Let’s face it, the majority if not all forex brokers that support the MetaTrader 4 platform are pure bucketshops. I have yet to find ONE MT4 broker which offers a true non-dealing desk trading environment. A lot of them claim this, but it is all pure bullshit, if you’ll pardon my french. If they have fixed spreads they CANNOT be a non-dealing desk broker! Any broker that offers fixed spreads by definition can’t be offering a no dealing desk trading platform. Just be aware that when there is a trading desk involved (be it human or computer operated) you are not trading in a true market environment but instead are in a “sandbox” type of trading environment where the broker has full control over your position. So how do you get around this? The solution is simple, use ECN brokers.
The thing is that some of us are somewhat attached to the MetaTrader 4 platform. I personally think it is a pretty neat and functional trading platform. The scripting abilities are excellent, and there are just so many free indicators and expert advisors available for this platform that it has become wildly popular with retail traders. However, most ECN brokers do NOT support the MT4 platform. One of the main reasons is that MT4 server/client software was never meant to operate in an ECN trading environment. Many brokers have tried to adapt it to an pure ECN trading environment and failed. So can we have our cake and eat it too? Yes, you can, but it involves a bit more work.
I’m going to tell you about some possible solutions which you can use to get MT4 to work more or less reasonably well with some ECN brokers. By the use of a specialized API (programming interface) it is possible to setup a virtual bridge between MT4 and the ECN platform. This will give you a more accurate, reliable, and less “doctored” price feed along with SPT (straight pass through) execution so your trades get routed directly into the interbank environment.
So far I know of 3 ways you can get this done:
1 - Some ECN providers offer their own custom API you can use. I only of one ECN broker that offers this solution and they’re called HotspotFX. For more details check out this link:
http://eu.hotspotfx.com/trading-software/connectivity/api-for-metatrader/
2 - You can use commercial software. I scoured the net and forex forums and there just isn’t that much relevant software out there. One that I did come across is called TradeBullet. See their homepage for more details.
3 - The free route - always my favorite. However the disadvantage to this solution is that it may not have all the capabilities or bells and whistles of commercial alternatives. The only free solution that I’ve found is called TWSLink. This solution is free, so no hand holding for you! You’re just going to have to figure out things for yourself using the documentation available. Visit this website for more details:
http://www.trade-commander.org/twslink/twslink.htm
If anyone else knows other solutions please feel free to contact me and I will gladly add it to this article with links to your site(s) and everything.
Until next time, many pips to you all!
Alan
April 23rd, 2008 at 8:44 am
[…] Read the rest of this article at Alan’s Forex Blog….. […]
April 27th, 2008 at 8:27 pm
Hi Alan,
Very good info. I`ve been shocked.. how a good reputable broker like fxcm will changed their trading platform to MT4.. from your info, Iam planning to test hotspotfx trading platform..
Thanks again..
April 28th, 2008 at 12:16 am
Hi Andy. I’m glad you found my post useful
Also you may wish to check out this post:
http://alansforexblog.com/2008/04/20/proof-that-forex-brokers-cheat-you/
I eventually would like to write an introductory review of HostpotFX so if you don’t mind I’d really appreciate it if you would share your experience with this broker. You can find my e-mail address by clicking on the “About” link at the top of this page.
Cheers,
Alan
November 12th, 2008 at 6:27 pm
Hello,
I just found a “pure ECN MT4″, there: http://www.metaspotfx.com/
Apparently they’re related to Hotspot FX (which were my favs until I discovered metaspot), but the service seems not to be available in the US at the moment (regulation needed?). The solution you mention with Hotspot FX seems unclear to me. I never found a piece of software from them to put somewhere and use MT4. As for the free solution, it looked complicated to me. Anyway, that was just my 2 cents.
November 12th, 2008 at 9:01 pm
Here is another broker that claims to be an “MT4 ECN” broker:
http://www.atcbrokers.com/index_forexpro.htm
Here is another one:
http://www.fastbrokersfx.com/
I think I saw hotspotfx advertising MT4 capability on some google ads a week ago. I’ll post more when and if I find them.
Thanks for sharing Iroquois.
November 21st, 2008 at 7:10 pm
I hear this one works - not a broker, not an ECN, but aggregated DMA.
November 24th, 2008 at 9:20 pm
Alan
Integral offers a bridge from MT4 to the Integral FX Grid. The Integral FX Grid provides multi-bank access for spot, fowards, and swaps. You can find the MT4 Bridge at http://www.integral.com/products/metatrader_4_bridge.htm
November 25th, 2008 at 3:38 am
Yes Jeff I’m aware of your product. Thanks for sharing.
December 4th, 2008 at 8:24 am
Hi Alan,
Thank you for your site and all of the great information. I’m trading with FxPro with a scalping system and so far have had a good week. This is only my first week of live trading, however. Can I beat these guys using a scalping strategy, despite them presumably trading against me? And I assume if I do, my account will be closed. I’m receiving a trade volume rebate and no commissions, so I’m trying to determine if a move to a MT4 ECN price feed broker is warranted.
Thanks again,
Ursala
December 4th, 2008 at 10:51 am
Glad you like my site Ursala
Well, it depends on how much of a scalper your scalping strategy is…lol, that may sound confusing, but what I mean is that it depends on how long you hold on to the position before closing it. Some dealing desk brokers have VERY stringent terms and conditions, and also very strict anti-scalping policies. I’d suggest you check with FxPro and see what their policies are in regards to scalping. Worst case scenario is that they could refuse you as a customer and close your account.
I don’t know whether you can beat them or not, but the deck is heavily stacked against you! The broker controls everything. They could easily mess with your trades by manipulating the price feed to introduce artificial price spikes, and other dirty tricks. For sure they have software that monitors trade execution and closure times in order to hunt down scalpers.
I personally do not recommend most dealing desk brokers for use with extremely short term trading strategies. If you want to do pure and true scalping (as close as possible in the forex world) then the only way to go IMHO is with a PURE ECN broker.
As for whether it’s warranted for you to move on to a MT4 ECN price feed that really depends on your account size and also the size of the lots you trade with. If your technique is successful and consistent and you trade with lots of sufficient size to warrant paying the $15-25 commission most ECN broker charge then I’d say YES it is definitely worth moving to an ECN broker with a MT4 price feed (if you need MT4 that is).
Here is but one broker quickly comes to mind which offers MT4 + ECN price feed:
http://www.fastbrokers.com/index.php?VA001
For non MT4 Dukascopy is also great. HotspotFX is excellent for this as well.
December 4th, 2008 at 7:47 pm
Hi Alan,
Thank you very much for your reply. This is so frustrating that when you find a broker who might not go bankrupt and take your money with them, they cheat and trade against you. I talked to a representative at HotSpotFX and he told me that a live account is available with ATC Brokers with HotSpot’s ECN price feed and the commission is $4 per standard lot.
I’m going to check with Fast Brokers also and thank you for that information. Have a good day.
Best Regards,
Ursala
December 4th, 2008 at 8:02 pm
$4 per standard lot? :O are you sure it isn’t $14? $4 is quite an excellent deal.
Best of luck to you and happy trading.
December 4th, 2008 at 8:30 pm
Yes I did confirm with Alex at HotSpot that an account opened at ATC is charged a commission of $4 per standard lot. I think it probably means $8 round trip.
I also talked to Giovanni at Fast Brokers and he was really helpful and said they have a $15 per round trip commission with a 10k minimum opening amount on the Fast Pro platform.
Best Regards,
Ursala
December 4th, 2008 at 8:55 pm
Thanks Ursala!
Yeah was Giovanni really nice and helpful to me too.
Thanks for visiting my blog and I wish you profitable trading..
Cheer
December 24th, 2008 at 4:05 am
did anyone try metaspotfx ?
December 24th, 2008 at 5:13 am
No, but I heard of it. It appears they offer a STP trading model - not really ECN. I couldn’t also help but notice a lot of grammatical errors on the site. The company claims to be based out of Finland. If anyone has any more info on this broker feel free to post.
December 24th, 2008 at 6:15 pm
Good one! thanks.
December 30th, 2008 at 9:10 pm
demoed them, not impressed
December 31st, 2008 at 4:22 am
Hmm, I see. Thanks for letting us know Darryl. Let us know if you come across any other ECN brokers.
Cheers, and many pips to you in the upcoming year!
January 3rd, 2009 at 2:54 am
[…] Originally Posted by hazelj80 what i would suggest to everyone who complains about regular mt4 brokers, it’s already a known thing the ODL hates scalping just as 90% of market makers so yes, they will freeze your acct. me, personally, when i make enough money from more than one scalping EA, i will get a custom mt4 to ecn bridge built, then brokers can’t mess with the spread cause there is no broker in an real ecn stp. you all should think about that one very hard. i’ve seen people on this forum have a custom mt4 to currenex ecn bridge built and they are kickin a s s and taking names! the only way for a mt4 scalping EA is to survive, not through a sorry arse bucket shop. they say and do what the want with spreads, although this is an election yr That’s some good advice, only thing is, with ECN’s you get variable spreads, so most EA would not be reliable. Unless ECN’s operate so efficiently that they consistently maintain 3 pips spreads for the majors. I wouldn’t know, but from comparing brokers, I see that some offer fixed spreads (bucket shops) and some are variable, (ECN’s) I think your idea is good and that’s what I’ll do when I get the required minimum to open an account also. I have provided an article on how to bridge meta trader to an ECN for anyone who may want to look into it further. Connecting MetaTrader 4 to an ECN Broker | Alan’s Forex Blog […]
January 7th, 2009 at 9:01 am
OK - I’m a little confused, since I don’t think as a U.S. resident that I can get a HotSpotFX account. So, how would one integrate a Dukascopy account with MT4? Is it covered above or am I missing something?
January 7th, 2009 at 9:39 am
Dukascopy offers an API that lets you execute orders and account information off of MT4. But unfortunately there is no easy plug and play system that will let you use Dukascopy with MT4.
In light of that you would need to hire a programmer to integrate MT4 with Dukascopy’s API.
for API details see this link:
http://www.dukascopy.com/swiss/english/forex/int2/?ibref=415
Hope this helps.
January 7th, 2009 at 5:29 pm
Thanks for the info. I also run a software company (not in the Forex space) so we have programmers on staff. It will not be a problem. Is anyone else interested in getting a plug and play solution for this? If so, then does the admin mind if I post a way to contact us about it here?