The only US ecn-type of broker that I know of is interactive brokers. But their leverage is a paltry 50:1 or 40:1 I think. Are there any brokers in the US that have higher leverage while operating as an ecn/stp broker?
The US is a heavily regulated market for brokers and also forex brokers. Luckily though, when it comes to forex, that's a GOOD thing! That's also one of the reasons there aren't many decent forex brokers in the US. The only decent ones are IB and MBtrading.
I like IC Markets with 1:500 and better spreads than my broker in London. They are Australians. Different log ons for the client section and the trading software. Would recommend playing with the demo account first. They are super for stock indices, JMHO. (Am staying away from forex)
I clicked on an advert today for a FOREX trading platform (I won't mention the name as I've never used and couldn't recommend it) which offered "85 millisecond execution speeds"! I've been using my own excel software which updates on a 1 second interval, so I'm a bit behind the curve here. That said, I prefer to use my own programs as I actually know what's going on with that - I have an instinctive mistrust of 3rd party platforms after I found out some "insider" information about how they manipulate their customer's trades to retain profitable positions for themselves. Complicated stuff, but it does go on....
Due to the high regulation on US brokers, they can't give you anymore than 200:1. Offshore brokers can even give you up to 1:1000. I use Forexchief that gives 1:400. A friend of mine uses an offshore account and profile to trade with these brokers. Their spreads are unbeatable. The question is, why would you need that much leverage if you have a trading capital of 10k and above. Leverage trading increases your risk and it is a double edge sword.
I would also suggest you check review sites on brokers, most give well detailed information on brokers, while at this I would advice you check the broker's credibility if your money is secured with them. The easiest way to do that of course is through the regulatory agencies, for instance the ones in the U.S includes; National Futures Association (NFA) and Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC)
I do not know so many US forex brokers. However, I trade with FreshForex and they have a good leverage of 1:2000. They are regulated in different countries. They have a presence in 158 countries and have up to 270 assets for profitable trading.
