Revision 292649435 of "FXCM" on enwiki

{{Infobox_Company |
  company_name   = FXCM Holdings LLC |
  company_logo   = [[Image:Fxcm logo.png|FXCM]]|
  company_type   = [[Private company|Private]]|
  company_slogan = |
  foundation     = 1999|
  location       = [[New York City]]|
  key_people     = [[Drew Niv]], CEO|
  num_employees  = Approximately 600|
  revenue        =  $313.6 Million  (2008) [http://www.forexpros.com/brokers/fxcm-forex-capital-markets/press-releases/fxcm-reports-yearly-earnings-for-2008:-revenue-up-78-from-2007-19245]|
  industry       = [[Financial Services]]|
  products       = [[Foreign exchange market|Foreign Exchange]]|
  homepage       = [http://www.fxcm.com/ www.fxcm.com]

}}

'''FXCM Holdings LLC''' is the holding company of one of the world's largest "forex dealer members"<ref>[http://www.cftc.gov/tm/tmfcm.htm Latest Financial Information from CFTC]</ref> (or [[financial services]] firms specializing in [[retail forex]]), supplying online trading services for retail and institutional [[speculator]]s in the [[foreign exchange market]]. Its subsidiaries include Forex Capital Markets LLC, Forex Capital Markets LTD, FXCM Asia LTD, FXCM Canada LTD, FXCM Australia LTD, and Forex Trading LLC.<ref>[http://www.fxcm.com/company-profile.jsp FXCM Website Company Profile]</ref> The company has over 125,000 live accounts trading via its Trading Station software and over 400 institutional customers from more than 200 countries. Over 600 employees, based in offices in [[New York City]], [[London]], [[Tokyo]], [[Plano]], [[San Francisco]], [[Paris]], [[Sydney]] and [[Hong Kong]] provide 24-hour, multi-lingual sales, administrative, and technical support 7 days a week. Trading hours are from Sunday between 5:00 and 5:15pm ET through Friday 4:00pm ET.

== History ==
In November 2005, Forex Capital Markets ('''FXCM''') became entrenched in the bankruptcy proceedings of [[Refco]], Inc (OTC:RFXCQ). Refco, a big commodities brokerage that collapsed amid an accounting scandal, has been largely purchased by [[Man Group]]. At the time Refco owned a 35% share in '''FXCM'''. The 35% that belonged to Refco was auctioned off, and now belongs to an investment group that included [[Lehman Brothers]]. '''FXCM''' is currently backing a client-led lawsuit against Refco.

'''FXCM''' is a registered Futures Commission Merchant (FCM) with the [[Commodity Futures Trading Commission]] (CFTC) and is a member of the [[National Futures Association]] (NFA).
Ownership and regulatory information on FXCM are available at its National Futures Association (NFA) listing [http://www.nfa.futures.org/basicnet/Details.aspx?entityid=0308179].

FXCM is also regulated in Canada (BCSC) United Kingdom (FSA), and Hong Kong (SFC)

==Services ==

The company supplies most of its services through two primary websites: [http://www.fxcm.com FXCM], the company's flagship site; and [http://www.dailyfx.com DailyFX], which is a source for foreign exchange and economic news, as well as information, advice, and resources pertaining to the global currency market.  For new traders, FXCM also provides learning resources, through such products as the [http://www.fxpowercourse.com FX Powercourse] and free [http://liveseminar.fxcm.com live webinars].

==FXCM Business Model==

FXCM claims to have migrated all their customers away from a dealing desk platform, and they are claiming to now offer a No Dealing Desk (NDD) trading platform, passing on orders to nine major liquidity providers. The NFA disclosure on their customer account application however still shows that they may from time to time take the opposite side of clients' trades and possibly profit at their expense. The FXCM client can now: 

* Trade during news or periods of high volatility without requotes 
* Place entry orders anywhere even within the spread 
* Scalp the market without dealer intervention or trade restrictions <ref>[http://www.fxcm.com/execution-advantage.jsp FXCM Execution Advantage]</ref>

==Old Business Model==

Prior to its transition to agency execution, FXCM's revenues came from five main sources:

# The Spread - The difference between the spread FXCM quotes to clients and the spread FXCM receives from the banks they offset from.  If FXCM is unable to match a buyer and seller internally, FXCM will, after the positions become sufficiently large, offset with larger banks that quote them cheaper spreads.  
# Internal matching of client trades - If the spread is 3 pips, and FXCM is able to match a buyer and a seller internally, they collect 3 pips.
# Interest on client deposits (like most online brokers, such as E*TRADE, these are a dependable and large source of income)
# The firm's own speculative positions in the market.
# Losses on clients' trades that were never offset.

Not all of the above apply to FXCM's "no-dealing-desk" trading option. In this set-up, trades are routed to other interbank market participants. Of course, one of FXCM's "interbank market participants" is FXCM Asia LTD which can still manipulate prices to a client's disadvantage.  The claim that FXCM may no longer derive income from source two through five is questionable.

== References ==

<references/>

==External links==
*[http://www.fxcm.com FXCM]
*[http://www.nfa.futures.org/basicnet/Details.aspx?entityid=0308179 FXCM's NFA 'BASIC' Listing]
*[http://www.nfa.futures.org/basicnet/CaseInfo.aspx?entityid=0308179&type=reg NFA Regulatory Actions]
*[http://www.nfa.futures.org/forex_training/content/module5-1.htm NFA Training]
{{uncategorized|date=May 2009}}