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Internet Currency Trading System ("ICTS")
User Manual
The Internet Currency Trading System (ICTS) is a dealing and account management system allowing individuals and institutions to efficiently and securely trade Forex online.
Lot Size: 100,000 units of the base currency.
Pip Value: $10 in GBPUSD and EURUSD; Approximately $8.50 in USDJPY and approximately $6.00 in USDCHF.
Margin Requirement: $1,000 per lot. Alternatively, clients can choose a requirement of $2,000 per lot, which gives them the ability to receive overnight interest on long USD positions.
Overnight Interest: Generally between $5 and $15 per day per lot charged on positions held past 5PM EST. Clients on 2% margin will receive this amount on long USD positions, and pay this amount on short USD positions. Clients on 1% margin will always pay this amount, regardless of the position. Most clients opt for 1% margin, as the Overnight Interest charge is only about 1 pip.
Minimum Deposit: $2,000 to open an account
Margin Call Procedure: When a client has less than $990 of equity per open lot, some or all of the clients open positions will be automatically closed. Clients are encouraged to avoid margin calls through the use of stops and/or adequately capitalized accounts.
Trading Hours: Sunday 7:00 PM EST through Friday 3:00 PM EST.Login screen appears when ICTS System starts:
Enter your UserName, Password, and press OK. The ICTS trading tab will appear:
Dealer’s Rates window displays live dealing rates. The following functionality is available on the Dealer’s Rates window:
Market Order
This allows the trader to trade "at the market." Click on the rate (Sell or Buy) field within the order record or right click anywhere within the order record and then choose Market order command from pop-up menu. The Amount input screen will appear:
Enter desired amount measured in lots and press OK. New order marked with letter ‘I’ (Initiate) will appear on the Trader’s Orders window. Dealer now is able to confirm operation or to reject it due to market movement.
- If Dealer confirms the order, the ‘I’ record will disappear and the new position record will be added to the Open Positions window. The account information will be updated.
- If Dealer rejects the order because of market movement, new order marked with letter ‘R’ (Reject) will appear on the Trader’s Orders window instead of the ’I’ order. This order will show the new market price. Trader is now able to accept the Dealer's market price by right clicking within the order record and selecting Place order command from the pop-up menu. Trader may choose not or to to accept the Dealer's market price by right clicking within the order record and selecting Remove order command from the pop-up menu.
Entry Order
Right click anywhere within the order record and then choose Entry order command from pop-up menu. The Amount input screen will appear:
Enter desired amount measured in lots, adjust the price and press OK. New order marked with letter ‘E’ (Entry) will appear on the Trader’s Orders window. It will be executed by Dealer at the time when the market price reaches the Entry order.
Sort records
Click on the column title.
All records will be sorted by that column.Hedging Positions
Placing trades from the Dealer's Rates window will never offset your open positions, but will always open a new position. Open positions can therefore be "hedged" by placing trades in the opposite direction of an open position from the Dealer's Rates window. The only way an open position can be closed is by right-clicking on that position in the "Open Positions" window and selecting "Close Position", or selecting a "Stop" or "Limit", which will then close the position if it is filled."Trader’s Orders" window
Trader’s Orders window displays your own Entry and OCO orders. It also allows Trader to operate with Initiate, Reject, Close, and Terminate order records (those operations have been already discussed above). The following functionality is available on the Trader’s Orders window:
Place order
Right click within the order record and then select Place order command from the pop-up menu. Selected order will be sent to Dealer. This operation is used with Initiate, Reject, Close, and Terminate order recordsRemove order
Right click within the order record and then select Remove order command from the pop-up menu. Selected order will be removed.Change price
Click on the rate field within the Entry order record or right click anywhere within the record and then choose Change Price command from pop up menu. The Entry Change Price input box will appear:
Enter desired price and press OK. The price on the order will change.
Hedging: As with the "Dealer's Rates" window, any orders filled from the "Trader's Orders" window will not offset open positions.
Open Positions window displays all open positions and allows placing Stop and Limit orders, as well as closing the position at the market price. Any executed orders that are entered from the "Open Positions" window will serve to close out part or all of that position. The following functionality is available on the Open Positions window:
Place Stop order
Right click within the position record and choose Place Stop command from pop-up menu. The Stop dialog box will appear:
Enter desired Stop rate and press OK. The Stop rate will appear within the position record.
Place Limit order
Right click within the position record and choose Limit command from pop-up menu. The Limit dialog box will appear:
Enter desired Limit rate and press OK. The Limit rate will appear within the position record.
Close position
Right click within the position record and choose Close position command from pop-up menu. The Close position confirmation box will appear:
Press OK. New order marked with letter ‘C’ (Close) will appear on the Trader’s Orders window. Dealer now is able to confirm execution or reject tge price due to market movement.
- If Dealer confirms the order, the ‘C’ record will disappear and the desired position will be closed. The account information will be updated.
- If Dealer rejects the order because of market movement, new order marked with letter ‘T’ (Terminate) will appear on the Trader’s Orders window instead of the ’C’ order. This order will show the new market price. Trader is now able to send it back to Dealer (right click within the order record and choose Place order command from the pop-up menu) or to cancel the operation (right click within the order record and choose Remove order command from the pop-up menu).
Change price on Stops and Limits
Click on the rate (Stop or Limit) field within the position record or right click anywhere within the position record and then choose Change Stop or Change Limit command from pop up menu. The Stop or Limit dialog box will appear. Enter desired Stop or Limit price and press OK.Remove Stops and Limits
Right click anywhere within the position record and then choose Remove Stop or Remove Limit command from pop up menu. The Stop or Limit will be removed.
"Currency Reference Rates" windowCurrency window displays all currency rates information including the High and Low of the day for each currency and Interest Rate differentials ("Prm Buy" and "Prm Sell").
"Prm Buy" and "Prm Sell" indicate the amount, in US Dollars per lot, that will be debited to credit to each open position held past 5PM New York time (for $2,000 margin/per lot accounts). Accounts set up on $1,000 margin per lot will always pay the amount, regardless of position direction.
The following functionality is available on the Currency window:
Sort records
Click on the column title.
All records will be sorted by that column.Reorder records
Right click within the currency record and then select Move Up, Move Down, Move Top, or Move Bottom command from the pop-up menu. Selected record will move accordingly.(top of page)
"Account Information" windowAccount Information window displays values representing the status of your account(s). Account information normally refreshes every 30 seconds or as a result of any Trader's action. The following functionality is available on the Account Information window.
Refresh information
Right click within the account record and then select Refresh Account Data command from the pop-up menu. Account Information will be renewed.Generate reports
Right click within the account record and then choose desired report from the pop-up menu: Current, Daily, Weekly, Monthly or Yearly report page will be generated. You could print it out for your reference.Enter Trading Ratio
Trading Ratio is used to allow Trader to predefine the default amount of contracts to be used when opening a position on the particular account. This is a key feature primarily used by those who manage several accounts.
Click on TR field within the account record. The Trading Ratio dialog box will appear:
Enter desired amount and press OK.
Enter Group name
Group name is used to allow Trader to group accounts.
Click on Group field within the account record. The Group dialog box will appear:
Enter desired Group name and press OK.
Save Group information
Group names and Trading Ratio values for accounts could be saved for later use.
Right click within the account record and then select Save Group information command from the pop-up menu. Group information will be saved.
"Summary by all accounts" windowThe "Summary by all accounts" window is similar to the "Open Positions" window, except that all currency positions are summarized. For example, if you have three separate open buy positions of one lot each in USDJPY, the "Summary by all accounts" window will just show one position of 3 lots, with the average open price in the "AvOpen" column. If you have three separate open buy positions of one lot each in USDJPY, and one short position of one lot in USDJPY, the "Summary by all accounts" window will show the buy position as one position of 3 lots, and the sell position as one position of one lot, and the NH ("not hedged") column will show a "2", indicating that you have a net buy exposure of two lots.
This window is also useful when trading multiple accounts. It will summarize whichever account is selected in the "Account Information window. In addition, if you right-click on the gray heading and select "summary by all accounts", it will summarize the positions of all accounts in your login as if they were a single account.
Click on the History tab handle to switch to the Trading History tab. Trading History window will appear:
Trading History displays latest completed deals (closed positions) in chronological order (30 records are listed). Sorting functionality is available on the Trading History window by any column heading. Just click on the column heading to sort in ascending or descending order.
The Internet Currency Trading System is designed to facilitate trading and managing multiple accounts from a single login window. Clients who have their platform configured for multiple account trading will see each account in the "Account Information" window:
Each action will be performed on the account which is currently highlighted (dealing, account history, view reports, etc.) just as if the trader was managing a single account.
Block trades and orders can also be placed which will automatically be distributed among the accounts as per the trader's instructions. Indicate how many lots each account is to receive by clicking on the cell in the "TR" column. In order to save this information, apply a group name to each row by left-clicking the appropriate row in the "Group" column. When finished, right-click on each row and select "Save group information". So for three sub accounts, you will have to do this three times.
Multiple accounts can then be selected by holding down the "Ctrl" key and clicking on each account (note that clicking and dragging will not properly select the accounts). Once the desired accounts are selected, the trader can then trade from the "Dealer's Rates" window. The default number of lots for each trade will now be the sum total of the "TR" entry for each selected account. When the trade is executed, each account will have the corresponding number of lots automatically placed in it.
GCI is unique in offering online spot gold and silver trading on the same platform as foreign exchange. Contract Specifications are:
Gold1 lot = 500 ounces (5x larger than the futures contract)
.01 = $5 per lotMargin: same as currencies ($1,000 per lot. Alternatively a $2,000 per lot schedule can be selected in order to receive carry on short positions)Advantages:- Over 5 times the leverage offered by the exchange or other firms- Fully integrated with FX trading account, using the same account equity and trading software
- Additional trading and hedging opportunities that are not correlated with currencies
- Interbank-standard bid/ask spreads of only 0.50 dollars (fifty cents)
Silver1 lot = 10,000 ounces (2x larger than the futures contract)
.01 = $100 per lotMargin: same as currencies ($1,000 per lot. Alternatively a $2,000 per lot schedule can be selected in order to receive carry on short positions)Advantages:- Over 2 times the leverage offered by the exchange or other firms- Fully integrated with FX trading account, using the same account equity and trading software
- Additional trading and hedging opportunities that are not correlated with currencies
- Interbank-standard bid/ask spreads of only 0.02 dollars (two cents)
Java-based charts are accessed from the "View" menu. Clients can select the currency and time frame they wish. GCI's charts also provide an array of analysis tools and technical studies ("indicators"). Click here for further information on technical studies and their definitions.
The current release of GCI's charts does not provide for direct printing functionality. The charts must be printed as follows:
- Generate the desired chart
- Select "Edit", and then "Reverse" colors. The chart will now be a black line on white background.
- Select "Edit" again, and then "Set to Print". This will hide the menu bar on top. (Note: you can click anywhere on the chart to show the menu bar).
- Hold down your "Alt" key and press "Print Screen" (or "PrtSc"). It will appear as if nothing has happened, but the chart has just been copied to your windows clipboard.
- Launch MS Word, MS Powerpoint or any another document program. Start with a blank document.
- Select "Edit" and then "Paste" from the MS Word menu. The chart will now appear in the blank document.
- Print the MS Word document.
Symbol Currency Pair Trading Terminology GBPUSD British Pound / US Dollar "Cable" EURUSD Euro / US Dollar "Euro" USDJPY US Dollar / Japanese Yen "Dollar Yen" USDCHF US Dollar / Swiss Franc "Dollar Swiss", or "Swissy" USDCAD US Dollar / Canadian Dollar "Dollar Canada" AUDUSD Australian Dollar / US Dollar "Aussie Dollar" EURGBP Euro / British Pound "Euro Sterling" EURJPY Euro / Japanese Yen "Euro Yen" EURCHF Euro / Swiss Franc "Euro Swiss" GBPCHF British Pound / Swiss Franc "Sterling Swiss" GBPJPY British Pound / Japanese Yen "Sterling Yen" CHFJPY Swiss Franc / Japanese Yen "Swiss Yen" NZDUZD New Zealand Dollar / US Dollar "New Zealand Dollar" or "Kiwi" USDZAR US Dollar / South African Rand "Dollar Zar" or "South African Rand" GLDUSD Spot Gold "Gold" SLVUSD Spot Silver "Silver" Either the "Currency Pair" or "Trading Terminology" can be used for telephone trading.
DISCLAIMER: Forex and Commodities Trading involves a substantial risk of financial loss. Futures-Training.com is designed as a resource for traders and a presentation of trading ideas. You should carefully consider whether trading Forex is appropriate for you in light of your experience, objectives, financial resources and other circumstances.
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