Fx trading + principal and agency question
i think its a stupid question, but
is an fx trader who takes client trades (like on a corporate desk) a agency or principal trader? i.e does he ever take the other side of the client in a liquid market? how come they dont charge a straight fee and let the client acces the market directly.
ok here is my question..if a client needs to hedge some currency exposure (lets say its in a liquid cuurency and a small amount), why doesn he just open a forex accoutn and trade in it instead of going to a sales-trader and paying a wider spread? is it only cause of the traders expertise and opinions on the markets? i mean no trade will move the fx markets as much as one can move the equity markers...so the client might as well dump it on the market himself?
Im from the world of swaps and derivs, where we always take the opposite side of the client for a little cheaper than we gave...how exactly is this done in fx flow trading? you buy a clients USD(if hes a seller) and then sell them for a better price cause you made him pay a higher spead? how exactly is the turn around made?
thanks