Forex.com - Broker Reviewed

I have been with FOREX.com since April 2011. They were initially run by GFT but in 2013 GFT and Gain Capital agree to merge. As of today all of my daily mail comes from "GAIN Capital UK Limited". They are big and they are properly regulated as far as I have researched. 

As the world's economy change, things change as well. One thing about Forex.com they are quite widely spread, they have a different division accepting a different location based customer. I had my account open under the UK division and hence I fall under the ESMA regulation/requirement. After 1st August 2018, the new regulatory framework will limit the Leverage available to all UK based account.

I have no complaints about any services from FOREX.com thought my many years with them. I have made several withdrawals and none of which had an issue. Below is the documentation of my latest and final withdrawal from Forex.com. They are prompt and efficient that is for sure!

Account withdrawal request of US$2,532

Withdrawal conversion of US$2,532 to S$3,405

Why am I closing my account in FOREX.com? As I do not live in the European Union, I hate the fact that I have to abide by the ESMA caps leverage of 1:30. The leverage cap limits and restrains how I usually trade, dropping from 1:500 to 1:30 is a big handicap (in my personal opinion).

Quick Summary:

Trading Respond Time: 10/10

Trading Platform: 10/10

Deposit and Withdrawal: 10/10

Spread: 7/10

Customer Service: 9/10

-DC

Tallinex - Accept US Trader

Adding to the list of Broker I had experience with..

Broker: Tallinex (www.tallinex.com)

Hate the back-office interface, their user interface for account management is so confusing. The withdrawal method is also not self explanatory. The only good thing is that their support is very helpful. I've contacted them 3 times and all 3 time the service provided by suppor was excelent. They resolve your issue on the spot. Contacted them regardless name typo, process and withdrawal error/process requirement. Everything went smoothly after..

The withdrwal from Tallinex to my Singapore Savings account took exactally 3 business day which is excelent. Much better than many other trader that I've seen out there. 

The good thing is that they support US Resident client. If any of you interested to work with them, feel free to give them a try. I would give them a 7/10 just because of their excelent service. If only they have a better user interface.

P.S. : My total withdrawal was $3,400 within a week, with no problem at all.

Tallinex back-office withdrwal request. 

Withdrwal request reflected in Singapore Bank Account.

Alpari UK - Broker Reviewed

I am going to dish out what I feel about Alpari UK as a broker based on my experience with them. Blogging is about how I personally feel so if I am wrong and anyone else have other thoughts about this do remember that this is written from my personal point of view.

Alpari UK as a broker I would give them about a 3.5 out of 5. 

Trading Respond Time:

I have trade with them through MT4 and my experience is pleasant. There was no lagging when placing order for me nor did I have any issue getting a request through any of my trading. Note I am a Price Action Swing trader not a Scalper hence the respond I require are not as critical as what others may required if they try to Scalp on trades.

Spread:

One of the few things I hate about my Alpari UK account was because of its Spread. True that it is not an ECN account nor do I pay any commission for the trades I took but the spread was Huge as Hell !! One of the reason why I dump the account was because it was too much effort to manually estimate the spread on my Target Profit. I got stuck in some position and Missed out on others a couple of time due to spread.

Customer Service:

Excellent customer Service, I was always able to reach someone. They even call me back on my mobile for any enquirer I had. Account Opening took a while as there were document requested and verification to be done, but it did complete smoothly. As far as I remember it was always a pleasant experience.

Deposit and Withdrawal:

Was easy through Credit Card, it is usually smooth sailing when we want to give money out. To my surprise, withdrawal was the same. No question asked, no delay, no sales pitch to keep your money with them. It was a hassle free wire transfer back to my Singapore DBS account within 2 working days. I event left a balance of USD0.05 in that account and they have yet to fuss about it til date (2 months now). With this said I would gladly give Alpari 2 thumbs up for withdrawal. 

Summary:

Alpari is a huge company that has been around for 10 years? Because of how establish they are till date I am still confused how I ended up with Alpari UK. They seem to have Alpari NZ, RU, UK and US ...(I think there are more but not going to drill into it). One thing I understood from discussion with customer service is that if you are a US citizen, you would fall under Aplari US where different limitation, restriction and leverage would be impose. I didn't bother to find out as it was totally not applicable to me.

Then again who am I to complain I exited the broker with over $2000 + change. Total Gain 205.35%

Note: There is a way to work around earning back the high spread paid to Alpari. Its call Cashback, take a look at my previous post (Click Here). You will see that I was paid a small sum of $ taken from what is paid to Aplari of the position traded. *Cheers

Happy Trading..

-DC

IMPORTANT: Alpari UK is no longer available, they got cripple when the central banks lost interest in watching over the CHF/EUR rate.

Reviews - Brokers

I wrote an entry earlier about which is my favorite broker. To be able to choose a favorite, does mean that there are other option to choose from. With this thought, I have decided to try write a review on every broker I had worked with and maybe write a review on every other broker that I would try in the future.

Below is a list of all the broker I've had interaction with in my years of trading.

- Alpari UK

- Armada Markets

- Forex.com

- GFT Asia

- IC Markets

- Oanda - Asia Pacific
- Pepperstone

*Individual Broker reviews entry would be added in due time.

-DC

Tickmill - My Favorite Broker

[Update]: Armada Markets has been rename to Tickmill

Everyone has a favorite, a favorite this, a favorite that, a favorite something ..

For a trader, I've been asked all the time which is my favorite broker; hence I've decided to write a few words about my favorite broker and why. For those who are considering a broker do read on.

The notes below were written when the broker was still known as Armada Markets. Armada Markets have been rebranded and renamed to Tickmill. The management and team stayed the same only the name has been changed.

All links and IB were updated to Tickmill.

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My favorite broker is Armada Markets. I like it so much that I have decided to take the effort to setup an Introducing Broker (IB74772223) service to benefit those who are considering benefiting from this broker. Those who subscribe to Armada through the link below, will instantly receive a 5% off their trade commission. It is like receiving a 5% rebate for the commission you have to pay to the broker when a position is open. 20 cent rebate for 100,000 unit / 1 lot traded maybe a small amount; but who would complain about actually getting rebate on fees paid for great services. [Register Here]

There are so many reason why I love Armada Markets, below are some that I believe is more important than anything else..

1 - Very low/small spread

• Armada Market have one of the smallest spread I've experience. EURUSD having spread of 0.0 pips. The spread does hold out much better than some of the other broker during major news like NFP.

http://www.myfxbook.com/forex-broker-spreads

2 - Very small commission for low spread ECN

• It only cost $2 for every 1 lot traded. a profit of 1 pip per lot is $10, with 0.0 pips spread is well worth the cost. Very good for short term trader and scalping trading strategy.

3 - Responsive and helpful support team from Armada

• I have contacted them several time, and they have always been responsive be it by email or by online chat. They have one of the most helpful support team.

Armada Market Details:
Company: Armada Market Ltd.
Year Open: 2011
Execution Type: CMA, NDD, STP
Commission: Yes, only on Exchange Account
Spreads: As low as 0.0 pips for Exchange Account
Platforms: MT4
Min Trade Size: 0.01 Lot
Max Leverage: 1:500
Min Initial Deposit: $100.00
Accept US Client: No
Account base currency: USD, EUR, GBP, JPY
Deposit Method: Skrill, Neteller, Credit Card, Bank Wire
Withdrawal Methods: Skrill, Neteller, Credit Card, Bank Wire
Hedging: Yes

Leave a remark if you have further question on my Favorite broker or how the IB74772223 service would help you save money when trading with Armada Markets.

-DC