Forex Trading Handbook
Trading Hours
The trading desk is open 24 hours daily from 17:00pm ET Sunday through 16:30 ET Friday.
Currency Pairs
24-hour trading is available in 14 currency pairs: EUR/USD, USD/JPY, GBP/USD, USD/CHF, USD/CAD, AUD/USD, EUR/JPY, EUR/GBP, EUR/CHF, GBP/JPY, AUD/JPY, CHF/JPY, EUR/AUD, GBP/CHF.
Dealing Spread
Trading Minimums
- Mini Accounts:
Minimum transaction size for mini accounts is 1/10th standard sized lot, or 10,000 of the base currency, with a minimum margin deposit of 0.5% (200:1 leverage). For example, a US$10,000 position would require an initial margin deposit of US$50. - Standard Accounts:
Minimum transaction size for standard accounts is 1 lot, or 100,000 of the base currency, with a minimum margin deposit of 1% (100:1 leverage). For example, a US$100,000 position would require an initial margin deposit of US$1,000.
Fees
Price Quotes
Clients have the ability to execute trades directly from real time streaming bid/ask quotes. Live prices are continuously published to clients via the trading platform, and traders can at any time click on the current bid or offer and instantaneously execute a trade. Prices are updated automatically as market conditions dictate.
Trading over the Internet
Executing a deal with us via the Internet is a simple two-step process. Simply enter the number of lots and then click on the bid (buy) or offer (sell) for the currency pair you wish to trade - your deal is automatically executed. The dealing software automatically calculates the initial margin requirement based upon the notional amount of the deal, and if sufficient funds are available in your account, will accept the transaction. Deals are confirmed online, normally within one second, and the system instantaneously updates both your open position and calculates your current P&L.
Phone Trading
Live clients may trade over the telephone 24 hours a day, from Sunday at 1700 ET through Friday at 1630 ET. When trading via phone, our dealers will quote the same tight spreads available via the dealing platform. All trades executed via the phone are subject to a pre-deal margin availability check and will be manually entered into the customer's account for integrated P&L analysis and reporting. All telephone calls are recorded for the safety of both parties.
Phone Dealing Procedure
- Immediately state your ID and Password.
- State your interest. Always be sure to include the number of lots and the currency pair you are interested in.
Example: “I would like a price on 5 lots of Euro/Dollar.” - The Dealer will then provide a 2-way price quote.
Example: "Euro/Dollar is 1.2416/20" (the first number being the bid, the second the offer) - State your trade.
Example: “At 1.2416, I sell 5 lots of Euro/Dollar,”
or
“At 1.2420, I buy 5 lots of Euro/Dollar” - If you do not wish to deal at the quoted levels, simply say “Nothing Done”, hang up and call again later. Or, place a limit or stop order at your desired level.
- Remember: A price given is the dealing price at that time; haggling is not allowed nor are Traders allowed to remain on the phone until the price changes.
- It is important to remember that Dealing Desk phone lines are reserved for dealing/order purposes only, and that proper Phone Dealing Procedures be observed at all times.
Order Types
The dealing platform provides sophisticated order entry and tracking. Orders may be entered at any rate - inside or outside the existing spread - using the following order types:
- Limit orders
An order with restrictions on the maximum price to be paid or the minimum price to be received. If a trader is long USD/CHF at 1.4627, a limit order would be entered to sell dollars above that price, for example, at 1.4800. - Stop Loss orders
Order type whereby an open position is automatically liquidated at a specific price. Often used to minimize exposure to losses if the market moves against an investor's position.
If the trader above is long USD at 1.4627, a stop loss order could be left at 1.4549, in case the dollar depreciates below 1.4549.
As a rule, sell stops are filled on our bid, and buy stops are filled on our offer. This allows us to fill client stop orders at the rate they requested in almost every case. In the rare instance that the market gaps over a requested rate, the stop is filled at the best available price. This is an important point for traders who are accustomed to being filled on sell stops when the offer reaches the requested order rate. For example, if a stop order is placed to sell USD/CHF at 1.4549, the trader will be filled when the bid reaches 1.4549 (i.e. the bid/offer is 1.4549/54). - One Cancels Other orders (OCO's)
A contingent order providing that one part of the order is cancelled if the other part is executed. This is a particularly useful order type in that it allows traders to execute specific trading strategies based on technical analysis - without having to watch the market tick by tick.
As above, with the trader long USD/CHF at 1.4627, a typical OCO order would be a stop loss at 1.4562 and a limit (take profit) at 1.4700. If one part of the order is filled, the other is automatically cancelled. - If / Then Single
A conditional order providing that if the first order (“If” order) is executed, the second order (“Then” order) is activated as a live, single order.
In cases where the If order does not execute, the Then single order will remain dormant. When either part of an If / Then order is cancelled, all parts of the order are cancelled as well.
An example of an If / Then single order would be to first place an ‘If’ limit order to buy EUR/USD at 1.0690, fifty points below the current market rate of 1.0740. The ‘Then’ part of the order would be a limit sell order to take profit at 1.0770 (eighty pips above the 'If' order execution rate of 1.0690). If the market dips to 1.0690 the ‘If’ order will execute and the ‘Then’ leg of the order will become active. Note: the ‘Then’ order could also have been a stop loss order at 1.0650 (forty pips below the execution rate of 1.0690). - If /Then OCO
A conditional order providing that if the first order (“If” order) is executed, the second order (“Then” order) is activated as a live, One Cancels Other (OCO) order. The execution of either one of the two ‘Then’ orders automatically cancels the other.
In cases where the ‘If’ single order does not execute, the ‘Then’ OCO order will remain dormant. When any part of an If / Then OCO order is cancelled, including either leg of the OCO order, all parts of the order are cancelled as well.
An example of an If / Then OCO order would be to first place an ‘If’ limit order to buy USD/JPY at 118.80, fifty points below the current market rate of 119.30. The ‘Then’ part of the order would be an OCO order: one leg of the OCO could be a limit sell order to take profit at 119.60, (eighty pips above the execution rate of 118.80) the other leg a stop loss order to sell at 118.50 (thirty points below the execution rate). If the market reaches 118.80, the ‘If’ single order is executed, and the ‘Then’ OCO order is activated. If activated, the execution of either leg of the ‘Then’ OCO order automatically cancels the other.
All of the above orders may be entered as Day Orders, entered today and good until end of NY business day (1700 ET). Or, clients may choose to may enter a Good ’til Cancelled Order (GTC), which is valid until the order is executed or cancelled. Orders remain open until they are triggered or cancelled. If you close out a position manually, you must cancel any order(s) relating to that position.
Order Execution
- First In First Out (FIFO)
Open positions are closed according to the FIFO accounting rule. All positions opened within a particular currency pair are liquidated in the order in which they were originally opened. - Stop Loss Orders
As a rule, sell stops are filled on our bid and buy stops are filled on our offer. This is an important point for traders who are accustomed to being filled on sell stops when the offer reaches the requested order rate. For example, if a stop order is placed to sell USD/CHF at 1.4549, the trader will be filled when the bid reaches 1.4549. In the rare instance the market gaps over a requested rate, a stop order is filled at the best available price. - Limit Orders
Sell limit orders are filled when the bid reaches the requested rate; limit orders to buy are filled on the offer. For example, a limit order to buy EUR/USD at 1.0456 will be filled when our offer hits 1.0456. - Good Til Cancelled (GTC) Orders
All GTC orders remain open until they are triggered or cancelled. If you close out a position manually, you must cancel any order(s) relating to that position. - Orders left over the weekend or holidays
Orders left pending at close of trading on Friday at 1630 ET or placed over the weekend are subject to a gap open on Sunday evening when trading starts at 1700 ET. For both stop loss and limit orders - if your order is triggered due to news, events or other fundamental factors, it will not be executed over the weekend. Your order WILL be executed at the prevailing price when the trading desk opens Sunday. Because of the additional gap risk involved, you may want to reconsider leaving open orders over the weekend or holidays.
Margin
The maximum available margin is .5% (200x leverage) for mini accounts and 1% (100x leverage) for standard accounts. Traders always have the option of employing a lower degree of leverage.
The minimum margin requirement is approximately $50 per lot in a mini account and approximately $1000 per lot in a standard account. The requirements for leverage may vary with account size or market conditions, and may be changed from time to time at the sole discretion of the firm.
If maximum leverage is employed, traders must maintain the minimum margin requirement on their open positions at all times. It is the customer's responsibility to monitor his/her margin account balance. The firm has the right to liquidate any or all open positions whenever a trader’s minimum margin requirement is not maintained. This is an important risk management feature designed to strictly limit trading losses in your account.
Margin Example:
USD Based Currency Pair:
Margin = (Contract size / Leverage)
You have $500 in a mini account. To calculate the margin required to execute 8 mini lots of USD/JPY (80,000 USD) at 200x leverage, simply divide the deal size by the leverage amount e.g. (80,000 / 200 = 400). You post $400 margin for this trade, leaving a $100 balance in your account.
Non-USD Based Currency Pair
Margin = [(Contract Size x Price) / Leverage]
In this example, you have $5,000 in a standard account. You want to execute 3 lots of EUR/USD (300,000 Euros) at the current market price of 1.2710 using 100x leverage. To calculate the required margin for this position, multiply the deal size (300,000) by the price (1.2710) and then divide by the leverage (100x), e.g. [(300,000*1.2710)/100] = $3,813. After you executed this trade, you would have a $1,187 balance in your account.
The trading platform automatically calculates margin requirements and checks available funds before allowing you to successfully enter a new position. If you do not have adequate funds available to enter a new position, you will receive an "insufficient margin funds" message when attempting to deal.
If the unrealized P&L of your net total open position falls below your account balance, your account is under margined and all your open positions may be liquidated. To avoid liquidation of your positions, do not use your entire account balance as margin for open positions. Instead, leave enough funds in your account to withstand a market movement against your open positions. We suggest you always use stop loss orders to limit your downside risk.
Please contact us if you wish at any time to use a lower degree of leverage or otherwise adjust the margin settings in your account.
Rollovers
A rollover is the simultaneous closing of an open position for today’s value date and the opening of the same position for the next day’s value date at a price reflecting the interest rate differential between the two currencies.
Open positions are automatically rolled forward to the next day's value date following the close of NY trading at 1700 ET.
Clients have the opportunity to earn interest on rollovers, depending on the direction of their positions and interest rate differential between the two currencies involved. For example, UK interest rates are significantly higher than Japan’s, so if a trader is long GBP/JPY (i.e. holding British Pounds), they will earn interest on the roll. Conversely, if a trader is short GBP/JPY (i.e. holding yen) they will pay interest on the rollover.
The spot forex market is traded on a two-day value date. For example, for trades executed on Monday, the value date is Wednesday. However, if a position is opened on Monday and held overnight (remains open after 1700 ET), the value date is now Thursday. The exception is a position opened and held overnight on Wednesday. The normal value date would be Saturday; because banks are closed on Saturday the value date is actually the following Monday. Due to the weekend, positions held overnight on Wednesday incur or earn an extra two days of interest. Trades with a value date that falls on a holiday will also incur or earn additional interest.
Rollover credits or debits are reflected in the unrealized P&L of the open position, and a rollover report (available in the “Reports” tab of the trading platform) provides additional detail of rollover activity.
Daily Housekeeping
Daily Housekeeping will occur each evening at 1700ET and will last approximately 5 minutes. During that time, back office staff will conduct daily rolls and important system maintenance tasks will be performed. Online trading MAY be unavailable, but we will accept phone orders.
Confirmations
Deals are confirmed on screen, typically within one second. Full transaction details may be accessed on screen as well, including date, time, rate, notional amount bought and sold, USD value, and reference number.
Reporting
The dealing software tracks all trading activity in real time, allowing clients to view current open positions, real-time profit and loss, margin availability, account balances, and all historical transaction details directly on-screen.
Account Statements
Customer account statements are provided online in the Reports section of the trading platform. Customers have access to a full suite of available reports, including account value summary, detailed transaction listing, open positions, etc. Reports may be generated for any date range, and printed or saved for future reference.