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Forex Forex Brokers

FXWings Review

FX Wings is a newer forex and CFD broker, established in 2019, and located in the UK. The company’s regulation by the SIC and its London location proves that they are a trustworthy option, but that doesn’t mean one should simply invest with them without finding out all the facts. If you’re interested in having access to specialized accounts, you’ll be impressed by this broker’s four separate account options. However, there are advantages and disadvantages to each account type, so there is a lot to take into consideration. If you’re thinking that this broker may be for you, we urge you to continue reading.

Account Types

There are four account types available through FX Wings, with options being Standard, Advanced, ECN Pro, and Premium. While the Standard and Advanced accounts share the same maximum leverage caps, the accounts don’t have much else in common. Each comes with different deposit requirements, spreads, minimum and maximum trade sizes, margin call and stop-loss levels, and trading costs. Selecting the best account type is crucial for success, so it’s important to take all of these details into consideration. Below, you’ll find a quick overview of each account type.

Standard Account

Minimum Deposit: $1,000
Maximum Leverage: 1:500
Minimum Spread: from 2.5 pips

Advanced Account
Minimum Deposit: $5,000
Maximum Leverage: 1:500
Minimum Spread: from 2 pips

ECN Pro Account
Minimum Deposit: $10,000
Maximum Leverage: 1:200
Spread: from 1.5 pips

Premium Account
Minimum Deposit: $30,000
Maximum Leverage: 1:100
Spread: from 0 pips

Platform

FX Wings exclusively features the popular MetaTrader 4 platform as its sole trading platform. MT4 is the benchmark of all trading platforms, preferred by the majority of traders, and is, therefore, the most commonly offered platform among forex brokers. Some attribute MT4’s popularity to its user-friendly and highly-customizable user-interface, others enjoy the wide range of analytical functions, MultiTerminal features, trading signals, and variety of built-in tools that you won’t find elsewhere. The developers of MT4 also designed the platform to be extremely accessible, with download available via PC and through the App Store or Google Play for mobile. If you’re not interested in downloading the program, you can also access WebTrader, which is a browser-based version. While you may still be on the fence about this broker, you’ll have to consider their chosen trading platform to be on the positive side of things.

Leverage

FX Wings offers an impressive leverage of up to 1:500 on the Standard and Advanced account types. Note that it can be difficult to find options this high elsewhere, especially with other regulated brokers. Not surprisingly, the leverage options here are more limited for the ECN Pro and Premium account types, most likely due to the higher deposit minimums that those account types require. For the ECN Pro account, the leverage goes as high as 1:200. This is still higher than average and should be satisfying for many traders. The Premium account, which requires a $30,000 minimum deposit, only offers average leverage up to 1:100. Even though the options for better accounts are more limited, the majority of traders will be more than happy with these options. Keep in mind that operating with higher leverage goes hand in hand with higher risk, so beginners should steer clear of the higher leverage options offered by this broker until they have had the chance to gain more experience.

Trade Sizes

The minimum allowed trade size on all account types is 0.01, or one micro lot. Meanwhile, the maximum trade sizes differ more significantly. For the Standard and Advanced account types, the maximum lot size is 20 lots. The ECN Pro account allows for a maximum lot size of 50 lots and the Premium account offers a maximum lot size of 100 lots. The Standard and Advanced accounts also share separate margin calls and stop loss levels. You can view those levels below.

Margin Call/Stop Loss Levels
Standard & Advanced: 100% margin call/50% stop loss
ECN Pro: 120% margin call/80% stop loss
Premium: 150% margin call/100% stop loss

Trading Costs

The Standard, Advanced, and ECN Pro accounts do not charge any type of commission fees. This is certainly one of the advantages of choosing these account types, but the drawback would be that each of these accounts charges higher spreads to make up for the lack of commission charges. Of the three, the ECN Pro account has the best spread offers. Spreads on the Standard and Advanced account types start at 2 pips and up. The Premium account offers more attractive spreads that start from 0 pips, but you’ll be paying commission fees of $5 per lot in return. These fees aren’t extremely high, so this makes the Premium account worth serious consideration if you can afford the fees. In addition to these charges, swap fees, otherwise known as overnight interest charges, are also applicable for all account types.

Assets

Twenty-five currency pairs, commodities, including gold and silver, indices, and 47 global equities are among the assets that make up FX Wings’ portfolio. Their selection of currency pairs offers many popular options, like the EURUSD. It’s also nice to see that precious metals are available. The available equities include many popular companies, with options like Apple, Twitter, Amazon, and Disney, just to name a few. Overall, we would say that the asset offers are somewhat average, but the wider selection of equities that the company offers tips the scale more towards being above average.

Spreads

The spreads offered by this broker vary widely and should, therefore, play a crucial role when deciding which type of account to open. The very best spreads are reserved for the Premium account type and start from 0 pips, although this is the only account type that charges commission. Meanwhile, spreads on the ECN Pro account start at an average of 1.5 pips. In our opinion, it is unfortunate that one would need to deposit at least $10,000 to access average spread options. The Advanced account offers spreads starting from 2 pips, and the Standard account’s spreads start from 2.5 pips. The spreads on both of these account types are less than attractive. One should note that no commission fees would be charged on these accounts, which somewhat makes up for the higher than average spreads.

Minimum Deposit

Deposit minimums with FX Wings range from $1,000 to $30,000. Considering that the industry minimum is typically between $100 and $250, we must say that the $1,000 minimum required for this broker’s Standard account is steep. Minimums climb from there, with $5,000 required to open an Advanced account, a $10,000 minimum requirement for the ECN Pro account, and a substantial $30,000 minimum requirement to open a Premium account. These higher than average deposit minimums may be enough to turn away beginner traders and may leave traders that don’t have enough capital with no choice but to seek another broker. These deposit minimums may also limit the account options one could realistically open, so you may have no choice but to open an account with higher spreads if you cannot afford the ECN Pro or Premium account.

Deposit Methods & Costs

Available deposit methods include Visa, MasterCard, JCB, Perfect Money, WebMoney, FasaPay, Neteller, and Skrill. FX Wings does not charge fees from their end, but their website does mention that processors may charge fees. Sadly, the website doesn’t go into further detail about those fees. Make sure that you’ve uploaded your ID and proof of address documents before making a deposit because withdrawals will be blocked if your account hasn’t been approved.

Withdrawal Methods & Costs

The website does mention that the processors charge for withdrawals, but it doesn’t go into further detail. After we reached out to support, we learned that there is a fee of 2% + 1000 VND per withdrawal. If you aren’t familiar with Vietnamese dollar values, you should know that the 1000 VND fee simply translates to .43 cents in USD. Therefore, if you were to make a $100 withdrawal, the fees would be equal to $2.43. Since many other brokers charge higher percentages, we can safely say that the withdrawal fees with this broker are pretty reasonable, although there are fee-free withdrawal options out there. In compliance with AML regulation, your withdrawal must be returned via the same method you used for payment, so be sure to take that into consideration when depositing.

Withdrawal Processing & Wait Time

Withdrawals via Visa, MasterCard, and JCB should be credited to your account instantly and all other methods will be credited within 5 minutes. This category is one of FX Wing’s strong suits since other brokers can typically take days and more than a week in some instances to return withdrawals. In the case of Visa/MasterCard withdrawals, we’ve seen waiting times up to 8 working days. Fortunately, you won’t have to wait longer than 5 minutes to receive your funds with this broker.

Bonuses & Promotions

Currently, there are no ongoing bonuses or promotions available with this broker. Other brokers do offer these types of opportunities on occasion, but it is not something that you should always expect to see. Of course, it’s always nice to see these available, but you shouldn’t make a decision based on a single bonus opportunity. It’s possible that this broker could offer some type of promotion in the future, so be sure to check their website for updates.

Educational & Trading Tools

Sadly, FX Wings does not seem to understand the importance of educating their clients. We make this assumption based on the fact that they do not offer anything in the ways of education on their website. The website does offer a live price feed, but you won’t find any helpful trading tools available. This is no reason not to choose them as a broker, but is less convenient for those that may still be learning as they go. If you need educational resources, you’ll have to look beyond this broker and search the web for content.

Demo Account

Demo accounts have become a staple of education within the forex world, so it is very disappointing to see that FX Wings does not offer them. Opening a practice account can help beginners get on their feet, and provides others the opportunity to test the market while growing familiar with the MT4 platform. Some brokers even offer specialized demo accounts that allow traders to test out demo versions of the real accounts offered. Since FX Wings offers four different account types, it could have been an excellent advantage for them to offer specialized demo accounts. Unfortunately, FX Wings does not seem to see the importance of offering these account types, so these options are not available to their clients.

Customer Service

FX Wings offers a 5-star support team that is available via LiveChat, phone, email, or through their website’s contact form. Support staff typical replies within four minutes on LiveChat, so you should not find yourself waiting long for a reply. While the website doesn’t mention what hours that support are active, we received a quick response from their staff when we opened a chat late at night. Including the addition of the direct phone number on the website, contacting this broker is very convenient. If you were to compare their contact options and staff availability to others, you would find that this broker is offering top-notch service in this category. Below, you’ll find their listed contact methods.

Phone: +44 20 808 95889
Email: [email protected]

Countries Accepted

We’re happy to report that FX Wings is a regulated broker that is openly accepting of clients from the United States and all other locations. Finding a regulated option that isn’t more restrictive can be difficult, so you may want to add this broker to your potential list if you often find your country is banned from many brokers, based on that fact.

Conclusion

Let’s start with the advantages of choosing FX wings as your broker. First, they offer extremely high leverage options on their Standard and Advanced account types, a wide variety of deposit methods, three commission-free account types, spreads starting from 0 pips on their Premium account, withdrawals that are available within 5 minutes, customer support is readily available, there are low withdrawal fees, a variety of available assets, and they are a regulated broker that accepts US clients. Qualities that fall into the average category would be the leverage on the ECN Pro and Premium account types and the spread on the ECN Pro account.

To finish our conclusion, we will remind our readers of the negative qualities. To start, the $1,000 to $30,000 deposit minimums may be impossible to meet for some clients, the spread is higher than average on the Standard and Advanced accounts, their website lacks educational resources, including the ability to open a demo account, and there are no ongoing bonuses. If you choose the right account type, then you could certainly come out on top with this broker. However, if you cannot meet the large deposit requirements, you’ll have no choice but to look elsewhere.

Categories
Forex Forex Brokers

DK Trade Review

DK Trade is an FSA regulated broker that describes themselves as a boutique brokerage company focused on client satisfaction. The company is located in Saint Vincent & the Grenadines and offers multiple account types, along with several other advantages, so there’s a lot to take into consideration if you think this broker may be a good fit for you. Stay with us to find out more about what sets DK Trade from the crowd, and where they fall short of their competition.

Account Types

DK Trade offers three different account types, with each being designed to tailor to a different type of trader. The choices are the Variable, Fix, and Zero account types. The Variable and Fix accounts are very similar, with the main difference being that the spread is variable on the Variable account and fixed on the Fix account, as you may have guessed. The Zero account differs from the other account types because it offers extremely low spreads, but charges commission fees where the other accounts do not. All of the accounts share the same leverage, assets, trading platforms, minimum, and maximum trade sizes, and stop out levels. Take a quick look at the specifics for each account type below.

Variable Account
Spread: Variable. From 1.4 pips.
Commission: None
Leverage: up to 1:1000

Fix Account
Spread: Fixed. From 1.5 pips.
Commission: None
Leverage: Up to 1:1000

Zero Account
Spread: Zero. From 0.4 pips.
Commission: $10 FX/$15 Metals per round lot
Leverage: Up to 1:1000

Platform

One of the main advantages of choosing DK Trade would be the fact that they offer the classic MetaTrader4 platform in addition to its successor MetaTrader 5. Both are excellent programs, but many traders have their own preferences on which platform is better. Most brokers offer one or the other, with MT5 being offered less often. So, which platform should you choose? In order to make the decision, you’ll need to know some of the key differences. MetaTrader 4 was designed with currency pairs in mind and is often preferred for its customizable and user-friendly interface, while MT5’s interface comes with a similar layout, but includes advanced trading features. Mt5 offers more time frames, pending order types, and the programming is easier to use. Still, while it may seem that MetaTrader5 is offering more advantages, MetaTrader4 remains the world’s favorite platform. The decision on which platform is better falling upon the trader’s personal preference. Luckily, DK Trade will allow you to make the choice.

Leverage

DK Trade advertises maximum leverage of 1:1000. This amount is certainly one of the highest leverage options we’ve ever seen available. However, the advertised leverage is only available for currency pairs and you’ll find that the options are much more limited for the other types of assets. Still, offering maximum leverage of 1:1000 on currency pairs is noteworthy and much higher than what the majority of their competitors are offering. Leverage on indices and commodities goes as high as 1:100, while equities offer a better leverage option up to 1:200. All account types share the same leverage options.

Trade Sizes

DK Trade does allow for the trading of micro lots on all account types, so many will find satisfaction with their minimum trade size. The maximum allowed trade size is set at a satisfactory 100 lots, which is much better than the 20 lot minimums we’ve often seen. Stop out levels are set at 20% for all three account types.

Trading Costs

DK Trade profits through spreads, commission fees, and swap fees. As their client, your personal trading costs will depend on which account type you’ve opened. Spreads start at 0.4 pips on the Zero account but climb to more of an average level on the other account types. You’ll also be able to avoid commission charges altogether on the Variable and Fix accounts, but the Zero account charges $10 on FX and $15 on Metals per round turn. Swap fees are charged when positions are held overnight and those charges are applicable for all of the account types. In our opinion, the charges with this broker aren’t too bad, and it’s nice to be able to select from different accounts that offer different types of charges. As long as one chooses the right account type, then they could save a lot of money in the long run.

Assets

DK Trade offers the same tradable assets for all of their account types. Their portfolio contains 38 forex pairs, 4 commodities, 20 indices, and 17 plus equities. Forex pairs include popular options like the EUR/USD and the UAD/USD. Commodities include coffee, sugar, cotton, and more. There are more than 20 indices available and include options like the NAS100. Crypto trading is also supported. Taking all of this into consideration, we could certainly say that DK Trade is offering a diverse and satisfactory product portfolio.

Spreads

Both the Variable and Fix accounts offer very similar spreads, with the option being from 1.4 pips on the Variable account and 1.5 pips on the Fix account. The spreads start around an average level, but it is possible that they could climb higher, which would result in higher than average spreads on those two account types. The takeaway would be that there are no commission fees for either account type.

One of the only differences between these two account types would be the fact that spreads on the Variable account are variable, while spreads on the Fix account are fixed. If you want access to the best spreads possible, you’ll want to choose the Zero account, which offers since it offers spreads starting as low as 0.4 pips. This is considerably lower than the other offers, but you will be paying commission fees if you choose this account type, so you’ll need to decide which account type offers the best advantages for your trading style.

Minimum Deposit

The minimum deposit requirement with this broker is set at just $10 for all of their account types. This amount is much lower than the industry average, so there is certainly an advantage here if you’re just getting started, or if you don’t have a lot of funds. We do recommend making a larger deposit if you have the means to do so since you won’t be able to do much with only $10 in your trading account. Still, it’s great to see this broker offering such a relaxed deposit requirement, especially when some of their competitors require amounts in the thousands or more. Having such a low requirement for all of their account types also ensures that all of their traders will actually have the ability to select the account they want with no funding barriers.

Deposit Methods & Costs

The DK Trade website advertises Visa, FasaPay, MasterCard, Maestro, WebMoney, UnionPay, American Express, Bank Wire, Neteller, and Skrill as available funding methods. The website doesn’t offer any further information, so we had to reach out to support to learn more. From what we could find out, there do not seem to be charged on deposits, however, bank wire would most likely incur fees from your bank’s side.

Withdrawal Methods & Costs

Sadly, we can’t give you much information about withdrawals. While we did reach out to support, they would only inform us that they offer a wide variety of withdrawal methods. That suggests that all of the e-wallets and Visa/MasterCard options are available for withdrawal, but it doesn’t give us any clue as to whether there are fees, or how high those fees may be. While DK Trade could have possibly scored highly in this category otherwise, the lack of information on their website and the lack of information given by their support team made us somewhat wary about the possible withdrawal costs. It’s common to see charges on withdrawals with other brokers, but it is important for one to be able to compare these fees in order to make an informed decision.

Withdrawal Processing & Wait Time

According to support, it could take between one and two days to receive your withdrawal. Comparing this with the competition, one would find that this is a realistic waiting period. We base this observation on the fact that some brokers offer instant withdrawals and others can take upwards of 7 days to return funds, therefore, DK Trade falls in the middle of the spectrum.

Bonuses & Promotions

DK Trade is currently offering a 50% welcome bonus and a 25% re-deposit bonus. You must deposit a minimum of $500 in order to qualify for the welcome bonus and the bonus is only available on your first deposit. In order to qualify for the re-deposit bonus, you must make a deposit of at least $200. The bonus amount is tradable, but the amount is not available for withdrawal. Aside from the 50% welcome bonus, the account cannot have claimed any other bonuses in order to qualify for the re-deposit bonus. The amount cannot exceed $5,000 but it can be applied to multiple deposits. Note that if you withdraw funds during the two-month promotional period for either bonus, your account would be disqualified from the offers.

Educational & Trading Tools

The DK website offers an economic calendar that announces relevant news and information that could have an impact on the financial market. Keeping tabs on the calendar could certainly help one to make informed decisions. The website also offers a feature called the ‘AutoChartist’. The aforementioned web portal and plugin provides a wide range of user-friendly technical analysis tools. The program provides automatic intra-day alerts in real-time and can be downloaded as a plugin for the MT4 platform within 30 seconds. VPS is also available. In ways of education, the only offer from DK Trade would be the ability to open a demo account. Overall, the few trading tools that are offered are nice, but the company should definitely add more educational resources to their site in the future.

Demo Account

DK Trade offers advanced demo accounts that mimic their real-account counterparts. For example, one could actually open a demo version of the Fix account and practice using the same fixed spread that the real account offers. Since all three account types are available via the demo, one could test out one, two, or even all three of the available account types to help decide which account is most attractive. Demo accounts also give beginners or those that aren’t very experienced, a great chance to test the market. Since you’re trading with virtual funds and the accounts are free, there are no real risks. Virtual funds for the demo can be chosen from an amount between $5,000 and $50,000.

Customer Service

DK Trade’s multilingual customer support team is available 24/5 via LiveChat, contact form, or phone. LiveChat is an excellent contact option because of the fact that it is instant, but we must mention the fact that the first two times we attempted to contact support through this method there were no agents online. Our attempts were made later in the evening, but the lack of available support agents suggests that it may not be possible to get in touch with support 24 hours a day, as advertised. Phone numbers and email are not listed on the contact page, so the only way to get in touch with support through these methods would be to leave a message on the website’s contact form. Overall, the advertised support hours and methods make the customer support team with this broker seem nearly perfect, but it may more difficult to get in touch with them than it seems.

Countries Accepted

At this time, DK Trade is not accepting of clients located in the United States of America. We were a little surprised, considering that this broker is located in Saint Vincent & the Grenadines, which is usually openly accepting of US clients. There do not seem to be any further restrictions but feel free to contact support if you do not see your country on the sign-up page.

Conclusion

There are several advantages to choosing this broker, including the ability to choose between three different account types, leverage options up to 1:000 on currency pairs, $10 deposit minimums, spreads that start at 0.4 pips on their Zero account type, the ability to trade micro lots, the option to choose between MetaTrader 4 and MetaTrader 5, commission-free account types, a large asset portfolio, bonus opportunities, and advanced demo accounts. Some features are merely average, including the spreads on the Variable and Fix account types, withdrawal times, and the availability of their customer support team.

Lack of educational resources, the fact that the US is not accepted, and vague information about their withdrawal fees fall into the bad category. The good qualities seem to outweigh the bad with this broker, but some may prefer to keep looking for another option. If you do decide to open an account here, make sure you open the account type that best suits your trading style.

Categories
Forex Forex Brokers

Titan Pro 500 Review

TitanPro 500 is a forex and CFD broker established in 2014 and located in Budapest. The broker offers several different account types, which are attractive at first glance. High leverage options, a wide asset portfolio, and decent deposit minimums caught our attention, but there is so much to consider if you think that this broker might be a good option. Stay with us to find out all of the details about Titan Pro 500, so that you can make an informed decision.

Account Types

Upon signing up for an account, all traders are granted Bronze account status. On their Account Types page, TP500 actually mentions that they offer five different account types, with the options being Bronze, Silver, Gold, Platinum, and Diamond. We would initially assume that the advantages associated with each account type would depend on its level, with Basic being the most standard account and Diamond is the best account available. However, the accounts all seem to offer the same basic deposit requirement, leverage, spread, and etc. Below, you can view the specifics for each account type.

Bronze Account
Minimum Deposit: $250
Leverage: up to 1:300
Extras: Account manager and one-on-one tutorials.

Silver Account
Minimum Deposit: $250
Leverage: up to 1:300
Extras: Account manager and one-on-one tutorials.

Gold Account
Minimum Deposit: $250
Leverage: up to 1:300
Extras: Account manager and one-on-one tutorials.

Platinum Account
Minimum Deposit: $250
Leverage: up to 1:300
Extras: Account manager and one-on-one tutorials.

Diamond Account
Minimum Deposit: $250
Leverage: Up to 1:300
Extras: Account manager and private webinar with a professional.

As you may have noticed, the only true difference seems to be that certain account types offer more educational opportunities, like one-on-one tutorials and even a private webinar for Diamond account holders. Since every account starts at the Bronze level, it seems that certain factors may warrant an upgrade, but it isn’t quite clear what other purposes the upgrades would serve. Therefore, we will have to focus on the most basic Bronze account type throughout this review.

Platform

At first, we were not quite sure whether this broker offered the MetaTrader 4 platform, which is the world’s most preferred trading platform. We found that the broker does offer trading through their website via their own trading platform, which seems to be a basic platform without any extra accessories. The TP500 platform would serve its purpose if one wanted a more simplistic experience, but we were happy to report that we found the ever-popular MetaTrader 4 is also supported. This would likely be the majority of trader’s first choice, considering that the platform comes with so many analytical tools and customizable options. In order to access MT4, you would first need to sign in to your account. From there, you can look to the far right of the screen and select the MetaTrader 4 option. Doing so will grant you the necessary login details for the account.

Leverage

All account types offer a maximum leverage of up to 1:300. This option should be more than satisfactory for traders that prefer taking higher risks, but you may want to select a lower leverage setting if you are not fond of high-risk trading. Still, high leverage options allow traders to have more breathing room and the ability to select the type of leverage they prefer, so we’re happy to see a higher option here. Another plus would be that this leverage option is available regardless of which account type you’ve opened. Elsewhere, you’ll often find that better accounts come with lower leverage caps, which is usually done to limit the loss of some traders, since those better account types usually have higher deposit requirements, meaning those clients have more to lose. This broker will allow the trader to make the decision themselves. When comparing this option to the competition, we would say that this certainly isn’t the highest leverage option we’ve seen, but it is well above average and available for all account types; therefore, this broker scores well in this category.

Trading Costs

This broker’s website offers absolutely no details on their associated trading costs. While we tried to reach out to support to find out the details, we did not receive a response within 24 hours, and support was not active on chat. It is always better for brokers to be transparent about these costs, even if they are higher than average. Due to the lack of information or response we got here, we have to assume that the commission costs with this broker could be high. What we can mention to our readers would be the fact that the spreads with this broker do tend to be higher than average, and that we know swap fees are applicable. One must assume that the commission fees are less than attractive as well, based on those facts.

Assets

TP500 offers more than 40 forex pairs, exotic pairs, CFDs on stocks, indices, and cryptocurrencies. Exotic options include the USDRUB, USDKK, USDPLN, and many more. We also found CFDs on more than 20 indices including oil, coffee, and wheat, just to name a few. Precious metal options include gold, silver, and platinum. You’ll also find that this broker is offering a variety of crypto coins, with the popular Bitcoin, Dash, Ethereum, Ripple, and Bitcoin cash being options. Overall, this broker is offering a range of assets and includes some more options that are better than average.

Spreads

It’s always nice to see brokers being transparent and offering all of the necessary details on their website, so we must note that it was disappointing to see that this broker was not very forthcoming with information about their spreads. After doing some research, we assume that this is most likely due to the fact that the spreads seem to start from around 3 pips on the main account type. This amount is double the average spread one would usually see, so this broker really needs to offer something better in the other categories to make up for it. It’s possible that the upgraded account types may offer better options, but due to lack of information, we must assume that this is what one should expect to see when trading with this broker.

Minimum Deposit

The minimum deposit requirement with this broker starts at $250. In a sense, this option may be considered an average deposit amount, but we’ve noticed that a lot more brokers are offering an average that is more in the category of $100 as of lately. For those that may just be getting into the field, the initial deposit amount could seem steep. For those people, we should mention that one can occasionally find a broker offering much lower deposit minimums around $10, but it may take some looking around. On the other hand, this minimum could be considered to be lenient when compared with deposit minimums that go into the thousands elsewhere.

Deposit Methods & Costs

As it stands, the only deposit method offered by this broker is bank wire, so we’re really missing the ability to pick from a variety of methods here. Yes, bank wire will always be a trustworthy funding method, but many prefer to use a faster and cheaper option, like Visa or MasterCard. Others prefer to use methods like Bitcoin, but that option is not as widely available. We do want to mention that the payment portal has a section devoted to Visa/MasterCard withdrawals, but this option is no longer available. This suggests to us that the option was available previously, or perhaps that it will become available in the future. If TP500 does restore the card payment method in the near future, it would definitely help to provide a better variety of funding methods. For now, we must say that funding options are very limited here.

Withdrawal Methods & Costs

Withdrawal methods are just as limited as deposit options, with bank wire being the only option. The website does not mention fees, but banks usually charge fees from their side for wire. You can expect the fee to typically range from $25 to $50 but check with your bank if you’d like to know specifically. When withdrawing via bank wire, we recommend making larger, less frequent withdrawals. This way, you’ll be able to avoid paying the fee as much as possible. In comparison with the competition, we must say that this broker does not fare well in this category, due to the lack of choices and inescapable withdrawal fees.

Withdrawal Processing & Wait Time

Once again, the website is very vague about this category, so the best we can do is to make a logical guess of how long withdrawals may take. The typical timeframe is usually anywhere from 2 to 8 business days to receive a bank wire. Since this company and banks operate Monday through Friday, the weekends would not count as processing days. Two days would not be a horrible waiting period, but one should have more realistic expectations of around the five or six business day period, or possibly longer. The best thing to do would be to plan out withdrawals in advance so that funds will be available when needed.

Bonuses & Promotions

TP500 does seem to be offering a bonus at this time but the website is very vague about the opportunity and does not explain how much the bonus is actually offering. The condition is that once the bonus is received, one would be required to execute a trading volume of 25 times the bonus amount, plus the deposit, in order to make a withdrawal. We see minimum trading requirements often, but this broker’s conditions are much too restrictive in our opinion. Since the bonus will restrict you from making a withdrawal, you may want to think twice before participating.

Educational & Trading Tools

Account managers are offered for each account type, but there are some added educational benefits available, depending on the account type you’ve opened. One-on-one tutorials are available for the Silver, Gold, Platinum, and Diamond accounts. This is a great addition, but we don’t see the reason why Basic account holders should be left out. The Premium account offers a private webinar and live trading with an expert trader. The website also offers an updated economic calendar, which is certainly helpful. Overall, the tutorials and webinar make this broker stand out in this section because this is not something that is commonly offered, especially not for account types with a minimum deposit of $250.

Demo Account

We’re happy to report that this broker had joined the many others offering demo accounts as a means of practice for traders. We actually tested out the demo with this broker and gathered some of our facts while doing so, since the website lacked some important information. If you’re anything less than a seasoned professional, we highly recommend you take advantage of these free practice accounts. There’s no better way to learn than by trading, and using this company’s demo account will allow you to do so without risking any real funds. If you’re in a hurry to open a real account, try opening one of each. Practice on the demo and test the market, while making more realistic decisions on your demo account. Then, compare your results.

Customer Service

TP500 advertises 24/7 customer support hours with contact options being LiveChat, phone, or email. These hours are certainly competitive since many brokers close in the evening and don’t operate on the weekends. However, we were a little disappointed when we tested out their LiveChat, both during the day and at night, and found that agents were never online. You are able to fill in details and type a message directly from the chat window in order to conveniently create a ticket, but this certainly took away from the instant contact options we were looking for.

Keep in mind that the lack of agents on chat doesn’t mean that customer support isn’t in the office, so it may not take long to receive a response via email. If you find that you need help quickly and no agents are online, we would recommend calling their office through their direct phone number. Initially, we would have added this category to the list of positive qualities about this broker, but the shortage of LiveChat agents forced us to consider this broker’s customer service team as nothing more than average.

Email: [email protected]
Phone: +442038684833

Countries Accepted

This broker would be a good option for anyone who usually finds their countries restricted from trading, especially those in the United States. When we signed up for an account, the site didn’t even ask us to select a country, which proves that this broker is very lenient in this category. However, the sign-up page does allow one to input a US-based phone number, therefore it is very safe to say that there will be no problems creating an account with this broker. Relaxed restrictions could make TP500 more worthy of consideration, since it may be harder to find another broker that is as lenient.

Conclusion

TitanPro 500n offers several positive qualities, but there are also some downsides to choosing this broker. To start with the negative, we must remind our readers that this broker offers spreads that are twice as high as average, funding methods are limited to bank wire, withdrawal times can be quite long, and the website is not very transparent, especially when it comes to trading sizes and trading costs. The company offers average bonus opportunities, since conditions for withdrawal are difficult to meet, and customer support could only be considered as average since agents are not always available.

Ending on a good note, we should remind you that leverage up to 1:300 is available on all account types, the company offers a diverse asset portfolio, including crypto-coins, demo accounts, and one-on-one tutorials are available, MT4 is supported, and there are relaxed account opening restrictions. It really comes down to whether this broker is offering what you, the trader, are looking for.

Categories
Forex Forex Brokers

Trade100.fm Review

Trade100.fm is a forex and CFD broker that is located in the Republic of the Marshall Islands. Some of the most attractive offers with this broker are higher than average leverages and a wide variety within their asset portfolio. There isn’t a lot of information out there about this option, so we recommend taking the time to read our review to find out more about the important details that you’ll need to consider. Keep reading to find out whether Trade100.fm could be the right broker for you. 

Account Types

This broker offers a Basic account type, which is aimed towards novices, a Gold account for more experienced traders, and a Platinum account for the most professional traders. The account page explains that one can open a Basic account with a small deposit, while the Platinum account is for those that are ready for large-scale trading. When it comes down to it, we couldn’t find any differences for the account types, aside from the website suggesting that they require different deposits and are meant for traders with different experience levels.

Upon sign up, the website does not ask which account type one would like to open. We’re assuming that this level may be granted depending on the trader’s initial deposit amount, experience, or both. It is possible that the better account types offer better spreads, but lack of information on this broker’s website left us somewhat in the dark. Swap-free Islamic accounts are also offered, in addition to the main account types. Note that account verification is required, so traders will need to submit a photo for ID verification, as well as a utility bill or bank statement for address verification. Verification should take no longer than 24 hours and is necessary before one can even make a deposit.

Platform

One of the advantages of choosing this broker would be the fact that they support the extremely popular MetaTrader 4 platform. MT4 has become the favorite option among forex brokers, so we were less than surprised to see that this broker has chosen to feature it exclusively. MT4 is available through four convenient methods – download on PC, Mobile, and macOS, and through a web-based version. In addition to being widely accessible, some of its most well-thought-out features include 30 built-in indicators, access to 23 analytical facilities, interactive charts in nine periods, and on-line quotes. This broker really couldn’t offer a better trading platform and even the pickiest of traders should be satisfied with this option.

Leverage

Leverage options with this broker go up to 1:400, which is much higher than the standard 1:100 leverage we’re used to seeing. Yes, options can go higher than what this broker is offering, but their leverage cap should be more than enough to satisfy even more leverage-dependent traders. We should note that novice traders may want to start with lower leverage options, somewhere around the average 1:100 option. There is nothing wrong with choosing lower leverage since it limits risk. However, it is nice to see higher options available for those would like to use it, and this is certainly one of this broker’s strong suits. If you’re not sure what leverage to use, we recommend testing out different scenarios on a demo account. 

Trade Sizes

Sadly, the Trade100.fm website does not offer any information about their minimum and maximum trade sizes, or their margin call and stop out levels. Although we’re not unused to seeing the lack of information on these details, lack of transparency seems to be a theme with this broker. If you’d like to find out more, we recommend emailing support with your questions. 

Trading Costs

It can be frustrating when it comes to finding out information about the fees that this broker charges. We know that commission fees are charged on currency pairs, metals, energies, and shares, but we don’t know how high those fees are, due to lack of information on the website. What we can tell you is that there are no commissions charged when trading index futures or indices, so there could be potential to make a greater profit there. You’ll also need to take spreads into account, but this broker is also less than transparent when it comes to those fees. Finally, swap-fees are charged for all account types, aside from Islamic accounts. 

Assets

This broker offers currency pairs, index futures and indices, metals, energies, and shares in popular companies like Apple, Amazon, and etc. There are more than 50 currency pairs, including FX majors, like the US dollar and EURUSD, minors, and exotics, like the South African rand. The broker does not charge commissions on index futures or indices. The company’s trading pages do not offer information about specifics for each asset, like the current spreads, minimum and maximum trade sizes, etc. However, they do suggest that traders email support at [email protected] in order to find out the details about any certain financial instrument. If you often trade the same asset, we recommend emailing support in order to find out those important details.

Spreads

While we found vague mentions of low spread offers scattered around the website, this is another category where no details are offered. To be honest, this gives us the impression that the spreads with this broker aren’t up to par with the competition, considering the fact that the broker would proudly advertise their exact spread rates if they were low. This doesn’t mean that the spreads are extremely high, but we would expect them to be above average. Since the product pages don’t offer specific information, there is no way to check the spreads there either. Our suggestion would be to test out a demo account to gain a better picture of what type of spreads to expect. 

Minimum Deposit

On their accounts page, this broker mentions that their Basic account allows for lower deposits, while the Gold and Platinum accounts are aimed at more professional traders and therefore require larger deposits. Sadly, the broker doesn’t offer any further information about the exact amount required. Note that we did open an account to see if we could find out using the deposit form, but the website won’t allow the form to be accessed without first uploading documents. Also, it seems that the website does not ask which account type one would like to open. It’s possible that this could be based on the initial amount that the trader deposits. 

Deposit Methods & Costs

This broker offers debit/credit cards, bank transfers, and international payment systems as a means of account funding. It can take up to three working days for bank transfers to post. Trade100.fm does not charge fees from their side for bank transfer, but fees will likely be charged on your bank’s behalf. This broker does charge a 2.5% commission charge on credit/debit card payments, however, so neither method is completely fee-free. 

Withdrawal Methods & Costs

In order to request a withdrawal, one would need to log in and fill out a form located under the “Personal Account” section of the website. While the website is not exactly clear, it seems that withdrawals would receive the same charges as deposits. To recap, that’s a fee of 2.5% on credit/debit cards and while this broker does not charge their own fees on bank transfer, you should expect your bank to charge some type of fee from their side. Like with deposits, withdrawal fees are unavoidable.

Withdrawal Processing & Wait Time

All withdrawal requests are processed on working days from 9:00 until 18:00 local time, except for weekends and public holidays. Any request made after 18:00 would be handled the following working day. Bank transfer is the quickest withdrawal method and may take up to three working days to be received. Credit/debit card withdrawal has a longer waiting period that ranges from five to eight days. It is a little disappointing to see such a long waiting period for card withdrawals, especially since this is usually a quicker method. Withdrawals cannot be processed unless the account has been approved, so we highly suggest that you submit your personal documents ahead of time to avoid any hang-ups when it comes time to withdraw your funds.

Bonuses & Promotions

At the time that this article was written, there were no special opportunities available with this broker. That doesn’t mean that Trade100.fm won’t decide to offer anything extra in the future, so be sure to check for any updates. Also, note that there is a section of the website devoted to promotions, but the only option at this time would be demo accounts. To be sure, we checked to make sure that there were no ongoing contests for this company’s demo account, but there were not. One should never choose a broker based on special opportunities alone, but it always nice to see welcome bonuses or other promotions available. 

Educational & Trading Tools

The only education resources offered by this broker would be demo accounts, an Analytics section, and a Forex Glossary. The glossary defines many forex concepts in a convenient and simple form, so this could be a quick way to attain some information. However, the glossary and the demo combined won’t be enough to prepare beginners, so we would suggest researching more information online if you’re just getting started. Once you’re ready, consider opening one of the broker’s free demo accounts.

Demo Account

This broker offers free demo accounts that serve the purpose of allowing one to master trading mechanics, the ability to analyze market tendencies and to develop trading strategies. You can also use the demo to become acquainted with the MT4 platform. Unlike other brokers, Trade100 actually allows one to open several demo accounts at once, which makes the practice possibilities endless. You would need to go through an extra verification step and submit a form of personal identification in order to open a demo account with this broker, but the extra step is worth it when it comes to the advantages the demo account can offer.

Customer Service

Support can be contacted 24/5 via email or phone, with LiveChat being excluded from the list. We will point out that there are several different email addresses, each being devoted to a different department. Hopefully, this would help to make the response process faster, since emails are going directly to the team that needs to handle them. Below, you can find all of the available contact information. Make sure to email the right department with your inquires to avoid any delays in response time. 

Phone: +44797833946

Documents and Withdrawals: [email protected] 

Trading Department: [email protected] 

Billing: [email protected] 

Technical Support: [email protected]

General Questions: [email protected]

Countries Accepted

This broker does not accept clients from the US. Even the United States Minor Outlying Islands is absent from their sign-up list, so there is no way around this roadblock. It seems that all other countries are accepted, however. If you’re concerned about whether your country is applicable to open an account, you can quickly check the sign-up page on the website’s homepage to ensure that your country is listed. 

Conclusion

Trade100.fm is forthcoming with information about deposits and withdrawals, but they leave out important details when it comes to many important specifics about their account types. Lack of information about deposit requirements, trading costs, spreads, and trade sizes made us somewhat reluctant to sign-up. Some of their strong suits include the ability to deposit by card, higher than average leverage options, supporting MT4 trading platform, and a wide variety of assets to choose from and were enough to make us reconsider signing up.

However, one should also consider the fact that there are fees on deposits and withdrawals and withdrawal times take longer than what we would like to see on cards. Realistically speaking, this could be a good broker. We suggest contacting support before making the decision to sign up so that you can ask any important questions that the website failed to explain. Alternatively, you could open one of the free demo accounts that this broker offers. 

Categories
Forex Forex Brokers

Exness Review

Exness, an FCA regulated broker, has been operating for a number of years yet still remains popular on a multitude of social networks. Their website is a little disorientating and not particularly easy on the eye, but does appear to be transparent with its services, although the absence of an FAQ page can make pinpointing information rather time-consuming. 

Account Types

As it stands currently, Exness offers one live account type, compatible with MT4, and it is called the ‘Classic’. It does what it says on the tin, keeping things very straightforward for the client. The minimum deposit is significantly higher than what most brokers offer, that being $500, but it does not charge any trade commissions. Spreads start from 0.4 pips which is definitely competitive. 

Platforms

Exness has made a good choice by offering MetaTrader 4 as well as 5 to its clients, which is the most used and trusted trading platform to date. You may choose to use a desktop or mobile versions of both. 

Leverage

The leverage caps Exness offer may be disappointing to some traders, but this is the sacrifice one has to make when opting for an FCA regulated (or regulated in general) forex broker. Leverage allowances are as follows:

  • Forex Majors 1:30
  • Other FX pairs 1:20
  • Gold 1:20
  • Silver 1:10

If you opt for the ‘professional trader’ option, you may actually be granted a leverage allowance of up to 1:200. 

Trade Sizes

The minimum trade size requirement is 0.1 lot, which is amicable for most traders. 

Trading Costs

Exness does their clients a huge favor by not charging any commission fees on the Classic account but bear in mind that swap fees could be a fee applied, although there is no specific mention of this that we could find on their website. 

Assets

Exness is proud to advertise the fact they offer 120 financial instruments to trade, which should be more than satisfactory to many clients. You may see a handful of available instruments on the website, but to see the full list you will need to open a demo account. 

Spreads

Spreads are advertised to start from 0.4 pips, and you can find contract specifications via a nifty search tool on the website, so you can see spreads on a large handful of pairs. Spreads overall are average, and agreeable.

Minimum Deposit

For the one lice account available (Classic), the minimum deposit requirement is $500. This is quite expensive, in comparison to other broker requirements, especially perhaps for first time traders, who perhaps would be anxious about depositing such an amount for their first broker experience. 

Deposit Methods & Costs

With Exness, you may fund your account via Skrill, Neteller, card or bank wire. Most traders are familiar with at least one of these methods, which makes things easier for a potential client not having to worry about having to use a new deposit method. In addition, Exness do not charge their clients any fees for any of the deposit methods offered. 

Withdrawal Methods & Costs

All withdrawal methods are set out clearly on the website. Withdrawal methods are the same as deposit methods (Skrill, Neteller, card or bank wire). No commission fees are charged by the broker for any of these withdrawal methods. 

Withdrawal Processing & Wait Time

Withdrawal timescales can be found on the website which are as follows:

  • Card: 1-7 days
  • Bank Wire: 3-5 days
  • Skrill: Instant
  • Neteller: Instant

Bonuses & Promotions

There is absolutely no mention of deposit bonus schemes or any alternative promotional offers. 

Educational & Trading Tools

Exness does not offer any trading educational material however they do offer a trader’s calculator as well as an economical calendar, however these can easily be found online yourself. 

Customer Service

Exness customer support is rather impressive in the respect that they offer client assistance in  13 languages: English, Russian, Chinese, Hindi, Farsi, Urdu, Vietnamese, Indonesian, Arabic, Thai, Bengali, Malay, and Tamil. They operate customer service 24/7 via live chat and telephone.

Demo Account

Exness does offer, and somewhat encourage traders to try out their demo if you are a new trader, before moving to a live account. This is always a good gauger to see if a broker’s trading conditions fit your expectations as well as your trading style.

Countries Accepted

With Exness being FCA, FSA, and CySEC regulated, this allows them to offer their services to a large number of citizens across the globe. However, as a result of heavy regulation, Traders from the USA will NOT be allowed to trade with this broker. Exness does not share information about other restricted countries for some reason, even via client support live chat, as they claim this is internal information. However, when you register you will be asked which country you are residing and at this point you will be accepted or declined. 

Conclusion

Exness are well known and trusted, and the fact they are regulated and have been operating comfortably for many years definitely adds peace of mind to potential clients considering using this broker. Trade conditions, on the whole, are more than amicable, and if willing to do so, even new traders could find this broker suitable, if they are okay with the high deposit requirement. It is also nice to note that this broker can return your funds instantly to you, and you can contact them on a 24/7 basis should you have any questions or concerns.

Categories
Forex Forex Brokers

Caveo Review

According to the website, Caveo has been operating for almost a decade, since the year 2010. Cavio Financial Brokerage Company operates under license No. MM/2137/2010 and is regulated by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry of the State of Kuwait. This broker specializes in Forex and Stocks trading, so if that is of high interest to you, Caveo may be for you.

Account Types

With Caveo, you may choose from 3 account types: Plus, Prime or Elite. Plus is compatible with MT4 while Prime and Elite can be used only via MT5, so this limits clients already depending on which platform they prefer to use. All accounts seem to be able to trade the same markets, but only the Prime account gives you free educational courses, while the Elite and PLus account has only a 50% discount. 

Platforms

If you prefer to use MT4, you are limited to having the Plus account since the Prime and Elite accounts can only be used on MT5.

Leverage

The maximum leverage allowed with Caveo is 1:400, which is very generous. 

Trade Sizes

Minimum and maximum trade sizes are not specified, so bear in mind this could vary depending on the account type you opt for. 

Trading Costs

While trading costs in terms of commissions and swap fees are not mentioned on the website, beware that these are likely to be applied since this is one of the fastest ways a broker makes a large portion of their profit. 

Assets

The website is highly disorganized and there is no FAQ for quick referencing. There is no list of tradable assets so the only way to find this would be to open their demo account and see.

Spreads

Annoyingly, potential clients will not have access to see what the spreads are until you open at least a demo account. Always check these on the demo first as they should reflect perfectly on the live account. At this stage, we cannot even confirm if the spreads offered are floating or fixed. 

Minimum Deposit

Minimum deposits vary according to account types, which you can see below:

Plus: $250
Elite: $2,500
Prime: $50,000

Even the smallest account is very expensive to get started if you compare the minimum deposit requirements set by the majority of comparable brokers. 

Deposit Methods & Costs

Bank Transfer or debit/credit card are available means of funding your Caveo account. For Saudi Arabia or Egypt customers, if depositing t in local currency (Egyptian Pound or SAR), you are subject to paying a fee of 3% of the sum you send over. There is no mention of broker fees associated with alternative deposit methods but it is advisable to always check with your provider before making any deposits. 

Withdrawal Methods & Costs

Withdrawals are not even specified on the website, but it is assumable that withdrawal methods are the same as the deposit methods. 

Withdrawal Processing & Wait Time

Withdrawal timescales are not stated so it is unclear how long it would take for this broker to send your funds to you. 

Bonuses & Promotions

There is no mention at all of any deposit bonus scheme or any promotions other than some educational courses and signal services that can be purchased via Caveo. 

Educational & Trading Tools

Caveo does offer trading educational courses, which are free if you opt for the Prime account, which you must deposit $50,000 to be a client of. If you go for the other two accounts, you are entitled to a 50% discount on these courses. Some courses offered are also free directly from the website, however. 

Customer Service

Customer support is supposedly available via telephone, email and live chat, although it is not clear if this is applicable to every day of the week or not. The Live chat facility even when showing an online status never appears to receive messages so getting a response from that channel is seemingly impossible. 

Demo Account

Caveo does offer a demo account which is particularly useful to gauge if these trading conditions as a whole work for one as a trader, or not before the potential client opens a live account. 

Countries Accepted

Restricted countries or even the mention of citizens/residents allowed to trade is totally dismissed. One would assume, given the fact this broker is not regulated, that once you go to sign up, if your country is restricted, you would be declined access to trade. 

Conclusion

This broker is not 100% transparent on the majority of aspects a potential client should wish to find out about before even signing up for a demo account. If one is not clear on particular trade conditions, or withdrawal options, and has no way of contacting this broker and actually getting a response, one should be very very careful when considering becoming a client. Or, better still, avoid, and save yourself the risk.

Categories
Forex Forex Brokers

Broker Jet Review

Brokerjet is a CFD broker regulated by SECC and therefore does not accept clients from the USA. A rare touch to this broker is that they proudly offer multilingual customer support service so this could appeal to many traders who have perhaps struggled with communicating with a broker in the past. The website is also set out clearly for easy navigation.

Account Types

What is quite nice about Brokejet is that they have a ‘what kind of trader are you?’ section on their website which could help establish which account you should opt for between the Standard and Premium Account. Islamic accounts are also available. Frustratingly, however, the website does not set the two accounts apart by trading conditions specifically, but instead suggests the Standard is for those who are new to trading, and wish to deposit lesser amounts, while the Premium is for those more experienced, and who wish to trade larger sums with ‘more features’. These descriptions are very vague and not particularly helpful, making it rather confusing to choose which account is actually best for you. 

Platforms

Brokerjet offers MetaTrader 4 desktop, WebTrader and mobile versions meaning you can trade on the go, or form the comfort of your own home. 

Leverage

With Brokerjet you may trade with maximum leverage or 1:200 which we can all agree is generous and not all that easy to come across in brokers these days. This leverage allowance can really help maximize profits on winning positions, even if you deposit smaller amounts. 

Trade Sizes

The minimum trade size allowed is 0.01 lot which is pretty standard across the board. It is important to note as well Stop Outs are set at 50% which could actually be viewed as a positive as many brokers are circa 70-100%.  This lower percentage means the position gets liquidated later which can benefit the client. 

Trading Costs

Again, another issue with this broker is that it is mentioned that commission fees are applied, but the specific charges are not set out on the website, so it is unclear if either one of the two, or both accounts have commission fees applied. In addition, swap fees are not mentioned, but it is likely these are also going to be applicable, so do bear that in mind. 

Assets

With Brokerjet you can trade Forex, Stocks, and commodities. There are over 100 pairings to choose from, all of which are available to see on the website.

Spreads

Brokerjet offers floating spreads, but frustratingly, live spreads are not available to check out until you have opened an account. Be sure to open a demo account prior to live trading to ensure the spreads fit your expectations and are suitable for your style of trading.

Minimum Deposit

What is highly frustrating about this broker is that the website proved a lot of descriptive wording on the elements we are trying to establish specifics on, but does not actually tell us what the initial deposit requirement is. How on earth is one supposed to know if this broker is right for them if they do not have any indication of what the spreads are like, what the commission and swap fees are, and also what the minimum deposit required is? It is impossible to know how expensive it is to trade with this broker until you actually sign up for a live account. 

Deposit Methods & Costs

Under ‘How to fund your account’ on the FAQ page, it mentions that you may use a variety of methods to fund your account. However, on the ‘Deposit methods’ section on the FAQ, it states you may only bank wire via three different banks (Acleda, BIDC, and Canadian Bank). The costs of making these deposits are not mentioned at all, but be sure to check with your bank beforehand to find out if you will incur any fees on your side. 

Withdrawal Methods & Costs

Although the website gives little information mention of which withdrawal methods are available, or at which cost.  The only hint is some images at the footer of the homepage, suggesting the following methods are available: Neteller, Skrill, Wire transfer and card. There is no mention of these in detail at all, and no wording to offer any processing time scales or costs involved. 

Withdrawal Processing & Wait Time

As mentioned above, there is literally no information in the way of funding and withdrawing from this broker, so it came as no surprise to us to see that withdrawal timescales are nowhere to be found on the website. This lack of information we have experienced throughout this review strongly suggests this broker is operating in a questionable and possibly also a suspicious manner. 

Bonuses & Promotions

The FAQ page has not been very clear to pinpoint this information easily. However, if you delve through the reams of wording under the ‘TRADING POLICIES AND PROCEDURES’ section, there is some mention of example bonuses. However, this does not set out clearly which bonus amount is actually available and allowed on which account types. 

Educational & Trading Tools

Ebooks, Videos and a Glossary are all free tools available via the Brokerjet website, which is definitely a bonus for clients, especially for the novice traders that wish to broaden their trading knowledge and develop their skills prior to live trading. 

Customer Service

Brokerjet offers customer support during the hours of 07:00 AM to 18:00 PM from Monday to Saturday. Should you require any assistance, you may contact this broker via telephone or email. Unfortunately for some, there is no live chat service available for those wanting a more efficient and easy means of client support. 

Demo Account

It is a basic expectation for a broker to offer a demo account, which this broker does offer. This is especially useful and should be encouraged to be used by anyone who is not 100% confident or ready to deposit real currency into a live account. 

Countries Accepted

In light of their SECC regulation status, this broker clearly states that they cannot accept clients from the European Union, Canada, Israel, and the USA. All other jurisdictions are welcome to trade with Brokerjet.

Conclusion

This broker website is far from amicable; little information is easily found, if at all. There is ample wording on the subjects we have tried to cover, but little in the way of actually providing the specific details that would benefit a potential client in the way of deciding if this broker is right for them or not. It should go without saying, but it is, of course, wise to only sign up to a broker if you are aware of ALL trading conditions and requirements you are expected to adhere to, as a client, before you register for a live account. 

Categories
Forex Forex Brokers

UCI Limited Review

UCI-Limited is a company that was formed in 2012 and offers Forex trading services. UCI is based in Australia and claims to offer a service of the highest quality. Here, we’ll take a deeper look at their website and offerings to see what they really offer.

Account Types

To be completely honest, we really have no idea how the accounts with UCI-Limited work, and when talking to their support team, it doesn’t really sound like they do either. There are a mix of account types from seemingly investment style accounts to trading accounts, however, we are unsure which is which and the information kind of blends into one another. It is hard for us to give any details, only one account has a deposit limit, another has a monthly withdrawal fee as a feature which is a pretty strange one, so we can not comment more on the account types.

We attempted to open a new account in order to get some more clarification, however, our account is still awaiting activation from a member of the UCI-Limited team. The only concrete information that we did get was that you can trade with their accounts, not the most helpful information for a forex broker.

Platforms

UCI-Limited currently offers MetaTrader 4 (MT4) as their only trading platform, which it may not offer a lot of choices, the platform that they have selected is one of the best and most used platforms. MetaTrader 4 is available on multiple platforms including PC, Mac, iOS devices and Android devices. MetaTrader 4 is a flexible solution and is compatible with hundreds if not thousands of expert advisors and indicators.

Leverage

As with the account type, there is very little information regarding this, we are unable to find information on the maximum leverage, but also the minimum.

Trade Sizes

You have probably already guessed it, yep, there is little to no information available in regards to trade size. Most brokers and trading platforms allow 0.01 lots (micro lot) as a minimum so we would be assuming the same here. We can not comment on the maximum though.

Trading Costs

The majority of this review is simply us telling you that we do not understand the information, things like spread and commissions are nowhere to be found.

UCI Investment Options

Assets

The accounts section simply states CFD trading, so how many assets and which ones will remain a mystery to us.

Spreads

Spreads are another thing that is pretty unknown, so all we can say is that we have no idea. This lack of information isn’t a great sign.

UCI account options.

Minimum Deposit

The only information that can be found on the site is in regard to their ProfitMatic account, which has a minimum deposit of $5,000 which is relatively high when it comes to a forex account.

Deposit Methods & Costs

We found a little bit of information in regards to this, we found that UCI-Limited currently accepts Visa and MasterCard, that is all we could find though, there is no information in regards to deposit fees.

Withdrawal Methods & Costs

There is no mention of withdrawal costs, however, in terms of methods, we would assume they are the same as the deposit methods, Visa and MasterCard. There is a single mention of a month withdrawal fee on the VIP account, but we have no idea what this actually entails.

Withdrawal Processing & Wait Time

As with the majority of other information, we are unable to find anything in regards to waiting times or withdrawal processing times.

Bonuses & Promotions

There are no bonuses currently available with UCI-Limited.

Educational & Trading Tools

The education section isn’t really an education section, it is simply four questions being answered, apart from that it appears that UCI-Limited does not offer any form of education or helpful tools.

Customer Service

There are a number of different ways to contact UCI-Limited, they have a phone number and an email address, along with a postal address and online contact form. We used the contact form and got a response within a few hours, however, their response wasn’t very helpful and made it seem like they didn’t really understand how their accounts worked either, that is never a good sign.

Demo Account

No demo accounts currently available which is a shame.

Countries Accepted

No information is currently available in regards to which countries can use UCI-Limited.

Conclusion

The fact that we do not know how the accounts work, and the fact that the support team over at UCI-Limited also do not seem to understand them, we will be advising people to steer clear and go for a more traditional style broker. If UCI-Limited wants a bigger customer base, they need to make information about them and their services a little more accessible and clear.

UCI-Limited seems like more of an investment firm than a broker, however, we were assured by the support team, that you can also trade with them.

We hope you liked this review, if you did, be sure to check out some others in order to help find the perfect broker for you.

Categories
Forex Forex Brokers

Trader’s Way Review

Trader’s Way, based out of the Commonwealth of Dominica, has been offering Forex trading services since 2010. TW offers a variety of tradeable assets, account types, and trading platforms, all of which are designed to appeal to a broad range of traders. With minimum deposits starting at only $10, it’s easy to see why many might be considering signing up to trade with this broker. Before making your final decision, we invite you to read through this comprehensive Trader’s Way review.

Account Types

Trader’s Way offers quite the variety of account types, including:

  • MT4 FIXED
  • MT4 VARIABLE
  • MT4 ECN
  • MT5 ECN
  • CT ECN

The primary difference between these account types is the trading platform that each is linked to. There will be three platform options, including MetaTrader 4, MetaTrader 5, and cTrader. Another difference will be spreads, as you will be allowed to choose from fixed or variable (floating) spreads. There are other differences as well, such as commission and market access. Trader’s Way provides complete details on their website for each of the five account types, so you won’t be left in the dark when trying to decide on which account is best for you.

Platforms

As mentioned above, Trader’s Way provides their clients with access to three different platforms. Most traders are already familiar with MT4 and MT5, which leaves cTrader as the final option. cTrader is a user-friendly platform that was designed specifically for ECN trading. It can be downloaded and installed on your computer, but can also be accessed in app and WebTrader (browser) formats. Remember, the type of account that you select will directly dictate which platform that you are given access to.

Leverage

Leverage varies by account type, with the largest ratio across all of the accounts being 1:1000. The CT ECN account carries a maximum leverage setting of 1:500. The 1:1000 ratio is quite high and it’s rare to see FX brokers offering leverage this high. Of course there are lower settings that can be selected. In fact, traders are free to drop their leverage setting down to as low as 1:1 if they wish. The leverage setting can be changed at any time between trades, but cannot be changed mid-trade.

Trade Sizes

Trade sizes start at 0.01 micro lot, with 0.01 also be the smallest allowed trade step size. The largest allowed single trade size is not posted, so we’re assuming it is 1,000 lots (the largest position size allowed by the MetaTrader platform). Do contact the Traders Way support team to confirm this. The standard lot size for each platform is 1 lot or 100,000 units. There was no information to be found regarding margin calls, but we did not that stop out occurs at 40% across all account types.

Trading Costs

Commission free trading is possible using the MT4 FIXED and MT4 VARIABLE accounts. A commission charge of $3 per turnover of $100,000 does apply for the remaining three account types. Swap fees do apply to positions remaining open after market hours and those will vary by asset. Swap, or rollover costs can always be viewed from within the trading platform by opening the ‘Specifications’ information for each asset.

Assets

On all account types except the CT ECN account, traders have access to Forex pairs, Metals, and Energies. With the CT ECN account, Energies are not accessible. A complete list of available assets for each account type is provided on the TW website. These lists including some important information for each asset including the average spread, minimum trade size in lots, required step trade size, and contract size per lot. Kudos to Trader’s Way for providing these details to prospective clients in advance of account creation.

Partial asset list for the MT4 ECN account type.

Spreads

Only with the MT4 FIXED account are spreads fixed. With all other accounts the spreads are floating. The minimum spread does vary by account type, but across all accounts starts as low as 0.0 pips and tops out at 2 pips (on the fixed account). Obviously, it doesn’t get any better than zero, but don’t expect to see a spread that low on all assets. Since the average spreads are broken down and listed for each account and each asset, it may be wise to spend a few minutes scrolling through the provided lists to see what spread averages you might expect should you decide to trade with Trader’s Way.

Minimum Deposit

The MT4 FIXED and MT4 VARIABLE account do not have any minimum deposit requirements. Even so, you should know that realistically, you will need to fund your account with enough money to actually start trading. With the MT4 and MT5 ECN accounts, the minimum requirement is set at $100. Lastly, the CT ECN account requires a minimum of at least $50. Note that TW does sometimes run promotions which allow for lower deposit minimums. While this is nice, it’s worth mentioning again that it’s extremely difficult to trade with a poorly funded account. No, there’s no need to invest a fortune, but you will need enough to avoid limitations.

Bonuses & Promotions

At the time that this Trader’s Way review was being completed, the brokerage was offering one promotion and one bonus. The promotion allows for a reduced minimum deposit on MT4 and MT5 ECN accounts with full access to the interbank market. With this promotion, the regular $100 minimum is decreased to $10. As for the bonus, it is being offered in the form of a 100% deposit bonus. This means that your initial deposit amount would be matched dollar for dollar in the form of a cash bonus. Of course there are specific conditions which must be met before the bonus can be withdrawn. The specific terms & conditions surrounding the bonus can be viewed on the TW website.

Deposit Methods & Costs

Trader’s Way accepts a wide range of payment methods, many of which carry no deposit fee. At this time, all of the following payment methods were an option for account funding:

  • Credit/Debit Cards (via VLoad)
  • Wire Transfer
  • Bank Transfer (Abra)
  • Bitcoin
  • Ether
  • Litecoin
  • Ripple – 20 XRP for deposits less than 1000 XRP
  • UPayCard
  • Skrill/Moneybookers – Commission of 1.9%.
  • NETELLER – Up to $500 – 3.9%, $501-$1000 USD – 2.9%, $1000+ – 1.9%
  • Perfect Money
  • FasaPay – Commission of 2.9%
  • Prepaid Card

Of these payment methods, Credit/Debit Cards (including Pre-Paid), Wire Transfer, Bitcoin, UPayCard, Ether, and Litecoin are all free. The other methods carry a small fee and we’ve noted that information above for you.

Withdrawal Methods & Costs

As usual, this broker uses the same methods that are accepted for deposits to pay out withdrawals. Most of the withdrawal payment methods are free. However, your financial institution could impose some charges of their own. Below, we’ve noted all of the available withdrawal methods and where fees do apply, listed that information for you.

  • Credit/Debit Cards – VLoad charges a 6% Processing Fee
  • Wire Transfer
  • Bank Transfer (Abra)
  • Bitcoin
  • Ether
  • Litecoin
  • Ripple – 20 XRP for transactions less than 1000 XRP
  • UPayCard – 1% commission
  • Skrill/Moneybookers – 1% commission
  • NETELLER – 1% commission (minimum $1)
  • Perfect Money – 1% commission
  • FasaPay
  • Prepaid Card

Withdrawal Processing & Wait Time

All requests for withdrawal are reviewed within two business days. The time it will take for your withdrawal to arrive once the TW payments team has issued the payment will vary, depending completely upon the chosen payment method and the payment processor. The fact is that some financial institutions do a better job of processing payments quickly than others. In the past, we’ve seen a credit card withdrawal arrive in one day or take as long as a month. The bottom line is that the broker is expected to review your request and submit your payment promptly, but once they do, it’s largely out of their hands.

Educational & Trading Tools

Trader’s Way is not one of the better FX brokers when it comes to providing trader education area, but they do offer at least the basics, along with a few extras. The services listed below are completely optional, but may certainly appeal to some traders.

  • VPS Hosting Service
  • MT4 Trading Signals
  • FxStat Autotrading
  • FxWire Pro News Feed
Webinars schedule.

You will need to sign up and/or subscribe to receive the hosting, signals, and auto-trading services. The news feed is provided free of charge. Recently, TW has added an economic calendar, market information, and webinars to their website. Each of these can be accessed at no cost.

Customer Service

The Trader’s Way support team can be reached via snail mail, email, phone and live chat. They do not offer the option to request a callback and also do not provide an online contact form. Even so, you can use any of the three email addresses shown below to reach out to the correct department.

Support is offered throughout the standard business week, Monday to Friday. On those days, one can expect an email response within 24-hours or less. There is no weekend support, which definitely could be considered a drawback, as many traders are weekend traders and could need assistance on those days.

Demo Accounts

$100,000 demo accounts are provided for free. There are five different demo account versions, one to match each account type. Trader’s Way is upfront in stating the demo account trading conditions do not precisely match the trading conditions within a live platform. This is relatively standard, but most Forex brokers are not as forthcoming with this information. Although the conditions will vary, they are close to what one will see within the real platform and for that reason (along with many more), they have value.

Countries Accepted

Although the Trader’s Way website states that none of their marketing is directed toward citizens of the United States or United Kingdom, they do accept residents of these countries into their platform. TW is headquartered and governed by the laws of the Commonwealth of Dominica, a location that currently does not require FX brokers to be regulated. Any questions or concerns regarding regulation, fund security, or acceptance into the platform should be directed to their customer service team.

Conclusion

The fact that Trader’s Way has been in operation for nineteen years speaks volumes. To put it simply, no Forex broker is able to remain in business for that long if they are not treating their clients well. We personally have accounts with TW and have had them for quite some time. There are no problems to report on our end and we suspect that your experience with this brokerage will be either the same or similar to ours, provided of course that there are no changes in ownership or in the way the business is operated.

Categories
Forex Forex Brokers

Grand Capital Review

Grand Capital has been offering forex trading services for 13 years now. GC has received a number of prestigious awards, including Best Broker, Best Trading Technology, and Best Affiliate Program. These two facts alone may be more than enough to signify that this broker is reliable. Reliability alone is not enough, however, as each FX trader will have his or her own different needs whilst trading. In this Grand Capital review, we’ll provide all of the information that one would need to know about the services provided.

Account Types

Grand Capital currently offers a total of six different account types. Each account is of course different, providing different trading conditions and different perks, as seen below. Note that there is a swap free account and this account can be opted for by those who are Shariah Law compliant.

 

Platforms

Grand Capital features two popular trading platforms – MT4 and MT5 platforms. In order to use the MetaTrader 5 platform, one would need to select the MT5 account type. All other account types are associated with the use of MT4 only.

It appears that only MT5 is available in app format, while only MT4 is available in WebTrader format. Both platforms are available as a Windows system download, while only MetaTrader 4 is available as a download for Mac systems.

Leverage

The maximum leverage ratio for all accounts is 1:2000, but note that leverage maximums vary with account type. The leverage when trading cryptocurrencies is 1:3, whereas it can climb as high as 1:500 when using a Micro account and then even higher, up to 1:2000 when using a Standard or Swap Free account. Leverage can also vary with account balance as well, as shown below. If you plan to trade using leverage and do select Grand Capital as your broker, do be sure to put a lot of thought into your account type selection.

Trade Sizes

By now, you’re probably noticing a common theme, with that being that trade specifics vary greatly and differ by account type. Trade size is no different, as each of the six account tiers have their own set of rules. The good news is that Grand Capital does provide very detailed contract specifications for each account and each asset, and this information can easily be accessed on their website. We can tell you that micro lot trading is an option for all account types, with trades sizes as small as 0.01 lot being allowed.

Trading Costs

With the Standard and Swap Free account types, there is no commission charges on Forex trades. CFD contracts cost $15 each and CFD stock positions cost 0.1% of the total trade amount. With the MT5 and ECN accounts, there is a flat commission charge of $5 per trade. With the Crypto account, expect to pay 1.6% of the trade total on each contract. On accounts where swap fees do apply, the cost will be $7 per traded lot. Obviously, it will be possible to reduce or eliminate some of these costs through account selection, so here again, we caution you to choose your account type carefully.

Assets

Grand Capital provides several asset types, including stocks, indices, commodities, currency pairs, and cryptocurrencies. Want to know how many assets you’ll be able to trade with? That’s right, you need to look to the account type. We’ve tried to make it easier for you by breaking down the numbers by account type below.

  • Crypto: 18 assets
  • ECN: 38 assets
  • Micro: 66 assets
  • Standard: 330+ assets
  • Swap Free: 330+ assets
  • MT5: 330+ assets

Spreads

It seems best to use the same strategy as above to break down the spreads for you, as they also vary by account type. What we will say here is that the lowest possible spread varies from 0.4 pips to 1 pip. Grand Capital does not provide information on a site wide spread average, which is not surprising since every bit of trade-specific information varies by account type.

  • Crypto: Starting at 0.4 pips
  • ECN: Starting at 0.4 pips
  • Micro: Starting at 1 pip
  • Standard: Starting at 1 pip
  • Swap Free: Starting at 1 pip
  • MT5: Starting at 0.4 pips

Minimum Deposit

Minimum deposits range from $10 to $500. On four of the six account types, the minimum required deposit amount is $100. Below are the minimum deposit amounts for each of the accounts.

  • Crypto: $100
  • ECN: $500
  • Micro: $10
  • Standard: $100
  • Swap Free: $100
  • MT5: $100

Deposit Methods & Costs

Grand Capital scores highly in this area, offering to accept a wide range of deposit payment methods. There is one condition which must be mentioned here, however, and this is that U.S. clients must deposit and withdraw using one of the accepted cryptocurrencies. No other payment methods are open to U.S. residents. The reason for this is pretty clear, as it has become increasingly difficult for FX brokers to find payment processors who are willing to accept incoming deposits from the U.S. Hopefully this will change in the future as the laws regarding Forex trading become more clear in the United States.

As for everyone else, there will be plenty of payment options to choose from. These include, but are not limited to the following:

  • Bank Transfer
  • Visa & MasterCard
  • Bitcoin
  • Ecommpay
  • Ethereum
  • FasaPay
  • Neteller
  • PayOP
  • Payeer
  • Payza
  • Perfect Money
  • RBK Money
  • RP Card
  • Ripple
  • Skrill
  • Vload
  • Thunder X Pay
  • Tether
  • WebMoney
  • Yandex Money
  • advcash
  • help2pay
  • iPay

In addition to all of these, there are a number of local transfer agents payment options, including:

  • ForexRebateChanger (Indonesia)
  • Fxniaga (Indonesia)
  • Grand Capital Myanmar
  • Grand Capital Philippines
  • Grand Capital Singapore
  • My Local Depositor (Malaysia)
  • Nigerian Exchanger
  • Sentraegold (Indonesia)

On all but a small number of these payment methods, Grand Capital waives any fees. We recommend that you visit their payments area to view a complete breakdown of every accepted deposit method, any costs, and an estimate of how long it will take each method to arrive and be posted to your account for use.

Small sampling of the many accepted deposit methods.

Withdrawal Methods & Costs

All of the deposit methods mentioned above are also available for withdrawals. There are a few payment options that are free, but most do carry some type of fee. Even so, across the board, the withdrawal fees appear to be quite reasonable. Although we cannot state this for certain, it appears that Grand Capital is simply passing along the base fee that each payment provider charges them for processing. Some brokers are willing to completely absorb these costs, while others are not.

Withdrawal Processing & Wait Time

On average, withdrawals should arrive within three business days. However, there are payment options that will ensure that your funds arrive sooner than that, such as cryptocurrencies. A complete breakdown of withdrawal methods, costs, and wait times are provided on the broker’s website. We recommend that you refer to this information before making a deposit, as deposited funds must be withdrawn using the same method that was used to make the payment.

Bonuses & Promotions

As of the time that this Grand Capital review was being completed, the broker was offering an amazing four different trading contests. One of these contests was for real account holders, while the other three were open to those who use their demo accounts. As for bonuses, there were plenty of those offers available as well, including a 40% deposit bonus for those who wanted to have extra funds added to their account. GC receives two big thumbs up in this area. While not everyone likes the terms and conditions that come with bonuses, it’s rare to find a broker that offers so many contests and giveaways.

Educational & Trading Tools

On the broker’s website, you find a FX terms glossary, ready-made investment portfolios, RAMM accounts, an economic calendar, trade calculator, analytic reviews, and online quotes. Grand Capital has partnered with outside sources to be able to offer several trading robots as well. To access these, you’ll need to complete registration form that is separate from the general account registration. Both MT4 and MT5 offer their own specific trading tools, which can be accessed at any time.

Customer Service

Customer support is provided via social media (Facebook, Instagram, etc.), Live Chat, email, and phone. The support offices can be phoned directly, or you can opt to request a callback. To speak with a live agent by phone, call: +1 646 844 7187. Support is offered 24-hours a day, 5-days a week (Monday through Friday). Should you prefer email contact, choose the email address from the list below that best fits the question or problem that you wish to discuss.

Client Service: [email protected]
Technical Department: [email protected]
Financial Department: [email protected]
Partnership Department: [email protected]
Analytical: [email protected]
Marketing and PR: [email protected]

Demo Accounts

Demo accounts are available and each provides a few options for you to choose from. For starters, you’ll be able to select from three demo account types including: Standard, MT5, or ECN. You’ll also be able to select a leverage ratio from settings which range from 1:1 to 1:500. Lastly, you’ll be able to choose the amount of mock funds that you’d like to start out with. Each of these options are intended to help provide a trading experience that resembles as closely as possible actual Forex trading.

Countries Accepted

The question on the minds of most is, does Grand Capital accept U.S. traders? The answer is yes, but if you’ve skipped past the rest of this review, we’ll mention here again that U.S. based clients must deposit and withdraw using one of the accepted cryptocurrencies and therefore cannot use their credit card, debit card, or bank account to fund their trading account. The website actually states the following: “This information is intended for investors outside of the United States who are not the US/Japanese citizens and residents.” Even so, we were able to open a new account from our U.S. offices.

Conclusion

It’s easy to see how the level of one’s satisfaction with this broker could easily be tied to them choosing the right account type. Six account types may prove to be a bit much for some, while others may appreciate having the ability to make a more personalized selection. Everything (and we do mean everything) varies by account type, and each has its positives and negatives. On the whole though, Grand Capital appears to be an established, trustworthy Forex broker, and we see no reason whatsoever why they should not at least be given some consideration by those who are in search of a brokerage to call their own.

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Forex Forex Brokers

Wenchuan International Review

Wenchuan International is a forex and CFD broker based out of St. Vincent & the Grenadines, with other offices located in Hong Kong and the UK. Since their website is somewhat vague and there aren’t many reviews out there, we spent a lot of time speaking with their support team, so that we could paint a clearer picture for our readers. The support team certainly provided us with an interesting experience and helped to explain some of the details that really matter. If you’d like to know whether this broker is offering anything worth your attention, we urge you to keep reading.

Account Types

Wenchuan International offers one basic account type. This provides for a more simplistic experience, without the need to compare several different sets of information for several different account options. Still, we enjoy having the ability to choose an account that is more specialized for the needs of specific types of traders. If you decide to open an account with this broker, you’ll only be required to make a small deposit, with the ability to trade with average spreads on a leverage that goes up to 1:200 on most assets. 

Platform

One of our favorite qualities about Wenchuan International is the fact that they support the award-winning MetaTrader 4 platform. The fact that the platform is the most commonly offered and favorite trading platform among forex brokers makes it special, but what exactly is so great about MT4? For one, within the MT4 platform, clients of Wenchuan can create and hold multiple positions and orders for the same trading product.

MT4 also offers a powerful combination of analytical technologies and leading trading tools, which allows traders the ability to implement complex trading strategies. The user-friendly and easy to navigate qualities of the platform is thought of highly by many traders. MT4 comes with a variety of time-frames, charting tools, technical indicators, and more. The fact that this broker offers the world’s favorite trading platform definitely adds to their potential, although featuring MT4 is not enough of a reason alone to choose them on its own.

Leverage

The maximum leverage goes up to 1:200 on the majority of Wenchuan’s tradable assets. This limit is satisfactory, since it offers a limit that is above the industry average. Many other brokers only offer leverage that goes up to 1:100, although some do offer leverages that go much higher than this broker’s offer. Still, Wenchuan is offering a leverage that is higher than average and that should be enough for the majority of traders; therefore, we feel that they did well in this category. Metals, which includes gold and silver, do not offer the 1:200 leverage option. Note that all brokers lower the leverage cap on these types of assets, since trading them is so risky. 

Trade Sizes

The minimum trade size is listed at 0.01 lots, or one micro lot. You won’t always find the ability to trade micro lots; therefore this is another of Wenchuan’s strong suits. Meanwhile, their maximum trade size is 20 lots maximum. The minimum margin requirement is about 1%; with the initial margin of standard gold being $800 and the initial margin of standard silver being $800. Closing is performed according to the following rules: all open positions will be automatically closed when the customer’s account maintains a position below the maintenance margin of 30%.

Trading Costs

Wenchuan profits from spreads, commission fees, and swap-fees. Swaps are the difference between the bid and ask price on a position and are applicable with any forex broker you choose. We explain in more detail later, but for the purpose of this section, you should know that the spreads with this broker are about average. Commission fees also may be applicable based on the specific product, but support is not as forthcoming about those fees. The best way to check commission fees seems to be opening an account and checking within MT4. The broker would also profit from swap-fees, which are fees charged on positions held overnight. When the customer holds a position, crossing the 5:00 a.m. (summer time) or 6:00 a.m. (winter time) of Beijing time, the customer’s position will be charged or paid rollover interest. The rollover interest of various products will vary within the interest gap.

Assets

Wenchuan International offers a wide asset portfolio, including foreign exchange, index, energy, bulk commodities, offshore RMB, and other CFDs. You’ll find a variety of forex majors and minors, as well as exotics, metals, oil, including gold and silver, and indexes. Finding the page that lists all available assets on their website is difficult, so you may need to contact the support team to request this information.

Spreads

Since there is only one account type with this broker, there is no need to compare several different spreads for various account types. This makes it much easier to understand what type of spreads you can expect to see, although the spreads listed on their website are only the minimum, meaning that the actual spreads may be lower or higher than the company’s examples.

To give some examples, it seems that minors gravitate around a spread of 1.9 pips, while majors tend to show higher spreads around 2.7 pips. Exotics, metals, oil, and indexes also tend to have higher spreads. Overall, it seems that the spreads with this broker are average, considering that many others advertise the best possible starting spreads. Wenchuan offers more of a transparent picture of what one can really expect to see, which is usually around what you’ll realistically see with other brokers. If you’re interested in viewing the specific spread for a certain product, you can view them on the website’s product list page.

Minimum Deposit

The initial deposit minimum must be at least $50, regardless of which account type you’re trading from. We’re happy to see such a realistic amount from this broker, since many others often require deposits into the hundreds and occasional thousands of dollars. This amount shouldn’t be high enough to scare away beginner traders and it won’t exclude those without many starting funds from being able to trade through this broker. It also offers the trader a bit of breathing room since it not an insignificant amount. However , since the only deposit option is bank transfer, we would recommend making deposits of larger amounts if you have the means to do so.

Deposit Methods & Costs

Bank transfer is the only payment method accepted by Wenchuan International. While bank transfer is certainly a safe and reliable means of sending funds, it does often come with costs. The costs would typically depend on your bank, so it’s best to check with them before deciding whether to send funds. The fact that deposits are limited to one option would definitely be a downside to choosing this broker, since others often offer Visa/MasterCard and other popular methods. If you’re one that would choose bank transfer regardless, then of course the limited funding opportunity wouldn’t bother you. However, if you prefer more instant funding methods, you will definitely feel that this broker is lacking in this category. 

Withdrawal Methods & Costs

Predictably, one would be limited to withdrawal via bank wire, since it is the only method available for depositing. As we mentioned earlier, this is certainly a safe method, but it comes with drawbacks. You should expect to pay fees when making a withdrawal through bank transfer, with fees typically being between $25 USD to $50 USD. Hopefully, your bank is one that charges on the lower end of the spectrum. If not, paying $50 to make a simple withdrawal is steep, so we suggest making larger withdrawals with more time in between, rather than making more frequent ones. This would help to avoid paying the withdrawal fee as often, since it could really add up over time.

Withdrawal Processing & Wait Time

The wait time to receive your withdrawal via bank transfer would fall somewhere between 2 and 6 days. Two days isn’t an unreasonable time to wait, but we feel that six days is definitely on the longer side of things, especially if you need your funds quickly. We wouldn’t be as concerned about the waiting period for bank transfer if other methods were available, since this is the average withdrawal time for this funding method, regardless of which broker you choose. However, since it is the only method available, one will have to be prepared for a wait time up to 6 days when it comes time to make a withdrawal. 

Bonuses & Promotions

At this time, Wenchuan is not offering any bonuses or promotions. While they may decide to add these types of opportunities in the future, it is still disappointing that there is no welcome bonus available to those interested in signing up now. Still, with this being a smaller broker, it is not surprising that these opportunities are not offered.

Educational & Trading Tools

Wenchuan has devoted an entire section of their website to providing educational material for their clients. Good brokers understand the important on educating their investors, so we were happy to see that they did so well in this category. Within their Knowledge Academy, you will find detailed explanations and supporting images that explain some common forex ideas, including information related to practical skills, wave theory, moving averages, chart patterns, and technology lines. You can visit the ‘Study Centre’ page from the top of Wenchuan’s website if you’re interested in viewing any of their educational material. When it comes to trading tools, traders will have to stick to the tools available within the MT4 platform. 

Financial calendar.

Demo Account

Many brokers have added free demo accounts to their list of services recently because of how helpful these practice accounts can be to inexperienced clients. Opening a demo account alongside a real account is also an excellent way to gain more experience trading, or to test the market in ways that might be too risky for one’s real account. Sadly, this broker does not offer demo accounts at this time. While they do offer some educational resources, we felt that the lack of ability to open a demo through them really took away from the overall learning experience they provide. 

Customer Service

If you find yourself needing to ask a simple question, or if you do sign up for an account and run into a problem, you’ll be happy to know that support can be reached conveniently through phone, LiveChat, or email. Support staff with big brokers usually tend to be stretched too thin, resulting in longer wait times. Fortunately, this broker’s support team is always readily available. When we tested out the website’s LiveChat feature, we were not disappointed, as we found that support replied quickly when we attempted to chat late at night. The quick replies we received from support staff assured us that the company is in fact active 24 hours a day, Monday through Friday, as they claim to be. Below, you’ll find the listed contact information for this broker.

Countries Accepted

Wenchuan International does not provide service to clients located in the US or Hong Kong. This includes both Hong Kong residents and those located in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. It’s definitely unfortunate to see the United States excluded from the list, although it isn’t surprising, since many brokers have chosen to exclude the US from their list of accepted countries lately. 

Conclusion

Wenchuan International offers a more simplistic trading experience based from one account type, supports the world’s most favorite trading platform, and offers above average leverage options. The company also offers an impressive asset portfolio, although their spreads could only be considered average. They provide a training academy from their website, which proves that they are invested in their inexperienced clients, just as much as they are in their more serious investors. Customer service is readily available to answer any questions you may have 24 hours a day, 5 days a week. Their readiness to assist at all hours really sets them apart from the crowd.

 

The required deposit minimum is also set at a realistic $50, so this should not discourage anyone from signing up. One of the main downsides to choosing this broker would be the fact that they are missing some of the extra things that you’ll find with other, larger brokers. For example, demo accounts and trading tools are not available on their website, there are no ongoing bonus or promotional opportunities, their website can be vague, etc. For some, these extra details won’t be missed, but others will really notice the difference. Another drawback is the fact that funding is limited to bank transfer only. While this is a safe way to deposit and withdraw funds, it is a method that comes with fees from the bank’s side and it also comes with longer processing times.

When it comes down to making the decision, you’ll need to decide if the amazing support team, leverage options, asset portfolio, educational resources, and realistic deposit minimum make up for the average spreads, limited funding methods, and lack of extra options. We think that this broker could be a good choice, so long as you don’t mind that it is more watered down that its competitors. 

 

Categories
Forex Forex Brokers

Fing Markets Review

Fing Markets is relatively new on the scene, operating an MT4 compatible CFD trading broker since the year 2017 and registered in ST Vincent and the Grenadines. The website itself is not particularly modern, but nevertheless is easy to navigate and live chat availability should ensure any queries are resolved at first point of contact. One thing to note, is that this broker is keen to entice it’s clients with a deposit bonus, by advertising heavily this on the homepage itself. All deposit bonus brokers should be considered with caution before registering hastily. 

Account Types

This broker offers 3 account types to choose from, tailored to your level of trading expertise; Beginner, Fing Trader or VIP. It might be worth pointing out here that not all beginner traders would be willing to accept the fact that with this beginner account, the minimum deposit requirement is $1000. For the Fing trader account, one must deposit a total of $5,000 minimum, and the VIP account requires a minimum of $30,000. There are slight variations between the trading conditions offered on each account in the way of spreads, leverage and stop out levels, which we will go into further detail on shortly. 

VIP account details.

Platforms

You may trade with Fing Markets via MT4 desktop or WebTrader version. You may also trade on the go, be that on your iOS or Android device. 

Leverage

It is perhaps a little unjust that the Beginner account is allowed the highest leverage being maximum 1:500, while the Fing Trader and VIP accounts, which you must deposit larger for, have access to a maximum leverage of 1:100. 

Trade Sizes

All accounts bear the same fair conditions in regards to trade sizes allowed: 0.01- 50 lots.

Trading Costs

Fing Markets do not apply commission fees to either the Beginner or Fing Trader accounts. Only the VIP account is charged commissions, which are $5 per lot, per trade. This could work out to be rather expensive for the VIP account traders, but for the Beginner and Fing Trader account holders, 0 commissions is definitely a benefit to keep overall trading costs down. 

Assets

Fing Markets offer a fair variety of tradable instruments, those being, Forex, Commodities and Shares. While there is a large number in total, it is a shame that this broker does not offer more, such as cryptocurrency pairs, which is odd seeing that they offer BTC as a method of funding and withdrawing to and from the trading account. It is useful though, that all instruments available are displayed on the website, with a handy search feature to pinpoint particulars that may be of interest. 

Spreads

Fing Markets offer floating spreads on all accounts. The Beginner account has the least favourable spreads, starting at 3 pips, while the Fing Trader account spreads start at 2 pips and lastly, the VIP account spreads begin at 0.5 pips. Bear in mind, the larger you deposit, the smaller the spreads you will be granted access to. 

Minimum Deposit

Each account offered has different minimum deposit requirements, as seen below:

Beginner: min deposit $1,000
Fing Trader: min deposit $5,000
VIP: min deposit $30,000

For many, these minimum requirements are considered dear, and do deviate from the norm of what the majority of brokers ask for, whose requirements are considerably lower and more affordable for the every day trader. 

Deposit Methods & Costs

To discover which funding methods are available, you may check these out on the website. Visa card, wire transfer, Neteller, Skrill, 2CO and Bitcoin transfers are all accepted. There is no mention of costs for either the deposit and withdrawal fees but bear in mind that each method may carry some fees, which you can check with the provider, prior to making the transfer. 

Withdrawal Methods & Costs

Withdrawal methods are as follows: Visa card, wire transfer, Neteller, Skrill, Baokim and Bitcoin. This is a fair variety to offer clients, and the fact that Bitcoin is offered as one of the fastest methods, definitely projects a forward thinking approach this broker is aiming for.

Withdrawal Processing & Wait Time

Fing Markets are rather transparent on the whole; processing timescales for each method of withdrawal are shown on their website. All methods are advertised to be processed within 24 working hours, but of course, each method may vary in timescale to actually reach you.

Bonuses & Promotions

The first thing you see when you visit the website is the 30% deposit bonus which only clients from Vietnam are entitled to, according to their live chat team. The reason for this is unclear. 

Live Chat conversation regarding deposit bonus eligibility with Fing Markets.

 

Educational & Trading Tools

Fing Markets do not advertise any trading education material online, nor do they appear to sell additional products/services. However, this broker being compatible with MT4 would mean you are free to integrate your own products such as EAs, providing they are MetaTrader4 compatible. 

Customer Service

Should you wish to contact this broker, you may speak with a representative on a 24/5 basis via Live Chat, email or by calling in. Note that the customer service team operate only during Monday to Friday These three options allow each client to choose their own preferred means of communication dependent upon the complexity of their query. 

 

Demo Account

Nowhere on the website does it offer a demo account for clients to run some testing and practice before opening a live account. This is not very useful for clients who may be dubious about whether these trade conditions are suitable for their trading style. Also, the absence of a Demo account could be detrimental to a novice trader.

Countries Accepted

Fing Markets do not make it clear which countries are restricted from trading with their broker, but once you begin the registration process, you will be asked for proof of residency. It is at this stage you will be notified if your account can be approved or not. 

Conclusion

Fing Markets do provide a reasonable and fair variety of assets to trade as well as deposit/withdrawal methods. They are also very generous with their leverage options, in comparison to other brokers. However, the fact that a demo account cannot be provided raises concerns, as this encourages vulnerable potential clients to sign up right away, perhaps without full knowledge of what trading conditions they will be subject to. 

Categories
Forex Forex Brokers

1ONEX Review

1ONEX have been operating since 2014 and provide a wide variety of tradable assets to their clients. One thing to note right away, is that this broker gives a false impression that they are a regulated company, when in actual fact they are not, so do not be fooled, if that is specifically what you are looking for. Nonetheless, their website is clear and simplistically structured for pure ease of navigation and you will find a lot of information readily available to answer any preliminary questions you may have as a potential client before registering. 

Account Types

1ONEX offer 4 account types which have brief overviews set out on the website. You may opt for the Satoshi, Lite, Ethereum or BIt account. All accounts have different minimum deposit requirements as you may see below. In addition, they each offer different trading conditions which can either be benefits or limit your trading, depending on the amount you are willing to deposit and your individual preferred trading style. Note that all accounts are granted a top up bonus with the initial deposit.

Satoshi: minimum deposit requirement is $500
Lite: minimum deposit requirement is $5,000
Ethereum: minimum deposit requirement is $20,000
Bit: minimum deposit requirement is $100,000

If you opt for the Satoshi account, which is the smallest and cheapest account, you are still required to initially fund your account with an amount most traders would not consider cheap. This account does give access to crypto currencies, Forex, commodities, proprietary portfolios markets, but you may use leverage of 1:5 which is really quite restricting for profit maximisation. 

Satoshi account.

The Lite account offers access to the same markets as the Satoshi account, but with slightly higher leverage of 1:10, and you are allowed a higher volume of open positions (up to 200 lots).

Lite account.

If you opt for the Ethereum account, you are able to trade Stocks in addition to the same market access as the previous two accounts mentioned, but on a slightly higher leverage of 1:20. This is the reward for making an initial minimum deposit of $20,000.

Etherum account.

Finally, if you are looking for bonuses in addition to the initial deposit bonus, then the Bit account may be suitable. Bear in mind this requires a minimum deposit of $100,000, but you would have access to the following markets: crypto currencies, Forex, commodities, indices, stock, proprietary portfolios, preico tokens and also not limited by maximum total volume or number of open positions. Leverage on this account is 1:50. 

Bit account.

Platforms

1ONEX do offer the leading MetaTrader 4 platform so the majority should find this more than satisfactory. Their MT4 is compatible with Windows, Mac, iOS and Android so you can even trade on the go. 

Leverage

The maximum leverage this broker allows- and bear in mind that you must deposit the sum of $100,000 (Bit account)  in order to have access to such leverage- is 1:50. Considering the high deposit requirements for ALL accounts, the leverage does not seem very generous across the board, which is where it is clear this broker is preventing and safeguarding the potential of their clients maximizing their profits too much.

 

Trade Sizes

Each account has its own limitations when it comes to maximum volume and number of positions open, which are as follows:

Satoshi: Maximum total volume of open positions up to 20 lots and maximum open positions up to 50

Lite: Maximum total volume of open positions up to 200  lots and maximum open positions: up to 100

Ethereum: Maximum total volume of open positions up to 2,000 lots and maximum open positions: up to 50Bit: Maximum total volume of open positions: unlimited and maximum open positions are also unlimited.

Trading Costs

Although it is not possible to know how much the fees are, all accounts are charged commission with the exception of the largest account (Bit) which has reduced or 0 commissions, presumably depending on which assets are being traded. The website also does not display Swap fees, and there is no FAQ page to refer to for basic information such as this. 

Assets

1ONEX offers a very wide variety of assets to trade: cryptocurrencies, FX majors, Shares, Indices, Metals and Commodities. On the website you can also see Trading View’s live prices of the majority of tradable assets which is useful to have in the same space as you are trading. 

Bear in mind, as mentioned earlier on, each account has access to particular instruments while the only account that you may have the luxury of trading ALL available, is with the Bit account, subject to depositing the sum of $100,000.

Spreads

Some Spreads (floating) are available on the website, provided by Trading View. However, they are not particularly clear as it seems there is a small error on the website, hindering you from seeing the percentage of increase or decrease, as you can see below. On the whole, spreads available are average, but do take into consideration trading costs on the whole (swaps, commissions etc)

Minimum Deposit

As mentioned earlier, the minimum deposit even for the smallest account is $500. This is incredibly high compared to other brokers with lower deposit requirements ranging between $10-$50. Let us remind ourselves of the minimum deposit requirements for each of the 4 accounts:

  • Satoshi: minimum deposit requirement is $500
  • Lite: minimum deposit requirement is $5,000
  • Ethereum: minimum deposit requirement is $20,000
  • Bit: minimum deposit requirement is $100,000

It is good to establish here the benefits that each account actually can provide, taking into consideration the deposit amount required in order to receive them. One could argue that the benefits from smallest to largest accounts are not so comparable or worthy for the deposit amount expected. 

Deposit Methods & Costs

Oddly enough, and in the absence of an FAQ page, there is no information on funding methods or costs on the website, other than some stamps at the footer of the website that suggest the following methods are available include: Card, Bitcoin, Qiwi, Skrill and SWIFT. 

Withdrawal Methods & Costs

Information regarding withdrawal method options can be found on a specific tab on the website which outline the following options to withdraw via: card, bank transfer, QIWI wallet, Yandex Money or Bitcoin. This is a fair variety of methods, at least one of which would be favourable to many traders. 

Withdrawal Processing & Wait Time

Timescales for the withdrawal methods available are shown in the above image, with the Bitcoin, Yandex and Qiwi options being the fastest (immediate transfer) while the Bank and Card transfers can take between 1 hour- 5 business days to complete. 

Bonuses & Promotions

Although no information is available specifically in regards to the bonus amount and policy, all accounts do come with a deposit bonus (initial) as advertised on the account type page on the website. In addition to this, the Bit account also allows traders to have a revolving bonus for each deposit they make. Ensure to read carefully and fully grasp the Terms and Conditions for any bonus you agree to. 

Educational & Trading Tools

While some news articles are available via the website in relation to current latest economic news, there is no trading education available through 1ONEX but there is of course plenty of free or paid material online, should that interest you. Similarly, no trading tools such as signal or EA services appear to be available through this broker, however since they offer MT4, you may incorporate such products/services at your own discretion if compatible with MetaTrader.

Customer Service

Unfortunately this broker does not advertise their customer support operating hours and it seems clients only have two means of contact with this broker- via telephone call or email These methods of contact are somewhat limiting, especially in the presence of any complicated trade queries which sometimes require images and screenshots to fully establish any issues at hand. In this case, live chat could be useful, especially to explain and resolve queries at first point of contact. 

Demo Account

1ONEX does not provide a demo version of any of their account types which could raise suspicion, especially given the fact that some clients could easily be enticed into opening a live account, and subsequently deposit a large sum to fill broker requirements. Ensure you have efficient practice and knowledge on alternative demo before live trading with this broker, and ensure you have all questions answered in regards to trading conditions that you should be able to test on demo before opening their live account. 

Countries Accepted

This broker is not clear on which countries are accepted to trade or not. However, bear in mind that during verification when registering, you will need to provide proof of residency. If your residence is not approved, you should be notified. 

Conclusion

After a thorough review of this broker, one can draw the conclusion that firstly, this broker is incredibly vague when it comes to trading conditions, and the suspicion is elevated by the broker not willing to provide a demo account for clients to test before going live. This broker should be approached by only the most experienced traders and those accepting of the large minimum deposit requirements. The reason for newer traders to perhaps not consider this broker is because there is little in the way of guidance. For example, there is no FAQ guide to refer to, nor is there a 24/7 live chat support team to assist if need be.

Categories
Forex Forex Brokers

CapitalPanda Review

Capital Panda are a STP CySEC regulated Forex broker. For how long they have been operating is not clear by the lack of traction they appear to have online among forums and social media. On first look at their modern styled website and the fact they offer MT5 can lead one to assume they are a fairly new and innovative FX broker. Although there is not a specific FAQ page for clients to refer to, there is ample information set out in regards to Trading Conditions and Payment methods which are suffice to answer any basic questions you may have.  

Account Types

It appears that this broker offer just the demo and one live account. This means less hassle and confusion for the potential client and makes trading somewhat more fair among all traders.

Platforms

It appears this broker offers only one platform to trade on, that being MT5. It seems odd that MT4 is not offered in addition to MT5 to suit more than one category of trader. 

Leverage

The website mentions some key advantages of trading with this broker, and here you will see that you may trade with a maximum leverage of up to 1:30. Some traders may find these ESMA restrictions rather limiting in their trading, and as a result, deposit larger deposits to increase the prospect of profits.  It does not specify what leverage can be used for which instruments but ESMA caps are provided.

Trade Sizes

It is unclear the specific minimum and maximum trade sized allowed to trade with this broker since the only information available is incredibly vague with nothing to go by other than ‘standard lot sizes’.

Trading Costs

There is no mention of any trading costs at all set out on the Trading Conditions on the website.  This is a very positive element for clients in order to keep trading costs down especially given the fact that their spreads are not wholly competitive but we will get to that shortly. 

Assets

It is very useful that all tradable instruments are compiled in a list directly on the website. There are around 60 in total FX Currencies, Indices and Commodities displayed. There is no mention of Cryptocurrencies or alternative assets to trade, which some traders may find limiting. 

Partial asset list.

Spreads

The spreads offered by Capital Panda are far from competitive, starting from 3 pips. Most traders would have difficulty swallowing this one, especially given the fact the leverage is so restricting and maintenance fees are also charged, which we will extend on shortly.

Minimum Deposit

The minimum deposit to trade with this broker is $100. It is odd that on the website where this is mentioned, it is stated specifically this must be made by wire transfer. which is limiting for traders who may wish to use an alternative method that is more preferable and faster, for example. The minimum deposit requirement may be high for some traders but is a little above average in comparison to alternative brokers. 

Another thing to note is that in addition to requiring a relatively high deposit, this broker also charges a ‘maintenance fee’ of up to 40EUR per annum in order to keep your trading account active. Taking all trading conditions we have learnt so far into account, including the maintenance fee, trading with this broker is rather expensive overall compared to other brokers.

Deposit Methods & Costs

To fund your account with Capital Panda, you have the choice of ban wire or Debit/Credit card. With only two options available, this is rather limiting, and it is disappointing that such a new broker to the industry does not offer more methods to satisfy a wider majority of traders. 

Withdrawal Methods & Costs

With Capital Panda, you may withdraw your funds only via one method- bank wire, and the minimum you may withdraw is $250. This method and the requirement that comes with it is not ideal for many traders, and puts pressure on the clients to continue to trade in order to make back the initial deposit potentially, as well as spur them on to keep trading to reach such profit goals just in order to withdraw. 


There is no mention of fees charges by the broker, but bear in mind your bank may apply charges to complete such transfers.

Withdrawal Processing & Wait Time

Withdrawal time is not specifically stated anywhere on the web page but they do claim to process the withdrawal request within one business day. The full timescale also depends upon your bank and their process so bear that in mind and ensure you check with your bank regarding timescales and wait times before you process with a withdrawal request with this broker. 

Bonuses & Promotions

Due to this brokers regulations, bonuses cannot be granted to clients. This is a positive attribute as this means an element of pressure and false hope is eliminated for the trader, and allows them to make their own trade decisions solely without any subtle manipulation of mindset. 

Educational & Trading Tools

Capital Panda do not offer any educational material or any trading tools however since they are compatible with Meta Trader, you would be able to integrate EA’s and the likes, at your own discretion. 

Customer Service

Should you need assistance during your time as a client with this broker, you may contact them on a 24/5 basis via telephone or email. It is a shame this new broker has not implemented a 24/7 live chat since that is usually the more modern and preferred method of contact for means of efficiency to resolve queries. 

Demo Account

With Capital Panda, you may demo their trade conditions and practice for only a maximum of 30 days. After this, you are encouraged to then ‘upgrade’ to a live account. It is not common for a broker to limit a client’s demo time to just 30 days, and this seems like a subtle ploy to encourage potential clients to register for a live account and deposit funds as soon as possible. 

Countries Accepted

Do bear in mind that this broker is regulated by CySEC meaning that when you sign up, you will be asked where you reside, and for example, if you are a resident of the USA, you would not be accepted to trade with this broker. 

Conclusion

If you are looking for a relatively straight forward broker, then this could be a good one to try on demo. But bear in mind that you are limited to a 30 day trial then you will need to open a live account. Also consider the fact this broker is very limited on deposit and withdrawal methods compared to some brokers, and leverage caps are not always preferable for some brokers. Another thing to note is the ‘maintenance fee’ which could make your trading experience with this broker quite expensive overall. This broker does not offer 24/7 help and support to their clients either so ensure to process your queries during operating hours and prepare to wait for a response. 

This broker may be ideal for those traders concerned only to trade strictly with a regulated broker, and willing to take the low leverage caps, and more expensive trading as a sacrifice. Overall, this broker could be considered quite limiting in many aspects, and expensive in comparison to other brokers. 

Categories
Forex Forex Brokers

PCT Pro Capital Trade Review

ProCapital Trade is an offshore CFD Forex broker, operating since 2013. Since this broker has been in the industry for a few years now, it is understandable that you will encounter a fair amount of chatter about them online, predominantly in a negative manner, however. Their website is basic yet outdated, but simplistically set out for easy navigation. The fact that the website does not provide an FAQ page which immediately makes it incredibly difficult to obtain answers to the initial questions and queries one may have. Coupled together with the fact that they do not have a live chat feature makes you question whether or not you want to trade with a broker that is so vague and directly uncontactable.

Account Types

PCT offer 4 account types, namely: Standard, Classic, Premium and Gold. All account types are compatible on the trusted MT4 platform. The smallest account has a minimum deposit requirement of $250 (although some debates online state it is in fact $500), and the Gold account minimum deposit requirement is $50,000. This is quite some range which could be ideal for various types of traders, new or experienced. However, it is important to note that the lower the deposit requirement, the more restricted you are in terms of which instruments you can trade. You will only be granted access to ALL instruments if you opt for the larger account (Gold) meaning you are expected to deposit a minimum of $50,000.

Platforms

PCT have been smart when it comes to the trading platform by offering the leading trading platform MT4. All clients, no matter which account type you opt for, have access to MT4 desktop and mobile version. 

Leverage

For the Standard, Classic and Premium, the account comparison table on the website states you may trade with 1:200 leverage while with the Gold account, the leverage is ‘adjustable’. This is rather confusing and suggests that for the first 3 accounts, you are not able to lower the 1:200 leverage, but with the Gold account you can, however, for this basic expectation from a broker, it is now somewhat considered a luxury, at the cost of depositing a minimum of $50,000.

Trade Sizes

Nowhere on the website does it state the minimum lot size one must trade with other than the mention of the minimum lot size applicable when trading with the bonus that can be granted. This information can be found in the Terms and Conditions section.

Trading Costs

It is unclear if this broker charges trade commissions as this is oddly not included in the account comparison table on the website. This can only suggest that this broker does NOT charge trade commission fees which is of course, a bonus for the trader. 

Assets

As mentioned earlier, it is rather disappointing to know that if you trade with this broker, and opt for one of the 3 lower accounts, you are restricted to trading particular instruments. On the other hand, if you opt for the minimum deposit of $50,000 (Gold account), then you have access to trade ALL instruments. In summary, the Standard account allows you to trade only Base currencies (FX Majors), the Classic account allows you to trade Base currencies, Gold, Silver and Oil, the Premium account allows you to trade All currencies, Indices and Shares and finally, the Gold account gives you access to all instruments mentioned. It is unclear how many instruments in total are available to trade. 

Spreads

ProCapital Trade offer both fixed and floating spreads, but depending on the account type you choose to trade with, you may be limited to one or the other. For example, with the lowest of the four accounts, Standard account, you are subject to trading only with fixed spreads, the typical FX spread being 2.4 pips. For the Classic account you may trade with a mixture of both fixed and variable spreads, btu this ofc course applies to particular pairs. The average spreads are also at 2.4 pips. Moving on to the Premium account, again, you have the pleasure of trading with fixed and floating spreads, average spread typically at 0.6 pips. Lastly, the Gold account allows you more freedom in regards to spreads as they are ‘adjustable’ so presumably one can choose to have fixed or floating irregardless of the pairs they are trading. The average floating spreads are priced at 0.6 pips also. 

Minimum Deposit

We mentioned earlier that the minimum deposit requirements from the smallest to largest account do have a huge range and not only that, but the smaller the minimum deposit requirement, the larger the sacrifice when it comes to trading conditions. The standard account has a minimum deposit of $250, the Classic account requires $2,500, the Premium account requires $20,000 and the Gold account requires a minimum of $50,000. The range here is not commonly affordable among the every day trader, and it seems unjust to need to fill the requirement of depositing $50,000 just in order to be able to trade a variety of ALL instruments.

Deposit Methods & Costs

The deposit methods are not clearly stated anywhere on the website, and there is not an FAQ page for clients to refer to for this information or even guidance on how to go about funding their account. The same lack of information applies for any charges that may be incurred with any deposit methods. The only snippet of information to be seen is on the footer of the website where it appears that this broker supports payments from Maestro, MasterCard and Visa cards. 

Withdrawal Methods & Costs

As with the lack of information when it comes to depositing with this broker, there is no information set out on the website in regards to which methods can be used for withdrawals, other than that you may use Maestro, MasterCard and Visa cards, but this is not concretely stated. 

Withdrawal Processing & Wait Time

Since the website does not have basic information such as whether or not commissions are charged, or which deposit and withdrawal methods are available, it is no surprise that timescales are not stated anywhere, either. To the majority of serious traders, it is unacceptable to not present such basic information on the website FAQ page, which this broker does not even include in their website.

Bonuses & Promotions

Although there is no specific tab on the website in regards to a deposit bonus, there is some information hidden within the text of the Terms and Conditions. When using a deposit bonus, it is important to understand that this bonus can not be withdrawn unless incredibly challenging trading profit requirements are met so ensure to read through the bonus policy in the Terms and Conditions before agreeing to use any bonus.

Educational & Trading Tools

This broker does not offer any educational tools or anything that would assist you in your every day trading such as an economical calendar. However this is not a real necessity since such tools, free or with subscriptions can be found online, should you wish to partake in such products or services. 

Customer Service

Customer service is not ProCapital Trade’s forte; you may only get in contact during the hours of 10AM – 8PM Sunday- Friday (Bahrain Time GMT). In addition to this limitation, you are only able to contact this broker by email or telephone. The absence of a live chat service, or even having 24/7 customer support is very disappointing and demonstrates a lack of care for the clients.

Demo Account

If you have made it this far into the review, it may not come as a surprise to know this broker do not even allow you to test their trading conditions through a demo account before committing to a live account. This is clear evidence that this broker have one priority: for clients to register ASAP and deposit ASAP even if this means trading ‘blind’ with a lack of knowledge on the broker’s services in general. 

Countries Accepted

The absence of an FAQ page made finding which countries are restricted or not from trading with this broker, very difficult. The only applicable information on this subject can be found in the Terms and Conditions section which still does not specifically state which countries are allowed and those that are restricted from trading with this broker. 

Conclusion

This broker does not set out the majority of basic information that every serious trader should know before registering and depositing with a broker. The fact that the Terms and Conditions had to be a FAQ replacement for some questions, says a lot. An absence of a 24/7 and responsive customer support also demonstrates an element of suspicion one should note when considering trading with this broker.

Overall, the trading conditions (the ones that ARE visible on the website) are not totally competitive, or even clear, especially when it comes to spread and leverage options. It would be considered wise for only the more experienced traders to even consider this broker, and email any preliminary questions to the support team before registering.

Categories
Forex Forex Brokers

KS King Seal Capital Review

King Seal Capital are a Forex and CFD broker registered in St Vincent and operating since the year 2018. Since this broker is rather newly established, not a great deal of information can be found about them online. On first look at their website, it is clear this company strives to offer a high level of quality when it comes to offering their trading services around the clock along with 24/7 customer support. The website itself is clearly set out for easy navigation and the presence of an FAQ page sets out to answer only a  handful of basic questions you may have before you consider signing up. Among many spelling errors across the website, another fault to note is that some of their links do not correspond correctly to their titles, which can be both confusing and frustrating. 

Account Types

King Seal Capital keep it simple by offering one account type, supported by the well known and trusted MT4 platform. This broker offers a breath of fresh air by not over-complicating their services with the confusion of having to select one of multiple account types with different benefits and requirements which can sometimes be difficult to separate benefits from hindrances.

Platforms

King Seal Capital offer their account via MT4 platform, which is the most trusted and reliable platform to date. With KSC, you are at liberty to trade with them at home or on the go; on your desktop/ Web Trader, or, if you prefer, you can use the MT4 iOS/Android mobile version. 

Leverage

The website homepage briefly states the maximum leverage you can trade with is 1:500 which is not all that common to come across. This leverage provides a lot more opportunity to maximize profits than what many competitors can offer. Of course, this high leverage allowance also carries more risk so it is advisable you trade with a selected leverage that falls in line with both your trading style and your experience. 

Trade Sizes

For Forex and Precious Metals, the minimum trade size allowed is 0.01 lots and if you are trading Indices, the minimum trade size is 0.10 lots. Clients may trade a maximum of 50 lots (Forex) and 100 lots (Precious Metals). It is also important to note that stop out level is 100% across the board so bear that in mind as this means your trades can be closed earlier than what you may be used to, or than with other brokers out there. This all applies to all traders, since all clients have the one account type option.

Trading Costs

The website FAQ page was not very helpful when it comes to finding out what the trade commission charges are, since the majority of the limited questions had the same answer, which are totally irrelevant, which you can see in the image below. After much sifting through the website, one can eventually discover confirmation that this broker does not charge commissions to trade.

Assets

King Seal Capital offer a fair variety of tradable assets to choose from: Forex, Indices, Crude Oil and Precious Metals. On the homepage, it is advertised that they offer 100 CFD products inclusively. This broker does not offer cryptocurrency trading which redefines their advertised ‘24/7 trading’ ability, since the assets available can only be traded on a 24/5 basis. 

Spreads

King Seal Capital offer, as advertised on the homepage, ‘low spreads’. However after a little delving through the website, it can be uncovered that KSC appear to offer fixed spreads, which are not always favorable above floating spreads, and can have a negative impact on a trader’s trading style, and thus, results. This can be concreted by the fact that for a select few tradable pairs, only a fixed ‘median’ spread is available, yet floating spreads are not.

Minimum Deposit

The website states that the minimum deposit requirement is $50 which is very reasonable in comparison to competitors expectations. This is also a very manageable for new traders who may be apprehensive about depositing for the first time, and not wanting to feel pressured into depositing a large amount, or having to reach expectations that may not be affordable. 

Deposit Methods & Costs

According to the FAQ page, clients have the following methods of deposit to choose from: bank deposit, Skrill and Neteller.  It does not state anywhere on the website the timescale in which these methods take to reach your trading account. Moreover, in comparison to other brokers, these three options are somewhat limited for traders, and perhaps a little obscure from the ‘norm’ of funding methods that could be available.


In terms of costs to use these methods, the homepage clearly states there are 0 deposit fees, so that is a definite benefit to the clients, meaning that seemingly, the broker takes on any fees, if applicable, that come with the funding methods offered. 

Withdrawal Methods & Costs

According to the website FAQ page, it appears the withdrawal methods are the same as the deposit methods: bank transfer, Skrill and Neteller. Again, it is impossible to find timescales in relation to these methods on the website FAQ page or indeed the website. There is also no live chat facility available for efficient pinpointing of answers to basic questions like this. 

Withdrawal Processing & Wait Time

The website does not provide any specific information on processing timescales for both withdrawals and deposits so ensure you are familiar with the methods available and have the ability to contact your bank, Skrill or Neteller yourself if need be. Having said that, typically speaking, Skrill and Neteller) do not normally take a long time to reach one’s account, in comparison to bank (wire) transfer or card transfer. The only information in the way of withdrawal timescales states the processing time is between 24-48 hours, but this is not specified according to each method available.

Bonuses & Promotions

After some thorough sifting through the website, no information can be found in regards to deposit bonuses or the likes. This is a positive attribute, meaning that clients cannot be manipulated or pressured into depositing a particular amount in order to be able to trade as well as never being able to withdraw the deposit that is  commonly deceptively promised. 

Educational & Trading Tools

Unfortunately, King Seal Capital do not offer any training programs but they do offer an Economical Calendar on the website, as well as Market News articles, which are posted sporadically. Although this is rather disappointing, there is plenty of free educational material that can be found online before you begin live trading. 

Customer Service

If quality 24/7 customer service is what you expect on the back of it being so plainly advertised on the homepage, then prepare to be disappointed. KSC do not offer live chat or a telephone line to get in touch with this broker. This is a concerning factor in the case of any complicated trade queries and not being able to speak to any representative directly with efficiency and ease. The only means of contact with this broker is via ticket (email) by completing a form, which you can see below. It must also be noted that even after completion of this form, the Submit button does not appear to work. In conclusion, customer service is non-existent which reflects the untrustworthy nature of this broker. 

Demo Account

As standard goes, you may open a demo account via MT4 to test this broker’s offerings in the way of spreads, commissions and instruments available to trade. In order to access a demo account, the steps are detailed below: simply request the demo by filling out the form, receive the account login credentials via email, install MT4 platform and lastly, log in using allocated credentials.

Countries Accepted

King Seal Capital accept clients from a large number of countries, totaling 109 countries, according to the website. Although the website does not state specifically the restricted countries, bear in mind that once you begin the registration process, you must declare your residency in order to be verified.

Conclusion

This broker offers very attractive trading conditions in terms of high leverage, MT4 trading platform availability, and relatively competitive spreads on the whole. However, King Seal Capital is still a relatively new broker to the industry and therefore has not built a strong element of trust yet. What really does not assist in this issue is the fact that the website has an excessive amount of broken links and an extortionate number of spelling errors. In addition, the fact that the customer support team are unresponsive does not add to the lack of trust this broker feeds out to its potential clients. This broker should be approached with caution if at all, or better still, avoided. 

 

Categories
Forex Forex Brokers

AAFX Trading Review

AAFX Trading is a well-established Forex broker offering trading services to clients around the globe. The firm maintains several office locations, including active offices in Hong Kong, Saint Vincent & the Grenadines, and Australia. AAFX offers an assortment of account types, including both fixed and ECN account types. They also offer a wide variety of assets for clients to choose from. The AAFX Trading review that follows will provide complete details of the services provided by this broker.

Account Types

As mentioned above, there are several account types for clients to choose from, including Fixed, ECN, and VIP. Fixed and ECN accounts tend to be the most popular, due to the low minimum deposit requirement and straightforward trading conditions. The VIP account is for serious traders, requiring a minimum deposit in the amount of $20,000.

The ‘Fixed’ account type is commission and swap-free, offering fixed spreads. Expect the spreads to be on the high side, as spreads will be what the broker profits from when waiving commissions and swap fees. The minimum deposit for this account is $100.

The ‘ECN’ account is also commission and swap-free, but instead has variable spreads. The minimum deposit for this account is the same as the ‘Fixed’ account, $100.

The ‘VIP’ account requires a minimum deposit of $20,000 and is also commission and swap-free. With this account, clients will be allowed to trade on 100% raw spreads. This account type provides the client with three free consultations with a chief market analyst.

Islamic accounts are available, but technically, all accounts would be considered to be compliant with Shariah Law due to the fact that no swap or rollover fees are charged.

Platforms

AAFX Trading offers the well-known and always popular MetaTrader 4 platform. The platform is offered in it’s standard software format for Windows, but is also offered for Mac systems. Clients can also access the platform from within any internet-connected browser using WebTrader, as well as using the provided MT4 apps for smartphones and tablets. It is worth noting that the broker does provide platform video tutorials and that these should prove extremely beneficial for beginner level traders.

Leverage

The lowest leverage option is 1:10, while the highest is an amazing 1:2000. There are limits as to how much leverage can be applied. The 1:2000 ratio is only available on accounts containing $20,000 or less. The available leverage will be decreased on accounts containing more than this, dropping to 1:500 on accounts that contain $50,000 or more. Leverage can also vary by asset and these details are provided on the website. Obviously, it is quite rare to see leverage that is this high being offered and those who choose to use such substantial leverage will want to trade wisely and exercise caution.

Trade Sizes

Micro lot trading is possible on the Fixed and ECN accounts. This is not allowed with the VIP account. The largest allowed single trade size is 1,000 lots, but this trade size can be implemented with no limit regarding the number of actual trades. Margin call will trigger at 50%, while stop loss will be triggered at 20%. Although we’re not here to teach trading in this AAFX Trading review, if you’re new to Forex trading, it’s important to understand what these levels mean. At the 50% margin level, you will no longer be able to open new positions and current positions may be liquidated when the stop loss level is reached. Leverage does play a role, so keep this in mind as well.

Trading Costs

There are no per-trade commission charges and no swap or rollover fees. The cost that you pay to trade with this brokerage is therefore going to be part of the spreads. Check the spreads for your account type carefully. If you find them to be perfectly acceptable, then AAFX Trading may just be a good selection for you. Do note that the trading conditions seen within demo accounts do not always match actual trading conditions, so be sure that your spread information is indeed accurate.

Assets

AAFX is currently offering approximately 100 underlying assets for clients to trade on. Their asset index initially included only Forex, CFDs and Futures, but has now been expanded to include stocks, commodities, indices, metals, and one cryptocurrency (Bitcoin). A comprehensive list of available assets can be found on the company website, as can the specific trading conditions which are linked to each. Simply click on the ‘Instruments’ tab to open a drop-down list of asset categories. From there, you’ll be able to see the specific details for each individual asset.

Spreads

As mentioned above, Fixed accounts offer fixed spreads, while ECN accounts offer variable spreads and VIP accounts offer raw spreads. The AAFX Trading website advertises spreads as starting at only 0 pips. While we did not locate any assets with a spread this low, we did note several that were listed at 0.01 pips. Spreads on all majors currency pairs were starting at 2 pips. Variable spreads are of course always changing, and are therefore subject to change.

Minimum Deposit

Fixed and ECN accounts require a minimum of $100, but this can be higher, depending on your chosen deposit method. For example, bank wire transfers require a minimum of $1,000. The VIP account requires a minimum deposit of $20,000. Many FX brokers are now accepting minimum deposits of less than $100, but even so, it’s unrealistic to expect to actively trade with any amount less than $100. Even with $100 in your account, you will find some trades out of reach, so keep this in mind when making a decision with regards to how much money to deposit into a new account.

Deposit Methods & Costs

AAFX accepts several deposit methods, including credit/debit, bank wire, Bitcoin, Skrill, Neteller, Fasapay, and WebMoney. The only method that requires you to pay a deposit fee is bank wire. All other deposit methods are completely free. Bank wire transfers must be in the amount of at least $1,000 and will carry a $50 transaction fee. No third-party payments are accepted, which is basically standard throughout the industry.

Withdrawal Methods & Costs

Each of the accepted deposit methods can be used to make a withdrawal. Withdrawal requests are reviewed and paid out within three business days. There are no withdrawal fees on any payment method except bank wire, which cost $50 each if they are in amounts less than $2,000. When withdrawing more than $2,000 via bank wire, the fee is waived. Note that your trading account will need to have 250% or more in free margin to be able to successfully request a withdrawal. Should you be struggling with making a request, you may want to check your margin level before reporting a problem.

Withdrawal Processing & Wait Time

AAFX states that they will process withdrawals requests within three business days. There are brokers that offer much faster processing, but three days is not horrible. As for wait time, that will always depend on the chosen payment method, regardless of which Forex broker you choose. You can always expect cryptocurrency payments to be fastest, with card payments second fastest and bank wire transfers coming in last. The financial institution or payment processor will also play a role in this, as each will have their own specific turnaround time for payments processing.

Bonuses & Promotions

At this time, AAFX Trading is offering several bonuses. On first-time deposits of $500 or more, a 35% welcome bonus is being offered. Detailed terms and conditions for how to receive the bonus are provided on the broker’s website. In addition, they are currently offering a Re-Deposit Bonus and have an active promotion in place which provides a free iPad Pro or iPhone 6S to those who meet specific deposit and trade requirements. Again, complete details can be found on the company website.

Educational & Trading Tools

AAFX does offer an educational video library that is available in both English and Arabic. These videos cover a broad range of trading related topics, including MT4, trade strategies, cryptocurrencies, and more. These can be accessed by clicking on the ‘Education Center’ link from the main navigation banner. A video tutorial which teaches traders how to use the MetaTrader 4 platform correctly is also provided. As for tools, there is noting above and beyond those which are built into the platform.

Customer Service

The AAFX support team can be reached via Live Chat, phone, Skype, and email. Help is available throughout the standard business week, 24/5. The company does provide several division specific email addresses, along with several contact numbers for their various offices. Support is offered in several languages, which is extremely helpful.

  • Hong Kong: +85281981079
  • St. Vincent & the Grenadines: +19142335216
  • Australia: +61280035080

Demo Accounts

AAFX Trading does offer demo accounts. Even better, these accounts are said to closely mimic real life trading conditions. When creating a new demo account, you’ll be able to make your own selections for deposit amount, leverage setting, and more. A demo account can be created on their website by filling out a short form. There are also additional options for creating a demo account via Google and Facebook.

Countries Accepted

AAFX Trading is able to cater to traders from around the globe by having headquarters in several locations. By setting up shop in more than one country, they are able to essentially offer several versions of their services, each of which meet the requirement of a specific location. For example, the St. Vincent and the Grenadines branch will be allowed to accept U.S. traders, while the Australian branch would not. This is actually quite the intelligent business move and may be one which is copied by other FX brokers in the future.

Conclusion

During the course of composing this AAFX Trading review, we learned quite a lot about this broker. We discovered many strong points and only a few weaknesses. Clearly, each trader will need to decide what is most important to them, but we feel confident in stating that AAFX is worthy of consideration by all who are searching for a FX broker.

 

 

Categories
Forex Forex Brokers

SafeGold FX Review

SafeGold FX is an IFSC regulated forex and CFD broker based in Belize. The company was founded in 2017 and offers fixed spreads on one Standard account type. Offering the award-winning MetaTrader 4 platform, fixed spreads, and a variety of educational tools was enough for this broker to get our attention, but certainly not enough to base a decision off of.  One would certainly need to know more about trading costs, leverage options, and available trade sizes before making said decision. If you’d like to find out more about the advantages and underlying disadvantages that come with choosing this broker, keep reading to find out everything you’ll need to consider.

Account Types

SafeGold FX offers one basic Standard account type, which comes with fixed spreads, a set leverage high, and set trading costs. While many brokers do offer different account types to choose from, offering one account option that adheres to one specific set of rules could be seen as an advantage. This is due to the fact that one would not need to compare several different options, which could result in choosing an account type that does not benefit their trading style.

Still, while that could be an advantage for traders that aren’t as experienced, more professional traders may prefer the ability to select an account type that supports their specific trading style. With SafeGold FX, all clients will be trading from the same account type with no need for comparison, but also without room for a more personalized experience.

Platform

SafeGold FX exclusively features the MetaTrader 4 platform as its solely supported trading platform. Although a newer version of the platform, known as MT5, has already been released, MT4 remains the most popular and most commonly offered trading platform among forex brokers today. The platform is designed to be highly customizable and comes with a wide variety of built in technical indicators, rich charts, and an intuitive user interface. The program has also been designed to take up less computer resources and to operate with a faster run time, should one choose to download it. MT4 is available for download on PC. For trading on the go, the program can be downloaded through the App store on iOS and through the Google Play store for Android. 

Leverage

Leverage options with this broker go as high as 1:100, which is the most preferred leverage choice among the majority of professional traders. Since higher leverage carries higher risk, this should also be more than enough for those that prefer to play it safer. If you’re inexperienced, you may actually want to choose a leverage lower than SafeGold FX’s 1:100 cap.

Looking at things from all perspectives, some may be disappointed that options in this category are not higher. Those that would be most affected by the cap would be more aggressive or professional traders that enjoy taking risk and that also have a significant amount of funds to burn. For those people, it may be worth looking elsewhere. For everyone else, the leverage options should be satisfactory enough, although we would be happier with a 1:200 cap.

Trade Sizes

SafeGold FX does not allow for the trading of micro-lots, which could be a deal-breaker for traders that prefer to trade in small increments. This option is often available with other traders, but you should always check since it is not offered universally. The website does not go into any further detail about the maximum trade sizes or stop loss levels. One benefit to traders would be the Margin Calculator tool, available directly on the website, which can be used to calculate how much margin would be needed to set up a position. This tool is certainly helpful, but we do wish that the website would explain maximum trade sizes and their margin call and stop loss levels in a bit more detail. 

Trading Costs

Like the majority of forex brokers, SafeGold FX profits through spreads, commissions, and swap-fees. Spreads, the difference between the bid and ask price, are fixed, but tend to be higher than average on some assets. You’ll be able to read about the spreads in more detail later. Commission fees are set at $50 per standard lot, which we also consider to weigh on the higher side of average. Since some brokers offer higher spreads in favor of a lack of commission fees on certain account types, this would be one of the examples where offering one basic account type is not as attractive as offering many. Swap fees are avoidable, since they are only charged on positions that are held overnight. Fortunately, the website provides a transparent swap fee calculator that can be used by traders that are in fact interested in leaving their position open overnight.

Assets

SafeGold FX is a forex and CFD broker, meaning that they offer both currency pairs and CFDs on stocks for trading. Their portfolio includes more than 13 currency pairs, as well as CFDs on gold, silver, and copper, crude oil and natural gas energies, and indexes. Overall, their portfolio is sturdy, but it could benefit from the addition of more tradable options, including more currency pairs and cryptocurrencies.

Spreads

SafeGold FX is a fixed-spread broker. This means that the spread on assets does not change based on the fluctuations of the general market. Trading with fixed spread is more beneficial and convenient for traders, since it is more predictable that trading with floating spread. While the fixed spread setup is beneficial, the downside is that the broker seems to charge higher than average spreads on some assets. It seems that where others typically charge 2 pips on major currency pairs, SafeGold FX actually charges 5. As you can see, this makes the cost of trading through this broker expensive. If you’d like to check the minimum spreads on certain assets, you could do so by navigating to the ‘Product Specifications’ tab under the ‘Trading Details’ section of the website. 

Minimum Deposit

The minimum deposit requirement for this broker is set at $100. To some, this amount may seem steep, considering that one may be able to find other brokers offering smaller deposit amounts. We’ve seen these go as low as $10 in some cases, but this is not very common. On the other hand, some brokers require deposits in the thousands to open even one of their most basic accounts. Speaking realistically, $100 is about the industry average when it comes to deposit minimums. It allows the trader to have enough money in their account that they would not need to make another deposit too quickly. If you don’t quite have that much to start off, you may want to consider saving up in order to open an account. Otherwise, you would need to search for one of the brokers that has a lower deposit requirement but do keep in mind that depositing $10 or even $20 would not leave you with much room to trade. 

Deposit Methods & Costs

SafeGold FX only offers bank wire as a deposit method. Unfortunately, this means that their options are extremely limited. Since many other brokers offer credit/debit, e-wallets, and even cryptocurrency methods for depositing, it seems that this broker is behind its competition in this category. In their defense, we will say that it is rare to find all of these options available with the same broker. Meaning that another broker may offer bank transfers and credit/debit card deposits, but they may not offer anything else. Still, the majority of other broker usually offer at least two or three different methods for depositing. If you choose to deposit through bank wire, you may have a bit of a wait time before the funds post in your account.

Withdrawal Methods & Costs

Like with deposits, SafeGold FX only offers bank wire for withdrawals. When it comes to our opinion on the matter, this broker definitely needs to consider adding more options to keep up with the competition. You can expect to pay fees with this method, but the exact amount may differ based on your bank. Lower fees tend to revolve around a $25 range, while we have seen the fees go as high as $50 before. The best thing to do would be to check with your personal bank before making a withdrawal request, in order to ensure that your bank charges a reasonable fee.

Withdrawal Processing & Wait Time

SafeGold FX does not provide a processing time on their website. Considering the average processing time with other brokers, we could expect it to fall within a range from 24 hours to three days, maximum. If you don’t mind waiting a few days or a week to receive your withdrawal, depending on the circumstance, then this method won’t be a problem. Our best advice would be to plan withdrawals ahead of time, so that you don’t get held up waiting for your funds. On a positive note, bank wire is a safe method of withdrawal.

Bonuses & Promotions

At the time this article was written, SafeGold FX did not have any ongoing bonus or promotional opportunities. In comparison with the competition, you will find that some other brokers do offer these types of opportunities, but it is always a nice inclusion, rather than something that is to be expected. With that said, it is possible that the broker may add a bonus or promotion in the future. Remember to check their website periodically for updates. Also, we should mention that whenever you do see these types of opportunities, pay careful attention if it seems too good to be true. Always read the terms and conditions to ensure that the requirements are not unnecessarily hard to reach, before basing a decision off what seems like a great opportunity. 

Educational & Trading Tools

SafeGold FX offers a convenient Learning Center, available directly from their website. The drop-down menu under the ‘Learning Center’ section of the website offers explanations on profit and loss, fundamental analysis, technical analysis, trading signals and guidelines, fundamental information for the forex market, and expert advisors (EAs). Having all of that educational information available and clearly explained is certainly an advantage for anyone whom may need to brush up on their knowledge.

The website also offers a free margin calculator, which offers the ability to conveniently calculate how much available margin would be needed to set up a position. Similar to the margin calculator, a swap, and profit and loss calculator are also available. All of the educational information, coupled with the tools available both on the website and built into MT4, prove that this broker places importance on educating their clients so that appropriate decisions can be made. Signals are also an option, with instructions being provided for how to subscribe to receive them.

Demo Account

Offering the ability to open a demo account for practice has become a widely offered service through a majority of forex brokers. Fortunately, SafeFx Gold understands how beneficial these accounts can be and is no exception. If you’re a beginner trader, you should definitely consider opening one of these practice accounts. Even if you do have some experience, taking the time to practice and perhaps test out strategies that differ from your regular trading patterns would offer nothing short of an advantage. In order to open a demo account, one would first need to download the MT4 trading platform. The next step would be to select ‘File’, and then to select ‘Open a New Demo Account’ from the drop-down menu. After entering a few details, the demo account would then be accessible. These accounts are free, so there is no risk in opening one.

Customer Service

Upon entering the SafeFX Gold website, one of the first things you may notice is that the site is written in Chinese, although an English version is available. While the site can be translated without a second thought, unfortunately, if you cannot read Chinese, you may not be able to use the site’s LiveChat feature. This is due to the fact that the browser will not translate the text inside of the chat window, so it would be very difficult to fill out the necessary details to even start the chat. However, you will still be able to contact support via email or phone.

LiveChat is always an amazing option because of how quickly one can contact support, so we were sad to see that some users won’t be able to use this option efficiently. Still, phone call can also be a quick option. If you prefer to handle business via email, it is also a convenient option, although it may take more time to receive a response. Contact information for both methods has been listed below.

Phone: 400 133 8880

Email:  [email protected]

Countries Accepted

Although their website is primarily typed in Chinese, SafeGold FX does offer an English version of the site and they do accept US clients, as well as clients from all over the globe. There does not seem to be any discrimination, however, one may want to check with support if they are located in a country that often finds itself on broker’s unacceptable lists.

Conclusion

SafeGold FX is a forex and CFD broker, offering one Standard account type with an average minimum deposit amount of $100. Since the company is regulated by the IFSC, they can be considered trustworthy, although some may prefer a location more well-known than Belize. The broker also runs the most popular and widely known trading platform MT4, which comes with a wide variety of built in tools. In addition, the website contains many educational resources, making it safe to say that this company understands the need to educate beginner traders. They also offer free demo accounts, which is certainly an excellent learning tool.

Leverage options go as high as 1:100, which would be disappointing only to more aggressive traders. The company’s asset portfolio is also sturdy, but a few more options would definitely provide for a better experience. Deposits and withdrawals are limited to bank wire only, meaning that fees are unavoidable and funding times will be longer than what many would like to see. Another disadvantage would be the higher commission fees and spreads associated with this particular broker. The lack of ability to trade micro lots certainly pulls from their attractiveness as well.

Before bringing the conclusion to an end, we’d also like to remind the reader that support can be conveniently reached through LiveChat, phone, or email, although LiveChat may not be able to be used efficiently since the service is provided in Chinese. The broker also accepts everyone, so those in the US would want to offer consideration on that factor. To sum it up, the regulation, trading platform, asset portfolio, minimum deposit requirement, leverage cap, and educational resources offered by this broker make them worthy of consideration. On the other hand, the higher spreads and commission fees, as well as the limited funding method and lack of micro lots may be enough to make one consider looking at other options. 

Categories
Forex Forex Brokers

TBC Times Billion Capital Review

Times Billion Capital, or TBC for short, is a forex broker that offers traders the ability to select from three specific account types. Since being founded in 2012, TBC has advertised unlimited leverage caps, which is something we have rarely heard of before. There’s a lot to consider if you’re looking into opening an account, but we’ve gathered all of the information you could need to decide whether this broker is a good fit for you. Stay with us to find out whether the unlimited leverage claim is true and for all the specifics you’ll need to know to choose the right account type for your personal trading style.

Account Types

TBC offers three separate account types with Mini, Standard, and ECN being the available options. From advertising, it initially seems that the account types are almost identical. However, further research showed us that the account types do differ more than it seems as first glance; therefore, we highly suggest you continue reading to find out the real differences between the account types. You’ll find that there are differences in spreads, margin call and stop loss levels, and even leverage options, based on which account you’ve chosen. TBC also offers the ability to open different account types, which could be done both to test them and to increase profits by using different trading strategies on different accounts in order to maximize capitalization. Below, you can check the actual specifics for each account type.

Mini

Minimum Deposit: No limit/Depends on deposit method.

Leverage: Up to 1:unlimited, depending on amount of funds in account.

Spreads: Starting at 0.1. Highest spreads of the three account types.

 

Standard

Minimum Deposit: No limit/Depends on deposit method.

Leverage: Up to 1:unlimited, depending on amount of funds in account.

Spreads: Starting at 0.1. Tends to offer average, or the medium-best spreads.

 

ECN

Minimum Deposit: No limit/Depends on deposit method.

Leverage: Up to 1:200. Unlimited does not apply.

Spreads: Starting at 0.1. Range between the best possible spread, or as high as the spreads on the Standard account.

As you can see above, the leverage options on the ECN account are much more limited than the options for the other account types and the unlimited leverage does not apply to that account. Spreads also differ based on chosen account type, with the best spreads being reserved for the ECN account type. Some of the only similarities among the accounts would be the same deposit requirements, the same commission-based fees, and that all accounts trade from the MT4 platform. Demo accounts are also supported in addition to the main account types.

Platform

TBC exclusively features the award-winning MetaTrader 4 program as their chosen trading platform. MT4 is the most commonly offered trading platform among forex brokers today, which is enough to give one an idea of just how successful and reliable the program actually is. Just to name a few of its features, MT4 includes multiple built-in tools, including charting tools, technical indicators, and a user-friendly interface. The developers also made MT4 highly accessible, with downloads available for PC, iOS, and Android. If you’re operating from a Mac, or you simply prefer not to download the program, the browser-based version of the program, known as WebTrader, is also available. Since the MT4 platform contains everything a trader could possibly need, we feel that TBC couldn’t have chosen a better platform.

Leverage

On their website, TBC advertises leverage that goes from as low as 1:2 and up to 1:unlimited on all three account types. We’ve certainly never seen such an option before, so we were not surprised to see that there are some conditions related to the unlimited aspect. To start, the ECN account has a limited leverage of 1:200, regardless of the amount of funds that are in the account. For the Mini and Standard account types, the leverage actually depends on the type of transaction account and the amount of funds that are in the account.

Amounts between $0 and $1,000 actually qualify for the unlimited leverage option, while an amount between $1,000 and $3,000 would qualify for a leverage of 1:2000. This option is still extremely high and likely much more than anyone, aside from an experienced risk-taking trader, would need. Options become more limited once the amount reaches $50,000 to $200,000, with the limit being a leverage of 1:200, mirroring the leverage available on the ECN account. You can view the specific leverage limits for each set amount by navigating to the ‘Transaction’ tab on the website and then selecting ‘Leverage Rules’ from the drop-down list. To sum things up, the leverage options with this broker are extremely high, with some options being unlimited, unless you’re trading from the ECN account, or you have $50,000 or more in your account. Even then, the options will be more than satisfactory for many traders.

Also, keep in mind that trading with higher leverage, especially with the higher leverages associated with this broker, can cause both greater gains and greater risk. We would recommend sticking to a leverage around 1:100, or the highest leverage for the ECN account, if you are not experienced. Once you gain experience, you could then take advantage of the higher leverages that are offered.

Trade Sizes

TBC does allow for the trading of micro lots, but their website is not very specific about the maximum trade sizes one could make. The website does mention that orders will be executed at lighting fast speeds, however. Margin requirements and stop out levels differ based on the asset type and account type that one is operating from. To view these levels, select ‘Transaction’ from the top menu on the website and then choose ‘Contract Specifications’ from the drop-down list. There, you’ll find the margin call and stop loss levels for the Mini and Standard account types, but there do not seem to be set levels on the ECN account.

Trading Costs

TBC profits through spreads, handling fees, and swap fees. Spreads are the difference between the bid and ask price on an asset and are applicable with every forex broker. Since the spread varies based on both asset and account type, we explain those charges in more detail later. For now, we will simply mention that the spread is advertised as starting as low as 0.1 pip and leave off there. The handling fees seem to take the place of regular commission fees with other brokers, with TBC’s handling fee being a standard 25 USD fee on each asset.

Speaking honestly, that isn’t the highest type of commission-based fee we’ve ever seen, but it certainly isn’t the most competitive. Finally, swap fees would also need to be considered for anyone that leaves trades open overnight. You can view the overnight interest fees for each asset by selecting ‘Transaction’ from the top menu on the website and choosing ‘Contract Specifications’ from the drop-down menu. To summarize, spreads with this broker can be very low at times, holding positions overnight will result in swap fees, which is almost unavoidable, and handling fees are a little above average, but not ridiculous. 

Assets

TBC advertises more than 80 currency pairs as being available to trade. While this is impressive, some traders may miss the ability to trade CFDs. Others may be looking for the ability to trade cryptocurrencies. If you are one of those people, then the asset portfolio with this broker may simply not be enough for you. On the other hand, we do feel that TBC has done an excellent job providing a wide variety of options within the currency pair category they have selected. In the currency pair category, TBC is certainly outdoing their competition.

Spreads

Spreads with TBC are floating, meaning that they depend on the current market conditions. Your chosen account type will also play a factor in the spread, even though it is advertised that all spreads start at 0.3 pips, or even as low as 0.1 pip. In order to get a better understanding of the spreads that one could expect to see on each account type, we compared some of the spreads in real time. To give an example, at the time of checking, the AUD/CAD was 2 pips on Mini, 1.4 on Standard, and 0.1-2 on the ECN account type.

Another example would be that the AUD/CHF was 2.3 pips on Mini, 1.3 on Standard, and 0.3-1.3 on the ECN account type. What does this tell us? Judging from the examples above and other examples we observed, it seems that spreads are highest on the Mini account, the Standard account seems to come with average spreads, and the ECN account tends to offer a range from the best possible spreads up to the spread available for the Standard account type. If you want to choose the account type with the best possible spread, the ECN account type would be the best choice, although you should remember that leverage would be more limited with this account type.

Minimum Deposit

The minimum deposit requirement depends on the chosen deposit method, rather than the chosen account type. With other brokers, different account types often come with set deposit requirements. This becomes a disadvantage for some traders when they cannot meet the deposit requirement for the type of account they would like to open. Fortunately, that would not be a problem with this broker, since requirements are very low and based off of the method, rather than the account type.

For Visa/MasterCard, there is no limit, essentially meaning that one could fund their account with as little as $5. Of course, we would recommend funding with more than that, otherwise you would likely find yourself making another deposit shortly afterwards. However, it’s great to see the option available and this could be a great option for anyone that is new to trading and thus afraid of making a larger deposit. China UnionPay requires a $25 deposit, which is still much lower than what we’re used to seeing. T/t requires a deposit of $50.

Deposit Methods & Costs

Available deposit methods include Visa, T/t, China UnionPay, and MasterCard (for overseas users only). While we are very happy to see cards included in this list, we would hope that the company would consider adding more diverse methods in the future. Funding through China UnionPay and T/t takes 1-3 business days, while funding through Visa/MasterCard is advertised as being instant. It’s nice to see at least one instant deposit method available, since that means that one would have the option to fund their account quickly if need be. 

Withdrawal Methods & Costs

Withdrawal is only available via T/t and China UnionPay. Unfortunately, the decision to exclude cards from the available withdrawal methods makes it seem like more of a hassle when it comes time to withdraw funds. While the website does not list any specific charges, you should check with your bank before making a withdrawal.

Withdrawal Processing & Wait Time

Withdrawal processing time is lists at 1-3 business days for both methods, although it seems that it could possibly take longer, depending on your bank. According to the website, the withdrawal process will be carried out within 24 hours from the time the request is made. Ultimately, the wait time isn’t horrible, but we would be much happier to see at least one instant option included in the list, for example, instant withdrawal via Visa or MasterCard. 

Bonuses & Promotions

Currently, TBC is not offering any bonuses or promotions. It’s great to see brokers offering these types of opportunities, although you shouldn’t always expect brokers to offer them. Do keep in mind that it is possible that TBC may choose to offer them in the future, so you should check their website periodically, just to keep tabs on it. It’s also possible that you may be able to receive a welcome bonus with another broker, which would give an advantage over opening an account with TBC. However, a bonus is never enough of a reason to open an account with a certain brokerage. Always check all of their details, so that you can make an educated comparison.

Educational & Trading Tools

Unfortunately, you will not find the vast variety of educational resources with TBC that are often made available through other brokers. This is disappointing, considering how important it is for brokers to ensure that their clients are well-educated so that they can make smart decisions. Fortunately, TBC does offer a free demo account, so the ability to practice is available; however, if you’re a true beginner, the demo account will not be enough. We would recommend using the web to educate yourself before opening a real account. It’s true that you’ll be able to find everything you need on the web, so this isn’t enough of a reason to choose another broker. We simply wish that TBC would provide this information directly, since it makes the learning process so much more convenient. 

Demo Account

If you’re a less than perfect trader, you should definitely consider opening up one of the free demo accounts offered through TBC’s website. In fact, we would recommend these practice accounts to anyone that isn’t a seasoned professional. We think so highly of these account types due to the fact that they provide a great way to test a potential broker out before actually opening a real account. Practicing from a demo also allows traders to test the market in ways that they may be reluctant to try on their real account. Since it’s free, there is no downside to opening a demo account. If you’re interested, opening an account is as simple as filling out your name and a few details, like your email address. From there, you would simply need to download the MT4 platform in order to start trading.

Customer Service

It’s important that we take a moment to explain both the positive and negative aspects about the customer support at TBC. To start, they offer 24/7 customer support, which is something you won’t often find elsewhere. This means that if you have a question or a problem late at night, their award-winning support team is within reach. However, due to the only method available for contact, you won’t be able to contact them instantly. LiveChat, an instant messaging application that has been adopted by many forex brokers today, is missing completely from their website. If you visit their contact page, you will also find that the place where their phone number should be listed is blank.

The only options to contact their support team would be to either leave a message from the website or to send an email. We will note that the contact form is convenient and that it does ask for your phone number, so it is possible that you would receive a call quickly. However, we’re really missing the ability to reach out to support instantly through LiveChat, as well as the lack of direct phone number, both of which make for the quickest possible contact methods.

Email: [email protected]

Countries Accepted

TBC accepts clients from the US and all over the globe. If you’re located in the United States, you might realize how wonderful that is, since many brokers have been excluding the US recently. Those located in other countries that are often restricted should not have problems opening an account, but be sure to reach out to support if you do have any issues opening an account from your location.

Conclusion

Times Billion Capital is a currency broker that offers traders more than 80 currency pairs and the ability to select from three account types upon opening an account. What stands out most about this broker would be the extremely high and unlimited leverage caps, which we have never seen offered before. Spreads can go as low as 0.1 pips for all account types, but the best spreads are reserved for the ECN account type. Funding options are about average. Visa/MasterCard is available for depositing, but the option is not available for withdrawals.

On the bright side, there is no cost for making deposits through this broker and there is no minimum deposit requirement if funding via card. Another plus is the fact that the broker features the MetaTrader 4 platform. Unfortunately, the website does not offer anything in the ways of education, aside from demo accounts. Another downside is the lack of any bonus or promotional opportunities being currently available. Customer support is available 24/7, which you won’t often find, but the only ways to contact support is either through a form on their website or via email. Ultimately, this broker does stand out from the crowd. They offer some competitive advantages, along with a few drawbacks. If you can overlook those disadvantages, this could possibly be the broker for you. 

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Forex Forex Brokers

Uzman Trading – Uzman FX Review

Uzman Trading is a forex broker based in Australia that claims to offer a high level of expertise and guarantees a deep understanding of the markets. In this review we will take a look at what they offer and how their service holds up.

Account Types

There are three accounts currently on offer from Uzman Trading, these are the standard, professional and institutional account, let’s have a look at them in slightly more detail:

Standard Account: This is the entry level account from Uzman Trading. It comes with a pretty hefty commission of $16 per lot, which is a lot higher than many other brokers, this account has a minimum deposit of $500 and a maximum leverage of 1:125.

Professional Account: This is the middle tier account that is on offer, it has a slightly reduced commission of $12, which is still near double of what we find the average to be these days. Similar to the standard account, it has a maximum 1:125 leverage but the minimum deposit has been increased to $500, which is still reasonable.

Institutional Account: The top level account on offer from Uzman Trading, this account comes with a $8 commission fee for each lot traded, this is more in line with what we regularly see, but considering it is the top level account, disappointing to not see it lower. The leverage remains at 1:125 but the minimum deposit rises to $5,000.

As an extra note, the site indicates that there are no additional spreads added to trades.

Platforms

The only trading platform on offer from Uzman Trading is MetaTrader 5 (MT5). This is one of the most popular trading software and is available to download on PC, Mac, iOS devices and Android devices so it is accessible from wherever you are. MT5 offers incredible flexibility and performance and is compatible with thousands of indicators and expert advisors. It would have been nice to have more choice, or even a WebTrader, however having MetaTrader 5 (MT5) as your focused trading platform is not a bad move.

Leverage

Uzman Trading offers 1:125 leverage as a maximum, this is a lot lower than a lot of brokers these days who often aim for 1:500 or at least 1:200. It would be nice if there was an option for a higher leverage, but sadly there is not.

Trade Sizes

The minimum trade size, as is with the majority of brokers, is 0.01 lots (micro lot), while the maximum size is 50 lots, Uzman Trading recommend that if you wish to trade more, then open additional positions. 50 Lots is a lot lower than a lot of brokers, however we do not know anyone trading this high so this limit would not affect 99.9% of retail traders.

Trading Costs

Uzman Markets works on a commission based system, each account has a different amount of commission to pay. The standard account has a sky high $16 per lot traded, the professional account has a commission of $12 per lot traded and the institutional account has a slightly more reasonable $8 per lot traded.

There are no additional spreads added to trades, there are of course swap fees paid or received when holding a position overnight, these can be viewed directly from within MetaTrader 5 (MT5).

Assets

There are currently a claimed 188 assets available to trade on Uzman Trading, these are broken down into the following categories:

  • Forex: 140
  • Cryptocurrencies: Unknown
  • Indices: 12
  • Commodities: 4

The site seems to be a little misleading, it states that there are cryptocurrencies to trade, however when looking at them, there is a list of stocks and not coins. So we are unsure if they do in fact trade cryptocurrencies or if it is a mistake. 

Spreads

Uzman Trading claim for there to be spreads as low as 0.0, while in theory this would be great, we can not see it being this low due to fluctuations, it does however indicate that they do not markup any spreads and offer the true spread.

Minimum Deposit

The minimum deposit is based on the account type that you want, the very base minimum is currently at $100 for the standard account, the professional account required $500 and the institutional account requires a minimum deposit of $5,000.

Deposit Methods & Costs

There are no details on the site in regards to deposit methods apart from the below picture that shows the accepted payment details, it is unknown if there are any additional fees for each deposit.

Withdrawal Methods & Costs

Similarly to the deposit methods there are no details on the withdrawals and if there are any fees for them so we can not comment on this section. If the image above is correct, then at least there seems to be a good selection of withdrawal methods available.

Withdrawal Processing & Wait Time

Again, there is little to no details on this subject, so we are unable to comment on the time it will take to withdraw.

Bonuses & Promotions

There are no mentions of any trading tools available on the site, so we are assuming that there are none available at this point in time. This does not mean that there won’t be in the future so be sure to keep on checking.

Educational & Trading Tools

There is a claim on the website that Uzman Trading offer award winning research, however we were not able to find it and the link to apply for this research was not working, so as far as we can tell, there are no other educational or beneficial trading tools on offer.

On-site research offer statement.

Customer Service

Uzman Trading offer 24/5 support via a number of methods, there is a telephone number available, as well as an email address and a postal address. We tried to use the telephone service but no one picked up after 5 minutes so we gave up, which is not a very convincing start.

Demo Account

There are demo accounts available. Simply click the open demo account button and you can create one. This account type last forever as long as they are being used, after 1 month of inactivity they will be automatically deleted, you are then able to open a new one to continue trading on demo accounts.

Countries Accepted

The following countries are currently excluded: Canada, Cuba, Iran, Iraq, Japan, North Korea, Sudan, Syria, Turkey, Belgium, The United States, and Latvia. All other countries are accepted at Uzman Trading.

Conclusion

There is a lot of confusion when it comes to some of the details provided by Uzman Trading, there is also a lot of information missing. The lack of deposit and withdrawal method information is quite alarming and would make us think twice about depositing with this broker. The commission being charged feels a lot like daylight robbery and we would definitely look towards brokers with a more humble fee as even the lowest commission available here is higher than the majority of other brokers. At this point in time we would recommend looking elsewhere.

If you enjoyed this review, be sure to check out some of the others in order to help you find the broker that is best for you.

Categories
Forex Forex Brokers

FTM Global Markets Review

FTM Global Markets is a forex broker based in Singapore, FTM Global Markets state that they are a professional and welcoming entry point into Forex trading, we are going to have a little look at their site and service to see what they truly offer.

Account Types

You are spoilt for choice when it comes to accounts as FTM Global Markets currently offer five different types of accounts.

Micro:

The micro account, as the name suggests, is the smallest and entry level account on the FTM Global Markets platform. It has a minimum deposit of $100 making it accessible to newer traders, it has a maximum deposit of $2,000.  1:500 maximum leverage which is as high as many brokers go these days. Minimum lot sizes are 0.01 (micro lots) and there is a spread of around 2.1 pips.

Premium:

The premium account starts with deposits of $,000 with a maximum deposit of $10,000, this account allows for a maximum leverage of 1:200. As with the micro account, the minimum lot size is 0.01 lot (micro lot) and there is a slightly reduces spread of 1.7 pips.

VIP:

The VIP account increases the deposit requirements further having a minimum deposit of $10,000 and a maximum deposit of $50,000. The VIP account keeps the 1:200 maximum leverage as well as the 0.01 lot minimum trade size and the 1.7 spread.

VVIP:

This is FTM Global Markets top tier account, requiring a massive $50,000 minimum deposit with no upper limit. It has a maximum leverage of 1:100 and the spread on the account is further reduced to 1.4 pips per lot traded.

STP:

There is also an STP account, which has a minimum deposit of $500 and a maximum of $2,000. This has a 1:200 maximum leverage and 1.7 pip spread.

There is a lot to choose from however the choice is taken away from the trader as the account you get is based on how much you deposit, There are also Islamic accounts available for those that are not able to receive or pay swap charges.

Platforms

There is only one platform to use when it comes to FTM Global Markets and that is MetaTrader 5 (MT5). It is nice for the broker to really focus on one platform to ensure it performs at it’s best, and MT5 is a popular and still growing platform, it would be nice for there to be choice for it’s clients. Of course a benefit of the MetaQuotes software is that it is available on multiple platforms from PC, Mac, iOS devices and Android devices.

Of course MetaTrader 5 is a solid choice and platform which offers high amounts of customisation and support for hundreds of expert advisors and indicators alike.

Leverage

Leverage is dependent upon the account that you have, the mini account has a maximum leverage of 1:500, while the premium, VIP and STP accounts have a maximum leverage of 1:200 and finally the VVIP account having a lower maximum leverage of 1:100.

Trade Sizes

The minimum trade size for all of the accounts on with FTM Global Markets is 0.01 lots (micro lots). While the website states the minimum lot size in multiple places, there isn’t any mention of the maximum. The majority of brokers have their maximum set between 100 lots and 1,000 lots so we can assume that FTM Global Markets have a similar maximum however we are unable to pinpoint exactly what the maximum is.

Trading Costs

FTM Global Markets charge a commission on every trade that you make, for each lot traded there is a commission of $12. We feel that this figure is pretty high, in fact it seems to be double what the average commission is.  On top of the commission there are also additional spreads. The amount of spread is dependent on the account you have and ranges from 2.1 as the highest and 1.4 as the lowest in the VVIP account.

Swap charges are also paid (or received) based on the exchange rate for trades help overnight. This combination causes this broker to become a very expensive broker to trade with.

Assets

There are a number of different assets that can be traded with FTM Global MArkets, as expected there are Forex markets, over 50 of them to choose from. There are also commodities, however the website only lists 5 different commodities to trade, there are also stocks and indices, however there is no information regarding how many or which ones, and finally there are metals, mainly Gold, Silver, Platinum and Palladium.

Spreads

As detailed in the accounts types and trading costs of this review, the spreads are based on your account type. They start from as high as 2.1 for the entry level account and fall to 1.4 on the VVIP accounts. These spread values are not fixed and as with any market, there will be fluctuations in the values as trading and events occur.

Minimum Deposit

The minimum deposit to start trading with FTM Global Markets is $100, this will allow you to open up one the the micro accounts which is the entry level account from this broker. To have a more favorable trading environment however, you will need to deposit more in order to get one of the more advanced accounts.

Deposit Methods & Costs

There are a number of different deposit methods available, the standard bank wire transfer (min $100 deposit) is present along with Visa and MasterCard deposits (min $5 deposit), Payeer (min $5 deposit), Neteller (min $5 deposit) and Skrill (min $5 deposit). 

As you can see, each deposit has its own individual minimum deposit and all deposit methods allow you to deposit in the following currencies: USD, EUR, GBP, JPY, CHF. AUD, CAD.

Withdrawal Methods & Costs

The same methods as depositing are also available to withdraw, there is again no fee when it comes to withdrawing. The information on the withdrawal page is slightly misleading as it is still indicating deposit times and minimum amounts, so we are unsure of what the minimum deposits are, but we would assume that they are the same as the deposit minimums.

Withdrawal Processing & Wait Time

There isn’t a lot of information regarding the processing times, the Visa (Qiwi Wallet) states that it will be instant, Bank Wire will take 2 – 4 days, and all the other methods simply state “Coming Soon” so we are not sure how long those are expected to take to process. On the front of their website however it does indicate that withdrawals happen within 30 minutes.

Bonuses & Promotions

There are no mentions of bonuses or promotions on the website, so we are assuming that there are none currently available, this doesn’t mean that there won’t be in the future so be sure to keep an eye out if you are planning on joining this broker.

Educational & Trading Tools

There are a number of different education resources available on the brokers website, there is a small course of reading to help you understand some of the basics of trading. There is also a glossary of terms, to help you understand what certain words and phrases mean. There are also a number of videos to help you better understand things such as technical and fundamental analysis. Finally in terms of reading and learning there are e-books available which teach you various topics such as risk management.

In terms of tools, there are a few available, there is a VPS service to allow you to keep your trading going when your own computer is off, however information on how to get this is scarce. There are also trading robots that you can purchase to auto-trade for you, however the success of auto trading robots is a bit of a gamble these days.

Overall, a good selection of resources and tools to help their clients become better traders.

Customer Service

FTM Global Markets offer a number of different ways to get in contact with them, their support is quoted as being available 24/5, so they are not available when the Forex markets close for the weekend.

There is a phone number available to call as well as a physical address and map, more importantly though, there are a  number of email addresses available to help you get in contact directly with the department that you need, this is a nice touch as you can be sure that the department that you need help or information from is the one that receives your query. We were able to get through on the phone within about 5 minutes during our test and the representative on the other end of the phone was both helpful and courteous.

Demo Account

Demo accounts are available by simply clicking the demo button on the website. There is a quick sign up process, once done you will have your demo account ready to trade. These accounts last for as long as you need and only expire if they are unused for an extended period of time.

Countries Accepted

The services of FTM Global Markets is open to everyone except for people residing in the United States of America or Japan. All other countries are currently welcome to open a new trading account.

Conclusion

There are a lot of promising aspects when it comes to FTM Global Markets, their customer service was a big plus and was quick and efficient. The number of trading resources and help available is a plus in terms of brokers, who normally just give the trading platform and nothing else.

It is a shame that you are herded into certain accounts based on your deposit levels rather than having an actual choice and the fees being charged, with both spreads and a $12 commission makes this broker incredibly expensive to trade with. Due to the costs, it is hard for us to recommend using this broker as there are many brokers out there which offer much lower trading costs and still have excellent service.

We hope you liked this FTM Global Markets review. Be sure to check out some of our other reviews to help find the broker that is perfect for you.

 

Categories
Forex Forex Brokers

Finance Boutique (FinBTQ) Review

Welcome to our Finance Boutique broker review, Finance Boutique is a forex broker based in Sofia in Bulgaria. They claim to offer worldwide membership and to offer a way into the financial markets, we take a little look at what they really have to offer.

Account Types

Finance Boutique offers three different account types, each with different trading environments, we outline these below:

Beginner Account:

This is the entry level account with Finance Boutique, it has a deposit range between $10 and $3,000. With this account you are only able to forex based instruments, there is a commission of $1 for every lot traded and maximum leverage is 1:200.

Standard Account:

This is the mid tier account being offers, it has a deposit range of $3,000 to $30,000. It allows for the trading of Forex, Spot Metals, Spot Commodities and Indexes. There is a commission of $0.8 for each lot traded and the maximum leverage for this account is 1:100.

VIP Account:

The top tier account offered by Finance Boutique, this account has a minimum deposit of $30,000. It allows trading of all assets currently available on Finance Boutique including cryptocurrencies. There is no commission taken for trading a lot and the leverage of this account is 1:50.

Platforms

Currently, the only platform that Finance Boutique offer is MetaTrader 5 (MT5) which is the latest platform from MetaQuotes, it is growing in popularity now that it has been out for a while. It offers decent customization and supports a lot of indicators and expert advisors. It is generally referred to by most as being a very good trading platform.

Leverage

Leverage depends on your account type, beginner accounts can have leverage up to 1:200, standard accounts up to 1:100 and VIP accounts up to 1:50.

Trade Sizes

We could not locate any information in regards to the maximum lot sizes, we would assume like most brokers that the minimum lot size would be 0.01 lots (micro lot). We can not comment on the maximum however they often range between 100 and 1000 lots.

Trading Costs

Finance Boutique take a small commission on each lot that is completed, if you have a mini account then there will be a $1 commission, a standard account has $0.8 commission and the VIP account will have $0 commission. While there are no other mentions of any costs, with commissions so low, we would be assuming that there would also be a spread involved, however there is no mention of this on their website. So expect something in addition to those lower commissions.

Assets

There is not a list of tradable assets on the Finance Boutique website, however there is a small breakdown of what is tradable if you use a VIP account, the lower tier accounts allow for less tradable assets. Currently there are Forex, Spot Metals, Spot Commodities, Indexes, Cryptocurrencies, Shares US, Shares EUR, Shares Asia and Shares Russia.

It is nice to see Cryptocurrencies being present as they are a huge growing market in the trading world, however it could have been nice to have a breakdown of which ones are available.

Spreads

There is no mention of the spreads when trading with Finance Boutique, however with the commission being so low, we would be expecting spreads of around 1 pip to 2 pips at a minimum.

Minimum Deposit

The minimum deposit is based on the account that you use, however the bottom line is $10 if you wanted to open a mini account, if you want a standard account then you require $2,000 and if you want to trade all assets available, including cryptocurrencies then you will need a minimum deposit of $30,000.

Deposit Methods & Costs

There are a large number of deposit methods available including Visa / MasterCard, Bitcoin, Perfect Money and many more. It is nice to see cryptocurrencies being available as they are now being more widely accepted as payment methods by forex brokers. We could not work out if there were any fees attached to deposits, but looking at their deposit section it did not appear that there were any.

Withdrawal Methods & Costs

There is only one withdrawal method and that is via a bank card either Visa or MasterCard. It is strange to have many deposit methods but only one withdrawal method, this may be due to them using a payment provider for their deposits. There is no mention of any fees available on the site.

Withdrawal Processing & Wait Time

There is no mention of the processing times for withdrawals, however with the only withdrawal method being to bank cards, it may take a number of days before receiving your funds, even if it is processed the same day.

Bonuses & Promotions

There are currently no bonuses or promotions displayed on the site, however there is a bonus policy which leads us to believe that Finance Boutique do offer bonuses and promotions, they are just not available at this time. So be sure to check back regularly to see if anything has come up.

Educational & Trading Tools

There is no educational items on the Finance Boutique site apart from a “Trader’s Dictionary” which is a glossary of terms used when trading.

Customer Service

There are a number of ways to get in contact with this broker, you can use their web form online to send an email, or email support directly, there are phone numbers available and also a postal address should you wish to send a personal letter. We did not manage to test out the support so can not comment on their speed or helpfulness.

Demo Account

It is easy to open a demo account, once you have an account on the site you can simple select to open up a demo account. These last forever but will expire if not used for a couple of months, if this happens simply open up a new one.

Countries Accepted

Finance Boutique does not offer their services to members of the United States of America, the Islamic Republic of Iran and Canada.

Conclusion

Our first impression of Finance Boutique was that there are a lot of spelling mistakes on the site which doesn’t build a lot of initial confidence, this may be due to them being based in Bulgaria and using a translator to translate the site to English. Unless you deposit a large amount you are restricted to only trading Forex, this could put a lot of potential traders off. Their commissions are low, but we expect a hidden cost somewhere as it would be hard for the broker to make any money with them being so low. We could not find a lot of information regarding Finance Boutique on the internet which helps us make our decision to recommend to steer clear and chose another more established broker.

Liked this FinBTQ review? Check out some of our other reviews to help find the broker that is perfect for you.

Categories
Forex Forex Brokers

Berry Markets Review

Welcome to our Berry Markets broker review, Berry Markets is a Forex broker that is based in Seychelles and claim to offer over 300 different assets to trade. Berry Markets are what is known as an offshore broker, meaning they are not regulated, however this does not mean that they can not be trusted, that is a question that we are going to answer today in this review. So if you want the answer, read along with us.

Account Types

Berry Markets offer two different account types, their ECN accounts and swap free accounts. Let’s take a closer look at the two accounts:

ECN Account:

An ECN account is one of the more popular account types within the forex retail industry, it stands for Electronic Communication Network and is a direct link between the broker and various banks and liquidity providers. The reason people like ECN accounts is that it often gives much quicker trade confirmations and better prices due to reduced spreads.

Berry Markets suggest that their ECN accounts have spreads as low as 0.8 pips, when looking at other ECN accounts, this could actually be considered as quite high, even with it appearing quite high, spreads for EUR/USD have been seen at around 1.6, double what Berry Markets are suggesting. The minimum deposit for this account is $500 which is a little high but not unreasonable and the maximum leverage available is 1:300. You can choose to have an account with either MetaTrader 4 (MT4) or MetaTrader 5 (MT5).

Swap Free Account:

Berry Markets offer a swap free account for those with Islamic beliefs, this means that swap fees are not charged to this account, however Berry Markets have been a little confusing and it appears that only some assets are swap free and can only be traded during the day. We are unsure of the logistics behind this and so due to this confusion would not recommend this account. All other aspects of the account are the same as the ECN account such as a minimum deposit of $100 and maximum leverage of 1:300.

Platforms

Berry Markets offers you a choice of two trading platforms, MetaTrader 4 (MT4) and MetaTrader 5 (MT5).

MetaTrader 4 (MT4):

MetaTrader 4 (MT4) is the world’s most popular trading platform, it offers a user friendly interface, a professional online trading experience and it’s fast, secure and reliable. It is also able to host thousands of indicators and expert advisors. This is a standard trading platform that 99% of all brokers will offer.

MetaTrader 5 (MT5):

MetaTrader 5 (MT5) is the latest software from MetaQuotes Software however it didn’t manage to take off due to the extreme popularity of it’s younger brother.MT5 is offered by far fewer brokers, it still has the same characteristics as MT4, however does not yet support quite as many indicators and expert advisors which is why the majority of traders prefer to use the older version.

Many brokers these days are beginning to create their own bespoke software or have access to a WebTrader, Berry Markets does netiehr of these and so you are quite limited in your choice of software, having said that, many traders will tell you that MetaTrader 4 is the only software you need.

Leverage

Berry Markets offers a number of different leverages for your accounts, all accounts can take advantage of the same leverage levels. The current maximum leverage is set at 1:300, which is an acceptable standard and is what a lot of new traders are recommended to start at (along with 1:200). Leverage can also be lowered to multiple different amounts including 1:50 and 1:100.

When opening an account, the starting leverage will be 1:100 and it is up to the trader to change this. Some instruments are able to be traded at 1:500, however this is limited and we would recommend sticking to 1:300 to avoid any confusion or mistakes.

Trade Sizes

We could not find any information regarding the minimum or maximum lot sizes, however we are confident that Berry Markets will provide the minimum lot size of 0.01 lots (micro lot), however we can not comment on what their maximum lot size would be.

Trading Costs

As mentioned before, there is very little information about Berry Markets on their website or over the internet, in fact no where on their site does it state what their trading costs are, and without that information available we are not willing to trade to test it out. This information we unfortunately cannot give you. The only information that we do have is that Berry Markets aims for a 0.6 pip spread however it has often been seen as high as 1.6 pips.

Assets

There is no information on Berry Markets’s website indicating how many or which assets are available to trade. The only notice is a small box on their site stating “300 Plus Trading Instruments”. As there is no list of tradable assets, we can not currently verify this information and must take their word on it.

Spreads

Berry Markets claim to have spreads at around 0.6 pips which is on the high side for an ECN broker, however spreads have been seen as high as 1.6 pips on the EUR/USD pair which shows that the spreads are not as stable as Berry Markets makes out.

Minimum Deposit

The minimum deposit for Berry Markets is $100, please bear in mind that the minimum withdrawal is actually $200, so you may end up depositing into your account and not being able to withdraw it. This is a sneaky move by the broker to ensure you need to trade and potentially lose your money.

Deposit Methods & Costs

Depositing with Berry Markets is fee free and they do not charge any fees for using any of their deposit methods. Currently there are only two methods of depositing, Debit or Credit cards and wire transfer. It is a shame that Berry Markets limits you to these two methods as there are far easier methods when it comes to depositing and it seems that Berry Markets have not joined the cryptocurrency trend yet as they do not accept coins such as Bitcoin as a deposit method. As with most forex brokers, Berry Markets does not accept third party deposits, which means deposits from someone else’s bank account that is not your own.

Withdrawal Methods & Costs

As with depositing, Berry Markets do not charge any fees when you wish to withdraw. There is however a minimum withdrawal amount which is currently set at $200, so if you have less than this in your account you will not be able to withdraw. There is currently only one method of withdrawing and that is via bank transfer as Berry Markets do not allow for withdrawal using debit or credit cards.

It is very strange for there to only be a singular withdrawal method, most brokers are looking for inclusion, using multiple methods to make it easier for new traders and new clients to jump on board their platform, however Berry Markets seem to be taking another approach and not wanting to develop or innovate with the ever changing financial markets and requirements. It would be nice to see some e-wallets added to the lineup as well as the ever growing cryptocurrency world.

Withdrawal Processing & Wait Time

Berry Markets states that they process withdrawal requests within 15 minutes by deducting it from your account, they do not however indicate how long it takes to process after this time and there is no information on the internet about it. As the only method of withdrawal is bank transfer, we would expect a minimum of 3 working days before any money arrived due to bank processing times, this could be much longer if it is not processed quickly or during weekends or bank holidays. There needs to be more information regarding this on Berry Markets website in order to give their customers confidence in their service.

Bonuses & Promotions

We could not see and information regarding bonuses on the website leading us to believe that there are not any at the moment. This is not to say that there wont be in the future, so if you are thinking of trading with Berry Markets, make sure to regularly check back to see if there are any promotions or bonuses available.

Educational & Trading Tools

Berry Markets do not offer any kind of education or training, which is a big disappointment as many forex brokers these days do what they can to help their clients become successful traders. The only information on their site is an economic calendar which shows very little information. In terms of the trading tools, please refer to the trading platform section of this review where we look at the two platforms being offers, MetaTrader 4 (MT4) and MetaTrader 5 (MT5).

Customer Service

The number of contact details available for Berry Markets is quite alarming, there is no email, no phone number and their physical address is only accessible at the very bottom of the site and not in the contact us section.

The only method of contact is to fill in an online form, we did this, but after 48 hours we are yet to have a response, so either they are slow or there may be a staffing issue. There is in fact an email address at the top of the screen, however we believe that this goes to the same email address as the form on the site, so the response was not any better.

In this day and age, communication is everything, if there are limited ways to communicate with your forex broker then it can be disheartening and does not breed much confidence in the system that you are using. Berry MArkets need to improve on the ways that you can communicate with them if they wish to be taken seriously and to succeed.

Demo Account

Berry MArkets allows you to open demo accounts, you can open and account on either MEtaTrader 4 (MT4) or MetaTrader 5 (MT5). It is as simple as clicking the “Open Demo Account” link and selecting the platform, then inputting your details and you are done.

Countries Accepted

As far as we can tell, Berry MArkets are open to any customer and do not currently restrict customers from certain countries, we came to this conclusion while looking through the site and also their Terms & Conditions.

Conclusion

There is very little information available about Berry Markets, due to this it is very hard to form a full opinion of the service that they are providing. They only offer one account type which is an ECN, but the spreads are generally higher than most ECN accounts, along with the fact that the support team still haven’t gotten back to us, means that at this point in time we are not able to endorse the use of Berry Markets. We will of course update this review should any of the above information change.

Be sure to check out some of our other broker reviews so you can be sure you choose the right Forex broker for you.

Categories
Forex Forex Brokers

FXGlory Review

In operation since 2011, FXGlory is a well-established Forex broker offering a variety of assets within the MT4 platform. Among the major perks of trading with this broker is the fact that they offer commission-free trading, while also extending a generous leverage ratio to their clients. They also draw in new clients by accepting minimum deposits of only $1 or more. The FXGlory review that follows will provide you with additional details regarding their services, helping you to decide whether or not to become the next trader to open an account with them.

Account Types

FXGlory does offer three different account types, including: Standard, Premium and VIP accounts. The differences between these three are quite clear. For that reason, it is highly advised that you understand what each account tier offers before making a selection.

STANDARD ACCOUNT:

Minimum Deposit Amount: $1
Minimum Trade Size: 0.01 Lot
Maximum Trade Size: 1.00 Lot
Maximum Position Size: 20
Step Lot Increment Size: 0.01
Maximum Leverage: 1:3000
Deposit Bonus: 50% of total deposit
Maximum Bonus Amount: $500
Margin Call/Stop Out: 60% / 30%
Spread: Starting at 2 Pips
Commission Charge: None
Hedge Margin Percentage: 50%
Premium VPS: No

PREMIUM ACCOUNT:

Minimum Deposit Amount: $1,000
Minimum Trade Size: 0.10 Lot
Maximum Trade Size: 10.00 Lot
Maximum Position Size: 100
Step Lot Increment Size: 0.10
Maximum Leverage: 1:2000
Deposit Bonus: 50% of total deposit
Maximum Bonus Amount: $1000
Margin Call/Stop Out: 50% / 30%
Spread: Starting at 2 Pips
Commission Charge: None
Hedge Margin Percentage: 50%
Premium VPS: No

VIP ACCOUNT:

Minimum Deposit Amount: $5,000
Minimum Trade Size: 0.10 Lot
Maximum Trade Size: 1000 Lot
Maximum Position Size: 1000
Step Lot Increment Size: 0.10
Maximum Leverage: 1:300
Deposit Bonus: 40% of total deposit
Maximum Bonus Amount: $2000
Margin Call/Stop Out: 30% / 10%
Spread: Starting at 0.7 Pips
Commission Charge: None
Hedge Margin Percentage: 25%
Premium VPS: Yes

Instant and Market order executions are associated with all account types. All account types are commission-free and swap-free, which means that this broker will profit from their fixed spreads. Even so, the spreads that we noted while completing this FXGlory review were reasonable overall. The good news is that with fixed spreads, traders can decide straight away whether or not they feel comfortable with the costs associated with trading with this brokerage.

Platforms

FXGlory offers the always popular MetaTrader 4 platform to their clients. Their version of the platform is offered as a download for Windows, but can also be put to use by loading up WebTrader, which is an in-browser version. There are also iOS and Android apps for mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets. There are no problems to report here, as MT4 is the most widely used trading platform in the world.

Leverage

The maximum leverage does vary by account type. The absolute maximum leverage for all account types is 1:3000, which is well above the industry average. Obviously, one would want to exercise caution when trading with a leverage ratio that is this high. The Premium account carries a maximum leverage of 1:2000, while the VIP account carries a maximum of 1:300.

NOTICE: The leverage ratio within the FXGlory trading platform automatically adjusts along with ones account balance. When your account balance grows, the leverage setting will be reduced. The list below provides the specific leverage ratio for a variety of account balances ranging from $1 up to $30,000.

  • Account Balance $1-999 = 1:3000
  • Account Balance $1000-1999 = 1:2000
  • Account Balance $2000-2999 = 1:1000
  • Account Balance of $3000-4999 = 1:500
  • Account Balance of $5000-9999 = 1:400
  • Account Balance of $10,000-29,999 = 1:200
  • Account Balance Above $30,000 = 1:100

Traders will most definitely want to keep the potential for a change to their leverage setting in mind while trading with this FX broker.

Trade Sizes

The allowed trade sizes also vary with account type. Using a Standard account, trades as small as 0.01 are permitted. The largest allowed trade size on the Standard account is 1 lot. Using the Premium account, the smallest allowed trade size increases to 0.10, with the maximum size being 10 lots. Lastly is the VIP account, which requires a minimum trade size of 0.10 lots, with the maximum being 1,000 lots. Once again, should you decide to trade with FXGlory, you’ll want to select your account type very carefully.

Trading Costs

As mentioned in the opening paragraph, there are no commission charges or swap fees to be paid, but one should not automatically assume that there is no cost to trade with FXGlory. Each broker is in business to earn a profit and each gets to decide how they will earn their money. With this brokerage, the profits come from their spreads. Even so, the ability to avoid rollover and per-trade commission charges is a nice one to have. Just be certain that you understand that their spreads are likely to be somewhat higher than a brokerage that does charge these types of fees.

Assets

The FXGlory trading platform contains 45 total assets for clients to trade on. The asset list is comprised of only currency pairs – no stocks, cryptocurrencies, commodities, or other asset types. Clearly, this fact will send some traders looking for a different broker, or at least a secondary brokerage which does offer other types of assets. If you’re strictly a currency pair trader, then there’s no problem here. Otherwise, you may very well see their asset index as a serious drawback.

Spreads

The firms spreads are always fixed, regardless of account type, and will vary by asset. At the time that this FXGlory review was being composed, the lowest spread was 0.4 pips. We did notice some spreads that were most definitely on the higher side, so you may want to compare the spreads of your preferred assets with those offered by other brokers. Do remember when making comparisons that this broker does not charge commissions or swaps, as this will help you to make a fair assessment.

Minimum Deposit

With the Standard account type, clients can make a deposit of $1 or more. With the Premium account, the minimum is set to $1,000, and with the VIP account, a $5,000 deposit is required. There are few (if any) Forex trades that can be executed with only $1 in your account, so it seems silly to bother with such a small deposit. However, you may want to make a first-time deposit that is on the smaller side if you wish to test out the deposit and withdrawal processes. Just be sure to properly fund your account when it comes time to actively start trading.

Deposit Methods & Costs

An area in which FXGlory stands out above the rest is banking. Not only do they not charge any deposit fees, they also accept a wide variety of payment methods. In addition to the standard methods such as bank wire and credit/debit cards, they also accept online payment processors such as PayPal, NETELLER, Perfect Money, Skrill, and more. Several cryptocurrencies are also accepted, including Bitcoin, Ripple, Litecoin, and Etherum.

The $1 minimum applies to specific payment methods, such as digital coins and several of the online payment processors. With PayPal and credit/debit cards, the minimum deposit climbs to $50. With wire transfers, the smallest allowed transaction is $500. It’s quite refreshing to see a brokerage still accepting PayPal, so this is a plus. The acceptance of cryptocurrencies is also a plus, as this payment method allows one to safeguard their payment details.

Withdrawal Methods & Costs

Withdrawals up to the initial deposit amount can be requested back to the payment method that was used to fund the account. Profits which exceed that amount may be withdrawn using a different method. FXGlory does charge withdrawal fees on most payment methods, but does provide ways in which these costs can be avoid. In most cases, withdrawals over $50 are free, but this depends on the chosen payment method. Card withdrawals, which tend to be the most popular choice, are free on amounts over $300. Visit the brokers withdrawal web page to see a complete list of minimums and costs.

Withdrawal Processing & Wait Time

The FXGlory payments team is operational and processing payment requests Monday to Friday. Cryptocurrency and online payment processor payments typically arrive within one hour to one business day. Card payment really vary by card company. This is due to the fact that card withdrawals are processed as refunds and each financial institution has their own processes for processing refunds. Wire transfers tend to take the longest time to arrive, typically between 2 and 10 business days. Even so, they remain one of the best options for securely transmitting larger amounts of money. Each of these wait times are standard. The only true difference between FX brokers in this area will be the length of time that it takes to review and process your withdrawal.

Bonuses & Promotions

FXGlory is among a small group of brokers that do still offer deposit bonuses. When making a first-time deposit, you may qualify for a deposit of up to 50%. The largest bonus amount is $1000. Each $1.50 of the bonus amount will be released to your account when you trade 1 standard lot. There are additional requirements as well, so do be sure to read the terms and conditions prior to accepting a bonus. If you decide that you do not want a bonus added to your account, contact the support team in advance of making your first deposit.

Educational & Trading Tools

This brokerage does offer a few educational tools that should prove helpful to new clients and beginner level traders. A Knowledge base and trading terms glossary are accessible on the site, as is an economic calendar, margin calculator, and market news. As for trading tools, you’ll find the standard lineup of analytical tools within the MT4 platform.

Customer Service

FXGlory provides quite the list of contact options, which is excellent. In addition to live chat, this broker provides several country-specific telephone number and department-specific email addresses. A new live chat session can be opened directly on the website, while information pertaining to the other contact methods can be accessed on the ‘Contact Us’ page of their website. Below, you’ll find a list of the available telephone numbers and email addresses.

United States : +(1) 647 243 7184
United Kingdom : +(44) 744 190 6300
Malaysia : +(60) 392 126 712
Canada : +(1) 845 709 8570
Switzerland : +(41) 315 280 631
Cyprus : +(357) 2512 3232

Toll Free:

United Kingdom : +(44) 800 086 9296
United States : +(1) 888 345 6995

Technical: [email protected]
Accounting: [email protected]
Support: [email protected]
Affiliates: [email protected]
General Inquiries: [email protected]

Demo Accounts

Both new and prospective clients are allowed to open a new demo account with FXGlory. Practice accounts offer trading conditions that closely mimic those of the live platform. Note that the asset rates provided within the demo account do not come directly from a financial institution and therefore will differ from those within a live platform. Do note that all practice accounts will automatically be deleted if they are not logged into at least once during each two-month period.

Countries Accepted

FXGlory is headquartered within St. Vincent and the Grenadines and as such, are allowed to accept traders from around the globe. As of now, this does include clients residing within the United States. Those who reside in the following locations are not currently allowed to create accounts and trade with this Forex broker: Georgia (Europe), Bangladesh, North Korea, Syria, Sudan, Iran, Nigeria and other countries which are under UN sanctions.

Conclusion

The benefits and drawbacks of trading with FXGlory are quite clear. Traders will benefit from not having to pay any commissions and rollover fees, while also benefiting from low minimum deposit requirements and the omission of deposit fees. The drawbacks include the fact that the asset index contains only currency pairs, along with withdrawal fees on some payment methods. FXGlory has been in operation for quite some time, so they clearly must be doing something right. For now, we see no reason as to why this broker should be avoided by those who are searching for a new platform.

Categories
Forex Brokers

GIFX Prime Review

Welcome to our GIFX Prime broker preview, GIFX Prime is a UK based and regulated forex broker established in 2013. GIFX Prime claim to offer their users a first-class trading experience, join us as we explore and find out if they live up to their promises.

Account Types

GIFX Prime currently offer three different types of account. The mini account, the classic account and the premium account, let’s take a little look at them in some more detail.

Mini Account:

The mini account is GIFX Prime’s entry level account, it has a $100 minimum deposit, and offers a variable spread of around 1.2 pips. Has a minimum trade volume of 0.01 (micro lots) and is also available as an Islamic account should you not be able to accept or pay swaps.

Classic Account:

The classic account is GIFX Prime’s mid range account, it has a minimum deposit of $1,000 and has a slightly lower variable spread of around 1 pip. Similar to the mini account, it also has a minimum trade volume of 0.01 (micro lot) and is also available as an Islamic account.

Premium Account:

This is GIFX Prime’s top level account, it requires a minimum deposit of $5,000 and has a further reduced variable spread of 0.8 pips. All other details are identical to the other two accounts.

Each account is available in 5 base currencies and all funds are protected in Tier 1 bank facilities. There Are also additional accounts for VIP and corporate clients, however the details of these are not available apart from the fact that you need to actively trade larger volumes.

Account comparison table.

Platforms

There is only one trading platform available with GIFX Prime, and that is MetaTrader 5 (MT5). MT5 is the younger brother of the mega popular MEtaTrader 4 (MT4) and has yet to take off as MT4 did, it is however slowly being picked up by more and more traders and brokers alike.

MetaTrader 5 (MT5) is a solid platform and allows for a lot of freedom and customisation and is able to handle hundreds of indicators and expert advisors. MT5 is available as a desktop download or as an app for your iOS or Android devices.

It would be nice for there to be more options when it comes to trading platforms as many people may want to use a different platform or some form of WebTrader.

Leverage

GIFX Prime offer a maximum leverage of 1:1000, this can be tempting for many new traders, however trading with a leverage that is too high can cause you to quickly lose your account. It is nice that GIFX Prime allow you to use such a high leverage, however we recommend that you do not go any higher than 1:500 or even start at around 1:200 until you are used to how trading and leverage works.

The break down of maximum available leverage is as follows:

  • Forex: 1:1000
  • Stocks: 1:20
  • Indices: 1:200
  • Cryptocurrencies: 1:10
  • Commodities: 1:67

Trade Sizes

All accounts have a minimum lot size of 0.01 lots (micro lot) however there is no information on the website in regards to the maximum lot size. These often range between 100 lots and 1,000 lots however we can not give an exact figure as to how many lots GIFX Prime allow.

Trading Costs

GIFX Prime operate on a spread based system and so do not take any commission while trading, instead they add a small amount of spread to each trade. The amount of spread is decided by which account type you have, on their mini account it is 1.2 pips, their classic account 1.0 pip and on their premium account 0.8 pips. This does not mean that the spreads will be this low, you can expect them to be higher than the stated amount as there will be the usual spread added on top of these additional spreads.

Assets

There are a number of different assets that can be traded, we have broken these down for you below:

  • Forex: 47
  • Stocks: 10
  • Indices: 16
  • Cryptocurrencies: 5
  • Commodities: 15

It is nice to see a range of different tradable assets, including cryptocurrencies which is a new and growing market in terms of trading.

Spreads

The spreads that GIFX Prime offer were mentioned in the trading costs section of this review, they are based on the account type that you have. The higher tier account that you have the lower the spread. We are unable to locate exact spreads, but we know that a certain amount is added to each trade in order for GIFX Prime to make profits.

Minimum Deposit

There is a minimum deposit of $100 for GIFX Prime’s mini account, $1,000 for their classic account and $5,000 for their premium accounts.

Deposit Methods & Costs

GIFX Prime offer a number of different deposit methods from bank wire, Visa / Mastercard, WebMoney, Neteller and Skrill. There are no additional fees when depositing.

Withdrawal Methods & Costs

The withdrawal methods provided by GIFX Prime are the same as their deposit methods. There are also no fees when withdrawing your funds. Each withdrawal method has an individual minimum amount, so be sure to check the bale below to see what the minimum is for your prefered withdrawal method.

Withdrawal Processing & Wait Time

The processing time for withdrawals depend on the method of withdrawal, bank wire takes between 1 day and 7 days, all other methods are processed within 1 hour, there may be additional length based on the system used by your selected method.

Bonuses & Promotions

As far as we can tell, there are no current bonuses or promotions, there may be some in the future so make sure to check back onto their site in case a new promotion comes up.

Educational & Trading Tools

GIFX Prime do not offer any educational services, however there are a couple tools on their site to help you. There is a calculator for converting currencies, an economic calculator with some basic information about upcoming news events, and finally, a technical indicator showing if different indicators are signalling a buy, sell or are neutral.

Customer Service

There are a number of different ways to get in touch with GIFX Prime, they offer a live chat to talk to a person on live chat, we tested this method and got through to someone within 2 minutes, they were helpful and answered our questions without much delay.

There are also phone numbers and emails for different departments within GIFX Prime such as client support, account opening, general enquiries and complaints. The physical postal address is also available should you wish to send a physical letter.

Demo Account

It would appear that GIFX Prime currently do not offer demo accounts, as once we had signed up, there were only options to open live accounts. So at this point in time, demo accounts are not available.

Countries Accepted

GIFX Prime does not offer trading services to to residents of certain jurisdictions such as Afghanistan, Hong Kong, Belgium, Japan, the United States of America and some other regions. Should you have any questions regarding the provision of services to your specific area, please contact the broker’s support team.

Conclusion

GIFX Prime offer a solid platform, they have a range of account, with a lower starting deposit of $100 it makes it easier for newer traders to start trading with them. The trading costs are acceptable however it would be nice to have demo accounts available to test the waters for new traders. With only MetaTrader 5 available to trade with, it could limit some traders out of their service.

We hope you liked this review, be sure to check out our other forex broker reviews to find out which broker is the best match for you.

Categories
Forex Brokers

iWin FX Review

Welcome to our iWIN broker review, iWIN FX is a Forex broker based in Belize and was started in 2018 so is still a very young brokerage firm. As far as we could discover, iWIN FX is not regulated in any jurisdictions, however that should not immediately put you off as many unregulated brokers are just as trustworthy as regulated ones. iWIN FX welcome you to “win with us” so let’s explore and see what they offer and how they perform.

Account Types

It would appear that iWIN offers three different account types, the Classic, Professional, Platinum and Instrument accounts, let’s take a little look at exactly what those mean.

Classic Account:

iWIN market this account as their “standard” account, meant for beginners who just want to get trading, it does not charge any commissions but instead has a spread markup which starts from 3 pips, which is relatively high. There is also a $1,000 minimum deposit, which for a starter account is quite high and may price out a lot of newer customers or people new to forex trading. Leverage can go as high as 1:500 and order volumes are from between 0.01 lots (microlot) and 50 lots. A pretty standard account, however rather high spreads.

Classic account details.

Professional Account:

The Professional account is marketed towards the “experienced” trader, this can be seen straight away with the $10,000 minimum deposit which will price out anyone that doesnt have any experience with trading forex. This account also does not take any commissions and their spread has been reduced to a starting figure of 1.5 pips, which isn’t too unreasonable for an account that does not take commissions. This account charges for swaps and order volume is similar to the Classic account in which you can place trades from between 0.01 (microlots) and 50 lots. The leverage on this account however is reduced and the maximum allowed is 1:100.

Professional account details.

Platinum Account:

iWIN state that this is their best account, of course any company would if the initial deposit is $30,000, so this account is intended only for those truly serious about Forex and that have extensive experience of it already. Account currency must be in USD and different from the previous accounts, there is a commission charge of $6 per lot and the spreads start from around 0.5pips, this is relatively high for an account alsop charging a commission. Leverage remains with a maximum of 1:100 and order volumes have increased offering a minimum of 0.01 lots (microlot) and a maximum of 100 lots, still lower than a lot of other brokers, but very few people would ever go that high anyway.

Platinum account details.

Overall the accounts are pretty standard when it comes to Forex brokers, however the higher than normal opening balances along with the higher than average spreads mean that there needs to be something else that this broker is offering in order to bring in customers as the account choices are not the most desirable that we have seen.

Platforms

iWIN offer two different platforms to trade on, the ever popular MetaTrader 4 (MT4) and a WebTrader.

MetaTrader 4 (MT4):

If you have traded Forex before, then I am sure you have traded with MetaTrader 4 (MT4), it is the world’s most popular trading platform and for good reason, it offers unparalleled customisation options and boasts hundreds of thousands of expert advisors and indicators. MetaTrader 4 (MT4) is also available for your computer and for mobile devices running iOS or Android.

WebTrader:

The webtrader that iWIN offer is the standard affair when it comes to WebTraders, giving you similar functionality to MT4 just with slightly less options and less support for third part applications such as expert advisors and indicators. WebTraders are good for when you ar eon the move or want to quickly check something, however there are no bells and whistles with this version of the WebTrader.

We are slightly disappointed with the selection offered, very standard equipment and nothing to really make iWIJN stand out from the crowd.

Leverage

The leverage being offered by iWIN is dependant on the account that you trade, as we discussed in the accounts section, the Classic account allows leverage between 1:1 and 1:500, which the Professional and Platinum accounts reduce the maximum leverage down to 1:100. It would have been nice to be able to hold on to the 1:500 leverage on the higher tier accounts, however this is most likely iWIN trying to reduce their own liabilities in case things go wrong with larger amounts of money.

Trade Sizes

We mentioned that the trade sizes or lot sizes are also dependant on the account type that is being used. The Classic account and the Professional account allow you to make small trades of 0.01 (microlots) and to go as high as 50 lots. The Platinum account also allows small trades of 0.01 (microlots) but increases the maximum trade size to 100 lots. The maximum of 100 lots is lower than the majority of other Forex brokers who often allow up to 1,000 lots, however we do not know anyone that trades at over 100 lots, so we are sure that there won’t be any issues with this reduced limit.

Trading Costs

Trading costs, as well as the majority of other things are based on your account type. iWIN uses both a commission based system as well as an increased spread system.

Classic and Professional accounts offer an increase in spreads instead of a commission. The Classic account has spreads starting at 3.0 pips which is incredibly high compared to most other brokers, including those that also use an increased spread system. The Professional account is slightly better at 1.5 pips, which is more in line with a lot of other standard accounts, but it is not anything to sing and dance about and wouldn’t tempt you away from another broker.

The Platinum account uses a commission based system and charges $6 per lot while still maintaining a minimum spread of around 0.5 pips, which is relatively high for a commission based account.

Comparing them to other forex brokers, the fees are relatively high, as mentioned above, there is nothing on offer here that would make you jump up and change forex brokers.

iWIN also have an inactivity fee, meaning that after 3 months of no activity, if there is a balance in the account they will charge you $25 per month out of that balance, this is a practice that we do not like at all and can be a real turn off for potential customers.

Assets

Looking around the iWINFX website, they do display the current spreads and also all assets that are currently tradable with them, they are as follows:

Forex: 29

Commodities: 7

Shares: 43

Indices: 7

As you can see from the numbers above, there are very limited assets to trade, we are most surprised with the fact that there are only 29 Forex pairs to trade, the majority of other Forex brokers that we have looked at offer a minimum of 50+. This means that unless you are wanting to trade the specific pairs that are on offer then you may be left a little disappointed with the selection.

It is also important to note that there are no cryptocurrencies on offer to trade, cryptocurrency trading is becoming a major part in a lot of peoples trading lives due to the growing popularity and opportunity for large profits, so it is disappointing to see that they are not on offer with iWINFX.

Spreads

We had a little look at the spreads in the trading costs section of this review, however, we will go into a little more detail about them here.

The Classic account has spreads starting at 3 pips, which is incredibly high, we compared this number with a number of other brokers who are also using an increased spread system and the average between the five brokers was 2.2 pips. It may not look like a lot, but that is nearly 1 pip on average which over a large number of trades will cost quite a lot.

The Professional account offers slightly better spreads starting at 1.5 pips which is lower than the average of 2.2 pips, however the starting balance of $10,000 will price a lot of people out of this account.

The Platinum account offers a commission based system at $6 per lot, which seems to be the industry standard when it comes to commission based systems, along with this commission however, is the 0.5 minimum spread, a lot of other commission based systems try to remove the spread, with many going as low as 0 pips or 0.1 pips. The additional spread adds to the cost of this account.

If you are looking to squeeze every penny that you can out of your trades, the spreads here at iWIN may be a little too high for your liking. They are by no means the worst we have seen, but with the competition being so high, there may be a struggle to pull traders away from their current brokerage firms.

Minimum Deposit

The minimum deposit once again depends on the type of account, if you are just looking to get trading with iWIN, then the minimum deposit is $1,000 for their Classic account. If you want slightly more favourable trading conditions then you are going to have to fork out $10,000 for their Professional account or $30,000 minimum for their Platinum accounts. Starting at $1,000 is slightly higher than the competition and may price out a lot of newer or less experienced traders.

Deposit Methods & Costs

iWIN offer a number of different ways to deposit which are the standard methods within the Forex industry.They have the usual Visa / Mastercard, internet banking, Netweller, Skrill, 2Checkout Perfect Money, Web Money and PayPal.

All deposits must be in USD, Visa, Mastercard and internet banking offer instant processing times which the other methods are processed within 15 minutes. We could not find any information regarding fees on their site however the Terms and Conditions state that there may be charges for bank transfers, it does not however state what they are..

Withdrawal Methods & Costs

Withdrawals use the same providers as depositing, Visa / Mastercard, internet banking, Netweller, Skrill, 2Checkout Perfect Money, Web Money and PayPal. All withdrawals must be in USD so you may be charged a currency conversion charge by your bank. There does not appear to be any fees on withdrawals and there are none mentioned on their site or within their Terms & Conditions, however it does not state that there will be no fees either.

Withdrawal Processing & Wait Time

iWiN’s site indicates that withdrawals will be processed within 24 hours, we were not able to test this and we could not find any evidence on the internet from customers regarding withdrawals. So we need to take them at their word on this one.

Bonuses & Promotions

The meta description of iWIN’s website mentioned plenty of bonuses and special offers, however looking through the site we could not locate any of these bonuses, so we can only assume that in the past there were bonuses available but they have now expired. Our advice is to keep checking back to see if a new one has come up.

Educational & Trading Tools

iWIN offers a 7 book series which is available to anyone on their site which foes over the basics of Forex trading, it won’t make you an expert, but it is nice to have the basics available for their traders. Apart from this, there doesn’t appear to be any other benefits or teaching available through he iWIN site.

Customer Service

iWIN offer a few different ways to get in contact with them, there is the standard online contact us form, where you fill in your question and they will get back to you, we tested this and had a reply within 24 hours. They also have their email address made public so you can email them directly and we assume you will get a similar response as our reply was from the same email address.

They offer a phone number to call, however we tried this number at 9:48am and did not have anyone pick up for 10 minutes so we gave up, at times I am sure that their service is available, but at the time of trying, no one was available.

Their postal address is also available should you wish to visit or send a letter, however as they are based in Belize, it would be easier to use the other available contact methods.

Demo Account

We could not see an option to create a demo account which is quite strange these days, nearly every broker offers demo accounts but it appears that iWIN do not. This again concretes the idea that they are not looking for newer traders and instead want people who have been trading before.

Countries Accepted

We could not find anything regarding country restrictions, so we believe that they are accepting all clients.

Conclusion

iWIN is a bit of an enigma, there is very little information about them on the internet with very few reviews. Their website often gives half the information that you need and it is clear that they are not looking for newer traders as the majority of their accounts is focused on larger deposits and the fact that there are no demo accounts available cements this idea.

iWIN’s fees are higher than normal and due to the very little information about them available, we cannot endorse signing up to this broker unless you have a personal tie with it in some way. Be sure to check out some of our other broker reviews so you can be sure you choose the right forex broker for you.

Categories
Forex Brokers

Siriusfn Review

Welcome to our Siriusfn broker review, Siriusfn is a forex broker located is St. Vincent and the Grenadines, there is very little information on the internet about this broker so we will explore their site and accounts to see what is currently being offered.

Account Types

Siriusfn offer four different account types, a Bronze, Silver and Gold account as well as an additional Islamic account which is intended for those with Islamic beliefs who are not able to have accounts that receive or pay swap charges.

Unfortunately we can not provide any further information on these accounts as when trying to sign up the registration form was not working, so while Siriusfn state that there are differences between Bronze, Silver and Gold, we are not able to find out what they are as that information isn’t freely available on their site.

Platforms

Siruisfn only offers MetaTrader 4 (MT4) as a trading platform, MT4 is the world’s most popular trading platform as it is flexible, and can host thousands of indicators and expert advisors. The vast majority of brokers will offer MT4 with their trading platforms. There is little choice with Siriusfn, as this is the only platform available.

Leverage

Siriusfn currently offer leverag up to 300:1 on all their accounts.

Trade Sizes

There is no information regarding maximum and minimum lot sizes, the majority of broker have a minimum of 0.01 lots (microlot) so we would assume that Siriusfn have the same. We can not speculate on what the maximum lot size would be though as this information is not available.

Trading Costs

Siriusfn state that they do not charge any commissions on trades made through them which is a positive, however there is now information regarding their spreads except for a sentence that states (low spreads), and as there is little information on the internet about them, it is hard to gather this information.

Assets

Siriusfn currently offer 50 currency pairs along with Indices, Metals, Energies, Futures and some Shares so there is plenty of options when it comes to what to share. There is little information however on the site regarding which currency pairs they offer and very limited information on the other tradable assets.

Spreads

There is no information regarding spreads except for a sentence stating “low spreads”, we can not comment on this as the information is not available.

Minimum Deposit

You can only see the minimum deposits oper account type when you log in, unfortunately, we were unable to create an account as the registration form didnt do anything, so we can not provide this information at this point in time.

Deposit Methods & Costs

The current methods available to deposit are wire transfer, credit and debit cards and e-wallets, Siriusfn unfortunately do not specify which e-wallets they use. Siriusfn state that they do not charge any fees for depositing and just make a note that your provider may charge a fee.

Withdrawal Methods & Costs

The same methods can be used to withdraw as you can to deposit. Those are wire transfer, credit / debit cards and e-wallets, again which e-wallets you can use are not specified. As with deposits, Siriusfn state that they do not charge any fees for withdrawing money from your accounts.

Withdrawal Processing & Wait Time

Withdrawals with Siriusfn are processed between 09:00 and 18:00 local time, except on weekends and bank holidays. If you submit a request after 18:00 it will be handled the next working day. While Siriusfn may process your request quickly, depending on the method you used it may take a few days to arrive due to bank processing etc.

Bonuses & Promotions

Currently it appears that there are no bonuses or promotions available, we can not see any history of promotions but that doesn’t mean that there won’t be any in the future. Siriusfn class a demo account as a bonus, however we do not.

Educational & Trading Tools

Siriusfn offer an FAQ, which unfortunately is empty, they also offer a glossary of forex terms which can be helpful. They do not offer any additional teaching material, but do offer a market news area for their clients.

Customer Service

Siriusfn have a FAQ on the site but it is completely empty, it has questions but no answers, this does not fill us with much confidence in the forex broker. The contact section of the site offers an email address and a phone number to use, we are not sure how responsive these services are, but it is a positive that you can use the phone to talk to a real person.

Demo Account

You can open a demo account with Siriusfn, it is a quick and easy process to do so, simply select demo account and sign up. The demo account is free to use and won’t expire unless unused for an extended period of time.

Countries Accepted

There is no information on their site regarding any banned countries, so as far as we can tell, clients from all countries are accepted.

Conclusion

At this point in time we are not able to open a new account with Siriusfn, so we can not give a full opinion on them, however the lack of information available on them and on their site does not give us a lot of confidence. With so little information and the site not fully functioning we can not recommend to sign up to this broker at this moment in time. Be sure to check out our other forex broker reviews to help you find the broker that is right for you.

Categories
Forex Brokers

EagleFX Review

EagleFX, a full-service Forex brokerage offering cryptocurrency and FX CFD trading, has been making quite a splash in the industry. Based out of Dominica, the firm is providing around the clock trading on hundreds of assets to a global client base. EagleFX boasts extremely attractive spreads, deep pool liquidity, and super-fast trade processing. The EagleFX review that follows will provide you with an exhaustive look at this FX broker and help you to decide if they are capable of meeting your specific trading needs.

Account Types

You won’t find any tiered accounts or account levels when working with this brokerage. Instead, they provide one primary account type and then offer an adjusted, swap-free version for those who are Islamic and choose to adhere to Shariah Law. Having one primary account type essentially means that all traders are treated as equals. The trader who deposits $10 will be treated exactly the same as one who has deposited $10,000. Corporate accounts are an option, provided that proof of business ownership is provided. Shared accounts are not an option, as this presents a security concern. However, it will ultimately be your personal decision as to who you choose to share your account information with.

Platforms

EagleFX has made a wise decision in offering the ever popular MetaTrader 4 trading platform. MT4 can be downloaded directly from the broker’s website and then installed on any computer using a Windows operating system. A version for Mac users will soon be made available as well. There are additional platform formats to choose from, including iOS and Android apps and WebTrader, which is the browser-based version of MetaTrader. The platform provides a host of tools and charts, helping traders to analyze the market and make informed decisions regarding market entry and exit. The entire platform was designed with the trader in mind and therefore provides functionality that makes trading easier, such as in-chart trading, easy EA setup, and the ability to select from several platform languages.

Leverage

Those who wish to stretch their trading dollars as far as possible will be thrilled with EagleFX’s decision to offer leverage up to 1:500. Very few Forex brokers offer a leverage ratio higher than this. Within the platform, each trader is free to decide on how much (if any) leverage they wish to use while trading. There is no requirement to use the maximum setting. In fact, there are several different leverage settings, starting at 1:1 and climbing from there to the 1:500 level. While it is not possible to change your leverage selection mid-trade, it can always be changed prior to entering into a new position. Should have any questions or need help with making changes to your leverage setting, contact the EagleFX support team.

Trade Sizes

Traders who are new to FX trading or are risk-adverse will be happy to know that EagleFX allows trades as small as 0.01 to be opened within their platform. If you’re just starting out and wanting to closely protect your initial deposit, smaller trade sizes provide you with an excellent way to accomplish this. For experienced traders who are interested in much larger trades, the platform maximum level is 1,000 lots. Note that a variety of trading styles and strategies can be employed within the provided platform (hedging, scalping, news trading, etc.), and that Expert Advisors (EAs) may also be utilized. Further note that margin call will take place at 100%, while the stop out percentage is set to occur at 70%.

Trading Costs

The business model of most Forex brokers is one in which the broker will earn their profits from a higher spread. EagleFX is different in that they have chosen to offer extremely tight spreads and then charge a reasonable commission charge of $6 on each trade. Of this amount, half is charged going into the trade, with the remainder being charged upon trade closure. Of this $6, the vast majority ($4) is paid out to their affiliates. So, while you might be thinking, “I know a broker that charges a smaller commission!” and that may be true, from a FX reviewers standpoint, it is nice to see a brokerage truly rewarding the individuals who are the heart of every successful business – affiliates. We won’t dive deeply into the affiliate program within this EagleFX review, but if you have one or more people that you wish to refer, you may want to register an affiliate account.

Swap or rollover fees do apply when trades are left open during the overnight hours. These fees vary by asset, but can of course be viewed from within the MetaTrader 4 platform in advance of making a decision regarding trade closure. Swap fees are not charged on Islamic accounts, but this does not mean that Islamic account holders are allowed to avoid these costs altogether. Administrative fees are assessed in the place of rollover fees on Islamic accounts. These fees will also vary by asset, but will be comparable to rollover costs.

Assets

One look inside the EagleFX platform will quickly show you that this broker has made a serious commitment to providing plenty of trade opportunities. As of this writing, there are 200+ underlying assets to choose from, including an impressive 30+ cryptocurrencies. There are over 50 standard currency pairs to choose from, including major, minor, and exotic pairs. Fans of stock trading will have over 100 underlying assets to choose from, and the remainder of the asset list total is spread among commodities, indices, futures, and energies.

The list of cryptocurrencies is worthy of a second mention, as digital assets have taken the Forex industry by storm. Many brokers are lagging behind, either not offering cryptos or only offering a few of the majors, while forward-thinking firms such as EagleFX are leading the way by offering both popular cryptos such as Bitcoin, Litecoin, and Etherum, together with many of the lesser known digital coins. Even if you’re not trading on cryptocurrencies at this time, you’ll want to select a brokerage that does at least provide you with the option to do so in the future.

Spreads

As mentioned previously in this EagleFX review, this broker claims to be offering extremely tight spreads. How tight, exactly? As low as 0.01 pip on some assets. While there are certainly other brokerages which are offering spreads this low on some assets (as advertise that fact proudly), you may want to dig a bit deeper to discover their spread average. As for Eagle, their platform average is 0.03 pips. Of all asset types, cryptocurrencies tend to carry the highest spreads, but this broker also does an excellent job of keeping the spreads highly competitive with this asset group as well. To put it simply, it will be tough to find a broker that is offering better spreads than what we observed within Eagle’s trading platform.

Minimum Deposit

First-time traders often want to test the waters of Forex trading without having to hand over a large minimum deposit. EagleFX will be an option for these individuals, as they require a starting deposit of only $10. Accounts can be opened and managed using one of four different currency options, including USD, EUR, GBP, and Bitcoin. Do note that some payment methods will have a capped number of accepted monthly transactions, and as such, it may not be possible to submit a larger number of small deposits. On average, most first-time traders start out with at least $100, as anything less will provide restrictive and limiting when it comes time to trade. The good news is that since this broker does offer such generous leverage, even a small deposit can be stretched…up to 500 times the value!

Deposit Methods & Costs

Account funding tends to be a major problem for many brokers as payment processors consider the industry as a whole to be a risk. EagleFX, however, has managed to offer the three most frequently used banking methods: Bitcoin, credit & debit cards, and bank wire transfers. All incoming deposits are completely fee-free, regardless of the chosen payment method. Bitcoin tends to be the fastest way to fund (and withdraw) from an account, with credit & debit cards being the next fastest. Those who wish to avoid sharing their card number(s) may want to opt for the anonymity that comes with using Bitcoin. Sites such as Instacoins allow users to purchase Bitcoin securely and then spend the digital currency however they wish.

There are some deposit limitations which are worth noting here. The maximum accepted credit or debit transaction is $5,000 (per transaction). Card deposits are also limited to three per day and no more than thirty in total monthly. There are no such limitations when bank wire transfer or Bitcoin is the selected funding method. Opt for these deposit methods if your funding needs necessitate going over these limits.

Withdrawal Methods & Costs

Bitcoin, credit & deposit, and bank wire transfer may also used for withdrawing your funds. Withdrawal requests up to the deposited amount are paid out using the same payment method that was used to fund the account. Profits which exceed any initial deposits can be withdrawn using a different payment method. EagleFX does not charge any withdrawal fees, which is of course a perk. Note, however, that if you opt to receive an incoming wire transfer, your bank is likely to charge a fee on their end. Of the three payment options, Bitcoin tends to be the best option. Not only are Bitcoin withdrawals secure and private, but they are also fast, with most payments being received within an hour or less.

Withdrawal Processing & Wait Time

Withdrawal requests are reviewed and paid out within two business days. When testing the withdrawal process, our Bitcoin withdrawal request was reviewed and received in just under ten hours. Credit and debit withdrawals can take anywhere from 2 to 10 days to post. This is because each card company has their own handling time for transactions. Card withdrawals are actually processed as refunds back to the card and each bank or payment processor handles refunds differently. Bank wires are basically the same as card payments, taking anywhere from 2 to 14 business days to post. It’s worth stating again that Bitcoin is simply the fastest way to collect your funds.

Bonuses & Promotions

During this EagleFX review, we spoke directly to a member of the management team and did confirm that they company has no immediate plans to offer any deposit (or re-deposit) bonuses. The individual that we spoke with had the following to say, “With deposit bonuses come requirements that traders must meet in order to collect the funds. These often prove confusing or even discouraging to clients and therefore we would rather reward them in other, no strings attached, ways.” We were informed that promotions such as free trading contests may be offered in the future, so we do encourage those who may be interested to bookmark the broker’s website and check back periodically.

Educational & Trading Tools

Currently, EagleFX is not offering any educational resources, but does provide a detailed economic calendar and daily market analysis. It’s quite easy to find FX trading courses and tutorials online, including here at Forex Academy. There are a variety of trading tools built directly into MT4. MetaTrader has all the charting tools that one could need to trade and analyze the markets simultaneously. The platform allows you to customize charts and add in your own personal indicators. You can also open multiple charts in multiple time frames. There are several different order types and the platform will accept your expert advisors or those which have been purchased or acquired from an outside source. Last but not least, the platform allows you to build your own algorithms from scratch, or use third-party tools to build your own indicator or trading robots.

Customer Service

If we were allowed to sum up EagleFX’s customer service team in only one word, that word would be: Impressive. The team passed all of our tests with flying colors, often posting the highest scores that we’ve seen to-date. We had noted that as part of their advertisement campaign, they were advertising around the clock live support and super-fast response times. When put to the test over a period of several days, the longest response time when attempting to reach an agent via live chat was 15-seconds. Our requests for a callback were honored in two hours or less, while email responses were received in around 15-minutes. Quite impressive.

With customer support being an area within which many FX brokers struggle (second only to payments), we questioned the management team on how they were able to respond so quickly. What we learned is that EagleFX employs a rather large in-house support staff, maintaining around the clock coverage to ensure that all clients, regardless of location, will have access to live support. Each agent undergoes weeks of training and then begins working in a specific area (ex. trading desk), where they go on to become experts. This strategy is clearly working, as we’ve yet to encounter a better support team within the Forex industry.

Security & Fund Protection

Just when we thought we’d seen it all with regards to security measures and fund protection, EagleFX shows us something new. The firm is employing cryptocurrency cold storage as a means of fund protection. This state-of-the-art method involves taking funds off computer hard drives, where they sit vulnerable to hackers, and storing them on physical, exterior devices. The strategy provides the secondary benefit of protecting against price volatility. All deposits are hedged on the top global exchanges and therefore provide the stability that traders demand when it comes to their funds. Note also that all deposits are held in segregated accounts, apart from regular operational business funds.

Demo Accounts

EagleFX does offer unlimited, free demo accounts. These accounts can be used for as long as you wish (but will self-destruct if you do not log in at least once every two weeks). Traders are allowed to have more than one demo account, so feel free to open multiples if you want to test our several strategies or trading methods. To open a new demo account, visit their main website and click on the ‘Demo Account’ tab to the top, right of the homepage. From there, you will be provided with instructions on how to create a new demo account using your preferred format of MetaTrader 4.

Conclusion

What we now know is that there are tons of Forex brokers to choose from, but only a small number of them that truly manage to impress. EagleFX is one of the few, with their solid platform, excellent trading conditions, and top-notch customer support. One could argue against their commission costs and would have a valid point. However, after learning that the majority of that goes to their affiliates, it became difficult to rake them over the coals for it. EagleFX is a brokerage that is reminiscent of businesses that operated during the 1950s, a time when the customer or client was valued and treated well. For this and many other reasons, we highly recommend Eagle to those who are searching for a FX broker at this time.