True ECN/STP Brokers

Spotware
21 Jul 2017, 16:44 ( Updated at: 25 Jan 2018, 11:32 )

Dear entheoscorp,

cTrader has been designed and built from ground up to facilitate ECN/STP market execution and exclude price injections, price requotes and any kind of price manipulation from the broker’s side. Also cTrader does not allow plugins that could manipulate execution and there is no way to amend the trade database post-trade. Brokers can manage their risks based on their needs but your orders will always be executed on genuine quotes. Whenever you trade using cTrader, you should rest assured that you get market execution for your orders based on real market prices.

Best Regards,

cTrader Team

Drummond360
24 Jan 2018, 18:45 ( Updated at: 25 Jan 2018, 11:32 )

Hi,

Can you please confirm if this response from Spotware is still valid? 

After doing some backtesting I saw some remarkably unrealistic results where I could trade a £1000 account up to over a billion in a day! 

I contacted my broker, FxPro, who were an ECN broker when I signed up a while back... I asked them about their negative spreads of upto -19 pips which created my crazy results. I asked if they are allowing their clients to trade the interbank spread without a mark up as I have previously read on their website...

Their response was that they are not an ECN broker, that they won't allow negative spreads and that they will 'sometimes' apply a mark up to their spreads in cTrader...

Can Spotware please reply to reasure it's users that either 

a) cTrader is indeed solid and no broker can manipulate the interbank spread?

and / or

b) Supply a list of genuine ECN brokers who offer an honest service?

Many thanks in advance...

Drummond

PanagiotisCharalampous
25 Jan 2018, 11:33

H Drummond360,

The above response in valid in the sense that we do not allow brokers to manipulate the platform in any way that would be harmful to traders. Regarding the response you got from FxPro, indeed cTrader has moved beyond the purely STP/ECN/NDD model. I quote below my reply when the same issue was raised about cTrader offering a dealing desk solution

"You all know that cTrader was introduced as a pure STP/ECN/NDD platform at times when trading technology was subject to limited control and brokers could manipulate most parts of a trading system. Therefore there was a need for a platform that would guarantee proper order execution without any sort of manipulation.

Throughout these years cTrader and Spotware have educated hundreds of thousands of traders regarding fair trading practices and we believe that we have raised awareness amongst traders while pushing brokers to adapt more transparent practices.

However, as time passes and cTrader transforms from a niche solution to a mainstream trading platform, we need to cover more and more of the needs of the industry. Therefore we are expanding our solution by adding a DD add-on. Nevertheless, what still makes us different is that we do not allow misuse of our product in any way. The platform is hosted and managed by us, interventions are not allowed and all execution information is provided to traders in a transparent manner. This means that you can still be sure that cTrader cannot be mistreated in any way. We have built a brand name and a business around “Traders First” and we are not willing to give up on it. We apply a rigorous approval process on who and how is using cTrader, we are constantly monitoring cTrader platforms for possible misuses and we investigate immediately any suspicion for malicious activity. You should rest assured that will be the case with DD enabled platforms as well."

Despite the fact that now cTrader can allow business models beyond a pure STP/ECN/NDD model, it is still a transparent platform and does not allow manipulation of trades. All execution information is recorded and available to traders.

The fact that traders are educated enough and can question their brokers themselves is something that satisfies us in the sense that we managed to educate people and "force" brokers to justify their decisions and actions. For example, FxPro provides a comprehensive explanation on how they execute their trades and it is up to you to decide if this fits your needs.

Regarding the two questions you raised

a) Brokers can add a markup on their feed. Practically this is a commission on the trade and it is one of the legitimate ways for brokers to charge for their service, especially ECN/STP brokers. Some brokers might advertise that they offer interbank spreads so you will need to clarify this with them if they add any mark up on their prices. You can also monitor their spread on the trading platform and judge yourself.

b) Since we cannot talk on behalf of brokers, you should contact them and ask them about their business model. 

I hope the above clarifies the situation for you.

Best Regards,

Panagiotis

Drummond360
25 Jan 2018, 17:03

Hi Panagiotis,

Thankyou for such a detailed and concise reply, much appreciated...

Drummond...

guisgs
18 Jan 2023, 13:48

RE:

PanagiotisCharalampous said:

H Drummond360,

The above response in valid in the sense that we do not allow brokers to manipulate the platform in any way that would be harmful to traders. Regarding the response you got from FxPro, indeed cTrader has moved beyond the purely STP/ECN/NDD model. I quote below my reply when the same issue was raised about cTrader offering a dealing desk solution

"You all know that cTrader was introduced as a pure STP/ECN/NDD platform at times when trading technology was subject to limited control and brokers could manipulate most parts of a trading system. Therefore there was a need for a platform that would guarantee proper order execution without any sort of manipulation.

Throughout these years cTrader and Spotware have educated hundreds of thousands of traders regarding fair trading practices and we believe that we have raised awareness amongst traders while pushing brokers to adapt more transparent practices.

However, as time passes and cTrader transforms from a niche solution to a mainstream trading platform, we need to cover more and more of the needs of the industry. Therefore we are expanding our solution by adding a DD add-on. Nevertheless, what still makes us different is that we do not allow misuse of our product in any way. The platform is hosted and managed by us, interventions are not allowed and all execution information is provided to traders in a transparent manner. This means that you can still be sure that cTrader cannot be mistreated in any way. We have built a brand name and a business around “Traders First” and we are not willing to give up on it. We apply a rigorous approval process on who and how is using cTrader, we are constantly monitoring cTrader platforms for possible misuses and we investigate immediately any suspicion for malicious activity. You should rest assured that will be the case with DD enabled platforms as well."

Despite the fact that now cTrader can allow business models beyond a pure STP/ECN/NDD model, it is still a transparent platform and does not allow manipulation of trades. All execution information is recorded and available to traders.

The fact that traders are educated enough and can question their brokers themselves is something that satisfies us in the sense that we managed to educate people and "force" brokers to justify their decisions and actions. For example, FxPro provides a comprehensive explanation on how they execute their trades and it is up to you to decide if this fits your needs.

Regarding the two questions you raised

a) Brokers can add a markup on their feed. Practically this is a commission on the trade and it is one of the legitimate ways for brokers to charge for their service, especially ECN/STP brokers. Some brokers might advertise that they offer interbank spreads so you will need to clarify this with them if they add any mark up on their prices. You can also monitor their spread on the trading platform and judge yourself.

b) Since we cannot talk on behalf of brokers, you should contact them and ask them about their business model. 

I hope the above clarifies the situation for you.

Best Regards,

Panagiotis

Are these statements still valid? A broker I own and work with you has been exercising crashes and freezes on the competing platform. The thing is, they also offer Ctrader. May I rest assured that you do not allow this type of intrusion by brokers?