Gain fined $459k for abusive market practices
NFA has accepted Gain Capital and its CEO's offer of settlement and decided to end its case against the company with only a $459,000 fine. Rumors in the market were that the estimated fine would be in the region of $2-3 million, so it seems Gain got out of it pretty lightly.
As a reminder - in July 2010 the NFA has charged Gain with many severe violations of its regulations, mostly specifically for usage of the infamous Virtual Dealer plug-in which made sure that market Slippage Slippage In financial trading, slippage refers to the difference in price between the price an order was intended or expected to be filled and the actual price an order was filled. Slippage is a very contentious issue among retail traders, which can lead to issues. Many traders view levels of slippage at brokers as a key determinant for their business. For example, in forex trading, if a trader places a trade intending to enter a buy on the EUR/USD at 1.1080, but they only get into the market at a price of 1.1078, the slippage here would be two pips. Naturally, there is always going to be a time delay between the trader buying or selling a financial instrument, and the time that the broker is able to execute the order, even if it’s only a few milliseconds, the delay is still there.Why Slippage is an Issue in FX Trading The issue of slippage is exacerbated in high volatile markets, such as the foreign exchange market in particular, as prices can and do change within these few milliseconds, causing the order to be executed at a different price to what was originally requested. Slippage takes one of two forms. Either it is negative slippage, i.e. if the trader enters the market at an inferior position to what they requested.Positive slippage, i.e. if the trader enters the market at a superior position to what they requested, which is welcome of course. For example, if a forex trader places a trade on their broker for buying the USD/JPY at 113.05, but the broker fills the order at 113.08, it means the slippage here is a positive slippage of 3 pips.Slippage is more common in forex trading during economic news releases, when price can fluctuate up and down wildly, known as whipsaws, making it virtually impossible to enter a trade at the intended price. Slippage can also occur due to lack of liquidity, especially on large orders, where they might be an inadequate amount of interest from the other party, since ultimately, orders can only be filled at the requested price if there are enough buyers or sellers at the intended price and size of order.To help eliminate or mitigate slippage, many traders rely on limit orders rather than market orders. A limit order only fills at the price you want, or better. Unlike a market order, it won't fill at a worse price. In financial trading, slippage refers to the difference in price between the price an order was intended or expected to be filled and the actual price an order was filled. Slippage is a very contentious issue among retail traders, which can lead to issues. Many traders view levels of slippage at brokers as a key determinant for their business. For example, in forex trading, if a trader places a trade intending to enter a buy on the EUR/USD at 1.1080, but they only get into the market at a price of 1.1078, the slippage here would be two pips. Naturally, there is always going to be a time delay between the trader buying or selling a financial instrument, and the time that the broker is able to execute the order, even if it’s only a few milliseconds, the delay is still there.Why Slippage is an Issue in FX Trading The issue of slippage is exacerbated in high volatile markets, such as the foreign exchange market in particular, as prices can and do change within these few milliseconds, causing the order to be executed at a different price to what was originally requested. Slippage takes one of two forms. Either it is negative slippage, i.e. if the trader enters the market at an inferior position to what they requested.Positive slippage, i.e. if the trader enters the market at a superior position to what they requested, which is welcome of course. For example, if a forex trader places a trade on their broker for buying the USD/JPY at 113.05, but the broker fills the order at 113.08, it means the slippage here is a positive slippage of 3 pips.Slippage is more common in forex trading during economic news releases, when price can fluctuate up and down wildly, known as whipsaws, making it virtually impossible to enter a trade at the intended price. Slippage can also occur due to lack of liquidity, especially on large orders, where they might be an inadequate amount of interest from the other party, since ultimately, orders can only be filled at the requested price if there are enough buyers or sellers at the intended price and size of order.To help eliminate or mitigate slippage, many traders rely on limit orders rather than market orders. A limit order only fills at the price you want, or better. Unlike a market order, it won't fill at a worse price. Read this Term was always in Gain's favor.
COMPLAINT:
On June 30, 2010, NFA issued a Complaint against Gain and Stevens that cited Gain for engaging in margin and liquidation practices that had a detrimental impact on certain of Gain's customers on certain slipped trades, failing to maintain records for certain unfilled orders that were placed on the MetaTrader Trading Platform Trading Platform In the FX space, a currency trading platform is a software provided by brokers to their respective client base, garnering access as traders in the broader market. Most commonly, this reflects an online interface or mobile app, complete with tools for order processing.Every broker needs one or more trading platforms to accommodate the needs of different clients. Being the backbone of the company’s offering, a trading platform provides clients with quotes, a selection of instruments to trade, real-time updates on quotes, charts and is the main frontend which customers are facing.Brokers either use existing trading platforms and sometimes customize them, or develop their own platform from scratch. Since the beginning of the retail FX trading business MetaQuotes and its platforms MetaTrader 4 (MT4) and MetaTrader 5 (MT5) have been the industry standard, especially when it comes to automated trading.MT4 Shows Resiliency While MT4 has long been seen as ubiquitous amongst brokers’ offerings, a targeted push by MetaQuotes themselves has led to broader adoption of MT5 in recent years. Advanced trading platforms such as MT4 or MT5 also allow access to a wide range of asset classes available for trading.The development of trading platforms over the past decade has failed to successfully dethrone MT4 or MT5, notably in the retail market. However, in institutional markets, brokerage companies and banking entities also construct and utilize proprietary currency trading platforms to help satisfy internal needs with trades executed through institutional trading channels.By far the most important parameter for many retail clients is the optionality and pairs available on trading platforms. Additionally, demand by traders has led to a greater emphasis on newer features such as advanced charting and other tools. In the FX space, a currency trading platform is a software provided by brokers to their respective client base, garnering access as traders in the broader market. Most commonly, this reflects an online interface or mobile app, complete with tools for order processing.Every broker needs one or more trading platforms to accommodate the needs of different clients. Being the backbone of the company’s offering, a trading platform provides clients with quotes, a selection of instruments to trade, real-time updates on quotes, charts and is the main frontend which customers are facing.Brokers either use existing trading platforms and sometimes customize them, or develop their own platform from scratch. Since the beginning of the retail FX trading business MetaQuotes and its platforms MetaTrader 4 (MT4) and MetaTrader 5 (MT5) have been the industry standard, especially when it comes to automated trading.MT4 Shows Resiliency While MT4 has long been seen as ubiquitous amongst brokers’ offerings, a targeted push by MetaQuotes themselves has led to broader adoption of MT5 in recent years. Advanced trading platforms such as MT4 or MT5 also allow access to a wide range of asset classes available for trading.The development of trading platforms over the past decade has failed to successfully dethrone MT4 or MT5, notably in the retail market. However, in institutional markets, brokerage companies and banking entities also construct and utilize proprietary currency trading platforms to help satisfy internal needs with trades executed through institutional trading channels.By far the most important parameter for many retail clients is the optionality and pairs available on trading platforms. Additionally, demand by traders has led to a greater emphasis on newer features such as advanced charting and other tools. Read this Term prior to May 2009, failing to adequately review the activities and promotional material of Gain's unregulated solicitors, failing to respond promptly to certain inquiries and requests made by NFA during NFA's audit of Gain and, together with Stevens, failing to supervise the firm's operations.
DECISION:
On October 27, 2010, NFA's BCC issued a Decision accepting an Offer of Settlement submitted by Gain and Stevens, in which Gain and Stevens neither admitted nor denied the allegations of the Complaint and agreed to settle the case on the following terms: Gain agreed to refund to customers the amount of negative slippage they experienced on the trades that were placed in their accounts between May 1 and July 31, 2009 and which were attributable to the Virtual Dealer Plug-in that Gain used on its institutional and retail servers, Gain agreed to refund to customers the losses they incurred as a result of Gain's practice of adjusting leverage and margin requirements on Fridays, as alleged in Count I of the Complaint; Gain agreed to pay $459,000 to NFA as a monetary sanction; Gain agreed that in the future any and all slippage parameters that Gain uses in determining whether a customer's order will be executed or re-quoted, shall be symmetrical in nature and neither advantageous nor disadvantageous to the customer or to Gain; and Gain agreed not to reinstate its practice of adjusting leverage and margin requirements on Fridays, as described in Count I of the Complaint, which it has discontinued. The Decision made no findings with respect to Count V of the Complaint charging failure to supervise.
Read full documents here.
NFA has accepted Gain Capital and its CEO's offer of settlement and decided to end its case against the company with only a $459,000 fine. Rumors in the market were that the estimated fine would be in the region of $2-3 million, so it seems Gain got out of it pretty lightly.
As a reminder - in July 2010 the NFA has charged Gain with many severe violations of its regulations, mostly specifically for usage of the infamous Virtual Dealer plug-in which made sure that market Slippage Slippage In financial trading, slippage refers to the difference in price between the price an order was intended or expected to be filled and the actual price an order was filled. Slippage is a very contentious issue among retail traders, which can lead to issues. Many traders view levels of slippage at brokers as a key determinant for their business. For example, in forex trading, if a trader places a trade intending to enter a buy on the EUR/USD at 1.1080, but they only get into the market at a price of 1.1078, the slippage here would be two pips. Naturally, there is always going to be a time delay between the trader buying or selling a financial instrument, and the time that the broker is able to execute the order, even if it’s only a few milliseconds, the delay is still there.Why Slippage is an Issue in FX Trading The issue of slippage is exacerbated in high volatile markets, such as the foreign exchange market in particular, as prices can and do change within these few milliseconds, causing the order to be executed at a different price to what was originally requested. Slippage takes one of two forms. Either it is negative slippage, i.e. if the trader enters the market at an inferior position to what they requested.Positive slippage, i.e. if the trader enters the market at a superior position to what they requested, which is welcome of course. For example, if a forex trader places a trade on their broker for buying the USD/JPY at 113.05, but the broker fills the order at 113.08, it means the slippage here is a positive slippage of 3 pips.Slippage is more common in forex trading during economic news releases, when price can fluctuate up and down wildly, known as whipsaws, making it virtually impossible to enter a trade at the intended price. Slippage can also occur due to lack of liquidity, especially on large orders, where they might be an inadequate amount of interest from the other party, since ultimately, orders can only be filled at the requested price if there are enough buyers or sellers at the intended price and size of order.To help eliminate or mitigate slippage, many traders rely on limit orders rather than market orders. A limit order only fills at the price you want, or better. Unlike a market order, it won't fill at a worse price. In financial trading, slippage refers to the difference in price between the price an order was intended or expected to be filled and the actual price an order was filled. Slippage is a very contentious issue among retail traders, which can lead to issues. Many traders view levels of slippage at brokers as a key determinant for their business. For example, in forex trading, if a trader places a trade intending to enter a buy on the EUR/USD at 1.1080, but they only get into the market at a price of 1.1078, the slippage here would be two pips. Naturally, there is always going to be a time delay between the trader buying or selling a financial instrument, and the time that the broker is able to execute the order, even if it’s only a few milliseconds, the delay is still there.Why Slippage is an Issue in FX Trading The issue of slippage is exacerbated in high volatile markets, such as the foreign exchange market in particular, as prices can and do change within these few milliseconds, causing the order to be executed at a different price to what was originally requested. Slippage takes one of two forms. Either it is negative slippage, i.e. if the trader enters the market at an inferior position to what they requested.Positive slippage, i.e. if the trader enters the market at a superior position to what they requested, which is welcome of course. For example, if a forex trader places a trade on their broker for buying the USD/JPY at 113.05, but the broker fills the order at 113.08, it means the slippage here is a positive slippage of 3 pips.Slippage is more common in forex trading during economic news releases, when price can fluctuate up and down wildly, known as whipsaws, making it virtually impossible to enter a trade at the intended price. Slippage can also occur due to lack of liquidity, especially on large orders, where they might be an inadequate amount of interest from the other party, since ultimately, orders can only be filled at the requested price if there are enough buyers or sellers at the intended price and size of order.To help eliminate or mitigate slippage, many traders rely on limit orders rather than market orders. A limit order only fills at the price you want, or better. Unlike a market order, it won't fill at a worse price. Read this Term was always in Gain's favor.
COMPLAINT:
On June 30, 2010, NFA issued a Complaint against Gain and Stevens that cited Gain for engaging in margin and liquidation practices that had a detrimental impact on certain of Gain's customers on certain slipped trades, failing to maintain records for certain unfilled orders that were placed on the MetaTrader Trading Platform Trading Platform In the FX space, a currency trading platform is a software provided by brokers to their respective client base, garnering access as traders in the broader market. Most commonly, this reflects an online interface or mobile app, complete with tools for order processing.Every broker needs one or more trading platforms to accommodate the needs of different clients. Being the backbone of the company’s offering, a trading platform provides clients with quotes, a selection of instruments to trade, real-time updates on quotes, charts and is the main frontend which customers are facing.Brokers either use existing trading platforms and sometimes customize them, or develop their own platform from scratch. Since the beginning of the retail FX trading business MetaQuotes and its platforms MetaTrader 4 (MT4) and MetaTrader 5 (MT5) have been the industry standard, especially when it comes to automated trading.MT4 Shows Resiliency While MT4 has long been seen as ubiquitous amongst brokers’ offerings, a targeted push by MetaQuotes themselves has led to broader adoption of MT5 in recent years. Advanced trading platforms such as MT4 or MT5 also allow access to a wide range of asset classes available for trading.The development of trading platforms over the past decade has failed to successfully dethrone MT4 or MT5, notably in the retail market. However, in institutional markets, brokerage companies and banking entities also construct and utilize proprietary currency trading platforms to help satisfy internal needs with trades executed through institutional trading channels.By far the most important parameter for many retail clients is the optionality and pairs available on trading platforms. Additionally, demand by traders has led to a greater emphasis on newer features such as advanced charting and other tools. In the FX space, a currency trading platform is a software provided by brokers to their respective client base, garnering access as traders in the broader market. Most commonly, this reflects an online interface or mobile app, complete with tools for order processing.Every broker needs one or more trading platforms to accommodate the needs of different clients. Being the backbone of the company’s offering, a trading platform provides clients with quotes, a selection of instruments to trade, real-time updates on quotes, charts and is the main frontend which customers are facing.Brokers either use existing trading platforms and sometimes customize them, or develop their own platform from scratch. Since the beginning of the retail FX trading business MetaQuotes and its platforms MetaTrader 4 (MT4) and MetaTrader 5 (MT5) have been the industry standard, especially when it comes to automated trading.MT4 Shows Resiliency While MT4 has long been seen as ubiquitous amongst brokers’ offerings, a targeted push by MetaQuotes themselves has led to broader adoption of MT5 in recent years. Advanced trading platforms such as MT4 or MT5 also allow access to a wide range of asset classes available for trading.The development of trading platforms over the past decade has failed to successfully dethrone MT4 or MT5, notably in the retail market. However, in institutional markets, brokerage companies and banking entities also construct and utilize proprietary currency trading platforms to help satisfy internal needs with trades executed through institutional trading channels.By far the most important parameter for many retail clients is the optionality and pairs available on trading platforms. Additionally, demand by traders has led to a greater emphasis on newer features such as advanced charting and other tools. Read this Term prior to May 2009, failing to adequately review the activities and promotional material of Gain's unregulated solicitors, failing to respond promptly to certain inquiries and requests made by NFA during NFA's audit of Gain and, together with Stevens, failing to supervise the firm's operations.
DECISION:
On October 27, 2010, NFA's BCC issued a Decision accepting an Offer of Settlement submitted by Gain and Stevens, in which Gain and Stevens neither admitted nor denied the allegations of the Complaint and agreed to settle the case on the following terms: Gain agreed to refund to customers the amount of negative slippage they experienced on the trades that were placed in their accounts between May 1 and July 31, 2009 and which were attributable to the Virtual Dealer Plug-in that Gain used on its institutional and retail servers, Gain agreed to refund to customers the losses they incurred as a result of Gain's practice of adjusting leverage and margin requirements on Fridays, as alleged in Count I of the Complaint; Gain agreed to pay $459,000 to NFA as a monetary sanction; Gain agreed that in the future any and all slippage parameters that Gain uses in determining whether a customer's order will be executed or re-quoted, shall be symmetrical in nature and neither advantageous nor disadvantageous to the customer or to Gain; and Gain agreed not to reinstate its practice of adjusting leverage and margin requirements on Fridays, as described in Count I of the Complaint, which it has discontinued. The Decision made no findings with respect to Count V of the Complaint charging failure to supervise.
Read full documents here.