FAQs
Q: Why do you give away all this information? Every other firm considers their traders/managers extremely proprietary information and I have to pry the data you give away for free out of them, if I can get it at all.
A: This seems like the right thing to do. We have the knowledge and have had success, why not share it freely? We believe it will come back to us. We can save people money and make them money. Money’s important, not as important as good health, but still we can have a positive impact on peoples’ lives doing this, so we do. It fits in well with the mission of our company. I’m still a capitalist - I would like to make some money.
Q - Thank you for your email. I have been researching a lot online and because I have little experience in the forex market and don’t have the time to learn and trade myself, would rather use a managed account. Also, forgive me if my questions are naive, but how can I be sure that the manager is actually trading and not operating a ponzi scheme? I have heard a lot of horror stories of these managed forex accounts being fronts for scams to dupe people out of their money. It seems like you know the ropes, so how can a person know for sure that their money is actually being traded successfully or otherwise. Also, am I correct in my assuming that the key to being successful using these forex managers is sticking with someone who’s doing well, but realizing that diversification and changing managers is necessary to stay on top of the game? Or are there managers out there who remain constant as far as their overall performance goes?
Also, it sounds like going through you gives an extra bonus for someone who may not have a lot of knowledge of forex trading since you’ve been in the game for a while. Are you available for questions regarding client accounts and/or do you provide any basic training or direction for where to get basic concepts on how our accounts are being traded?
Thanks - (name removed)
A - And my response, good info in here:
You do sound like you’ve been doing your homework - excellent questions. I like that you want exposure to FX but prefer to have somebody else trade for you - I feel the same way. As for Ponzi schemes - that’s why I prefer managed accounts. Then you can have the brokerage send your money back anytime, it isn’t locked up like a fund would be, and the trader can’t run off with your money, though there is risk of the brokerage running off. There is also transparency - you get statements every day and can log in to your account as well. I like PFG as they are big, next door to me, privately held, they take small initial accounts and I know the owners. They have over 500 million on deposit. You know that the managers are acutally trading as PFG isn’t going to give money away, and you see the trades and PnL each day. FXCM is also a big name FX brokerage with strong capitalization. There is always going to be risk on that side. One way to mitigate it is to keep some of your funds at your bank and use margin on the funds at the FCM. I’m looking for guys who will be continually consistent - but I agree with you - you need to stay on top of the game and keep adding new ones, pushing the ones that are good while they are good, and quick to cut the bad ones, and the ones that go bad. There are groups that make consistent money, but often they are closed to new investors or have very high minimums. I can answer questions for you and I will watch your accounts for you as well to make sure they are being traded properly and keep mistakes to a minimum. I’ve written up a booklet on what to look for, I’m putting the finishing touches on it, I’ll get it to you when I’ve finished it.
