Choosing a Forex Broker in Australia

[syswong]

Hi all,

I am new to this area and in the middle of chooing a forex trader. As far as I know the local ones are IG and OZForex, people said IG is ok except the platform is still developing.

Then there is GFT which is not local but can accept Australia local fund transfer, but people said their spread is bigger then others.

Finally everyone been saying OANDA is good and I have already register a practice account. It looks good. Also I have a hong kong bank account which mean I can transfer fund direct to them instead of using paypal.

What do you guys suggest, any other trader worth considering and out of the four I mentioned, which one should I go with??

[TulipFX]

GoMarkets and Pepperstone are both quite good. Dedicated forex brokers. Use the MT4 platform.

[Alpha_Bet]

Australian based: GoMarkets.
US based: OANDA.
Full contracts: CME Futures

Try using the search engine, your question is not unique.

[Paulo30]

I've found GFT to be quite good, and also OANDA.

It's not like share trading where you really need someone based in Australia. Any overseas company of good repute can do the job quite well. You also need to check out their platforms and be comfortable with that.

For myself I require a good mobile platform, however many use MT4.

[cogs]

What should really help for you to decide who to go with is if you open a demo account with a futures broker and any retail bucket shop using MT4 or similar IG, City Index, CMC FP Global, etc, then open a position with the same stop and take profit distance placed on each, and see how each behave and which closes out first and why.

Apply this to any type of trade to any currency pair to see how each brokers system behaves, I think you will be surprised and it should really help in your decision making.

There are many variables between each broker but the aim is to make money and learn, right?

[tom82]

GoMarkets.
IBFX Australia
Oanda (Asia Pacific)
IFX (A City Index company)
Got Money
Vantage FX
FX Solutions Australia (Also a City Index company)

There are others.

Open demo accounts and try them out, make enquiries with them and test out their customer service.

[tothemax6]

Hi all,

I am new to this area and in the middle of chooing a forex trader. As far as I know the local ones are IG and OZForex, people said IG is ok except the platform is still developing.

Then there is GFT which is not local but can accept Australia local fund transfer, but people said their spread is bigger then others.

Finally everyone been saying OANDA is good and I have already register a practice account. It looks good. Also I have a hong kong bank account which mean I can transfer fund direct to them instead of using paypal.

What do you guys suggest, any other trader worth considering and out of the four I mentioned, which one should I go with??

+1 OANDA

[tayser]

in the next 12-24 months, we won't be talking about "which is the best broker to use" - we'll be talking about "which is the best bank to use for trading FX".

Trading directly with a bank, leap-frogging any middle-man (the broker environment we all use currently), through a DMA (rather than ECN or MM) model, will become the norm when banks start cranking out their platforms - here in AU and offshore (keep an eye on those Crazy Canuckistani banks ).

watch this space.

[imforforex]

Hi All

I am currently running an MT4 demo from goMarkets. I really like the platform but I'm tired of having to donate pips to brokers, especially when doing short term trades.

I heard that there is a broker launching soon offering zero spreads. Has anyone heard the same? Or knows who it is?

imforforex

[TulipFX]

Hi All

I am currently running an MT4 demo from goMarkets. I really like the platform but I'm tired of having to donate pips to brokers, especially when doing short term trades.

I heard that there is a broker launching soon offering zero spreads. Has anyone heard the same? Or knows who it is?

imforforex

There are 3 things which cost you money in forex, and make the money for the broker.

1. Spreads.
2. Commission.
3. Slippage.

If they are going to charge you no spreads, and perhaps even no commission then they will get you on slippage and other skullduggery.

[tayser]

Hi All

I am currently running an MT4 demo from goMarkets. I really like the platform but I'm tired of having to donate pips to brokers, especially when doing short term trades.

I heard that there is a broker launching soon offering zero spreads. Has anyone heard the same? Or knows who it is?

imforforex

LOL. Stay well away from whomever it is then.

There's no such thing as a free lunch and there's always a cost to you to do anything in life (monetary or otherwise), why would a potentially lucrative mechanism for making money be any different?

Just look for a broker that has the tightest spreads, lowest commission and uses a proven platform.

[TulipFX]

We did a very important blog about forex brokers - and how selecting the right forex broker can have a big influence on your trading.

The Impact of your Broker Choice on your Trading Results

[tom82]

GoMarkets.
IBFX Australia
Oanda (Asia Pacific)
IFX (A City Index company)
Got Money
Vantage FX
FX Solutions Australia (Also a City Index company)

There are others.

Open demo accounts and try them out, make enquiries with them and test out their customer service.

I should have listed all the brokers I know of, continuation of list (also not in any particular order).

Forex FS
ForexCT
Axi Trader
Pepperstone
market plus
Apex FX Trading
Easy-Forex
IG Markets
GFT
MF Global
FXCM ( ********************* )
Interactive Brokers
Halifax Investment Services

Hope this helps.

[Neutral]

in the next 12-24 months, we won't be talking about "which is the best broker to use" - we'll be talking about "which is the best bank to use for trading FX".

Trading directly with a bank, leap-frogging any middle-man (the broker environment we all use currently), through a DMA (rather than ECN or MM) model, will become the norm when banks start cranking out their platforms - here in AU and offshore (keep an eye on those Crazy Canuckistani banks ).

watch this space.

Are you saying that banks will be offering retail investors interbank spreads?

[tom82]

I should have listed all the brokers I know of, continuation of list (also not in any particular order).

Forex FS
ForexCT
Axi Trader
Pepperstone
market plus
Apex FX Trading
Easy-Forex
IG Markets
GFT
MF Global
FXCM ( ********************* )
Interactive Brokers
Halifax Investment Services

Hope this helps.

Another one for the list:

Kinetic Securities

[kimleow]

Is it possible to have this list restricted to only real australia brokers?
FXCM, IBFX, IB etc are all USA based companies, Forex CT is owned by a vanuatu company, Halifax mainly an IB to several brokers...

[tom82]

Is it possible to have this list restricted to only real australia brokers?
FXCM, IBFX, IB etc are all USA based companies, Forex CT is owned by a vanuatu company, Halifax mainly an IB to several brokers...

They are all holders of AFSL, authorised by ASIC, holders of ACN and ABN.

So maybe we can rename the list... to something like Authorised / Licensed forex dealers in Australia.

PS. another one to add to the list is DCMforex.

[Tanaka]

I still have no idea why you would want to choose an Australian broker?

Generally speaking if the broker has more customers then they can offer better spreads or/and commissions. They need more customers so that they can negotiate better deals with the big banks around the world which control the money.

I hope tayser is right, a transparent forex market with transparent volume would be great, I’d trade that! But seriously, how do you get all the major banking players from all the diverse languages and cultures to all agree to use the same inter bank platform? I can’t imagine we will see it in 12-24 months.

I like CME Futures as Alpha_Bet pointed towards, at least they are traded on a proper exchange.

[hottrader]

currently using www.******************

instant fills. No problems so far.

anyone else tried them?

[tayser]

currently using www.******************

instant fills. No problems so far.

anyone else tried them?

looks like another SaxoBank white label.

FFS, when will a broker start offering a Currenex front-end in this bloody country?

The best we have is DivisaCapital in Auckland (for Currenex).