Execution Types
No Dealing Desk & Dealing Desk
FXCM has two types of forex execution: No Dealing Desk (NDD) and Dealing Desk. The execution you choose impacts your trading experience and spreads. We recommend NDD execution because we believe it provides our best all-around trading experience. FXCM also offers a Dealing Desk execution option for traders whose primary concern is low spreads for 12 of FXCM's most popular currency pairs. The Dealing Desk offering, however, has certain trading limitations. To determine which execution offering is best for you, please consult the table below.
RecommendedNo Dealing Desk |
Dealing Desk | |
|---|---|---|
| General | ||
| Maximum Balance | None | $25,000 |
| Maximum Trade Size | 50 Million | 50 Million |
| Price Feed | NDD | Dealing Desk |
| Spreads | EUR/USD pips View All |
EUR/USD as low as pips View All |
| Order Execution | ||
| Re-Quote Orders | No FXCM does not re-quote orders or manipulate market prices. |
No FXCM does not re-quote orders or manipulate market prices. |
| Conflict of Interest | No FXCM cannot profit from the trading losses of its clients. |
Yes FXCM can profit from the trading losses of its clients on some currency pairs. |
| Anonymous Orders | Yes FXCM's liquidity providers cannot see your stop, limit and entry orders. |
No FXCM can see your stop, limit and entry orders, but FXCM does not re-quote orders or manipulate prices. |
| Partial Fills | Yes Orders can be broken up and filled at multiple prices (at your discretion). |
Yes Orders can be broken up and filled at multiple prices (at your discretion). |
| Strategies | ||
| Scalping | Yes Scalp the market with no restrictions. |
Yes Scalping is allowed, but FXCM reserves the right to manage its risk by changing your execution type. |
| News Trading | Yes Trade news events with no restrictions. |
Yes News trading is allowed, but FXCM reserves the right to manage its risk by changing your execution type. |
| Automation (e.g. EAs) | Yes Automate your trading with no restrictions. Use any EA. |
Yes Automated trading is allowed, but FXCM reserves the right to manage its risk by changing your execution type. |
| API Trading | Yes Trade with APIs and no restrictions. |
Yes Trade with APIs, but FXCM reserves the right to manage its risk by changing your execution type to NDD. |
| No Dealing Desk | Dealing Desk |
Dealing Desk Disclaimer
On the Dealing Desk execution model FXCM can act as the dealer on some currency pairs. There are also back up liquidity providers that fill in whenever FXCM does not act as the dealer. Please note that FXCM’s Dealing Desk employs fewer liquidity providers than the No Dealing Desk (NDD) execution option. FXCM does not guarantee that quotes, prices, or spreads will always be better on one form of execution as compared to the other. Customers should consider many factors when deciding which execution type best suits their needs (e.g., conflict of interest, trading style or strategy, etc.). For more information, see our Execution Risks.
In 2007, FXCM introduced No Dealing Desk (NDD) execution for forex transactions. Our aim was to provide a more efficient and fair model for pricing and execution than the model used by most dealing desks brokers in the forex industry. We achieved that goal: NDD prices are competitive and market-driven, and NDD execution is transparent and fair.
Major Benefits
- Competitive, market-driven prices
- Anonymous order execution (price providers cannot see your stops, limits, or entry orders)
- No trading conflict of interest between broker and trader
- No re-quotes; no dealer intervention
- No restrictions on the strategy you use (scalp, trade the news, use any EA)
How Does It Work
Pricing
In the NDD model, FXCM acts as a price aggregator. We take the best available bid and best ask prices from our liquidity providers, add a mark-up, and stream those prices to the platforms we provide. That's the price you see. FXCM's liquidity providers include global banks, financial institutions, and other market makers. This large, diverse group of liquidity providers is one of the things that make this model special.
When you trade with a standard Dealing Desk, you may not know where the prices are coming from or if they actually reflect prices in the broader market. FXCM's deep and diverse pool of liquidity providers helps to ensure that NDD prices are reliable - not set by a single provider - and that they do reflect the broader forex market. Also, through competition, the NDD model ensures that prices are market-driven and fair. FXCM rewards liquidity providers with order flow when they provide the best bid or ask prices. The more advantageous their prices are the more order flow the liquidity provider will receive. The less advantageous, the less order flow they will receive. This efficient selection method keeps a single liquidity provider from adversely affecting your price.
Execution
FXCM does not take a market position, eliminating a major conflict of interest. Dealing Desk brokers may actively trade against your positions. They can profit when you lose. Alternatively, they may lose when you profit. Because of this, Dealing Desk brokers are incentivized to manipulate your orders. They may for example place restrictions on stops and limits or re-quote your orders. FXCM's NDD execution model does none of this. Your orders automatically fill from the NDD price feed, which is the best available bid and best ask prices from all of our liquidity providers plus FXCM's mark-up. Additionally, your orders are anonymous to the liquidity providers. They cannot see your stops, limits, or entry orders; they only see market orders coming from FXCM.
Higher Spreads
On FXCM's 12 most popular currency pairs, the NDD execution spreads may be up to one pip higher than FXCM's Dealing Desk spreads. This is why some traders choose Dealing Desk execution. Please note that FXCM does not guarantee that quotes, prices, or spreads will always be better on one form of execution as compared to the other. Customers should consider many factors when deciding which execution type best suits their needs (e.g., conflict of interest, trading style or strategy, etc.).
Dealing Desk Disclaimer
On the Dealing Desk execution model FXCM can act as the dealer on some currency pairs. There are also back up liquidity providers that fill in whenever FXCM does not act as the dealer. Please note that FXCM’s Dealing Desk employs fewer liquidity providers than the No Dealing Desk (NDD) execution option. FXCM does not guarantee that quotes, prices, or spreads will always be better on one form of execution as compared to the other. Customers should consider many factors when deciding which execution type best suits their needs (e.g., conflict of interest, trading style or strategy, etc.). For more information, see our Execution Risks.
FXCM offers Dealing Desk execution for traders whose primary concern is low spreads for 12 of FXCM's most popular currency pairs. The Dealing Desk offering, however, has certain trading limitations. In the Dealing Desk model, FXCM can act as a dealer, setting the prices and spreads on which you trade. In this execution model, FXCM can see your stops and limits and we can profit from your trading losses. In our experience, this is common market practice amongst brokers that offer Dealing Desk execution.
Low Spreads
Because we can create the prices on which you trade, FXCM's dealing desk execution option is able to offer spreads for FXCM's 12 most popular currency pairs that may be up to one pip lower than those provided by the No Dealing Desk (NDD) model. While FXCM believes that NDD execution provides the best all-around trading experience, we also offer dealing desk execution as an option for traders whose primary concern is low spreads on FXCM's 12 most popular currency pairs.
Our Dealing Desk is Different
Dealing Desk execution is used by many brokers in the forex industry. However, FXCM's Dealing Desk execution offering is unique because it shares important features with our No Dealing Desk (NDD) execution, such as:
- No re-quotes
- No restrictions on stops and limits
- Orders can be broken up and filled at multiple prices (partial fills).
But no matter what the similarities, the Dealing Desk offering has certain trading limitations. We recommend NDD execution because we believe it provides our best all-around trading experience.
Trading Limitations
When operating a Dealing Desk the firm actively takes a position in the market, which exposes the firm to market risk. When you are long, the Dealing Desk may be short. When you are short, the Dealing Desk may be long. So your losses can equate to the Dealing Desk's profit. Alternatively, your profits can equate to the Dealing Desk's loss. Certain strategies expose Dealing Desks to more risk, such as automated strategies or strategies that trade at a high frequency. To better manage their market risk, some Dealing Desk firms actively intervene in their clients' trading by re-quoting orders, delaying execution, skewing prices, or widening spreads.
At FXCM we offer both Dealing Desk and NDD execution. If you are trading on Dealing Desk execution and your trading style exposes us to more risk than we're comfortable with, FXCM may, at our sole discretion and at any time, change your execution type to NDD. This is how FXCM can comfortably offer both options without having to resort to some of the common "dealer intervention" practices listed above which take place at many forex brokers. There are no restrictions on the trading strategy that you use on the NDD execution model, however the tighter spreads available on FXCM's Dealing Desk offering would no longer be available to you. We encourage traders who use automated, high-frequency or scalping strategies to open an NDD account, which is compatible with all trading strategies.
Dealing Desk Disclaimer
On the Dealing Desk execution model FXCM can act as the dealer on some currency pairs. There are also back up liquidity providers that fill in whenever FXCM does not act as the dealer. Please note that FXCM’s Dealing Desk employs fewer liquidity providers than the No Dealing Desk (NDD) execution option. FXCM does not guarantee that quotes, prices, or spreads will always be better on one form of execution as compared to the other. Customers should consider many factors when deciding which execution type best suits their needs (e.g., conflict of interest, trading style or strategy, etc.). For more information, see our Execution Risks.
Dealing Desk Disclaimer
On the Dealing Desk execution model FXCM can act as the dealer on some currency pairs. There are also back up liquidity providers that fill in whenever FXCM does not act as the dealer. Please note that FXCM’s Dealing Desk employs fewer liquidity providers than the No Dealing Desk (NDD) execution option. FXCM does not guarantee that quotes, prices, or spreads will always be better on one form of execution as compared to the other. Customers should consider many factors when deciding which execution type best suits their needs (e.g., conflict of interest, trading style or strategy, etc.). For more information, see our Execution Risks.