<p style="text-align: center;">I had to release this given today's marketing moving data from the SNB.
In particular, it highlights how important your Forex Broker relationship is to you.
I have highlighted how it affected my trading this morning.
It is not intended as a Broker bashing article.
It is just what happened and hopefully it will resonate with you</p>

<h3 style="text-align: center;"><strong> YOUR CHOICE OF FOREX BROKER IS PARAMOUNT
TODAYS NEWS MUST TELL YOU THIS…</strong></h3>
<h3 style="text-align: center;"><strong>THE SNB DROPS THE EUR/CHF PEG..
THIS WAS A ONCE IN A LIFETIME MONETARY POLICY MOVE...IT WAS HUGE
THIS TYPE OF EVENT IS WRITTEN ABOUT IN HISTORY BOOKS</strong></h3>
<h3 style="text-align: center;"><strong>HOW DID THIS AFFECT YOUR TRADING?
HOW GOOD WAS YOUR BROKER IN DEALING WITH YOUR LIVE AND LIMIT ORDER TRADES?</strong></h3>
&nbsp;

Well, without doubt I think that you could this a bombshell piece of data.

It was scary, scary stuff.

I am not even talking about the equity markets reaction to the news, that is for another day and scares the crap out of me. This is pure and simple the day to day stuff about how our brokers interact with us as Forex Traders.

Like many traders, since this news broke I have read that the market was something like 97 out of every 100 traders who were trading in CHF related pairs were short CHF.
<p style="text-align: center;">i.e. Long USD/CHF, GBP/CHF, EUR/CHF etc. and short CHF/JPY</p>
Prior to the news, using three different brokers I had limit orders to enter long on pullbacks with the USD/CHF and GBP/CHF.

Regular readers will know that in my weekly blog, I overkill and stress the importance almost every week on RISK MANAGEMENT and POSITION SIZING. Whilst this is to me this is a normal trading approach to managing your Forex trades, with today’s type of news even with excellent stop placement in position you are at the mercy of the broker you deal with.

It is at times like these when exchange rates move over a thousand pips in what seems like seconds; and when your stop is in the first hundred pips of the move or so, that it sorts out the good and not so good brokers very quickly.

Let me tell you about my experience this morning.

My exact trades were:

USD/CHF:    Enter long at 1.0125
Stop at 1.0050

GBP/CHF:    Enter long at 1.5450
Stop at 1.4950

If you were trading when the news broke, you will know how crazy and volatile the markets responded to the data as it hit the wires.

<strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">BROKER A: BLACKWELL GLOBAL</span></strong>

Closed the USD/CHF at 1.0043 – Loss of 7 pips beyond stop
Closed the GBP/CHF at 1.4515 – Loss of 435 pips beyond stop

<strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">BROKER B: INVESTORS EUROPE</span></strong>

Closed the USD/CHF at 1.0050 – Zero loss on stop
Closed the GBP/CHF…. I actually reacted so fast I got a manual close at 1.49833 – quite remarkable when you consider what was happening – Zero loss on stop... absolutely unbelievable

<strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">BROKER C: FXCM</span></strong>

USD/CHF – this trade was not with this broker
GBP/CHF - My account froze for over one hour on all CHF pairs when it re-opened; they booked me a FILL on the GBP/CHF at 1.34920
<p style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">This was a 1,468 pip loss beyond my stop loss</span></strong></p>
Now, I live in the real world, I was expecting to be hit given the severity and volatility surrounding the news announcement. To say that it was a market moving data release would be an under-statement.

As I have said, I placed my stop, I am happy to take the hit (loss) on the stop, that was my risk to take the trade. RISK MANAGEMENT is the major part of trading. I took a major hit.

Subsequent to the news, I have been in contact with FXCM and they told me that –

<strong> “The moves on the CHF crosses were a result of a legitimate news announcement”</strong>

Well I know that but why were you systems frozen for over an hour, when others albeit wounded still operated and were able to give trade results? No answer this question…. I am advised to complete an audit form, which, they will review in up to 5 days and come back to me. This is NOT intended as a FXCM bashing and if it comes across that way I apologise. Lets see what happens in the 5 days target FXCM have given me.

I doubt that many people have heard of <strong>BLACKWELL GLOBAL</strong>, sure they had slippage but my goodness it was much less than I thought it would have been from this little know broker. I have had nothing but excellent service from this company, and, service counts.

Then you have <strong>INVESTORS EUROPE</strong>…talk about 5***** STAR.

I will be writing about this this weekend in my blog as I feel that especially for new traders they think that the stop that they place with their broker is the 100% line in the sand; and then budget accordingly…it is NOT.

I have absolutely no doubt that some traders were wiped out today and possibly the odd broker will be in trouble, it was that severe a move.

I would really like comments about how other traders feared this morning on the back of trades around the SNB news.

Scott Pickering
The Pip Accumulator
Wednesday 15<sup>th</sup> January 2015.

Past performance is not indicative of future results. Trading Forex carries a very high level of risk, and may not be suitable for all investors. The high degree of leverage, which varies from country to country and broker to broker, can work against you as well as for you. In the early stages of trading you should consider adopting a very low leverage until you are familiar with its effect and trading in general. Before deciding to trade any such leveraged products you should carefully consider your investment objectives, the level of your experience, and your personal risk appetite. There is a possibility that you could sustain a loss of some or all of your initial investment and therefore you should not invest money that you cannot afford to lose. You should be aware of all the risks associated with trading on margin. Talk to and seek advice from an independent financial advisor if you have any doubts.