Subject to available liquidity, the trading desk is open from 5:15 PM ET Sunday afternoon through 4:00 PM ET Friday afternoon. Quotations, Order Placement,
and Confirmation available online and via
telephone.
On the FXCM Forex
trading platform all trades are executed
in standard sizes of 10,000 base currency
per one lot. There is no maximum trading
volume on the FXCM Trading Station, however,
for trading sizes larger than $10,000,000,
traders must request a quote over the telephone.
Here are some examples:
• U.S. Dollar/ Japanese Yen (10,000
U.S. Dollars)
• Euro/ U.S. Dollar (10,000 Euros)
• Euro/ Great Britain Pound (10,000
Euros)
• Euro/ Japanese Yen (10,000 Euros)
Type
of Orders
The
trading platform provides sophisticated
order entry and tracking of market orders,
entry orders, stop/limit entry orders,
and stop-loss orders. All of the above
orders are Good Until Cancelled (GTC),
which is valid until the order is executed
or cancelled. Click
hereto
learn more about the different types of
orders.
Margin
FXCM enables currency trading
to be conducted on a highly leveraged
basis*. Every trader is able to select
the degree of leverage or gearing that
the trader wishes to employ in trading.
Unless the trader specifies otherwise,
FXCM sets the leverage level at FXCM's
default margin level for the deposited
amount. The requirements for leverage
vary with account size, and may be changed
from time to time at the sole discretion
of the dealing desk, based on volume traded
and market conditions.
Margin
Requirement
Account
Type
Default
Margin Level
Lowest
Available
Margin Level
FXCM
Mini Account
$50
Per Lot (*)
$50
Per Lot (*)
FXCM
100K Account
$1000
Per Lot (**)
$500
Per Lot (**)
FXCM
100K –
Interest Bearing
$2000
Per Lot
$2,000
Per Lot
(*) Not Available
for accounts over $50,000. For more information,
see below*
(**) Not available for accounts over $100,000.
For more information, see below**.
Default
Margin Levels (*)
$300
to $50,000
$50
per lot
$50,001
to $100,000
$100
per lot
$100,001
to $500,000
$200
per lot
Default
Margin Levels (**)
$2,000
to $100,000
$1,000
per lot
$100,001
to $500,000
$2,000
per lot
$500,001
and above
$3,000
per lot
Up
to 200:1 Leverage*
Clients must have approximately 1/2% of
the value of the positions they hold in
their account for each lot of currency being
traded (approximately 200:1 leverage*). This
equates to $50 per lot (10,000 units). This
amount does not change after 5:00 PM New
York time, which is the rollover cut off,
but stays constant at approximately 1/2%
per lot the entire day and overnight.*
Guaranteed
Limited Risk
There is also an important safety feature
imbedded in this system that prevents clients
from losing more money than they have in
the account. Should the account equity --
meaning the total floating value of the
account -- fall below the margin requirement
of approximately 1/2% per lot, the dealing desk will close some or all positions.
Rollover/Interest
Policy
In the spot forex
market, trades must be settled in two
business days. If a trader sells 10,000
euros on Tuesday, the trader must deliver
10,000 euros on Thursday, unless the position
is rolled over. As a service to our traders,
FXCM automatically rolls over all open
positions to the next settlement date
at 5:00 PM New York time.
Rollover involves
exchanging the position being held for
a position expiring the following settlement
date. The positions being exchanged are
usually not valued at the same price.
The amount of the difference varies greatly
based on the currency pair, the interest
rate differential between the two currencies,
and fluctuates day to day with the movement
of prices. On any given day, the rollover
is approximately $1 per lot.
At 5:00 PM New York Time,
funds are subtracted or added to accounts
with open positions because of the automatic
rollover. In the No Dealing Desk you can earn positive rolls regardless of your margin level.
Note: On Wednesdays,
the amount added or subtracted to an account
as a result of rolling over a position
tends to be around three times the usual
amount. This "3-Day" rollover
accounts for settlement of trades through
the weekend period.
Margin:
Managing your Risk in the FX Market
By trading on margin, traders have the ability
control positions much larger than there
deposit. The margin deposit for leverage
is not a down payment on a purchase of equity,
as many perceive margins to be in the stock
markets. Rather, the margin is a performance
bond, or good faith deposit, to ensure against
trading losses.
This is very useful to short-term day traders
who need the enhancement in capital to generate
quick returns. However, leverage
is a double-edged sword. Without
proper risk management, this high degree
of leverage can lead to large losses as
well as gains. To help manage your risk,
FXCM offers a unique margin watcher feature,
which is embedded in the platform. If the
equity in your account drops below the margin
required to maintain your open positions,
the dealing desk will close all open positions.
This guarantees limited risk. You also have
the ability to track your margin in real
time. In the accounts window you will see
two columns: used margin and usable margin.
The used margin indicates funds currently
pledged towards open positions. You can
think of usable margin as your "wiggle"
room. Once usable margin reaches zero,a margin call may ensue and some or all open positions will be closed by the dealing desk.
*Leverage without proper risk management, this high degree of leverage can lead to large losses as well as gains.
