Who
are the participating institutions on the MilanFX Platform?
MilanFX is the first block FX trading platform designed to provide
a level playing field to a range of buy- and sell-side trading
institutions, including hedge funds, commodity trading advisors,
real-money managers and banks.
What
currency pairs can I trade on MilanFX? What is the minimum order
size for each block?
The block size varies based on the currency pair that's traded.
The following table shows the supported currency pairs and their
minimum order sizes.
| Currency
Pair |
Minimum
Size |
| EUR/USD |
100 million (EUR) |
| EUR/JPY |
50 million (EUR) |
| EUR/CHF |
50 million (EUR) |
| EUR/GBP |
50 million (EUR) |
| GBP/USD |
50 million (GBP) |
| USD/CAD |
50 million (USD) |
| USD/CHF |
50 million (USD) |
| USD/JPY |
100 million (USD) |
| AUD/USD |
50 million (AUD) |
| NZD/USD |
50 million (NZD) |
| USD/SGD |
25 million (USD) |
| USD/ZAR |
25 million (USD) |
| USD/TRY |
25 million (USD) |
| USD/MXN |
50 million (USD) |
| USD/NOK |
50 million (USD) |
| USD/SEK |
50 million (USD) |
| EUR/NOK |
50 million (EUR) |
| EUR/SEK |
50 million (EUR) |
|
How can I see the market in MilanFX?
MilanFX displays market conditions through the reference price
and block reference range.
What is the MilanFX reference price?
The reference price is an "indicative/non-tradable price" sourced
from participating prime brokerage banks. The prices are run
through an algorithm, which uses a median price calculation
at a high level to derive the fair market value of a currency
pair. The reference price is considered an "impact free" price
since any interest/orders placed on the platform will NOT shape
the reference in any manner.
What is the block reference range?
The block reference range is the price range in which a participant may
broadcast their own block reference on the platform. Whenever
a user posts an order through the platform within the block reference
range, all users will receive an orange flash indicator that
liquidity is present in the range.
How is the block reference range represented?
The block reference range is represented graphically for each currency
pair using LED boxes in each currency ticket. These graphics
are centered directly below the reference price of each currency
pair.
What order types are supported?
There are three order types supported on MilanFX:
Limit order
Pegged order
Pegged with a limit order
What is a Limit Order?
A limit order is an order that is placed with a specific limit
price. For example, a buy order for 200M EUR/USD with a limit
of 1.2665 is only good up to and including 1.2665.
What is a Pegged Order?
A pegged order moves with the reference price, and will only
be executed at the reference price or better.
What is a Pegged with a Limit Order?
This order operates with the same rules as a pegged order, but
the trader can also specify a threshold price beyond which the
order will not participate in the market.
How does MilanFX define an Aggressive Order?
An aggressive order is one placed at the reference price or
better. For example, a buy order is at the reference price or
higher and a sell order is at the reference price or lower.
How does MilanFX define a Passive
Order?
A passive order is one that is below or above the reference
price depending on whether the trader is buying or selling.
For example, a buy order below the reference price is defined
as passive as well as a sell order above the reference price
is defined as "passive".
What does it mean when a currency pair flashes to "orange"?
A currency pair flashing to orange indicates that there is interest
in that currency pair within the block reference range.
What does it mean when a currency
pair flashes to "green"?
A currency pair flashing to green indicates that a trader's
aggressive order is one pip away from contra liquidity. Therefore,
the trader's order has to be at the reference price or better
and contra liquidity must be one pip or less away. ONLY aggressive
orders get a green flash indicating the contra interest is very
close. By clicking on the aggressive order, the user can have
their order automatically repriced to quickly establish a matched
trade with the available contra liquidity.
Can
I get price improvement in MilanFX? And how does this occur?
Yes.
By having the potential to trade at the mid-point or better.
By not DISPLAYING interest and having the ability to trade
with no market impact/slippage.
Can I cancel my orders or adjust
price limits any time?
Yes. Orders are cancelled immediately, however in order to minimize
gaming, price replace requests get throttled if the trader constantly
and continually indulges in repricing.
Can I cancel all outstanding orders
simultaneously?
Yes. The application has a button to
cancel all orders located in the upper right hand corner of
its main screen.
Does MilanFX take into account interest
in a cross currency pair if I am trading in another currency
pair that has parts of the cross?
MilanFX has no triangulation of interest across currency pairs.
Interest is limited to the specific cross. For example, if a
trader places interest to sell 200m EUR/JPY, MilanFX will only
consider contra interest in the specific EUR/JPY cross pair
and NOT in EUR/USD & USD/JPY.
Can I get partial fills smaller than my
minimum order size? What are the consequences of this on flashing behavior?
Yes. Since MilanFX allows for trading lot sizes that are not
multiples of the minimum order size, there is a possibility of a partial fill
smaller than the minimum order size. For example, consider buyer A who places
an order to buy 180M EUR/USD and executes against seller B selling 100M
EUR/USD. Buyer A's 80M EUR/USD residual order size can then lead to a
partial fill of 80M EUR/USD for seller C who had an order to sell 100M EUR/USD.
However MilanFX ensures that the minimum partial fill for an order is 25% of the
minimum order size. If you have a residual quantity less than the minimum partial
fill, MilanFX will cancel this residual quantity automatically.
This behavior does not affect the flashing behavior in any way - both, the orange
and the green flash will indicate liquidity that are of the minimum order size
Can I trade with multiple Prime Brokers?
Yes. A trader can save a specific Prime Broker for a specific
currency pair.
Can I save my entire set-up for use
at another time?
Yes. A trader can save an entire user set-up by clicking on
the "save setup" button located at the top middle of the main
screen.
Can I trade forwards on the MilanFX
block trading tool?
No. MilanFX is a SPOT-only block trading platform.
Can I place my interest on MilanFX
in either base or quote currency amounts?
Yes. Traders have the ability to specify either the base or
quote currency amounts. For example, via a drop down menu for
EUR/USD, the trader can specify whether to trade in EUR amounts
or USD amounts.
Is there a demonstration site that
I can use to get familiar with the functionality of MilanFX?
Yes. Clients can have access to a demonstration platform to
get familiar with the functionality. The client user will be
assigned a demonstration login that is valid for a 10-day period.
How do I contact the MilanFX support/help desk?
Contact the MilanFX Client Help Desk at support@milanfx.com
What sort of documentation is required to start using the trading
tool?
A signed user agreement
Sponsoring Prime Broker authorization (if not a self-clearing
organization)
Do I need a Prime Broker to trade on MilanFX?
Only if your firm is not a self-clearing entity.
Does MilanFX have STP capabilities?
Yes. MilanFX has STP capabilities through Traiana Harmony.
Is there average rate functionality available?
No. Trades are STP to their PB's on a fill-by-fill basis.
What are the minimum client workstation requirements?
Pentium III 700 Mhz Intel
512 Mb RAM
Windows NT4 Service Pack 6, 2000 Service Pack 4, XP Service
Pack 1&2
Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.5 Service Pack 2 or above.
No Pop-up blocker
What is the minimum client network bandwidth?
The required bandwidth per workstation is 30 Kb/s.
What is the minimum network latency required?
The connection to the infrastructure will work well when the
latency - theoretical average - is less than 140 ms .
What is the level of encryption used for MilanFX?
MilanFX supports SSL encryption. |
