Mini - FAQ

What Is the Difference Between a Mini Account and an Active Trader Account?

Please see this page for a comparison of both account types.

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What Trading Volumes Are Possible with the Mini Account?

With the FXCM Mini account (standard account) traders deal in units of 10K (10K, 20K, 30K, etc.). One lot equals 10K or 10,000 units of the base currency in a currency pair. For example, when trading with the currency pair EUR/USD, the account balance will change by 1 U.S. dollar for each pip of price movement. In Mini accounts held in euros the value is identical; however, it will be listed in euros or the account denomination using the current exchange rate (in real time). If you want to earn six USD per pip of price movement, you need a trading volume of six lots (60K).

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How Can I Trade with Volumes Greater than 100K?

The trading volume can be set from 10K to 100K by clicking on the drop-down menu in the order screen. A trading volume greater than 100K can be conveniently set using the keyboard. When setting trading volume, the value 10 equals 10,000 units of the base currency, or 1 lot, and the value 180 equals 180,000 units, or 18 lots. The FX Trading Station permits a maximum trading volume of 50 million per transaction. To trade at higher volumes, you can place multiple orders or you can opt to use the  MetaTrader-platform, which has no limit on trading volume.

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How Does a Margin Call Work?

If account equity - the account balance including all open positions - falls below the mandatory margin requirements due to open trading losses, all open positions are closed out automatically at the market price. This is called a margin call, and it prevents customer accounts from falling into negative balances. (FXCM guarantees that traders can never lose more than their account balance.) An account that has an open position with eight lots (80K) is required to have margin equal to approximately 0.5% of the open trading volume. The margin is simply set aside for the duration of individual trades and ensures that the 10,000 of the base currency traded per lot does not need to be in the account. (The Accounts window of the FXCM trading platform shows usable and used margin in real-time, so that traders always know how much margin they are currently required to have and how much they have available for new positions.)

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Are Commissions Charged with Mini Accounts?

No, the FXCM Mini and CFD account as well the MetaTrader 4 trading accounts are not subject to any fees or commissions. With more than 165,000 trading accounts on the FXCM trading platform, the FXCM group is an established market leader. FXCM and FX Trading24 are compensated for their services by the spread between the bid and ask prices. 

At total of four factors determine the price-performance ratio on the forex market:

  • Commissions and Account Management Fees:
    As mentioned above, FXCM currency trading is free of fees and commissions (except for Forex System Selector trading accounts and Active Trader accounts). In addition, no account management fees are charged. 
  • Margin:
    Margin is simply set aside for the duration of individual trades, and the default setting for new Mini accounts is approximately 0.5% of the trading volume. In a euro Mini account, for instance, margin is EUR 50 per lot of trading volume for the EUR/USD currency pair. In order to trade with 10,000 units of the base currency per lot, you don't need the 10,000 units in your account, just the margin requirement. The margin requirement varies between individual currency pairs and account denominations and may change slightly from time to time. To ensure that traders always know the current margin requirements, they can be viewed in the FXCM Trading account. The Dealing Rates window lists (in the simple view) the current margin requirements for each currency pair in the MMR column. 
    *Without proper risk management this high leverage can lead to both positive and negative results. 
  • Rollover Interest:
    Open positions still on the market as of 5:00 PM EST have a daily rollover interest rate, which a trader is either paid or charged depending on the type of open position. Traders earn rollover interest on open positions where the interest spreads between both currencies in a pair generate sufficient earnings. These positions are called positive rollover positions. In other words, if a trader buys a currency with a current key interest rate that is sufficiently higher than that for the currency that he sells, the net difference is positive and the trader earns interest as a result. On the other hand, if a trader has an open position whose currency pair generates negative interest due to the current interest rate situation, the trader will have a negative rollover position and interest is owed. The rollover interest rate per lot of trade volume is displayed above the buy or sell price in the Advanced Dealing Rates window of the FX Trading Station. RollS indicates the interest for sell transactions and RollB indicates the rate for buy transactions.
  • Spreads:
    As with all financial markets, prices are based on supply and demand. If the currency pair EUR/USD has a 2.1 pip spread, which is generally available, then the currency pair has a supply of or is sold at a price of 1.40780, for example, and there is demand or a purchase price of 1.40801. This 2.1 pip spread (difference between bid and ask) defines the cost of a trade, which can be compensated for by a favorable market movement.
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Can I Move from a Mini Account to an Active Trader Account?

Current FXCM customers may easily open further trading accounts like the FXCM Active Trader Account using MyFXCM.

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More Questions and Answers:

You can find further questions and answers in our FAQ area: Frequently asked questions - FAQ. We are also happy to assist you via phone, e-mail support or live chat. 

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