50 Words on - Why you can go Broke with FxPro?

Slippage and the fact that order execution is not guaranteed are apparently big problems of this broker and in large quantities could cause you to go broke!!! It’s true that slippage cannot be completely avoided in trading and there are very few brokers who guarantee your orders but the Internet complaints regarding these FxPro issues are piling up.

 

How can you avoid going broke with FxPro?

Well, it took me about five years of research to write this review. Let me explain – I didn’t actually spent five full years on their website or on the Internet looking for information about them but about five years ago, when I was a green trader (I still am, because learning never stops), I stumbled upon this broker and I considered them one of the best I’ve seen. Unfortunately for me, their minimum deposit was 10 thousand bucks if I remember correctly. Definitely out of my league at the time. So I figured this is gonna be my broker when I have enough money. During the five years that passed I kept going back to FxPro, comparing them to other brokers I was interested in, but I never opened an account with FxPro, although they lowered the initial deposit requirement in the mean time. Why didn’t I open an account? Not sure. Probably because I’m satisfied with my broker and I didn’t feel the need for a change. Anyway, if you want to open an account with FxPro, here’s how to avoid going broke:

• Do not trade during news releases or at times of high volatility
• Do not trade when the market lacks volume and price has no direction. Spreads usually increase in times of low liquidity.
• Try to avoid EA trading because EAs are highly affected by slippages or missed trades.
• Use sound money management to protect against big draw downs generated by gaps
• Check your leverage and never allow your account to become over-leveraged. A 3 pip delay will be almost irrelevant to your account if you are using the correct leverage.
• Try to avoid scalping as much as possible and go for a higher time frame.

 

 

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly on FXPro

Old Timers with a Fresh Attitude

FxPro has been in business since 2006 and was granted a license by the CySEC in March 2007. In early 2010, they received regulation from the UK Financial Services Authority, a regulation which was renewed in April 2013 by the newly formed Financial Conduct Authority. This little history lesson shows us that FxPro has been in business long enough to earn respect and to have their professionalism recognized by two major regulatory authorities. A scam broker or simply a bad one can “live” a year, two or maybe even three, but a lot of time has passed since 2006 and FxPro is still here, continuing to be one of the biggest players in the industry.

Moving to more concrete information: FxPro offers both a standard MT4 account with a minimum deposit of $500 and an ECN account (available only on their proprietary platform cTrader) with a minimum deposit of $1,000. Leverage goes as high as 500:1, spreads are reasonable for the Meta Trader 4 account and on the ECN account, they can be as low as zero but a $65 commission is charged for every 1 million USD traded. There are no restrictions regarding scalping or EA usage and hedging is allowed. More than that, FxPro operates under the Agency Model, thus eliminating the conflict of interests between broker and client. Considering their “longevity” and long time double regulation, FxPro is regarded by us as one of the top-tier brokers in the industry and one we highly recommend, although it does have some Bad parts… just like everyone.

 

Dark Side of the Moon

Remember the $65 commission for every million bucks traded (that’s 10 standard lots)? Well, this commission applies once upon opening a trade and again for closing the trade, making your actual cost $130 for each million dollars traded. This is understandable, considering the fact that in Forex when you are closing a transaction you are actually taking the opposite side of the market so you could say you are opening a new trade which nullifies the first one. Ok, it’s understandable but it’s still something that we don’t like; however, we appreciate the fact that FxPro’s website clearly informs clients about this “double” charge in their FAQ section.

The spreads offered by FxPro for Meta Trader 4 accounts are not the best we’ve seen; not the worst either, but frankly, I would have expected more from them. Not having extremely tight spreads makes trading difficult for scalpers who aim for 2-5 pips but the issue almost goes away if you are trading a higher time-frame. Another somewhat annoying thing is the fact that you are not allowed to withdraw to a credit card more than you have deposited with that card. Profits will be sent via wire transfer and international bank transfers carry additional fees which no one is happy to pay. Overall, the Bad things mentioned are not a deal-breaker and not something that would make a trader run away, but there are some Ugly complaints regarding their order execution and the almost usual “It’s a Scam” allegation:

 

Overzealous employee? Not Necessarily a Bad Thing.

The first thing that stands out when looking for client-reviews on ForexPeaceArmy.com is actually a begging plea from FXPro employees to stop “pretending to be clients leaving review…” [1]. Well what were you thinking guys?? You have the option to leave comments and reviews, and as it turns out, excited employees sometimes take advantage of it. Is that a bad thing? Would I avoid trading with this broker just because the staff is leaving “fake” comment? I don’t think so. I actually think it shows lots of commitment from FXpro personnel, for good or for worse.

Anyhow, FPA’s page dedicated to FXpro is quite extensive. Right at the beginning of the thread dedicated to FxPro user reviews, you can find that warning issued by FPA. What can I say… that’s a cheap move coming from FxPro and I think they should let their clients speak their minds, not spam the forums. I only hope that an overzealous employee (without the consent of upper level management) wanted to boost up their ratings and ended up doing more harm than good. Well, if that’s the case, fire him/her please and let’s end the charade.

Other angry and sometimes unintelligible users are opening big nasty mouth against FXPro.The first guy wrote his comment in June 2012 warning us FxPro is about to close (he must have heard it through the grapevine)… [2] but in April 2013 the FCA renewed their regulation license. Do you actually believe that if all those complaints were true, such a major authority wouldn’t step in and do something instead of renewing the license? And about the second guy… well, I can hardly understand what he is babbling about and I can only imagine how his trading must be so I’m not really surprised he lost money and is now angry. Sure, let’s blame it all on the broker… “totally sceam,,,all frood” (sorry, no translation available) [3].

Of course, there are tons on positive reviews as well, but I am not gonna bore you with all of them. What’s obvious about most of this positive feedback is their authenticity. After long time in business, I feel I could tell the fake and non-personal comments from the real ones. This one here is a good example of very personal and genuine review. What I like about it is that the trader is talking technically. Not just emotions, but rational explanation:

“Fast Deposit and WITHDRAWAL by wire transfer. Very impressed with the withdrawal processing. I am a medium-long term trader, not using any EA, set once and forget it - either hit SL or TP . So far no problem with the trading” [4].

As you can see from the links above (both FPA [1, 2-4] and ForexFactory [5]), happy customers are easy to find and the thing is that almost all FX brokers have both good and bad user reviews. It’s no secret that a lot of traders lose their money in Forex and frustration brings out the worst in people; this materializes in the form of angry comments, abusing Caps Lock and blaming everyone else but themselves. I’m not saying that all negative comments are generated by the poor trading skills of the users and I agree that Fxpro has some Ugly sides, but then again, all brokers do.

 

 

Editor’s Note – Is FxPro a Scam?

Calling FxPro a scam is like saying the Sun scammed you because it went into the clouds right after you decided to wear shorts and a t-shirt. There is no scam suspicion hovering above FxPro’s head as far as I am concerned. Sure there are unsatisfied clients, but McDonald’s has them too and you wouldn’t call them a scam, would you?

 

Bottom Line – Would I trade with FxPro? Yes!

I’m gonna give you a blunt answer: Yes, I would. In fact, I am honestly thinking about opening an account with them. I am not a news trader so slippage shouldn’t be a big concern (if any) and I consider they have successfully withstood the test of time, not to mention their solid regulation which is a major positive in my book.

 

References

1. For 1,2,3,4 visit FPA Reviews
2. Visit ForexPros Comments