Misleading PRs, FXDD test case
At times I stumble upon all kinds of broker PRs which I believe to be misleading such as this one for instance. I also see PRs of brokers trying to bite their competitors if they were caught with their pants down such as here.
Yesterday I saw the following PR released by FXDD and couldn't help it but gasp. I'm not really familiar with FXDD or its execution method and I can't say for sure that what they wrote below isn't true but I will give some of my insights on this subject. Note that even if they don't explicitly say it, the message this PR is trying to convey is that FXDD is a non dealing desk broker.
"In an open email to its customers FXDD’s Chief Operating Officer, Lubomir Kaneti, made comments about some important, but not widely advertised facts regarding trading Forex with FXDD:"
Question: If it's an open email why do you publish it as a PR then?
First statement:
1. FXDD does not have manual execution. What does that mean for you? Unless you call to place an order over the phone, all trades you make will be processed and executed automatically by our system without any intervention by anyone at FXDD. Simply put, if we show the price and you trade on it, you have a deal. No asterisks and no fine print."
Questions: Really? So if I can call and there's a person there to help me place my trade doesn't it mean you have dealers? If you have dealers doesn't that mean they manually deal?
"if we show the price and you trade on it, you have a deal" Really? But doesn't that mean that you are a market maker because STP/ECN can never guarantee a deal simply because they don't control the market the way market makers do?
Second statement:
"2. FXDD does not use third party middleware to connect Metatrader 4 to interbank Liquidity Liquidity The term liquidity refers to the process, speed, and ease of which a given asset or security can be converted into cash. Notably, liquidity surmises a retention in market price, with the most liquid assets representing cash.The most liquid asset of all is cash itself.· In economics, liquidity is defined by how efficiently and quickly an asset can be converted into usable cash without materially affecting its market price. · Nothing is more liquid than cash, while other assets represent The term liquidity refers to the process, speed, and ease of which a given asset or security can be converted into cash. Notably, liquidity surmises a retention in market price, with the most liquid assets representing cash.The most liquid asset of all is cash itself.· In economics, liquidity is defined by how efficiently and quickly an asset can be converted into usable cash without materially affecting its market price. · Nothing is more liquid than cash, while other assets represent Read this Term. What does that mean for you? Your trading does not depend on the trials and errors of a software company that does not serve you, but instead serves the broker or the other side of your trades. If FXDD fails we make you whole, period. That is why we like to be in control of our technology. This is why FXDD’s Metatrader 4 consistently performs so well and why FXDD’s Metatrader 4 is preferred by traders who develop automated trading scripts called Expert Advisors; they know they can rely on our experience and service."
Questions: So, how do you connect MT4 to your Liquidity Providers Liquidity Providers A liquidity provider (LP) constitutes either individual and/or institution that functions as a market maker in a given asset class. Broadly speaking, liquidity providers will act as the both the buyer and seller of a particular asset, thus making a market. In the equities space, many stock exchanges rely on liquidity providers who make the commitment to provide liquidity in a given equity. These liquidity providers commit to providing liquidity in the hopes that they will be able to make a profi A liquidity provider (LP) constitutes either individual and/or institution that functions as a market maker in a given asset class. Broadly speaking, liquidity providers will act as the both the buyer and seller of a particular asset, thus making a market. In the equities space, many stock exchanges rely on liquidity providers who make the commitment to provide liquidity in a given equity. These liquidity providers commit to providing liquidity in the hopes that they will be able to make a profi Read this Term then? If you do connect it, you must have some kind of software, be that from a third party or your own. And if you have such a software it means YOU control it, right? So what's the real difference?
As a side note: MT4 is a software for market makers. Period. In fact, all NFA registered brokers are market makers and I mean ALL of them. The only non dealing desk broker registered with the NFA is advancedmarkets, and it's not even using an MT4. So unless you plug-in a bridge software to it (which you say you don't) or tweak it to become an ECN (the way FXOpen and MB Trading did and they probably used their own bridges) - what kind of an automatic execution can you offer then?
Third statement:
"3. FXDD does not use any notorious “virtual dealer” trading server plug-ins. What does that mean for you? Apparently, this plug-in can be used to allow for manual execution or tweaking the execution parameters on the trading server. We have never used these plug-ins and we don’t plan to ever use them. And by the way, the NFA knows how to audit for this.
Question: "And by the way, the NFA knows how to audit for this." No comment.
"In summary, Mr. Kaneti added that “FXDD’s goal is to offer excellent service and execution to our clients. We offer top-flight service, personal attention and we care about and listen to our customers. We endorse client education because the more we educate our clients the more informed they will be when choosing which FX dealer they trust and want to do business with.”"
At times I stumble upon all kinds of broker PRs which I believe to be misleading such as this one for instance. I also see PRs of brokers trying to bite their competitors if they were caught with their pants down such as here.
Yesterday I saw the following PR released by FXDD and couldn't help it but gasp. I'm not really familiar with FXDD or its execution method and I can't say for sure that what they wrote below isn't true but I will give some of my insights on this subject. Note that even if they don't explicitly say it, the message this PR is trying to convey is that FXDD is a non dealing desk broker.
"In an open email to its customers FXDD’s Chief Operating Officer, Lubomir Kaneti, made comments about some important, but not widely advertised facts regarding trading Forex with FXDD:"
Question: If it's an open email why do you publish it as a PR then?
First statement:
1. FXDD does not have manual execution. What does that mean for you? Unless you call to place an order over the phone, all trades you make will be processed and executed automatically by our system without any intervention by anyone at FXDD. Simply put, if we show the price and you trade on it, you have a deal. No asterisks and no fine print."
Questions: Really? So if I can call and there's a person there to help me place my trade doesn't it mean you have dealers? If you have dealers doesn't that mean they manually deal?
"if we show the price and you trade on it, you have a deal" Really? But doesn't that mean that you are a market maker because STP/ECN can never guarantee a deal simply because they don't control the market the way market makers do?
Second statement:
"2. FXDD does not use third party middleware to connect Metatrader 4 to interbank Liquidity Liquidity The term liquidity refers to the process, speed, and ease of which a given asset or security can be converted into cash. Notably, liquidity surmises a retention in market price, with the most liquid assets representing cash.The most liquid asset of all is cash itself.· In economics, liquidity is defined by how efficiently and quickly an asset can be converted into usable cash without materially affecting its market price. · Nothing is more liquid than cash, while other assets represent The term liquidity refers to the process, speed, and ease of which a given asset or security can be converted into cash. Notably, liquidity surmises a retention in market price, with the most liquid assets representing cash.The most liquid asset of all is cash itself.· In economics, liquidity is defined by how efficiently and quickly an asset can be converted into usable cash without materially affecting its market price. · Nothing is more liquid than cash, while other assets represent Read this Term. What does that mean for you? Your trading does not depend on the trials and errors of a software company that does not serve you, but instead serves the broker or the other side of your trades. If FXDD fails we make you whole, period. That is why we like to be in control of our technology. This is why FXDD’s Metatrader 4 consistently performs so well and why FXDD’s Metatrader 4 is preferred by traders who develop automated trading scripts called Expert Advisors; they know they can rely on our experience and service."
Questions: So, how do you connect MT4 to your Liquidity Providers Liquidity Providers A liquidity provider (LP) constitutes either individual and/or institution that functions as a market maker in a given asset class. Broadly speaking, liquidity providers will act as the both the buyer and seller of a particular asset, thus making a market. In the equities space, many stock exchanges rely on liquidity providers who make the commitment to provide liquidity in a given equity. These liquidity providers commit to providing liquidity in the hopes that they will be able to make a profi A liquidity provider (LP) constitutes either individual and/or institution that functions as a market maker in a given asset class. Broadly speaking, liquidity providers will act as the both the buyer and seller of a particular asset, thus making a market. In the equities space, many stock exchanges rely on liquidity providers who make the commitment to provide liquidity in a given equity. These liquidity providers commit to providing liquidity in the hopes that they will be able to make a profi Read this Term then? If you do connect it, you must have some kind of software, be that from a third party or your own. And if you have such a software it means YOU control it, right? So what's the real difference?
As a side note: MT4 is a software for market makers. Period. In fact, all NFA registered brokers are market makers and I mean ALL of them. The only non dealing desk broker registered with the NFA is advancedmarkets, and it's not even using an MT4. So unless you plug-in a bridge software to it (which you say you don't) or tweak it to become an ECN (the way FXOpen and MB Trading did and they probably used their own bridges) - what kind of an automatic execution can you offer then?
Third statement:
"3. FXDD does not use any notorious “virtual dealer” trading server plug-ins. What does that mean for you? Apparently, this plug-in can be used to allow for manual execution or tweaking the execution parameters on the trading server. We have never used these plug-ins and we don’t plan to ever use them. And by the way, the NFA knows how to audit for this.
Question: "And by the way, the NFA knows how to audit for this." No comment.
"In summary, Mr. Kaneti added that “FXDD’s goal is to offer excellent service and execution to our clients. We offer top-flight service, personal attention and we care about and listen to our customers. We endorse client education because the more we educate our clients the more informed they will be when choosing which FX dealer they trust and want to do business with.”"