Online Forex Trading
"Since 1998"

Spreads and Margins

Dealing Hours
The dealing desk is open 24-hours a day from Sunday 5:15 PM New York time until Friday 4:00 PM New York time (subject to available liquidity). Quotations, order placement, and confirmation available online or via telephone.

Dealing Spreads
Lowest and average spreads detailed below. For the majority of our currency pairs, lowest spreads are most commonly found during US & European trading sessions.

Spreads below are displayed in pips. Currency Pair AS LOW AS TYPICAL SPREAD   EUR/CHF Euro – Swiss Franc   0.1 2   EUR/GBP Euro – British Pound   0.6 2.4   EUR/USD Euro – US Dollar   0.9 2.3   USD/JPY US Dollar – Japanese Yen   0.5 2.9   GBP/USD British Pound – US Dollar   0.8 3.7   USD/CHF US Dollar – Swiss Franc   1 3.8   AUD/USD Australian Dollar – US Dollar   1 3.7   USD/CAD US Dollar – Canadian Dollar   1 4.8   EUR/JPY Euro – Japanese Yen   0.6 3.9   CHF/JPY Swiss Franc – Japanese Yen   1 3.5   NZD/USD New Zealand Dollar – US Dollar   0.8 4   AUD/JPY Australian Dollar – Japanese Yen   2.3 5   EUR/CAD Euro – Canadian Dollar   2.4 6   CAD/JPY Canadian Dollar – Japanese Yen   1.3 5   AUD/CHF Australian Dollar – Swiss Franc   1.6 4.8   AUD/CAD Australian Dollar – Canadian Dollar   2.6 6.5   GBP/CHF British Pound – Swiss Franc   1.1 6.8   NZD/JPY New Zealand Dollar – Japanese Yen   2.9 6   GBP/JPY British Pound – Japanese Yen   3 5.3   EUR/NZD Euro – New Zealand Dollar   2.5 7   EUR/AUD Euro – Australian Dollar   2.8 7.9   AUD/NZD Australian Dollar – New Zealand Dollar   4 7   USD/DKK US Dollar – Danish Krone   0.2 6.3   GBP/CAD British Pound – Canadian Dollar   0.6 10.8   GBP/AUD British Pound – Australian Dollar   4.7 10   GBP/NZD British Pound – New Zealand Dollar   7.8 17   USD/SGD US Dollar – Singapore Dollar   3.5 7   USD/HKD US Dollar – Hong Kong Dollar   4.5 13   USD/MXN US Dollar – Mexican Peso                   Variable

Trade Size
On the trading platform all trades are executed in standard sizes of 100,000 base currency per one lot. There is no maximum trading volume, 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 (100,000 U.S. Dollars)

• Euro/U.S. Dollar (100,000 Euros)

• Euro/Great Britain Pound (100,000 Euros)

• Euro/Japanese Yen (100,000 Euros)

Smaller trade sizes are available via the Mini account. Learn More

Margin
Currency trading is 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, the leverage level is set at the 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 Requirements
Account Type Default Margin Level   Lowest Available Margin Level
	Mini	$50 Per Lot* (approximately .5%)		$50 Per Lot*
	100K	$1000 Per Lot* (approximately 1%)		$500 Per Lot*
	100K Interest Bearing	$2000 Per Lot (approximately 2%)		$2,000 Per Lot

*Not available for accounts over $50,000.

Up to 100:1 Leverage
Clients must have approximately 1% of the value of the positions they hold in their account for each lot of currency being traded (approximately 100:1 leverage). This equates to $1000 per lot (100,000 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% per lot the entire day and overnight. Note: Leverage without proper risk management can lead to large losses as well as gains.


Margin Watcher
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% per lot, the dealing desk may close all positions. This protects the trader from losing more than the funds deposited into the trading account.


Rollover/Interest Policy
At 5:00 PM New York Time, funds are subtracted or added to accounts with open positions because of the automatic rollover. For accounts that have a margin requirement of 2% or more, funds are added to the account for positions in which the client is long (holding) the currency bearing the higher interest rate. Funds are deducted in the opposite circumstance. For accounts that do not have a 2% margin requirement, the rollover amount is deducted from the account for each position regardless of the account's holdings. This 2% margin requirement is the most generous policy available to traders in the forex industry, as many firms require 3-5% minimum margin before traders can benefit from rollover.

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.

Why does Rollover take place?
In the spot forex market, trades must be settled in two business days. If a trader sells 100,000 euros on Tuesday, the trader must deliver 100,000 euros on Thursday, unless the position is rolled over. As a service to our traders, positions are automatically rolled over 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.

Types 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.


Deposit Options
In addition to the US dollar, traders have the option of depositing funds and viewing all trading information in EUR, GBP, or JPY. For European and Asian clients in particular, this option will be of great convenience in handling all the administrative duties of trading -- thus allowing traders to focus more of their attention and energy on analyzing and profiting from market movements.


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, a unique margin watcher feature is offered, 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 will ensue and all open positions will be closed by the dealing desk.

To learn more about the margin watcher feature please contact our staff, which is available 24-hours a day, 7 days a week to walk you through the trading station.