綜合FAQ

1. What’s the difference between a demo and a live trading account?

2. Why do I get “Error 500” when I submit my Demo registration?

3. What are your commissions and fees?

4. How does CMS determine its prices?

5. What is the maximum lot size per order?

6. Will my funds on deposit be safe?

7. Is CMS FDIC insured?

8. How much money do I need to open an account?

9. How do I open an account?

10. How do I know if my account has been opened?

11. I am a resident of Sanctioned Country. Why can’t I open an account with CMS?

12. How do I fund my account?

13. When will my funds be posted to my account?

14. How do I withdraw money from my account?

15. What happens to my open positions at the end of the trading day?

16. What are your trading hours?

17. Can I place orders over the phone?

18. Can I place a trade via email?

19. How do I change my money manager?

20. Can CMS tell me when to buy or sell a currency?

21. What is hedging, and how do I place a hedge order?

22. Do I need a broadband Internet connection to trade with CMS?

23. Can I trade with CMS if I am not using my home computer?

24. Can I use VT on my Apple Macintosh computer?

25. What are the minimum system requirements for running VT?

1. What’s the difference between a demo and a live trading account?
Demo and Live trading accounts are the same, except that in Demo accounts, you are not trading any real capital. Additionally, in demo trading, you may find that most of the trades skip the "Pending Orders" window and immediately appear in the "Open Position" window. In live trading, all orders first appear in the "Pending Orders" window. After confirmation from the dealer that this price exists, the trader's order will appear in the "Open Positions" window. If the price changes, the trader will see a popup window with the new price. To confirm or to cancel this order, the trader should right-click on the price in the "Pending Orders" window for a menu and then choose the appropriate selection to accept or to reject the price and cancel this order. Live accounts are also connected to dedicated and more robust servers, separate from the ones used by Demo accounts.

2. Why do I get the following error message when I submit my Demo registration form?

Error 500--Internal Server Error. The server encountered an unexpected condition which prevented it from fulfilling the request.

This message means that our server is temporarily down for maintenance. Please try to register again and if you continue to receive an error contact us again and we will register for you.

3. What are your commissions and fees?
CMS charges no commission on your trades; we are compensated through the Bid and Ask prices or spread of a given currency pair. We may charge a fee for fund withdrawals. Please see Withdrawal of Funds for more information. Please be aware that the bank you deal with may be charging fees on your deposits or withdrawals. CMS has no control over any applicable bank fees.

4. How does CMS determine its prices?
Most if not all retail brokers quote prices based off of price discovery of the inter-bank market. At CMS we run several data feeds from our counterparties though algorithms to extract what we believe are the most accurate prices. As a market maker, CMS can quote any given price on any given currency pair. Obviously, doing so would not be in CMS' best interest, but it is important to note that we along with other retail brokers (Future Commission Merchants) make the market in FX.

5. What is the maximum lot size per order at CMS?
The VT platform will allow you to place an order up to 99 lots in size. If you want to place an order larger than 99 lots, you must call our dealing desk and place the order by voice. Ultimately, we limit your execution volumes by your available trading margin.

6. Will my funds on deposit be safe?
CMS is a registered Futures Commission Merchant (NFA ID #0313199), regulated by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). As an FCM, CMS must uphold the highest standards and business practices and is subject to strict financial requirements and reporting regulations. Interested parties can visit the NFA web site at any time to review CMS’s standing as an NFA member.

7. Is CMS FDIC insured?
Unused funds for CMS traders are not held in a FDIC insured account for the following reasons. Only retail depositors are FDIC insured for deposits up to $100,000 USD. CMS has a corporate account with JP Morgan Chase. Our corporate account consists of all funds held by CMS clients inside the United States of America; the total value well surpasses $100,000 USD.

8. How much money do I need to open an account?
The minimum amount to open an account is just 200 USD, 200 EUR, 300 AUD, 300 NZD, 300 CAD, 150 GBP, or 25,000 JPY.

9. How do I open a Live account?
Customers applying for an individual or a managed account may complete the online application here. Follow the instructions on the screen. Print out the last page, sign it, and submit it along with any other specified required documents by fax or email to CMS.

For all other account types, fill out a paper application. Download the appropriate forms here depending on what type of account you want. You may be asked to submit additional documentation for the purpose of verifying your identity as part of our anti-money laundering efforts.

10. How do I know if my account has been opened?
Once your account has been opened, you will receive an email from CMS with instructions for logging in, as well as instructions on how to fund your account.

11. I am a resident of Sanctioned Country. Why can’t I open an account with CMS?
If you are a resident of one of the sanctioned countries or territories listed by the Office of Foreign Assets Control in the U.S. Treasury, then CMS may be prohibited by law from doing business with you. Please visit http://www.treas.gov/offices/enforcement/ofac/index.shtml for more information.

12. How do I fund my account?
Once your account is opened, CMS will email you instructions on how to fund your account. We accept funds by check, wire transfer, or PayPal. You may also read about depositing funds here.

13. When will my funds be posted to my account?
Your funds will be posted within 1-2 business days if sent by wire transfer, 8-10 business days if sent by check (once we receive it), or 3-4 business days if sent by PayPal.

14. How do I withdraw money from my account?
To withdraw money from your account, you must fill out and submit a withdrawal request form. Once received, your request will be processed within 2-3 business days. Please note that funds may be withdrawn by the signatory of the trading agreement alone. If it is a joint account, then both account holders must sign the withdrawal request. No third party payments are allowed. Additionally, funds may be withdrawn by Check only if the account holder resides in the United States or Canada. Certain withdrawal fees may apply. Please visit Withdrawal of Funds for more information.

15. What happens to my open positions at the end of the trading day?
CMS automatically rolls over all open positions to the next date at 5 PM EST for settlement. Rollover involves exchanging the position being held for a position expiring the following settlement date. For example, for trades executed on Monday, the value date is Wednesday. However, if a position is opened on Monday and held overnight, the value date is now Thursday. The exception is a position opened and held overnight on Wednesday. The normal value date would be Saturday, but because banks are closed on Saturday the value date is actually the following Monday. Due to the weekend, positions held overnight on Wednesday incur or earn an extra two days of interest. Trades with a value date that falls on a holiday will also incur or earn additional interest.

CMS clients can earn interest on rollovers, depending on the direction of their positions and interest rate differential between the two currencies involved. For instance, the primary interest rates in Great Britain are much higher than in Japan, so if you buy GBP, you will earn interest at 5 PM EST time. On the other hand, if you sell GBP in this currency pair, you will pay interest at 5 PM EST time.

16. What are your trading hours?
Dealing services are offered from 5:15 p.m. EST Sunday, until 4 p.m. EST Friday with no exception for country-specific holidays unless a special notice is given in advance to our customers. The market is closed from 5 p.m. EST on December 24 to 5 p.m. on December 25, and from 5 p.m. on December 31 to 5 p.m. on January 1.

17. Can I place orders over the phone?
Yes, you can place trades over the phone. Please read Emergency Procedures to learn how.

18. Can I place a trade via email?
No, we do not allow our customers to place trades via email. In the case of an emergency, you may place trades over the phone.

19. How do I change my money manager? May I revoke an old power of attorney?
The procedure to switch money managers is quite straight forward and can be concluded within several business days. CMS only requires that you complete a new Limited Power-of-Attorney. This document must also be signed by your new trading agent, and sent to us by mail or fax. The Power-of-Attorney also can be scanned and sent by e-mail to account@cms-forex.com.

20. Can CMS tell me when to buy or sell a currency?
CMS does not make recommendations, offer opinions or advise customers on their individual trading accounts. However, CMS does provide news, commentaries and research material including “Daily Market Commentaries”, “Market News” and “FX Thoughts of the Day”. We also provide additional market insight through “Market Analysis”, “Trading Signals and Forecasts” and “Useful Market Information”.

21. What is hedging? How do I place a hedge order?
Once a position is already established, you have the ability to take the opposite side by clicking the “Hedge Box”. As opposed to closing out the position you now have an opportunity to lock in a profit or a even a loss. Hedging is a very useful tool for those traders that know how to use it properly. Hedging an open position involves placing an exactly opposite trade. Normally, the opposing trades cancel each other out, closing the position. But with our hedging feature, both trades remain active. For example, let’s say you bought GBP/USD. You can hedge your position by selling GBP/USD. Both will remain separate active positions, rather than canceling each other out. Hedging gives the trader upside potential, whichever direction the market heads. It is important that you fully understand how hedging works and how to properly use it before placing any hedge orders. Hedging is an additional feature we have added for the benefit of our clients, and is by no means a required action. No additional margin is requested for hedging positions.

22. Do I need a broadband Internet connection to trade with CMS?
You are not required to have a broadband connection; dialup connection may be used. However, CMS and Visual Trading Systems strongly recommend using a high speed internet connection for optimal performance.

23. Can I trade with CMS if I am not using my home computer?
You may trade with CMS from any computer with an Internet connection and which has the VT Platform installed.

24. Can I use VT on my Apple Macintosh computer?
Unfortunately, the Visual Trading System does not operate on Apple Macintosh operating systems.

25. What are the minimum system requirements for running VT?
Below you will find system requirements for the Visual Trading System.

Minimum System Requirements:
• Pentium class (or similar chip) running at 166Mhz or higher.
• 128MB RAM.
• Monitor Resolution should be set to 1024x768.
• Windows 98/NT/ME/2000.
• Internet Explorer 5.0 or Netscape v6.x. If you are using AOL, we recommend that you configure AOL to use Microsoft Internet Explorer for web browsing.

Recommended System requirements:
• Pentium II or Celeron class running at least 300Mhz or higher
• Monitor that supports 1024x768 with a color depth of 32 bits (16,777,216 colors) or higher resolution.
• 128MB RAM for Windows 98/2000, and 256MB of RAM for Windows NT.
• A fast Internet connection is vital for currency trading. We recommend that you install DSL or cable modem.