sizes. You would be using their IDEAL platform for positions under $25,000 and it is not very liquid at all. If you are just interested in forex you should look at another broker than IB. I have used FXCM in the past and they are pretty decent. IB is good for futures and stocks but I would not trade forex there.
want to pipe in here and say fxcm over IB is an absurd bit of advice for TRADING. Fxcm has fixed spreads and is well known to move markets closer to their clients orderbook stops. IB gives you an opportunity to trade inside the spread, only takes a comission on your trade and has no interest in the outcome of your trade. Im not a huge fan of either broker but what the previosu poster said is quite surprisng considering the vast majority of experienced traders do NOT trade with fxcm.
thanks for byour answers. After readings in several forums it seems that fxcm is fifty/fifty rated. I'd prefer IB. Could you please confirm that the minimum lot size is 0.25 compared to a 100k account (standard) and under this you're switched to ideal with less liquidity. Thanks
Come on stop crying about your stops. Oh and use a spell checker... your grammar and spelling are atrocious. I'm sure you have a conspiracy theory for all your losses in the market. I don't trade forex much at all but FXCM is better than IB for forex IMO. However, my opinion is anyone who trades forex at all is asking for it. Futures > Forex
Minimum order size is $25000, there are no fixed lot sizes. If you want a 70k or 45k order, you can do it. Liquidity is fine, spreads are low, 1-1.5 pip on the eur/usd during european and us trading hours.
Liquidity on IDEALPRO is good but it can be quite bad at times on IDEAL, which is where the OP would probably be trading. I just saw a 3 pip spread in the EUR/USD on IDEAL when IDEALPRO had 1.
Hey saki, off topic, but do you still live and work in Vietnam ? I saw your journal. How do you like it? I really want to visit at some point. I have been to SE Asia (Thailand) a couple of times before but haven't made it there there yet. I hear the beaches are nice, cheap cost of living too.
Yes, I asumed that we where talking about Ideal pro, which has good spreads and an order minimum of 25k.
First and foremost stick to trading 100K lots ... if you cant get the ammo for that then stay with futures. Once you make the move to cash go with IB the spreads and liquidity in the IDEALPRO system is tough not to like the per trade charge is what is and it makes more sense to me to pay up front for a service then to get slippage from a FXCM and not know where your deal is going to be done at ......