Update February 2010: Iamfx added micro accounts.

I have prepared my video review for Iamfx. It is currently my broker of choice and here is why:

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I really like this one. Iamfx.com is very new however just in a few months it became a headline of the first innovative broker that "works for you", not against you like the majority of dealing desk market makers. Iamfx.com does not try to cheat you by skyrocket spreads during the asian session, sending spikes and offquotes when you try to exit the trade in profit (common broker trick).

Iamfx business model is comprehensive and fair - they give your raw (means real low interbank spread without adding additional 2-3 pips to the spread like other brokers) and charge you 1 pip commission (which used to be 2.4 pips in the past but they made right decision to lower it). This means that your scalping EAs will have a greater chance of covering the spread and reaching the TP target faster.



Here is what i found on 4xproject forum, this is a comment of one of the users which I fully agree with:
Overall I give IAMfx a triple AAA rating. I watch their MT4 and it picks up trades faster than other broker demo's I have running simultaneously. They lowered their commission awhile back too. It seems like they want to lead the charge and become the innovative broker and you can't beat the spreads. I saw a spread of 4 one day on the AUD/NZD pair one day. Tadawul has as high as 25. big difference. means more money in your pocket.



Iamfx does not make huge promotional campaigns spamming all the forums and blogs, they are growing by providing good service and I believe that "word of a mouth" is the best way for promotion for the "right company".

Iamfx is good if you trade robots like fapturbo, megadroid, robominer. forexbling, shocker, cyclone etc which require low spreads to be profitable.

The only disadvantage is - they have no micro accounts however I heard they plan to introduce micro accs soon with 500 usd minimum deposit.

One more note - their currency pairs has prefix "ifx" that means if you want to backtest any robot - you need to manually download history data somewhere and then place it to "History" folder in Iamfx folder and manually rename the files. for example EURCHF5.hst will become EURCHFifx5.hst.

FXCM is an american company. It is registered in FCM and regulated by CFTC. It is also a member of NFA. It's head office is situated in New York. The company is also registered and has offices in Canada, Hong Kong, UK, Japan. It is registered in the national regulative bodies of these countries.

The company offers a complete set of client accounts: individual, incorporated, corporate, guided, partner. There are standard (minimum deposit $2000, lots on 100K) and mini (deposit from $300 or 300 or ?300 or AUD300, lots on 10K) accounts. The site has a section called "Education". It offers paid online courses and free educational "webinars" (interactive online seminars).

Opening demo-accounts is possible. The trading platform is FX Trading Station and it requires installation. It offers basic informative and trading services, except for graphic analysis. There is also a special appendix of FX News Software for a transmission streaming market news in the trading platform, technical levels, and FX commentary.

The new MT4 platform offers no dealing desk trading as they claim however there are some offquotes issues in MT4 trading here. Spreads are variable and pretty small all the time. The min. deposit for MT4 trading is pretty huge but they plan to decrease it in future.

My mini-Interview with FXCM

Stephen: Welcome to FXCM's Live Chat Feature. How may I help you?
Stephen: This is Stephen. How can I help?
Mark: Hello. Could you explain - what is better TS2 or MT4 trading (I mean liquidity supply, trade execution etc)?
Stephen: Trading Station 2.0
Mark: Why? Could you tell more details?
Stephen: Many forex traders love the MetaTrader 4 platform, but want the benefits of FXCM as their broker.
Stephen: Yes
Stephen: FXCM Trading Station 2.0 allows for partial fills, more ability to place trades without requotes,
Stephen: is better for scalping
Stephen: has no order size limits
Stephen: allows for 1 click trading
Stephen: and has detachable charts
Stephen: does that explain?
Mark: yes thank you. Does TS2 have some API for Forex Robots (EA) programming or automation of trades?
Stephen: we have many resources
Stephen: http://www.fxcm.com/api-landing.jsp
Mark: BTW, do you plan to add more liquidity suppliers?
Stephen: FXCM on average executes 500 billion in monthly notional volume
Stephen: we are always looking to improve our services
Stephen: Do you currently trade FX elsewhere?
Mark: ok thank you for replies. i am already a member and like your service.. bye!

InterbankFX is the registered in the US, controlled by CFTC, and is member of the NFA.

Judging by the absence of dealing and stream quotations, the company is an ECN.

The West Bank is a partner – a liquidity supplier. A wide set of client accounts is offered: individual, incorporated, guided, partner, and corporate. The basic trading platform – MetaTrader4 is one of the best and most powerful free programmes on the modern market.

A site is done pleasantly enough and correctly. Navigation is easy and clear. Information for beginners is presented in a very detailed, separate, part of site called “University,” demo-accounts which are free for 30 days. In addition, to the FX Educator,” which is offered to the client, there is an educational course (on 2 DVD's); which come together with the opening of the mini-account with $300.

The only bad here - spreads are way too high comparing to other brokers.


Update February 2009: My good friend, forex insider met the president on IBFX last week on a private meeting and IBFX told good news that they are going to add liquidity supplier and decrease the spreads in future.

My mini-Interview with IBFX

Client Services : Hello, my name is Ben. How can I help you?
Mark: Hello. I noticed that IBFX spreads are way too high comparing to other brokers. Could you explain?
Client Services: Since we don't fix our spreads, they can fluctuate at any time. Sometimes they are lower than other brokers, sometimes they are not. It just depends on the prices that our liquidity providers set.
Mark: Do you plan to add more liquidity suppliers soon?
Mark: How many do you have now?
Client Services: We have several, including including: Bank of America, JP Morgan Chase, Goldman Sachs, Citicorp, and Barclays.
Client Services: I haven't heard anything specific about adding more liquidity providers, but we are always looking for those opportunities.
Client Services: With the state of the global economy, liquidity providers aren't as eager as they once were, so I'm not sure it will happen anytime soon.
Mark: Is IBFX a true ECN environment or dealing desk broker?
Client Services: We are a straight through order processor... not a dealing desk.
Mark: Do you plan to decrease the spreads in future?
Client Services: Again, we don't set our spreads
Client Services: They are determined by our liquidity providers. We don't plan on becoming a dealing desk, so, no, we don't plan on fixing our spreads in the future.
Mark: Do you mean the spreads are high due to financial crisis or any other reason?
Client Services: that's one of the reasons they are high, yes
Mark: and what else?
Client Services: low liquidity, market volatility... there are a number of factors that can contribute to widening spreads.
Mark: okay thank you for reply. Good service.
Client Services: My pleasure...

FOREX.com is of the largest and most reliable brokers. GAIN Capital was founded in 1999. FOREX.com is a registered Futures Commission Merchant (NFA ID #0339826) and a member of the National Futures Association.

Of course I have personal accounts at Forex.com and cant say anything bad about them. Support is very friendly and rather fast. Trade execution is good. However the spreads are pretty high comparing to other brokers.

Here is my short INTERVIEW with Forex.com

Mark: Hello. I am interested in Forex.com service. I would like to learn more about your company. Where were you founded? Are you regulated?
Katie: Our US headquarters is on Wall Street in New York. We also have offices in New Jersey. These strategic locations allow us to support self-directed forex traders from over 140 countries.
Katie: FOREX.com is a registered Futures Commission Merchant (NFA ID #0339826) and a member of the National Futures Association. Please visit the below link for the NFA site and click on Broker/Firm Information (BASIC) to review FOREX.com's record as an NFA member.
Katie: http://www.nfa.futures.org/
Mark: When were you founded?
Katie: GAIN Capital was founded in 1999.
Katie: For more information about our company, please click the link below.
Katie: About FOREX.com
Mark: Are you a dealing desk or ECN broker?
Katie: FOREX.com is a Market Maker and we have a dealing desk.
Mark: My friend has an account at forex.com He said your spreads are bit high. Do you plan to decrease the spreads and add fractional spreads?
Katie: We offer tighter fractional spreads.
Katie: Please click the link below for information about our spreads.
Katie: http://www.forex.com/trade_pricing.html
Mark: Do you allow EA trading. For example Fapturbo traders?
Katie: You can use an expert advisor if you like, but we do not provide support for expert advisors.
Mark: What is the margin requirement for 10K standard account?
Mark: and what is the min. deposit?
Katie: To open a live account, the minimum to fund is just $250 for a mini account, and only $2,500 for a standard account.
Katie: The margin requirement would depend on the currency pair you are trading. Mark: for example for EURGBP?
Katie: Please click the calculator button on your ForexTrader to access the margin and pip calculator.
Katie: The margin requirement for 1 standard lot of EUR/GBP with 100:1 leverage right now is $1,284.50.
Mark: Ok thank you. Last question: how fast is the trade execution? For example in other broker I got offquotes errors for 30 minutes yesterday!
Katie: Trade execution should be instant.
Katie: If at anytime you receive any error message while trading, please call 1-908-731-0750 immediately and we will place that trade for you.
Mark: ok thank you for kind response
Katie: you are welcome!

Capital Market Services LLC began operating on the Forex market in 1999. CMS is incorporated in the USA and is a member of NFA, registered in CFTC.

CMS trades in 7 basic currency pairs (to USD) and their cross-courses, other financial instruments are not available. Information concerning term-of-trades is placed compactly on the site. The size of credit leverage is set from 400:1 to 40:1; clients have 3 variants of choice.

The site is fully translated into several languages. CMS offers the demo-accounts for an unlimited period of time. There is a page for beginners on the site, containing short, basic, information, about the Forex market and a general explanation about trading principles. The platform is powerful enough, and executes basic, informative, services (translation of quotations, exposure/execution of orders, showing of the state of positions and account), graphic and technical analysis.

Good news! MT offer!

Chat Information You are now chatting with 'Lev'
Lev: Hello. Can you please tell me your name and how I can assist you today?
Mark: Hello. Do you provide MT4 or maybe plan to provide in future? If yes, when?
Lev: we do provide it
Lev: Please contact the Account Executives
Mark: really? I only see VT Trader 2 offer on site
Lev: It was not yet updated
Mark: ok thanks

XPRO was founded in 2006 and acquired all of North Finance's clients. It is a fully regulated European broker with resident head office in Cyprus regulated by the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission.

I agree that website looks really weird and messy with tons of useless graphics (what relation do waterfalls and oceans have to forex? lol) and it is really hard to find any useful links there. For example, I even could not find the link to download MT4 in all that mess. However don't be confused because the broker itself is really good.

The spreads are bit high comparing to other brokers however their service is on a professional level by all means.

Few things you should note here. They don't offer microlot trading on standard account, so minimal lot increment would be 0.1 here, not 0.01. Also after creating your account they always forget to activate your account so you would get "Ping Lost" errors in Log when trying to trade until you contact them to finally activate your account.

My Mini Interview with FXPRO

Chat Information - You are now chatting with 'Lianna', May i have your FxPro account number please?
Lianna: Hello, How may I assist you?
you: Hello
you: on your salespage you adversise low spread "Spreads from 0.5pips " and I heard from your newsletter the maximum spread is 5 for EURGBP however in reality your spread is not fixed and way higher than 5. I get even 7 ! Could you explain
Lianna: At FxPro we offer floating spreads as low as 0,5-5,0 (the best retail offer in the market) Sometimes this is not possible to establish. Spreads we compose in the system depend on spreads we receive from our counterparties, and when we receive prices with already increased spreads from major liquidity providers in Forex we must increase ours. As a regulated company we always have to provide our clients the most competitive market prices, that is why we are doing our best in this situation.
you: Where are you regulated and when was founded?
Lianna: FxPro.com is proud to say that it is a fully regulated European broker, bringing with it all the benefits and security on offer in today’s busy marketplace.
Lianna: Owned by EuroOrient Securities and Financial Services Ltd, an investment firm, resident head office in Cyprus regulated by the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (www.cysec.gov.cy ) (license number 078/07). Our company is a member of various professional bodies like CIFSA (Cyprus International Financial Services Association, http://www.cifsa.org/ ), CCCI (Cyprus Chamber of Commerce and Industry, http://www.ccci.org.cy/ ), CFSFA (Cyprus Financial Services Firms Association, http://www.cfsfa.org.cy/ ).
you: When was FXPRO founded? does it have any relation to "northfinance"?
Lianna: The brand name “FxPro” and the domain name “www.FxPro.com” are owned by
Lianna: EuroOrient Securities and Financial Services Ltd, a financial services company authorized and regulated by the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission under the license number 078/07.
Lianna: EuroOrient was registered on 31 July 2006 and received the first license in 05 March 2007.
Lianna: We acquired all of North Finance's clients and trading operations as on June 1st 2008 you: Sounds good. Do you plan to add more liquidity suppliers to decrease the spread conditions?
Lianna: not at this time sir
you: Last question - do you welcome winning EA systems such as fapturbo at fxpro?
Lianna: yes sir, we do allow these
Lianna: However, we do not provide assistance with them
you: what kind of assistance?
Lianna: Expert advisors are of course allowed on our platform, but please make sure that they are set-up correctly to allow for the 5th digit which is one of our advantages using our FxPro Metatrader4 platform. You may be able to set them yourself if possible in the settings, otherwise you will have to seek assistance from the supplier of the advisor who will of course be happy to assist.
you: okay thanks for replies. Good service.
Lianna: thank you sir

ALPARI is an old and professional broker. They have 3 companies united under 1 common name. Alpari (US), LLC is registered with the Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) as a Futures Commission Merchant and is a member of the National Futures Association (NFA).

Alpari Companies are:
ALPARI IDC (Russia): http://alpari.org
Alpari (UK) Limited http://alpari.co.uk
Alpari (US), LLC http://www.alpari-us.com

The spreads are normal comparing to other brokers and I have not heard anything bad about them. However UK and US versions do not have live support and Russian company live support could not respond properly about the differences between their 3 companies and was very unfriendly.

Short Interview with Live Chat Alpari Russia (alpari-forex.com):

Mark | 16:33 Do you have English live support?
Mark | 16:36 Hello. I am interested in Alpari brokerage and would like to find out more about it. Are you regulated?
Mark | 16:35 are you here?
16:36 Dmitry Suvorov has joined the chat.
Dmitry Suvorov | 16:36 Hello! Yes. We are regulated by FRA.
Dmitry Suvorov | 16:36 http://kroufr.org/ If you mean Alpari IDC Corp.
Mark | 16:37 I know you have Alpari Russian, UK and US versions. I am very confused. Which one is better and more reliable? What are the differences?
Dmitry Suvorov | 16:39 All this companies are different artificial persons
Mark | 16:39 Which one is better and more reliable?
Mark | 16:42 is this a live support or what? it takes 10 mins to get your reply. do you have proper english live support?
Dmitry Suvorov | 16:43 Now you're chatting with the customer support of Alpari IDC Corp. If you have any questions about Alpari UK or Alpari US, just contact their support. I can give you information about our company
Mark | 16:44 I ask what are the differencies between your 3 companies. Do you have different price feeds?
Dmitry Suvorov | 16:47 I answered that Alpari UK, Alpari US and Alpari IDC Corp are different brockers. About our contract specification you can check up info at http://www.alpari-forex.com/en/cspec/

FX Direct Dealer is a legal US company, Address is 75 Park Place , 4th Floor New York , NY 10007, USA . They even have a racing (!) team lol. As they claim they are pending registration with the NFA

I used FXDD for a long time and find it pretty good however their support is very slow and far from perfect and the spreads recently are way too high. For example - how do you like this spread history chart?


I decided to make a investigation of the spread issue and ask the questions to FXDD support directly:

FXDD Investigation Chat

English Support: Welcome to FXDD Live Chat. How may I help you?
Mark: Hello. When was FXDD founded? Are you regulated?
English Support: we have been in business since 2002
English Support: we are pending registration with the NFA
English Support: and should be fully registered within a few months
Mark: Are you a dealing desk broker?
English Support: we get our rates directly from our Interbanks
English Support: there is no dealer intervention
English Support: and we pass them directly along to our clients
Mark: I see.. However your spreads on standard account are way too high comparing to other brokers. For example 5-8 on EURGBP comparing to 3-5 in other brokers. Could you explain please
English Support: we are offering the best spreads we can offer given market conditions sir
English Support: I cannot comment on what other brokers are offering
Mark: Do you consider to make the spreads lower in future?
English Support: that is out of my reach
English Support: I can tell you that we are doing everything we can to offer you the tightest possible spreads
Mark: I tried to compare FXDD standard and Xtreme. You claim lower spreads on Xtreme however I could not find any significant difference. They are same high but fractional. Please explain.
English Support: MTXtreme offers spreads of 0-2 pips on all the majors
English Support: during normal market hours
Mark: However during asian market at night GMT spreads are around 7-10 (!) which is way too high
English Support: I understand your position sir, but the spreads are what they are, I cannot change them
Mark: Okay. that is sad.. thanks for your support anyway..
English Support: no problem

Update December 2009: As for the less than glowing review based on a random screenshot, I don't know about that case and if there really was a problem, I would have know about it as head of client relations. It's my job to look into such things and try to find a solution that is good for the client.

In the forex market, each broker may quote a different price for a currency just as different shoe shops would have a different price for the same pair of shoes. The forex market is decentralised. There is no "right" price. As a trader, you either accept the quoted price, or not.

FXopen does not manipulate the prices to make clients lose. According to the client's agreement FXOpen's Dealing Desk (The person you chatted to was new and unaware that we DO have a dealing desk on Micro and Standard accounts) quotes the best available price on the Market Maker platform. We earn our money by the trader putting volume through our platform so it is not in our best interests that the client lose. In fact we have training centres in Malaysia and Egypt dedicated to churning out profitable traders who are welcome to trade with us and make as much profit as they like.

Also since you posted that review, we launched our ECN/STP service giving you a true ECN environment on MT4 using our own proprietary bridge to some of the largest liquidity providers in the world including Dukascopy, HotspotFXi, Deutches Bank, RBS, Barclays, CitiBank, Dresdner, UBS and others. A full LVLII order book is also supplied where you can see yours and other's orders in the market depth and in real time.

FXOpen has grown rapidly over the years and now has over $50 Billion per month in turnover through our servers.

We also now have a PAMM system to help money managers deal with their clients effectively and easily.

If you would like to throw me some hard questions interview style to be posted on your site, I would be happy to answer them.

People want to read real due diligence on a broker, not an unsubstantiated claim against us. Speaking of FPA, we do have a very good relationship with them and work together to solve client's problems should they get as far as being posted there. I'm sure if you ask them, they would say that we are a good and reputable company.

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I have no personal experience with this broker because I have read too many shady stories about them on FPA and other forums about spikes and price manipulation. They claim they are regulated by SIBA which is the Seychelles International Business Association. "Standard accounts from $25" clearly shows the dealing desk environment here.

The most shocking review appeared on FPA from Antonio. He claims: They are CHEATS. Pure and simple. They manipulated the price after a popular EA I have placed a buy. Immediately there was a spike of 15 pips down that doesn't appear at ANY other broker. I and others are already furious and are complaining. They ARROGANTLY continue to spin the issue by saying there there are different price feeds at different brokers. Yes, but the price MOVEMENTS should be relatively the same. IT is SO BLATANT!!! Here is the proof: http://i44.tinypic.com/345oar8.jpg

I decided if that is true of false claims and asked FXOPEN directly about it.

Live Chat Investigation with FXOPEN

3:42 PM Mark
Hello
3:43 PM Nadya
can i help you?
3:43 PM Mark
Hello. I am interested in FxOpen service. Are you regulated?
3:43 PM Mark
When were you founded?
3:44 PM Nadya
we are in bussinees since 2005
3:45 PM Nadya
FXOpen's business activity is regulated by SIBA.
3:45 PM Nadya
SIBA is the Seychelles International Business Association
3:45 PM Mark
However I have read that FxOpen cheats and manipulates the price to make the client lose the trade. For example one member posted the following comparison of FXOPEN price and other brokers at the same time: Screenshot: http://i44.tinypic.com/345oar8.jpg Could you please comment that?
3:46 PM Nadya
Sir, i think you read all comments on this case at our forum
3:46 PM Nadya
there you can find all info about it
3:47 PM Mark
No, I am not a member of any forum. I read that on FPA. Could you explain or quote the explanation?
3:48 PM Nadya
just a second
3:48 PM Mark
I am new to FXOpen and want honest reply from first hands. I have no idea what forums you are talking about.
3:50 PM Nadya
Why aren't ALL brokers quoting exactly the same prices at exactly the same time? Forex is a decentralised market. Every broker has different sources for their prices. FXOpen is not different. A 5 or 10 or 15 pip difference is normal between brokers.
3:52 PM Mark
Yes I agree that price difference is normal but if you check out that screenshot that clearly shows that the DIRECTION of the price was changed not just the price.
3:53 PM Nadya
Sir, i have seen this screenshots
3:54 PM Nadya
i do not see anything spesial
3:55 PM Mark
Don't you find the different direction of the price of FXOpen there comparing to 3(!) other brokers? and the price changed especially when his trade was opened.
3:56 PM Nadya
Sir, first of all, this client did use EA and it is csn be EA influence
3:59 PM Mark
what is CSN?
4:01 PM Nadya
where did you find it?
4:01 PM Mark
you said "EA and it is csn be EA influence" . what does "csn" stand for?
4:04 PM Mark
do you mean EAs influence the market only inside FxOpen broker?
4:06 PM Nadya
Sir, this customer had problem after opening the position by EA. the other customers did not face such problem
4:06 PM Nadya
just the customers who use fap turbo (EA)
4:07 PM Mark
do you mean different customers get different price feeds?
4:07 PM Mark
so you don't allow fapturbo trading, do you?
4:09 PM Nadya yes
4:09 PM Mark
why is that? I use only that system in all my 8 brokers and planned to use it in FXOpen. I am really disapointed.
4:11 PM Nadya
sir, probably they use pirated version of FAP turbo
4:12 PM Mark
I ask do you allow fapturbo trading or not at FxOpen?
4:13 PM Nadya
yes, we do allow it
4:14 PM Mark
Last question - are you a dealing desk broker?
4:15 PM Nadya
no, we are non dealing desk
4:15 PM Mark
Are you ECN broker?
4:18 PM Nadya
no
4:19 PM Mark
okay thanks for help, Nadya

I cant call this broker a scam because they are a legal company and CFTC and NFA regulated however everything I heard about them recently is only bad.

Recently the most shocking news was they banned over 140 fapturbo traders that made consistent profits for several weeks. Here is what victim-members report: "This morning I received the following email:
Good Morning.
Unfortunately ODL Securities has decided not to allow the FapTurbo Expert Advisor Program. ODL has notified us here at Back Bay FX that those of you on this e-mail have had your accounts suspended at ODL Securities.

Here is what members received:

It is with great regret that I am writing this email to you today. After several discussions with our risk department and line managers, it is felt that your account should be closed and the balances repaid in full. This recourse has been brought about as a result of unethical trading within your account of late; maliciously or not, with the use of a Robot/EA or not, these actions are unethical and go against the policies of ODL.
I hope this will satisfy any queries you may have about this recent suspension of your account and I wish you the best of luck with your future trading."

So winning money is called "unethical trading" here. lol. while all other brokers find fapturbo trading fine and welcome fapturbo clients.

The bottom line: Be aware that some brokers do NOT want you making regular profits.

My Investigation Chat with ODL

I tried to contact ODL directly to find out the reasons and get explanation from first hands however could not receive any reasonable reply here.

DavidT: Welcome to Live Help, how are you today?
DavidT: hi how can i help?
Mark: Hello. I am interested in ODL service however I heard you do not allow winning scalping strategies, for example you banned all fapturbo clients. Could you explain? Mark: are you here?
DavidT: yes
DavidT: yes fap turbo breaches our terms and conditions relevant to market abuse and the use of ficticiuous devices
Mark: however I trade fapturbo and other systems without any problem at 8 other brokers and they have no problem. Could you explain the difference.
Adil Siddiqui has joined the conversation.
AdilS: hi
Mark: hi
Mark: however I trade fapturbo and other systems without any problem at 8 other brokers and they have no problem. Could you explain the difference.
AdilS: hi
Mark: yes, hello Adil. do you see my question? looks like i had disconnection issue
AdilS: hi
Mark: Quesiton to DavidT - why do you call Expert Advisor trading a "fictitious device"? That does not make any sense to me. Do you mean ODL does not allow automated trading?
Mark: are u here?
Mark: ?
Mark: is that live chat or dead chat? guys?
Mark: looks like no one is going to anwser here...

I have no personal trading experience with FXGEN because after my DD investigation I found huge number of scam reports on this company. Here is what Alan said:

Here is an email received from Rob Grespi who runs a popular forex signal provider called “Kingforex” (friend with Felix from forexbastards.com). Here is another solid proof of why the forex broker industry is filled with scammers and con artists. Always, and I do mean ALWAYS do your due diligence before you fall for the “low pip spread” bait these bucket shops use to lure you in and steal your money!

I am writing you today regarding a very serious situation that has happened to one of my KFS subscribers, and I am sure it will happen to others that have an account at www.Forexgen.com

In a nutshell:

One of my subscribers decided to withdraw his money from Forexgen.com (his full and total right) for a total of $160,500, after several attempts he never received his money.

Now we have a similar situation on a bigger scale; www.forexgen.com is refusing to return my subscriber his $160,500 or so. After he made me aware of it, I went on the war path and started to call every numbers that Forexgen.com had listed, not one of them answered. 2 of them had standard electronic greeting not mentioning I reached “forexgen” at all, the other numbers were bogus numbers or numbers of regular people accross the globe (I sadly even woke up some of them) that had no relationship with Forexgen.com at all. The N.Y. number that Forexgen has listed kept hanging up on me. Obviously, they were hiding as they knew what I was after.

Here how they cleverly stole his money:

They place an “inhouse bogus cross sell trade” on the EUR/USD at 1.4056 (trade # 33114 on 10/19/2007 at 7:10 am EST), for a very large lot amount, enough to suck in all his equity, then they closed the trade same minute at 1.4303.

Well I decided to make my own research and contacted ForexGen directly. Here is what I found out:

Investigation of ForexGen

Mandy: How may I help you today?
Mark: Hello. I am new to forex and interested in trading at FXGen. Is your company regulated?
Mandy: Yes Sir
Mandy: ForexGen is a registered Norwegian company registered since 2001 in Norway with a corporate registration number 992183101 and registration information can be obtained by visiting this link: http://w2.brreg.no/kunngjoring/hent_en.jsp?kid=20080000027176&sokeverdi=992183101 which is the highest commercial authority in Norway.
Mark: Are you are ECN broker or a dealing desk?
Mandy: We have both dealing desk and No dealing desk accounts
Mark: What is the difference between such accounts?
Mandy: NDD account depends on the market condition ... the execution by the market price , the spreads are flexible ... also you can scalp and pip hunt without any limitations at all
Mandy: There is no restriction at all in the NDD account
Mandy: But as for the DD account you can't scalp or pip hunt
Mandy: Spreads are fixed
Mandy: You can have 1 pip spread for the 10 majors in the Pro account
Mark: Yes, I noticed your spread is very low comparing to other brokers. How can you keep such low spreads in the crisis times when other brokers increase spreads dramatically?
Mandy: ForexGen is an international broker with thousands of large clients including banks and financial institutions, where volume of the total equity is what affects our overall profitability. We are able to offer competitive terms due to our size and overall volume of liquidity.
Mark: When were you founded?
Mandy: And we have been in business since 2003
Mark: sounds good.. however yesterday I have read a lot of negative information about you on FPA. They claim you are scam and never pay the deposits back. I am very confused and frustrated now. Could you comment that information?
Mandy: Hear where Sir?
Mark: on Forex Peace Army
Mark: it is a website that writes reviews on brokers
Mandy: What is forex peace army , Sir ?
Mark: http://www.forexpeacearmy.com/public/review/www.forexgen.com?page=1
Mark: They show a lot of scam alerts on ForexGen here with a proof. Any comments?
Mandy: Is that some kind of authority?
Mandy: Or belong to any government or regulated body
Mark: I don't know. They make independent reviews I suppose..
Mandy: Great
Mandy: How do you make sure what they are writing is true or not?
Mark: I mean people (customers) are writing the reviews there. I see a lot of negative reviews. I am frustrated now.
Mandy: You mean that you can try saying ForexGen for example then writing your opinion about it
Mandy: Whether good or bad
Mark: yes.
Mandy: Is that right?
Mandy: Great
Mandy: Ok please try to write a comment
Mandy: Say that I tried ForexGen demo account and its good
Mandy: See will they post that or not , Mr Mark
Mark: I have no experience to write a comment. they have a moderator team that will not approve fake comment i suppose...
Mandy: If they posted that then we can start to believe they may be honest and post all opinions posted by traders
Mandy: If not then have serious indication
Mandy: That the word posted in this site is not posted by traders and may be posted by the site owner to drive attention for certain sites and attack other sites , Mr Mark
Mark: They are saying $160,000 were stolen from a trader by the name of Rashid
Mandy: It's not true Sir ... it's all claims
Mandy: In order to drive the attention to them
Mark: Your reply makes sense, however only your broker is listed a scam and all other 100 brokers have positive reviews :(
Mandy: We have a thousand of clients from all over the world Sir
Mandy: I can see that some brokers done some advertisements in this web site..
Mandy: Maybe this has something to do with this issue , Mr Mark
Mark: They also said your phone number are bogus and the office does not exist. Do you have an office or that is a lie?
Mandy: Of course we have you can visit our location there ...
Mandy: Tollbugata 17, 0152 Oslo,Norway
Mark: I dont see your office in google maps there. I see "Baltic Nordic B2B" on that address and few other companies.
Mandy: It's our address , Sir
Mandy: Tollbugata 17, 0152 Oslo,Norway
Mark: What is the phone number then?
Mandy: 004799494878
Mark: ok thanks for replies... I will visit when I am in Norway next time. thank you!
Mandy: Have a nice day

Here is the bottom line:

1. Scam warning on FPA that are fake as ForexGen claims. However FPA is a well known reliable resource and I doubt Felix would write fake investigations...

2. The mentioned address Tollbugata 17, 0152 Oslo,Norway was found on google maps however no "ForexGen" company is registered in Google under this address. Why is "an international broker with thousands of large clients" not listed even with google?


Click to enlarge the image
3. I tried to call 004799494878 number in Norway 2 times during the working hours Norwegian time on Wednesday and both time got an answering machine said that "customer is not available or turned off the phone".

4. They claim the company is registered since 2001 and give the link which states the company was founded "(Stiftelsesdato means Foundation Date: 09.01.2008) The busines address (Forretningsadresse) Slottsgate 5 0153 OSLO does not match the address they told me.

5. They claim they are in business since 2003 however domain forexgen.com was created only in 2006. Creation Date: 2006-04-02 How could online broker be in business without a website?

6. if you look back to 2006 using web archive you can see that their old address USA Office: 9616 WATERFORD DRIVE, MANASSAS, VA 20110 does not match with the current one, even the country is different.

Enough said. Beware!