GFT Launch MetaTrader 4 Softly but Globally

I suddenly find myself writing my second blog post of April 1st 2011, and this one is no joke either!  I'm already a  GFT spread betting customer here in the UK, but nobody from GFT called or emailed to give me this news.  I heard a whisper on the grapevine and called my account executive who confirmed that I could indeed open a MetaTrader 4 account with GFT today, as long as I didn't mind parting with at least £150. I said I didn't, and so I am now the proud possessor of a brand new GFT MT4 account. I'm told if you're a GFT client anywhere else in the world you can do this too. Everybody else will have to wait for a few more weeks.

Be that as it may, I soon discovered that the MetaTrader live account opening process is not totally painless at GFT, for people like me at least.  It seems  that as an existing spread betting customer of GFT in the UK I have to go through the rigmarole of opening a completely new spot forex account.  GFT do not offer MT4 spreadbet accounts, whatever your nationality or place of residence might be. In these circumstances you will also be asked to provide your credit card details, because GFT will want a fresh initial deposit for your shiny new non-spreadbet account.  Make sure you fill in the correct application form too. You want the one that looks like this:

If you want an MT4 account at GFT, your only choice is spot forex

As you can see, this one only lets you open a spot forex account. There are variety of other application forms, and I think I'd probably started filling in all of them by the time I was ultimately directed to the correct one! As you can also see I plumped for a micro account with maximum 400:1 leverage.

Unlike the majority of MetaTrader brokers GFT provide an extensive 130 page manual for you to download, sprinkled with their familiar olive green highlights.  There is therefore no need to twiddle your thumbs whilst downloading the platform itself. You can read the manual instead!  The next obvious thing to do is install the MetaTrader client software itself. Hopefully it's obvious how to do that, because the manual makes no mention of how to do so.  Instead it explains at some length how to use the companion MetaEditor software to create and test your very own expert advisors and indicators, and also explains how to open charts, add indicators to them and place orders. Unfortunately the manual leaves out any instructions on how to ensure that the end result of all this activity is profits in your newly opened account. If you're at all interested in that side of forex trading we humbly suggest that you spend far more time reading our community forum than you do reading the GFT MetaTrader 4 User Manual!  Nonetheless make sure you read this bit of the manual, which once more you won't have seen at other MetaTrader brokers:

With live accounts, GFT recommends having both MetaTrader 4 and DealBook® WEB open when trading to compare equity values. Please remember that the equity value in DealBook® WEB is the most accurate and legally-binding. You should rely on this value when you are trading.

In case you're wondering, you can't trade using this DealBook account. Apparently it's just for displaying your account equity accurately, which does however make you wonder why MetaTrader can't do that job properly all by itself. Having waded through all the paperwork I fired up the installer and at long last a familiar sight greeted my eyes:

GFT MT4 powered by Boston Technologies

As the screenshot makes clear, behind the scenes GFT are bridging MetaTrader to their existing systems using  technology supplied by Boston Technologies, which is also currently used by many other forex brokers too. There have been a variety of problems reported with this bridge in the past, but GFT are a big company. They know how to produce a nice manual and they certainly ought to know how to test software properly. I've personally never had any issues with DealBook, and I look forward to that experience continuing with their MT4 platform. Maybe the long wait for GFT to join the MetaTrader club means any last lingering bugs have now been well and truly squished? Regardless of any of this, the fact is that although Boston must be getting paid somehow, GFT' assure me the spreads on their MT4 platform are identical to those available using their venerable DealBook 360 platform with a spot forex account.  Here's a quick snapshot of those quotes for some of the more common pairs:

GFT MetaTrader 4 Quotes

Do you suppose GFT's new platform will tempt forex traders away from other MetaTrader brokers in droves, or will it be used largely by existing GFT clients eager to let a "robot"  or two loose on their trading account for the very first time, after what has proved to be a very long wait indeed?