Forex.com Review
What’s The Attraction?
At first I was hesitant on testing Gain Capital’s FOREX.com. I had tested it many months ago and I did not like it. However, thanks to the recommendation of a friend I decided to see what the attraction was, and when I saw it I nearly fell off my chair: trailing stops!
If you are not familiar with trailing stops, or have been disheartened by other trailing stop brokers then you’ve finally found the right place. We’ll talk more about it in the next section.
Live & Demo Differences
We saw no difference between the demo and live accounts.
What We Liked About FOREX.com:
TRAILING STOPS! FOREX.com have set a high standard with this feature in our opinion. Let’s look at it in further detail: the trailing stop can only be entered as a separate order, unfortunately you
cannot attach it to an entry stop or limit order (which slightly dampens the mood). Once you are in an order you can enter your trailing stop limit in pips to trail the market the distance you have set with the closest distance you can go being 10 pips.
Along with FOREX.com’s trailing stop feature they have some other order types such as:
- If-Then
- OCO
- If-Then OCO
They also claim that they can guarantee stop and limit orders (although I don’t know whether this will soon change).
The charting package provided by FOREX.com is reasonable.
Just recently we’ve discovered that Gain Capital have a facility whereby you can download 5 years of tick data on the 6 major currencies! Not only that, you can also download a FREE DDE application whereby you can obtain live quotes!!! To receive the data all you need do is ask them – it’s that easy (as the website has not been indexed by Google – you will not find it by searching – we will not disclose the web address here as the data may be available only to Gain clients).
What We Didn’t Like About FOREX.com:
There is still a lot left to be desired with FOREX.com with one of the main concerns being that you cannot attach stop loss orders to OCO orders. Meaning that if you were to place a strangle on the market you could not attach a stop loss order until AFTER it is executed. Not really a good idea as OCO orders are great to place during volatile periods so you need that stop loss order in case things reverse against you – FAST.
FOREX.com has a web based platform which is not our preferred choice of platform with only 14 currency pairs available: EUR/USD, USD/JPY, GBP/USD, USD/CHF, USD/CAD, AUD/USD, EUR/JPY, EUR/GBP, EUR/CHF, GBP/JPY, AUD/JPY, CHF/JPY, EUR/AUD, GBP/CHF.
The news section mainly comprises of brokers opinions and articles from such institutions. Just give us the live news headlines – how simple can it be?
You can only open an account in USD. This is fine for US customers, but can be a little annoying for our international partners who have a currency that is appreciating against the USD – which has been most of them throughout the last couple of years. Of course this can work the other way too. I think it would be great if a brokerage firm could offer the ability to have multiple currency denominated accounts so that the customer can have their capital appreciate over the long-term by transferring funds into the currency that will appreciate the best in the long-term. The client receives the income from their trading activities, plus the appreciation of their capital.
In summary then…
FOREX.com PROS:
- Trailing Stop!!!
- 200:1 leverage for mini’s 100:1 leverage for standard contracts
- Guaranteed fills on stop and limit orders (don’t know how long that will last?)
- OCO, If-Then & If-Then OCO type orders
- Charting package ok
- FREE historical tick data on the 6 majors going back 5 years!
- FREE live data feed (through DDE)
FOREX.com CONS:
- Web based platform
- News could be better
- USD accounts only
FOREX.com Rating
The trailing stop feature is the only thing holding up FOREX.com’s rating. If they did not have this feature I would reduce it down to 2.5/10, which just goes to show that if you have a PROPER trailing stop feature you can earn extra points in our rating system!
If you would like to add your review on Forex.com just click the link labelled “Leave a Comment” below
Tags: FOREX.com, Forex Broker
November 14th, 2006 at 2:31 am
I signed up for a practice account to evaluate them. All of a sudden couldnt login one day. Accessed their support chat. Was told: “something technical; can one of our forex specialists call you”… Yeah right! Since I entered a bogus number when registering for the practice account; quite possibly a SALES CALL!!!
January 13th, 2007 at 2:51 pm
There guarentee on Stop Loss order is fake. Once my SL order was executed after 25 points. But in case if your Take profit order is delayed, you will not get any penny extra. It will goes to their acount.
February 2nd, 2007 at 11:05 am
they are the worst stay away from them i have a bad experience with this broker..
August 16th, 2007 at 5:15 pm
Had a very un-nerving experience with FOREX.com today. Ive been trading with them for about 6 months now, just small amounts, learning the trade so to speak. Anyway I now have a very solid trading system making very handsome profits off minimal amount. Anyway, I had a very solid morning trading. Took the profit, walked away, and come back for the European open, placed trade and within 20 minutes 30 pips up. Good I thought, Ill take that. Little did I know….denied… Page froze, no exit trade was being allowed, and to make matters worse I decided to check FOREX.com’s rates (I have had my suspicions about them for a while now, and am currently changing brokers) and low and behold they were 30+ pips of the current rate quoted by 80+ banks. Seems strange huh. Well I decided Id talk to them point out the problem… Reply was they see no problem with the rates server. Yes, true the rates server was probably running correctly, however its not the connection I was concerned about, more the difference in Quoted rates. Anyway, if you want to try them feel free, look around though read a few reviews, they are not a reputable trader. They and their parent company (Gain Capital) have been removed from the NFC website (which regulates reputable brokers), am beginning to think they are just another Bucket Shop.
December 9th, 2007 at 12:56 pm
I have chatted with one of Forex.com’s advisers, because I was very keen on opening an account with them. I have been trading with another company and so far I am doing OK. I just thought some other features of Forex.com might help me understand the ins and outs of this whole business, like live advise on trends, and the promise of giving tips on how to make profits (all traders promise the same thing anyways). But now I am concerned about their alleged (by Nui) failure to execute stop orders especially when I want to take my profit out, or when my account is bleeding off losses. Boy, that’s scary.
My trader not (Forex.com) has never failed so far in executing stop orders, whether profit or loss. Just click the box and the whole position halts (buy or sell), and you will see your profit or loss right away. I can set trail limits if my position is going down, and set limit to profit when it goes up (and I am at the mall shopping). I admit I am new to this (just 1 month into it) and I do not understand everything, but their Trading Platform is so easy to use (user friendly) that it will only take a novice 15 minutes to figure out how to use it. All the necessary boxes to click are there: Currency, charts, stop limit orders, everything you need to start trading.
What is most interesting is their low investment requirement. I got to start with a very minimal amount which did not hurt my budget, so I am just like playing with it right now. They even gave me my bonus dollars as reward for opening an account with them. So far, I haven’t had any problems with them, and they were very accomodating everytime I chatted with them to ask a few questions.
I am not a partner trader of this company (yet), so I am not soliciting clients. But if you are interested to know which trader I am dealing with, just email me at observer502@hotmail.com and I will be happy to tell you. Of course, this does not make me responsible for any undesired losses on your part. You know what forex trading means. If you lose, try again. If you make profits, just say CHEERS! And donate a few bucks to your favorite charity. Good luck!
February 18th, 2008 at 10:32 pm
If you have money to burn, then this is the site for you. If you go there and win. You are a pro
July 29th, 2008 at 4:08 am
Very concern after reading all the reviews about GAIN Capital Group, LLC. (forex.vom), they are opening an office in Mexico on August 1,2008. Hope they don´t do the same over there (Hard to believe) Anyway I´ll stay away from them.
August 26th, 2008 at 1:53 pm
Wow people are very ignorant with the forex market and very obviously uneducated. It is past August 1, 2008 and they have no plans what so ever to open an office in Mexico. Where do these people come from? I have been trading with them for over a year now and never had one problem. I have read most of these reviews, and these people expect to open an account with $250 and want to turn it into 1,000,000. These people are very foolish.
October 7th, 2008 at 3:30 am
Never ever trade on forex.com…I was executing a trade and when I wanted to modify the info..application started giving error message….I couldn’t change anything for an hour and lost $1200..One of the most buggy platform..If you really want to burn ur money..then go for forex.com
October 30th, 2008 at 4:09 am
The look and feel is nice, but that’s all. The system is buggy and freezes. The data is delayed and charts are inconsistent. Here is the chat session where they admit problems
Chat InformationPlease wait for a site operator to respond.
Chat InformationYou are now chatting with ‘Anthony A’
Anthony A: Hello Client, welcome to FOREX.com. May I have your email address to better assist you?
Anthony A: Thank you for your information, how may I assist you?
Client: Well. I tried using your platform and made some trades.
Client: I noticed many issues with your platform that are unacceptable. For example, the Charts do not show correct data, the settings can not be saved, etc
Anthony A: Which version of FOREXTrader are you using: FOREXTrader for Windows, FOREXTrader.java, or FOREXTrader.web?
Client: Windows
Anthony A: There are two charts that are available on that platform. Charts v1.0 are supplied by a third party. The rates there are the average between the bid and the ask.
Anthony A: The other charts follow the bid rate that is in the dealing panel.
Client: Also the charts between Charts V1.0 and new charts are inconsistent and show different data
Client: The new charts get stuck and do not show data until I quit and reopen application
Anthony A: Please make sure you have downloaded the latest updates for your computer using Windows Update.
Client: or use the scroll left and right arrows
Client: My computer is completely updated and as a software developer I can tell that it has nothing to do with your platform
Client: Since I had all the problems, I want to get the money I lost back.
Client: around $147
Anthony A: There may be a delay of a few seconds for the rates on the charts.
Client: There is a at least a minute delay between two charts
Anthony A: Are you using both charts v1.0 and the Beta charts?
Client: Yes.
Anthony A: As I said, Charts v1.0 are supplied by a third party. The rates there are the average between the bid and the ask. The other charts follow the bid rate that is in the dealing panel.
Client: Beta charts are useless. They neiher show correct data nor keep my settings
Client: In any case I want my money back $147 and cents
Anthony A: Unfortunately, you placed the trades already and there was nothing preventing you from doing so from a technical standpoint. As a result, you wouldn’t be able to receive a credit.
Client: My trades where unfortunately based on erroneous and delay information provided by your system.
Client: As a result I am entitled to credit
Anthony A: We go by what our system shows. The trades have been placed already. We don’t keep a record of technical issues. I can go ahead and remote login to your computer to find out what is the issue to prevent any future discrepancies. However, if you feel you were trading an erroneous data, there was nothing stopping you from calling us to get the current rate or place trades.
Client: There will be not future discrepancies, since I am not going to use your system any longer. Unfortunately, I realized that I was trading erroneous data and looking at wrong charts after I placed the trades and lost money.
Anthony A: I apologize that you experienced that issue and that you want to close the account. There is nothing we can do for these transactions that were placed.
Anthony A: Is there anything else I can assist you with?
Client: Please let me speak with your manager.
Anthony A: One moment please.
Anthony A: Thank you for your patience. One more moment please.
Client: Sure
Teresa: Hello my name is Teresa and I am a manager on the floor
Client: Hello Teresa
Client: I assume that Anthony fill you in on the issue
Teresa: Yes I have read the chat.
Teresa: There will be a discrepancy between the two charts on the platform. One is using a third party provider and one is not.
Teresa: If you believed the charts to be delayed you can call in and we can give you the current rates or log onto your computer and see the delay.
Client: Great. For the reason I described above, I want to get my money back. Your system does not tell me which is 3rd party which is yours.
Teresa: We will not be crediting the account.
Teresa: You can call at any time and ask us to log onto your computer if you believe there is a problem with the charts before you trade on them.
Client: It’s not a large amount of money to keep me from terrible reviews
Teresa: I am sorry but we cannot give credits for these trades just becuase it is not a large amount.
Teresa: We have to have the same polices regardless of the credit size.
Client: When I used your system to trade I can’t assume that you have problems. I assume that you are proffessionals in what you do and provide people with good tools to trade
Teresa: We are and so are the tools.
Client: So why do you tell me to verify the trades that I am placing?
Teresa: You placed trades and left them on the platform until orders you placed were executed.
Teresa: The system worked propely.
Teresa: You were not exiting the trades based on the charts you placed orders which exited once the rates you choose were hit.
Teresa: I am sorry but a credit is not due to this account.
Teresa: If you still feel like there is a discrepancy with the charts we can log onto your computer and see what you are seeing and try to correct it.
Client: When I placed the trades they where executed with stop loss orders. Just like any normal trader would do. However, they where placed based on erroneous information
Client: There is no point in doing that since I am not going to use your system
Teresa: If you believed the charts were incorrect you could of called and asked us to look at your platform.
Teresa: However you did not and we cannot verify the rates you traded based on were not the rates at the time.
Teresa: If you entered a trade and the rate was different than the chart you should of called or visited chat right away and we could verify the rates.
Teresa: However you remained in the trades.
Client: How could I believe that charts where wrong? The studies where wrong, rate may have been ok.
Teresa: The studies on the charts are not incorrect.
Client: There you have it…
Teresa: This account is not due a credit is there anything else I can assist you with?
Client: The charts are wrong, the rate is delayed, it will make a ‘good’ review for your future clients.
Client: As the matter of fact, I will post this chat on line as well.
Client: It is worth a lot more that 147 that I lost
Teresa: If your charts are not correct we would be happy to log onto your computer to see what you are seeing. We are not aware of any delays our systems here are working properly.
Teresa: Like I stated above we have to have the same policies for all clients regardless of the credit size.
Teresa: We would have to see what you are seeing to correct it.
Teresa: We are not hearing this form other clients.
Client: Look all you have to is to open Charts v1 and beta charts and look at 1 candle sticks
Client: I mean 1 minute
Teresa: The two charts are provided by different providers there will be a discrepancy of those/
Teresa: We do this so you can verify that the rates are in the same range as all other trading providers.
Teresa: Soon we will only have the beta charts on the platform we are no longer going to subscribe to the 1.0 charts.
Teresa: However they are not supposed to be identical.
Client: I understand that you are in process of development. However, that does not help me. It would also help to have a notice or warning
Teresa: We provide two different charts we do not need to have a warning about that.
Teresa: It is a tool you can decide to use or not.
Teresa: Is there anything else I can assist you with?
Client: I used your beta charts and they got stuck for a lease few minutes and I had to scroll left and right and after that the system froze for few minutes and came back with updated candle charts
Client: I you can help me and your company by returning my money.
Teresa: I am sorry there is not a credit due this account.
Teresa: We will not be crediting the account.
Teresa: Is there anything else I can assist you with?
Client: yes, credit my account for the money that were lost due to terrible Forex system of yours
Anthony A: You already spoke to a manager and as I also said, we will not be able to credit you.
Chat InformationThere may be a problem communicating with Anthony A. Please wait while your chat is transferred to another operator.
November 5th, 2008 at 9:19 am
i would like to suggest a simple scalping system that can be easily understand and work best with GBP/JPY using Fibonacci’s line
March 2nd, 2009 at 5:18 pm
absolutely asshole !!!
believe me, and dont waste your money !
spread sox !, they reject the trade whenever they want !
supporting sox !!!!
please just dont waste your money !!! trust me !
March 11th, 2009 at 8:36 pm
The tools are Great! However these guys got something goin on…… the server freezes all the time and they close out your positions, especially if you are making money…..Conspiracy—-u decide
March 23rd, 2009 at 8:07 pm
I made some trades in 2008 and I stopped using forex.com after a total loss of 270.
It is true the server freezes sometimes and there are chances that your orders may not be filled as desired.
But the platform seems simple and clear to understand than DealBook360 which is hard to figure out. DealBook360 needs sometime to understand it. I really don’t like forex.com’s pips. I think they are rip offs. When market is volatile you probably can make some profit if you are careful plus pip is reasonable, but at the time you don’t make much money pip is high and they just discourage you from trading.
Anyway I liked forex trading than stocks, because in stocks you have to wait more than three days for your money to settle, which was not profitable as compared to forex.
So the question is which platform is the best for forex trading? I don’t know.
I am researching which on which one to go for. However, I won’t be going back to forex any more rather I prefer going for DealBook360 which I have not yet tried. I rate forex.com 3.5//10
May 9th, 2009 at 8:56 am
Try demo …didn’t like it! Their commercial is all over TV but BE AWARE!
August 28th, 2009 at 1:09 pm
7/20/09 I had numerous small issues with FOREX.com in the first few weeks of using it. Their system seemed to freeze frequently. I double checked that it was their issue by using many different computers with many different connections ranging from DSL to T1. When I pointed it out to them they blamed my system. I tried to continue to use their system but after 4 of my winning trades were wiped out as if they never existed I had to cancel my account. I experienced many other glitches like a sudden price drop that wiped out a stop set to 40 pips away. I suspected foul play because streaming data from other services showed no sudden drop. Their reply to all of this is that their system is working properly and there is nothing they can do. They will refuse to refund any money under any circumstances. I hope if you are considering them that you use a different currency broker or platform. Also, since this time I have read many books that reveal how trading currency is nearly impossible on a regular basis by a typical consumer. Beware of currency trading but most importantly give yourself a fair chance and stay away from FOREX.com