FXCM comments on the CFTC requirements

Last week, the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) released its final rules regarding off-exchange retail Forex Forex Foreign exchange or forex is the act of converting one nation’s currency into another nation’s currency (that possesses a different currency); for example, the converting of British Pounds into US Dollars, and vice versa. The exchange of currencies can be done over a physical counter, such as at a Bureau de Change, or over the internet via broker platforms, where currency speculation takes place, known as forex trading.The foreign exchange market, by its very nature, is the world’s largest trading market by volume. According to the Bank of International Settlements (BIS) latest survey, the Forex market now turns over in excess of $5 trillion every day, with the most exchanges occurring between the US Dollar and the Euro (EUR/USD), followed by the US Dollar and the Japanese Yen (USD/JPY), then the US Dollar and Pound Sterling (GBP/USD). Ultimately, it is the very exchanging between currencies which causes a country’s currency to fluctuate in value in relation to another currency – this is known as the exchange rate. With regards to freely floating currencies, this is determined by supply and demand, such as imports and exports, and currency traders, such as banks and hedge funds. Emphasis on Retail Trading for ForexTrading the forex market for the purpose of financial gain was once the exclusive realm of financial institutions.But thanks to the invention of the internet and advances in financial technology from the 1990’s, almost anyone can now start trading this huge market. All one needs is a computer, an internet connection, and an account with a forex broker. Of course, before one starts to trade currencies, a certain level of knowledge and practice is essential. Once can gain some practice using demonstration accounts, i.e. place trades using demo money, before moving on to some real trading after attaining confidence. The main two fields of trading are known as technical analysis and fundamental analysis. Technical analysis refers to using mathematical tools and certain patterns to help decide whether to buy or sell a currency pair, and fundamental analysis refers to gauging the national and international events which may potentially affect a country’s currency value. Foreign exchange or forex is the act of converting one nation’s currency into another nation’s currency (that possesses a different currency); for example, the converting of British Pounds into US Dollars, and vice versa. The exchange of currencies can be done over a physical counter, such as at a Bureau de Change, or over the internet via broker platforms, where currency speculation takes place, known as forex trading.The foreign exchange market, by its very nature, is the world’s largest trading market by volume. According to the Bank of International Settlements (BIS) latest survey, the Forex market now turns over in excess of $5 trillion every day, with the most exchanges occurring between the US Dollar and the Euro (EUR/USD), followed by the US Dollar and the Japanese Yen (USD/JPY), then the US Dollar and Pound Sterling (GBP/USD). Ultimately, it is the very exchanging between currencies which causes a country’s currency to fluctuate in value in relation to another currency – this is known as the exchange rate. With regards to freely floating currencies, this is determined by supply and demand, such as imports and exports, and currency traders, such as banks and hedge funds. Emphasis on Retail Trading for ForexTrading the forex market for the purpose of financial gain was once the exclusive realm of financial institutions.But thanks to the invention of the internet and advances in financial technology from the 1990’s, almost anyone can now start trading this huge market. All one needs is a computer, an internet connection, and an account with a forex broker. Of course, before one starts to trade currencies, a certain level of knowledge and practice is essential. Once can gain some practice using demonstration accounts, i.e. place trades using demo money, before moving on to some real trading after attaining confidence. The main two fields of trading are known as technical analysis and fundamental analysis. Technical analysis refers to using mathematical tools and certain patterns to help decide whether to buy or sell a currency pair, and fundamental analysis refers to gauging the national and international events which may potentially affect a country’s currency value. Read this Term trading, which will take effect on October 18, 2010. FXCM would like to address some questions concerning the new leverage rules.

5% margin (20:1 leverage)

Exotic Currency Pairs, 10K Standard LLC Accounts, Exotic (Variable) Margin:

By October 18, 2010, the maximum leverage available with FXCM LLC for trading will be 50:1 for major currency pairs and 20:1 for exotic currency pairs.

2% Margin (50:1 leverage) Major Currency Pairs

10K Standard LLC Accounts

“We believe that the reduction in leverage is a reasonable compromise from the initial CFTC proposal of 10:1 leverage. FXCM does believe lower leverage will be to the benefit of traders as higher leverage can often times result in a few losing trades offsetting many winning trades,” commented Drew Niv, CEO of FXCM. “FXCM has already implemented 50:1 as the default margin setting on FXCM LLC standard Forex Trading Forex Trading Forex trading is the buying and selling of foreign currencies with the aim of generating a profit. The value of currencies, especially floating currencies, fluctuate to varying degrees. This constant volatility of exchange rates opens the door for speculators to invest in a certain currency against another. The Forex market is the world’s biggest and most liquid market, with over $5 billion turnover every single day, with the market being open 24 hours a day, 5 days a week.It goes without saying that forex trading is a very attractive market for not only banks and hedge funds, but even for the small individual trader, due to the low barriers for entry. One literally only needs a computer with an internet connection, and some money deposited with a forex broker. As a simple example, if you were very confident that the Euro (EUR) was going to gain strength against the US Dollar (USD) in the mid to long term, then you may decide to buy (or go long on) EUR/USD. If the EUR/USD was trading at 1.1500 at the time of purchase, a €10000 investment would have cost you $11500. As time goes by, if the EUR/USD gets stronger, e.g. its exchange rate moves to 1.2000 over the course of a few months, and you decided to close your trade there and then, you would have netted $12000, i.e. a profit of $500. No One-Size-Fits-All Approach to Forex Trading Whilst forex trading is easy to delve into, it’s notoriously difficult to master, especially for those without a financial background. A lot of time and effort is needed to practice trading on demo and eventually on real accounts. No doubt it takes dedication, discipline and patience, along with developing an edge to beat the market. That edge is gained by studying at least one of two fields, known as technical analysis and fundamental analysis. The former involves looking at currency charts, seeking out certain patterns using tools and software known as price action and indicators to help determine which way a particular forex pair may meander.By extension, the latter involves focusing on the latest news reports and geopolitical situation of the countries involved. Forex trading is the buying and selling of foreign currencies with the aim of generating a profit. The value of currencies, especially floating currencies, fluctuate to varying degrees. This constant volatility of exchange rates opens the door for speculators to invest in a certain currency against another. The Forex market is the world’s biggest and most liquid market, with over $5 billion turnover every single day, with the market being open 24 hours a day, 5 days a week.It goes without saying that forex trading is a very attractive market for not only banks and hedge funds, but even for the small individual trader, due to the low barriers for entry. One literally only needs a computer with an internet connection, and some money deposited with a forex broker. As a simple example, if you were very confident that the Euro (EUR) was going to gain strength against the US Dollar (USD) in the mid to long term, then you may decide to buy (or go long on) EUR/USD. If the EUR/USD was trading at 1.1500 at the time of purchase, a €10000 investment would have cost you $11500. As time goes by, if the EUR/USD gets stronger, e.g. its exchange rate moves to 1.2000 over the course of a few months, and you decided to close your trade there and then, you would have netted $12000, i.e. a profit of $500. No One-Size-Fits-All Approach to Forex Trading Whilst forex trading is easy to delve into, it’s notoriously difficult to master, especially for those without a financial background. A lot of time and effort is needed to practice trading on demo and eventually on real accounts. No doubt it takes dedication, discipline and patience, along with developing an edge to beat the market. That edge is gained by studying at least one of two fields, known as technical analysis and fundamental analysis. The former involves looking at currency charts, seeking out certain patterns using tools and software known as price action and indicators to help determine which way a particular forex pair may meander.By extension, the latter involves focusing on the latest news reports and geopolitical situation of the countries involved. Read this Term accounts and, as a result, the new leverage requirements will have a minimal impact on our Standard 10k LLC accounts.”

Additionally, as of October 18, 2010, all referring brokers introducing business to registered FCMs or Retail Foreign Exchange Dealers will be required to formally register with the CFTC as Introducing Brokers and become NFA members.

In anticipation of this rule, FXCM has already initiated procedures to be in compliance as of October 18. In fact, FXCM began encouraging all referring brokers to seek registration as Introducing Brokers months before the CFTC published its final rules.