Forex autotrading on optionsxpress?

C2
1

I just wonder – the Collective2 chart on the autotrade "how it works" page indicates that Forex trading is not available with optionsxpress; but optionsxpress does now trade Forex. Is the chart out of date or is Forex autotrading really not available?[LINKSYSTEM_56830503]

2

As far as I know, optionsXpress does not broker over the counter forex. Its subsidiary OEC does offer forex, and OX itself does allow trading of exchange-traded futures contracts for currency, but this is not, technically speaking, forex in the usually understood sense.

3

OK, I have set up an optionsxpress forex account, I have $10k sitting in it, I subscribed to a system (which the wizard let me do), set it to autotrade, and … nothing happened. So apparently this means I will need to setup a different account with a broker that will autotrade? I was mislead because the chart for the system I subscribed to showed the return with and without "optionsxpress commissions."[LINKSYSTEM_56830503]

4

James,

The autotrade “how it works” page is the reference page.



Looking at the table of which broker does what, it seems that optionsxpress can’t be used for forex, but CAN do everything else, as you had orginally seen.



http://www.collective2.com/about-autotrade



Christina

5

The issue is that OX recently added the ability to trade forex, and James was wondering if C2 had added Gen3 support for that and forgot to update the chart, or if C2 still does not support Gen3 for forex trading with OX. By Matthew’s surprised reaction, the answer is clear.

6

Hi, Jeffrey -



I don’t think that optionsXpress supports forex trading. Can you point to where on their web site this has been announced? I am pretty sure they do not support forex, but I’d be delighted to be proven wrong.

7

I don’t know where it’s been announced, but if you log in to OX, it’s the last item under the “Trade” menu (helpfully labeled with the “New!” icon). An agreement has to be signed and submitted to begin trading, but I’m sure you can get more details from your contacts at OX that I have available.

8

I found one mention on the Release Notes page.



http://beta.optionsxpress.com/release_notes/frame.aspx



Select "September 2011" from the drop-down menu on the right hand side.

9

Thanks, Jeffrey. I’ll try to reach out to OX and see whether we can support this new instrument class.

10

Good golly Miss Molly,

I just lost $5K+ on OX shorting EUR/USD. YES OX DOES TRADE FOREX!

11

They do indeed, but they have not opened up their forex API yet. As soon as they do, we’ll look into adding forex to optionsXpress AutoTrading.

12

I actually spoke to Tech Support at OX Forex, this is what they said:



EMAIL 1:

Thank you for taking the time to contact us. The reason you’ve not had orders submitted has been that you have not enabled the XML/API connection on the optionsXpress end of things.



In order for 3rd party software, such as Collective2, to interact with optionsXpress only one thing has to be done on the optionsXpress side. First log into your account and hover your mouse over Account and click on Profile. Next, click on Trading and Web site Preferences. On that page click on the box to enable “Site Access Via Software / XML API” Click on Save Changes at the bottom and that will allow you to access the site via the 3rd party software.





EMAIL 2:



“Hello Mr. [omitted],





Yes, we can accept orders for Forex via xml/api connections. If you have any other questions, feel free to reply to this email and I’ll be happy to help. If you prefer, feel free to call us at (888) 280-8020 or click on the Live Chat link found at the top of our web site as well as the bottom of this email. Phone assistance is available Monday – Friday from 9am until 10pm ET. Live Help is available Monday – Friday from 8am until 10pm and on Saturday from 10am until 2pm ET.



Thank you and have a great day.”