FXCM Response to FXCM/PropFX Rating

Discussion in 'Forex Brokers' started by FXCM Rep 1, Jun 19, 2007.

  1. My name is David Waring and I am the Managing Director in charge of Business Development here at FXCM. I came across this post and would like to address the community here at Elite Trader with a response to make sure that both sides of the story are properly represented.

    Let me start by apologizing for what seems to be an accurate description of FXCM's lack of quality customer service as it relates to the opening of this account and then the lack of service bbmat received when chatting with us to question the execution of one of his trades. This is not the level of service that we strive to provide and I fully agree with the statements below referencing the lack of quality service.

    I have spoken to each of the reps involved with the PropFX division to figure out why this problem occurred and what we can do to make sure that it does not happen again in the future. From these conversations it seems that what this issue comes down to is a lack of staffing for the PropFX division specifically. While all of our reps are familiar with and well equipped to handle issues which occur on the main FXCM retail platform, as the PropFX platform is a specialized division for professional traders only, there are less staff devoted to servicing it. What this does not mean, is that this is an excuse as FXCM pledges to support all of our products on a 24/7 basis. As a direct result of this post, I have upped the staffing devoted to the PropFX platform so we can ensure that we have 24 hour coverage even when specific staff is out on vacation, etc.

    In regards to the trade in question, our records show that this trade was executed flawlessly. The PropFX platform, a Currenex based platform, receives price feeds directly from 10 tier-one banks giving professional traders direct access to interbank prices in a best bid/offer format. For those familiar with stock trading, this is the forex equivalent of level II trading. During Friday afternoons, specifically near market close at 5pm EST, liquidity can be sporadic. The prices which may print from one provider to the next can vary as a result of this and during these times prices can vary between providers significantly. I would like to stress here that FXCM does not control the prices on the PropFX Platform. Even if we wanted to there is nothing that we could do which would affect a position one way or another especially from a stop running standpoint.

    In addition to the above, in this particular case if you check Bloomberg and/or S & P Comstock's price feed closely you will see 164.20 offered on both these third-party feeds as it was on the PropFX platform. Please also note that these charts are the ones recommended by FXCM for traders using the PropFX platform and not the retail price feed charts such as eSignal. We have attached them below and please note that the Bloomberg Charts are depicting 4pm CST / 5pm EST.

    The reason an adjustment was provided, despite the correct execution on the account, was due to the unsatisfactory experience with our service.

    The online forums such as Elite Trader play an important part in the way that the portrayals of firms like FXCM are developed as individuals are given a voice which, before the internet, was not available. FXCM feels that this is an important strength of the internet which our users are leveraging and thus we take posts such as this one very seriously. While we will not address or respond to every individual complaint via the forum, I will post to clarify any misconceptions that might exist or when I feel the community would benefit from a response by being shown another point of view.

    In the future, feel welcome to address complaints or questions which require a higher level of attention directly to me via email, dwaring@fxcm.com, so we can resolve them together as effectively as possible.

    Sincerely,

    David Waring
    Managing Director
    FX Business Development
    Forex Capital Markets LLC
    32 Old Slip, 10th Floor
    New York, NY 10005
    Tel (212) 897-7660
    Fax (212) 897-7669
    Email: dwaring@fxcm.com

    ______________________________________________________________________________
    FXCM and its affiliates assume no responsibility for errors, inaccuracies or omissions in these materials. They do not warrant the accuracy or completeness of the information, text, graphics, links or other items contained within these materials. FXCM and its affiliates shall not be liable for any special, indirect, incidental, or consequential damages, including without limitation losses, lost revenues, or lost profits that may result from these materials. This email is not a solicitation to buy or sell currency. All information contained in this e-mail is strictly confidential and is only intended for use by the recipient. All e-mail sent to or from this address will be received by the FXCM corporate e-mail system and is subject to archival and review by someone other than the recipient.
     
  2. squall

    squall

    Funny how basically at the end of the statement there is a disclaimer stating that they are not responsible for any errors, etc in the text. LOL

    Not reading that far into it, but it's just ironic.

    Sorry but there can't be THAT many people out there making this shit up.

    Why even take the chance?

    It's not like they even care anyway really..they have the beginner market pegged with all the bright flashy lights and the fancy looking stuff catering to their desire to be "pro" etc and making them feel special.....

    so it doesn't really matter if we as more experienced traders stay with them or not, because there is always fresh meat...kinda like the way the military looks at people that are currently in (yes I was in the military so I'm not just talking shit)...they'd like to keep you in and all, but really what is important is getting the new recruits...

    hell, same thing with cigarette companies...

    Just a rant thats all
     
  3. I am very interested in this point. Can you therefore confirm that no adjustment is ever made to the price feeds that are received by your platform from the banks.
     
  4. Chood

    Chood

    I give FXCM credit for supporting ET as an advertiser, which indirectly benefits me because I have personally profited from information on the board. I give it credit, too, for staying around even as ET members blast its practices. It's not running, in other words. But my basic understanding of FX retail remains the same, which is that it's a game for the retailer to exploit the newbie, wannabe, overeager, and grossly unfit. Even blunter: there's no question in my mind that the origins of FX retail are so sordid and swindling that no amount of bleach, regardless of current practices, rids it of the stench.
     
  5. my short experience with fxcm left me believing they are scamming their clients.

    during the week I traded with them, i placed _market_ orders around news times, then was told my orders were frequently off _market_ and was costing fxcm money. subsequently my account was switched off FXCM's dealing desk to the no dealing desk option (aka garbage). i decided that IB was better for trading forex news so i closed my fxcm account with a tidy little profit for my week worth of work.

    to this day i still dont understand how my 'market' orders were arriving 'off market'. this leads me to believe that my market orders were not being handled as they should be, such as a actual exchange / market maker would process them. very shady indeed.

    after further analysis of fxcm data I found that their dealing desk feed often strayed from actual market data, showing that their prices arnt based on what the banks are offering.

    the whole experience left me with a bad taste in my mouth and a few more dollars in my pocket. i feel bad for the clients who lost money under these shady business practices.

    from my understanding, fxcm basically decided that this fixed (huge) spread of 3 pips during all times of the day was worth creating a brokerage/MM where any given trade can leave the MM out of the money and just kick off clients whos trades are profitable too often in this situation. i guess whatever turns a profit for them is the 'correct' choice. next time, try designing a business model that doesnt screw over some of your clients.
     
  6. Nice spin! None of us blame you for operating a bucket-shop.
     
  7. Are you expecting a veracious response?
     
  8. traderob

    traderob

    And you are saying this happened with FXCMProp: or you are talking about about their retail platform (which is a completley different platform and not the subject of this thread)?
     
  9. ah i might have misunderstood then. my experience happened with FXCM's retail platform. i was assuming that FXCM retail and FXCMProp are both owned / operated by the same corporation (Forex Capital Markets?), if i am incorrect in that assumption my apologizes to FXCMProp and the thread's OP for ranting about the wrong FXCM! :eek:

    edit: i noted that Rep 1's email is *@fxcm.com. so i am sure the thread's OP is a representative from the company which i had the shady experience with. so i hope this thread was an appropriate place to post my experience hoping for a reply from said representative. since they decided to respond to reasons for negative rating, i thought id give the rep an opportunity to respond to my reason for negative rating.
     
  10. traderob

    traderob

    It is the same company BUT a different platform. Retail FXCM has a trading desk and can reject trades. FXprop does not.
     
    #10     Jun 19, 2007