Online Forex Platform - Dealing Handbook

Trading Hours

PFG's trading desk is open 24 hours daily from 23:00 GMT on Sunday till 21:00 GMT on Friday

Currency Pairs

A foreign exchange transaction in which one Foreign Currency is traded against a second Foreign Currency.

PFG Inc. offers 24-hour trading in the following currency pairs:
EUR/USD	EUR/GBP	USD/SEK	AUD/USD	CHF/JPY	AUD/JPY
GBP/USD	EUR/CHF	EUR/AUD	HKD/USD	EUR/NZD	AUD/NZD
USD/CHF	EUR/JPY	NZD/USD	USD/ZAR	CAD/CHF	AUD/CAD
USD/JPY	GBP/JPY	EUR/CAD	USD/SGD	CAD/JPY	AUD/CHF
USD/CAD	GBP/CHF	USD/DKK	USD/NOK	NZD/JPY

Dealing Spread

PFG FX's normal dealing spreads are 2 to 5 pips for the major currency pairs. The difference between the ask (offer) and bid price in a market quote. The spread is the reason why a newly opened position's mark to market, or valuation, will likely be negative. If a trader buys a particular currency she will pay the ask (offer) price, but the current mark to market will be based upon what the marketplace is presently paying for this currency. That price would be found on the bid side of the market quote, Competitive lower than where she just bought the currency.

Transaction Sizes

On the PFG Inc. dealing platform, all trades are sized in units of 10,000 for mini accounts and 100,000 for standard accounts, of the base currency, called 'lots'. The maximum deal size available online is 100 lots (50 minilots for mini accounts).

Trading Minimums

PFG FX's minimum transaction size is 1 lots, or 10,000 for mini accounts and 100,000 for standard accounts of the base currency, with a minimum margin deposit of 1% (0.5% for mini accounts). For example, a US $100,000 position would require an initial margin deposit of US$1,000.

Fees

PFG Inc. offers direct PFG dealing spreads of 3 to 5 pips on the major currency pairs. There is no dealing desk at PFG FX. Trades are executed instantly directly with our counter party. Trades will typically be executed in less than 1 second.

Price Quotes

PFG clients have the ability to execute trades directly from real time streaming quotes, provided by the largest banks in the FX market. Customers can either trade with the expert advisor and execute trades automatically or manually point and click for instantaneous execution for trades up to $10,000,000 online. Prices are updated automatically as market conditions dictate.

Trading over the Internet

Executing a deal with PFG FX via the Internet is a simple two-step process. Simply enter the number of lots and then click on the bid (buy) or offer (sell) for the currency pair you wish to trade - your deal is automatically executed. The dealing software automatically calculates the initial margin requirement based upon the notional amount of the deal, and if sufficient funds are available in your account, will accept the transaction. Deals are confirmed online, normally within one second, and the system instantaneously updates both your open position and calculates your current P&L.

Phone Trading

Live clients may trade over the telephone with PFG FX's trading desk 24 hours a day, from Sunday at 23:00 GMT through Friday at 21:00 GMT. When trading via phone, PFG FX representatives will quote the same tight spreads available via the dealing platform. All trades executed via the phone are subject to a pre-deal margin availability check and will be manually entered into the customer's account for integrated P&L analysis and reporting.

Order Types

PFG FX's dealing platform provides sophisticated order entry and tracking. Orders may be entered at any rate - inside or outside the existing spread - using the following orders types:

• Limit orders
  An order to buy or sell Foreign Currency, or pairs of Currencies, at a specified price or exchange rate. A Limit Order to buy generally will be executed when the ask price equals or falls below the price or exchange rate specified in the Limit Order. A Limit Order to sell generally will be executed when the bid price equals or exceeds the price or exchange rate specified in the Limit Order. Customers should note, however, that market conditions may often prevent execution of an individual Customer's Limit Order despite other dealing activity at that price level.If a trader is long USD/CHF is 1.4627, a limit order would be entered to sell dollars above that price, for example, at 1.4800.
• Stop Loss orders
  An order to buy or sell at a specified Foreign Exchange Rate away from the current market for the purpose of liquidating an Open Position during market conditions in which the Open Position has declined in value. Execution of such an order can occur at rates below (or above) the specified Foreign Exchange Rate.
  If the trader above is long USD at 1.4627, a Stop Loss order could be left at 1.4549, in case the dollar depreciates below 1.4549.
  As a rule, sell stops are filled on our bid, and buy stops are filled on our offer. This allows PFG FX to fill client s orders at the rate they requested in almost every case. In the rare instance that the market gaps over a requested rate, the s is filled at the best available price. This is an important point for traders who are accustomed to being filled on sell stops when the offer reaches the requested order rate. For example, if a s order is placed to sell USD/CHF at 1.4549, the trader will be filled when the bid reaches 1.4549 (i.e. the bid/offer is 1.4549/54).
• Trailing Stop Loss
  Acomplex stop-loss order in which the Stop Loss price is set at some fixed number of pips below the market price. If the market price rises, the s loss price rises proportionately, but if the currancy price falls, the Stop Loss price does not change. This technique allows an investor to set a limit on the maximum possible loss without setting a limit on the maximum possible gain, and without requiring paying attention to the investment on an ongoing basis. *For the trailing s to continue to modify the Stop Loss, the PFG FX Trader platform must be running and connected to the internet.
• Take Profit
  The level at which you wish to close a position in order to realize profits .

All of the above orders may be entered Good 'til Cancelled Order (GTC), which is valid until the order is executed or cancelled. Orders remain open until they are triggered or cancelled. If you close out a position manually, you must cancel any order(s) relating to that position.

Order Execution

• Stop Loss Orders - Execution Rules
  As a rule, sell stops are filled on our bid, and buy stops are filled on our offer. This allows PFG FX to fill client s orders at the rate they requested in almost every case. In the rare instance that the market gaps over a requested rate, the s is filled at the best available price. This is an important point for traders who are accustomed to being filled on sell stops when the offer reaches the requested order rate. For example, if a s order is placed to sell USD/CHF at 1.4549, the trader will be filled when the bid reaches 1.4549 (i.e. the bid/offer is 1.4549/54).
• Good Til Cancelled (GTC) Orders - Execution Rules
  A trade Order placed for a specific amount of time to buy or sell a foreign currency.
• Orders left over the weekend
  Orders left pending at close of trading on Friday at 21:00 GMT or placed over the weekend are subject to a gap open on Sunday evening when PFG FX starts trading at 23:00 GMT. For both Stop Loss and limit orders - if your order is triggered due to news, events or other fundamental factors, it will not be executed over the weekend. Your order WILL be executed at the prevailing price when PFG FX's trading desk opens Sunday. Because of the additional gap risk involved, you may want to reconsider leaving open orders over the weekend.

Margin

The amount of cash or other Eligible Collateral that PFG FX requires a customer to deposit or maintain in the Customer's Account in connection with the Customer's trading activity.
PFG FX's initial margin requirement is .5% for mini accounts and 1% for standard accounts. The system performs an automatic pre-deal check for margin availability, and will only execute the deal if the client has sufficient margin funds in his or her account.

Additional margin is required when a client's initial margin drops in value by 30% based on the value of any open positions. PFG FX reserves the right to liquidate any open positions should a client's initial margin drop below 30%. This is an important risk management strategy for both PFG FX and our clients; it ensures that clients do not lose more than their account balance.

Swap/Rollovers

The process of extending an existing market position through one or more Spot Settlements.

PFG automatically rolls forward all open positions to the next day's value date at 23:00 GMT.

Confirmations

Deals are confirmed on screen, typically within one second. Full transaction details may be accessed on screen as well, including date, time, rate, notional amount bought and sold, USD value, and reference number.

Reporting

PFG FX's dealing software tracks all trading activity in real time, allowing clients to view current open positions, real-time profit and loss, margin availability, account balances, and all historical transaction details directly on-screen.

Account Statements

Account statements are emailed to trading clients at the end of each trading day and month, listing all deposits/withdrawals during the statement period, realized P&L, and current account balance as calculated at the close of business on the last business day of the month.

Account Protection

The foreign exchange market is one of most popular markets for speculation, due to its enormous size, liquidity and tendency for currencies to move in strong trends. Presumably, these characteristics would enable traders to have tremendous success. However, success has been limited mainly for the following reasons:

• Many traders come with false expectations of the profit potential and lack the discipline required for trading. Short term trading is not an amateur's game and is usually not the path for quick riches. Because currencies may seem exotic or less familiar than traditional markets (i.e. equities, futures, etc.), it does not mean that the rules of finance and simple logic are suspended. One cannot hope to make extraordinary gains without taking extraordinary risks. A trading strategy that involves taking a high degree of risk means suffering inconsistent trading performance and often suffering large losses. Trading currencies is not easy (if it was, everyone would already be a millionaire), and many traders with years of experience still incur periodic losses. One must realize that trading takes time to master and there are absolutely no short cuts to this process.
• The most enticing aspect of trading currencies is the high degree of leverage used. Leverage seems very attractive to those who are expecting to turn small amounts of money into large amounts in a short period of time. However, leverage is a double-edged sword. Just because one lot ($100,000) of currency only requires $1000 as a minimum margin deposit, it does not mean that a trader with $10,000 in his account should easily be able to trade 10 lots or even 5 lots. One lot is $100,000 and should be treated as a $100,000 investment and not the $1000 put up as margin. Most traders analyze the charts correctly and place sensible trades, yet they tend to over leverage themselves (take a position that is too big for their portfolio), and as a consequence, often end up forced to exit a position at the wrong time.
• For example, if an account value is $10,000 and the trader places a trade for 1 lot, he is in effect, leveraging himself 10 to 1, which is a very significant level of leverage. Most professional money managers are not allowed to leverage even this high. Trading in small increments on the account will allow the trader to endure many losing trades without experiencing large monetary losses.

Depositing Funds Click Here »

Withdrawal of Funds Click Here »