Fred Scala, Global Head of Sales at Tripeak states, “This is our most robust tool for brokers looking to develop a high-speed, end-to-end solution. With direct connections to top-tier FX liquidity providers and 40+ Exchanges, our Gateway will allow brokers to increase revenue substantially. The MetaTrader 5 platform and our Gateway complement our full product suite. Our Price Aggregator, Price Engine, and Risk Management tools offer brokers a top-notch solution to manage a successful FX brokerage business.”

According to the technology provider, the main benefits of the Tripeak Gateway to MetaTrader 5 are:

support for the full-fledged market depth with sorting trades by depth directly from the liquidity provider

Order Types — support for FOK and IOC filling types

“We are very excited about our gateway to the most advanced trading platform on the market,” says Fred Scala. “We’ve seen a lot of interest from our institutional clients that need a multi-asset platform with the full depth of book. With the Gateway to MetaTrader 5, we now have a product that addresses the needs of the institutional community.”

The post OTC FX and Exchange Execution gateway in MetaTrader 5 appeared first on Tripeak.

Q: I can’t seem to place a buy limit order. What gives?
A: Buy limit orders are placed when a trader wishes to buy, or go long below the current market rate. When the market dips and touches the requested price, the buy limit order is executed. On the same token, an order to sell above the current market rate would be considered a sell limit. When placing a pending order you’ll also notice you can place a sell or buy stop. In the case of these orders you would be doing the opposite of what I’ve described above: buying above the current market rate for a buy stop; below the current market rate for a sell stop.

Q: How do I rescan for servers?
A: Rescanning for servers will refresh your connection to the trading server. At the bottom right corner of your terminal you’ll notice both red and green bars. Simply click on those bars and select “rescan for servers.”

Q: Why can’t I see all of the currency pairs available for trading in my “Market Watch” window? 
A: Simply navigate to the market watch window, click with the right mouse button and select “Show All.”

Q: Why do I see the “Waiting For Update” message on my chart, but no data? 
A: A simple refresh of the chart is needed. You can either right click on the chart and select “Refresh” or close the chart and create a new one. Finally, if you’ve logged into the terminal for the first time, simply drag a currency pair from the “Market Watch” window onto the chart to see live data.

Q: How do I apply my EA to a chart? 
A: Look for the “Expert Advisors” section of the Navigator window and drag the desired EA onto the chart. A window will appear once this is done. Before clicking “OK” make sure “Allow Live Trading” has been selected. Once you’ve clicked on “OK” check that the “Enable Expert Advisors” button is pressed at the top of the terminal. There should be a smiley face in the top right corner of the chart if it’s applied correctly.

Q: What does the message “Off Quotes” mean?
A: There are a variety of reasons why this error might occur. It is best to contact your broker whenever this message is seen.

Q: What does “Trade Context is Busy” mean?
A: Sometimes a trade will be sent to the broker but doesn’t execute immediately. This could occur due to a delay with the trader’s connection or the broker’s. In either case, if the client closes the trade and tries to place another, the error message “Trade Context is Busy” will appear. This happens because the MT4 terminal is still waiting for a response from the broker for the first trade that was placed.

Q: Why do I have to set my chart up when I log in every time?
A: You actually don’t have to. After a chart is created with your desired settings, simply right click on the chart and select “Template.” When you log back in you can then go back to the templates section and load the saved template.

Q: How can I set alarms in the MT4 platform? 
A: On the bottom of the terminal there is a tab titled “Alerts.” Right click in the field and select “Create.” Simply enter the desired parameters and press “OK”.

Q: How do I get history for a symbol? 
A: Go to the top menu bar and select “Tools,” then navigate to the “History Center.” When the window pops up you will see the categories you have to choose from. Select the category you want and then the list of symbols will expand below it. Double click on the symbol and then select your desired time frame and double click on it. To the right you will see the data appear. From here you can export it or search through what you have pulled up to see the data point you are looking for.

The post 10 Frequently Asked MT4 Questions appeared first on Tripeak.

In a market where it is very difficult to differentiate a brokerage strictly on the spreads offered, value-added services, such as WebMT4, are crucial to expanding client and deposit base.  According to InterBank FX’s recent Anatomy of a Forex Trader1, 33% of traders already follow markets or make trades through mobile devices.  That’s a substantial chunk of the potential clients that currently demand mobile access, and like other areas of mobile adoption, this percentage is sure to increase.  Clearly it is  to be able to win these traders’ business and set the brokerage apart from the crowd by making mobile trading possible.

Beyond adding another marketing arrow to the Forex brokerage’s quiver, WebMT4 increases customer loyalty and retention.  Simply giving the traders access to the MetaTrader 4 platform on mobile devices adds another touch point between the clients and the brokerage, which increases adoption and switching costs for traders.  Some brokerages have leveraged more creative approaches, offering for example, a WebMT4 enabled iPad in return for a minimum initial deposit amount, or a 12 month contract.  Certainly, there are even more areas a creative brokerage can use mobile MT4 trading access to increase customer loyalty.

While making marketing easier and retaining more traders are critical elements of building a successful Forex brokerage, these goals need to be accomplished profitably.  Fortunately, WebMT4 is not expensive and actually increases revenue of a brokerage.  All brokerages prefer traders to be active, especially those offering volume based execution model.  By putting the power to trade in the client’s hands, literally, the brokerage facilitates more frequent trades, and captures more revenue.  This makes it easy to recuperate the cost of adding WebMT4 services, even if the brokerage doesn’t want to impose minimum deposit amounts to be eligible, or simply pass along the additional cost directly to the trader.

Be sure to contact a Tripeak’s Business Intelligence Specialist for pricing information on WebMT4 pricing and the advantages the service brings to a brokerage.

The post Don’t Delay, Add Mobile Trading Services Today appeared first on Tripeak.

How long has the firm been in business?

While the business of programing liquidity bridges between MT4 server applications and third party liquidity providers is relatively new, this question is still an important one to pose to any potential vendor.  By nature, new technologies are prone to pitfalls, thus a technology company that has been programming bridges for four years versus two is far more likely to have overcome many unforeseen hurdles.  In addition, new software is not easy to reverse engineer and reproduce.  As such, the inventor of a software technology will overcome challenges and improve upon their package in each subsequent release, where as an imitation that enters the market will not have the benefit of this experience.

Who are some of the firm’s marquee customers?

This question, as well as targeting experience points, seeks to determine the credibility of the technology vendor from a standpoint of follow through and long term stability.  Especially with larger clients, deployment can be time and resources intensive, thus the vendor will need to have adequate systems in place to handle the complexities, and expertise to maneuver the challenges that are inherent in such deployments.  Once deployed, the software itself will need to prove it can handle large numbers of FX trades and users, and there is no better proof than the firm’s customer’s production environment.

To which liquidity providers has the firm developed bridges?

Hopefully the bridge vendor has already built a bridge from Metatrader 4 to the bank that you work with, and has done so in an easily replicable manner.  Otherwise, you can use the vendor’s experience with bridging to other banks as an indicator of their proficiency at developing successful liquidity bridges.  This experience in working with disparate bank systems is critical in ensuring that your deployment will be done expeditiously so that you can commence your Forex trading operation as soon as possible in a reliable environment.

How can the vendor help you differentiate yourself from your competitors?

Of course all bridges will pass trade information to and from the liquidity provider from your MT4 server application; however, there are many additional features and services that top-tier vendors can provide which will help you attract and retain more clients.  For examples, certain vendors develop bridge functionality and MT4 Admin Plugins, that address multi-account management, support of multiple price feeds, and positive slippage, which you can in turn use to create a better and more diverse offering for your clients.  Other services may include Expert Advisor development and Virtual Private Server hosting, which can in turn be offered to clients and add value to your service.

What does your support package include?

Forex trading almost never sleeps, and MT4 and the bridge software are critical applications for running your business, which should be reflected in the support provided by your vendor.  Perhaps you are based in Australia, or maybe you have clients who actively trade well into the night from New York.  In either case you’ll need 24 hour support while the primary markets are open.  Look for a deep bench of highly qualified analysts that can take calls during support hours, not outsourced phone centers.  Also, evaluate the vendor’s team to ensure they have strong market knowledge; they work with a number of brokers and can be a terrific source of information on a slew of subjects ranging all the way down to how to structure a brokerage’s organization chart.  Finally, make sure that the vendor has a robust disaster recovery plan including fail over server sites, etc.  This way, even in the worst case scenario, your downtime will be limited.

Hopefully these areas of insight are helpful in your search for a bridge vendor, please do leave your comments, and don’t hesitate to reach out to a Business Intelligence Specialist for more information about bridge technology.

The post 5 Considerations for Selecting a Metatrader 4 Liquidity Bridge appeared first on Tripeak.

1. Trade While You Sleep

 This advantage doesn’t necessarily appeal to the FX junkies who remain glued to their screens at the wee hours of the night.  For the rest of us though, automated trading makes it possible to participate in the market while you are catching your Zs.

2. Backtest The Results

 Attempting to backtest a manual trading strategy poses a series of challenges.  This isn’t an issue with automated systems.  There are even platforms such as MetaTrader 4 (MT4) that allow the user to backtest a strategy at no cost to the user.

3. Overcome The Challenges Of Trading

The greatest difficulty a trader faces is deciding when to pull the trigger.  For those who have struggled in the past or never mustered the courage to trade on their own, an automated system offers them an alternative to a market they otherwise would not have considered.

4. Diversify

Many traders enjoy running systems while simultaneously placing trades on their own.  As an example, you might be comfortable trading EUR/USD but have nightmares about the last time you bought GBP/JPY.  Instead of avoiding volatile pairs you can allow a system to trade it on your behalf.

5. No Time for Trading

You like the idea of trading but by the time you’ve run some errands, made dinner, and put the kids to bed you realize the time you blocked off for trading isn’t going to happen.  An automated system allows you to still participate in the market even if you don’t have the time for it.

The FX market offers traders access to an unprecedented amount of leverage, meaning movements as small as a fraction of a penny can result in substantial gains or losses.  When deciding upon a system I suggest assessing your tolerance for risk as well as the capital set aside for trading before you allow it to trade your funds.

The post 5 Advantages of Automated Trading appeared first on Tripeak.

Know Your Client

Trading forums have grown in popularity because they serve as a common meeting ground for like-minded traders to exchange ideas.  Traders, especially those new to the business are constantly searching for tips, insights, and pretty much anything that can improve their success.  By asking your clients key questions pertaining to their strategy, the time frame they follow, and the pairs they trade, you’ll have a fairly accurate idea of what they are trying to do.  A brief discussion about the current market trends or a new strategy goes a long way in building trust and credibility among your clients.  The goal is for them to view your brokerage as more than just the place where their trading account is held, but a place to share their thinking and get useful, personalized advice.

Know Your Stuff

If you aren’t following the markets, how convincing will you sound with a new prospect?  A great way of seperating your firm from the competition is to offer more than just answers to questions.  Imagine receiving a personal email from your broker with a link to an article on GBP/USD or perhaps a brief phone call regarding an important news announcement for the Australian dollar?  Once you’ve gained this knowledge, start getting creative – you’ll be surprised where it takes you.  The IB Times http://www.ibtimes.com/forex/ and DailyFX www.dailyfx.com are two sites I’d suggest visiting to stay on top of the markets.  The knowledge doesn’t stop there though.  In the fast paced, rapidly changing landscape of FX what happened on Monday is old news by the end of the week.  I recommend visiting Forex Magnates www.forexmagnates.com to keep up with industry changes.

All Strategies Are Good

 Picture ten traders sitting together in a room.  It’s inevitable that the subject of trading strategies will emerge, most likely ensuing in a heated debate.  Traders become very defensive of their strategies because they’ve put effort into developing them and more importantly feel their approach will be successful.  If you wish to preserve goodwill with your clients, refrain from talking negatively about their strategy.  It’s fine to introduce new ideas but make sure to tread carefully.

Every Conversation Is An Opportunity

It’s difficult to call a company these days, especially the larger ones, without feeling like the person on the other line is a machine (sometimes they are). The personal touch is crucial.  The next time you field a call from one of your clients, try asking a quick question about their strategy or the market.  Something as simple as “boy, the Euro sure took a spill” could possibly lead into a productive discussion.  The downside is that your client is too busy to talk; in trading terms the risk to reward ratio is extremly favorable.

Have A Strategy At Your Fingertips

You are talking to a prospect who has no prior trading experience.  The interest is there but without a strategy why would they consider trading?  A way of bridging the gap is to offer therategies to try out on their demo.  It’s also a good idea to have a few advanced stram a few simple sttegies for existing clients who are open to some new ideas.  In either case your clients will perceive your brokerage not only as the place they hold their account, but a valuable resource that will help them become more successful.

The post 5 Tips For A Successful FX Brokerage appeared first on Tripeak.

Single Click Trading – This feature was not possible in MT4 unless one uses a plug-in (check out Tripeak’s solution here); in MT5 traders can easily exit or enter a position with a single mouse click.

Depth of Market – One of the greatest improvements MT5 has to offer over MT4 is the flexibility for traders to speculate not just on FX, but also stocks, options, and futures.  In order to appeal to this broader range of traders, MT5 has a depth of market feature that functions for stocks and FX alike.

Markets Tab – Purchasing an EA has never been easier in MT5.  MetaQuotes has made it possible to get your hands on a new EA or custom script directly within the platform via the Markets tab.  In addition, those who register as members of the MT5 code base forum gain access to hundreds of free EAs, indicators and scripts.  The link to this forum is: http://www.mql5.com/en

iphone & iPad Support – MT5 users on the go can easily look up their positions or view a chart on either their iPhones and iPads.

Indicators Galore – MT5 comes loaded with over 300 custom indicators, broken down by type: Trend, Oscillators, Volumes, and Bull Williams.  Such a wide range of analytical tools make this new version of the MetaTrader platform appealing to both amateur and expert trades alike.

More Time Frames – Traders in MT4 were limited to 9 time frames for analyzing charts and running EAs; MT5 has expanded the available time frames to over 25.  These expanded time frames should meet the needs of traders looking for very specific back testing options.  As an example, hourly charts are now viewable in the following time frames: 2,3,4,6,8,12.

Additional Data – Due to an updated backend infrastructure, MT5 can support an infinite amount of historical data.  Should a broker require more data, a new server can easily be added to the existing system making it possible for traders to perform much more in depth back testing than MT4 ever allowed.

MQL5 Wizard – The MQL5 Wizard makes it possible for a wider range of EA enthusiasts to code their own systems.  Using the Wizard, traders with limited coding expertise are now able to develop and backtest systems that would have required a deeper breadth of knowledge in MT4.

If you’d like to test out MT5 for yourself, you can get a demo for free at the following link: http://files.metaquotes.net/liquidity.connection/mt5/lc5setup.exe

The post What Does The New MT5 Client Terminal Look Like? appeared first on Tripeak.

1. Start a Blog

Writing thoughtful and well-researched blog articles is a simple and cheap way to quickly establish your credibility in the industry. Traders are always searching for tips, advice, and expert opinions that will help them be more successful. If you don’t know what to write about, doing a little research will not only give you blogging ideas but will help you keep up-to-date on trends in the industry. The goal for writing a blog is to get your visitors to view your brokerage as more than just a place to trade – they can also get specific and up-to-date advice.

2. Comment on other Blogs

 If starting your own blog is too big a task right now, commenting on other blogs is an easy and effective alternative. Leaving thought-provoking and smart comments that show you know your stuff will quickly separate you from your competition. Popular blogs include http://mt4spreads.com and http://earnforex.com.

3. Visit Popular FX Forums

FX Forums attract a lot of visitors who are looking for information and answers, and many of these visitors could be potential customers. Visit the forums, peruse through some of the posts, and be sure to leave intelligent answers and solutions in addition to a link to your website or your email address. Our favorite FX Forums include http://forex-tsd.com, http://forexfactory.com, and http://babypips.com.

4. Advertise on News Websites

 Potential customers are constantly checking news websites for the latest trends and information which can make them a rewarding venue for advertising. Visit www.alexa.com to measure a website’s popularity and research what sites will be the best fit for your brokerage and your budget. We ran a few news sites on Alexa.com and came up with the following ranks, which is calculated based on average daily visitors and pageviews. The highest combination of visitors and pageviews is ranked #1:

5. Get Listed

Many Forex websites create annual lists such as “The Best MT4 Forex Brokers” and “100 Forex Brokers”. Brokerages listed on these websites experience not only increased popularity but an influx of new customers. Other websites focus on broker reviews and comparisons, and favorable reviews result in more potential customers. Do a little digging to find out how to qualify to be on these lists or contact the website editor to apply for a review. We recommend:

The post 5 Tips for Marketing Your FX Brokerage appeared first on Tripeak.

It’s Your Business – One of the best reasons to operate your own brokerage turns out to be the simplest–you own the entire business.  As the brokerage grows you are building equity in a company which you can later sell, something not possible with a white label.  Remember a white label is simply an extension of an already established brokerage, not an independent entity.

More Control – White label owners do not have the liberty to fully customize their business as they would like to see it.  At any point in time the brokerage they’ve partnered with can make a change in policy that the white label owner has little, if any influence over.  These changes can range from small items such as the availability of specific order types all the way to major product features such as spreads or a clients’ leverage options.  Furthermore, operating your own brokerage offers you an open landscape to creatively position your business from the competition.  In a market that is still quite young in comparison to more established products, there is still plenty of room for innovation.

Unlimited Sub White Labels – Given the two points above it is always better to be the broker offering the white label than the recipient of one.  The sky’s the limit in terms of growth when a broker can offer a potentially unlimited number of white labels and sub-white labels to its affiliates.

No Conflict of Interest – In many cases the broker offering the white label serves as direct competition with its white label customers.  This could be in the form of better pricing, wider range of products, or a package that is simply more competitive.  Independent brokers need not have this concern as they do not have any ties to a specific broker.

Greater Revenue Opportunity – Newly formed brokerages faces two challenges: acquiring clients and developing a marketing strategy.  These obstacles are no different for the owner of a white label, but the potential revenue opportunitiesare reduced because the partner brokerage must receive a share of the revenue.  An independent brokerage, on the other hand, has the freedom to charge its clients as much or as little as it likes, offer as many products and services as it wishes, and pursue whatever strategy it feels will provide the best return on its investment.  If a white label owner is successful at acquiring clients, then the greatest challenge has already been overcome and it only makes sense to pursue the avenue that generates the most revenue.

The post White Label or Brokerage? appeared first on Tripeak.

Less Work

Risk management is a skill.  A new brokerage will either need to hire an experienced risk manager or develop a plan on its own.  To add to the challenge, the 24 hour nature of the FX market requires a dealer–another name for a risk manager–to be present at all times, otherwise the brokerage runs the risk of losing money overnight.  An STP model on the other hand is completely hands off.  Orders simply get passed from the trader to the liquidity provider which translates to less work for the broker.

More Clear Revenue Forecasting

An STP model works as follows: the broker gains access to quotes and the means to execute client positions through a relationship with a liquidity provider.  This means that when the brokers’ clients trade, the order flow goes to the liquidity provider, not the broker itself.  How does a brokerage make money with this model?  By marking up the rates provided by the liquidity provider, the broker earns a certain amount of revenue for each trade opened by its clients.  As long as the brokers clients are trading, revenue is generated which means that in order to grow the business, the broker simply needs to add more clients.  This is not the case with market makers.  Although additional traders should bring in more revenue, it’s not guaranteed.  The reason why can be found in the next point.

Market Conditions Don’t Matter

The biggest downside to managing risk internally is that just like a trader, the broker is at the whim of the market.  As a rule, market makers stand to
do better in times of volatiity than in quieter times.  This is because dealers have an easier time managing volatile conditions than quieter, range bound trading.  Since future market conditions are impossible to predict, revenue projections for a market maker are equally as challenging to forecast.  With this thought in mind, an advantage to an STP model is that revenue will remain relatively consistent regardless of market conditions.  Although it is true that volatility attracts volume, there are plenty of traders who not only prefer range bound conditions but have also designed systems to trade them.

Fewer Headaches

News events, ultra short term traders, and the unexpected are just a few of the situations a dealer must contend with on a daily basis. It only takes a few mismanaged trades to sabotage revenue books for the week, and if risk management is extremely poor the brokerage runs a fair chance of going under.  An STP broker only has to concern itself with the stability of its infrastructure.  As long as its traders can execute orders, it’s smooth sailing for the broker.

Better Client Experience

In many ways dealing is not just a skill but an art as well.  Dealers who are too aggressive will make money for the brokerage but run the risk of scaring away the traders.  A balance is needed which only comes with time and experience.  Furthermore, the trading patterns alluded to in the previous section, such as scalping or news trading, pose significant challenges for dealers, often resulting in a poor trading experience.  Ironically, the traders who cause the most headaches for dealers are most sought after by STP brokers because they tend to generate the most volume.  This is one of the main reasons why these type of traders intentionally seek out STP brokers.

There are currently well-established brokerages that have successfully run both STP and market maker models, proving that either can be successful.  As mentioned earlier, the choice is ultimately in the hands the broker; neither Tripeak nor this author advocate one over another.  The trend, however, is in the direction of STP so we felt it would be worthwhile to examine the reasons behind it in more detail.

The post 5 Reasons Why FX Brokers Prefer STP appeared first on Tripeak.