Forex Capital Markets, better known as FXCM, along with Gain Capital and GFT Forex, is one of the three largest forex trading companies, which together account for nearly fifty per cent of retail forex trades.
FXCM was founded in 1999. They became a certified FCM or Futures Clearing Merchant in 2001. In 2003, they became Financial Services Authority , FSA, regulated. They passed the 100,000 accounts level in 2007. FXCM currently has over 165,00 accounts in 180 countries producing an average of almost seven million trades per month. The company website lists total capital as $141,767,000.
In the United States, FXCM complies with the regulations of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), and the National Futures Association (NFA).
They initiated compliance with the most recent U.S. regulations that went into effect on October 18, 2010, a week ahead of the deadline. These are the regulations, the main effect of which, limit leverage to 50:1 on major currency pairs and 20:1 on minor (exotic) currency pairs.
At this time, FXCM offers three types of forex trading accounts: Standard, Micro, and Active. Minimum deposit requirements are $2,000, $50, and $50,000, respectively.
They claim spreads averaging as low as one pip on major pairs, with typical spreads in the 2.3 to 5 pips average range. Like any reputable broker should, they do not hide the fact that spreads are variable, and can increase during certain market conditions that are not uncommon. It should be noted here that their trading platform shows current spreads, so that it is possible to know the cost of a trade prior to entering that trade.
FXCM’s trading platform, which they call TSII, is available in a version for computers and mobile devices. There is another platform known as Strategy Trader. These two platforms are available for Standard and Micro Accounts. A third platform is available to the larger, Active Trader accounts, and goes by the name Active Trader.
These platforms have won awards such as Best Retail FX Platform from FX Week, and are often used by other Introducing Brokers and Partners of FXCM. All three offer a full palette of trading tools and charts, are easy to use, and don’t make excessive computer resource demands.
FXCM does offer demo accounts, and some of these do not expire as long as they are logged into at least once a month, which permits analysis and testing in a simulated environment even after live trading is initiated.
Accounts can be funded with credit and debit cards, bank wire, paper checks, and automated clearing house (ACH) payments.
The web site is well designed, easy to navigate, and offers extensive education, account reporting, and forums for interaction with other traders.
http://www.fxcm.com/
