Platforms
Now you are reading
CMC Markets - Review of the NextGeneration platform
3

CMC Markets - perhaps not everyone has heard of them yet. The brand is not very popular on the Polish market, but that is about to change soon. And therefore the company decided at the end of 2015 to open its twelfth office outside the UK - in Warsaw. The company itself was founded in 1989 and made its debut on the London Stock Exchange last year. So we are dealing with a large company with equally large capital. As we have learned, CMC Markets wants to stand out on the Polish market primarily with competitive costs and author transaction platform. Do they have a chance for it? There was nothing else left for us than to check it :-).

NextGeneration (HTML5) - update
In early April 2017 appeared updated version NextGeneration, which is available under TYM link.

Admission word

The platform itself is named NextGeneration (NG) and is the work of CMC Markets. NG it is not distributed to other companies so we only meet her there. At the same time, arms and legs were denied prior to the introduction of MT4, even as a second alternative trading app. Apart from mobile applications, choosing CMC Markets, we decide to trade with NG. In the demo version on the platform, many additional modules, even those commonly considered as basic ones, are inactive and thus must be considered a negative point at the very beginning. To check the full functionality of the application, it is required to open a real account.

Installation and login to CMC Markets

cmc markets login

Login window for NextGeneration

The platform itself is in a non-installation form and the entire use process is based on a web browser (WEB platform). This has its advantages and minutes, which we will mention later in the text. To run NG correctly it is required to have Adobe Flash Player plugin installed (preferably in the latest version). The broker does not recommend any particular trading platform. I ran a test on the latest version of Opera for macOS.

Logging in requires going to the appropriate subpage of the broker and entering your data - e-mail address and password. We can forget about the quick login known from, for example, MT4. The "Remember me" option only applies to the e-mail, and the password must be entered separately each time. You can be logged in to the demo and real accounts at the same time. It is enough to enter the same subpage for the second time and log in with different data. There is also an option to switch between accounts from one window, but it is not a very fast process. In my case, switching to the second account took about 25 seconds from clicking until all modules were loaded.

Appearance and interface

At the first launch of the platform, we see the distribution of windows in the so-called "Default layout". It is one of the three layouts available as standard (the other two are custom configuration slots). Two things stand out.

Pierwsza - quite a lot of contrasting colors: black and white, red and green. But there are also turquoise, orange, dark green and several shades of blue in lesser amounts. The colors are a matter of taste - it is worse that we do not have much influence on it here.

Second - windows do not match the resolution of the monitor and browser. When using a laptop with a 15-inch high-resolution screen, a large portion of the browser window area is wasted. And unfortunately, the same is true for every available workspace. Therefore, there is no option to automatically adjust all windows to our resolution. In addition, if we decide to change the font size of the working layouts from normal to "fine", gaps will also appear between all open windows, and we will only have to manually modify them - very inconvenient.

cmc markets interface

Platform platform mismatch

This is not the end of underdevelopment. If we enlarge, for example, one chart window to such an extent that it covers other windows, it (e.g. a small window for quick transactions) will die under the chart. To get to it, we need to reduce the graph or move it somewhere further to the side. It is quite impractical. There is no bar with active windows on NG, so that you can efficiently switch between them in such situations. Some windows also show underdevelopment. When opening the Template Manager, the window always looks the same and its size cannot be changed. To close them you need to scroll to the right to see X. Perhaps this situation only occurs on MacOS but it would definitely be worth correcting.

2017-03-03 screenshot of 11.40.24

Template manager - underdeveloped size

There is also another irritating thing. If we select the "advanced search" option in the Instrument Library window, a very nice module for filtering and finding instruments will open. Turning it on expands this window and partially overlaps the chart. There would be nothing wrong with that, but closing the window leaves this window on the chart and requires you to move it to "your place" each time.

cmc markets instruments

Unfinished scaling of the module with the library of instruments

The three available work areas are divided into:

  1. default - a mix of everything. Two small charts, market news, quotes, calendar and quick trade window.
  2. Layout with charts - 4 charts running on the front, on the left side of the quote. A layout similar to the one we know from the first launch of MT4.
  3. Layout with tools - only one graph and several tool modules around.
cmc markets charts

Layout with tools

People used to MT4 in most cases will decide to modify the second layout.

The windows themselves can be grouped by colors, thanks to the lights in their upper right corner - for some it can be a useful function. This is called creating linked modules. This function allows you to combine charts, where changing the instrument on one of them will automatically change the others. Pointers and drawn tools will also be copied.

Tool menu. You definitely have to forget about your habits from other platforms. The layout is completely different than in popular trading applications, but not bad. The top toolbar is responsible for working layouts, several tool modules (including the formation scanner, price alerts), platform configuration, but also the management of instrument lists and the bill.

2017-03-01 screenshot of 16.33.43

Tool menu (click to enlarge)

And the last factor is extremely convenient - the "Deposits and withdrawals" function located on the platform greatly improves the process of managing funds. Thanks to this, we do not have to go to popular client panels separately or look for information on the broker's website. Configuration options are scattered across the platform. Some important functions are "hidden" in the upper right corner of the platform, which in my opinion is completely unnecessary. Thanks to this, we have a few "menus" dispersed among themselves.

2017-03-01 screenshot of 16.55.50

The second menu in the upper right corner of the platform

Going beyond the top menu, there are a lot of buttons and functions that, in my opinion, are not very clearly described or graphically presented. In fact, it is much safer to get to know NG in detail on the demo and click on it at will, checking all the platform's capabilities. These factors mean that if we want to take full advantage of the platform's capabilities and navigate 100% efficiently, it will take us much more time than in the case of competing applications.

Navigation does not help with the fact that the middle and right mouse buttons are completely inactive (except for configuration windows) or rather it does not refer to any functions, and the keyboard will be useful only for entering the transaction volume, the pending order opening price and the SL value / TP.

Features and capabilities at CMC Markets

Transactions. As with most platforms, there are several ways to enter into a transaction, but their number is noticeably smaller than, for example, in MT4. You can trade using the order window:

  • small - very compact, with access only to the volume,
  • large - extended, with the possibility of adding SL, TP, TS and more information.
2017-03-03 screenshot of 12.03.31

Small and large window for placing orders

The third option is to enter quick orders from the list with quotes (Instrument library or separate, prepared symbol lists). Just click, select the volume and confirm. Maybe it's not an express method, but it works. Due to the fact that the right mouse button is inactive, the possibilities are limited, and we have to get more cluttered eg when modifying orders.

Pending orders. It is used to other platforms, where adding them is much more comfortable and quick than on NG. Here, to add a stop or limit order, open a large trading window, change the type of order and then manually enter the entry level. Somehow, someone did not think that the level of the active order was visible on the chart. As a result, there is no question of a quick change of its level. To do this, you need to enter the order window and manually enter a new rate and approve it. Currently, on most platforms, this is done by double-clicking on an order and moving its level on the chart. The most convenient thing about orders is to close them - just press the red X in the position statement.

2017-03-03 screenshot of 12.10.27

Pending orders are not visible on the chart.

Transaction history is a bit non-functional. We can see, for example, items responsible for changing the configuration of placing orders. This option should definitely be in separate logs. Additionally, historical trades cannot be superimposed on the chart to be able to analyze them later. After closing a position, it disappears from the chart irretrievably.

2017-03-03 screenshot of 11.18.25

Transaction history

CMC Markets introduced an option that I have not seen anywhere else. The platform users were given the option to choose at what price, depending on the spread, the orders will be executed. This means that we can choose whether, for example, Stop Loss will be activated after the spread according to classic standards, on its opposite value or on the middle one. Beginner traders are regularly "surprised" short, where their SL was executed at a price that was not on the chart (because they ignored the spread). You could say that this is an option prepared especially for them, but to be able to use it, you still need to know the method of classic order execution and know that you want to activate it :-).

2017-03-03 screenshot of 10.23.32

The choice of execution depends on the spread

Probably with beginners in mind, a security against "unplanned" transactions has also been introduced, similar to that on the market. We can choose whether the position will be opened with one click or two, and we even have the option of blocking the transaction.

The platform offers a very wide range of configuration of default order parameters. Transaction volume - we can choose its type: units or value. From my observations it works differently than the user would expect :-). Changes do not take place immediately on all open windows of the various instruments. However, an interesting option is the ability to decide whether positions on futures contracts are to be automatically rolled over or closed with an expiry date. As a rule, brokers impose one of these variants from the top.

I really like the ability to personalize the settings for order parameters. It looks similar and even better than in JForex 3 Dukascopy. CMC Markets allows us to configure the parameters divided into different groups of instruments. We can define other SL / TP values, price slippage or pending orders. But it doesn't stop there. There is also an option to make these values ​​dependent on the amount, min. the margin balance, the percentage of the deposit and of course points. The minor downside, however, is the treatment Stop Loss and Trailing Stop as the same parameter - we have to decide on only one variant.

2017-03-03 screenshot of 10.04.00

Personalization of settings regarding orders

The last issue worth paying attention to in this section is the Stop-out policy, i.e. closing positions when the margin drops below the security level set by the broker. Usually we are dealing with a top-down methodology of a brokerage house. The only exception I know is Dukascopy, which offers options similar to CMC Markets. At NextGeneration, we can choose whether in the case of Stop-out it will be:

  • closed the whole set of open transactions (classic method),
  • closed position with the greatest loss,
  • the closed position with the highest value (based on the margin),
  • closed the latest item.

Very good traffic!

Chart support. Here I have mixed feelings. While the platform itself provides a number of interesting options and options in this respect, the same use of charts is quite exhausting. Perhaps it is a matter of introducing a series of solutions not found on other platforms, and perhaps the Flash environment, its limitations and not fully thought out solutions. But from the beginning.

As many as 18 time intervals are available. It is true that we cannot create our own, but this number should easily meet the expectations of the vast majority of traders. Of the more interesting ones, we have access to 1- and 5-second, 2-, 3- or 10-minute, 2-, 3-hour ones. And now for the best part - the number of chart types available. Usually there are 3-4 kinds. Meanwhile, on NextGeneration there are their… Attention… 20! This is the largest amount I have ever seen. Another thing is that hardly anyone will use more than 4-5, and in fact there are just that many in different variants. But that is not the point. NextGeneration gives us the choice and the possibilities at the click of a mouse. Without combining with additional scripts, off-line charts and a whole lot of other makeshift solutions.

2017-03-02 screenshot of 14.05.05

Menu with chart types

Interestingly, we can change the Y axis style from price to percentage. Nice thing. With one click, we can change the background color of the chart from black to dark gray or white without interfering with the templates. There is also an option to set the time range that will be displayed on the chart (very rare on Forex platforms).

2017-03-02 screenshot of 14.15.09

List of active moving averages

Only the left mouse button is active, so by using it only, we operate the entire platform, including charts - this makes it difficult, for example, to remove and edit indicators and objects added to the chart. Or maybe it's just less intuitive as tools are added at the bottom of the chart from a scrolling list. However, in order to remove them from the chart, click on the leading X (after hovering the cursor over it) next to its name.

I also have reservations about the list with indicators. As you can see in the picture, the list is expanded horizontally and you can see what this tool is in the mini-picture. Apart from the fact that it is quite unreadable, the name of some items is cut off and there is no way to suspect it other than by clicking and opening the window of adding it to the chart. We cannot extend this mini-window, move it to another place, or view the name by hovering the cursor over the icon.

2017-03-02 screenshot of 14.18.08

Undersinked addition of indicators

Equally annoying is the solution for self-imposed analytical tools. Just using them is correct, but here the continuous scrolling of the list to the right or left returns and there is no possibility of personalizing these settings. We don't have the option to rearrange them on the list.

When we are so stuck with these flaws, suddenly there comes a moment that makes NextGeneration not as bad as we think. Overlay graphs of different instruments on top of each other. Not all platforms offer this as standard. Some at all, and some only with the help of additional tools (eg MT4), but on NG it is very simple and that's not all - you can add many of them at the same time. And it looks like this ...

2017-03-02 screenshot of 14.23.38

Four charts in one window

Chart with four different instruments. The colors change automatically when adding. There is a defect. The graphs of additional instruments can only be linear and their configuration is very limited.

Instruments. CMC Markets provides access to a very large number of instruments on which we can trade. The vast majority are stocks, but there are also express contracts or binary options. The so-called Instrument library, but you can also find and immediately add any instrument to the display from the upper part of the chart window by entering its name. And here are just two caveats.

It is a mistake to put a buy / sell option in this window. When browsing the instruments, it is easy to make an unplanned purchase (or rather opening the purchase window, because you still have to select the volume). Grouping could be a little better split. For example, throwing all available shares from Poland (53 companies) into one bag means that we have to scroll through long lists all the time. Since it is a library with such a wide range of choices, it could be a bit more indexed. It's easy to create your own lists of instruments. Thanks to this, if we plan to trade on, for example, 10 different instruments, we will use this library once to configure our own list.

2017-03-02 screenshot of 14.36.13

A tool for determining ABC corrections

Indicators and tools. As they say - there is no madness but no tragedy either :-). We have 80 technical analysis indicators and 24 tools for drawing on charts. Overall, these are the standard technical analysis tools for FX platforms with a few less common AT indicators. But there is one group of traders that should be interested in two inventions - the Elliott wave drawing tools. Polylines (3- and 5-line versions) with automatic wave marking are available. Interesting things - with one button under the graph, we can hide the objects drawn on it. Pretty comfortable.

In contrast, there is something that does the frenzy. These modules are responsible for pattern recognition, which include both candlestick patterns and classic technical analysis patterns. A similar option can be found on the platform Dukascopy - JForex (read review JForex 3) We have the possibility to choose individual patterns that interest us, such as a flag, RGR, hammer, shooting star, harami… There are over 50 of them in total. Of course, let's not kid ourselves. Some of them work just like that, but you can't expect miracles. It's just programmed code based on mathematical formulas operating within a certain error threshold. This cannot be compared to the trained eye of a trader, but it is certainly a lot easier, especially for beginners. The downside is that you can use either Classic AT formation detection at the same time and/ or candle. Probably a procedure that takes care of the transparency of the charts and avoiding the excessive charging of the computer.

cmc markets formation scanner at

Technical analysis formation scanner

NextGeneration CMC Markets has one powerful disadvantage. This is their basic and actually the only stationary platform. Based on Flash and even an Internet browser, we can not use non-standard tools in the form of external scripts, indicators or even vending machines. This closes the door of a large number of traders for whom this possibility is the foundation of investment.

Additional tools

News and calendar. CMC Markets equipped NG with an information stream from Reuters. This gives us access to the whole mass of news from the market, also in Polish, of which there are usually several dozen during the day (many more in English). There is an option to filter and search, and the texts themselves are legible (although white font on a black background tires in the long run). The calendar looks good and clear. There are macro data from 20 countries, including Poland, so we have everything we usually need. We also have the option of filtering data based on countries and their importance. There is also an alert option, where we can choose not only which event we will be informed about, but also how much time before the result we will receive a notification about publication. The disadvantage is that both the messages and the calendar are completely unavailable on the demo account. A much better solution would be to introduce a temporary, e.g. 15-minute delay.

2017-03-02 screenshot of 15.44.46

Macroeconomic calendar

Formation scanner. It is an extension of the module described earlier in the paragraph about tools. The difference is that in the Formation Scanner, accessible from the top Tools menu, we can configure a lot more things. For example, in addition to selecting the types of patterns, we can define on which markets (up to 120 instruments at the same time) they will be searched without the need to have an open chart. Thus, we do not have to monitor it all the time - if a given pattern appears on the market, we will receive an alert about it. The update occurs every 15 minutes. There are also statistics that check over time to what extent the detected formations were correct. And here is another "incentive" from the broker to trade with him. To be able to check this functionality, we must not only have a real account, but also keep funds on it.

cmc markets customer positions

CMC Markets client positions

Items of CMC clients. This is a kind of internal market sentiment. It analyzes the ratio of open long and short positions (outer circle) of the broker's clients every minute and shows the players' sentiment throughout the day (inner circle - update at 23 Polish time). We can also switch to a diagram based only on earning customers (they are defined as those who have achieved a positive balance in the last three months), which will give us a preview of a narrower but also better quality statistical sample. It is difficult for me to determine the effectiveness of this tool - probably only swing traders and single day traders will be interested in it, but it is undoubtedly a cool "gadget" :-). Unfortunately, this is another option only available to customers with a real account.

Keyboard shortcuts. As I mentioned in the paragraph on the interface - the keyboard is almost useless. There are no keyboard shortcuts on the platform. The only thing that can be useful for us is a fragment of the keyboard with numbers to enter the levels of orders or the transaction volume.

Notifications. The NextGeneration platform can inform us with pop-up windows (but visible only in the platform window) and sound signals when setting price alerts. We can activate the e-mail notification option with one click - very convenient. Just adding them is convenient and quick, and at the same time, from this window, we can run many other functions. We can also configure notifications regarding the execution of orders. When our pending position takes effect, we may be informed about it. In general, platforms have this option permanently enabled or not at all.

cmc markets price alerts

Price alarms

The speed of operation of the CMC Markets platform

I have serious reservations about this element. Using a high-end computer (i7 processor, 16 GB RAM, SSD drive), which is tidy and weighs only a few office programs + Opera browser in the latest version, I feel the slow performance of the platform all the time. When changing the size of the graph windows, scrolling history or reloading templates, the platform does not behave smoothly and everything takes a long time. NextGeneration can trim when zooming the chart on a large scale, and thus such an operation takes a lot of time (compared to, for example, MT4). Even when searching for instruments through the Library, you can feel the occasional "hooking" of the platform. When placing orders, there is no such tragedy anymore, but you do not have to search long to find an application that works more efficiently.

When concluding transactions or modifying them, the slower operation of the platform is not noticeable.

Summation

NextGeneration can actually be considered the next generation of platforms. It's just that this is a defective generation, in which many good and important things from previous generations were missing. At first glance, it looks very nice and neat, but it doesn't take long to notice that it has a large amount of small irritating things. For example, managing the workspace or windows - it's inconvenient to say the least. There are also more serious disadvantages - handling pending orders is a chore. In addition, it is relatively slow in operation, and the interface itself is lame and can be simply tiring. We are not able to test the full functionality of the platform on a demo account.

However, it should be objectively stated that the authors introduced several innovations and made it possible to configure parameters, which others do not offer (e.g. selection of the rollover policy, SL / TP depending on the deposit%). I am able to believe that the introduced solutions may appeal to a certain, specific group of traders - especially people who do not necessarily expect functionality and express action, but rather focus on diversity and "fabulousness" or trade in the long term. However, in my opinion scalpers and active day traders will stay away from NG.

Pros Cons
  • a huge number of types of charts
  • a lot of time intervals
  • some interesting solutions in chart settings
  • managing payments and withdrawals from the platform
  • possibility of overlapping graphs of different instruments
  • modules for recognizing formation
  • transparent calendar and messages
  • price alerts available on the email with one click
  • interesting configuration options for notifications
  • automatically added SL / TP
  • a wide range of settings regarding the execution of orders
  • possibility to configure the Stop-out
  • some modules are only available on the real account
  • ill-conceived configuration of workspaces and windows
  • very poorly managed pending orders management
  • the interface is non-intuitive and unreadable
  • no keyboard shortcuts
  • the speed of action leaves much to be desired
  • right mouse button and roll completely inactive
  • unreadable transaction history
  • no possibility of imposing a closed transaction on the chart
  • closed platform environment:
    no possibility to use external indicators or automatic machines
What do you think?
I like it
23%
Interesting
69%
Heh ...
0%
Shock!
8%
I do not like
0%
Detriment
0%
About the Author
Paweł Mosionek
An active trader on the Forex market since 2006. Editor of the Forex Nawigator portal and editor-in-chief and co-creator of the ForexClub.pl website. Speaker at the "Focus on Forex" conference at the Warsaw School of Economics, "NetVision" at the Gdańsk University of Technology and "Financial Intelligence" at the University of Gdańsk. Twice winner of "Junior Trader" - investment game for students organized by DM XTB. Addicted to travel, motorbikes and parachuting.