Fort Trades Review

Fort Trades is a Forex broker, stock indices and precious metals created in 2017. This broker offers its customers various types of accounts and leverage as high as 1:500. Accounts can be opened in a variety of currencies, USD, EUR, CAD, AUD, GBP, CHF, NZD, and JPY, and as a novelty, offers accounts denominated in Bitcoin. As a trading platform, it uses MT4, however its Demo version seems to be unavailable. Another issue that surprises us is the high initial deposit requirements they ask to open an account.

Looking at the Fort Trades website, the broker claims that it is a global company based in China, but the address we see is from Hong Kong, specifically this: 1902 Bonham Trade Center, 50 Bonham Strand, Central, Hong Kong. On the other hand, their license comes from Belize, from the International Financial Services Commission (IFSC), so we’re talking about an offshore broker.

Fort Trades also reports that it is regulated by the China Securities Commission (CSRC) and the China Asset Management Association [AMAC, but there is no license number in any case.

ACCOUNT TYPES

Fort Trade surprises us because it offers its customers up to 9 different account types.
All accounts (the broker calls them “investment plans”) are accompanied by monthly earnings percentages ranging from 45% to 85%. We consider that these promises made by the broker are neither realistic nor serious. Let’s not forget that in Forex, the percentage of losing operations ranges between 65-85%, realistically.

Here is a summary of each account:

Fort Micro Account
Minimum Account Funding: $ 10,000
Spreads from 1.5 pips
Minimum Trade: 0.01 (Micro lots)
Leverage: Up to 1:500

Fort Standard Account
Minimum Account Funding: $ 20,000
Spreads from 0 pips
Minimum Trade: 0.01 (Micro lots)
Leverage: Up to 1:500
Standard Commission: $5 per 1,000 USD

Fort Pro Account
Minimum Account Funding: $ 30,000
Spreads: From 1.5 pips (core spreads)
Minimum Trade: 0.10 lot
Leverage: Up to 1:500
Pro Commission: $5 per 5,000 USD

Fort VIP Account
Minimum Account Funding: $ 50,000
Spreads: From 0 pips (core spreads)
Minimum Trade: 0.10 lot
Leverage: Up to 1:200
Commission: $3.5 per 10,000 USD traded

Fort Premium Account
Minimum Account Funding: $ 100,000
Spreads: From 1.5 pips (core spreads)
Minimum Trade: 0.10 lot
Leverage: Up to 1:200
Commission: 10% commission instead of 25%

Fort Gold Account
Minimum Account Funding: $ 250,000
Spreads: From 1.5pips (core spreads)
Minimum Trade: 0.10 lot
Leverage: Up to 1:500
Commission: 10% commission instead of 25%

Fort Mega Account
Minimum Account Funding: $500,000 – 1,000,000
Spreads: From 2.5pips (core spreads)
Minimum Trade: 0.10 lot
Leverage: Up to 1:500
Commission: 10% commission instead of 25%

Fort BTC 1 Account
Minimum Account Funding: 1BTC
Spreads From 0.01 (core spreads)
Minimum Trade: 0.25 lot
Leverage: Up to 1:200
Not reported on the commissions

Fort BTC 2 Account
Minimum Account Funding: 2BTC
Spreads: From 0.01 (core spreads)
Minimum Trade: 0.25 lot
Leverage: Up to 1:200
Not reported on the commissions

PLATFORMS

The broker’s website reports that the platform they use is MT4, but we have not located any download links throughout the web. Fort Trades does not seem to offer free demo accounts, this really leaves a bad impression. All decent brokers offer their potential customers a free demo.

LEVERAGE

Leverage ranges from 1:200 to 1:500 depending on the type of account.

TRADE SIZES

The trade sizes range from 0.01 lots to 0.10 lots if it is an account denominated in currencies. If the account is called in Bitcoins the trade size is 0.25 lots. Margin Call is set to 100% and 50% for All trading plans, Standard accounts. Standard and VIP accounts have a margin call at 100% and 80% stop out.

TRADING COSTS

Depending on the type of account, the trading costs can be up to 5 USD per 1000 USD operated. (See the section “Account Types”).

ASSETS

The Broker reports that the customer can invest in Forex, stock index, and precious metals. Fort Trades does not report the currency pairs available, nor how many stock indices or metals can be traded.

SPREADS

Depending on the type of account, spreads can vary between 0 and 2.5 pips. Spreads do vary by account type, so please refer to the account information to see the starting spread for each.

MINIMUM DEPOSIT

The minimum deposit varies depending on the account type, but the account that requires the least amount is 5,000 USD. We do not understand this kind of high demand.
To know the minimum deposit you require on each of the accounts that Fort Trades offers, see the “Account Types”.

DEPOSIT METHODS & COSTS

The deposit methods available at this broker are Bank transfer, Money Gram, Western Union, Perfect Money, and Bitcoin. Fort Trades does not report the costs inherent in the deposits.

WITHDRAWAL METHODS & COSTS

The terms and conditions inform that withdrawals must be processed by the same system that was used to make the deposit. The broker reports a commission that, we consider abusive, says: Fort Trades will charge you a 20% fee for withdrawals. This is something very unusual in a broker.

WITHDRAWAL PROCESSING & WAIT TIME

The time the bróker takes to process a withdrawal varies between 2 and 5 business days. Once the withdrawal is processed the estimated times are usually instantaneous through ePayments, and may take several days in the case of bank transfers.

BONUSES & PROMOTIONS

All accounts have an economic bonus with the processing of the first deposit. Bonuses currently available in each account are:

• Fort Micro Account: Bonus 55%
• Fort Standard Account: Bonus Up to 10% Insurance
• Fort Pro Account: Bonus $3000 add-on
• Fort VIP Account: Bonus $5,000 add-on
• Fort Premium Account: Bonus $10,000 USD
• Fort Gold Account: Bonus $15,000 USD
• Fort Mega Account: Bonus $20,000 USD

There are no promotions for accounts denominated in Bitcoin.
We have not found any information on how the bonus reported here are materialized.

EDUCATIONAL & TRADING TOOLS

Fort Trades does not have an educational area or trading tools. We think that a broker should have at least an economic news section and an economic calendar on his website. Having said that, they do offer both automated trading and managed account options for those who are interested in a more hands-free approach. Professional traders are also invited to create their own PAMM accounts and invite followers to those accounts. For more information on managed trading, please visit the Fort Trades website.

CUSTOMER SERVICE

There are several ways to access customer service: telephone, email, fax, and a contact form.

Phone: +860-2151-021972
Fax: +860-2151-021972
Email: [email protected] ; [email protected]

DEMO ACCOUNT

Fort Trades does not offer any demo account. We consider this a mistake, as it is very important for the novice trader to be able to practice with the platform to learn how to handle it and gain experience with the trading of the different assets.

COUNTRIES ACCEPTED

Apparently, Fort Trades accepts citizens of any country to open an account with them. We have not found any exceptions in the legal documents.

CONCLUSION

If you’re not accustomed to trading with Forex, it’s important to say that business with offshore brokers can be dangerous. Note the document “Customer Agreement”, as in point 1.2 it says: The Company has the right to file the Customer’s business account with a balance of less than 1 (one) USD $10,000 (ten thousand dollars) if the Customer has no activity in this account during the last three months. We consider this to be a very abusive and ill-considered clause.

The initial investment required seems excessive. The most basic account types that Fort Trades offers require an initial deposit of $5,000 USD. Most brokers, including reliable and regulated brokers, often require a minimum deposit of $100 USD or less to start trading. Without any guarantees in place, $5,000 simply seems too high.

This broker is in fact regulated, so that is certainly a plus. As always, the choice is up to you, but in the case of Fort Trades, we highly recommend that you do your homework and read through any legit online reviews that you can find before signing up.