Latency is defined as the delay in the time it takes for data to travel from point A to point B. In the case of Forex trading, this equates to the distance between your broker and their respective liquidity sources.

Latency tends to be one of the most overlooked aspects of Forex trading. From a trader’s perspective the focus has always been on the front end trading software. However, reductions in latency should be one of the most important considerations in selecting a Forex broker. It is essential that an STP broker that connects to various liquidity sources lessen the time that trade messages takes to reach those sources of liquidity.

The Case for Colocation

As is the case with many businesses, a major key to success is “location, location, location”. Numerous studies have shown that the most effective way to limit latency is to make sure the physical location of the broker’s servers are in close physical proximity to the data source. DivisaFX accomplishes this by locating their servers within the same facility where Currenex hosts their servers. This means that trade messages travel the shortest distance possible and offer clients precious milliseconds advantage over other brokers.

Many algorithmic and high frequency traders take advantage of the improved execution times by hosting their trading system in a collocation with their broker. Through a partnership with TradeSpotFX, traders can now use the VPS (Virtual Private Server) service to reduce latency and maximize the effectiveness of their expert advisor or other automated trading system they might use.

Another benefit of server collocation is security. Financial institutions are required by law to adhere to the strictest levels of security and data integrity. They must also maintain server uptime of 99.99% so numerous backups are implemented to insure uninterrupted trading for clients of DivisaFX.