Tag: Forex Broker

This is a Chinese capital brand that is established in London in 2013. Not much is know about this broker except that the company behind the brand is obscured. There are no regulation about and no physical address in Londo for the company IMS FX. The website does not hold all the certificates so the connection will be classified as “not secure”. The broker received some rewards and is present in exhibitions in China. Furthermore, the IMS FX name is absent on many benchmark sites meaning the broker is not popular at all.

This aside, we can see a well-designed website with a good structure and solid information on trading conditions. There is a lot of “empty” content without any backup with proven data or facts. Most of it is commonly used phrases among brokers that do not have a lot to show. Awards are listed but are not from any reputable organization. Under the “Regulation and License” there is no mention of any authority just funds segregation and safety. MetaTrader 4 license is preserved meaning is was obtained before MetaQuotes decision to discontinue new MT4 licenses in 2018. This IMS FX review will bring you closer to what this broker has to offer and if the quality of service matches your requirements.

Account Types

IMS FX offers 3 account types that are scaled by the minimum deposit requirement. The most affordable Standard Account has a reduced asset range and the least favorable spreads. It is described as a comprehensive trading experience for an experienced trader. There are no “special services” for this account but we have noticed the highest allowed leverage. Interestingly, the broker states over 100 currency pairs available and precious metals. We will check this statement in the Assets section. There is a comparison table for the account types although some information could be added for better transparency.

Premium Account is next in a tier requiring a very steep deposit requirement. Traders will enjoy better spreads, more tradeable assets and “Professional account manager service 24/7”. Finally, the GTS Account requires an even bigger minimum deposit and features the lowest spreads among the accounts. It is described as the loyalty account and as thanks to supporters of IMS FX. Profits made will be partly shared for charity in China. Additional instruments are available such as CFD stocks for this Account.

There is a downloadable Excel table for more details about the accounts that will show the margin calls, leverage, trade sizes, minimum deposit requirements and more. USD, GBP, and EUR can be set as an account currency. EAs and other trading tools and strategies are not prohibited.

Platforms

IMS FX is MetaTrader 4 platform broker only. MT4 is available for Windows, Mac and smart devices running on Android or iOS. Web MT4 is also supported without the need to download or install any packages. The installer will show the IMS FX Ltd company and will download the files form the MetaQuotes server. We had two servers available, IMSFX Demo and Live. The Demo server is slower than the Live with 212ms and 40ms respectively. Everything is by default settings, the classic 4 charts are set to major forex currency pairs on the H1 timeframe with default indicators on them.

One-click trading buttons are visible and the about window shows IMS FX Ltd company and the latest version of MT4 client. There are no additional indicators available in the package and no other templates than default ones. Symbols list is organized neatly for each asset category and dividing the forex family into majors, minors, and exotics. Upon further inspection, we have found only GBP/CHF under the Exotics group which is not logical. Under the Gold group are also other precious metals meaning the broker did not pay attention to categorization.

The instrument specifications show enough trading information. The Terminal window is showing the swaps correctly and 0 commissions since IMS FX is not charging them. We went on with the order execution and found that some assets in the exotics range are having liquidity problems, off quotes warning was constant. The execution time where liquidity allowed is 279ms on average, with great consistency, rarely going above 286ms. EAs and other trading methods are not restricted but know that the total amount of open trades are limited to 100.

Leverage

The Leverage is adjusted to balance and certain assets. IMS FX excel table states leverage up to 1:500 for the Standard Account and Precious metals at 1:100 fixed. We have confirmed this in the MT4 platform, even the exotic currency pairs have 1:500 and the spot Gold and the rest of precious metals are at 1:100. For Indexes, it is not stated but our reading shows the leverage is 1:20. This leverage is also correct in the instrument specification window in MT4.

Premium Account leverage is reduced to 1:200 fo Forex, 1:50 for Precious metals and 1:20 for Indexes. The best GTS Account has further reduced leverage to 1:100, Precious metals also 1:100 and 1:20 for other CFD assets.

Trade Sizes

Trade sizes are in micro-lots for the Standard Account even though the specification table mentions 0.1 lot minimum trade size. All Forex assets have 0.01 minimum, 0.01 lots step size and 100 lots maximum trade size. Notably, the Stops Level size is not marginal, especially for selected currency pairs. For EUR/USD and other majors, it is set to 5 pips. For some reason, EUR/AUD has a lower Stops level – 2 pips. GBP/CHF, for example, has 8 pips, but AUD/NZD has a very unfavorable 20 pips Stop level. Exotics can have 80 pips like for the GBP/DKK up to 800.

Precious metals do not have extreme values like this and are set to 5 pips. Indexes are set to 2 pips Stops level. For those not familiar with the Stop Level, it is a spread zone around the bid/ask price that denies placement of pending orders like Stop Loss and Take Profit. Trade sizes for Premium and GTS Accounts are increased to 0.1 lots minimum trade size. As for the Margin call and Stop out levels they are set to 100% and 40% for all accounts.

Trading Costs

IMS FX does not charge any commissions, swaps and spreads are the only trading costs. Swaps are calculated in points and tripled on Wednesdays. They are under normal levels for the industry and with frequent positive figures on one trading side. Such is for the most traded currency pair, EUR/USD at -5.07 points on the long side and a positive 0.8 points on the short. GBP/USD swap is even more neutral with -0.52 on the long and 0 on the short. USD/JPY has 0.62 points on the long and -4.43 for short. In the range of the minor pairs, the AUD/NZD swap is very friendly with -3.81 for long and 0.29 for short, EUR/CAD -4.09 points on long and 1.86 points for short.

Moving to the exotics range, a notable swap is with the USD/RUB, just -6.49 points for long and a positive 2.94 on the short, this is one of the lowest swaps in the industry. USD/ZAR has -15.56 points on the long and 6.51 points for shorting this pair. We have expected the biggest swap to be with the USD/MXN with just-23.2 on the long side and 8.58 on the short, but it was for the GBP/SEK with -43.03 points on the long and a positive 22.89 on the short. For spot Gold the swap is again very low with -2.15 on the long and -0.81 on short, both sides have negative swaps but are still attractive for longer-term strategies. Palladium also has a very low swap, -2.15 on the long and -0.81 for short, a marginal amount considering how much this metal price moves. No other trading costs exist.

Assets

IMS FX does not have extensive instruments range overall but one particular category is one of the best offers in the industry. The Forex category is promoted as having over 100 currency pairs. In the MT4 platform, we have counted a total of 66. Now even this number is higher than what we see normally. All majors, minors, and crosses are listed, while the exotics range is showing some hard to find currency pairs. These are, for example, ZAR/JPY, SEK/JPY, and CHF/SGD. Other more common exotics include EUR, GBP, USD/TRY, EUR, USD/ZAR, EUR, USD/CNH, USD/HKD, USD, EUR/HUF, USD/RUB, EUR, USD/PLN, many Scandinavian currencies combinations with the GBP, EUR, and USD, and more. This range has some assets that are not liquid enough for trading, giving off-quotes warning but it is still great for any Forex enthusiast.

The precious metals trading range is extended. It does not only comprises all of the 4 main trading metals such as Gold, Silver, Palladium, and Platinum but IMS FX also has some quoted in EUR. You can find XAU/USD, EUR and Silver XAG/USD, EUR. XPT and XPD are against the USD only. Like with the forex range, precious metals go a step more than just having all four metals. Unfortunately, Palladium and Platinum are showing the off-quotes warning. Indexes range is also very good but it is limited to Platinum and GTS Account. A total of 13 Indexes are listed, less common ones are AUS 200, Swiss 20, Spain 30, Hong Kong 50, and Russ 200. Commodities range is limited to energies only, and it closes up the instruments range IMS FX offers. Traders will find both Oil types listed, Brent and WTI with the addition of Natural Gas. Liquidity problems are present with these assets too.

Spreads

All spreads with IMS FX are a floating type and scaled with the accounts offer. The most affordable Standard Account is advertised as having 1.7 pips average spread for the EUR/USD. Our reading from the MT4 showed 14 points. GBP/USD has 2.8 pips according to the spread table and MT4 has 23 points, while USD/JPY is 1.9 pips and 16 points from MT4. We can confirm that the broker downloadable spreads table comparison for all assets is not exaggerating any spreads and holds. The wides spread among the non-exotics is for the GBP/NZD pair with 4 pips per table and from our reading, it was 34 points in the MT4.

In the exotics range the spread is very tight. USD/MXN has an amazing 34 points spread, USD/TRY with 255 points, USD/HUF 16 points but off-quotes warning (much lower than the table 164.1 pips), EUR/CZK also with 16 points but off-quotes, and the widest spread is for the USD/RUB with 33500 points (this currency pair is not present in IMS FX table). Spot Gold spread is very competitive with 3.9 pips in the table and 36 points in MT4 while Palladium and Platinum are off quotes and do not represent real value spreads.
By looking at the spread, we can say that the Premium Account features 10 to 30% tighter spreads and the GTS Account 30 to 50% then the Standard Account.

Minimum Deposit

The minimum deposit is set in such a way that the Standard Account would be the only choice for the majority of traders, at least for the beginning. Standard Account requires $200 or currency equivalent minimum deposit. Premium Account sets this barrier to $10,000 and the GTS requires no less than $20,000.

Deposit Methods & Costs

IMS FX offers only two deposit channels, Bank Cards and Bank Transfer. The broker will not charge any fees for deposits but clients should be aware of the fees charged by third parties. Credit/Debit Card processing time is completed in one hour during the broker working time. For Bank transfers, once the transaction is completed and received into the broker’s bank, a trader should see the funds in the trading account within one hour.
Outside business hours, it is possible that funds are not reflected until the next working day.

Withdrawal Methods & Costs

There are no fees charged by IMS FX. Withdrawal methods are the same as with deposits, Credit/Debit Cards, and Bank Transfers.

Withdrawal Processing & Wait Time

Processing is done during the broker working time, from 9 am to 6 pm. Bank Transfers will require 3 to 5 working days to complete. Credit/Debit Card reflection time takes longer, 5 to 7 days.

Bonuses & Promotions

The broker does not offer any bonuses or promotions program. Introducing Brokers and White Label programs are present.

Educational & Trading Tools

IMS FX has two sections under the Academy tab on their website. Analysis and Educational center. The analysis section is not updated since May 2019. The content is in the Chinese language. The content is easy to read with basic information on the markets around the world across different categories. It has some visuals with commonly used indicators like the RSI and Moving Averages.

The broker states that they provide multiple education materials including basic courses and educational videos to meet different needs. The Educational Center contains several important elementals about trading organized as quick questions. There are a total of 15 questions, covering some trading terminology and trading basics, for example, “Risk Management”, “What is a pip”, “What is Margin”, “Stop-Loss types” and so on. Material quality is good but not enough for serious engagement.

Customer Service

The broker can be contacted by phone line, email, and chat. We have not been able to find anyone on chat for more than 48 hours, therefore, we assume it is out of service. The phone line is not working and the actual number belongs to another company.

Demo Account

The demo can be opened directly through the MT4 platform. The maximum virtual funds amount is limited to 10,000. If you want to open a demo vie the IMS FX website you will need to receive a code to your phone. This method is usually used to have a real client’s phone and it can be used for sales and can be shared with other parties. This can be avoided with online SMS services if you want to protect your privacy. The demo account will reflect actual trading conditions although the server response rate is faster with Live account.

Countries Accepted

IMS FX does not publish this information. Based on the country selection list, the broker does not look like to filter any country. The phone is required and a verification code will be sent as an SMS. Based on the country list for the phone number, we can say the broker accepts clients from Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan, UK, UAE, New Zealand, Germany, France, Russia, Thailand, Canada, Australia, Nepal, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Malaysia, and mainland China.

Conclusion

This section of the IMS FX review will conclude the overall impression and add some more information not mentioned above. It is evident that the broker is not fully developed and focused mostly on the Chinese market. The Forex range is great but the lack of support and other supportive tools is a major drawback. Even the extensive, empty marketing and good transparency about trading conditions cannot cover the lack of regulation, ambiguity, location, safety, or liquidity.

Some of the off-quote assets are the reason alone for serious traders to forget about this broker if they pass the webpage presentation. The website tries to use features as an advantage where it is considered a standard in the industry. For example, a “POSITIVE BALANCE” GUARANTEE” is just negative balance protection or under “Funds Safety” the negative balance protection is promoted again just using other words. Upon further inspection of the physical address in London, we have found another Chinese company not related to the brokerage industry.

IMS FX is on the road to offer good trading conditions but as of right now the main issues are the support, image/popularity, regulation, better company transparency, and better overall presentation.

Fast FX is a broker with no regulation and not registered on any address. There are no records about the company names mentioned in the Terms and Conditions such as “Fast FX Trading Ltd Intershore Chambers, Road Town, Tortola, BVI” or FASTFX LTD. Some information points to 2003 when the broker was active, but this information is not confirmed. Right from the start, you will be welcomed by a well-designed website with nice design and good quality content for promoting Forex to beginners, but experienced traders will recognize hollow phrases without any backup.

Fast FX promotes itself as an innovator, globally present, owner of several proprietary platforms, hedge fund managers, and other superlatives that do not have any references. Transparency is also an issue, limited information can be obtained from the website about the trading conditions too. On the scene, Fast FX brand has a bad reputation, but also marginal attention from user benchmark sites. The website gives an impression of dedicated and professional service, but this fades away very quickly once you contact their support. If we set these issues aside, the highlights of this broker are cryptocurrency trading and bonuses. This Fast FX review will preview the issues in greater detail, what services they promote and if all if they are worth your time and investment.

Account Types

Brokers like Fast FX are known to frequently change their account packages and conditions. Currently, 4 account types differentiate by the minimum deposit and spreads. All other presented differences are the same. All accounts feature unlimited leverage and no commissions. Starting with the Mini Account, the minimum deposit is affordable to most but ahs the least favorable spreads compared to other accounts. Classic Account steps up the minimum requirement to a more serious level and offers negligible better spreads than the Mini Account.

Standard and Pro Accounts both have minimum deposit requirements that are probably not what most are willing to risk with this broker category. More details are seen in the Platform section where it is stated that the execution model is NDD, no restrictions on Expert Advisors (MT5/4 automated trading algorithms), hedging or scalping trading strategies. There is no other information about the accounts apart that they are available in USD or EUR.

Note that there are different account specifications in the Members Area once you register. Spreads and leverage values promoted for all 4 account types are different. More details on this issue in sections below.

Platforms

Fast FX is offering only MetaTrader 5 platform. There is no mention of any other platforms mentioned in the Terms and Conditions legal document. Links for the MT5 platform download are available but the web-accessible MT5 version is not implemented, so visitors will have to download and install the platform to see the conditions. Operation systems supported are Windows, Mac, and for smart devices running on iOS and Android. Some of the MT5 platform features are copied from MetaQuotes as the feature of having “more than 1000 servers of various forex brokers available” is not something to be presented by a broker.

Upon the standard installation, the MT5 client gives us only one server with a great ping rate of just 26ms. After some delay, all four default charts receive data from the server and show the default timeframes and indicators on the major Forex currency pairs. There are no additional templates or indicators inserted. One-click trading buttons are visible on all charts. The About window shows us the latest version of the client and registration to Fast FX Trading Technologies Limited located at Intershore Chambers, Road Town, Tortola, BVI. Symbols are very well organized into respective groups that are correctly named.

All assets are correctly put and it is noticeable that most non-forex instruments are CFD futures. Some of them may have confusing symbols but a description is provided. The Specification window is not showing any information related to swaps, and this may be of concern. All else is presented, and as Fast FX does not have commissions, they are absent from the specification. The execution time is also extremely good with just 28ms execution with no deviations bigger than 1 ms. On some occasions around the day session ending, liquidity problems may arise and off quotes warning may pop up. These conditions are only possible close to or unloaded servers. The Company tab in the Toolbox module is referring to the MQL5 website, not Fast FX.

Leverage

The broker promotes unlimited leverage for all account types on the website, although what we see in the Members Area are different values. For the Mini and Classic Account the maximum leverage offered is 1:500 while for the Standard is 1:300. The Pro Account has leverage set to only 1:10. What we have experienced in the MT5 platform is the maximum leverage 1:200 where it should be 1:500 as selected. More surprising is the spot Gold against the USD with no leverage and the specification does not show this.

Trade Sizes

The minimum trading size volume for all Forex assets is in micro-lots or 0.01 lot. Additional steps are also 0.01 lots while the maximum trade size volume is 20 lots. Spot Precious Metals have the same sizing setup while other assets, specifically CFD futures on commodities, indexes, metals, and currencies have different sizing. Gold and Silver futures CFDs have 0.1 lot minimum trade volume size and 20 lots maximum. Oil futures have 0.1 lot minimum and 10 lots and Indexes have 0.1 lot minimum and 10 lots maximum trade size volume. Currency futures have the same setup as Stocks.

As for the Stops level for Forex instruments, it is set to 30 points, the same is for Gold and Silver. For CFD futures Stops level vary, from 0 to extreme levels. Those under extreme are Crude Oil futures with 250 points and all NASDAQ Index instruments with 300 points. There is no information about the Margin Call or Stop Out levels. Also, note that the futures CFDs may have different contract sizes than usual.

Trading Costs

Fast FX does not charge commissions, and every account presentation source does not include them. Swaps are not disclosed on the website or the MT5 platform. The rollover fee is mentioned in the Terms and Conditions document and it is charged in a very unusual way. To quote, “If there are not sufficient funds in your free balance, we may deduct such Fee directly from your credit card (the minimum charge being 3.00 USD, but this may vary). If you are using another method of payment, and we are unable to collect the Rolling Fee, we may close a part, or all, your open positions.”

Fast FX “renewal fee” or “Rollover” is actually a Swap as described in their document. We have never encountered this way of charging for a swap. The inactivity fee is also stated in the T&A document. If no trading is done within 6 months a $250 will be deducted from the account. This time credit card charge is not mentioned.

Assets

In the MT5 platform, we have encountered Forex, Precious Metals on spot and as futures, Index futures, currency futures, and Oil futures CFD. Forex range is average with 32 total currency pairs. In this class, Dollar Index is also included although it is indicative only and closed for trading. All majors and crosses are listed. Exotics are limited to a few pairs, they are USD/TRY, USD/CNH, and USD/ZAR. In addition to these, there are also futures on the Euro, GBP, NZD and so on.

Precious metals are limited to spot Gol and Silver quoted in USD but also two futures for these metals. Index range is all future CFDs with just 5 different Indexes not counting the mini versions. All of the Indexes are major ones. As for the commodities, there is only Crude Oil futures CFD. Brent is not listed according to the MT5.

Spreads

Fast FX has inconsistent statements on the website and in the Members Area about the spreads. They are a floating type for certain. We will use all sources and present what is actually in the MT5 platform. Micro Account has spread from 2.5 pips, Mini from 2.2 pips, Standard from 1.5 pips and Pro from 1 pip. When opening a real account you will be given the same account types but with different conditions. For the Micro Account, the spread is from 3.5 pips, Mini from 2.1 pips, Standard from 1.8 and Pro Account from 0.8 pips.

Now, what we encounter in the MT5 is 3.3 pips for the EUR/USD, 5 pips for the GBP/USD, 3.6 pips for USD/JPY and 5.4 pips for USD/CHF. Other non-exotic pairs are around 5 to 6 pips, GBP/AUD having the widest at 10.3 pips. Exotics spread is 1051 points for the USD/TRY, 80 points for the USD/CNH and the widest spread is for the USD/ZAR with 1104 points. For the spot Gold against the USD the spread is 62 pips and for Silver 55.

Minimum Deposit

The minimum deposit for the most affordable Micro Account is $100. For the Classic the minimum jumps to $1000. Standard Account minimum deposit is $5000 while for the Pro is $10,000.

Deposit Methods & Costs

In the Members area, there are no Bank cards or wire transfer options. This means Fast FX does not have a payment processor or a bank account. Among other options presented are Bitcoin, Netteler, Skrill, WebMoney, Perfect Money and Pallapay. None of these methods work. As for the costs, Fast FX states that any costs that arise form deposit transfers will be compensated by the broker.

Withdrawal Methods & Costs

Fast FX members area has an integrated E-wallet. The purpose of this e-wallet is probably as an intermediary for transfer between accounts. Other methods presented are Skrill, Neteller, and Bitcoin. Interestingly, on the website, only Visa and MasterCards are presented as available options. There are no commissions for withdrawals.

Withdrawal Processing & Wait Time

The withdrawal processing time is 24 hours for all methods on the website, which is for the VISA and MasterCard, but no information is disclosed for other methods.

Bonuses & Promotions

Fast FX offers two bonuses called Welcome Bonus and Deposit Bonus.
The Welcome bonus is a $50 non-withdrawable bonus on top of a deposit for new clients. Therefore, this type of bonus acts as a margin extension used for trading only. The Deposit bonus is the same type of non-withdrawable bonus but it is 10% of the deposit amount and up to $5000. These types of bonuses have more value for the broker’s sales team pitch used on beginners than in practice. Actually, some dishonest brokers use the bonus terms to lockout funds from withdrawal until a considerable amount of trading volume is met.

Educational & Trading Tools

Fast FX has two menus with educational related content, Forex News and Forex Education. Even so, these resources do provide free market analysis. Both of these are links to the forexlive.com media website and none is by Fast FX. Economic Calendar exists only as an empty page.

Customer Service

The broker has published some phone lines that are VOIP and not receiving calls. Other channels presented are website chat app, Skype, WhatsApp, Facebook, and Twitter. WhatsApp and Skype are dead links while Twitter account does not have any content. Facebook’s last post is from October 2019 and does not respond to our messages. The chat app on the Fast FX website is on the side and always popping with a script message that they are online and ready to help. The staff did not take long to answer us but we have not received any kind of answers to our questions.

Instead, we were asked for a phone number, email, and name. They were reluctant to give their number for a call nor did they want to answer any questions about trading and regulation. This practice is typical for gray area brokers that exploit this information for sales, manipulation and sharing your information as a lead for other parties. These databases are then sold to other grey area brokers that try to get to your funds. Often, the sales managers presenting themselves as Account Managers or similar will ask for your credit card data.

Demo Account

The demo account link does not work on the registration step. But once registered you can make one form the Members Area. The demo will have $10,000 virtual funds and a leverage setting. The demo can be opened directly from the MT5 platform too, with up to 100,000 virtual funds. We cannot confirm that it reflects actual trading conditions as much information is missing.

Countries Accepted

According to the info published on the Fast FX website, the broker does not offer services in the United States of America, Canada, Japan, Cuba, Israel, The Islamic Republic of Iran, North Korea, Yemen, Palestine, Sudan, and Syria.

Conclusion

To conclude this Fast FX review we will provide some additional information. There are so many issues with this broker only completely unfamiliar visitors can be lured into extremely risky business with Fast FX. The website looks good enough to leave a positive impression on the unaware and these are Fast FX’s target clients. Under the surface of the website template, there is a plethora of plain evidence of a gray area broker.

Staring with the fake proprietary platform claims, fake promotional and inconsistent trading information, total company info obscurity, very strange and unprofessionally written legal documents, withdrawal and deposit problems, no bank account, unprofessional and aggressive staff and many more. Not much more is needed to say about Fast FX except to turn away, fast, and find much better, legit and regulated brokers on the scene.

Larson & Holz is established in 2004 from a group of traders and is regarded as a veteran in the industry using a fast expansion franchise model to cover a wide market presence. Looking at the company history that is transparently published and organized by years, one can notice the aggressive effort to have partnership networks, a large number of clients, social network presence and multiple forms of promotion through awards, bonuses, affiliates and so on.

Still, it is interesting how the broker that is this old and expanded does not receive attention from user benchmark sites, as no rating is given by users. On the other hand, It is also interesting that the broker is offering multiple trading, Binary Options since 2016 and retail CFDs. Whatsmore, Larson&Holz uses two types of business models, Non-Dealing Desk and Dealing desk, and both can be selected on the website.

In 2019 the broker has introduced the MetaTrader 5 platform and it is taking over the older MT4, after the 1st of February, 2020, the MT4 will cease to be operational. No new clients can register for the popular MT4 platform. Even though the MT5 is more advanced, most of the traders think that the benefits it offers cannot compensate for the vast availability of EAs and indicators coded for the MT4. Larson&Holz will not be able to renew its MT4 platform license.

The website design is not very good for orientation, mostly because there are too many selections and menu options that are completely overhauled when you switch from the DD to the NDD. It would seem like you have a new broker, features and conditions. There is also another domain, lh-crypto.com where cryptocurrency trading is offered. As for the regulation, Larson&Holz does not directly promote it, using the network of representatives that act according to the franchises license, the regulation applied is from the client’s country of registration. By looking at the trader list for the contest, one can see that the majority of registrations come from the former Soviet Union block.

The Larson & Holz review that follows will give you a better overview of what this FX broker provides and help you to understand if it will be able to meet your needs.

Account Types

Larson&Holz has 3 service sections, for CFD trading using the DD and NDD model and for Binary Options trading. Each has different trading conditions and requirements. We will focus only on CFD trading accounts on both models.

Classic Dealing Desk account offered on lh-broker.com (the address will change if you switch to NDD) is described as having a guaranteed execution of the pending orders and also controlled spreads during the high volatility periods. The broker even states that the maximum is capped to 5 to 7pips. Interestingly the disadvantages are also stated, Classic account has slower execution and wider spreads than the NDD account. It is suitable for beginners and traders doing a few trades per day. Classic accounts are diversified into 3 service classes, Start, Standard, and Pro. The commissions, leverage, swap, bonus availability, assets range, and interest rates are scaled to the account funds amount.

Starting from $1000, traders will have some bonus options, interest rate, and only Forex assets while from $10,000 they will have Forex and Equities range, better interest rates, commissions, more bonuses, and lower leverage. Furthermore, the commission is reduced also by increasing the trading volume. This structure could be overcomplicated when trying to select an account, especially for beginners.

Start class has the lowest minimum deposit requirement, promoted with no requotes feature and competitive spreads for major currency pairs. The account class is also described as “for strategies testing”. By looking at the specifications table, traders will see that Start class accounts will have the least favorable spreads and commissions, but trade sizes are in micro-lots.

Standard class is described as a “service for aggressive trading”, but it is not stated why as the conditions are not better execution or spread-wise. The account will offer Stocks, Commodities and Forex instruments interest of up to 5% per annum and require a higher minimum deposit.

Pro class, formerly called Safe, is described as “for conservative trading”. This class requires the highest deposit and interest rate of up to 10% per annum. Some of the details in the account specification tables are not logical and it could be that it is not updated. Based on this, traders will have to confirm the information from the website with Larson&Holz.

The Contest account present on the menu is not a separate classification. It is just has a promotional function since traders that have real accounts with more than $100 balance are automatically included in the monthly contest. The Non-deposit accounts participate in the contest after funding the real account. The total prize pool is usually more than $10,000 and it is distributed according to the profit gain. More on this contest in the Bonuses and Promotions section.

The mentioned Non-Deposit account is not available at the moment of writing this Larson&Holz review. According to the past data, it is designed as a time-limited, non-withdrawable bonus that is enabling traders to generate profits and withdraw them. Additionally, the bonus could be reset 3 times.

NDD/ECN accounts have a specially dedicated site ecn.lh-broker.com. Traders will have similar 3 accounts like with the Classic DD service, Safe, Standard, and No Deposit Account which is suspended currently. The description is the same as with the classic accounts, Standard is for aggressive trading, Safe for long term traders and Start features micro-lot trading. Notable is the difference about the swap, Safe accounts do not have swap rates at all. There are a lot of 404 pages about certain trading conditions and the NDD website feels unfinished.

Note that based on the table overlook, the account classifications are just for presentation purposes and the actual conditions on any account depend on the account balance size/deposit amount, and trading volume. What makes Larson&Holz offer unique is the monthly interest rate on free margin credited with compound, if a trader makes 1 lot trading volume. Interest rate amount will depend on the balance size and, for example, accounts with balance above $100,000 have 10% per annum, above $50,000 – 5%, above $25,000 is 4% and so on until the minimum of $1000 which allows 1% interest rate.

Platforms

Since 2020 Larson&Holz does not offer any other platform except the MetaTrader 5 for CFD trading. MetaTrader 5 platform seems still offline for new registrations and we could not test it. Also, some MT5 platform pages show 404 error signaling the broker is still making changes.

Leverage

The maximum leverage may depend on the registration country but the maximum stated is 1:500. Larson&Holz use the so-called dynamic leverage adjustment so once a trader’s balance exceeds $1000 the leverage is reduced to 1:200. Above $10,000 the leverage is 1:100 and from $100,000 it is capped to 1:50. EU regulated clients do not have leverage higher than 1:30.

Note that there is conflicting information in the specifications page where maximum leverage is set to 1:100 for Forex, 1:10 for CFD stocks, and 1:50 for Commodities. Traders will have to check with the broker about specifics as currently there are too many inconsistencies.

Trade Sizes

Trade sizes are set to differ between Start, Standard and Pro service class. Start accounts are the only that have micro-lots trade sizes or 0.01 lots. Standard minimum trade size is increased to 0.1 lots and Pro is set to no less than 1 lot according to the published table. There is also a defined Freeze level, meaning any modification, deletion, or closing the orders is denied until the price moves away by a certain amount of pips from the order opening price. A Margin Call is set to 20%.

Trading Costs

Larson&Holz charges a commission that is affected by trading volume, balance size and also on other factors like affiliates, promo codes, etc. The NDD/ECN accounts commissions are from $6 to $12 per standard lot traded. To reach the $6 commission a trader will need to execute more than 10,000 lots per month. As for the swaps they are tripled on Thursdays and it is fixed to 1.0 pips for all instruments and all accounts.

Commissions for the Classic DD accounts the commission is based on the class selection. Start class commission is 0.0089% up to 0.0178% for exotics and some other Forex currency pairs. For stocks CFDs is it 0.05% and 0.035% for Commodities. Standard is stated to have 0.008% to 0.016% for Forex assets, and 0.0315% on Commodities. Pro has the lowest commissions, 0.0062% to 0.0125% for Forex, 0.035% on stocks CFDs and 0.0245% commission on Commodities.

The broker may charge from 25$ to 100$ penalty for every month of non-activity on your account of at least 3 lots for 6 months in a row. If your balance is above $2500 no fee will be charged.

Assets

According to the Larson&Holz published table and accounts, all tradeable instruments are only available for accounts above $25,000 while others could be limited to Forex. This unnecessary complexity is further questioning the reliability of this information. There are a total of 24 Forex currency pairs, all majors and minors are present. From the exotics, the most interesting pairs are USD/HKD, USD/RUB, USD/PLN, and USD/MXN.

The stock range is average featuring a total of 75 companies. Most of these are world majors and diversified enough across industries. Precious metals are not just limited to the standard spot Gold and Silver. Aside from these, traders will find Platinum against the USD.

Commodities range is very good and competitive with many other brokers. A total of 10 instruments are listed including both Oil types, Brent and WTI. Natural Gas is also added in the energy class and other commodities are Rice, Coffee, Wheat, Soybeans, and Corn.
Indexes are present but not open for trading. On the list are S&P 500 and Dow Jones.
Note that the Larson&Holz also offer cryptocurrencies and other instruments on their crypto dedicated domain.

Spreads

Spreads are promoted as starting from 0 pips. They can be floating and fixed according to the broker statements. The average daily spread is about 1,6 – 2,1 points for majors Forex currency pairs and 4,0 – 5,0 pips for crosses. On the NDD ECN pages, the spreads are also presented from 0 pips and can be reduced with trading volume. By looking at the specifics, readers will be very confused. It is not certain at what time the spreads are fixed and what is the real spread value.

A helpful table can be opened from the homepage of the Larson&Holz website. The table will show the average spread for each asset during the last 24h and also how many seconds the spread was zero. The EUR/USD spread is from 1.13 pips to 2.14, USD/JPY from 1.4 to 2.5 pips, AUD/USD from 1.49 to 2.44, USD/CHF from 1.45 to 5.56, and GBP/USD from 1.80 to 4.30 pips on average. Spot Gold against the USD spread starts from 27.6 pips to 35.0 and for Silver, it is 7.5 to 11.2 pips.

Minimum Deposit

Similarly like with the other information, the minimum deposit is stated at $25 for the Start service but on other pages, it is $250. Traders will have to ask for the latest update on the deposit policy to be certain. On the NDD ECN website, the minimum stated NDD account balance required for trading is $300.

Deposit Methods & Costs

The broker notifies that any commission charged for the deposits will be compensated so traders will have no costs for deposits. Deposits can be made via local Bank Transfers with the commission of $30, VISA, MasterCard, Vload eVoucher, WeChat Pay, Alipay, Easy Pay, PerfectMoney, and Skrill.

Withdrawal Methods & Costs

The minimum amount for a withdrawal is $100. Funds are transferred to the same source from funds that were deposited. A minimum trading volume of 3 lots is required for withdrawal without any penalty fees. The methods available are the same as with the deposits but with commissions. For local Bank Transfers, it is $30, 2.75% for Credit Cards and Skrill, 6% for Vload eVoucher, WeChat Pay, Alipay, and Easy Pay, while PerfecMoney has a commission of 1% and $300 maximum withdrawal amount. In case you want to close your account without executing 3 lots of volume, Larson&Holz may charge from 25 to 100 USD penalty.

Withdrawal Processing & Wait Time

The withdrawals are processed in 24 hours except for the local Bank Transfers that require 2 to 3 working days. Withdrawals are made within the client’s area.

Bonuses & Promotions

Contests are one of the highlights of Larson&Holz promotion. They are held every month and traders are automatically engaged once their balance is $100. The broker also mentioned that communication between contest participants is available through the client’s area, but we were unable to find anything related. Referral bonuses are possible. Any broker represented on the website will receive a special bonus. The link to the page that should have more details about this program is dead.

“DepoJet” bonus is a 10% bonus on deposit. On holidays, the bonus is doubled to 20%, but any specifics on which holidays are not given. The bonus is withdrawable after a certain amount of trading volume is reached. The trader will need to be on the Standard service package and have a deposit of at least $5000. Bigger deposits will require an increasing number of the executed trading volume. The non-deposit account is not always available and certain limitations may apply. In our case, it was not available. This kind of bonus was one of the trademarks of Larson & Holz.

Educational & Trading Tools

Trading Center is one of the side buttons always visible on the Larson&Holz website. Trading Center is an educational program service that is provided to traders of various levels and experience. Traders will have to register for this service and there is also a paid training. The fees start from $1300 for consulting to $9500 for the Daily analytical support for 12 months.

The homepage features numerous videos but most of them are more about the broker and its services. Company news is updated with the latest changes within the broker about trading and other important info. News related to trading though is not updated since 2016. There are other pages not directly linked to the Trading Center but contain educational material all over. Recommended literature is an interesting page where the broker lists some books on Fundamental and Technical analysis.

Computer Analysis page is about some of the popular indicators used for technical analysis. Each indicator is described and how it is used. Although the quality is very good and deep, no visuals are included. Fundamental Analysis page describes some of the main events that shake the market. Some of the categories include “Dynamics of prices of oil and energy sources”, “Producer price index (PPI)”, “FOMC and Meeting”, or “Non-farm payroll”. Market Execution page is about Larson&Holz models of execution. Although it could be educational, most of the material is promotional.

Customer Service

Larson & Holz has a phone line, mail and live chat for contact. During our testing, the chat service stayed offline and we were unable to reach anyone from the company. The response rate is longer than 24h for the email.

Demo Account

Demo Account opening is done via the email registration. Direct opening from the MT5 platform is not possible. According to the latest changes, the balance is now 10,000 and the minimum trading size is 1 lot. There is no information on any limitations.

Countries Accepted

Even though the broker is widely spread out these are the countries that are out of service: Afghanistan, Burma, Central African Republic, Cuba, Democratic Republic of Congo, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Eritrea, France, Guyana, Iran, Iraq, Ivory Coast, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Lebanon, Libya, Myanmar, Republic of Guinea-Bissau, Somalia, South Sudan, Spain, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, Uganda, USA, Yemen, Vanuatu, and Zimbabwe.

Conclusion

This section of the Larson&Holz review will sum up the impressions and give our general opinion. At the current state, this franchise broker is not credible, transparent and precise enough to attract serious investors. The structure of the website is overcomplicated and the content is inconsistent. We were unable to get a definitive answer to trading conditions, the platform and see what are the real costs of trading.

The transition to MetaTrader 5 feels incomplete like the broker is coping with too many changes it can handle thus providing different info on the same issue. Whatsmore, lack of strong regulation is not the primary concern, but the main attraction was the non-deposit account or bonus that enabled traders to have profits without the initial deposit is not available at the moment. Traders do not appreciate this broker for its assets range, platforms or the interest rate paid on free margin, but the contests and the non-deposit bonus.

Larson & Holz acts as a franchise marketing company in the first place and as a broker the second. Once their specialty accounts are open again, it will attract less serious investors seeking quick and risk-free gains. The crypto domain at lh-crypto.com represents a better brand by this broker group as there are many deposit options, including crypto and other benefits attractive to new-age traders.

This is an ECN type broker doing business since 2005 under the “by traders for traders” motto. FXOpen is transparent with its history, stating major advances for each year, the readers will have a better picture of what they do, how, and what are their concerns. Their business domains cover the Australian branch from FXOpen.com.au and FXOpen.co.uk for the UK, while fxopen.com is from Saint Kitts and Nevis, Carribean country without any regulation.

The UK and Australian domains have FCA and ASIC licenses respectively. To cover the lack of regulation for the Nevis domain, the broker turned to “The Financial Commission” group, a neutral 3rd party committee organization that features a list of brokers’ reputation and also a Compensation Fund. The Compensation Fund acts as an insurance policy for members’ clients. FXOpen pays to be a member of this organization but we are not sure if it could be a substitute for the ASIC or FCA.

There are also other differences, one notable is that FXOpen does not offer negative balance protection, unlike their FCA regulated branch. The website is simplistic full of information related to trading. The homepage will showcase FXOpen business model visual, Quotes Table with the live spreads information, and a real-time spreads comparison table with other brokers – a featured feed from myfxbook.com. This is a good sign of transparency and good marketing mix as other legitimate party information is used for promotion.

The broker’s main selling points are low spreads, diversified account types, low minimum deposit, their PAMM, and crypto trading. Ratings the broker has received on the benchmark sites are mixed. However, it is notable that FXOpen responds to negative opinions with good arguments and openness for resolution. This FXOpen review will provide insight into how good their services are by sections.

Account Types

FXOpen offers 4 account types that are not diversified by minimum deposits requirements and scaling benefits but towards the trading style and financial capabilities.
ECN Account is FXOpen’s main account that features aggregating liquidity technology, therefore it should provide tight spreads, great execution time and liquidity. Each participant acts as a liquidity provider and Level 2 Market depth is available.

ECN Account is an NDD type without any limitations to the trading style. Account currencies available are USD, AUD, CHF, EUR, GBP, JPY, RUB, SGD, milliBTC (0.001 BTC), and GLD. GLD is a unique Gold unit are represents 0.001 troy ounces of Gold that can be used for account currency. Having Gold as a base gives traders the ability to have a haven from market crashes, special hedging, and hold an asset that has undisputable intrinsic value. Note that the account will not have actual Gold backed up, just a representation of Gold. The account specification table is very detailed, more than what we usually see with other brokers.

ECN account has a commission charged, although it is one of the lower amounts in the industry. Furthermore, the amount may vary depending on the volume and also if you open an account through an affiliate. FXOpen recommends this account type for scalper trading strategies and experienced traders. There are more than 70 tradeable instruments according to the FXOpen website.

STP Account is a no commission variant of ECN Account with a lower initial deposit requirement. The commission is integrated into the spread. Account currency can be in USD, EUR, GBP, JPY, RUB, CHF, and Gold. GLD is used as base currency the same way as the ECN Account. No limitations are set and the trader will have more than 50 tradeable instruments as stated, under the same liquidity conditions as the ECN type. STP Account also has more tolerable Margin Call and Stop Out levels. STP Account does not list crypto assets and some other commodities for trading, only the ECN Account has all assets available.

Micro Account is scaled down to cents instead of regular USD and is designed for low capital traders. The initial deposit amount is minimal, Margin Call and Stop outs are even lower then STP but they share the same trading conditions. There are 28 currency pairs, Gold and Silver available for trading only. Demo account for Micro is not available, it acts almost like a demo with real, low-value capital. Some other restrictions apply to trade styles. News trading and scalping are not allowed and Level 2 market depth is unavailable. No commissions are charged but the leverage will be reduced once the balance exceeds $3000.

Crypto Account is dedicated to cryptocurrencies trading with a leverage of 1:3. The broker uses the same ECN aggregation technology for better liquidity as with other accounts. Conditions are very well presented, almost all the information that we were interested in is stated. Account currency can be in USD, EUR, GBP, RUB, JPY, Bitcoin (mBTC), Litecoin, Ethereum, and Dash. This ability to have cryptocurrency is very convenient for those who do not want to have any intermediaries for their financial transactions. The commissions are charged and are scaled to trading volume.

There is a total of 43 trading instruments with BTC, ETH, BCH, EOS, Ripple, Monero, ETH, LTC, etc. No bonuses are available for this account type. Traders will have no trading style restrictions. Also, you will enjoy 24/7 crypto trading. More info on trading assets and costs for each account type in the following sections.

Islamic account is available but the swaps are just integrated into commission equal to the Swap rate of the particular currency pair.

Platforms

FXOpen launched the MetaTrader 5 platform for the ECN accounts in 2018 and also holds former licenses for the MetaTrader 4 platform. Both are available for computers running on Windows and Mac operating systems as well as for the mobile devices running on Android and iOS. Web access MT4 or is available without any need for installation or download. The MT4 platform has different modifications for the ECN and the STP or Micro accounts. So traders will have two versions to download.

The MT4 platform will show 2 FXOpen servers to select, Live and Demo, both having around 50ms ping. The main four charts will resemble default settings but FXOpen wants to showcase their crypto assets trading for the ECN Account type. So, apart from two major Forex currency pairs on the H4 timeframe, there are also BTC/USD and LTC/USD. One-click trading is only enabled on the EUR/USD chart. Of course, One-click trading can be enabled but not for cryptocurrencies as we have experienced in the MT4. The reason is that to trade crypto, you need to have Crypto type Account. FXOpen has separately offered “One-click trading and Level 2 plugin” developed by Soft-FX. This tool acts as an Expert Advisor that is can be installed like any other program.

A few settings have to be enabled in the MT4 before the tool can be applied to charts. The plugin is well designed with several useful options for trading. Traders can see the spread, Bid and Ask price, Level 2 structure in quantity or lots. Orders type selection, Stop Loss and Take Profit boxes are available with the addition of partial closing, aggregated ordering options, volume-weighted average price mode and more. The tool package comes with the custom complementary indicator that will show the Level 2 histogram orders on-chart. Tools like this add unique value to traders and are rare to see. FXOpen provides a very good installation and Usage Guides for this tool.

The platform client is updated to the latest version and it is registered for the FXOpen Investments Inc. in Panama City, Panama. This address is not the same as the one registered for contact on the FXOpen website. There are no additional templates or custom indicators included in the default installation. The symbols are grouped into several groups, too many in our opinion and many of them contain one asset. Still, traders will understand the classification. There are also groups containing the Ask and Average prices for the many instruments, these are indicative only but opens a different aspect of trading.

The instrument specification window is showing enough trading conditions data. Open positions have swaps and commissions columns that accurately represent trading costs. The execution times range from 240ms to 280ms with an average of 263ms. Deviations are not extreme and under normal conditions are rare.

Metatrader 5 platform is available only for ECN Account type traders. The EU server has a bit slower ping rate of 55ms compared to the MT4. The client is updated to the latest version and is registered to FXOpen Investments Inc. in Panama City. The default startup template is not modified, it is by default settings with 4 major forex currency pairs set on H1 timeframe. This time cryptocurrencies are not presented on charts. Symbols list is similar to the MT4 but better, as there is no unnecessary grouping. Instruments Specification shows all the trading conditions including the commission in percentage terms per lot. The execution times are better than with MT4 and are about 60ms without deviations, one of the fastest execution times in the industry. Market depth Level 2 quotes are available.

Leverage

The leverage will be dependant on the FXOpen domain traders are registered to. EU regulations do not allow leverage above 1:30 unless traders are classified as Professionals. ASIC regulated domain will have leverage up to 1:500 for the Standard ECN Account.

The leverage level also depends on the account type. ECN accounts leverage is up to 1:500 and it is also scaled to balance size. Therefore, traders with a balance up to $25,000 can have 1:500 maximum, from $25,000 up to $100,000 – 1:200 and up to $1,000,000 is 1:100. FXOpen is open for leverage negotiation for sizes above 1 million.

The leverage level is changeable by notifying the broker. For some instruments, the maximum leverage is lowered, such as for exotics and volatile currency pairs. These are all GBP based pairs, EUR/DKK, EUR/GBP, EUR/TRY, USD/TRY and USD/HKD with a maximum leverage of 1:100. Gold and Silver remain at 1:500, which is not common. Oils are at 1:50 and Natural Gas 1:25. Indexes leverage go from 1:50 to 1:100.

The STP Account has 1:500 leverage for all assets except for the GBP related currency pairs that have 1:100. For the Micro account, the leverage is 1:500 maximum. Once the balance of a Micro account exceeds $3000, the leverage will be decreased 100x (for example: from 1:500 down to 1:5). The leverage specifications of this account published on the FXOpen website is not consistent with the main account presentation table, but we have confirmed that the leverage is 1:500 maximum. The Crypto Account has the leverage of 1:33 maximum for all trading assets, which are all and only cryptocurrencies.

Trade Sizes

FXOpen uses micro-lot sizes on all accounts or 0.01 lots (1000 units). The maximum trade size is not limited as stated, what we have noticed in the specifications from the MT4 is 1000 lots. Additional steps are also 0.01 lots allowing traders to be precise when allocating more trades. This is also convenient using the One-click trading and Level 2 plugin with more options for trading orders. Stops level is set to 0 for all forex pairs, meaning no limits where you put your Stop Loss or Take Profit orders. We haven’t noticed any Stops levels for other account types too.

For Indexes, the minimum trading size volume is 0.1 lots, Oil types retain 0.01 lots minimum, and Natural Gas is set to 0.1 lots. For cryptocurrencies, trade sizes vary and are scaled to the coin value. Bitcoin minimum trade size is 0.01 lots with steps in micro-lots too. But, Litecoin’s minimum trade size is 0.1 lots and allowing additional trade steps in micro-lots. The same trade size conditions are for other low values coins like Ethereum. For some, the minimum trade size can go up to 10 lots as these contracts contain only one, low-value crypto.

There are differences regarding the Margin Call and Stop Out across the account types. ECN Account has this set to 100% Margin Call and 50% Stop Out, STP Account is set to 50% and 30% and Micro to 20% and 10% Stop Out. Margin Call for Crypto Account is 30% and 15% Stop Out.

Trading Costs

FXOpen has a somewhat complicated commission fee structure. It is affected by the trading volume and the equity size. Bigger the equity, less the commission but also trading volume can further decrease it. The complete structure is published online. For ECN MT4/MT5 Accounts, the commission can be from $10 per lot traded to 3$ – if a trader reaches more than 250,000,000 units of trading volume without breaching the $1000 equity. For Equities more than $1,000, the commission is further reduced from $5 to $3, and from $25,001 equity, it is $3.6 to $3.

Any equity above $250,000 has $3 commission per lot traded regardless of the trade volume. Index commission is in pips and ranges from 0.16 to 4 pips depending on the Index. Other base currencies are not converted, so a commission of $5 is €5 if the account is in EUR. STP Account does not have commissions as they are integrated into the spreads.

Inactivity fees are charged by FXOpen. A trading account is deemed inactive if there are no open trades, transfers or deposits more than 90 days. Inactive accounts will be charged 10 USD each month. Whatsmore, if you want to start trading again you will have to pay a reactivation fee of $50. The broker recommends if you plan to cease trading to transfer all funds to FXOpen eWallet where they can stay indefinitely.

Swaps are low with frequent positive figures on one side. They are calculated in points for Forex and tripled on Wednesdays. EUR/USD pair has a positive on the short side 3.6 and -9.6 points on the long. USD/JPY has 2.3 on long and -8.2 points on short, GBP/USD -0.8 short and -7.5 long, and AUD/USD with -4.7 points on long and -0.3 points on the short side. Other, more moving currency pairs have increased swaps but not to extremes.

GBP/NZD has -8.4 points on long and -5.1 points short, EUR/TRY -291 on long and 160 short, GBP/SGD -11.8 long and -2.5 short, SGD/JPY 3.67 long and -5.85 short and so on. The biggest swap is for the USD/MXN with -423.7 points on the long side and 156.3 on the short. USD/RUB has a low swap compared to other brokers with -175.5 points for long and 1.3 points on the short side. Gold swap is not unusual with -15.7 points on the long and a positive 0.6 points on the short.

Moving on to the Crypto Account swaps and commissions. Swaps are calculated in percentage terms per annum and tripled on Wednesdays. For all crypto assets, it is -10% on both trade sides. The commission charged is 1% per lot traded and it is applied to all crypto instruments although it is affected by the trading volume.

Assets

FXOpen has separated cryptocurrencies into their Crypto Account, and the STP Account does not hold all assets from the ECN Account. We will present what assets are present in each of the account types. Starting with the Crypto Account the broker states 43 tradeable assets related to cryptocurrencies only. We have counted a total of 32 in the MT4. Note that the number of cryptos is lower as single crypto has multiple quoted variations, thus increasing the total number of instruments.

Bitcoin is available against EUR, USD, CNH, JPY, and RUB. Bitcoin is also used on the quote side for other cryptos, for example, BCH/BTC, LTC/BTC and so on. Counting only cryptos available there are Bitcoin, Litecoin, Ethereum, NameCoin, PeerCoin, DASH, Emercoin, and Ripple. One of particulars of FXOpen’s crypto offer are rarities like DSH/CNH, EMC/BTC, PPC/BTC, NMC/BTC, ETH/CNH, ETH/RUB, LTC/JPY, BTC/RUB, BTC/JPY, BTC/CNH and more.

Chinese Offshore Yuan and Ruble are present as a quote for most cryptocurrencies, showing signs of broker focus on the Asian markets where cryptocurrencies are most popular. In 2018 the broker states that they have included Bitcoin Cash, Ethereum Classic, EOS, Monero, NEO, IOTA, OMNI, etc. We have not found these in the MT4 platform except for the BCH.

ECN Account holds more than 70 instruments available to trade and is the most complete offer. categories covered are Forex, Commodities, Indices, and Precious Metals. Forex offer is very good with a total of 50 currency pairs. All majors and minors are listed with some additional combos like GBP/SGD, and HKD/JPY. Other notable and rare pairs are EUR/HKD, EUR/PLN, EUR/TRY, NOK/JPY, USD/MXN, USD/RUB, USD/CNH, and USD/TRY.

Commodities range is limited to two Oil types, spot Brent and WTI with the addition of Natural Gas. Indexes offer is good enough with a total of 13 total assets. FXOpen offers mini Index for S&P500, Wall Street 30, Germany 30, and NASDAQ. Others offered are France 40, Europe 50, Australia 200, UK 100, Japan 25, and Wall Street 50. There are only two precious metals for trading, as usual, Gold and Silver.

STP Account does not feature Indexes, Commodities or Crypto. It is focused on the Forex and two metals, Gold and Silver. The forex range contains the same 50 instruments as for the ECN Account. The Micro account has a limited Forex offer to 28 pairs and also offers Gold and Silver. The Forex range does not feature exotics and is limited to majors and minor currency pairs.

Spreads

FXOpen offers floating spreads on all of its accounts. The broker promotes the famous “from 0 pips” line. During our readings the Crypto Account BTC/USD spread is $7.4, BTC/EUR €5.2. XRP/USD spread was 233 points and Litecoin/USD – 28100 points. Forex ECN Account spreads are not 0 pips on any asset at any time during our testing.
The lowest spreads are 1.2 pips for the EUR/USD, 1.5 pips for HKD/JPY, 2.2 pips for EUR/GBP 2.3 pips for USD/JPY and 2.5 pips for AUD/USD. It is surprising to see HKD/JPY on this list.

Other forex instruments spreads are marginally higher, notably higher are AUD/CHF with 48 points, EUR/CHF at 60 points, EUR/NZD at 62, EUR/JPY at 40, GBP/AUD at 67, GBP/NZD at 184 and USD/CHF at 63 points. The exotics spreads are also good enough with USD/CNH at 80 points, USD/RUB at 518 points, EUR/NOK at 3081- which is also nominally the highest Forex spread, EUR/TRY at 1751, and USD/PLN at 375 points. Spot Gold spread is competitive with 45 pips. Bothe Oil types have around 14 points floating spread.

STP Account should have higher spreads since the commission is added to them. Starting with the EUR/USD at 2 pips, 8 points markup compared to the ECN Account, HKD/JPY is 38 points, EUR/GBP is also 38 points, USD/JPY 33 and AUD/USD has 30 points spread. AUD/CHF rises to 75 points, EUR/CHF at 74 points, EUR/NZD at 84, EUR/JPY at 47 – just 7 points more, GBP/AUD – 104, GBP/NZD at 200, and USD/CHF at 66, just 3 points higher. According to this comparison, we could say the spreads are about 30% wider than with the ECN Account but not in all cases. Spot Gold has 61 pips spread and Silver 38.

Minimum Deposit

The minimum deposits requirement starts from $1 for the Micro Account or cent account as often called. For the STP Account, you will need to deposit at least $10 and for the ECN $100. Crypto Account requires $10 or equivalent.

Deposit Methods & Costs

FXOpen has many deposit channels, some of which may not be available to all. One is certain, cryptocurrency deposit is available to all. The broker allows Bitcoin, Litecoin, Ethereum, Emercoin, and Tether deposits. FXOpen’s eWallet is the main account where all financial transactions are done. Channels for deposits by electronic wallets are Netteler (in AUD, EUR, GBP, RUB, SGD, and USD), Skrill (in AUD, CAD, CHF, EUR, GBP, JPY, and USD), WebMoney (EUR and USD), QIWI Wallet (in EUR, RUB, USD), FasaPay (in IDR, and USD), Yandex.Money (only RUB), and IntellectMoney (only Ruble). Standard Bank operation deposits are available as SEPA transfers, PayToday (THB only), Wire transfer and local deposits.

Instant local bank transfers are available in RUB only by Alfa-click. Credit/Debit Cards are accepted with the addition of China UnionPay. Prepaid cards, vouchers, and Paysafe are also accepted. Note that Tether is a US Dollar-pegged cryptocurrency, that lets traders deposit and withdraw in USD and EUR equivalents using the Blockchain technology.
Wire and SEPA transfers have a minimum of 25 EUR/USD while local transfers have a minimum of $1. Other deposit methods also require very low amounts for transfer.

Alfa-click has a 7% deposit commission, local bank transfers have from 3.2%+USD 0.29 for USD deposits and 2.5%+EUR 0.29 for EUR deposits (or equivalent in another currency). Credit Cards will be charged from 2.5% + EUR 0.29. China UnionPay commission for deposits is from 2.5%.

As for eWallets, commission for deposits is 1% for WebMoney, 3.2%+USD 0.29 (2.5%+EUR 0.29 for EUR deposits) or equivalent in another currency (min EUR 1.29 or equivalent for transfer between Skrill accounts). QIWI Wallet has a high commission for deposits of 6% as well as Yandex Money with 7%. Neteller deposit commission is 2.5% + 0.29 (commission equivalent for all currencies). The IntellectMoney deposit commission is from 3%. FasaPaay will not charge any commission for deposits. Prepaid cards do not have any costs except for Paysafe – 8.25%.

Withdrawal Methods & Costs

Withdrawal methods are almost as numerous as with deposits but there are certain restrictions. Bank Wire transfers have a minimum of $100, local transfers minimal amounts are changeable, Cards have a minimum of EUR 8 or USD 10 and $2000 maximum, while other methods have small minimum amounts required.

Unfortunately, FXOpen has fees for withdrawals. Costs related to Bank Transfers are from 15 EUR/ 45 USD/ 1500 RUB/ 35 GBP/ 45 CHF/ 65 AUD/ 5000 JPY and for SEPA is from EUR 15. Skrill commission is 1% (max $0.68) and Credit Cards 2.5%+USD 3.5 for USD, 2.5% + EUR 3.5 for EUR and 2.5%+RUB 50 for RUB withdrawals. The commission may vary depending on the card-issuing country and amount of payment. China UnionPay commission is from 2% but not less than 10 CNY (RMB). WebMoney withdrawal commission is USD 0,8% (max $50), EUR 0,8% (max €50, min. 1.29).

Yandex Money will ask for 1% of the withdrawal amount while Netteler does not have any costs for withdrawals. Perfect Money does not have affordable deposits but is friendly when it comes to withdrawals with 0.5%. FasaPay will also charge 0.5%.commission. QIWI withdrawal fee depends on the currency, for RUB – 1%, for EUR – 0%, and for USD – 1%.

If you request a withdrawal before meeting the requirements of the minimum notional trading volume, your account may be subject to a fee of 2.5 to 8.25% depending on which deposit option you used.

Withdrawal Processing & Wait Time

Withdrawals are done through the FXOpen portal. For Wire transfers, the processing time is from 1 to 3 days, local transfers are up to 3 days and Card withdrawals are made in 1 day. EWallets also require only 1 day to finish.

FXOpen issues a PIN code upon registration that needs to be entered every time a financial transaction is made. 2-step verification measure is applied so you will have to have your mobile device ready. You can check the status of your withdrawal at the Operation Summary page in My FXOpen personal area.

Bonuses & Promotions

FXOpen has several promotions ready at the moment of writing of this review.
No Deposit Bonus for STP accounts is a non-withdrawable bonus amount received once registration is verified to level 2 and an STP Account is opened. Any profits are withdrawable after the required volume of 2 lots. This bonus means you can start with $1 and trade like you have $11. For some, this opportunity has almost no downsides ($1) and a very open and positive upside.

The Welcome Bonus is a small addon bonus for Micro Accounts that is withdrawable after 100 traded micro-lots. After traders open a Micro Account and get level 1 verification level they will receive $1 on top of their Micro Account balance.

FXOpen also has a Cashback program. It is based on the used margin and is available for all account types, ECN, STP, Crypto, Micro, PAMM ECN, PAMM STP. The minimum cashback is $5, and the maximum is $1,000. Per trade $100 is the maximum. According to the broker formula the cashback is calculated, as the used margin increases, the cashback amount will decrease. Starting cashback up to 150% of the Standard commission per trade. Cashback is fully automated, the funds are credited to the client’s Commission account and can be used immediately.

ForexCup Trading Contest Bonus is a reward for the contest FXOpen organizes for the STP demo accounts. The ranking is made according to the profit made for a certain period and the bonus is usually 1% of that amount. You can withdraw or transfer the bonus to another account. Limitations may apply depending on a particular ForexCup contest.

Educational & Trading Tools

Aside from the mentioned One Click Trading and Level2 Plugin, FXOpen offers a few less advanced tools. These are Margin and Pip Value Calculator, Currency Exchange Rates and Commission Calculator. The description of how to use one and why is very good. Note that these tools are only for live trading accounts.

FXOpen Economic Calendar is not packed with features. It is mostly presented as a list with event names, impact meter, and the figures related. There is no way to filter any criteria. Clicking on ht event name will open the fxstreet.com website.

The broker is friendly to Zulutrade and Myfxbook automated trading service as well as VPS. For those not familiar, these are the most popular mirror automated trading websites that can be linked with the FXOpen account.

The educational section of FXOpen is not as developed as with some other bigger brokers, but what is impressive is the FXOpen blog. The blog is not as easily visible or promoted on the FXOpen website. About Forex page is mostly basic and meant for beginners that need to understand how to trade. Some marketing is involved but the page is not designed to be a substitute for real education. Market News and Market Analysis sections are very good and the news is mostly from the FXstreet portal. It is updated and filled with solid fundamental information.

Although we would like to have more diversified sources. Market Analysis is connected to the FXOpen blog area. There is a lot of interesting analysis, regularly updated. Each analysis is structured with visuals but some popular technical indicators, Fibonacci levels, and practices used may not be appropriate for certain currency pairs or similar assets. Still, the articles are good enough to instill attention to these points.

At a glance, the FXOpen blog section is full of useful material in different areas, like Cryptocurrencies, Brokers, Strategies, General Trading and so on. It is a definitive source for knowledge and information other, large brokers do not have.

Customer Service

Customer service is available 24/7 and chat service is 24/5. There are several support branches across the world zones and languages. Clicking on the chat cloud button will show many channels FXOpne can be reached. There is a Facebook messenger, WhatsApp, Telegram, Twitter, Skype, Viber, Line, and WeChat. The customer service representatives are not oriented to sales pitches and a very neutral. There is almost no waiting time to reach them and most of the answers are direct unless there is a negative answer behind. Still, none of them are conflicting with the actual conditions.

Demo Account

The demo accounts are unlimited according to the broker. You can open a demo for Crypto, ECN and the STP Account. All of them have actual costs included and represent live trading conditions. To open a demo is easy and also can be done directly through the MT4 or MT5 platform.

Countries Accepted

According to the FXOpen published list in February 2019, these are the countries restricted to service (fxopen.com domain): Aland Islands, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, French Guyana, Germany, Gibraltar, Greece, Guadeloupe, Guernsey, Hong Kong, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Malta, Martinique, Mauritius, Mayotte, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Reunion, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Svalbard and Jan Mayen, Sweden, United Kingdom, and United States.

Conclusion

This section of the FXOpen review will address some issues that may be of concern to some traders. This broker does not have weak points except maybe the fees associated with the withdrawals. All other aspects are well developed. The broker is transparent and presents very good and useful information to traders in all aspects. Rating on some benchmark sites is mixed but they could be from traders that do not follow the ethical way of trading as many are attracted to no deposit bonuses and low entry barriers to start trading. Not to mention easy cryptocurrency transactions, one of FXOpen trademarks as a cryptocurrency-focused broker.

What traders should pay attention to are some reports that the broker can utilize measures to profitable traders where their profits are not justified and canceled, but this is unconfirmed. On some other popular review websites, FXOpen stands very positive, especially by Russian clients. FXOpen has not received any bad publicity or fines except for the $140,000 fine for offering services to US residents in 2012.

Starting their business in 2014 in Dubai, the group aims to have a good base and clientele where retail Forex trading is attractive and where the target market has enough financial capability. ParamaountFX aims to expand throughout the Middle East and the Persian Gulf countries. The broker utilized the market maker model as it can be recognized for the Legal documents. The company Mission statement states nothing specific as well as the About Us section. There is no information about any regulation, bank or another kind of entity related to the broker, the overall presence of FXParamount on the internet is almost non-existent. None of the reputable user review sites recognize FXParamount meaning the popularity is very low.

The website is available in Turkish, English and Arabian language, lacks transparency about the broker, utilizing empty marketing phrases, but has decent transparency on the trading conditions. It is stylish and well structured promoting “no commissions and no hidden spreads” on the homepage. What might be interesting to visitors is the Bulletin and Analysis section where FXParamount shows their added value to traders. FXParamaount is a relatively new broker without much to showcase on the website so everything is easy to find but puts them into the indistinguishable mass where they do not differentiate in any service category.

According to the Vision statement, the broker wants to become the largest and most organized international Forex trading organization. This FXParamaount review will reveal the steps undertaken towards that goal and if their current service is enough to be considered account opening.

Account Types

Visitors of the FXParamaount website will not have to spend a second to find pout key information about the account types offered, as it is presented right away on the homepage. There are three offers, Standard, Classic and Paramount Pro. The broker considers their target audience needs, the Standard and Classic Account feature no swaps to be in-line with the Shaira law.

Interestingly, the commission is not charged for the Standard Account but all others have a commission. Therefore, the account types are not just scaled to the minimum deposit but also have different features. Although, as usual, the most exclusive Paramount Pro Account has the biggest minimum deposit requirement and the tightest spreads. The leverage for this account is the lowest and the commissions the highest. Bonuses and Contests offered by the broker cannot be applied to the Paramount Pro account.

The Classic Account is positioned in the middle, with lower commissions, reduced spreads, no swaps, and reasonable leverage. The minimum deposit requirement for Classic is what the majority of traders can afford. Bonuses and contests participation is allowed and the leverage is half the Standard Account has.

The Standard Account is probably the one backing up the “no commission” promotion on the homepage as it is the only one without. On the other side, the spreads are the least favorable comparing to the other two account types. The minimum deposit requirement is negligible, the leverage is very high and bonuses or contests apply.

Traders should know that FXParamaount restricts scalping. Even though EAs and hedging are allowed, any trade closed under the 3 minutes will be considered scalping. More details can be read in the Agreement legal document under section 6.

Platforms

Only the MetaTrader 4 platform is offered. ParamountFX has links for Windows, Linux, Mac, Google Play and Apple App Store versions of the MT4 client. For those that want to access the web-based MT4, unfortunately, it is not available. The MT4 installation gave us a virus warning, a very rare occurrence.

There are two servers, Live and Demo, with an impressive ping rate of just 35ms on both servers. At the moment the account opening process is closed for both the Demo and Live and we were unable to test what Paramount has to offer.

Leverage

Paramount FX offers 1:1000 leverage for the Standard, 1:500 for the Classic and 1:200 maximum for the Paramount Pro Account. Margin Call is not set, but expect a Stop Out at 30% for the Standard and Classic Accounts, and 50% for the Paramount Pro. Traders using the maximum leverage of 1:1000 for the Standard should apply proper risk management.

Trade Sizes

The information about the trade sizes is not published on the website. We were unable to check them in MT4. In the contract specification page, the contract size is 100,000 units but what is a minimum trade size cannot be confirmed.

Trading Costs

Paramount charges a commission on two of their account types, Classic and Paramount Pro. For the Classic the commission is $3.5 per lot and $4 for the Paramount Pro. Standard Account is free of commissions. Swaps are accounted only for the Paramount Pro Account. They are all almost negative swaps, regardless of the trading side. They are all under normal levels though, for example, the most traded currency pair, EUR/USD has a swap of -5.25 points for long and -3.17 for short, USD/JPY has -1.49 points for long and -2.76 points for short, GBP/USD -4.38 for long and -3.67 on the short side, and a positive for the NZD/USD with -1.66 points for long and 0.35 on the short side.

Minors pairs swaps are similar, none of them go over -5 points on either side except for the EUR/AUD with -5.55 points on the long and a positive 1.55 swap on the short side. For exotics currency pairs the swap is higher, for the USD/MXN it is -9.18 on the long and 0.54 on the short, USD/TRY has -55 long and 15 short, and EUR/TRY -69 long and 21 positive short side swap. Precious metals swaps are very low, XAU/USD has just -1.95 on the long and 0.1 on the short side. We could not confirm if these are calculated in percentage terms or points.

Paramount FX does not disclose their inactivity fee but we have managed to find a clause in the Terms and Conditions. Funded accounts that remain inactive for six (6) months will be charged a fee of $50.00. This fee may not be charged in every case.

Assets

ParamountFX does not have a great instruments range in any category, but still offers more than typical small brokerages. There are 4 categories offered and they are the same for all account types. Starting with Forex, there are a total of 28 currency pairs. All the majors and minors are present, without any surprise rarities. The exotics are limited to just 3 pairs, USD/MXN, USD/TRY and EUR/TRY.

Precious metals are not limited to just spot Gold and Silver. Traders will enjoy Platinum against the USD as well. Precious metals have a 1-hour break for trading, between 5 pm and 6 pm. Commodities are limited to energy assets. These are both Oil types, spot Brent and WTI with the addition of Natural Gas and Crude Oil futures. We have noticed that the broker has set the Oil contracts to 100 units or barrels but the standard is 1000.

Indexes range is also limited to the 8 most popular ones. Among the S&P 500, NASDAQ 100, Dow Jones 30 and Nikkei 225, the ones from Europe are CAC 40, GER 30, UK 100, and EURO 50. Still, for the majority of traders, this is enough, although if a broker wants to attract specific region clients it is good to see indexes belonging to relevant countries.

Spreads

All accounts have a floating spread type. We are not able to check the real spreads from the MT4 platform. ParamountFX contains the spreads and their average values listed on the Contract Specification page. According to that list, for the Standard Account ahs about 20 to 30% wider spreads than the Classic Account. For reference, the Classic Account EUR/USD pair has a 1.2 pips minimum spread and 1.8 pips average. It is not disclosed what is the averaging period. For other majors the spread is similar, the highest minimum spread was for the GBP/USD, 1.8 pips and 2.2 pips on average.

As expected, the widest spread among the minor currency pairs is for the GBP as it is one of the most moving currency. GBP/NZD has 4.5 pips minimum and 4 pips on average while GBP/AUD has 4.5 pips minimum and 3 pips on average. Exotics have low spreads for their volatility and liquidity, so USD/MXN has 70 pips minimum and 50 average, and USD/TRY has 25 pips minimum and 30 pips maximum.

For Precious metals, the spread is published in cents. XAU/USD has 4 cents spread but this is probably a typo, 40 cents per lot is more real. For silver, it is also 40 and for Platinum is $5. Commodities spreads are from 30 to 60 cents on average, and Indexes are all set to have a minimum of 4 pips and 5 pips on average according to the broker.

Paramount Pro Account has the best spreads. EUR/USD has from 0.6 pips to 1 pip, and other majors do not go above 1.5 pips on average (AUD/USD). Minors do not have average spread above 3 pips except for the GBP/CAD with 3.7 pips on average and 2 pips minimum. GBP/NZD and GBP/NZD are the ones with the higher minimum spread od 3 pips according to the list. Exotics start from 40 pips for the USD/MXN and with 60 pips on average.

Minimum Deposit

The most affordable account type is the Standard with the minimum requirement of just $10. Classic Account is available form $100 and Paramount Pro from $2000. In the past, the broker set more drastic deposit requirements. It is not common for small off-shore brokers to frequently change the offers. Note that there are deposit methods minimums that may be greater than $10. More on this in the next section.

Deposit Methods & Costs

There are various channels traders can deposit and one of them is the Bitcoin. Traditional methods are included, Bank Wire transfers require $100 minimum for a transaction and no limits for the maximum. Credit/Debit Cards need at least $10 and have $5000 maximum, Web Money has a $10 minimum and $10,000 maximum, Paypal needs $10 to $10,000 maximum, Skrill from $10 to $25,000 maximum, and Bitcoin requirement is $100 minimum and $100,000 maximum deposit.

Costs related to deposits are not marginal. Bank transfers require $50 + 1% while Bank Cards do not have any costs. Web Money has a 1.5% fee, Paypal 3%, Skrill 4%, and Bitcoin has a 6% fee, unfortunately. The BTC fee is very discouraging for the crypto enthusiasts as they are designed to be free of transaction costs.

Withdrawal Methods & Costs

Withdrawal methods are the same as with deposits. There are also exactly the same costs for withdrawals, so for a complete turn of your investments, be ready for double charges. This is probably the spot where most of the visitors look away.

Withdrawal Processing & Wait Time

The broker has stated that every deposit is instant. This is probably after payment processors have finished theirs, therefore Bank Transfers require certainly at least 24 hours. Note that the ParamountFX applies AML procedures to which the same method will be used for withdrawals as with the deposit. Also, withdrawals from the Account may only be made in the same currency in which the respective deposit was made, unless the broker offers another method.

Bonuses & Promotions

Most of the small, unregulated, off-shore brokerages offer bonuses to attract clients, it is one of the most sought after features. ParamountFX offers two bonuses, Classic Bonus and MyParamount Bonus. Classic Bonus is a non-withdrawable bonus that acts as a margin extension. The bonus offered is 10% of the net deposit, Whereas it cannot exceed $5000 bonus total. This bonus is available only for the Classic Account type.

MyParamount Bonus is a non-withdrawable bonus that has a formula based on trading volume and the net deposit. This means that the total bonus can go up to 60% depending on the trading volume. This bonus acts as margin support and is available only for the Standard Account. Contests are an unrealized idea of ParamountFX. At the moment of this review, it is still in development.

Educational & Trading Tools

As for the trading tools, only Economic Calendar is available and it is placed on the homepage of the website. It is a good looking table with an option to set your timezone but this is all you can do to filter or sort the events. The Calendar will show the latest events, the impact rating and the figures related to past and forecast. On the screenshot, there is a trading system that contains a kind of Ichimoku indicator with the Support and Resistance lines. Additionally, there is an unknown histogram indicator with unknown function. Readers will be confused about what the system suggests as there is no explanation.

The more interesting part is the Bulletin and Analysis segment. Here, traders can see an in-house made analysis that is updated daily. Daily Bulleting articles start with the Economic Calendar events and move on to the trading instruments’ analysis screenshots without any related text. Not all instruments are included, just some major currency pairs, one index, and Gold.

The news section is updated and contains many articles. Unfortunately, this is not original news, they are copied from Investing.com. most of the selected articles are Investing.com’s “Top Things to Know in the Market.” ParamountFX also has the Education section that is not worthy enough. It contains one page with a few elementary Forex and trading terminology that is not even professionally explained.

Customer Service

There is a phone line, email and chat service available to contact ParamountFX. The chat service app is well designed with a nice touch to upload files and insert emojis. Here we also found out that that last time support staff was active was 8 days ago. Upon our query, we did not wait longer than 5 minutes for someone to answer. The staff is knowledgeable and courteous but will not disclose some information that other transparent brokers would.

Demo Account

The demo is not promoted on ParamountFX’s website but we cannot confirm that the demo account is not available. Since the registration procedure was bugged we were unable to test it as well as some other services.

Countries Accepted

According to the legal documents, the broker mentions several times that the client must not be or reside in the United States or Canada.

Conclusion

In this section of the ParamountFX review, we will address some additional issues with the broker that are important to traders. As presented, ParamountFX belongs to the risky category of brokers as it is very obscured from the public, does not have any transparency regarding the company, no regulation and some clauses in the Agreements documents that are brow raising. For example, the broker states that willful default or fraud on the part of Paramount shall not be liable for losses arising from the default of any agent or any other party used by Paramount under this Agreement.

The broker’s winners percentage is also among the lowest in the industry. 90% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this ParamountFX. Even if we set aside the registration problems, just the fee structure on deposits and withdrawals alone are the reason enough most will turn away. It is rare to see commission on deposits, most of the brokers will seek to make the deposit process as easy as possible, psychologically and financially, but this is not the case with ParamountFX. The broker still needs to find its grounds, frequent changes to the minimum deposits and packages are not enough.

This is an Australian broker that describes themselves as a new face in the industry but with rapid expansion. ETO Markets is established in 2013, based in one of the most prestigious commercial towers in Sydney. Chifley tower directory confirms that the broker is present and along with the ASIC valid license, ETO Markets belongs to the top choice for traders seeking reliability. Transparency about the company is good, with good content that backs up their developments, such as having New York Equinix NY4 data center, funds segregation in Westpac AA rating bank and several disclosed liquidity providers.

The broker could go a step further will responsible representatives presentation but this is more than what most brokers display. Even though the broker states they utilize the STP execution model, and from the legal documents, it is clear that ETO Markets has a market maker pricing model. The website has solid, organized content that is a mix between marketing, elementary explanations, and information only familiar trades can recognize right away.

Transparency on trading conditions is good enough, one could wish for more information on the spread or, even better, a live feed from the market. Traders will like the broker with a transparent approach that can be seen even in the extensive, easy to read legal documents, but could be worried about the fact ETO Markets does not have much public attention.

No user ratings are published on several reputable benchmarking internet media and thus creating a sensation of unknown. ETO Markets are operating since 2013, the broker should have some publicity rising and we are unsure if low marketing investments is the reason or the focus to Chinese and Russian market where the internet has separate trends. To make sure in the quality of service we will make this ETO Markets review in sections for each so readers will have a complete picture of the broker.

Account Types

At the moment of writing this review, ETO Markets offers two account types, Standard and Pro. In the past, there were more accounts offered but it is common to see packages adaptation as a part of the ever-changing marketing. ETO Markets’s comparison table will state that the Pro Account is for Professional traders, but this has nothing to do with the ESMA classification. The minimum deposit requirements are affordable for the Standard Account but the Pro will require a sum only a few are willing to risk. All of the accounts are available in the USD, AUD or EUR currency.

Upon registration, you will be able to select 1:100 leverage only, but it can be adjusted after. All account types will use the Equinix NY4 servers and the accounts do not differ by the number of available trading assets. Also, there is no difference in the trading sizes nor the platform used. Standard Account has wider spreads, no commission and allows for higher leverage. Pro Account, on the other hand, has a commission but very attractive spreads that are promoted as from 0 pips.

The leverage for the Pro is reduced but still enough for most traders. The big gap between the two accounts in terms of the minimum deposit requirement is probably because of the more extreme demography financial capabilities difference in the Chinese and Russain markets. In the past, the broker offered a $2000 minimum deposit that was changed soon after.

Platforms

ETO Markets is a MetaTrader 4 platform only broker. MT4 is well described with links and installation tips for each operating system. It is offered for Windows, Android, Mac, and iOS. Web MT4 is not accessible so if you need to quickly see real-time trading conditions you will need to install the MT4 package. Upon installation, the MT4 presents us two ETO Markets servers to select, Live and Demo. They both have around 110 ms ping rate. The platform is updated to the latest version and shows the registration to the ETO Group Pty Ltd company.

Everything is set to defaults, there are 4 major forex pairs set on H4 timeframe with classic default indicators. One-click trading buttons are visible on all charts. There are no additional indicators or templates with the installation package, in fact, some from the Custom menu is missing. What is noticeable is the very fast price changes that reflect a very good connection and servers. The symbols are exemplary organized into relevant groups and subgroups where applicable and traders will easily find an instrument.

Pro Accounts will have a “.p” suffix to be distinctive from the Standard Account assets. The instrument specification window will show enough relevant information about the trading conditions. The commission is not filled in the specification window but it will be presented in the Terminal left to the Swap column. Execution times are very consistent, on average the order took about 163ms with almost no deviations, 3ms. The use of fast trading strategies and EAs have very good conditions with ETO Markets.

Leverage

For the Standard Account the leverage is 1:400 and for the Pro is reduced to 1:200 maximum. We went on to see what are the differences across assets in the MT4 platform. For Forex, most of the currency pairs hold true to the maximum leverage. The exceptions are some exotics, for the RUB related pairs the maximum leverage is 1:50 and for the TRY pairs, it is 1:20. For the XAU/USD or spot Gold and XAG/USD Silver, the leverage is limited to 1:100 on all account types. The same leverage is set for the Commodities and Indexes category.

Trade Sizes

ETO Markets does not complicate with trade sizing and thus offering micro lot or 0.01 lot minimum trade size for all trading instruments except for Indices where the minimum trade size is set to 1 lot. The maximum trade size is also considered practically unlimited to 200 lots on Forex assets and 100 lots for others. Contract sizes are up to standard, but Oil type assets have 100 units (barrels) instead of standard 1000, still, the minimum allowed trade size is not changed and remains at 0.01 lots.

In the Index category, only the Japan Nikkei 225 Index has a standard contract size of 10 units. Additional trade steps are also set to 0.01 lots except for the Indexes. Stop levels exist but only for Forex category instruments. It is set to set to 20 points for all, even for exotics. The Stop Out and Margin Call levels are not disclosed unless registered. These levels are subject to change and at the moment of this review Stop Out is set to 50% margin level.

Trading Costs

The only commission costs are related to the Pro Account where they are charged $7 per lot round. Not so long ago commission was $5.5. This signals that the pricing model is still subject to frequent changes as the broker tries to find the balance. It is good to see that the commission cost is not halved (one half for opening a trade and one for closing) as many brokers do to present the cost lower than what it actually is. The commission is not charged for non-forex assets but the spread is the same as with the Standard Account.

Swap trading costs are under normal levels but also credits are present on most assets. Swaps are calculated in points and tripled on Wednesdays. For the EUR/USD the swap is positive on the short side with 6.89 points and -10.51 on the long side. USD/JPY has similar swaps with 5.37 points on the long and -10.25 on the short, AUD/USD has all negatives but low, -2.97 on the long and -1.69 on the short side. Other majors have similar swaps with one positive side. Minors have similar swaps, notable are the AUD/NZD with all negative -1 on the long and -2.6 points on the short, and EUR/AUD pair with over 10 points swap on the long side (-11.45) and a positive 7.35 on the short.

For the exotics, the swaps are increased but some are surprisingly low, for example for USD/CNH -30.9 on the long and a positive 16.2 for short, USD/HKD 11.2 long and -28.38 for short and TRY/JPY with just 8.97 for long and -9.91 for short side. Although, USD/RUB has one of the highest with -1254 points on the long and a positive 699 on the short side. As for the spot Gold, the swap is positive on the short side with 3.52 points and -6.77 on the long. There are no mentions about the fees related to the trading inactivity.

Assets

What we see listed in the MT4 platform we can confirm that ETO Markets offers Forex, Precious Metals, Indexes, and Commodities. The best is the Forex range with an amazing 73 currency pairs. The reason for this extended range is mainly major currencies combinations with many exotics and Scandinavian currencies. Forex traders will enjoy so many hard to find opportunities only big brokers offer.

Notable rarities are ZAR/JPY, USD/RUB, but also EUR/RUB, GBP/CZK, GBP/HUF, GBP/ZAR, CHF/ZAR, USD and EUR against the TRY, MXN, SGD, GBP/SGD, GBP/HKD, and many more. For serious traders, it is even good to open a demo just for testing these pairs.
Precious Metals range is not even close to Forex with just spot Gold and Silver. For most this is enough but most of the majority of forex traders combine their strategies with different metals.

Commodities are minimal. Traders will find only Brent and Crude Oil open for trading.
Indexes are better with a total of 11 listed in MT4. They are mostly major Indexes with some variety gained from France 40, Hong Kong 50, STOXX 50, IBEX 35 and German DAX 30.

Spreads

ETO Markets has floating spreads for all assets. For the Standard Account, the spreads start from 16 points for the EUR/USD, exactly what the broker promotes. Other major pairs are almost the same, 1 or 2 points higher. The widest spread among the majors is for the NZD/USD with 19 points. Minor pairs have a bit higher spreads but very uniform. All of them are below 3 pips including the USD/SGD. Exotics have very attractive spreads starting from CHF/ZAR pair with just 21 points or 2.1 pips. This is a very rare combination.

SGD pairs also have spreads under 30 points and SGD is put under the Majors group as per the Symbols classification in the MT4. The highest spread was for the USD/RUB with 3625 points and EUR/RUB with 5441 points. They are followed by EUR/ZAR with 406 points and GBP/NOK with 349 points. Gold against the USD has 28 pips, which is competitive in the industry. Both Oil assets have 6 points spread.

Pro Accounts have one of the tightest spreads a broker can offer. It does not start from 0 pips as promoted but very close. EUR/USD has 1 point spread and the other majors follow with 2-3 points more. The widest spread among them is for the GBP/USD with 5 points. EUR/CHF is also among the lowest with 1 point spread. Minors are all below two digits spread in points, the one exception is the GBP/CAD with 11 points and GBP/NZD with 21.

Exotics also have low spreads, compared to the Standard Account more than double. For example, USD/RUB has just 710 points, USD/MXN 166 points, EUR/RUB – 2778 points. Some are almost the same, as the GBP/NOK with 316 points spread. Spot gold is the same with 28 pips, as well as commodities and Indexes. These categories do not have any better spreads than the Standard Account, but also do not have commissions.

Minimum Deposit

Traders will have to afford $200 or currency equivalent for the Standard Account. Pro Accounts require no less than $20,000. Whether the low spreads justify this deposit amount is up to the trader. Some other brokers have very competitive spreads similar to the ETO Markets but require far less for deposit.

Deposit Methods & Costs

ETO Markets does not charge any fees for deposits. The costs associated with the payments processor is up to the investor to determine. The methods available are not numerous. The standard deposits with Bank Wire or Credit/Debit Cards are supported although the broker discourages any Credit Card usage for purchasing their products, as this is borrowed money. E-wallets are supported, Skrill, Neteller, and POLi – courtesy of Australia Post. ETO Markets target the Asian market so another option is available for China, Union Pay card in Yuan.

Withdrawal Methods & Costs

As with deposits, ETO Markets does not charge any fees for withdrawals. According to the AML, withdrawals are made using the same channel as a deposit. If this is not possible for any reason, the broker will pay you through electronic transfer. Withdrawal methods are the same, where possible.

Withdrawal Processing & Wait Time

Wire Transfers will require 2 to 3 working days to complete. We have noticed an error on the website about deposit/withdrawals channels where Union Pay is mixed with Wire Transfer. Processing time for Yuan based transfer is 1 to 2 working days and the transfer will take 2 to 3 working days. VISA and MasterCard processing also take 1 to 2 working days and 2 to 3 working days to complete. E-wallets require 1 to 2 working days to process and 2 to 3 for completion.

Bonuses & Promotions

ETO Markets does not offer any bonuses or promotions IB programs exist. A nice feature with the IB is that ETO Markets will instantly deposit your commission to the account.

Educational & Trading Tools

From the ETO Markets website, the Educational section will contain a glossary. It is very good but there are no other tools or materials. Most of the website pages will contain some kind of explanation or guide for the beginners. In a way, the educational content is all over the website. But this is not enough for anyone serious. Once you log in to the trader’s area traders will some of the demo videos about the basics on chart reading, and some are about strategies. Certainly, for more serious education, traders can attain better ways available on the internet. Some of the Daily digests seem present on the ETO Markets Instagram, but the latest post was from May 2019.

Customer Service

We were unable to find anyone online on their chat service form the clints portal for 24 hours. Also, ETO Markets is not responding on their Facebook page. Other contact channels are WeChat, phone line, and email.

Demo Account

ETO Markets is demo friendly. They promote 10,000 virtual balance in the demo account but we did it directly from the MT4 platform where you can select much more virtual funds than $10,000. There are options to select the account type, leverage, and the account currency. The demo is accurately reflecting real conditions, and this is even stated in the broker’s legal documents.

Countries Accepted

According to the ETO Markets Product Disclosure Statement, investors in the United States of America or Japan cannot be accepted as clients.

Conclusion

This section of ETO Markets review will provide additional information not contained above but are important on investment decisions with this broker. Under the ASIC registration license, we have noticed that the broker previous name was ETORO group. eToro is one of the most famous brokers but we cannot confirm that ETO Markets are their brand.

Certainly, the Forex range and the location is as it belongs to the major broker other services are not on par. The broker has very good transparency and a good approach to visitors’ interests. The homepage of the website will first promote a link for a demo account opening, not real, which is showing good intention. Whatsmore, the legal documents are one of the most comprehensive and useful we have read. We have not been able to see any rating bu users except on Facebook where they are not credible. This may be of concern to traders who seek at least some information that does not come from the internet or other media.

ETO Markets Forex range is a reason alone to open a demo account and test some rare currency pairs opportunities. As the broker develops, it will certainly improve offering more trading instruments, better customer support and gain more popularity.

Binary.com is a well-known broker primarily offering Binary Options products and platforms. CFD trading is also offered with the MetaTrader 5 platform. Formerly it was under the brands BetOnMarkets.com. and Deriv.com. The company carries multiple licenses and regulations but none are reputable. These are the Malta Financial Services Authority, Vanuatu Financial Services Commission, British Virgin Islands Financial Services Commission and Labuan Financial Services Authority.

Binary.com is proud of its achievements on the market with more than $1 billion turnover, 1 million registered accounts, and more impressive figures. Since 1999, is has slowly transformed into one of the marketing giants with evident use of promotion phrases without any substance. The website is full of easy to read interest attractors such as steps to profitable trading with Binary Options.

Apart from overpraising their history, the company does not show the trading conditions transparently. The list of assets and trading times are published but no other information, at least not until you open an account. This practice is a typical step for KYC gathering. The structure is more oriented towards indulging into trading Binary Options than presenting actual trading conditions. This is often the case with big, popular brokers with huge marketing investments.

By looking at the ratings from other users, Binary.com does not have a good reputation. Most of the reviews are about the difficulties withdrawing, irregular trading experience, manipulation, aggressive marketing, and personal data sharing with other parties (phone number). This Binary Options review will show you what to expect by trading their CFD products as we will not cover the Binary Options platforms and products. In the next sections, traders will have more information on each category than what is published by Binary.com.

Account Types

Binary.com will not offer you accounts or any kind of packages until you register. Once you register you will be given the option to upgrade to the Real Account, Virtual Account will be automatically opened upon registration. The broker will offer MetaTrader 5 platform Accounts where CFDs and other assets are offered. There are 3 account types, Standard, Advanced and Synthetic Indicies. All Accounts are available in USD currency only, but we have also found guides and availability to open accounts in BTC, BCH, ETH, and LTC, also in EUR, GBP, and AUD. We are not sure if this is available for all countries.No commission exists except for crypto and no minimum deposit required. The exact commission for Crypto assets is not disclosed.

Standard Account has variable spreads, and according to the broker, more than 50 assets to trade, including 24/7 Cryptocurrencies trading. Advanced Account is separated as a 100% A-book STP account where you can trade major, minor, and exotic currency pairs. It is also stated that spreads are tighter and that the volume size is higher, in other words, not in micro-lots. This means that the Standard account is not STP and does not allow better conditions for fast trading strategies or EAs. The leverage is also 10 times lower than with the Standard Account.

The Synthetic Indices Account is interesting, it features company made up indices that mimic real-world movements. They are available 24/7 for trading and “and audited for fairness by an independent third party.” What party is auditing this kind of service is not disclosed. This account does not represent real Forex and is more of a casino-like gambling product than trading. The features of this account will not be reviewed.

Platforms

Binary.com offers MetaTrader 5 platform for CFD trading. For Binary Options and LookBack contracts the broker offers Deriv proprietary platform, SmartTrader, Tick Trade Android App and Binary.com desktop app. Binary.com charting is powered by TradingView and SmartCharts. MetaTrader 5 platform installation does look a bit different than by default like it is modified by Binary.com. We are allocated to the German access server with a 47ms ping rate. The About window shows us a Binary Limited company registered in the Channel Islands. The 4 main chart windows are all set to H1 and represent major Forex currency pairs. The default template is not modified.

One-click trading is enabled on all and there are also new trading session time flags signaling when world trading sessions begin. The instruments Symbols are grouped into a few groups that neatly represent each asset category. Forex has three groups although they are not logical minor and exotics groups, it looks random. Advanced Account will have 4 Forex groups categorized by their liquidity, crosses, minors, exotics, and majors. The instrument specification window shows enough information about the trading conditions.

Toolbox window has a Company tab that opens the Binary.com website without any special access or pages dedicated to the MT5. Next to it is the classic MetaQuotes integrated Economic Calendar tab that does not feature any filtering or sorting. There are no additional indicators or EAs included in the package. Swaps are the only trading costs and they are represented. Cryptocurrency commission is not shown is the specification window or in the Toolbox.

As for the execution times, they have extreme deviations. In best cases, the execution time is just above 47ms while often it could go up to 500ms. Even higher to 20 seconds for minor forex currency pairs such as GBP/NZD. This inconsistent behavior can cause slippage and is certainly not favorable for fast trading strategies and EAs. The case with the XAU/USD (Gold) instrument showed us off-quotes warning. This could be a sign of low liquidity as we could not have our order executed multiple times during normal trading periods. The same is for all other precious metals.

Leverage

Standard Account features leverage of up to 1:1000 and Advanced up to 1:100. We went in to check what assets are open for this leverage and which ones are limited, as often is the case for volatile assets. MT5 platform calculation showed us 1:5 leverage for cryptocurrencies. For Forex it is 1:1000 for all pairs. Commodities leverage is 1:50, the same is for Indices. Advanced Account has the same leverage except for the Forex where every asset is limited to 1:100 leverage. Note that the EU registration under the Malta Financial Services Authority has a leverage cap to 1:30 as per ESMA and restriction for Binary Options.

Trade Sizes

Binary.com offers micro-lot trade sizes for all accounts, even though it is stated Advanced Account is set for “high-value tickets”. Forex instruments have 0.01 lots minimum trade size, also additional trades can be opened in micro-lots. The maximum trade size will depend on the currency pair liquidity level, so exotics will have 5 lots maximum, minor 10 lots and 20 lots maximum for major pairs. For most this level will be enough and micro-lot sizing allows for precise scaling. Stops Level is 3 points for all instruments in the Advanced Account allowing almost complete freedom where traders can put their Stop Loss and Take Profit orders.

Standard Account has the same minimum trade volume sizing for Forex except the maximum trade size is limited to 10 lots for majors and 5 lots for minors. Stops level is the same, at 3 points. As the Standard Account features other assets than just Forex, trade sizes are different for Oil, Indexes, and Cryptocurrencies. Both Oil types, Brent and WTI have 1 lot minimum trade size and 1000 maximum. Note that the contract size for these instruments is 1 unit (barrel) which is not the standard (1000 barrels). Stops level is 5 points. Precious metals have 0.01 lots minimum trade size and Step size while the maximum is 10 lots. Gold has a standard contract size of 100 oz. The Standard Account also has micro assets where the contract size for forex is 1000 units (100,000 units is the standard) allowing better conditions for lower capital accounts.

Index minimum trade size is 0.1 lots and maximum 10 while for Bitcoin the minimum is 0.01 and the maximum 10 lots. Other low-value cryptos have different sizing, so Litecoin has 1 lot minimum, 0.1 lots step size and 100 lots maximum trade size. Stops levels for crypto is 5 points. Total trade volume limit for Forex is 100 lots, for less liquid pairs it is 10 and 5 lots, while for BTC it is 10 lots. All accounts have 150% Margin Call and Stop Out at 75%.

Trading Costs

According to the broker, the commission exists only for cryptocurrencies but we are unable to find any published information about the amount. From the MT5 platform, no commission is charged or presented. Swaps are calculated in points, tripled on Wednesdays and somewhat higher than with other brokers. Positive swaps are frequent but much smaller than the negative. For example, EUR/USD -10.65 points on the long and 4.2 points on the short, USD/JPY 3.21 long and -8.09 short, AUD/USD -3.09 long and 0.02 short, and GBP/USD -5.5 long and 1.01 short.

In the minor category, the highest swap is with the GBP/NZD with -10.759 on the long side and a positive 5.693 on the short and with the CHF/JPY with -17.53 on the long and -3.53 on the short side. Cryptocurrency swaps are calculated in percentage terms per annum using the current price. They are -20% for all crypto assets and tripled on Mondays.

Advanced Account has the same swaps for shared Forex pairs. The exotics featured in the account have swaps under normal levels. For USD/ILS it is -12.8 points on the long side and -45.4 on the short, USD/MXN has -400 long and 15 points short, USD/CNH a bit extreme -528 points long and -485 short, USD/ZAR -286 long and 176 for short, for the EUR/ZAR is -350 long and the biggest positive at 220 points on the short side.
Binary.com has inactivity fees charged for inactive accounts. The fee is $25 or equivalent every 6 months it there is no activity for a year.

Assets

Binary.com offers different assets range depending on the account type. Standard Account has the wides offer with 4 asset categories, Cryptocurrencies, Forex, Indexes, Precious metals, and Commodities. As Binary.com is primarily offering Binary Options, the overall range is modest and some assets simply do not have liquidity and are off quotes.
Standard Account Forex range offers a total of 27 currency pairs counting from the MT5 platform. All majors are present with the addition of other minors and cross pairs like GBP/NZD, CAD/CHF, NZD/JPY, CHF/JPY, and others. No exotics are present.

This range may satisfy an average trader that limits their opportunities to the 8 major currencies combinations. Advanced Account features a better Forex offer and nothing else is on the watchlist. Still, there are 56 forex instruments on the list, which is better than what most brokers can offer. There are all the currency pairs like in the StandardAccount plus some exotics and other combinations. Some of these are EUR/TRY, USD/TRY, USD/CHN, USD/ZAR, GBP/SGD, HKD/JPY, AUD/SGD, NZD/SGD, USD/RUB, USD/HKD, EUR/ILS, EUR/MXN, EUR/HKD, USD/ILS, and USD/THB. Note that the Standard Account also features micro contracts for 19 currency pairs.

Standard Account Index range is the smallest possible with only one Index listed, the DAX 30. Other popular Indexes like the NASDAQ or S&P 500 are not listed instead is unclear.
Commodities range is also limited but this time there are two Oil types, Brent and WTI with their non-standard contract sizes of 1 unit.

Precious metals range is very good with 4 metals listed. Gold, Silver, Platinum, and Palladium. This would be a nice surprise if not for the fact that they cannot be traded effectively due to liquidity problems. Common off quotes warnings or a long wait for the order to be executed are red flags for serious traders.

Cryptocurrencies that are listed only on the Standard Account are not limited as some other categories and there are Dash, Ripple, EOS, Bitcoin Cash, Bitcoin, Litecoin and Ethereum. All of them are quoted in USD only.

Spreads

Spreads are floating type and the Advanced Account features slightly tighter spreads than the Standard Account. As it is Forex only account giving traders a better range, and also allegedly using the STP model, it is expected to have better spreads. At a glance, the spreads are even for most major currencies crosses. Starting with the EUR/USD the spread is 12 points, USD/JPY 10 points, GBP/USD 14 points, AUD/USD 8 points, and USD/CHF 15 points. Minors and crosses have slightly higher spreads, only a few of them going above 3 pips. The highest spreads among this tier are for the GBP/NZD with 38 points, GBP/CAD and GBP/AUD at 30 points, GBP/JPY at 23 points, EUR/NZD at 21 points and EUR/CAD at 20. All others have below 2 pips spread.

Exotics also have a good spread comparing to other brokers. The biggest is for the USD/THB at 1900 points and USD/RUB at 1400. The rest have under 1000 points like USD/MXN at 300 points, USD/ZAR at 350 points, EUR/TRY 121 points, GBP/NOK at 233 points, and HKD/JPY at 183 points.

Standard Account spreads behave similarly, and are uniform across currency pairs. Starting with the most liquid pair, EUR/USD has 13 points, USD/JPY 14, GBP/USD 19, USD/CHF 15, and AUD/USD 10 points, the lowest of them all. Other pairs do not have spreads over 30 points except for the GBP/NZD at 39 points, GBP/CAD at 34 points and GBP/AUD at 37 points. Only 5 or 6 currency pairs have the spreads over 20 points, confirming that the spreads do not have a high deviation.

Precious metals also have a very good spread. XAU/USD has around 25 pips, XAG/USD 16 pips, XPT/USD 242 and XPD/USD 3392 pips. Cryptocurrencies spreads are also competitive. BTC/USD has around 6000 points ($6 per coin), XRP/USD 24 points, ETH/USD $0.94, and LTC/USD 30 cents.

Minimum Deposit

The minimum deposit is 5 USD/EUR/GBP/AUD e-wallets. Other deposit methods have different minimums so the exact minimum is not defined. Bank Wire deposits minimum is 500 USD//EUR/GBP/AUD, Internet Bank Transfer is 25. Credit Cards minimum deposit is 10 while e-wallets require usually 5, except Yandex which requires 25 and Skrill with 10. Cryptocurrency deposits do not have a minimum.

Deposit Methods & Costs

Binary.com offers a very good range of deposit methods that include 4 types of cryptocurrencies too. Available methods are Bank Transfers, Credit Cards, E-wallets, and Crypto. E-wallets supported are FasaPay, Perfect Money, Skrill, Netter, WebMoney, QIWI, Yandex, Paysafe, Jeton, Sticpay, iwallet, Paytrust88, and Airtm. If you decide to deposit with crypto, you can do it by using Bitcoin, Litecoin, Ethereum, and Tether. The broker does not charge any fees for deposits.

Withdrawal Methods & Costs

Withdrawal methods are the same as with the deposits. There are no fees charged by Binary.com. There are minimum withdrawal amounts that depend on the method used. Bank Transfers require at least $500 or equivalent. Most other methods require 0, 5, 10 or 25. For Bitcoin withdrawals, the minimum is 0.00288997 BTC, Litecoin – 0.08697316, Tether – 25, and Ethereum – 0.02971733. Mastercard and Maestro withdrawals are only available for UK Clients.

Withdrawal Processing & Wait Time

For all withdrawal methods, the broker states 1 working day processing maximum. Additional processing time may be required by bank or money transfer services.

Bonuses & Promotions

Binary.com offers a $20 “Special Bonus”, a no deposit kind of bonus once you upgrade to the real account. This offer is not applied to UK & EU clients. The conditions for this bonus are not disclosed. Traders who want to know if they are eligible for this bonus will need to contact Binary.com via email.

Educational & Trading Tools

The Educational section of Binary.com contains 5 pages and 2 of them are educational. Why Us page is mostly self-promotion targeted to beginner and first-time visitors to this industry. Therefore, a limited amount of useful facts about trading is published. The Tour page is just an extension of Why Us with the easy-to-do approach. Getting Started contains some solid explanations on the trading basics involved with Binary Options, lookback contracts, and MetaTrader 5 platform trading.

Academy is a dedicated section that contains multiple types of education material, some of which are good quality and some are more marketing based. The learning center contains several videos (webinars) and written content with a high-quality approach to the markets and trading. Most of the webinars are longer than 20 minutes and cover interesting topics like “How to trade cryptocurrencies”, “How to trade gold”, “How to trade commodity-linked currencies”, “Pivot points and candlestick patterns”.

What we did not like is the fact that the subjects are repeating every month, so you will not find enough variety. The latest video is from June 2019, so there is a possibility that this service is discontinued. The same case is for Weekly Market Update and other video sections that seem to be the same page with a different title. Educational videos are bout the MT5 platform and how to purchase an EA from the market. The final Webinars page on in the Education list just links to the mentioned webinars.

The resources section will be visible once you log in. Here, tools worth mentioning are the Economic Calendar and charting tools by TradingView and SmartCharts. The Economic Calendar is a classic MetaQuotes calendar plugin with all of its limitations and features. Charts are connected to the feed from Binary.com and are useful with all the tools, drawings and indicators as an alternative to the offered platforms.

Customer Service

Customer service is very hard to get. Response time is greater than 24 for the ticket system Binary.com has, and there is only a phone line as an alternative. Chat service does not exist. It is not clear how can a popular broker with more than 1 million clients cope with just a few phone lines and a ticket system that is not responsive.

Demo Account

The demo account is available for all account types but there is a limit on how much virtual money can be on balance – $10,000.00. Opening a demo is not possible through the MT5 platform, only after the registration and email confirmation.

Countries Accepted

According to the Binary.com Terms & Conditions, restricted countries are Canada, Hong Kong, Israel, Jersey, Malaysia, Malta, Paraguay, the United Arab Emirates, and the USA.

Conclusion

This part of the Binary.com review will tackle other information that may be important for the overall image of the broker. The primary concern is the negative reviews on benchmark sites and unusual positive ratings among the classic house review sites. This disproportion shows signs of heavy marketing that is influencing the media but not independent user review sites. Whatsmore, the regulation is almost non-existant (very mild) for a major part of the world. Another concern is the liquidity for certain assets stated in the Platform section and the execution time. This points out that Binary.com is not serious enough for CFD trading and probably the best for Binary Options betting alone. The minimum deposit barrier is low enough to try this service but one should be aware of the reports of phone number sharing with other related parties.

UBFX is the trading name of Finance Managers Co. Limited, which was incorporated back in 2016. UBFX is an offshore broker registered in Vanuatu, which has recently tightened retail broker regulations and raised companies’ deposits to $50,000. With that being said, one cannot compare the type of regulations that Vanuatu implements to that of the FSA in the United Kingdom, CySEC in Cyprus and ASIC in Australia.

UBFX partners with banks, prime brokers, liquidity providers, and global financial institutions to provide its clients with a trustworthy, fair trading environment. On their website UBFX claim to have excellent technological efficiency by offering a two-way trading system for all their available assets. Their clients can also open positions for 5 days per week and 24 hours a day which encourages traders to make the most of the technological solutions that this broker has to offer. This broker offers 4 types of accounts with quite a variety of assets to choose from whilst making use of one of the world’s most popular Trading Platforms.

If you’re interested in learning more about UBFX read through this review where we go into detail about what they have to offer.

Account Types

This broker offers 4 account types to choose from, namely; the Standard account, the Islam account, the Raw Spread account, and the Corporate account. Interestingly 2 of these accounts, the Standard and the Islam can be opened quite literally for nothing, as there is no deposit requirement. The leverage offered is quite high for all accounts at 1:400 and it is nice to note that whatever account clients choose to open, they can make use of all the available assets offered by the broker, namely Forex, Metals, Energies, and Indices. All accounts allow hedging, locking positions and scalping. We will go into more detail about these specifications later on in this review.

Here we have outlined the main characteristics of all four accounts.

Standard Account
Minimum Deposit Requirement: Free
Leverage: 1:400
Spreads starting from: 1.6Pips
Commissions: Free
Stop-out/ Margin Call Level: 100% / 150%

Islamic Account
Minimum Deposit Requirement: Free
Leverage: 1:400
Spreads starting from: 1.6Pips
Commissions: Free
Stop-out/ Margin Call Level: 100% / 150%

Raw Spread Account
Minimum Deposit Requirement: Over $20,000
Leverage: 1:400
Spreads starting from: 0 Pips
Commissions: $5 Per lot
Stop-out/ Margin Call Level: 100% / 150%

Corporate Account
Minimum Deposit Requirement: Over $50,000
Leverage: 1:400
Spreads starting from: 0.5 Pips
Commissions: Free
Stop-out/ Margin Call Level: 100% / 150%

Platforms

Clients of UBFX can trade using one of the world’s most popular trading platforms the MT4. This user-friendly and multilingual platform enables new and experienced traders to trade this constantly changing market with ease. Apart from advanced charts and expert advisors, the MT4 allows traders to fully customize and automate their trading. Clients can also rest assured that the MT4 is a highly secure platform that encrypts the data between the trader and the server with a 129-bit key. Through the UBFX website, clients can download the MT4 for their PC, MAC, Ios, Google Play and Android.

Leverage

The leverage set by UBFX is quite high for all their accounts as it set to 1:400. With recent restrictions and regulations, many brokers have had to decrease their leverage to 1:100 and lower, so seeing that this broker still offers such a high one makes it quite a one-off. We always advise traders to be cautious when dealing with high leverages as these can bring about a detrimental loss to their funds.

Trade Sizes

The minimum trading size for indices on all the markets offered by UBFX is that of 0.1 lots whereas the other assets available have a minimum trading size of 0.01 lots. The maximum lots for FOREX currencies is 50 Lots.

Trading Costs

This broker makes its profit through spreads, commissions and SWAP fees. The lowest spreads are found on the RAW SPREAD ACCOUNT which has spreads starting from zero whereas the Corporate Account has spreads starting from 0.5 pips. Both the Standard and the Islam account have spreads as low as 1.6 which is quite standard. These figures are explained on their Account comparison tables which means one would have to see the spreads in a real-life scenario when dealing with this broker rather than take these numbers as facts.

The Standard, Islam and Corporate accounts are commission-free, whereas the RAW SPREAD account has a commission of $5 per lot traded. All accounts, apart from the Islamic account charge swap fees.

Assets

UBFX offer over 60 currency pairs available for trading including Major, Minor, and Exotic pairs. This broker also enables their clients to trade the most popular CFDs on Indices including AUD200, GER30, JPN225, UK100 and SPN 25 amongst others. Clients can also trade precious metals including Gold and Silver as well as Energy CFDs including USOIL and UKOIL. You can find a detailed list of all available assets including the average spread, the value per lot, minimum price fluctuation, margin rate and trading hours for all their assets on their Trading page.

Spreads

UBFX use floating spreads and they also offer quotations to 5 decimal places. Instead of the typical 4 digit quoting prices, UBFX clients can benefit from the tiniest price movement by taking into consideration this 5th digit. Popular currency pairs such as the EUR/USD have a minimum spread of 1.6 Pips, whereas the currency pair GBP/AUD currently has a minimum spread of 2.3 Pips. You can find a full list of the currency pairs available and their spreads on UBFX’s Forex-Spreads/Conditions page.

Minimum Deposit

Clients can open up a Standard or Islamic account for literally $1 as these accounts have no minimum deposit requirement which makes them ideal for beginner traders that do not want to invest a lot of money from the get-go. On the other hand, the other two accounts, the Raw Spread, and the Corporate Account have high minimum deposits of $20,000 and $50,000 respectively which make them more attainable for professional traders that have been in the trading business for a long period of time.

Deposit Methods & Costs

On the UBFX website, we did not find a clear list of what deposit methods they accept, however they do have outlined a number of important points one should note. This broker does not charge fees for deposits, but small additional commissions may be charged by payment gateways. Clients’ deposited funds usually arrive in their account within 2 hours after the transfer is made. Clients can deposit funds once they have registered to any of the 4 available accounts, logged on to their account and follow the simple steps under the Deposit button.

When funding accounts via UnionPay, only the originally used bank card can be used for withdrawal. Since UBFX does not accept any funding from third parties, clients should make sure that their trading account name is identical to that on their bank account as this might make them encounter issues when trying to deposit funds. UBFX also takes measures to avoid account overstocking by making sure that the payment ratio of their clients’ accounts is more than 200% after withdrawal. Otherwise, they will not be able to withdraw their funds.

Withdrawal Methods & Costs

On their website, UBFX list 4 withdrawal options namely, Wiretransfer which comes with a $10 fee, Coin gate which has a $15 fee and Skrill and Neteller which enable customers to withdraw without any charges. The minimum withdrawal via any of the above-mentioned methods is $50. Although UBFX does not charge hidden fees for withdrawing apart from those mentioned above, clients may encounter additional fees that are imposed by banks.

Withdrawal Processing & Wait Time

Coingate, Skrill, and Neteller all have a real-time transfer after verification. Remittances will be triggered between 9:00 and 18:00 (New Zealand time) from Monday to Friday. Clients should expect their funds to reach them on the same or the next day after the withdrawal is confirmed. You can find more details regarding withdrawal methods and costs on the ‘Withdrawals’ page on UBFX’s website.

Bonuses & Promotions

It seems like at this moment this broker does not offer any promotions or bonuses to new or already existing clients so we cannot comment any further regarding this.

Educational & Trading Tools

On their Education page, UBFX has a number of articles that cover the basics of trading including how forex works, history of the forex market as well as Fundamental and Technical analysis. Clients can also find a glossary outlining the commonly used terms and phrases within the trading industry as well as a number of documents on all the available assets that UBFX has to offer.

They also have a frequently updated News and Announcements page that outlines the key factors affecting the market almost on a daily basis and like most brokers, UBFX also has an economic calendar on their website which keeps their clients up to date with any events which might affect the trading market.

Customer Service

Customers can contact UBFX via Live chat, email, phone or through an online feedback form. Their live chat response is very quick and we were met with a knowledgeable and friendly customer service agent that answered all our questions without any hesitation.

Demo Account

Once clients download their UBFX APP they can open up a demo account which will have $3000 in virtual money for them to test out their trading. The demo account does not expire and it mimics the real-life scenario of trading with UBFX which is a great way to learn whether this broker is the ideal one for you.

Countries Accepted

Since we did not find any information regarding restricted countries on their website, we turned to their live chat to see whether there are any restricted countries, and it seems like UBFX accept clients from all over the globe.

Conclusion

UBFX is an offshore broker that offers its clients a choice of 4 accounts that range drastically in their minimum deposit requirements and enables all clients to trade all their available assets on any of their accounts. Important information is clearly outlined on their website and their live chat response is extremely quick and informative.
Although Vanuatu has recently tightened its regulations for traders, any clients considering opening up an account with any offshore broker should be aware of the risks this brings with it.

If you like what UBFX has to offer, head on to their website to discover more about their account types and decide whether trading with them would be a good choice for you.

TradeFxP is a brokerage firm that has been incorporated in the UK since 2014. Although they are based in the UK, they are not regulated by the FCA, the country’s financial regulator. The company is an international forex broker which has its focus on creating comfortable trading conditions and offering the best service to their clients. TradeFxP makes use of the STP model for their trading and their customers can trade forex currency pairs, CFDs, Indices, precious metals and oils on their 3 available account types. This broker uses one of the world’s most popular trading platforms around, the MT4 and they also have a number of interesting bonuses on offer at the moment. Join us as we take a closer look at TradeFxP and what they have to offer.

Account Types

This broker has 3 account types available, namely the Mini Account, the Standard Account, and the ECN Account.

The Mini account has the lowest required deposit at $250 whereas the ECN account is the most expensive one to open as it requires $2000 to open it up. Both the Mini and the Standard are fee-free but it seems like only clients who choose to open a Standard account will be eligible for the broker’s bonuses. The maximum leverage ranges from 1:300 to 1:100 which is quite standard and we did notice that spreads for the Mini account are quite high when compared to other brokers.

On their FAQ page, we did find mention of an Islamic account but this is not clearly outlined in their accounts page. We suggest that clients interested in opening up an Islamic account to speak to the broker directly to get more information about it. To open up any of the above-mentioned accounts, clients need to provide a copy of their passport or any other type of Identification proof along with their proof of address. Once submitted, accounts may take up to 24 hours to be approved and clients can check their account status in their client login page. Unlike other brokers, TradeFxP allows their clients to have up to 5 different trading accounts open at a time.

We will go into more detail about these points further on in this review. Here is a breakdown of TradeFxP’s accounts and their main characteristics.

Mini Account
Minimum Deposit: $250
Max Leverage: 1:300
Spread Type: Variable Spreads
Commission Free: Yes
Eligibility for Bonus: No

Standard Account
Minimum Deposit: $500
Max Leverage: 1:100
Spread starting at: 1.9
Commission Free: Yes
Eligibility for Bonus: Yes

ECN Account
Minimum Deposit: $2000
Max Leverage: 1:100
Spread starting at: 0.9
Commission Free: No
Eligibility for Bonus: No

Platforms

TradeFxP offers its clients one of the most popular and trusted platforms, the MT4. This multilingual platform features a large range of useful functions such as, forex online trading account management, instruments for graphic analysis, a wide range of technical analysis & indicators and robots that help make trading easier. This platform is loved by beginner traders as well as more seasoned ones and clients can download this platform through the TradeFxP website.

Apart from the MT4, this broker also offers the Android Trader which is a fully-featured trading terminal that allows clients to trade using their mobile devices which run on Android OS. This mobile platform allows TradeFxP clients to trade on the go and it is fully compatible with the MT4.

Leverage

The highest leverage one can use with this broker is with the Mini Account, where leverage is set at 1:300. Recent regulations have forced brokers all over the globe to decrease their leverage to 1:100 or less, but seeing as this broker is unregulated they can still offer higher leverage. The two other accounts offered, the Standard and the ECN both have leverage of 1:100 which minimizes the risk that one encounters when trading with large leverages.

When we spoke to this broker via their live chat we were informed that the highest leverage offered on any of their accounts is actually 1:200 and not 1:300 which means that potential clients should be cautious and always double-check the information you find on this broker’s website as it might not be 100% accurate.

Trade Sizes

Since there is no information regarding minimum and maximum trade sizes on their website, we asked their Live Chat agent for further details. We were informed that the minimum trade size available is 0.01 lots whilst the maximum is 50 lots, which is the industry standard.

Trading Costs

As we mentioned briefly in the Accounts segment of this review, two of the accounts available with this broker are commission-free, the Mini account and the Standard account. However, although clients will not be paying any commission for their trading through these accounts, they should keep in mind that the spread is higher for both as they start from 2.1 and 1.9 respectively. The ECN account has a $5 per lot commission but the spreads for this account are much lower as they start from 0.9 pips.
Although there is no mention of them on the site, we assume that clients may encounter swap/interest rates when holding positions overnight.

Assets

This broker offers Forex currency pairs, CFDs, Indices, Precious Metals and Oils for trading, but unfortunately, no more information is given regarding this. Since we did not find any detailed list of available assets with this broker we decided to ask their live chat agent which informed us that the list will only be available once clients open up a demo account with them.

Spreads

This broker offers variable spreads on all of their accounts. The Mini and the Standard accounts have spreads which seem to be quite high as they start from 2.1Pips, although we are not certain if this is a clear indication of the current spreads available through this broker. On the other hand, the ECN account has lower spreads that start from 0.9 Pips but clients should take into consideration the $5 commission fee per lot when trading with this account.

Minimum Deposit

The cheapest account to open with this broker is the Mini account which has a minimum deposit requirement of $250. This is quite affordable although clients should remember that this account has higher spreads than the other 2 available. The Standard account requires a higher minimum deposit of $500 and the ECN account is the most expensive one to open since it has a minimum deposit requirement of $2000.

Deposit Methods & Costs

TradeFxP relies on three principles when it comes to their client’s funds namely; security, speed, and convenience. Clients wanting to deposit funds to their account can do so via 5 main payment methods but only 2 of them are fee-free. These are Bank Wire and Credit cards which have a minimum deposit of $250 and $100 respectively. Neteller, Skrill, and Fasapay also have a minimum deposit requirement of $100 but these 3 also have a 1% fee for each deposit made.

Credit card deposits are made instantly, Neteller, Skrill, and Fasapay may take up to a maximum of 12 hours to be transferred and deposits made via Bank Wire may take up to 5 working days to arrive into the clients’ accounts. On their Deposits page, we did find a brief mention of depositing via e-wallets but no clear details were provided so we cannot comment any further on this.

Withdrawal Methods & Costs

Funds can only be withdrawn to the same payment methods clients used to fund their accounts with. Bank Wire and Credit card withdrawals are fee-free although clients might still encounter fees from the banks when withdrawing their funds through these methods. Neteller, Skrill, and Fasapay all have a 1% withdrawal fee and a minimum withdrawal amount of $50. Credit card and Bank wire withdrawals have a minimum withdrawal amount of $100.

Withdrawal Processing & Wait Time

For those clients who would like their funds to be instantly transferred back to their pockets, Credit Card seems to be the best option as this is the only withdrawal method that enables instant withdrawals. Bank wire, on the other hand, may take 2-5 working days for funds to arrive which might be inconvenient for some whilst Neteller, Skrill and Fasapay all take a maximum of 12 hours for withdrawals to be complete.

Bonuses & Promotions

TradeFxP has a number of promotions available at the moment including a 30% Welcome bonus. As its name implies, this bonus enables clients to get up to 30% for their initial deposit which means if they fund their Live trading account with $500 they will get up to $150 bonus which they can use for their trading.

This broker also offers a Rescue bonus which provides up to a 40% equity-based bonus to recover a client’s funds. For example, if a client deposits $1000 into their account and their current equity becomes less than 70% of their balance (ie. $300) they can apply for the rescue bonus which in this case would be $20 (40% of $3000).

Another bonus which this broker has on offer is the Tradable bonus which allows clients to get up to a 20% bonus for every deposit. Clients should take into consideration that the minimum deposit to be eligible for this bonus is $1000. For example, if clients fund their account with $1000 or more they can get up to a 20% bonus on their live trading account.

TradeFxP also has a Refer-a-Friend reward and a TradeFxP Reward which gives volume-based rewards as follows; $50 Reward for 50Lot sizes, $125 for 100 lots and $750 for 500 lot sizes.

Any rewards and bonus schemes come with a number of terms and conditions so we suggest clients to be aware of these terms before expecting to receive their rewards. When asking their live chat agent for more information regarding these terms and conditions we were informed that these will only be given once a client opens up a live account with them, which is quite inconvenient.

Educational & Trading Tools

When it comes to educational content this broker offers a Forex Training course that breaks down the fundamentals of online currency trading for beginner traders. Clients can learn to understand currency quoting and what factors drive individual currency movements, Read and analyze currency charts using advanced technical tools, understand and decode chart patterns, recognize market trends, how to balance risk against reward pro-actively and how to anticipate and react to major economic events that impact global currencies. On their site clients can also make use of some trading tools including an Economic Calendar, Forex calculator and a frequently updated Forex News segment.

Customer Service

TradeFxP can be contacted via email or through their live chat option.
We did get in touch via live chat since we had some further questions which we could not get the answers for through their website content and we can say that their response is quite fast but the answers we were given were brief and not very explanatory.

Demo Account

If you want to test out trading with TradeFxP you can do so via their online Demo account where you can practice your trading skills before investing real funds. This demo account is a real-time version of the MT4 platform and you can open it up by filling in a simple online form. Once you open up the demo account you will also be able to see the full list of their available assets.

Countries Accepted

Due to the regulations imposed by the NFA on forex trading in the USA, this broker does not accept clients that are from the USA.

Conclusion

TradeFxP is an unregulated broker located in the UK. We did notice a number of advantages such as a variety of account types, a large number of bonuses and rewards available for new and existing clients and the fact that they use the most popular platform available, the MT4. On the other hand, we did notice a few disadvantages such as the fact that only clients who register for a demo account are given the full list of available assets and only when opening a live account do clients receive the terms and conditions documents. We also noticed some discrepancies in their website content, especially after speaking to their live chat agent where we realized that the leverages stated on the site are not accurate to what the broker is offering today.

If you are interested in opening up an account with this broker, we highly suggest opening up a demo account to at least be aware of what you will be able to trade with them before investing your money with TradeFxP.

DeltaStock is a well-established broker that holds a full license from the FSC, the Bulgarian Financial Supervision Commission (License no. RG-03-0146). This license allows this broker to conduct business in Bulgaria as well as abroad and it has been doing so since 1998. Having been around for over 20 years, DeltaStock managed to continuously offer its clients more than 1100 financial instruments whilst still being in full compliance with strict European regulations.

As with many regulated brokers, DeltaStock keeps its company funds separate from those of its clients and apart from this all retail clients are guaranteed by the Investor Compensation Fund. This broker lists a number of advantages that clients can experience when trading with them including minimum spreads for all their available instruments, low minimum commissions on share CFDs, 24/5 multilingual customer support, low minimum deposits, a variety of free trading resources as well as informative video tutorials.
Join us on this review as we take a closer look at what DeltaStock has to offer.

Account Types

DeltaStock offers the Delta Trading 6 and the Meta Trader 4 accounts. Spreads for both accounts are quite similar and both accounts require a minimum deposit requirement of $100. The Delta Trading 6 account has a larger variety of assets available such as CFDs on shares, Cryptos, Futures, and Indices. Clients can open up a free demo account for both accounts to get a clearer idea of how these differ from each other. We will go into detail about their individual characteristics later on in this review.

Platforms

DeltaStock has its own state of the art proprietary desktop trading platform, Delta Trading 6. This platform allows clients to trade over 80 currency pairs, Gold & Silver, CFDs on shares, Indices, Futures, EFTs and also Cryptocurrencies. Clients using this platform can use fixed or variable spreads with a wide variety of order types. This multilingual platform has advanced charting with an array of 80 technical indicators, unique features such as detailed trading statistics and P/L charts and clients can use this platform with the EUR, USD, GPB, CHF, BGN and RON currencies. Having created this platform using clients’ feedback the Delta Trader 6 is an intuitive platform that can be beneficial for new traders, whilst at the same time meeting the high standards demanded by professional traders as well.

The Delta Trading 6 is very flexible and clients can arrange and adjust the panels, such as the instrument list and quote panel for their convenience. Clients will have multilingual support in English, Dutch, French, Italian, German, Spanish, Russian, Romanian and Bulgarian. Online reviews claim that this platform can easily be seen as equal to the popular MT4 and the feedback on it is very good overall. Clients can find a well-explained user guide and a variety of video tutorials that cover the basics of using this platform.

Apart from their own platform, DeltaStock offers the MT4 platform to their clients as well. MT4 is one of the most popular online trading platforms on the market. This multilingual platform offers live quotes, real-time charts, and in-depth news to help traders make the right decisions whilst trading. When using the MT4 with this broker, clients can make 4 types of orders namely; market order, pending order (stop loss & take profit) and trailing stop orders. One of the most popular features of MT4 is its full automation of the analytical and trading process which is done via Expert Advisors. This feature enables clients to eliminate negative factors that may hinder their trading such as; inexperience, emotions, and lack of knowledge on a particular market. Although this platform is available in 28 different languages, clients will receive their live account daily and monthly statements in English.

Leverage

In August 2018, the ESMA (European Securities and Markets Authority) introduced new restrictions on trading contracts that provide better protection to retail clients. With DeltaStock, retail clients can get maximum leverage which ranges from 30:1 and 2:1 on all positions and on both accounts.

On the other hand, professional clients have access to increased leverages. To qualify as a professional client, you must have over the past previous 4 quarters, have carried out an average of 10 trades per quarter on the relevant markets in significant size, hold a portfolio size that exceeds 500,000 Euro and have experience in the financial sector (at least one year in a professional position).

Trade Sizes

When trading currency pairs, the minimum trade size available for trading is that of 1 lot and there is no limit on the maximum order size clients can make. Clients can find the minimum trade sizes available for all available instruments on DeltaStock’s Trading Conditions page.

Trading Costs

From the information we found on their website, this broker does not seem to charge any commissions on any of its accounts. This means that this broker makes its profits through the differences between the Bid and the Ask price, also referred to as the spread. DeltaStock has a target spread that they continuously aspire to quote, however in times of low liquidity or high volatility, the company might not be able to maintain the target spread.

From what we could see on Delta Stock’s real-time Spread/Margin table of their forex pairs, spreads seem to be quite standard, for example, the popular EUR/USD pair had a spread of 0.8 on the MetaTrader4 account. On the same page, clients can also find a list indicating what swap rates they might encounter when trading forex pairs, however, this list is meant to be used only as a reference and not a real-time list. You can find further details about spreads and swaps on the trading conditions page on DeltaStock’s website.

Assets

This broker offers a vast array of assets available for trading namely; over 80 Forex pairs, Gold & Silver, CFDs of shares, CFDs on indices, CFDs on futures, CFDs on ETFs and CFDs on Cryptocurrencies. This broker also provides the Key Information Documents, which include basic information about the asset, risks involved, performance scenarios, costs, and other important information about all their available assets. This highlights the level of professionalism that this broker operates by. You can find these documents on the KIDs segment on their website.

Spreads

DeltaStock aims to keep its spreads at its target level, but this highly depends on the volatility and liquidity of the markets. Having said this, this broker does offer fixed spreads but these tend to be slightly higher than the target spreads outlined by the broker. From what we could see their floating spreads are quite standard such as USD/JPY 1.2Pips, EUR/USD 0.8Pips and GBP/USD 1.3Pips. You can find the full list of spreads, for both account types, on the trading conditions list on their Forex menu.

Minimum Deposit

Both the Delta Trading 6 and the MetaTrader 4 require a minimum of $100 to open. This is quite a low minimum deposit requirement, especially when considering the assets available and the fact that this is a fully regulated broker. Having such a low minimum requirement is also a great way to encourage beginner traders to take the leap and enter into the trading world without spending too much money from the get-go.

Deposit Methods & Costs

Clients wanting to deposit funds into their account can do so via bank/wire transfer or Mastercard/VISA/Maestro credit/debit card. Like most brokers, DeltaStock does not accept deposits made by third parties. Bank Transfers, which can be made through Banco Santander in Spain, First Investment Bank in Bulgaria, UniCredit Bulbank in Bulgaria and UniCreditBank in Romania may take at least 2 business days to reach DeltaStock. Transfers from banks within the EEC in BGN or EUR have no fees however transfers from banks within the EEC in a currency other than EUR or BGN have a transfer fee of 1.00BGN. When depositing via Internet payments a fee of 2% of the payment amount is incurred and the same goes for deposits made via Visa/MasterCard/Maestro debit and credit cards.

Withdrawal Methods & Costs

To withdraw funds from their accounts, clients must submit a withdrawal request that can be found once they are logged into their account. Clients can only withdraw funds which have not been blocked as margin for open positions and upon a withdrawal request, priority will be given to funds deposited via credit/debit cards and then to deposits made via bank wire or cash desk. The minimum amount for international bank transfers is 50EUR in the cases where clients’ banks are different from the banks that this broker has accounts with. You can find more information about withdrawal methods and costs on the Deposit/Withdrawal page of the DeltaStock website.

Withdrawal Processing & Wait Time

Once a withdrawal request is sent it is processed within a minimum of 2 business days. Clients should be aware that when there is a transfer of funds which is in a different currency from the base currency of the client’s account, DeltaStock will convert it at the current market prices of the respective currency pair.

Bonuses & Promotions

At the moment, DeltaStock does not have any bonuses or promotions on offer. However, those who are eligible to be considered as Professional clients will benefit from increased leverage, premium access to DeltaStock’s events and they can sign up for several exclusive discount programs.

Educational & Trading Tools

On their Education page, this broker offers a number of lessons that goes into detail about different aspects of trading such as factors affecting major currencies, margin trading, market analysis, calculating positions and prices, overnight positions and much more. These lessons are more than enough for a beginner trader to start making their way into the trading world. DeltaStock also offers a vast video guide that helps clients get to know their proprietary platform. These videos go through several subjects such as placing orders, reviewing orders, stop and limit to a position, charts and more.

On their website, clients can also find a number of trading tools that can help them make better decisions when trading such as an Economic calendar, daily technical analysis, currency calculator, DFC Quotes, Market Stats, and currency correlation just to mention a few. We feel like the education and trading tool segment of DeltaStock’s website has great content that is suitable for every level of trader.

Customer Service

Clients wanting to get in touch with this broker can do so via phone, email or through their live chat. Clients can call either the head office, the dealers/brokers or the brokers fixed income securities which means that clients will surely get the information and answers they are looking for.

We did contact this broker via live chat and we had a pleasant experience when doing so. We were helped by a friendly and extremely well-informed customer service agent who stayed with us to make sure all our questions are answered and understood.
Here are their main contact details (you can find the full list of contact details on the website’s Contact us page).

Address: Megapark Office Building
6th Floor, Office Area E
115G Tsarigradsko Shose Blvd
Sofia 1784, Bulgaria
Phone: +359 2 811 50 50
Mobile: +359 897 818 030
Email: [email protected]

Demo Account

If you want to test out trading with DeltaStock you can do so by opening up a demo account which will enable you to test your trading strategies in real market conditions but without the risks. When opening a demo account, you will have initial equity of 10,000 EUR.

Countries Accepted

Due to recent regulations, DeltaStock does not accept clients coming from the USA.

Conclusion

DeltaSotck is a fully regulated broker located in Bulgaria that has been in the business for over 20 years. Apart from the fact that they are fully licensed and regulated, which should put client’s minds at ease when investing their hard-earned money through them, they also have a number of other advantages that we feel can benefit many of their clients including a state of the art proprietary platform that is likened to the popular MT4, a vast array of available assets + detailed information about each of them, a low minimum deposit requirement and a comprehensive educational segment on their website that can help beginner traders as well as professional ones. Contacting this broker is also very easy and their live chat customer support agents are helpful and insightful.

Overall, we feel like this broker can be a great choice if you’re just delving into this industry and also if you’ve been trading for quite a while. We did not cover all the information one can find on their website so head on over and find out for yourselves if DeltaStock is the ideal broker for you.

Blackwell Global is a forex broker founded in New Zealand and regulated bu the FSP, they were first founded in 2010 and began expanding in 2011. They now have 8 different offices worldwide, over 200 employees and have won 20 different awards. We will be looking into the services being offered by Blackwell Global to help you decide if they are the right broker for you.

Account Types

Should you decide to sign up, there are three different accounts to choose from, each having g their own requirements and trading conditions, so let’s see what they are.

Standard Account: The standard account comes with leverage starting from 1:30, it has a stop out level set at 50% and has access to market outlooks. It can be used as an ECN account and has access t o24 hours of support. There are also premium MT4 indicators as well as 30 minutes of trading available. It also has access to something called a trading diary and you are able to deposit using Bitcoin.

Professional Account: In order to get a professional account, you need to meet the ESMA requirements, this means you need to have 500,000 liquid assets excluding house of residence, relevant experience in financial services, traded at least 10 times of significant size within the last 4 quarters. If you meet these requirements you then receive higher maximum leverage, a personal account manager, better execution and more sophisticated communication.

Islamic Account: In order not to violate the terms of Riba al-Nasi’ah, which prohibits money-to-money exchanges on a delayed basis, we offer only spot contracts for forex, gold, silver, and oil. To avoid interest rates, we allow you to hold positions overnight – and indefinitely – without deducting or crediting interest rate charges (rollovers) from the trading account.

Platforms

There is only one platform available with Blackwell Global and that is MetaTrader 4 so let’s see what it offers.

MetaTrader 4 (MT4): MetaTrader 4 is designed to provide Forex traders with the ultimate trading experience. The platform combines automatic market updates in the most user-friendly manner and then combines these with internal market news updates. End-users are provided with the ability to create and deploy a variety of technical indicators, as well as Expert Advisors.

Leverage

The standard account follows the recommendation form ESMA which is as follows:

Leverage limits on the opening of a position by a retail client from 30:1 to 2:1, which vary according to the volatility of the underlying:

• 30:1 for major currency pairs
• 20:1 for non-major currency pairs, gold, and major indices
• 10:1 for commodities other than gold and non-major equity indices
• 5:1 for individual equities and other reference values
• 2:1 for cryptocurrencies

Leverage is increased if you use a professional account, however, we are not sure what the new limit is.

Trade Sizes

Trade sizes start from 0.01 lots (known as micro-lots) and go up in increment of 0.01 lots so the next trade will be 0.02 lots and then 0.03 lots. We could not locate information on the maximum trade size however we would recommend not trading in sizes larger than 50 lots, as the bigger a trade becomes the harder it is for the markets or liquidity provider to execute the trade quickly and without any slippage.

Trading Costs

There does not seem to be any commissions added on to the trading accounts as they use a spread based system, there are however swap charges which are interest charges that are incurred for holding trades overnight, they can be both negative or positive and can usually be viewed from within the trading platform of choice.

Assets

Assets have been broken down into forex pairs, commodities, CFDs and Crypto, let’s see what instruments are available in each.

Forex: AUDCAD, AUDCHF, AUDJPY, AUDNZD, AUDSGD, AUDUSD, CADCHF, CADJPY, CHFJPY, CHFSGD, EURAUD, EURCAD, EURCHF, EURGBP, EURJPY, EURNOK, EURNZD, EURSEK, EURSGD, EURTRY, EURUSD, GBPAUD, GBPCAD, GBPCHF, GBPJPY, GBPNZD, GBPUSD, NOKJPY, NOKSEK, NZDCAD, NZDCHF, NZDJPY, NZDUSD, SGDJPY, USDCAD, USDCHF, USDCNH, USDDKK, USDHKD, USDHUF, USDJPY, USDMXN, USDNOK, USDPLN, USDSEK, USDSGD, USDTRY, USDZAR

Commodities: Just four different commodities are available, these are UK Oil, US Oil, Gold, and Silver.

CFDs: AUS 200, German 30, Spain 35, France 40, Hong Kong 50, Japan 225, UK 100, US 100, US 30, US 500, STOXX 50.

Crypto: Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, Dash, NEO, Monero, Zcash, Eidoo, EOS, Metaverse ETP, IOTA, OmiseGO, Santiment Network, Ripple, Trom, and Qtum. Plenty available to trade which his good to see.

Spreads

The spreads that you get depend on the account type you use, if you use the Standard account then spread on AUDCAD as an example are around 6 pips, while on the ECN model they are around 2.6 pips. The spreads are variable (also known as floating) so this means that when the markets are being volatile, the spreads will often be seen higher. It is also important to note that different instruments and assets have different starting spreads, so while AUDCAD may start at 2.6 pips, other assets like AUDCHF may start slightly higher, in this case, 3 pips.

Minimum Deposit

Finding this information wasn’t easy, it isn’t obvious on the website, however, we believe the minimum deposit amount is $500 in order to open an account, should you wish to top up an already open account then this figure reduces but we do not know what to.

Deposit Methods & Costs

You are able to deposit using Visa or MasterCard Debit / Credit card, via Bank Wire Transfer, Neteller or Skrill. They can deposit in the following currencies.

• Visa/MasterCard – USD, EUR, GBP
• Bank Wire – USD, EUR, GBP, CHF
• Skrill – GBP, USD, EUR
• Neteller – USD, EUR, GBP

There are no added fees, however when using bank wire transfer be sure to check with your bank to see if they ad any fees of their own.

Withdrawal Methods & Costs

The same four methods are available to withdraw with, for clarification these are Bank Wire Transfer, Visa/MasterCard Credit/Debit, Neteller and Skrill. The minimum withdrawals are as follows.

• Bank Wire – 100 USD
• Visa / MasterCard – 0.01 USD
• Neteller – 0.01 USD
• Skrill – 0.01 USD

Just like with the deposits, there are no added fees from Blackwell Global and you should check with your bank to see if they have any transfer fees of their own.

Withdrawal Processing & Wait Time

The following processing times are relevant:

Account Transfers (Intra-Account)
Transferring funds within the same country, bank, and local currency
Processing time: Same day or next day

Local Transfers (Local Inter-Bank)
Transferring funds within the same country, different banks, and the same local currency
Processing time: Within 3 days

Telegraphic Transfer (International)
Transferring funds between different countries or different currencies
Processing time: Within 5 days
Transfers are subject to bank operating hours.

Bonuses & Promotions

We could not locate any information on the website in regards to bonuses or promotions so it does not appear that there are any active ones at the time of writing this review. If you are interested in bonuses then be sure to check back regularly or get in contact with the customer service team to see if there are any upcoming bonuses or promotions.

Educational & Trading Tools

There are a lot of educational and trading tools mentioned on the site, we will briefly go through them to see if they are actually relevant or not. Firstly, there is an economic calendar that details upcoming news events and also which markets they may affect. There are also guides and ebooks on a number of different subjects such as Non-Farm Payrolls. There is something called a trading Bootcamp that is run by a professional trader and you need to attend this event in person. We cannot comment on the quality of this. The market news section is exactly that, it simply shows any news that has occurred.

Indicators: There are both client and free MT4 indicators that you can download, there are a lot of chose from such as Crypto Sniper Indicator, Brick Trend MT4 Indicator, Spin Bowler MT4 Indicator and, Rarity MT4 Indicator.

MT4 Accelerator: There is something called an MT4 accelerator, this is a pack of different indicators and monitors to help you trade, it includes a sentiment monitor, alarm manager, session map, correlation trader, correlation matrix, excel integration and, market manager.

The Trading Diary: A tool focused on identifying psychological trading trades. Features include a playmaker, gameplan, profitability analysis, best and worst trades, trading timings and tag trades.

The Zone/Crypt Education: These are both separate sections but work similarly, one is for forex which the other is for crypto. They contain a number of different tools and features such as indicators, analysis, webinars, product information and more.

Customer Service

If you have a question or concern you can get in contact with Blackwell Global in a number of ways, you can use the online submission form to fill in your query and you should then get a reply via email. There are also three different email addresses available, one for Technical and Customer Support, one for Business and Partnership Enquiries and one for Marketing Enquiries. Finally, there is also a phone number should you wish to speak to someone directly along with a physical address.

The support ram is open 24 hours a day but we believe that they close over the weekends when the markets are also closed.

Demo Account

There isn’t too much information about the trading conditions of the demo accounts on offer. In fact, the only real info is below.

• Discover the benefits of trading real with a free test account
• Full trading accessibility
• A real-time trading data stream
• Upgrade your account to Live Account when you are ready for real trading

“Demo or demonstration accounts give you the opportunity to get to know our trading platform without having to risk any of your capital. You can create your trading plan, test your strategy and market view without having to fund an account and when you are feeling confident and ready for the real thing, you can migrate to a live account and start trading on your own personal funded account.

Countries Accepted

The information about which countries are accepted and which are not is not present on the website, so if you are interested in joining, be sure to get in contact with the customer service team to check if you are eligible for an account or not.

Conclusion

Initially, the trading conditions were not made clear by Blackwell Global, however, with enough snooping around, we managed to find most of it. The trading conditions on the standard account are a little steep, using the ENC model brings the spreads down to a more acceptable level. No fees for deposits or withdrawals are good to see, however, it would have been nice to have had more options. The education seems to be a major point for Blackwell Global, there is a lot of it, both beginner and advanced along with a whole host of trading tools to help. If you can use the ECN model then there is potential for Blackwell Global to be a competent broker to use.

MegaTrade FX is a leading provider of foreign exchange, CFD and other forms of financial trading. With high standard services and experienced team of finance professionals, MegaTrade Fx offers the best online trading experience in the market in terms of education, tools, user-friendly Platform, features and security. That is what this Saint Vincent and the Grenadines based broker says about itself. Throughout this review, we will be looking into the services being offered to see if they manage to live up to that statement, or if they fall short.

Account Types

There are six different accounts available to chose from each having its own requirements and trading conditions, so lets briefly look at what each one offers.

Basic Account: This account has a deposit requirement of $250, it comes with a 20% welcome bonus as well as access to the customer support team 24/5. It has access to the education centre and an account manager.

Standard Account: This account has a deposit requirement of $2,500, it comes with a 25% welcome bonus as well as access to the customer support team 24/5. It has access to the education centre, an account manager and access to trading alerts.

Silver Account: This account has a deposit requirement of $5,000, it comes with a 30% welcome bonus as well as access to the customer support team 24/5. It has access to the education centre, a senior account manager, access to trading alerts as well as live Webinars.

Gold Account: This account has a deposit requirement of $10,000, it comes with a 40% welcome bonus as well as access to the customer support team 24/5. It has access to the education centre, a senior account manager, access to trading alerts as well as live Webinars, expert analysis trading sessions and there are no withdrawal fees.

Platinum Account: This account has a deposit requirement of $25,000, it comes with a 50% welcome bonus as well as access to the customer support team 24/5. It has access to the education centre, a senior account manager, access to trading alerts as well as live Webinars, expert analysis trading sessions and there are no withdrawal fees. This account also has access to VIP services.

VIP Account: This account has a deposit requirement of $50,000, it comes with a 50% welcome bonus as well as access to the customer support team 24/5. It has access to the education centre, a senior account manager, access to trading alerts as well as live Webinars, expert analysis trading sessions and there are no withdrawal fees. This account also has access to VIP services, a free savings account and daily personalised trading sessions.

Platforms

MegaTrade FX doesn’t use any of the standard trading platforms like the MetaTrader series, instead, they use an online web-based platform, they do not offer much information around this platform, so, unfortunately, we do not have much to say in regards to their trading platform. This is a shame as it would be good to know what sort of features there would be should we sign up with MegaTrade FX.

Leverage

The maximum leverage available seems to be 1:200 but it is hard for us to get confirmation on this as there is so little information available regarding the trading conditions.

Trade Sizes

Trade sizes start from 0.01 lots (known as micro-lots) and go up in increments of 0.01 lots so the next trade will be 0.02 lots and then 0.03 lots. There is no information about the maximum trade size however, we would recommend not trading in sizes larger than 50 lots, as the bigger a trade becomes the harder it is for the markets or liquidity provider to execute the trade quickly and without any slippage.

Trading Costs

There is no information about any additional commissions being charged on the accounts, this doesn’t mean that there aren’t any, it just means that there is currently no information on the website regarding them.

Swap charges are present though, these are interest charges that are incurred for holding trades overnight, they can be both negative or positive and can usually be viewed from within the trading platform of choice.

Assets

The assets have been broken down into a number of different categories, we have outlined them below along with the instruments within them.

Forex: AUDCAD, AUDCHF, AUDJPY, AUDNZD, AUDUSD, CADCHF, CADJPY, CHFJPY, EURAUD, EURCAD, EURCHF, EURGBP, EURHUF, EURILS, EURJPY, EURNOK, EURNZD, EURPLN, EURSEK, EURUSD, GBPAUD, GBPCAD, GBPCHF, GNPJPY, GBPNZD, GBPUSD, NAZDCAD, NZDCHF, NZDJPY, NZDUSD, USDCAD, USDCHF, USDDKK, USDHUF, USDILS, USDJPY, USDMXN, USDNOK, USDPLN, USDRUB, USDSEK USDSGD, USDZAR.

Bonds: USA 10Y Bons, USA 30Y Bond, Canada 10Y Bond, French OAT, Germany Bund, Italy BTP, UK Gilt.

Indices: ASK, CAC, DAX, Hang Seng, Nikkei, SMI, FTSE, FTSE0MIB, DOW, Nasdaq, S&P, US Dollar, VIX.

ETF: SPDR Financial, SPDR Gold, SPDR S&P 500, Powershares QQQ, SDPR Energy, iShares Russel 2000, iShares Brazil, iShares MSCI Emerging Markets, iShares Nasdaq Biotechnology.

Commodities: Brent Crude, Cocoa, Coffee, Copper, Golds, Natural Gas, Platinum, RBOB Gasoline, Silver, Sugar, WTI Crude, Corn, Cotton, Soybeans, Wheat.

Stocks: Plenty of stocks including Nintendo, AXA, Air France, Peugeot, BMW, Siemens, HSBC and Tesco.

Spreads

This another aspect of the trading conditions that don’t seem to be mentioned or advertised o the site. Looking through the internet there is a very mixed result when it comes to spreads so we do not want to mention them, what we will say is that this information should be made available for potential clients to better understand what the costs of trading are.

The only information that we do know is that the spreads are variable (also known as floating) so this means that when the markets are being volatile, the spreads will often be seen higher. It is also important to note that different instruments and assets have different starting spreads, so while EURUSD may start at 2 pips (example), other assets like GBPJPY may start slightly higher.

Minimum Deposit

The minimum amount required to open an account is $250, this will get you the Basic account, it is unknown if this amount decreases for further top-ups of an already open account.

Deposit Methods & Costs

There isn’t a dedicated finance page detailing the methods available, however, they are briefly mentioned in the FAQ and also pictures added at the bottom of the site. They are MasterCard, Visa, Bank Wire Transfer, Skrill, Neteller, fasapay and UnionPay, there may be more but those are the ones we know about. Looking through the terms there is no mention of any fees so we are not sure if there are any, but be sure to check with your own bank or processor to see if they add any transfer fees of their own.

Withdrawal Methods & Costs

The same methods would seemingly be available to withdraw with, for clarification these are MasterCard, Visa, Bank Wire Transfer, Skrill, Neteller, fasapay and UnionPay. In the withdrawal policy, there is no mention of any added fees, just the fees that may be added by your won bank or processor, so again it is not clear if there are any added fees or not.

Withdrawal Processing & Wait Time

The terms and conditions state that withdrawal requests will be processed within 6 working days, this is a very long time when comparing it to the competition who rarely go over 48 hours. There will then be an additional wait after this period for the bank or card issuer to process the incoming withdrawal, normally between 1 to 5 business days. The FAQ on the site states between 2 to 7 days to receive your funds.

Bonuses & Promotions

The bonus terms surrounding the deposit bonus are a little confusing, they start by talking about binary, then change to forex, then keep alternating making it very confusing as to what they are actually talking about. We know the bonus exists from the accounts comparison page, but there is no additional information surrounding it.

Educational & Trading Tools

There is mention of an education centre, as well as Webinars, however looking through the site we could not locate any of it, so we are assuming it is within the account section of the site, either that or it is a simple marketing ploy to try and get more customers in.

Customer Service

The contact us page offers a few different ways to get in contact with them. You can use the online submission form to fill in your query and then you should get a reply via email. You can also request a callback or use one of the available telephone numbers to speak to someone directly. There is also a direct email to support to use as well as a physical address.

The customer service team is available 24/5 and is closed over the weekends and on bank holidays just like the markets are.

Demo Account

There doesn’t seem to be a demo account on offer, or at least we could not find any information about one. This is a shame as demo accounts allow potential new clients to test out the trading conditions and servers while it allows current clients to test out new strategies without risking any of their capital. This is an area that should be invested in and demo accounts should be made available.

Countries Accepted

The information about which countries are accepted and which are not is not present on the website, so if you are interested in joining, be sure to get in contact with the customer service team to check if you are eligible for an account or not.

Conclusion

There are a lot off highly negative reviews around the internet about this broker, on that alone we would recommend staying clear, however from our review, it doesn’t get much better. There is so much information missing, we are completely at a loss as to what the trading conditions actually are, what the spread, commission or leverage are. There is also a huge gap in information about the deposits and withdrawals, without any of this information it is impossible for us to recommend MegaTrade FX as a broker to sue at this point in time.

There are many aspects that make EZYFX a competitive and desirable broker to traders who follow different strategies and styles. Their 6 account types allow you to pick the one the retains your desired buying power, spreads, and commissions. The lax minimum deposit requirements make these options even more accessible to traders. We will cover these features in more detail in this review, alongside other crucial information about EZYFX’s pros and cons.

This broker prides itself on a widely-available customer support team (that speaks over 10 languages) and the educational advisory sessions that account holders may utilize. There are also other reasons as to why traders pick EZYFX, including how the firm caters to different types of investors (retail, institutional, and commercial), their one-on-one training courses, as well as the state-of-the-art technological toolsets that define account holders’ trading experience.

What are the differences between EZYFX’s 6 portfolio types? How many deposit/withdrawal methods are available? Do they offer any bonuses? Which platform does EZYFX work with? And how much leverage can traders get? Read this review to find the answers to these questions and more.

Account Types

There are 6 account options on EZYFX. Generally speaking, the minimum deposits are very low when compared to the rest of the market. The ECN Segregated Account is the only one with a relatively sizable deposit requirement. Users have the option to open the EZY Islamic Account or add its swap-free features to 1 of the 3 ECN types.

EZY Basic:
Minimum Deposit: $0
Spreads: From 3 pips
Commission: $0

EZY Classic:
Minimum Deposit: $10
Spreads: From 3 pips
Commission: $0

EZY Islamic:
Minimum Deposit: $100
Spreads: From 3 pips
Commission: $0

ECN Standard:
Minimum Deposit: $100
Spreads: From 1 pip
Commission: Yes

ECN Premium:
Minimum Deposit: $1,000
Spreads: From 1 pip
Commission: Yes

ECN Segregated:
Minimum Deposit: $10,000
Spreads: From 1 pip
Commission: Yes

While EZY Basic, Classic, and Islamic pay no commissions, each of the 3 ECN Account types does. The broker, however, doesn’t specify how much they charge on their website. EZY Basic and EZY Classic don’t have access to advisors, nor can they engage in hedging strategies. These features are available to all other account types on EZYFX. Moreover, ECN Premium and Segregated traders have a 1-minute scalping rule while all others have 2 minutes. All account deposits can be made in USD, but only ECN Premium and Segregated can set the Euro as the default currency.

Platforms

The MetaTrader 4 (MT4) platform gives traders access to a large variety of forex pairs and CFDs. You can download it to your desktop, Android, and iOS. On all devices, you can manage trades, open/close positions, and work with plenty of execution tools. EZYFX account holders can also use WebTrader on their desktop, without having to download any software programs or apps. You can download MT4 easily by visiting the platform’s website.

Traders may utilize different technical indicators and code a custom algorithm to automatically buy or sell assets with favorable conditions. In fact, you are also able to draw graphs and trend-lines through the MT4 mobile app.

Leverage

All accounts have a 200:1 leverage, with the exception of EZY Classic (1000:1) and ECN Standard (400:1). The 200:1 buying power falls closer to the industry average. However, the ECN Standard and, especially, EZY Classic have very competitive leverage rates that are amongst the highest in the brokerage market.

Your account balance also determines how much leverage EZYFX will give you. If you deposit between $10 and $500, you get the maximum 1:1000. A trader with over $500 in capital gets a 400:1, while accounts that have over $5,000 are restricted to leverage of 200:1. To change your leverage, you have to contact EZYFX’s customer service team.

Trade Sizes

EZYFX sets its minimum lot size at 0.01 per order. EZY Basic, EZY Classic, and ECN Standard have a maximum of 5, 10, and 100 lots per trade, respectively. Meanwhile, EZY Islamic, ECN Premium, and ECN Segregated don’t have any restrictions, as long as they maintain the leverage and margin requirements.

Margin Call: 100% (EZY Classic and EZY Islamic) or 150% (all other accounts).
Stop-Out: 50% (EZY Classic and EZY Islamic) or 100% (all other accounts).

When your account balance reaches the margin call, you will have to either deposit additional funds or close some of your trades. Otherwise, EZYFX will do it for you so that your available funds meet the margin requirements. At stop-out, all of your positions will be automatically liquidated in order to minimize losses and prevent the account from having a negative balance.

Trading Costs

As mentioned earlier, only the 3 ECN Account types have to pay commissions. EZYFX’s website doesn’t mention what they are, apart from the fact that commissions are structured in a straightforward and easy to understand way. The other accounts don’t pay any commissions, but traders can’t ignore the spread fees. Islamic accounts, whether it’s the EZY Islamic or an ECN with these features, don’t incur any swap fees on overnight positions. However, this only applies to currency pairs, other instruments (such as commodities and assets) will charge traders a minimal swap.

Having said that, Islamic accounts still have to pay a fixed fee (as opposed to an interest/swap) on overnight forex positions. Just as importantly, if you hold on to a currency pair for over 30 days, EZYFX might remove the Islamic features from your account and charge you swap fees. The amount depends on the currency and the local interest rates.

Assets

Regardless of the account type, all EZYFX traders have access to the same forex pairs, commodities, market indices, and stock CFDs. The broker doesn’t have a list of specific financial instruments that you can trade. If you want to open an account, you should first contact the customer service department to make sure that EZYFX has the currency pairs and/or other assets that you want to trade.

Spreads

The spread is fixed at 3 pips for the EZY Basic, EZY Classic, and EZY Islamic accounts, The fixed amount means that traders don’t have to worry about fluctuating bid/ask prices or incurring more spread fees during volatile market conditions. Just as importantly, 3 pips are on the higher end of what brokerage firms, in general, offer.

The 3 ECN Account types have a low spread at 1 pip. However, this can be different from one currency to another and from one market condition to the next one. Keep in mind that the ECN Accounts have a floating spread, which is subject to change based on news developments and economic circumstances.

While EZYFX has some great features, such as minimal to no commissions, their spreads are modest and many other brokers have much tighter ones.

Minimum Deposit

You can open a live EZY Basic account without depositing any money and trading by merely having what is enough to buy the minimum order size (0.01 lots). EZY Classic has a $10 deposit requirement, while you need at least $100 to start trading through both the EZY Islamic and ECN Standard. ECN Premium and Segregated have a $1,000 and $10,000 minimum deposit rule, respectively. These numbers are very low. In most cases, brokers have deposit amounts that are in the $1,000s. They also rarely allow you to open an account for as low as $10 or $100.

Deposit Methods & Costs

EZYFX doesn’t charge transfer fees on any of its different deposit methods. Here are the processing times for each: Credit or Debit Card transfers take 1 to 2 business days. Deposits through China Union Pay and Mega Transfer are instant. Wires through your local bank will take between 1 to 2 business days. In general, though, bank deposits could require you to wait for up to 4 days.

Withdrawal Methods & Costs

You can withdraw funds through your account’s dashboard. EZYFX doesn’t charge any fees on outbound transfers and they take up to 48 hours to process transactions. All withdrawals must be sent to the same source that deposited the funds. For example, if you initially transferred money from your credit/debit card to your EZYFX account, you can only withdraw the funds through the same Visa or MasterCard that you originally used.

Bonuses & Promotions

We found that the promotional and cashback offers you get are largely tied to your account type. ECN Premium and ECN Segregated traders are entreated into monthly draws, where the winning ticket receives up to $5,000. Meanwhile, EZYFX’s Welcome, Boosting, and Hot Bonus programs give account holders 40%, 60%, and 120%, respectively, on their deposits. For example, if you open an account and fund it with $1,000, this broker’s Welcome Bonus will earn you $400 (or 40%) the deposited amount. Keep in mind that this only applies the first time you transfer money into your account.

However, you can claim the deposit any time after that by simply contacting the broker (i.e. your eligibility for the bonus doesn’t expire). If you are day-trading and you open/close multiple positions on the same day, EZYFX will give you an even larger bonus of 60% of your initial deposit. The Hot Bonus, designed for account holders who rely on utilizing a lot of trading capital or leverage, is an outstanding 120% the deposited amount. Just as with the Welcome type, each of the Boosting and Hot Bonus do not expire. Traders can claim them through their dashboard or by contacting EZYFX’s customer support team.

This broker also gives away different rewards, including smartphones, MacBooks, and a set of mystery gifts that are worth $50 each. When a trader opens an account, they are automatically assigned a number that is added to the draw. Only those who deposit $500 or more are eligible, however. This promotion runs at weekly intervals or stages. A different reward is on the line each week. Moreover, the broker offers them based on holidays from around the world. The current ones are the Hari Raya Gifts promotion, which is themed around the Islamic Eid al Fitr, and the Chinese New Year celebration. The latter started on February 1st and will end on March 16th. Hari Raya Gifts will run from May 15 to June 18.

Lastly, the Dynamic Bonus earns you 10% of your initial deposit if its between $100 and $500. You also get 15% and 20% when you fund your account with over $500 and $1,500, respectively. Traders who deposit over $3,000 will receive a 25% Dynamic Bonus. While you can use the money as trading capital, only $250 of that amount can be withdrawn. EZYFX will allow you to withdraw $1 for each lot that you trade, up until the amount reaches the $250 maximum or your total bonus amount (if its less than that).

Educational & Trading Tools

This broker’s website gives you access to FX Junction, EZY Socio, and a blog. However, the links to the latter two are broken. FX Junction, meanwhile, is a social trading platform that allows traders to connect with other market participants. Through FX Junction, users can exchange ideas, discuss potential trades, and follow/duplicate successful portfolios’ positions. EZYFX’s account holders can connect their MT4 profiles with FX Junction. Other than that, EZYFX doesn’t offer any trading or educational tools. Nonetheless, MT4 certainly fills that gap by providing you with tutorials, one-on-one expert consultations, economic calendars, customizable news feeds, and more.

Customer Service

EZYFX can be contacted through an online ‘contact us’ form and via phone. Their website lists their hours as 11 am to 7 pm GMT +8, which is Pacific Standard Time (the Western region of the United States). However, they are located in the United Kingdom. You can find links to their social media accounts, as well, but they haven’t been active for months.

Phone: +60 32711 6422
Email: NA

Demo Account

Traders can open a demo that retains the characteristics and conditions of each of the 6 different account types. Equally as important, the demo is managed through MT4, which gives you the time needed to learn about the platform’s tools and order execution processes (particularly if you never used it before). Moreover, even though you trade fake/paper money on the demo account, the return on investment (ROI) statement takes commission into consideration.

To clarify, these fees are taken out of your paper balance (and not actually charged), but the broker integrates them with the demo so that traders can be aware of how their profits and ROI are calculated. Furthermore, it helps beginners understand how commissions can add up and diminish their returns. This part is very easy to miss and should be a key part of your future earnings projections, if not your at-large trading strategy.

Countries Accepted

Traders in the United States cannot open a website with EZYFX. The same applies to any country that is not listed as an option on the new account form. To clarify, when someone wants to open an account online, they choose between many options through a scroll-down list. If their location isn’t available, local regulations restrict the broker from offering its services. Nevertheless, EZYFX’s support team is available in 13 different languages and the firm’s account holders come from over 200 countries.

Conclusion

Each of EZYFX’s account types has its own trading conditions. When this is coupled with the flexible deposit requirements, it ensures that traders can easily open an account based on their preferences in regards to commissions, leverage rates, and training/advisory offerings. In addition, you may either open an Islamic Account or integrate its swap-free features with your desired portfolio type.

Perhaps most importantly, these options are available in over 200 countries. Similarly, the state-of-the-art MetaTrader 4 (MT4) platform allows you to manage your positions from any device or location. However, EZYFX’s services are not offered in the United States, alongside other locations that restrict exchanging certain financial assets (such as CFDs).

This broker’s leverage is a two-edged sword. Some account types will have up to 1000:1 in buying power, which is almost unmatched by competitors in the brokerage industry. The downside, though, is that the leverage decreases when traders deposit additional capital. Nonetheless, it only gets as low as 200:1, which is still relatively competitive. Furthermore, experienced market participants may contact the broker and request more buying power, regardless of their account type and how much money they deposited. Trading costs are also mixed. EZY Basic, Classic, and Islamic have an undesirably high spread that starts at 3 pips, but these accounts don’t pay a commission. Moreover, the fixed spread prices are solid, even when the markets are volatile and unstable.

ECN Standard, Premium, and Segregated, on the other hand, pay a commission in exchange for a lower, 1-pip bid/ask gap. This spread is variable, which means that it could become less than 1 pip when the exchanges are stable, but adversarial market conditions could create a notable variation between the bid and ask quotes.

Other than that, both beginners and professionals will certainly benefit from the FX Junction platform. It allows them to exchange ideas with others, copy successful traders’ positions, and more. Equally as important, EZYFX offers strong bonus programs, weekly prize giveaways, and other lucrative promotions.

Does this broker sound like a good choice? Many people will agree, especially because of the flexible setup that suits different types of traders.

EBH Forex’s goal is to empower traders through knowledge and expertise. That is to say: Their team of market professionals doesn’t just help account holders through developing valuable practical tools and signals, but they also ensure that their customers have conveniently comprehensive trading experience. This broker is based out of Bulgaria, but their staff members come from all over the world and combine their years’ worth of market experiences.

Many traders who choose EBH Forex do so because of the firm’s highly competitive spreads, their technologically-advanced resources, and how this broker permits them to deploy different market strategies (including hedging and scalping). Moreover, EBH Forex accepts 4 different default currencies and works with traders from around the world. Yet some regional restrictions may apply. To find out what they are, alongside all of the resources, coding tools, and other services that this broker offers, read this review and find out how EBH Forex can enhance your trading experience.

Account Types

The MetaTrader Pro Account, available on both MT4 and MT5, is the only type offered by EBH Forex. One of its unique features is that the quotes are down to points (a 10th of a pip).

Minimum Deposit: $100
Spreads: From 0 pips
Commission: $3.50 per lot on each opening/closing transaction or $7.00 per lot on fully closed (round-trip) trades.

Opening an account with EBH Forex is a relatively long process. After filling out the application, providing a copy of a government-issued ID, and submitting proof of address documents, traders have to verify their information by way of video. They can do this by calling EBH Forex’s customer service team via video chat or recording footage for them to review. Afterward, the process is concluded and you can start trading. You also have the option of opening an Islamic account.

Platforms

EBH Forex gives traders access to both MetaTrader 4 (MT4) and, its more advanced version, MetaTrader 5 (MT5). The two platforms can be used to trade a wide variety of forex pairs, CFDs, and other financial instruments. Through EBH Forex’s website, traders can easily open a MetaTrader Pro account and download the two versions of the platform. However, there are differences between MT4 and MT5 that traders should be aware of. While both of them have industry-leading and state-of-the-art features, choosing the right one mainly revolves around your strategy and preferences.

First, MT4 provides you with a daily economic calendar, but their news updates and fundamental analysis alerts aren’t as expanded as MT5’s. This makes the latter more desirable to those who focus on the fundamentals and/or are looking to have their news feeds, account dashboard, and trade management tools all in one place. Both of them, however, are accessible from almost any country in the world and their customer support is available in several languages. Moreover, each of the platforms can be downloaded and used on desktop and smartphone devices, alike. Keep in mind, though, that MT5 takes up more space than MT4.

Traders whose strategy revolves around technical analysis might want to carefully do their research before choosing a platform. MT5 has more technical indicators (38), graphic tools (44), and timeframes (21). MT4, on the other hand, only offers 30, 31, and 9 of these tools, respectively. Yet, the Fibonacci charting and other analysis features work better on MT4. Technical analysts need to weigh in on how much they rely on Fibonacci and if it is more important to them than accessing a wider selection of indicators and timeframes.

You have the option of working with an expert advisor through MT4, but only MT5 will give you access to the community chat features. Apart from that, MT5 also has a more spacious dashboard and is known to be more user-friendly than MT4. The latter also allows you to engage in hedging, but this approach is not available on MT5. You can test your strategies on each of these platforms. On MT4, this is only possible through a single thread. Meanwhile, MT5 provides traders with multiple threads and several currencies that they can test their strategy simultaneously.

Leverage

Before August of 2018, EBH Forex’s account holders could get up to 200:1 in buying power. However, due to new EU regulations on the financial sector, the broker started to limit traders’ leverage to 30:1. Moreover, exotic forex pairs and some major ones, such as AUD.CAD (Australian Dollar/Canadian Dollar) and EUR.NZD (New Zealand Dollar), only have a buying power of 20:1. If you want EBH Forex to give you more leverage, you may have your account upgraded to ‘Professional Client’ status, which we will discuss in more detail in this review.

Trade Sizes

The minimum lot size is 1,000 units of the base currency, which is 0.01 lots. EBH Forex is flexible and has no maximum position requirements, giving the firm an advantage over many other brokers.

Margin Call: 100%
Stop-Out: 50%

When you enter a trade and it starts losing money, EBH Forex will notify you once it goes below the 100% margin requirement while your dashboard highlights it in red. At the 50% level, unless you close some trades or deposit additional funds, the broker automatically liquidates all your open positions.

Trading Costs

You incur the commissions every time you open or close a trade. When you first buy the forex pair, you are charged $3.50 on each $100,000 (or the equivalent) of the base-currency you purchased, which is EBH Forex’s standard lot size. Another $3.50 is added when you sell or, altogether, $7.00 per fully closed lot. If you keep your trades open overnight, then you are charged swap fees. They are determined based on market conditions and the interest rates of the specific currency that you’re trading.

The Islamic account, however, is unique because it doesn’t incur any swap fees. Instead, traders are charged a flat fee on overnight positions. Lastly, traders have to cover spread costs. Even though this broker’s spreads can be as low as 0 pips, the number varies from one currency pair to another. When markets are unstable or volatile, the spread is likely to be much larger. On EBH Forex’s website, you can see the list of currencies and their spreads, down to one-tenth of a pip.

Assets

You can trade almost 40 different forex pairs, as well as commodities, namely spot gold and spot silver. Apart from the majors, there are certain exotics that EBH Forex gives traders access to, such as the Mexican Peso and South African Rand. Spot metals are tied to the US dollar, just as currencies are bundled in a pair. You can trade XAG.USD (silver) and XAU.USD (gold) through the MetaTrader platforms. Lastly, the broker gives traders access to certain market indices and stock CFDs.

Spreads

The EUR.USD has the lowest spread (0.5 pips) amongst all currencies listed on EBH Forex’s website. Several others have a spread of less than 1 pip, but some forex pairs’ bid/ask gap can be much higher. For example, USD.ZAR (South African Rand) has an almost 400-pip spread. This is because the bid and ask prices, alongside the value of 1 pip, can be lower for exotic pairs. Traders should always keep this mind in order to make fully-informed decisions.

Minimum Deposit

You only need $100 to open an account and start trading.

Deposit Methods & Costs

There are several ways to fund your account. You can set the US Dollar, British Pound, Bulgarian Lev, Euro, or Swiss Franc as the default currency. The deposit options are the following: Astro Pay, ePayments, MasterCard, Neteller, Paysafecard, Rapid, Skrill, SWIFT bank transfers, and Visa. Bank transfers are processed within 3 days, while the time it takes for other methods to go through is not listed on EBH Forex’s website.

SWIFT bank transfers are free when you deposit funds. Paysafecard and ePayments will charge 10% and 1% the transaction amount, respectively. When it comes to other methods, the broker might charge a fee. You will find more information about these charges on your user account’s dashboard.

Withdrawal Methods & Costs

You can only withdraw money via bank transfers, ePayments, Neteller, or Skrill. The fees are as follows: Bank transfers cost $25/15 EUR per transaction (based on your preferred currency). Skrill and Neteller payments come with a fee of 1% and 2% of the transferred amount, respectively. However, ePayments don’t cost anything when you withdraw funds. It is important to note that the minimum withdrawal amount is 100 in your account’s default currency per transfer.

Withdrawal Processing & Wait Time

Each method also has its own processing time, which is different from how long it takes to deposit money. Here are the withdrawal times: Bank transfers are processed within hours, but, at times, the wait can be 5 days. Skrill and Neteller withdrawals only take a few hours during weekdays. Processing times, nonetheless, can be up to 8.5 hours when transactions are made after the markets close and during weekends or holidays. Lastly, outbound transfers via ePayments go through on the same day. Otherwise, they are processed during the next business day when withdrawal requests are made on weekends and holidays.

Bonuses & Promotions

There are no cashback bonuses. However, you could get your account upgraded by getting classified as a ‘Professional Client’, which allows you to utilize more leverage and trade under fewer restrictions (more lax margin call policies, for instance). First, to become a ‘Professional Client,’ you must make an average of 10 trades per quarter for 1 full year. Additionally, traders have to show that they have 500,000 Euros ($550,000+) in assets, which can include external brokerage portfolios (with a firm other than EBH Forex) and saving/checking accounts with banks. Lastly, this offer is only available to those who have 1 year or more of experience in the financial industry.

The EBHRebate promotion allows you to get refunds on your commissions. It is unclear whether this offer is available to account holders that are not classified as “Professional,” but the rebate mainly targets high-frequency traders. When you deposit less than $10,000 and your trade volume is lower than $10 million (or 100 lots), EBH Forex awards you with a $35 rebate on every 10 lots.

For example, an account holder has $8,000 in their portfolio and they opened/closed 30 lots. The broker will give them $105 (or $35 per 10 lots). The commission revenues go down to $30, $25, and $20 per 10 lots when you deposit over $10,000, $50,000, and $100,000, respectively. Accounts with over $250,000 in capital get a $15 commission on every 10 lots that they trade, as long as their volume exceeds $100 million (or 1,000 lots).

Educational & Trading Tools

EBH Forex’s trading services are incredibly expanded and competitive. Equally as important, they suit traders who follow all types of strategies and have different levels of experience. Expert Advisors (EA) is a program that collects and analyzes data on forex pairs, such as volume and price patterns. When EBH Forex’s account holders subscribe to the EA service (and pay a fee), the broker will give them access to this data by giving buy/sell or ‘do nothing’ recommendations. Those who program their own high-frequency trading code can also integrate it into the algorithm, which means that the EA service will automatically open/close positions for them. This broker also provides you with MQL5 Signals, regardless of whether you trade through MT4 or MT5. The signals allow beginners to identify the positions of profitable traders and start emulating them as soon as they open an account.

Customer Service

You can contact EBH Forex via phone (one of the two numbers listed below) or email. Traders can also communicate with them through traditional mail or by visiting their office in Sofia, Bulgaria. Other options for contacting customer service include chatting online with a live representative, submitting a callback request, or filling out a ‘contact us’ form on the broker’s website.

Phone: +359 32571827 (support for existing account holders); +359 24374073 (general questions)
Email: [email protected]

Demo Account

You can open a demo account through either MT4 or MT5. Both of them obtain the same features, spreads, leverage, margin calls, and access to instruments that live accounts have. Your demo will only be deleted if you stop using it for 60 days. However, you can also open up to 20 different demo accounts. If you lose all of the paper money on your demo, you can easily pick the amount of capital you want and it will be added to the account.

Countries Accepted

EBH Forex is licensed and registered in Bulgaria. Their services are also available to traders across the European Union and the greater European Economic Area (EEA). In terms of restrictions, EBH Forex isn’t available in the United States and Canada, as well as any other country that regulates or prohibits trading certain instruments offered by this broker.

Conclusion

To summarize, here are the main positives and negatives to using EBH Forex. First, the leading advantages that this broker’s account holders enjoy are the small minimum deposits, the ability to choose either MT4 or MT5, low spreads, multiple transfer options, automated trading signals, and the possibility of upgrading to the ‘Professional Client’ portfolio (which gives you more leverage and less restrictive conditions). Having said that, the disadvantages of opening an account with EBH Forex are the lengthy account opening process (which requires you to verify your identity via video), commissions on trades, and transfer fees. Equally as important, the firm’s services are not offered to traders in the United States and Canada.

Those who have a lot of capital, especially scalpers, will certainly appreciate EBH Forex’s low spreads and how they can pick between the MT4 and MT5 platforms, based on their preferences. While this broker’s leverage is relatively limited, traders who have a year or more of market experience can qualify for the ‘Professional Client’ account and access a higher degree of buying power. Moreover, we found that the firm’s offerings are very valuable to beginners, particularly because they can emulate other traders’ successful positions and access crucial market signals.

In short, if you can tolerate the transfer fees and commissions, EBH Forex’s services and technological toolsets will not disappoint you. For that matter, even the commissions can be scrapped or minimized when you participate in the broker’s rebate promotion.

Golden Capital FX is a forex and CFD broker based in Saint Vincent and Grenadines as well as the United Kingdom. They aim for trading satisfaction through offering super-low spreads, 240+ trading instruments, the safety of funds, dedicated account managers, award-winning platforms, rapid execution, education, a variety of accounts and a professional team. This review will be looking into the services being offered to see if they achieve in providing al that they promise.

Account Types

There are three different accounts available to choose from should you decide to sign up with Golden Capital FX, they do not offer much information on the account comparison page so we will show what we know, throughout this review each section will outline any differences between the accounts.

Standard Account: Requires a deposit between $100 and $4,999, it comes with a variable (floating) spread.

Premium Account: Requires a deposit between $5,000 and $49,999, it comes with a variable (floating) spread.

VIP Account: Requires a deposit of $50,000 or more, it comes with a variable (floating) or STP spread.

Platforms

Golden Capital FX is offering a single trading platform trading platforms, form the MetaQuotes company. Whether you are new to the world of Forex or a very experienced trader, the MetaTrader 4 (MT4) platform will provide you with a user-friendly and exciting trading experience. Using the MetaTrader 4 platform, traders can utilize a variety of advanced trading tools including automated algorithms, technical indicators, and fundamental analysis. Combined, these provide a streamlined, proficient trading experience.

Leverage

We could not locate information on the website in regards to leverage, we noticed out on the internet that certain places were listing 1:500 as a maximum leverage, but they also had different accounts, so we suspect things have changed and that info is now out of date, so we do not currently know what the maximum leverage is.

Trade Sizes

Trade sizes start from 0.01 lots which are known as micro-lots, they then go up in increments of 0.01 lots so the next trade would be 0.02 lots and then 0.03 lots. We do not know what the maximum trade size is, however, we would recommend not trading in sizes larger than 50 lots, as the bigger a trade becomes the harder it is for the markets or liquidity provider to execute the trade quickly and without any slippage.

Trading Costs

The trading costs are another unknown entity to us, there is mention of low commissions but nowhere on the site does it state commissions, considering the spreads are in line with non-commission accounts we suspect that there are none, if there are, this information should be made more prevalent on the website.

Swap charges are present though, these are interest charges that are incurred for holding trades overnight, they can be both negative or positive and can usually be viewed from within the trading platform of choice.

Assets

The assets have been broken down into a number of different categories, let’s have a look at them and what sort of instruments are available.

Spreads

Spreads depend on a number of different factors, firstly is the account type that you are using, the Standard account has spread starting from 1.1 pips, the Premium account from 0.5 pips and the VIP account has spreads starting from 0.5 pips.

The spreads are variable (also known as floating) so this means that when the markets are being volatile, the spreads will often be seen higher. It is also important to note that different instruments and assets have different starting spreads, so while EURCHF may start at 1.1 pips, other assets like EURUSD may start slightly higher, in this case, 1.5 pips.

Minimum Deposit

The minimum amount required to open up an account is $100,m it is unknown if this minimum changes once an account is already open.

Deposit Methods & Costs

There is a little confusion about what methods are available, at the bottom of the page are a load of images of different processors such as Visa, MasterCard, Skrill, Neteller, Bitpay and Fasapay, however, when looking at the deposit section of the site, these are not present. We will be looking at the ones that are.

Credit/Debit Card, Moneybookers, and Bank Wire Transfer are the only methods currently stated on the deposit and withdrawal page. It seems that there are no added fees by Golden Capital FX, however, they state that you should check with your own bank or card issuer to see if they add any transfer fees of their own.

Withdrawal Methods & Costs

For withdrawals, the same three methods are mentioned which are Credit / Debit Card, Moneybookers, and Bank Wire Transfer. Just like with the deposits, it does not seem like there are any added withdrawal fees, however, be sure to check with your own bank or card issuer to see if they add any transfer fees of their own.

Withdrawal Processing & Wait Time

The processing times on the withdrawal page all state up to 24 hours, this would be the processing for Golden Capital FX, there will then be a waiting time of between 1 to 5 business days for your card issuer or bank to process in the incoming transaction and make the funds available to you.

Bonuses & Promotions

The only bonus that seems to be available is a $2 rebate on each lot traded. The terms of this promotion are not known but it should be simple $2 back for every lot that you have traded. If you are interested in bonuses then be sure to check back regularly or get in contact with the customer service team to see if there are any upcoming bonuses or promotions.

Educational & Trading Tools

The academy section of the site is quite straight forward, it has information about Webinars and Seminars, however, no examples of them so we do not know how worthwhile they are. There is also a trading tools section which contains and economic calendar telling you of any upcoming news events and which markets they will affect, there is also some trading signals but you need to be registered and logged in to see them so we cannot comment on their accuracy or profitability.

Customer Service

The contact us page gives the usual online submission form to fill in, fill it in and you should get a reply via email. There is also an email address available to use along with a telephone number should you wish to speak to someone directly. We are not sure about the opening times of the support department but would assume they will be closed over the weekends and bank holidays at the same time as the markets are.

Demo Account

A demo account is available and can be opened by clicking the open demo account button, you then just need to fill in the simple form and off you go. Demo accounts are a way for potential new clients to test out the servers and trading conditions and for existing clients to test out new strategies without risking any of their own capital. The trading conditions of the demo accounts are not known, it is also not known if there is an expiration time no the demo accounts.

Countries Accepted

The information about which countries are accepted and which are not is not present on the website, so if you are interested in joining, be sure to get in contact with the customer service team to check if you are eligible for an account or not.

Conclusion

Golden Capital FX promises a lot, but did they live up to it? Sadly not quite, there is a lot of information missing, information that would be vital for potential new clients when deciding to sign up. The spreads are good, but the unknown of commissions and leverage make it hard to properly gauge the trading conditions. There is also confusion over the deposit and withdrawal methods with certain images being placed on the site, but no mention of them on the deposit and withdrawal information pages. This information needs to be sorted and provided in order for us to be able to recommend them as a broke to use, so while it is missing, unfortunately, we can not.

HQBroker is a Marshall Island based forex broker which is committed to providing a secure, beneficial, trading environment for its traders and investors. They aim to provide reliable trading solutions as well as superb trading conditions, so join us as we go through the services on offer to see how they compare to the competitions and to see what they really do offer.

Account Types

There are 5 different accounts on offer, each one having its own trading conditions along with requirements to pen, so lets briefly look at some of the features.

Starter Account: This account requires a minimum deposit of $250 to open, it comes with a minimum trade size of 0.01 lots and has a floating spread. It uses the MetaTrader 4 trading platform and also has access to mobile trading. The account also comes with an account manager.

Silver Account: This account requires a minimum deposit of $5,000 to open, it comes with a minimum trade size of 0.01 lots and has a floating spread. It uses the MetaTrader 4 trading platform and also has access to mobile trading. The account also comes with an account manager.

Golden Account: This account requires a minimum deposit of $20,000 to open, it comes with a minimum trade size of 0.01 lots and has a floating spread. It uses the MetaTrader 4 trading platform and also has access to mobile trading. The account also comes with an account manager and free bank wire transfers.

Platinum Account: This account requires a minimum deposit of $50,000 to open, it comes with a minimum trade size of 0.01 lots and has a floating spread. It uses the MetaTrader 4 trading platform and also has access to mobile trading. The account also comes with an account manager, free bank wire transfers and daily analysis.

Investor Account: This is the top tier account and requires a minimum deposit of $100,000 to open, it comes with a minimum trade size of 0.01 lots and has a floating spread. It uses the MetaTrader 4 trading platform and also has access to mobile trading. The account also comes with an account manager, free bank wire transfers, daily analysis and access to 24-hour support.

Platforms

HQBroker offers MetaTrader 4 as its trading platform, MT4 is full of features to help with your trading and when using it with HQBroekrs you get features including multiple chart setups, a market watch window, pre-installed indicators, a large collection of analysis tools, it has negative balance protection, customize EA for automated trades, you can develop technician indicators, you can Import/export historic data in real-time, 250+ available instruments to trade, flexible leverage up to 1:400, trade Forex, Commodities and Derivatives, an extensive list of shares from all world markets, optimum execution without rejections, Expert Advisors(EA) capabilities, 1+CLICK trading enabled and, multi-language support. MetaTrader 4 is also accessible as a desktop download, mobile application and as a web trader.

Leverage

There is a leverage choice up to 1:400 with HQBroker, you can select leverage when opening up an account and can be changed on an already open account by contacting the customer service team.

Trade Sizes

The minimum trade size for all accounts starts at 0.01 lots which is known as a micro lot, they then go up in increments of 0.01 lots. It is not known what the maximum trade size is or what the maximum number of open trades you can have at any one time is.

Trading Costs

We do not know if there are any added commissions but judging by the spreads (see later part of this review) it does not seem like there will be any added commissions. There are however swap charges, these are interest fees charged for holding trades overnight and can be both positive or negative, they can be viewed from within the MetaTrtader4 trading platform.

Assets

There is a breakdown of some of the assets, we are not clear if it is all of them but it is everything we could find.

Forex: EURUSD, USDJPY, GBPUSD, EURJPY, AUDUSD, USDCHF, EURCHF, EURGBP, USDCAD, NZDUSD, AUDJPY, CHFJPY, GBPCHF, USDHKD, CADJPY, GBPJPY, NZDJPY, CADCHF, EURAUD, USDSGD, AUDCAD

Metals: Gold and Silver are the only metals available to trade.

Equities: Far too many for us to go through, there is a 14-page list of them, but anything you can think of that has shared will be there to trade.

Spreads

The different accounts come with different spreads, if we take EURUSD as an example, the Regular account comes with spreads of 1.5 pips, the Silver account has spread of 1.2 pips, Gold 1 pip, and Platinum just 0.8 pips.

 

It should also be noted that different instruments have different spreads so on the Silver account, EURUSD may start at 1.2 pips, AUDUSD starts t 1.5 pips. The spreads are also variable which means they move when there is added volatility in the markets they will often be seen higher than the number stated above.

Minimum Deposit

The minimum amount required to open up an account is $250 which will allow you to open up a Starter account. It is not known if smaller amounts are able to be deposited once an account is already open.

Deposit Methods & Costs

There are only two different methods available to deposit with, Bank Wire Transfer and Credit/Debit card. HQBroker does not add any fees of their own. However, you should check with your payment provider and bank to see if they add any fees of their own.

Withdrawal Methods & Costs

The same two methods are available to withdraw with, again these are Bank wire Transfer and Credit/Debit card. There are no added fees from HQBroker but again, be sure to check with your own bank or card issuer to see if they had any transfer fees of their own.

Withdrawal Processing & Wait Time

The withdrawal times stated on the site indicated that Bank Wire transfers should take between 3 to 15 business days and that Credit/Debit card withdrawals should take between 3 to 7 business days. These times vary depending on your bank or card issuer.

Bonuses & Promotions

It does not seem like there are any bonuses or promotions available but this does not mean that there won’t be in the future. So if you are looking for bonuses, you could always get in contact with the customer service team to see if there are any promotions coming up that you can participate in.

Educational & Trading Tools

When it comes to education there are a couple of videos available, they are pretty basic, ok if you are new but if you have traded before they won’t teach you anything new. There are some ebooks, but unfortunately, the page was not loading properly for us so we could not see what they were like. There is then a glossary of forex related terms, but again the page was not loading. Finally, there was some market news, and you can probably guess, the page wasn’t loading properly so we cannot comment on the quality of the source of the news.

Customer Service

Should you need to contact HQBroker they are available 24 hours a day 5 days a week and close over the weekend just like the markets do. You can contact them using the online submission form, or you can use the live chat service if you prefer there is also an email address and a phone number available to use.

Email: [email protected]
Phone: 852-5808-4980

Demo Account

We did not see the option to open up a demo account which is a shame as demo accounts allow existing clients to test out new strategies without risking capital and also allows new and potential clients to test out the trading conditions on offer.

Countries Accepted

The following statement is on the site: “Restricted jurisdiction: HQBroker does not offer its services to residents of certain jurisdictions such as USA, France and Hong Kong. HQBroker will not conduct any regulated activity in Hong Kong as they are not licensed by the Securities and Futures Commission. For more information, please see the Terms and Conditions.” If you are still not sure of your eligibility, we would recommend contacting the customer service team to find out prior to creating an account.

Conclusion

It was hard work to find some of the information such as the trading conditions, the meu system on the site can be a little confusing with multiple pages for the same topic each holding different details. From the information that we did get, the trading conditions seem okay, and the spreads are not too high for non-commission accounts. They were let down a bit in relation to the number of tradable assets and it would have been nice to see more currency pairs available. There also want many ways to deposit or withdraw, if you like using electronic wallets you will need to look elsewhere, it as good that there were no added transfer fees though.

iBrokers is a foreign exchange broker offering to trade for both Forex and CFDs. Their aims are to offer transparency, high execution speed, powerful trading platforms, ECN-spreads, and security. In this review, we will be looking into the services to see if they have offered what they aim for and so you can decide if they are the right broker for you.

Account Types

There are 6 different account types on offer if you sign up with iBrokers, each with varying requirements and trading conditions, we have detailed them below for you.

Bronze Account: There is no minimum deposit for this account so anyone can join, the account must be in EUR or USD, it has swap charges and comes with no commission. The account uses a raw spread but adds 2.4 pips on top of this, the minimum trade size is 0.01 lots and the leverage can be between 1:1 and 1:400. Expert advisors are allowed as it hedging it is uses MetaTrader 4 as its trading platform, this account does not come with an account manager.

Silver Account: The silver account has a minimum deposit of $2,000, it has to be in EUR or USD as a base currency, the account also has swap charges. There is no added commission, the account has a raw spread with 1.8 pips added on top. Trade sizes start at 0.01 lots and the leverage can be between 1:1 and 1:200. Expert advisors are allowed as it hedging it is uses MetaTrader 4 as its trading platform, this account also comes with the services of an account manager.

Gold Account: The gold account increases the minimum deposit of up to $25,000. It has a base currency of EUR or USD and, the account also has swap charges. There is no added commission, the account has a raw spread with 1.1 pips added on top. Trade sizes start at 0.1 lots and the leverage can be between 1:1 and 1:100. Expert advisors are allowed as it hedging it is uses MetaTrader 4 as its trading platform, this account also comes with the services of an account manager.

ECN Account: The ECN account requires a minimum deposit of $50,000 which is pricing out a lot of retail traders, the account needs to be in EUR or USD as a base currency and swap charges are present. The account has raw spreads with no markup and so there is an added commission of $5 per round lot traded. Minimum trade sizes are 0.5 lots and expert advisors are allowed as it hedging it is uses MetaTrader 4 as its trading platform, this account also comes with the services of an account manager. The account comes with leverage between 1:1 and 1:100.

Islamic Account: This account is intended for people who can not use swap charges. There is no minimum deposit for this account so anyone can join, the account must be in EUR or USD, as mentioned it does not have any swap charges and comes with no commission. The account uses a raw spread but adds 2.4 pips on top of this, the minimum trade size is 0.01 lots and the leverage can be between 1:1 and 1:400. Expert advisors are allowed as it hedging it is uses MetaTrader 4 as its trading platform, this account does not come with an account manager.

Islamic VIP Account: A VIP account for those that can not have swap charges, there is a minimum deposit of $10,000. It has a base currency of EUR or USD and, as mentioned the account does not have any swap fees. There is no added commission, the account has a raw spread with 1.1 pips added on top. Trade sizes start at 0.1 lots and the leverage can be between 1:1 and 1:200. Expert advisors are allowed as it hedging it is uses MetaTrader 4 as its trading platform, this account also comes with the services of an account manager.

Platforms

iBrokers use MetaTrader 4 as their sole trading platform, the good news is that MetaTrader 4 is pretty good, so let’s see what it offers. Trading on any particular FX system is going to differ from trading on another. Although there is no single trading platform that is going to meet all needs, the Ibroker MetaTrader 4 platform does provide a number of benefits to users. These include, but are not limited to the following…

• User-friendly interface
• Newsfeeds built directly into the trading platform
• Preprogrammed analytical tools
• The ability to overlay analytical studies
• Multiple charting and analysis tools
• Encourages the development of EAs and allows the use of them
• Multilingual platform
• Daily account statement
• Real-time client account summary (account equity, floating profit & loss, etc.)
• Trailing stop loss facility

Leverage

The leverage that you receive is based on the account that you are using, we have listed them below.

• Bronze = 1:1 – 1:400
• Silver = 1:1 – 1:200
• Gold = 1:1 – 1:100
• ECN = 1:1 – 1:100
• Islamic = 1:1 – 1:400
• Islamic VIP = 1:1 – 1:200

Trade Sizes

The Bronze, Silver and Islamic accounts have trade sizes starting at 0.01 lots (known as a micro lot) and increments of 0.01 lots. The Gold and Islamic Pro account shave trade sizes starting from 0.1 lots (known as a mini lot) and go up in increments of 0.1 lots. The ECN account has a minimum trade size of 0.5 lots and the increments are currently unknown to us but it is most likely 0.5 lots.

We do not know the maximum trade size, however, we would recommend not trading in sizes larger than 50 lots, as the bigger a trade becomes the harder it is for the markets or liquidity provider to execute the trade quickly and without any slippage.

Trading Costs

The ECN account has an added commission of $4 for each lot traded, this is lower than the industry standard of $4 lots and is very competitive. The Bronze, Silver, Gold, Islamic and Islamic VIP accounts use a spread based system that we will look at later in this review and so there are no added commissions.

Swap charges are present on the Bronze, Silver, Gold, and ECN accounts, these are interest charges that are incurred for holding trades overnight, they can be both negative or positive and can usually be viewed from within the trading platform of choice.

Assets

iBrokers allow you to trade a number of different assets, we have listed them for you below.

Currency Pairs: AUD/CAD, AUD/CHF, AUD/JPY, AUD/NZD, AUD/USD, CAD/CHF, CAD/JPY, CHF/JPY, CHF/NOK, CHF/SEK, EUR/AUD, EUR/CAD, EUR/CHF, EUR/CZK, EUR/DKK, EUR/GBP, EUR/HUF, EUR/JPY, EUR/NOK, EUR/NZD, EUR/PLN, EUR/SEK, EUR/TRY, EUR/USD, GBP/AUD, GBP/CAD, GBP/CHF, GBP/JPY, GBP/NZD, GBP/SEK, GBP/USD, HKD/JPY, NOK/JPY, NZD/CAD, NZD/CHF, NZD/JPY, NZD/USD, SEK/JPY, SGD/JPY, TRY/JPY, USD/CAD, USD/CHF, USD/CNH, USD/CZK, USD/DKK, USD/HKD, USD/HUF, USD/ILS, USD/JPY, USD/MXN, USD/NOK, USD/PLN, USD/RUB, USD/SEK, USD/SGD, USD/TRY, USD/ZAR, ZAR/JPY

Indexes: AUS 200, ESP 35, FRA 40, Ger 30, ITA 40, NAS 100, UK 100, US 30, HKG 33, JPY 225, EUSTX 50, SUI 20, SPX 500

Commodities: Natural Gas, Crude Oil (Brent), Crude Oil (WTI), Palladium, Silver, Gold, Platinum, Copper

Spreads

All accounts come with an ECN spread which means they can as low as 0.1 pips, for the ECN account this is the final amount, other accounts have an additional spread added on top in order for the broker to make its money, we have outlined them below.

• Bronze: ECN + 2.5 pips
• Silver: ECN + 1.8 pips
• Gold: ECN + 1.1 pips
• Islamic: ECN + 3.2
• Islamic Pro: ECN + 1.1 pips

The spreads are variable (also known as floating) so this means that when the markets are being volatile, the spreads will often be seen higher. It is also important to note that different instruments and assets have different starting spreads, so while EURUSD may start at 2.5 pips, other assets like GBPJPY may start slightly higher, such as 3 pips.

Minimum Deposit

The account page states that there is no minimum deposit, however, the FAQ on the website states that the minimum deposit is $200.

Deposit Methods & Costs

This is where things go a little wrong for iBrokers Trade, there doesn’t appear to be any information about what deposit methods are available on the website, nor is there any mention of potential fees. iBrokers have been very good at giving all the information needed so it is a surprise that such vital information is missing.

Withdrawal Methods & Costs

Just like the deposit methods, we are unclear on what methods are actually available ad if there are any fees, so we are not able to comment properly on this section apart to say that this information should be here and it is a real let down that it is not.

Withdrawal Processing & Wait Time

iBrokers will process your withdrawal request within 24 hours, once this has been done it can take between 2 – 5 business days for your money to be available to you depending on the withdrawal method, as we do not know what they are we can not be more specific.

Bonuses & Promotions

In terms and conditions, there is a mention of a bonus, however, the details are not clear and there is no mention of it on the main website so it may be leftover from a previous promotion. If you would like a bonus, we would recommend getting in touch with the customer service team to see if there are any new bonuses coming up.

Educational & Trading Tools

There is a trading tools section of the website which has 6 different sections to it, the first being Market News, this section details news that has happened, however, there is not a lot of it, just a single page with very brief information. The next section is an economic calendar detailing any upcoming news events and which markets they may affect. There is then an Education Centre which gives small lessons, these are short bite-sized chunks of information, unfortunately, it appeared that some of the links weren’t working but the majority were.

There are also some trading signals, however, we weren’t able to test them to see how accurate or profitable they were. You can also use an auto trader to do the trading for you and, finally, there is managed accounts should you wish for someone else to trade your money for you, we would advise against this as learning yourself is far greater.

Customer Service

A few different ways to get in contact you can use the online submission form to send your query and you should then get a reply via email. There is also direct email addressed for the customer support department as well as for affiliates. Finally, there is also a phone number and online chat should you wish to speak to someone in real-time.

Demo Account

Demo accounts are available and come with certain trading conditions, you can choose the base currency as USD or EUR, swap charges are simulated and there is no commission. The spreads are ECN + 2.5 pips and the minimum trade size is 0.01 lots with leverage between 1:1 and 1:400. You can use expert advisors and hedging is fine, the account can be used with the MetaTrader 4 trading platform. There was no mention of how long the account lasts so we are assuming it works indefinitely until you close it or go inactive for too long.

Countries Accepted

We did not notice any information about eligible countries so if you are thinking of signing up, you could get in contact with the customer service team to see if you are eligible for an account or not.

Conclusion

iBrokers Trade made a strong start, their trading conditions are clear and competitive, the bronze account has slightly high spreads but the other accounts are more in line with the competition. Plenty of assets to trade but it would be nice to see a little more diversity. The customer service team has plenty of ways to get in touch with is always a good plus. The place where iBrokers Trade let themselves down was on their financial information, there is no info about depositing or withdrawing which is such a vital piece of information when they will be dealing with our money. If you can look past that or get the information out of the support team then they could be a potentially good broker.

AZ Trades is a foreign exchange broker registered and located in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. Founded by a team of professionals, they aim to provide the best pricing, liquidity and, execution, to offer innovative technology, a variety of trading instruments, to provide all-year-round customer support, to guarantee deposit protection and more. Throughout this review, we will see what services are being offered and how they are living up to their goals.

Account Types

Should you decide to sign up, there are 7 different accounts to choose from, that is a lot of options so lets briefly look at what each one offers.

Classic Account: The Classic account has a minimum deposit of $200, it has minimum trades starting at 0.05 lots and can be leveraged up to 1:400. It uses MetaTrader 4 and has access to 24/7 customer support along with an account manager. Its currency can be in EUR, USD, or GBP and hedging is allowed. It has a fixed spread with an added commission. Expert advisors are not allowed.

Islamic Account: The Islamic account has a minimum deposit of $200, it has minimum trades starting at 0.05 lots and can be leveraged up to 1:200. It uses MetaTrader 4 and has access to 24/7 customer support along with an account manager. Its currency can be in EUR, USD, or GBP and hedging is allowed. It has a fixed spread with no added commission. Expert advisors are not allowed.

Variable Account: The Variable account has a minimum deposit of $2,500, it has minimum trades starting at 0.05 lots and can be leveraged up to 1:400. It uses MetaTrader 4 and has access to 24/7 customer support along with an account manager. Its currency can be in EUR, USD, or GBP and hedging is allowed. It has a floating spread with an added commission. Expert advisors are allowed on this account.

Silver Account: The Silver account has a minimum deposit of $10,000, it has minimum trades starting at 0.1 lots and can be leveraged up to 1:400. It uses MetaTrader 4 and has access to 24/7 customer support along with an account manager. Its currency can be in EUR, USD, or GBP and hedging is allowed. It has a fixed spread with an added commission. Expert advisors are allowed on this account and it also has access to daily insights and a prepaid card.

Gold Account: The Gold account has a minimum deposit of $25,000, it has minimum trades starting at 0.2 lots and can be leveraged up to 1:400. It uses MetaTrader 4 and has access to 24/7 customer support along with an account manager. Its currency can be in EUR, USD, or GBP and hedging is allowed. It has a fixed spread with no added commission. Expert advisors are allowed on this account and it also has access to daily insights and a prepaid card as well as free SMS notifications.

VIP Account: The VIP account has a minimum deposit of $50,000, it has minimum trades starting at 0.5 lots and can be leveraged up to 1:200. It uses MetaTrader 4 and has access to 24/7 customer support along with an account manager. Its currency can be in EUR, USD, or GBP and hedging is allowed. It has a fixed or variable spread with no added commission. Expert advisors are allowed on this account and it also has access to daily insights and a prepaid card as well as free SMS notifications. The account also has 24/7 trading available.

Crypto Account: The Crypto account has a minimum deposit of $5,000, it has minimum trades starting at 0.05 lots and can be leveraged up to 1:100. It uses MetaTrader 4 and has access to 24/7 customer support along with an account manager. Its currency can be in EUR, USD, or GBP and hedging is allowed. It has a variable spread with an added commission. Expert advisors are allowed on this account and it also has access to daily insights and a prepaid card as well as free SMS notifications. The account also has 24/7 trading available.

Platforms

AZ Trade uses MetaTrader 4 as its only trading platform. MT4 has become the most popular system for trading FX across the globe. Enjoy full charting capabilities, use custom indicators and explore the world of automated trading using Expert Advisors. It is available as a desktop download, a mobile application for your mobile devices and as a web trader to use in your browser. Being stuck with just one platform is normally negative, but when it is MetaTrader 4 you cannot go wrong.

Leverage

The leverage that is available depends on the account in use, we have outlined them below.

• Classic: 1:400
• Islamic: 1:200
• Variable: 1:400
• Silver: 1:400
• Gold: 1:400
• VIP: 1:200
• Crypto: 1:100

Leverage can be selected when opening up the account. Once leverage has been chosen it cannot be changed.

Trade Sizes

The minimum trade sizes are also dependant on the account you are using, we have detailed them for you below.

• Classic: 0.05 lots
• Islamic: 0.05 lots
• Variable: 0.05 lots
• Silver: 0.1 lots
• Gold: 0.2 lots
• VIP: 0.5 lots
• Crypto: 0.05 lots

It is unknown what the maximum trade size is or what the maximum number of open trades you can have at one time.

Trading Costs

The accounts page indicates that there is some commission on the Classic, Variable and Silver accounts, however, we could not work out what it was, the FAQ mentions other fees and commissions but not the commission on trading which is a little strange. There are also swap charges for holding trades overnight and these can be both positive or negative, they can be viewed within the trading platform of choice.

Assets

Unfortunately, there is not a full breakdown of available assets or even an overview of them available, we would expect there to be some sort of contract specification available, but there is not. Potential clients will have no idea what is available to trade.

Spreads

As there is no product specification there is also no detailed list of spreads so we do not know what they are starting at. What we do know if that the Classic, Islamic, Silver, Gold and VIP account shave fixed spreads, this means that they do not change. The Variable, VIP and Crypto account shave variable spreads which means they move with the markets and when there is a lot of volatility they will often be seen higher.

Minimum Deposit

The minimum deposit is $200, we are not sure for which account that is for but that is what the FAQ says.

Deposit Methods & Costs

There are just two main ways to deposit into AZ Trade, these are using Visa / MasterCard Credit and Debit cards or by Bank Wire Transfer. There are no added fees from AZ trades, but be sure to check with your own bank to see if they add any transfer fees of their own.

Withdrawal Methods & Costs

When withdrawing you can only withdraw to your Credit / Debit card until the value of withdrawals matches the deposits, then you must use Bank Wire Transfer to withdraw. There are no added fees when withdrawing to your Credit / Debit card, it is not clear if there are any added fees for Bank Wire Transfers.

Withdrawal Processing & Wait Time

Withdrawal requests should be fully processed from between 1 to 5 business days depending on your own bank or card issuers processing times.

Bonuses & Promotions

There is a bonus section on the site however it does not appear that there are any promotions or bonuses running when we are writing this review. If you are looking for bonuses, we would suggest contacting the customer service team to see if there are any new ones coming up that you can take part in.

Educational & Trading Tools

There are a few pages of education and tools however they are pretty basic. There is a page on both Technical Analysis and Fundamental Analysis, both pages are just single pages outlining different aspects of the different types of analysis. There is a live charts section that shows you up to date charts from various currency pairs and stocks. Finally, there is an economic calendar that tells us about upcoming news events and the market that the news may affect.

Customer Service

Should you have any questions or queries the customer support team is available to help from 08:00 to 18:00 on days when the markets are open. You can contact them a number of ways, firstly, is the send message box, simply fill it in and you should get a reply via email. There is then a physical address as well as a number of emails and a phone number.

Address: Suite 305, Griffith Corporate Centre, Beachmont, P.O Box 1510, Kingstown St. Vincent and the Grenadines.
Support Eamil: [email protected]
Compliance Email: [email protected]
Finance Email: [email protected]
Phone: +44 20 3807 7302

Demo Account

Demo accounts are available and allow potential clients to test out the markets and for existing clients to test new strategies without any risk. Unfortunately, the link to sign up was not working and there is very little information about the trading conditions or any potential expiration.

Countries Accepted

The following was found in the FAQ: “As per CFTC (Commodity Futures Trading Commission) in the USA; OSC (Ontario Securities Commission) and BCSC (British Columbia Securities Commission) in Canada regulations, we are not allowing those countries’ residents to open trading accounts with us.” If you are unsure of your eligibility, we would recommend contacting the customer service team to check prior to signing up.

Conclusion

There are a lot of accounts to choose from, possibly too many and it overcomplicates things, each having different features means you can find the one that best suits you. Certain information surrounding them is missing such as spreads and minimum deposit requirements. Talking of spreads, it is unknown what they start at, as is the entire list of assets which is a shame. In terms of deposits and withdrawals, there is every limited method, luckily there are no added fees. AZ Trades can be quite daunting to new clients, so if you are a first time trader we would recommend looking elsewhere.

Pruton Capital is an Indonesian based foreign exchange broker that is registered with the Commodity Futures Trading Regulatory Agency and is a member of the Indonesian Derivatives Clearing House. Pruton Capital aims to design, produce and support cutting-edge infrastructure for greater financial market accessibility and pricing transparency, while also meeting the needs of each customer by offering a transparent, efficient and professional service. Throughout this Pruton Capital review, we will be looking into each section of its website to see if they manage to achieve these or if they fall short.

Account Types

There are two account types available, the Standard account and the VIP account, there isn’t any specific information about wither and we only know that they are available due to going to the signup page. As we cannot give much information here, as we go through the review, any clear differences between the accounts will be noted in each individual section.

Platforms

The only platform on offer from Pruton Capital is MetaTrader 4 from the MetaQuotes company. Some of the main features of MetaTrader 4 are that you can trade easily and professionally, trade from Mini or Standard Account, use one-click trading, have flexible leverage, mobile trading application available, access to rice alerts, signals and market news, you can trade FX, Metals, Energy, Indices, Stocks, and Binaries all in one platform, advanced charting package & technical analysis and, full use of Expert Advisors (EAs) and Indicators. It is also highly accessing as a mobile app, web trader or desktop download.

Leverage

It is not fully clear to use what the maximum leverage, the only leverage mentioned is on the product specification page which indicates leverage of 1:100, it is not known if this is the maximum or if it can go higher than this, but we do know that at least 1:100 is available.

Trade Sizes

Trade sizes start from 0.01 lots, they go up in increments of 0.01 lots so the next trade would be 0.02 lots and then 0.03 lots. The maximum trade size is 20 lots which is at an appropriate level as trades can still be executed quickly and without any slippage. We do not currently know what the maximum number of open trades you can have at any one time is though.

Trading Costs

It is unknown if there are any commissions, there has not been any mention don the site so if there are any they are being kept secret. It is important for brokers to show their costs, as a lot of potential traders use it to help decide which broker to use, so not knowing could cause some clients to look at another broker instead. It is also not clear if swap charges are present on the accounts.

Assets

The assets on Pruton Capital have been broken down into a number of different sections, we will outline the instruments available in each one below.

Major Currency Pairs: EURUSD, GBPUSD, USDCHF, USDJPY, AUDUSD, USDCAD, NZDUSD

Major Currency Cross Pairs: EURCHF, EURGBP, EURJPY, GBPJPY, GBPCAD, CHFJPY, NZDCAD, CADJPY, AUDJPY, EURCAD, EURAUD, EURNZD, GBPCHF, GBPAUD, GBPNZD, NZDCHF, NZDJPY, AUDCAD, AUDCHF, AUDNZD

Minor Currency Cross Pairs: USDCNH

Spot Metals: XAUUSD (Gold) and, XAGUSD (Silver)

Energy: US Crude Oil (WTI)

Hang Seng Index: HSI/HKK

Stocks: Plenty of worldwide stocks are available, we won’t list them all but some of them include the likes of Google, Apple, Boeing, Facebook, Yahoo, Netflix, MacDonald’s and, Goldman Sachs.

US Stocks: Some US specific stocks including Cisco, Amazon, Hewlett-Packard, Microsoft and, Twitter.

Spreads

Spreads seem to start from 1.0 pips, however, the spreads are variable so they will always be moving, so while they may start as low as 1 pip, they will most likely always be seen slightly higher and when there is extra volatility they will be seen even higher. The different instruments also have different starting spreads so while USDCHF may start at 1 pip, other instruments like GBPJPY will start higher, in this case, 2.2 pips.

Minimum Deposit

The minimum deposit amount is unknown to us, so we do not know what the minimum required amount is to open up an account or what the subsequent top-up minimums are.

Deposit Methods & Costs

It seems like Bank Wire Transfer is the only method available to deposit with (even though other methods are mentioned at the top of the deposit page and images at the bottom of the home page), you can deposit in EUR, USD or IDR and it will take between 2 -3 days for your deposit to be usable in your account.

In terms of any fees, there doesn’t seem to be a fixed amount instead the site simply states that transfer fees will be charged on the sender and will be deducted from the account balance. You should also check with your own bank to see if they will add any fees of their own.

Withdrawal Methods & Costs

The page that would normally display information on withdrawals is unfortunately not working, the link does not go anywhere, we would assume that the same method of Bank Wire Transfer would be available to withdraw with also. We cannot comment on fees but we expect the transfer fees to be charged to the client, as always check with your own bank/processor to see if they add any of their own transfer fees.

Withdrawal Processing & Wait Time

Unfortunately, the information regarding withdrawals times is not available, however as we know they use Bank Wire Transfer for their deposits, as long as it is processed within 48 hours it should take between 1 to 5 business days for you to receive your funds depending on your own banks’ processing times.

Bonuses & Promotions

There don’t seem to be any active promotions or bonuses at the time of writing this review. So if you are interested in getting one you will need to contact the customer care team to see if there are any upcoming promotions or bonuses that you can take part in.

Educational & Trading Tools

The only type of tool that is on offer from Pruton Capital is a copy trade system, unfortunately, Pruton Capital had recently had an attack on their servers so the copy trade section was brought down and put under maintenance, due to this we cannot comment on the quality or features of it. There doesn’t seem to be any other educational content to help you trade or learn.

Customer Service

There are a number of ways to get in contact with Pruton Capital, the first being through an online submission form, fill in your query and you should get a reply via email. There is also a physical address available and 6 different email addresses for different departments within the broker,

Address: Level 32, Menara Standard Chartered, Jalan Professor Doktor Satrio, 164 Setiabudi, DKI Jakarta, 12930
New Clients: [email protected]
Customer Support: [email protected]
Dispute Issues: [email protected]
Managed Accounts: [email protected]
Partnership: [email protected]
General Inquiry: [email protected]

Demo Account

Demo account sare available, they need to be opened from within the MetaTrader 4 trading platform so the conditions may not be particularly accurate when comparing them to the live accounts, we do not know the trading conditions or any potential expiration of the demo accounts. Demo accounts allow you to test the servers, trading conditions and new strategies without risking any of your won capital.

Countries Accepted

There is a statement of eligibility on the site and it is as follows: “Pruton Capital services are not intended for distribution to, or use by, any person in any country or jurisdiction where such distribution or use would be contrary to local law or regulation. It is the responsibility of the clients to ascertain the terms and comply with any local law or regulation to which they are subject.” If you are still not sure of your eligibility, you can check with the customer service team to find out.

Conclusion

Pruton Capital made a big fuss of transparency on their company overview, however, there doesn’t seem to be much with so much information being missing. We do not fully understand the difference between the two account types, we also have no idea what the full trading costs of the account sare due to not knowing about commissions or what leverage is available for the accounts. There also isn’t much to trade, a very small list of available instruments could leave you struggling to find an appropriate trade, this coupled with the lack of available funding methods, limiting you to just Bank Wire Transfer could push away a lot of potential clients.

Ask Marketplace is a Cyprus based and regulated STP and ECN foreign exchange broker. They claim to have some of the best in class technology, which includes super-fast order execution, a huge depth of market, safety of clients funds 12/5 customer support, fast deposits and withdrawals, and an excellent partner program. We will be looking into the services on offer to see if they manage to live up to these goals.

Account Types

Should you decide to sign up, there are 5 different account types available. We have outlined them below along with the different trading conditions they offer.

Mini Account: This account requires a minimum deposit of $100, it has spread starting from 2 pips and can be leveraged up to 1:1000, it has minimum trade sizes of 0.01 lots and no added commissions.

Standard Account: This account requires a minimum deposit of $1,000, it has spread starting from 0.8 pips and can be leveraged up to 1:100, it has minimum trade sizes of 0.01 lots and an added commission of 3.6 per lot traded.

Pro Account: This account requires a minimum deposit of $30,000, it has spread starting from 0.5 pips and can be leveraged up to 1:100, it has minimum trade sizes of 0.1 lots and an added commission of 1.6 per lot traded.

Islamic Account: This account requires a minimum deposit of $100,000, it has spread starting from 2 pips and can be leveraged up to 1:100, it has minimum trade sizes of 0.1 lots and an added commission of 2 per lot traded.

VIP Account: This account requires a minimum deposit of $200,000, it has spread starting from 0.4 pips and can be leveraged up to 1:75, it has minimum trade sizes of 0.01 lots and an added commission of 1.5 per lot traded.

Platforms

Ask Marketplace uses just one trading platform, this is Meta Trader 4, one of the world’s most useful and loved trading platforms. MT4 is accessible as a desktop download, mobile application and as a web trader, it also has compatibility with hundreds and thousands of indicators and expert advisors as well as have its own signal marketplace. Plenty to make your trading and analysis as easy as possible. The easy to use interface makes it welcoming and it is fully customizable to suit your own personal trading needs.

Leverage

The maximum leverage available is 1:100 which is on the Mini account, this is far too high and we would recommend never going above 1:500. The Standard, Pro and Islamic account shave maximum leverage of 1:100 and the VIP account has a maximum leverage of 1:75. Leverage is selected when opening an account and can be changed by getting in contact with the customer service team.

Trade Sizes

Trade sizes on the Mini and Standard account start from 0.01 lots and go up in increments of 0.01 lots. The Pro, Islamic and VIP account shave trade sizes starting from 0.10 lots. The maximum trade size is not currently known to us, neither is the maximum number of open trades allowed.

Trading Costs

Each account has its own amount of commission, we have outlined them below.

• Mini – 0 per lot
• Standard: 3.6 per lot
• Pro: 1.6 per lot
• Islamic 2 per lot
• VIP: 1.5 per lot

The commissions by themselves look quite low, but considering there is an additional spread as well, it means that the overall trading costs can be quite high.

Assets

Unfortunately, Ask Marketplace does not offer a product specification or breakdown of the available assets so we are not sure what they are or how many of them there are. This is a shame as t is important to know what is available to trade, especially if you are looking for a very specific instrument.

Spreads

As there is not a product specification we cannot give exact examples of spreads per instrument, what we can do is give the overview of each account.

• Mini: From 2 pips
• Standard: From 0.8 pips
• Pro: From 0.5 pips
• Islamic: From 2 pips
• VIP: From 0.4 pips

The spreads are variable which means they move with the markets and will often be seen higher than the figure stated above, especially if there is any added volatility in the markets.

Minimum Deposit

The minimum deposit required to pen up an account is $100 which gets you the mini account, any subsequent deposits are also restricted to a $100 minimum.

Deposit Methods & Costs

The only methods of depositing seem to be Bank Wire Transfer and Credit/Debit Card. In terms of fees, there is no mention of them but also no statement to say that there aren’t any, at any rate, when depositing be sure to check with your bank or card issuer to see if they add any fees of their own.

Withdrawal Methods & Costs

For withdrawing the same 2 methods are available, for clarification these are Bank Wire Transfer and Credit / Debit cards. Just like with the deposits, it is unknown if there are any additional fees added by Ask Markets, but be sure to check with your own bank.

Withdrawal Processing & Wait Time

Processing for Bank Wire Transfer will take between 1 to 3 banking days, for credit card withdrawals it should take 1-day fort he refunds to be issued.

Bonuses & Promotions

You can get a bonus of between $100 to $10,000 as a 100% deposit bonus. The bonus requires you to trade the balance at a 1:1 ration in order to withdraw it. You need to complete the entire rollover in 90 days which depends on the amount received can be quite a difficult challenge.

Educational & Trading Tools

There is a small news section detailing different thing but this has not been updated since 2018, apart from that there is nothing in regards to education.

Customer Service

Getting in contact with Ask Marketplace is easy and there are a few ways of doing it. You can fill in the online submission form and then get a reply via email, you can also use the email address provided as well as a postal address, Facebook and Line account.

Address: 740B 7th Fl., Iris Building,3106, Limassol, Cyprus.
Email: [email protected]
Line: @askmarketplace
Facebook: askmarketthailand

Demo Account

We could not find any demo accounts while browsing the site which is a shame as demo accounts allow people to test the markets and trading conditions or to test new strategies without risking any actual capital.

Countries Accepted

This information is not present on the site, so if you are looking to join, we would recommend checking with the customer service team to see if you are eligible or not.

Conclusion

There are a few different options when it comes to accounts, the main difference between them is the spreads and commission, however, the total combined costs of both commission and spreads mean that each account actually has quite a high cost. There isn’t a product specification or breakdown of assets which is a shame and there are also very limited ways of depositing and withdrawing. There needs to be a little more information available for us to truly recommend them, but the conditions are acceptable and the decision to use them is yours.

ProFX Market is a London based foreign exchange broker. ProFX MArket claim some of their benefits to be the ability for any client type to sign up, having a multi-skilled and multi-lingual support team, over 60 currency pairs, CFDs, Sport metals and Indices available to trade as well as over 180 Share CFDs. Multiple account types offering the right environment for all sorts of traders as well as multiple training platforms, a copy trade program and extensive knowledge and training resources. Throughout this review, we will look into everything that is on offer so you can see if they are the right broker for you.

Account Types

If you decide to join up then there is a choice of 5 accounts waiting for you, each with their own requirements and features, so let’s look at what they are.

Pro Winner Account: This account requires a minimum deposit of at least $100 and is in a base currency of EUR, USD or GBP, it comes with a maximum leverage of 1:500 and spreads starting from 1.2 pips. Trade sizes start from 0.01 lots and go up in increments of 0.01 lots up to t a maximum of 20 lots, there can be 300 lots open at any one time. The margin call level is set at 100% with the stop out level at 30%.

Pro Market Account: This account needs a deposit of $100 and comes with spreads starting at 0 pips and due to this there is an added commission, the maximum leverage is 1:500. The account can be in EUR, USD or GBP as a base currency and there are no added commissions. Trades start at 0.01 lots and go up in increments of 0.01 lots up to a maximum of 20 lots with 300 open lots at any one time.

Pro Trader Account: Spreads on this account start low (figures not stated) and the leverage goes up to 1:500. The account can be in EUR, USD or GBP as a base currency and there are no added commissions. Trades start at 0.01 lots and go up in increments of 0.01 lots up to a maximum of 20 lots with 300 open lots at any one time.

Pro Professional Account: This account can be in EUR, USD or GBP, it comes with a maximum leverage of 1:500 and spreads are unknown. Trade sizes start from 0.01 lots and go up in increments of 0.01 lots up to a maximum of 20 lots, there can be 300 lots open at any one time. The margin call level is set at 100% with the stop out level at 30%.

Pro Honor Account: The minimum deposit for this account is unknown, however, it comes with spreads starting at 0 pips and due to this there is an added commission, the maximum leverage is 1:500. The account can be in EUR, USD or GBP as a base currency and there are no added commissions. Trades start at 0.01 lots and go up in increments of 0.01 lots up to a maximum of 20 lots with 300 open lots at any one time.

Platforms

There are two different platforms to chose from, both are from the MetaQuotes company, let’s briefly look at what they are.

MetaTrader 4 (MT4): MetaTrader 4 is the world’s most popular Forex exchanging stage. Over 70% of FX brokers now offer to their clients, while over 90% of all exchanges operating within the retail Forex market are connected by way of the MetaTrader 4 platform. Since 2005, MT4 has remained the most well-known FX exchange terminal and more than a decade later, the platform continues to receive top honors within the industry.

MetaTrader 5 (MT5): MetaTrader 5 is a multi-resource Forex platform that permits the exchange of Forex, stocks, and fates. It offers the tools required for complete value examination, utilization of algorithmic applications (robots, Expert Advisors, etc.) and copy trading. MT5 allows traders to enjoy the freedom of trading while on the go, courtesty of applications for smartphones and tablets. The browser-based Web Platform provides even more profit possibilities, as it permits trading from any web browser and any internet-connected device. Simply choose your preferred format and trade 24 hours a day.

Leverage

The maximum leverage available is 1:500, for all accounts the leverage is flexible, this means that it moves to depend on the size of the trade. The larger the trade the smaller the leverage will be.

Trade Sizes

Trade sizes start from as small as 0.01 lots which are known as micro-lots, they then go up in increments of 0.01 lots so the next trade would be 0.02 lots. They increase up to a maximum of 20 lots which is an appropriate number. You can have a maximum of 300 lots open at any one time.

Trading Costs

The trading costs can be a little confusing, we have outlined them below to make it slightly easier to understand.

Pro Winner Account: No added commission

Pro Market Account:

• Commission applicable on Energy 10$ each lot
• Commission applicable on $ index 10$ each lot
• Commission applicable on Crypto Trading 0.25% each side
• Commission applicable on Future 15$ each lot
• Commission applicable on indices 15$ each lot
• Commission applied on Shares 0.02% each side 2000$ on every 1cr$ volume
• Commission applicable on any other symbol 5$

Pro Trader Account:

• Commission applicable on Crypto Trading 0.25% each side
• Commission applicable on Future 25$ each lot
• Commission applicable on indices 25$ each lot
• Commission applied on Shares 0.02% each side 2000$ on every 1cr$ volume

Pro Professional Account:

• Commission applicable on Crypto Trading 0.25% each side
• Commission applicable on Future 20$ each lot
• Commission applicable on indices 20$ each lot
• Commission applied on Shares 0.02% each side 2000$ on every 1cr$ volume

Pro Honor Account:

• Commission applicable on Energy 8$ each lot
• Commission applicable on $ index 8$ each lot
• Commission applicable on Crypto Trading 0.25% each side
• Commission applicable on Future 10$ each lot
• Commission applicable on indices 10$ each lot
• Commission applied on Shares 0.02% each side 2000$ on every 1cr$ volume
• Commission applicable on any other symbol 3$ per lot

Assets

There are a number of different asset groups on ProfitFX Market, we will briefly go over them, there does not appear to be a gull breakdown so we will provide whatever info we can find.

Forex, CFDs, and Futures: All available to trade, but there isn’t much information about the specific instruments available so we cannot state that they are.

Cryptocurrencies: Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin and, Ripple are all available to trade.

Metals: Gold, Silver, and Palladium are available to trade.

Indices: Some of the available indices include Australia 200, Europe 50, France 40, Germany 30, Hong Kong 33, Japan 225, Netherlands 25, Singapore 30, Swiss 20, UK 100, US Nas 100, US Russ 2000, US SPX 500 and, US Wall St 30.

Shares: You can trade US shares such as Apple, Gap, Baidu, American Eagle, Bank of America, Cisco, BP, Chevron, Mattel, General Motors and many more.

Spreads

Sadly we only know what the spreads are on a few of the accounts, the Pro Winner account has spreads starting from 1.2 pips, the Pro Markets and Pro Honor account state that they have raw ECN spreads starting from as low as 0 pips. The spreads are variable which means they will move with the markets when there is volatility in the markets the spreads will often wisen and become larger.

Minimum Deposit

The minimum deposit required to open up an account is $100 which will allow you to open a Pro Winner account.

Deposit Methods & Costs

Unfortunately, the site does not indicate what methods are available to deposit with. Looking over the internet we can see some methods mentioned however we do not want to speculate and will only go with what is on the website. So this information is missing and we cannot comment on it, it is also unknown if there are any fees for depositing.

Withdrawal Methods & Costs

Just like with the deposit methods, there is also no information about withdrawals. It is vital that this information is made available as many potential clients won’t want to part with their money if they do not know how they can get it back or if it will cost them to do so.

Withdrawal Processing & Wait Time

We do not know exact times, but in most cases, one can expect withdrawals to be fully processed between 1 to 7 business days after the request is made. We highly recommend that you speak with ProFX Market’s customer service team if you have questions regarding deposits and/or withdrawals.

Bonuses & Promotions

There doesn’t seem to be any promotions or bonuses on offer at the time of writing this review, if you are interested in bonuses then you can either wait or get in contact with the customer service team to see if there are any upcoming promotions you can take part in.

Educational & Trading Tools

In terms of trading tools there, is a lot in the section however not all of it is relevant, we will quickly go over the bits that are. There are a number of different indicators available such as technical indicators to use, there are also a number of different calculators for working out a profit, pivot levels and pips. Currency converters are also available as well as some sentiment markers. Finally, there is an economic calendar that indicates upcoming news events and the markets that they will affect.

Customer Service

Should you need to contact ProFX Market, you can do so in a number of different ways. You can use the online submission form, fill in your query and you should get a reply via email. You can also use the postal address, phone number, email or skype username to contact them.

Address: 71-75, Shelton Street, London, UK
Skype: Profx Market

Demo Account

There is a button to open up a demo account, however when we tried clicking it, the page it loaded was broken and so we were unable to open up an account.

Countries Accepted

The only statement present is the following: “Forex Trading is not allowed in some countries, before investing your money, make sure whether your country is allowing this or not.” If you are not sure of your eligibility, you could contact the customer service team to find out.

Conclusion

The account pages provided by ProFX Market is a little confusing, there is a lot of info missing or muddles up to make it hard to understand what the real differences are. The trading conditions that we do know are passable. However, we do not know much about the forex currency pairs as they were not present on the site and we could not use the demo account to check as the page was not loading for us. There is also a lack of information on deposits and withdrawals, this is vital information as we need to know how we can get out the money in and out and also how much it will cost. Without that information, it makes it hard for us to recommend them as a broker to sue at this point in time.

Smart Forex is a forex and commodities broker based in the United Kingdom. Their main aims are to provide outstanding customer service, offer a multi-product bouquet, provide advanced trading platforms, to give tight spreads and to be run by an experienced founding team. In this review, we will be looking into the services being offered to see if they achieve their aims.

Account Types

Should you decide to sign up with Smart Forex, you will have a choice of 4 different account types, each with their own requirements and features.

Standard Account: A minimum deposit amount of $250 is required to open this account, it allows you to trade forex on the MetaTrader 4 platform. It has part access to video tutorials and live 24/7 customer support. You are able to trade base currencies only and typical spreads are EUR/USD 2.4 pips, AUD/USD 3.3 pips and, USD/JPY 2.8 pips. The spreads are fixed and leverage on the account can go up to 1:200, there is also an account manager available.

Classic Account: The minimum requirement for this account increases up to $2,500, it allows you to trade forex on the MetaTrader 4 platform. It has part access to video tutorials and live 24/7 customer support. You are able to trade base currencies as well as Gold, Silver and Oil and typical spreads are EUR/USD 2.4 pips, AUD/USD 2 pips and, USD/JPY 1.4 pips. The spreads can be either fixed or variable (floating) and leverage on the account can go up to 1:200, there is also an account manager available.

Premium Account: A further increase of minimum deposit is required and is now set at $20,000, the account allows you to trade forex on the MetaTrader 4 platform. It has full access to video tutorials and live 24/7 customer support. You are able to trade base currencies as well as indices and shares and typical spreads are EUR/USD 0.6 pips, AUD/USD 1.3 pips and, USD/JPY 0.6 pips. The spreads can be either fixed or variable (floating) and leverage on the account can go up to 1:200, there is also an account manager available.

Gold Account: This top-tier account requires a minimum deposit of $50,000 which will price out a lot of potential clients, the account allows you to trade forex on the MetaTrader 4 platform. It has full access to video tutorials and live 24/7 customer support. You are able to trade all available assets and instruments and typical spreads are EUR/USD 0.6 pips, AUD/USD 1.3 pips and, USD/JPY 0.6 pips. The spreads can be either fixed or variable (floating) and leverage on the account is adjustable, this account also has access to premium customer support.

Platforms

Smart Forex offers MetaTrader 4 as their only trading platform, so what does this platform offer? MetaTrader 4 is an advanced Forex trading platform that provides traders with access to a wide range of tools and features to help with carrying out market analysis and thus customizing their trading experience. The tools within MT4 can also help you to utilize and construct trading algorithms that can automate FX trading.

Leverage

All accounts have access to leverage up to 1:200, the Gold account has adjustable leverage but we assume the maximum is still the same. Leverage can be selected when opening up an account, it appears that on the regular accounts you can not change t once it has been selected but on the Gold account you can as long as there are no open trades.

Trade Sizes

Trade sizes start from 0.01 lots which are known as a micro-lot and go up in increments of 0.1 lots so the next trade would be 0.0 lots and then 0.03 lots. We do not know what the maximum trade size is, however, we would recommend not trading in sizes larger than 50 lots, as the bigger a trade becomes the harder it is for the markets or liquidity provider to execute the trade quickly and without any slippage. It is also unknown how many open trades you can have at any one time.

Trading Costs

It does not appear that there are any added commissions as all accounts seem to sue a spread based system, swap charges are charged though, these are interest charges that are incurred for holding trades overnight, they can be both negative or positive and can usually be viewed from within the trading platform of choice.

Assets

There is not a full breakdown of available assets, in fact, there isn’t a breakdown at all, the only information about what is available to trade is on the account page where it simply states, base currencies, indices, shares, gold silver, and oil. There is no other mention of any assets or specifications. It would be good to have a full breakdown as a lot of the time potential new clients will look for specific instruments being available before they sign up, not having this information could make them look elsewhere.

Spreads

The starting level of spreads depends on the account you are using, we have listed down the expected spreads below.

• Standard account: EUR/USD 2.4 pips, AUD/USD 3.3 pips, USD/JPY 2.8 pips
• Classic Account: EUR/USD 2.4 pips, AUD/USD 2.0 pips, USD/JPY 1.4 pips
• Premium Account: EUR/USD 0.6 pips, AUD/USD 1.3 pips, USD/JPY 0.6 pips
• Gold Account: EUR/USD 0.6 pips, AUD/USD 1.3 pips, USD/JPY 0.6 pips

Spreads can be both fixed or variable, fixed spreads mean that they do not move, and are always at the same amount, variable (also known as floating) means that when the markets are being volatile, the spreads will often be seen higher.

Minimum Deposit

The minimum deposit needed to open an account is $250 which gets you the Standard account. It is unknown if the minimum deposit changes for any subsequent top-ups, but that is normally the case.

Deposit Methods & Costs

There isn’t any information regarding deposits, at the bottom of the website there is an image of Visa Maestro, and MasterCard which would indicate that they can be used as a deposit method, but there is no further information and nothing about any potential fees. Not having financial information available is a big concern, as clients need to know how they can fund their accounts and also what it will cost them.

Withdrawal Methods & Costs

Just like with the deposit there is very little information surrounding the withdrawals, but very little we mean none. This is vital information without it we do not know how we can get our money out or if Smart Forex will charge us for getting our money out, this information needs to be added as soon as possible.

Withdrawal Processing & Wait Time

As we do not know for sure which methods are available we can not answer this section of the review.

Bonuses & Promotions

We could not locate any information on the website in regards to bonuses or promotions so it does not appear that there are any active ones at the time of writing this review. If you are interested in bonuses then be sure to check back regularly or get in contact with the customer service team to see if there are any upcoming bonuses or promotions.

Educational & Trading Tools

There doesn’t appear to be anything in regards to education or trading tools. This is a shame as a lot of brokers these days are looking to help their clients improve and become more profitable with educational courses or tools to help them trade or analyze. It would be nice to see Smart Forex do something similar for their clients.

Customer Service

The contacts page offers a few different ways to get in touch, the support team according to the accounts page is available 24/7. However, on the support page, it states Sunday to Friday 10:aa am to 20:00 pm GMT. You can use the standard online submission form to send your query and then get a reply via email, the next option is to use email addresses, there are separate ones for Support and Marketing. There is also a phone number for Great Britain and Italy.

Demo Account

There doesn’t seem to be a demo account on offer, or at least we could not find any information about one. This is a shame as demo accounts allow potential new clients to test out the trading conditions and servers while it allows current clients to test out new strategies without risking any of their capital. This is an area that should be invested in and demo accounts should be made available.

Countries Accepted

The information about which countries are accepted and which are not is not present on the website, so if you are interested in joining, be sure to get in contact with the customer service team to check if you are eligible for an account or not.

Conclusion

Smart Forex has a lot of information missing from their site that we would not consider smart. The account page offers a fair comparison on the accounts and trading conditions, however, that is about where the information stops. We were looking for the vital information on deposit and withdrawal methods along with their costs but it was nowhere to be seen. There was also a lack of information on available assets and other quite important information. Without all of this being present it is hard for us to recommend Smart Forex as a broker to use.

“ROInvesting was born from a simple idea: harness all the benefits of technology to create the most favorable experience for traders of all levels. We employ the latest innovations not only for our trading platform but also for our service, education center, analysis tools, market alerts, and many other products. If you’re an ambitious person looking for a platform that collects all the benefits under one roof, it’s definitely ROInvesting!” That is what ROInvesting a Cyprus based forex broker regulated by the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC) says about itself. We will be using this review to look into the services being offered to see if they do indeed manage to live up to this statement.

Account Types

There are three different accounts available, we will briefly outline them, there isn’t too much information present on the accounts pages so we will outline any differences as the review goes on.

Silver Account: This account comes with leverage up to 1:200 and hedging is allowed.

Gold Account: This account can be leveraged up to 1:400 and hedging is also allowed. The account also comes with a dedicated account manager and it has a swap discount of 30%.

Platinum Account: The platinum account comes with leverage up to 1:500, hedging is also allowed and it comes with a dedicated account manager. The account also has a 50% swap discount, a free VPS and customizes investment news.

Islamic account sare also available should you require one.

Platforms

Just the one platform is available that is the popular MetaTrader 4 (MT4). It has a whole host of features designed to make your trading life easier, some of these include lightning-fast execution, a variety of trading modes, technological trading tools, trade history, multiple chart windows, real-time balance levels, automatic stop loss / take profit functions, in platform price alerts, 1 click account switching, inherent platform support and live chat. The platform is also accessible from anywhere as it comes as a desktop download, mobile application and web trader.

Leverage

ROInvesting follows guidelines from the ESMA which is the following:

Limits on the opening of a position by a retail client from 30:1 to 2:1, which vary according to the volatility of the underlying:

• 30:1 for major currency pairs
• 20:1 for non-major currency pairs, gold, and major indices
• 10:1 for commodities other than gold and non-major equity indices
• 5:1 for individual equities and other reference values
• 2:1 for cryptocurrencies

These limits are removed and leverage can go as high as 1:500 if you are considered a professional trader which means you will need to have assets of at least $500,000.

Trade Sizes

Trade sizes start from 0.01 lots (known as a micro lot) and go up in increments of 0.01 lots. We do not know what the maximum trade size is but you should avoid trading over 50 lots in a single trade, it is also not clear to us what the maximum number of open trades you can have at any one time is.

Trading Costs

There are no added commissions when trading with ROInvest, they have made that clear, the account uses a spread based system that we will look at later in this review. There are however swap charges, these are fees that are charged for holding trades overnight and can be viewed within the MetaTrader 4 trading platform.

Assets

The assets have been broken down into different categories that we will now look into.

Forex: EURUSD, GBPUSD, USDJPY, AUDUSD, EURCHF, EURGBP, NZDUSD, EURJHPY, USDCAD, USDCHF, AUDCAD, AUDCHF, EURSGD, AUDJPY, AUDNZD, CADCHF, CADJPY, CHFJPY, EURAUD, EURCAD, EURNZD, GBPAUD, GBPCAD, GBPCHF, GBPJPY, GBPNZD, NZDCAD, NZDCHF, NZDJPY, EURDKK, EURHUF, EURNOK, EURPLN, EURSEK, EURTRY, USDDKK, USDHKD, USDHUF, USDMXN, USDNOK, USDPLN, USDRUB, USDSEK, USDTRY, USDSGD, USDZAR, USDINR, GBPZAR, GBPTRY, EURZAR

Metals: Gold and Silver

Indices: ASX 200, BIST 100, CAC 40, China Enterprise 40, DAX 30, DOW 30, Euro Stox 50, FTSE 100, Hong Kong 50, IBEX35, NASDAQ 100, Nikkei 225, OMXS 30, South Africa 40, SP 500, TA 35, TADAWUL, US dollar Index, Volatility Index

EFTs / Commodities: Brent Oil, Cocoa, Coffee, Copper, Corn, Cotton, Crude Oil, Natural Gas, Orange Juice, Palladium, Platinum, T.B.O.B Gasoline, Soy Benas, Sugar, Wheat

Cryptocurrencies: Cardano, Babel, Bitcoin SV, Bitcoin, Bitcoin Gold, Dashcoin, Ethereum Classic, Ethereum, IOTA, Lisk, Litecoin, NEO, Quantreum, Swisscoin, Tether, NEM, Stellar, Monero, Ripply, Verge, Zcash

Stocks: Plenty of stocks are available, there are US Stocks, European Stocks and Australian Stocks available to trade.

Spreads

While we know that the account uses a spread based system, if we take EURUSD the following spreads have been stated as starting levels, the Silver account has spreads starting at 2.8 pips, the Gold account has spread starting at 2 pips and the Platinum account has spreads starting at 1.8 pips. These are just the starting numbers and as the spreads are variable they will move up and down, the more volatility in the markets the higher they will be. Different instruments also have different spreads as while EURUSD may be starting at 2.8 pips on the Silver account, AUDJPY on the same account starts at 8.5 pips.

Minimum Deposit

We, unfortunately, we do not know what the minimum deposit requirement is or what is required to open up any of the accounts.

Deposit Methods & Costs

There doesn’t seem to be a page dedicated to funding methods, however, throughout the site, there are various images referring to payment processors, these include Visa, MasterCard, Skrill, Neteller, SafeCahrfe, Trustly, INPAY, Paysafe, PowerCash and Payvision. We cannot confirm if all of these are available, but it would be strange if the images are there any and they are not accepted. We are also not clear on any fees that may be changed, but be sure to check with your own bank or processor to see if they add any of their own.

Withdrawal Methods & Costs

Just like with deposits, the information is not there, we expect the same methods of Visa, MasterCard, Skrill, Neteller, SafeCahrfe, Trustly, INPAY, Paysafe, PowerCash and Payvision are available to withdraw if they are for depositing. We also do not know of any potential fees for withdrawing but as usual, check with your bank for any incoming transfer fees.

Withdrawal Processing & Wait Time

Once again, this information is not there, we would expect them to process requests within 48 hours and so it will take between 1 to 7 days for your withdrawal request to fully process depending on the methods used.

Bonuses & Promotions

It does not seem like there are any active promotions or bonuses at the time of writing this review, this does not mean that there won’t be any so if you are interested in them, check back regularly or contact the customer support team to see if there are any coming up that you can take part in.

Educational & Trading Tools

There are a few different aspects to the educational side of the site, firstly, is a page of articles, these outline different aspects of trading and strategies. There is also a video section, which has videos on different aspects of trading such as risk, and emotional trading. The next section is about ebooks there seem to be quite a few of them which cover subjects like beginners’ strategies and trading terms. Along with the ebooks are some course which goes over a lot of the same subjects but in a different format. There is then an economic calendar that details upcoming news events and any potential effect they could have on the markets. The account page shows that there is a free VPS, however, we couldn’t find any details on this.

Customer Service

If you wish to contact the customer service team you can do so in a number of ways, we are not fully clear on the operating times but expect them to be closed over the weekends and on bank holidays.

You can use the online submission form to fill in your query and then get a reply via email, or you can use the live chat feature. There is also a postal address, email address and a phone number available to use.

Address: City home 81, 3rd floor, 128-130 Limassol Avenue, 2015 Strovolos, Nicosia, Cyprus.
Phone: +80050026003
Email: [email protected]

Demo Account

We did not see any information surrounding demo accounts so it does not appear that there are any, demo accounts are great as they allow people to test out the markets and new strategies without any risk to their capitals. It would be good for ROInvesting to add demo accounts to their service if they aren’t available (we may have just missed them).

Countries Accepted

The information on which countries are allowed and which are not is not stated on the site so if you are interested in signing up, we would recommend contacting the customer service team to check your eligibility before doing so.

Conclusion

ROInvesting offers three different accounts, the only difference between them seems to be the spreads and a couple of other features, but not much when it comes to trading conditions. Sadly the trading conditions on offer are quite expensive, the spreads start as high as 2.8 pips which can make trading rather expensive. There is also a lack of information on deposit and withdrawal methods, with the only information being some images, fees are also not known which is vital information for potential clients. Not having that information available is enough for us to suggest looking elsewhere for a broker to use.

Land-FX is a foreign exchange broker situated in Cyprus and regulated bt he Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). Their overall vision is to be the best FX company, they aim to do this by providing the highest standards of customer service, and ensuring that the clients are treated fairly. Throughout this review, we will be looking at different aspects of Land-FX to see if they achieve this and so you can decide if they are the right broker for you.

Account Types

There are two different accounts available, including a Standard account and an ECN account. Below is a brief overview of each.

Standard Account: The standard account has a minimum deposit amount of $300, it can have a base currency of USD, EUR or JPY. The account can be used with both MetaTrader 4 and MetaTrader 5 and has access to forex, CFDs, commodities, metals, oil, and futures. Leverage can be up to 1:500 and the lowest spreads start from 0.8 pips. There are no added commissions and the minimum trade size is 0.01 lots with the maximum being 50 lots. A margin call is at 50% with stop out being at 30%. The account can also be used as an Islamic account.

ECN Account: The ECN account requires a minimum deposit of at least $2,000, it comes with leverage up to 1:200 and spreads starting as low as 0 pips, due to this low spread, there is a commission of 0.3 pips one way or 0.6 pips per round lot traded. The account can use only MetaTrader 4 and has access to forex and metals. The minimum trade size is 0.01 lots with the maximum being 30 lots. The account must be in USD or EUR and there is no Islamic version of the account. The margin call level is set at 50% with the stop out level being at 30%.

Platforms

There are two main trading platforms as well as a social trading platform available, lets briefly look at what they are.

MetaTrader 4 (MT4): Many years ago, MetaTrader 4 established itself as the standard within the Forex industry. Combining an intuitive user interface with a feature-filled environment, MT4 provides everything a trader could ever want or need in order to analyze charts, place orders and manage their current positions. Land-FX clients are provided with a combination of trading tools and Expert Advisors (EAs).

MetaTrader 5 (MT5): The MT5 platform is the latest forex trading platform to be released by MetaQuotes. MetaQuotes has included all of the features that made traders appreciate MT4, and then made them even better. This latest version of MT5 includes plenty of EAs and signals and also includes the capability to hedge positions. MT5 allows for charting assets for 21 different time frames and provides the ability to keep as many as 100 charts open at any given time.

Leverage

The standard account has a maximum leverage of 1:500, the ECN account has a maximum leverage of 1:200. The leverage can be selected when opening up an account, should you wish to change it on an already open account you will need to contact the customer support team with your request.

Trade Sizes

Trade sizes on both accounts start from 0.,01 lots (known as a micro lo) and go up in increments of 0.01 lots. The Standard account has a maximum trade size of 50 lots and the ECN has a maximum trade size requirement of 30 lots. These are both appropriate maximums.

Trading Costs

The ENC account has an added commission of 0.3 pips one way, so a total of 0.6 pips added commission. The Standard account does not have any added commission due to having a spread based payment structure. There are also swap charges which are an interest charged for holding trades overnight, this can be viewed from within the trading platform of choice or from on the Land-FX website.

Assets

The assets have been broken down into three visible categories, these are currencies, commodities, and indices. We will outline the instruments within each.

Forex: AUDCAD, AUDCHF, AUDJPY, AUDNZD, AUDUSD, CADCHF, CADJPY, CHFJPY, EURAUD, EURCAD, EURCHF, EURCZK, EURDKK, EURGBP, EURHDK, EURHUF, EURJPY, EURMXN, EURNOK, EURNZD, EURPLN, EURRUB, EURSEK, EURSGD, EURTRY, EURZAR, GBPAUD, GBPCAD, GBPCHF, GBPCZK, GBPDKK, GBPHKD, GBPHUF, GBPJPY, GNPMXN, GBPNOK, GBPNZD, GBPPLN, GBPSEK, GBPSGD, GBPTRY, GBPUSD, GBPZAR, NOKSEK, NZDCAD, NZDCHF, NZDJPY, NZDSGD, NZDUSD, USDCAD, USDCHF, USDCNH, USDCZK, USDDKK, USDHDKD, USDHUF, USDILS, USDJPY, USDMXN, USDNOK, USDPLN, USDRUB, USDSEK, USDSGD, USDTRY and, USDZAR

Commodities: Brent Crude, WTI Crude, Gold, Silver, Palladium and, Platinum

Indices: DE30, EU50, FR40, SP500, UK100 and, US30

Spreads

The spreads that you get depends on the account you are using along with a few other aspects. The standard account has spread starting from 0.8 pips but they are closer to 1.3 pips, the ECN account has spread starting from 0 pips but will often be at least 0.1 pips.

The spreads are variable which means they constantly change, and when the markets are being volatile they will often be seen higher. Different instruments will also have different spreads so on the ECN account, EURUSD may have a spread at 0.1 pips, EURCAD as an example as a spread at 1.9 pips.

Minimum Deposit

The minimum deposit required to open an account is $300 which gets you the Standard account, if you want the ECN account you will need to deposit at least $2,000. Once an account is open, the subsequent deposits have a minimum of $5.

Deposit Methods & Costs

There are a few different methods available, these are Visa / MasterCard Credit / Debit Card, Sticpay, Bank Wire Transfer, Neteller, Skrill, Fasapay, UnionPay, Perfect Money, WebMoney, and Bitcoin. Land-FX will cover all fees when you make a deposit that is more than the minimum (over $100). Be sure to also check with your own bank or processor to see if they add any fees of their own.

Withdrawal Methods & Costs

The same methods are available to withdraw with, for clarification these are Visa/MasterCard Credit/Debit Card, Sticpay, Bank Wire Transfer, Neteller, and Bitcoin. Withdrawals must go back to the method used and once you have withdrawn the same amount as deposited by Visa or MasterCard you must use another method to withdraw.

The following fees are present for the methods:

• Bank Wire Transfer – Bank Fees
• Visa / MasterCard – No fee
• Sticpay – 0.3 USD + 2.5%
• Neteller – 2% (min 1 USD, max 30 USD)
• Skrill – 1%
• Fasapay – No fee
• UnionPay – No fee
• Perfect Money – 1.99%
• WebMoney – 0.8%
  Bitcoin – No fee

Withdrawal Processing & Wait Time

There isn’t a specified withdrawal time, but it states that Credit / Debit card withdrawals will be processed within 4 to 7 business days and bank wire withdrawals will take 2 to 5 working days to reach your account.

Bonuses & Promotions

It does not look like there are any bonuses active at the time of writing this review. The brokerage does, however, offer promotions from time to time. For example, Land-FX is set to run a demo account trading contest soon. Everyone is invited to participate, even those who do not yet have a fully funded live trading account.

Educational & Trading Tools

There isn’t too much when it comes to educational tools, there is an economic calendar that details a number of different upcoming news events along with the markets and currencies they can potentially affect. The news and analysis section simply shows trading hours along with some basic analysis in the markets, giving you an idea of where the markets can go and for trade setups.

Customer Service

The customer service team is available 24 hours a day from Monday to Friday, there are a few different ways you can get in contact with them. You can use the online submission form to send your questions or query, you should then get a reply via email, there is also a phone number to call and three email addresses for different departments.

Phone:(+44)2071939990
Help: [email protected]
IB & Affiliate: [email protected]
Deposits and Withdrawals: [email protected]

Demo Account

A demo account is available, they can be used to test the accounts and servers and also used to test new strategies without risking any capital. When opening a demo account it is a little confusing as the account names are not related to those we have seen before, you can choose the leverage you want along with the deposit amount.

Countries Accepted

The following statement is present on the website: “Land-FX does not offer its services to residents of certain jurisdictions such as USA, Cuba, Sudan, Syria, and North Korea and listed / relevant parties of Consolidated United Nations Security Council Sanctions Lists.” If you are unsure of your eligibility, then we would recommend getting in contact with the customer service team to find out.

Conclusion

Land-FX offers plenty in the way of choice, the account types are both very different and can be chosen to suit your trading needs, there are also lots of different assets to trade, however, more commodities would have been nice. When it comes to depositing and withdrawing, again plenty of options and no fees for deposits over $100 is nice, but it would be even nicer to not have the withdrawal fees present. The trading conditions seem competitive which is great and so Land-FX seems like they could be a good broker to trade with.

Invest360 is a forex broker based in Bucharest, their aim is to offer an outstanding trading environment that will help boost their clients trading experience, they aim for low cost, high functionality trading. In this review, we will be looking into the services being offered to see what they really do offer and so you can decide if they are the right broker for you.

Account Types

It seems that there are four different accounts to choose from when signing up with Invest360, let’s look at a brief outline of each one.

Mini Account: Minimum trade size of 0.01 lots, leverage up to 1:100, stop out level set at 30% and spreads on EURUSD starting at 1.5 pips.

Standard Account: Minimum trade size of 0.03 lots, leverage up to 1:200, stop out level set at 30% and spreads on EURUSD starting at 1.2 pips.

Gold Account: Minimum trade size of 0.05 lots, leverage up to 1:400, stop out level set at 20% and spreads on EURUSD starting at 1 pip.

Platinum Account: Minimum trade size of 1 lot, leverage up to 1:500, stop out level set at 10% and spreads on EURUSD starting at 0.8 pips.

There is no other information provided but as we go through the review we will outline the differences in each account.

Platforms

There are a number of different platforms available, we will briefly outline some of the features of them.

Activ8: Activ8 is a powerful platform that includes everything a Forex trader needs, no matter whether a beginner or a pro. It provides powerful tools and rich capabilities such as complex charting and analysis as well as order execution from the very beginning.

Sirix: Sirix WebTrader provides users with all the same functionality and usability seen on the standard native MT4 desktop platform solution, but with the added flexibility of platform accessible from any web-enabled PC. When using the Sirix WebTrader, you have the option to trade using one-click trading, seamless social trading, black and white in HTML 5, and advanced charting.

MetaTrader 4: Trade using the always popular desktop MT4 platform. Providing full functionality and ultra-fast execution, MT4 has cemented itself as the most popular system for Forex trading across the globe. Benefit from full charting capabilities, use custom indicators and delve into the world of automated trading using a wide variety of Expert Advisors.

Leverage

The maximum leverage available depends on the account that you use.

• Mini: 1:100
• Standard: 1:200
• Gold: 1:400
• Platinum: 1:500

Leverage can be selected when opening up an account, should you wish to change it on an already open account you will need to get in contact with the customer service team with the request.

Trade Sizes

Each account has a different minimum trade size, we have outlined them for you below.

• Mini: 0.01 lots (known as micro lot)
• Standard: 0.03 lots
• Gold: 0.05 lots
• Platinum: 1 lot

The increments that the trades go up are unknown apart from the mini account which goes up in increments of 0.01 lots. The maximum trade sizes are also unknown, however, we would recommend not trading in sizes larger than 50 lots, as the bigger a trade becomes the harder it is for the markets or liquidity provider to execute the trade quickly and without any slippage.

Trading Costs

When looking through the site we did not see any mention commissions so it seems that all four accounts use a spread based system and there are no added commissions when trading. Swap fees should also be taken into account, these are interest charges that are incurred for holding trades overnight, they can be both negative or positive and can usually be viewed from within the trading platform of choice.

Assets

Invest360 have broken down their assets into a number of different categories.

Currencies: USDJPY, GBPUSD, EURUSD, EURJPY, AUDUSD, EURCHF, AUDJPY, USDCAD, NZDUSD, USDCHF, EURGBP, AUDCAD, CADCHF, GBPCHF, GBPJPY, NZDCHF, NZDCAD, USDHKD, AUDCHF, NZDJPY, USDSGD, CHFJPY, CADJPY, EURCAD, EURAUD, AUDNZD, EURTRY, GBPAUD, GBPNZD, USDCNH, USDDKK, GBPCAD, USDTRY, EURDKK, EURNZD, EURNOK, EURHUF, EURPLN, EURSEK, USDCZK, USDHUF, USDILS, USDMXN, USDNOK, USDPLN, USDRON, USDZAR. USDRUB, EURRUB, USDSEK, XAGUSD, XAUUSD, XAUEUR, BTCUSD (Bitcoin)

Commodities: Cocoa, Copper, Cotton #2, Feeder Cattle, Heating Oil, Live Cattle, Lead, Nickel, Palladium, Platinum, RBOB Gasoline, Rough Rice, Soy Beans, Tin, Zinc

Indices: CAC, Dax, Dow Jones, FTSE, SUG11, COFFE, COPP, CL, Brent Crude Oil, WTI Crude Oil, Natural Gas, SP, Nasdaq, Corn, Wheat,m DJXX, EBUND, TN10Y

Stocks: Too many for us to list, but they include Asian shares such as Southwest Securities, BTG HOTELS, China Television Media and, Beijing GeoEnviron.

Spreads

The starting spreads are based on the account that you are using, the Mini account has spreads starting at 1.5 pips,m the Standard at 1.2 pips the Gold at 1 pip and the Platinum account has spreads starting from 0.8 pips (on the EURUSD pair).

The spreads are variable (also known as floating) so this means that when the markets are being volatile, the spreads will often be seen higher. It is also important to note that different instruments and assets have different starting spreads, so while EURUSD may start at 1.5 pips, other assets like GBPJPY may start slightly higher.

Minimum Deposit

Unfortunately, we do not know what the minimum deposit amount is, we are positive that there are different requirements for each of the accounts but currently we are not clear on what they are.

Deposit Methods & Costs

There is no actual information about deposits available on the website, we notice some images at the bottom of the screen indicating that Bitcoin, Wire Transfer, Skrill, Neteller, Visa, MasterCard, BPay and POLi are all available, but there is no information regarding this or any potential fees that there may be.

Withdrawal Methods & Costs

Just like with the deposits, there is no information on withdrawals either, the same methods are known to us based on the images but nothing else. It is a real shame that this information is not available. Invest260 want to be using our money, yet they do not tell us how we can send it, or how we can receive it, not to mention thy have not told us what the costs are, potential clients will most likely be instantly put off by the lack of this information.

Withdrawal Processing & Wait Time

Processing times for withdrawals are also unknown so we cannot comment on this section of the review.

Bonuses & Promotions

There is a bonus of up to 30% available when you deposit, this is valid for the first and all subsequent deposits. Bonus funds can be withdrawn after fulfilling a trading volume requirement but the requirement is not stated and so it is not known to us, we cannot comment on the profitability of this promotion.

Educational & Trading Tools

There is a lot when it comes to education on the site, we will briefly go through each section. Firstly we have technical analysis, analysis is posted regularly to provide you with ideas on where the markets may be going. The fundamental analysis page is just a block of text detailing what fundamental analysis is rather than providing any. The economic calendar on the site currently states that it is coming soon. A section titled education just relays some basic info on how to trade. The video tutorial section just continuously had a loading symbol for us so we could not view any of the videos to test. Finally, there are some calculators for finding pivot levels and profit.

Customer Service

The customer service team at Invest360 is available between 07:00 GMT+2 and 20:30 GMT+2 from Monday to Friday. You can get in touch using a telephone number to speak to someone you can also use the same number on WhatsApp. Finally, there is an email address you can use should you wish to get in contact that way.

Demo Account

There doesn’t seem to be a demo account on offer, or at least we could not find any information about one. This is a shame as demo accounts allow potential new clients to test out the trading conditions and servers while it allows current clients to test out new strategies without risking any of their capital. This is an area that should be invested in and demo accounts should be made available.

Countries Accepted

The information about which countries are accepted and which are not is not present on the website, so if you are interested in joining, be sure to get in contact with the customer service team to check if you are eligible for an account or not.

Conclusion

Invest360 have a lot of vital information missing from the website, the main culprit being the deposit and withdrawal methods as well as any costs, without this information it is hard to trust a broker to deal with the money in a proper manner, also not knowing how we can get out money out and how much it will cost us is enough for us to ignore everything else and to recommend that you avoid Invest360 for the time being.

PipHijau LTD is a Malaysia based foreign exchange broker with a philosophy that ensures customer satisfaction and to help their traders and clients achieve their trading goals. Started in 2008, PipHijau has a few reasons why they think you should choose them, they include access to Islamic accounts, spreads as low as 1.2 pips, no requotes or rejections, leverage up to 1:500, minimum deposits of $50 and the ability to use expert advisors. These are all pretty standard things so we will use this review to dive deeper into the services on offer to see how they compare to the competition.

Account Types

Should you decide to sign up, you will need to decide which of the five available accounts you will want to use, we have detailed them below for you.

AI Premium Account: A minimum deposit of $500 is required to open this account, it uses straight-through processing (STP) and has leverage up to 1:500. There is a starting spread from 1.2 pips and a minimum trade size of 0.01 lots with no maximum. There is no added commission on this account and scalping and hedging are both allowed but the use of Expert Advisors is not. The stop out level for this account is set at 10%.

ECN Account: This account has a minimum deposit of $1,000 and it uses straight-through processing (STP) and has leverage up to 1:200. There is a starting spread from 0.6 pips and a minimum trade size of 0.01 lots with no maximum. There is an added commission on this account of $8 per lot traded and scalping and hedging are both allowed by the use of Expert Advisors is not. The stop out level for this account is set at 10%.

Tournament Account: A minimum deposit of $100 is required to open this account, it uses straight-through processing (STP) and has leverage up to 1:500. There is a starting spread from 1.2 pips and a minimum trade size of 0.01 lots with no maximum. There is no added commission on this account and scalping and hedging are both allowed and the use of Expert Advisors is also allowed. The stop out level for this account is set at 10%.

Standard Account: This account requires a deposit of $50 and it uses straight-through processing (STP) and has leverage up to 1:300. There is a starting spread from 1.2 pips and a minimum trade size of 0.01 lots with no maximum. There is no added commission on this account and scalping and hedging are both allowed and the use of Expert Advisors is also allowed. The stop out level for this account is set at 10%.

Micro Account: A minimum deposit of $10 is required to open this account, it uses a hybrid execution-style and can be leveraged up to 1:1000. There is a starting spread from 1.5 pips and a minimum trade size of 0.01 lots with a maximum of 100 lots. There is no added commission on this account and scalping and hedging are both allowed but the use of Expert Advisors is not. The stop out level for this account is set at 34%.

Platforms

PipHijau offers MetaTrader 4 as a trading platform, normally just having one platform can limit choice e but the fact that it is MT4 is nothing to be disappointed about. A few of the many features it offers to include it being user-friendly, secure, offering multiple languages, automated trading, flexible, fast and responsive, offers advanced charting capabilities and is completely customizable. It is also highly accessing as it can be used as a desktop download, a mobile application or as a web trader on your internet browser.

Leverage

The maximum leverage available depends on the account you are using, we have outlined the differences below.

• AI Premium Account: 1:500
• ECN Account: 1:200
• Tournament Account: 1:500
• Standard account: 1:300
• Micro Account: 1:1000

The leverage on the accounts can be selected when the first opening one and should you want to change it, you will need to log into your account and can change it from there.

Trade Sizes

Trade sizes on all accounts start from 0.01 lots which are known as a micro lot and the trades then go up in increments of 0.01 lots. All accounts shave no maximum trade size apart from the Mico account that has a maximum trade size requirement of 10 lots. It is not known what the maximum number of open trades you can have at any one time.

Trading Costs

There is only one account with any added commissions and that is the ECN account, there is an added commission of $8 per lot traded which is just a little higher than the industry average of $6 per lot traded. All the other accounts use a spread based system that we will look at later in this review.

Assets

It is unfortunate that there are no breakdowns or product specifications available, this means that we do not have any product specifics in relation to spreads or an exact list of available instruments, many potential clients look to see what assets are available as many have their favorite instruments they like to trade, not knowing if they are available could make them look elsewhere.

Spreads

The average spreads vary from account to account and we have outlined the stated figures below:

• AI Premium Account: 1.2 pips
• ECN Account: 0.6 pips
• Tournament Account: 1.2 pips
• Standard account: 1.2 pips
• Micro Account: 1.5 pips

The spreads are variable which means they move about when there is added volatility they are seen higher, different instruments will also have different average spreads.

Minimum Deposit

The minimum amount required to open up an account is $10 which gets you the Micro account, if you want a normal style account then you will need to deposit at least $50 for the Standard account.

Deposit Methods & Costs

We had to go into the FAQ of the site to find any information on deposits, the only methods mentioned are Credit Card (Visa and MasterCard) and electronic payment methods (FPX), they do not go into any more detail in the FAQ. There are no added fees from PipHijau but you should be sure to contact your own bank or processor to see if they add any transfer fees of their own.

Withdrawal Methods & Costs

There isn’t any specific information about withdrawal methods but we will expect the same ones to be used, for clarification these are Credit Card (Visa and MasterCard) and electronic payment methods (FPX). Just like with deposits there are no added fees and PipHijau will cover any transfer fees, however, if a withdrawal is under $200, PipHijau will not cover the transfer fees for you.

Withdrawal Processing & Wait Time

Withdrawal requests will be processed by PipHijau within 24 hours, it will then take between1 to 5 working days to fully process depending on the method used.

Bonuses & Promotions

Rather than a bonus, there is a trading tournament, however, it ended n 2019 so it does not seem like there are any active tournaments at the time of writing this review. If you are interested in them, we would recommend contacting the customer service team to see if there are any new ones starting soon that you can take part in.

Educational & Trading Tools

The education section contains a few different aspects, the first is a training center which is a physical location that you would need to go to and is located in Malaysia, so unless you live there it won’t be of much use to you. They have included a photo gallery but that isn’t going to teach us much, there are seminars, but again these are located in Malaysia and finally, there is a blog that details different things about the company. If you want any proper online education you will need to look elsewhere.

Customer Service

The customer service team is available for support Monday to Friday between 9 am and 12 pm. There is a limited number of ways of contacting them, in fact, the main one is an online submission form, fill it in and you should get a reply via email, you can also use the postal address should you prefer that method.

Address: 113-1, Jalan Seria Gemilang, u13/BG, Setia Alam, 40170, Selangor D.E.

Demo Account

We didn’t notice demo account being mentioned so we are not sure if they are in fact available or not, demo accounts allow clients to test out strategies without risking their own capital and also allows a potential new client to test out the trading conditions.

Countries Accepted

Information on which countries are eligible and which are not is not stated on the site, so if you are interested in joining PipHijau, we would recommend contacting the customer service team prior to signing up to ensure you are eligible for an account.

Conclusion

There are lots of options from PipHijau when it comes to account but not a whole lot of difference between them. Just MetaTrader 4 as a trading platform which is not an entirely bad thing. There wasn’t a product specification or breakdown of tradable assets which means that some people may not be able to find the instruments they need and look elsewhere. PipHijau seems to be more aimed towards people who live in Malaysia as all of their education is physical-based and situated there, so if you are from Malaysia they may be a good broker to use, but if you are not, we would suggest looking elsewhere.

LetsTrade is a foreign exchange broker registered and authorized in Cyprus by the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC). LetsTrade claims to be one of the largest Straight Through Processing (STP) brokers on the Metatrader 4 platform. They excel is resources and stability, offering top quality services to their clients and partners. Throughout this review, we will look into the services being offered to see if they live up to this expectation and so you can decide if they are the right broker for you.,

Account Types

It seems that there is just the one account on offer, if this is wrong then we will outline any differences throughout this review, so let’s look at what the account offers.

Account Features: The minimum deposit is $500 and this can be in a base currency of USD, GBP, EUR or CHF. The funds are segregated and there is negative balance protection. The margin call level is set at 100% with the stop out level being set at 50%. It uses STP execution and can have leverage up to 1:400. Hedging is available and both scalping and expert advisors are allowed to be used. There are over 1000 instruments available to trade (we will look at them later in the review). There are no added commissions but swap fees are present, it uses the MetaTrader 4 trading platform and execution speeds are under 2 milliseconds.

Platforms

MetaTrader 4 is the sole platform on offer from LetsTrade. This is one of the most popular trading platforms in the world due to its reliability, adaptability, and it is easy to use. It is also highly accessible as you can use it as a desktop download, a web trader or as an application for your mobile devices. MetaTrader 4 is compatible with thousands of expert advisors and indicators to make your trading and analysis as easy as possible. Normally being stuck with a single platform is a negative, but there could be far worse platforms to be stuck with.

Leverage

The maximum leverage is 1:400 which can be selected when you open up a new account. If you wish to change the leverage on the account you have already opened, you will need to send your request to the customer service team/

Trade Sizes

Trade sizes start from 0.01 lots (known as micro-lots) and go up in increments of 0.01 lots, the maximum trade size is 1000 lots which is a bit too high, we would recommend not trading anything over 50 lots in a single trade. There is no indication of the maximum number of open trades at any one time but we would expect it to be quite high considering the maximum lot size is so high.

Trading Costs

There are no added commissions, instead, everything is done on a spread based system that we will look at later in this review. There are swap charges which are an interest charged for holding trades overnight, it can be both positive or negative and can be viewed within the MetaTrader 4 trading platform.

Assets

Lets trade have a lot of tradable assets and instruments, they have broken them down into a number of different categories which we will now look at.

Forex: AUDCAD, AUDCHF, AUDJPY, AUDNZD, AUDSGD, AUDUSD, CADCHF, CADJPY, CHFHUF, CHFJPY, EURAUD, EURCAD, EURCHF, EURCZK, EURDKK, EURGBP, EURHUF, EURHKD, EURJPY, EURNOK, EURNZD, EURPLN, EURRUB, EURSEK, EURSGD, EURTRY, EURUSD, GBPAUD, GBPCAD, GBPCHF, GBPDKK, GBPJPY, GBPNOK, GBPNZD, GBPPLN, GBPSEK, GBPSGD, GBPUSD, NOKSEK, NZDCAD, NZDCHF, NZDJPY, NZDSGD, NZDUSD, SGDJPY, TRYJPY, USDCAD, USDCHF, USDCNH, USDCZK, USDDKK, USDHKD, USDHUF, USDILS, USDJPY, USDMXN, USDNOK, SUDPLN, USDRUB, USDSEK, USDSGDM USDTRY, USDZAR. ZARJPY

Metals: Gold and Silver

Commodities: Brent Crude Oil, London Gasoil, US Cocoa, US Coffee, US Cotton, US Sugar, WTI Crude Oil, BNatural Gas, Platinum, High Grade Copper

Bonds: Bund, US 10 Yr T-Note

ETNs and ETFs: We won’t outline them all but three examples are Ishares MSCI EMG Markets, Ishares South Korea Index and, Ishares NASDAQ Biotech.

Stocks: There are far too many for us to list, but they include the likes of Admiral Group, Aviva, Adidas, Allianz, Aegon, Amadeus IT Holdings, Auto Trader, Anglo American and that is just a few of the ones beginning with A.

Indices – Cash: A few of them include Australia 200 Index, Euro 50 Index, UK 100 Index and, US Dow Jones Index.

Indices – Futures: China A50 Index, German 30 Index Futures, US Dollar Index, Singapore Blue Chip Index, US Dow Jones Index Futures and, US 500 Index Futures are just some examples of what is available.

Cryptocurrencies: Bitcoin (BTCUSD)

Spreads

The spreads seem to be the only information in relation to trading conditions that seem to be missing, we understand that they are variable which means they move with the market and when the markets are being extra volatile they are seen higher, but we do not have a starting figure or any examples of live spreads to give.

Minimum Deposit

The minimum deposit required to open up an account is 500 USD / GBP / EUR / CHF. It is unknown if this amount reduces once an account has already been opened.

Deposit Methods & Costs

There isn’t a funding or deposit page on the website so the details of the deposits are unknown. At the bottom of the site are some pictures of Visa, MasterCard, Maestro, Skrill, Safecharge and Sofort, so our understanding is that these methods are available to deposit with.

There is also no mention of any fee s on the site, so we are not clear if there are any or not,m, either way, be sure to check with your bank or processor if you do deposit if they charge any fees of their own.

Withdrawal Methods & Costs

Just like with deposits there is no information surrounding withdrawals,m we suspect the same methods of Visa, MasterCard, Maestro, Skrill, Safecharge and Sofort are available to withdraw with either. There is also no mention of any fees for withdrawals, but al ono mention that there aren’t any.

Withdrawal Processing & Wait Time

We do not know the exact processing expectations of LetaTrade, however, depending on the method used it should take between 1 to 7 working days for your withdrawal to fully process.

Bonuses & Promotions

There is something called a new customer reward, this gives you a bonus on top of your first deposit, the rewards are as follows:

The reward is not a lump sum, instead, it is a rebate of the spreads charged throughout the accounts trading life, the rebates are paid monthly.

Educational & Trading Tools

The educational side of the site isn’t really an education, the only information available is a glossary of trading-related terms and some brief information about different contract types. If you are looking to learn anything you will need to look elsewhere. There is something called The LetsTrade Club which is based around education and analysis, but it costs £2,000 to enter so we do not know what it is like.

Customer Service

The customer support team is available 24 hours a day from Sunday 22:00 to Friday 21L00 (UK time). You can get in contact by using the online submission form to fill in your query and submit or by using the address or phone number we have provided below.

Head Office: 40 Bloomsbury Way, London, United Kingdom, WC1A2SE
Phone: +44 02079808803

Demo Account

Demo accounts are available from Lets Trade when signing up a simply select demo account and then you can get a choice of account currency (EUR, GBP, USD or CHF) and a balance of between 500 and 5,000,000. It will use the same conditions we have mentioned in this review but there is no mention of an expiration time so hopefully, it will stay open indefinitely.

Countries Accepted

The following is available on the site: “Regional restrictions: JFD Group Ltd is allowed to serve only clients whose residence is in the EEA or in a country where the company has a legal permission to do so (such as Belarus, China, Switzerland, Turkey, UAE, and Ukraine) whereas JFD Overseas Ltd is allowed to serve only clients whose residence is in another third country. A restriction on offering investment services applies to residents of the United States of America, Russia and to residents of other countries whose domestic regulations classify such investment offering as prohibited.” If you are not sure of your eligibility, we would recommend contacting the customer service team to see if you are able to sign up or not.

Conclusion

LetsTrade seems to be offering quite a lot when it comes to their services, there is just one account to choose from which makes things simple, along with that just the one trading platform so you know exactly what you are getting yourself into. There is a slight issue of not knowing what the spreads are, and that to us is the all-important aspect as there is no added commission.

The spreads are what decides the trading costs, so not knowing them means we cannot know what it will cost us. The other issue is the lack of deposit and withdrawal information, it is vital for clients and potential clients to know how they can get their money in and out and also how much it will cost them, without these pieces of information, LetsTrade could be the best broker available, but we cannot recommend them without knowing the things.

Tifia is a Republic of Vanuatu STP/ECN forex broker aiming to provide its clients with transparent trading conditions. Tifia has listed a few aspects that they feel make them stand out from the crowd such as segregated accounts, rapid execution with no re-quotes, a fair ECN model, use of the best trading platforms, tier 1 bank liquidity, competitive spreads, analytical material and tools and more. We will be using this review to see if they do in fact provide these services as well as any other so we can see how they stand up next to the competition.

Account Types

There are three different accounts to select when signing up, they are based on different deposit amounts and each has its own trading conditions. So lets briefly see what they offer.

Start Account: This account requires a minimum deposit of $10, it can use USD, EUR or NGN as a base currency and uses the MetaTrader 4 trading platform. It has spread starting from 2.2 pips and there is no added commission on the account. Leverage can go as high as 1:1000 and trading starts from 0.01 lots and goes up to 100 lots. A lot for this account is 10,000 units instead of 100,000. The margin call level is set at 100% and stop out at 50%, there are no requotes or rejections and Islamic versions are available too. The account can use scalping, hedging, and expert advisors and is eligible for bonuses, there are 28 forex pairs and 2 metals available to trade on this account.

Classic Account: This account increases the required minimum deposit to $100, it can use USD, EUR, PLN, GBP or NGN as a base currency and uses the MetaTrader 4 and MetaTrader 5 trading platform. It has spread starting from 1.1 pips and there is no added commission on the account. Leverage can go as high as 1:1000 and trading starts from 0.01 lots and goes up to 100 lots. A lot for this account is the usual 100,000 units. The margin call level is set at 100% and stop out at 50%, there are no requotes or rejections and Islamic versions are available too. The account can use scalping, hedging, and expert advisors and is eligible for bonuses, there are 36 forex pairs 2 metals, 2 commodities and 11 indices available to trade on this account.

ECN Pro Account: This is the top-level account and the minimum deposit required is $500, it can use USD, EUR, PLN, GBP or NGN as a base currency and uses MetaTrader 4 and MetaTrader 5 trading platform. It has spread starting from 0 pips and so there is an added commission of $8 per round lot traded. Leverage can go as high as 1:100 and trading starts from 0.01 lots and goes up to 100 lots. A lot for this account is the usual 100,000 units. The margin call level is set at 100% and stop out at 50%, there are no requotes or rejections and Islamic versions are available too. The account can use scalping, hedging, and expert advisors and is not eligible for bonuses, there are 52 forex pairs 6 metals, 2 commodities and 11 indices available to trade on this account.

Platforms

Tifia is offering two different platforms, both of them are very popular and are both from the MetaQuotes company.

MetaTrader 4 (MT4): MT4 is the most popular trading and analytical platform for working in the Forex market. A high work rate and reliability, a variety of tools, easy-to-use interface, high-security level, auto-trading, access to the latest financial news. It is also highly accessible as it can be used as a desktop download, mobile application and as a web trader. Millions of traders use MetaTrader 4 which says more than words can.

MetaTrader 5 (MT5): MT5 is the younger brother of MT4 and comes with loads of helpful features such as better performance and a wider range of functions, access to deep liquidity on the Forex market and stock exchanges, 6 types of pending orders to create a flexible trading strategy. One-click trading allows you to manage trading orders directly within the price chart, while built-in reports allow for quick analysis of trade efficiency. There are 21 timeframes for price charts and more than 100 charts that can be opened simultaneously for different instruments. Several technical indicators can be used in one chart at the same time, while built-in market depth indicators provide reliable real-time information about market prices and trading volumes.

Leverage

Leverage can range anywhere from 1:1 all the way up to 1:1000. The Starter and Classic accounts can be leveraged up to 1:1000 while the CN Pro account can be leveraged up to 1:100. The leverage can be selected when opening up an account and can be changed by contacting the customer service team with the request.

Trade Sizes

Trade sizes on all account start from 0.01 lots and go up in increments of 0.01 lots until it reaches the maximum of 100 lots. We would suggest not trading over 50 lots in a single trade though. We are not sure about the maximum number of open trades you can have at any one time though. For the Classic and ECN Pro accounts, a lot is equal to 100,000 units, while on the Starter account a lot is equal to 10,000 units.

Trading Costs

The ECN Pro account is the only account with any added commissions, there is a commission of $8 per round lot traded on this account which is just slightly above the industry average of $6 per lot. All three account shave swap fees, these are charges for holding trades overnight, there Starter and Classic account shave a swap-free Islamic option where these fees are removed.

Assets

The assets have been broken down into a number of different categories, lets briefly look at what they are.

Forex Majors: AUDUSD, EURUSD, GBPUSD, NZDUSD, USDCAD, USDCHF, USDJPY

Forex Crosses: AUDCAD, AUDCHF, AUDJPY, AUDNZD, CADCHF, CADJPY, CHFJPY, EURAUD, EURCAD, EURCHF, EURGBP, EURJPY, EURNZD, GBPAUD, GBPCHF, GBPJPY, GBPNZD, NZDCAD, NZDCHF, NZDJPY

Forex Exotic: USDDKK, USDHKD, USDHUF, USDILS, USDMXN, USDNOK, USDPLN, USDRUB, USDSEK, USDSGD, USDZAR, USDTRY, USDCNH, USDCZK, USDTHB, EURTRY, EURSEK, EURNOK, EURHUF, EURPLN, EURRUB, EURDKK, EURTRY

Oil: US Crude and UK Brent

Metals: XAUUSD, XAGUSD, XPD USD, XPTUSD

Indices: ASX200, CAC, FDAX, FTSE, HK50, IBEX35, NI225, NQ, SPX, SX5E, YM

Spreads

The spreads are dependant on a few different factors, they depend on the account used, the instrument traded and they are also variable. We have outlined a few of the spreads below for easy reading.

Variable spreads mean that they move with the markets, so the number stated above may be slightly different, if there is volatility in the markets then they often get wider (higher).

Minimum Deposit

The minimum amount required to open up an account is $10 which will allow you to open up a Starter account, if you want an ECN account then you will need to deposit at least $500.

Deposit Methods & Costs

There are a few different methods available that have different deposit currencies, we have outlined them below for you.

• Bank Wire Transfer – USD, EUR
• MasterCard – USD
• Skrill – USD, EUR
• Perfect Money – USD, EUR
• FasaPay – USD, EUR
• Neteller – USD, EUR
• Local Deposit – MYR, IDR, THB, VND, BRD, NGN.
• Bitcoin – BTC

There are no added fees for any of the deposits but you should check with your processor or bank to see if they add any transfer fees of their own.

Withdrawal Methods & Costs

The same methods are available to withdraw with, they have different withdrawal fees so we have outlined them below ina similar format.

• Bank Wire Transfer – Min € ($) 0.50, max € ($) 125.00
• MasterCard – 3% + $5
• Skrill – 1%
• Perfect Money – 1.99%
• FasaPay – 0.50%
• Neteller – 2%
• Local Deposit – No fees
• Bitcoin – From 0.0001 BTC

Be sure to also check with your bank or card issuer to see if there will be any incoming transfer fees.

Withdrawal Processing & Wait Time

We have outlined the total expected processing time, this is it will take for the withdrawal to fully process and be available for use.

• Bank Wire Transfer – 2-5 business days
• MasterCard – 2-5 business days
• Skrill – 1-2 hours
• Perfect Money – 1-2 hours
• FasaPay – 1-2 hours
• Neteller – 1-2 hours
• Local Deposit – 1-2 business days
• Bitcoin – 1-2 hours

Bonuses & Promotions

The bonuses and promotions on offer are all forms of trading competitions, they involve you trading and whoever makes the most or trades the most wins prizes. There are multiple competitions happening at once and the prizes range from cash to cars. The terms of each are slightly different but they all involve depositing and trading.

Educational & Trading Tools

There are four different educational tools available, the first is a page for reviews and outlooks, it looks at different news and analysis on what the markets could do. There is an analysis app valuable, you need a fully verified account to access it so we do not know what it is like, but it seems that it will give you analysis and tips on your phone. There is then a calculator for working out margin, pip sizes, and profit. Finally, there is the usual economic calendar which tells you of upcoming news events and the effect that they could have on the markets.

Customer Service

Getting in contact with Tifia is pretty simple, you can use a number of different email addresses or phone numbers depending on the department you want. There are emails available for Customer Support, Finance Department, Human Resources and Partnerships. There are also emails and phone numbers available for different representatives in Thailand, Indonesia, Hispanic countries and Nigeria.

Support Email: [email protected]

Demo Account

A demo account is available and offers a way to test the markets and new strategies without any real risk. Each demo account will remain open indefinitely, provided that they are used at least once per 90 days. If a demo account is archived due to inactivity, a new one can be opened.

Countries Accepted

The following statement is on the site: “Our company’s service is not provided to the citizens (residents) of the United States of America, Canada, Israel, Belgium, Japan and the Republic of Vanuatu and citizens of any state or country where the service is not made available.” If you are still not sure of your eligibility then we would suggest contacting the customer service team to find out prior to signing up for an account.

Conclusion

It is refreshing to see a broker give out so much information and they are certainly living up to their statement of offering a transparent service. In terms of trading conditions, the starter account can be a little expensive with its spreads, and the ECN Pro account is slightly over the industry-standard commissions, but it is not overly expensive. There are plenty of assets to trade on the higher tier accounts and with the choice of both MT4 and MT5, there is plenty of options available.

There are also lots of deposit and withdrawal methods, the only change is the fact that there are withdrawal fees, but some of them are reasonable and won’t take away too much of your profits. Tifia has made a real effort to give you all the information you need, this level of transparency can be rare to see and so we would e happy to recommend Tifia as a potential broker to use.

Beneforex is a foreign exchange broker based in Sydney, Australia with other branches in Hong Kong, Shanghai, Taiwan, Korea, and London. Founded by experienced traders Beneforex aims to bring their experience into the forex broker world to help create a broker for traders. Their vision is to seek to fulfill their client’s gratification and success rate by constantly upgrading their expertise to offer their clients world-class quality. Throughout this review, we will look into the services on offer to see if they can manage to achieve this.

Account Types

There are four different accounts on offer, the account comparison page doesn’t offer too much information but we will tell you what they have.

Standard Account: This account requires a minimum deposit of $100, it comes with leverage up to 1:500 and trading starts from as low as 0.01 lots.

VIP Account: This account also has a minimum deposit of $100 and it comes with leverage up to 1:500 and trading starts from as low as 0.01 lots.

Mini Account: The Mini account is the same as the other accounts with a $100 minimum deposit, it can be leveraged up to 1:500 and trading starts at 0.01 lots.

(Note: There must be some differences to the above accounts that we will hopefully find as we go through this review.)

Pro Account: The initial deposit is now raised up to $10,000, the other elements such as leverage remain at 1:500 and minimum trade size also remains at 0.01 lots.

Platforms

In terms of trading platforms, there is only one available, that is MetaTrader 4 (MT4). MT4 is a hugely popular trading platform and offers a smooth and stable trading environment, lots of charting and analysis tools, automated trading through expert advisors and signals and flexible trading terms. MT4 is also highly accessible, it is available as a desktop download, a web trader or as an application for your mobile devices, you cannot go wrong when using MetaTrader 4. It would have been nice to have more choice, but MT4 is not a bad platform to be stuck with.

Leverage

Leverage on all accounts goes up to 1:500, this can be selected when opening up an account and if you need to change it on ana already an open account you will need to contact the customer service team with your request. The leverage changes depending on a few different aspects that we have detailed below.

Trade Sizes

Trade sizes start from 0.01 lots and go up in increments of 0.01 lots so the next trade would be 0.02 lots. The maximum trade size available is 20 lots which is a good amount as it is not too high, there is no indication of the maximum number of open trades you are able to have though. One lot is equal to 100,000 base units.

Trading Costs

There is no information available regarding any trading costs so the accounts may all be using a spread based system hat we will look at later in this review. Swap charges are present, these are interest fees that can be either positive or negative and are paid for holding trades overnight, these can be viewed within the MetaTrader 4 trading platform.

Assets

Beneforex has broken its assets down into a number of different categories which we will now go through.

Forex: EURUSD, GBPUSD, AUDUSD, NZDUSD, USDJPY, USDCAD, USDCHF, EURGBPO, AUDCAD, AUDCHF, AUDJPY AUDNZD, AURSGD, CADCHF, CADJPY, CHFSGD, EURAUD, EURCAD, EURCHF, EURJPY, EURNOK, EURNZD, EURPLN, EURSEK, EURSGD, EURTRY, GBPAUD, GBPCAD, GBPCHF, GBPJPY, GBPNZD, GBPSGD, NOKSEK, NZDCAD, NZDCHF, NZDJPY, SEKHPY, USDCNH, USDHKD, USDNOK, USDPLN, USDSEK, USDSGD, USDTRY

Indices: Australia 200, German 30, Hong Kong 50, Japan 225, Nasdaq 100, UK 100, America 2000, US 30, SPX 500

Metals and Commodities: Gold, Silver, Platinum, Palladium, West Texas Oil, Brent Oil, Natural Gas

Spreads

Unfortunately, just lie commissions there is no information regarding spreads so the trading costs of the various accounts are completely unknown to us. This is disappointing as potential new clients need to know what trading will cost them to work out if it is worth signing up or not. The only information that we do know is that the spreads are variable which means they move about and when there is added volatility in the markets they are often seen higher.

Minimum Deposit

The minimum amount required to pen up an account is $100 which will get you access to any of the accounts apart from the Pro account which will need a deposit of $10,000.

Deposit Methods & Costs

Unfortunately, there doesn’t appear to be any information on funding, there is a funding link at the bottom of the page but clicking it takes you to an account manager page which has nothing to do with any funding methods. This information should be available and clear, but it is not.

Withdrawal Methods & Costs

As there is no information on depositing there is also no information on withdrawing which once again is a real let down as clients need to know how they can get their money out and also how much it may cost them.

Withdrawal Processing & Wait Time

As you can expect this information is also not present, but we would hope that all withdrawal requests would be fully processed within 1 to 7 business days from the receipt of the request.

Bonuses & Promotions

It does not appear that there are any active promotions at the time of writing this review if you want a bonus you could contact the customer service team to see if there are any upcoming ones you could take part in.

Educational & Trading Tools

There is a basic and advanced section for education, however, when opening up these sections they are both blank. There is no information at all and so nothing we can comment on.

Customer Service

The contact page is simple and straight forward, there is an online submission form to fill in, once you send it off you should get a reply via email. There is also an address, email and phone number available. The customer support team aim to help all queries within 24 hours.

Address: Level 10, 20 Martin Place, Sydney NSW 2000
Phone: +61 2 9239 3210
Email: [email protected]

Demo Account

It does not appear that demo accounts are available, this is a shame as demo accounts allow new customers to test out the trading conditions and to get a feel for the servers which allowing experienced traders to test out new strategies without risking any of their own capital.

Countries Accepted

This information does not appear to be present, if you are interested in opening up an account we would suggest trying to contact the customer service team to see if you are eligible for an account or no.

Conclusion

The website was slow, very slow, sometimes taking over 1 minute to load a single page which made the user experience a horrible one. There is also a lot of information missing, for example, trading conditions, we do not know if there are any commissions or what the spreads are, so the costs of trading could be anything. There is also no information regarding funding methods so we do not know how to get money in or out and how much it would cost us. Without any of that information, it makes it incredibly hard for us to recommend this broker and so instead would suggest looking elsewhere.

Hirose is a foreign exchange broker based in London and is registered dan regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in the UK. They have won a number of awards, mainly for their affiliate schemes. Hirose aims to provide its clients with competitive low spreads, simple and easy mobile trading, fast execution, 24-hour customer support, no commission fees, the safety of funds and micro-lots for new traders. Throughout this review, we will be looking at what is on offer to see if they achieve this and so you can decide if they are the right broker for you to use for your trading needs.

Account Types

There are two different accounts available and they are based around the trading platform they will be using, so let’s look at what they ere.

MetaTrader 4 Account: There is no minimum requirement to open this account as stated, it uses the MetaTrader 4 trading platform. It has variable spreads starting from around 1.9 pips and there are no added commissions. The base currency for this account can be in USD, EUR or GBP and the trade sizes start from 0.01 lots. There are 46 different currency pairs available to trade and the leverage on the account goes up to 1:30.

LION Trader Account: There is also no minimum requirement to open this account as stated, it uses the LION Trader trading platform. It has variable spreads starting from around 0.7 pips and there are no added commissions on this account. The base currency for this account can be in EUR, USD or GBP and the trade sizes start from 1 lot. There are 50 different currency pairs available to trade and the leverage on the account goes up to 1:30.

Platforms

There are two different platforms on offer, we will briefly go over their main features.

MetaTrader 4 (MT4): MT4 sn one of the world’s most popular trading platforms, it boasts a whole host of features to make your trading and analysis easier. Some of the features of MT4 with Hirose include no dealing desk and no dealer Intervention, fast execution speed, micro Lots (from 1000 units = 0.01 lots), simple 4 ways to fund your account (min deposit 20USD～), over 50 Built-in Indicators & charting tools available, 46 Currency pairs available, good for scalping & hedging, providing support for over 30 languages. MetaTrader 4 is a great platform for Hiros to offer their clients.

LION Trader: Lion Trader is a Japanese trading platform, some of the benefits it offers when using it with Hirose include 1 click trading, fast execution speed, no hidden cost, more flexibility in smaller trading size 1 lot = 1,000 Units, most competitive low spreads, 50 built-in indicators & free downloadable strategies, 50 Currency pairs available, trailing order (even if you close your platform) and, good for scalping & hedging.

Leverage

The maximum leverage available is 1:30 which is relevant to both accounts, the leverage can be selected when opening up an account and can be changed by contacting the customer service team with your request.

Trade Sizes

Trade sizes on the MetaTrader 4 account start from 0.01 lots and go up in increment of 0.01 lots, the maximum trade size is 30 lots for this account. The trade size on this account is 1 lot = 100,000 units. The LION Trader account has to start trade sizes of 1 lot and a maximum of 3,000 lots, however, the trade size for this account is 1 lot = 1,000 units.

Trading Costs

There is no added commission on these accounts as they both use a spread based system that we will look at later in this review. There are swap charges for holding trades overnight and these can be both positive or negative, they can be viewed within the trading platform of choice.

Assets

There seems to only be currency pairs available to trade at Hirose which is a shame as a lot of people like to trade other instruments, at any rate, these are the instrument available.

EURUSD, GBPUSD, USDJPY, AUDUSD, AUDCHF, AUDJPY, EURAUD, EURGBP, EURJPY, CADJPY, CHFJPY, GBPAUD, GBPCHF, GBPJPY, NZDJPY, USDCAD, USDCHF, AUDCAD, AUDNZD, CADCHF, EURCAD, EURNZD, EURPLN, EURSGD, EURTRY, EURZAR, GBPCAD, GBPNZD, HKDJPY, HUFJPY, MXNJPY, NZDCAD, NZDCHF, NZDUSD, PLNJPY, SGDJPY, TRYJPY, USDHKD, USDHUF, USDMXN, USDPLN, USDSGD, USDTRY, USDZAR, ZARJPY.

There are a few fairs only available on the LION Trader, these are:
EURNOK, EURSEK, NOKJPY, NZDJPY, SEKJPY. When looking through the currencies, we noticed that Gold and Silver are available, they are just included in the currency list. These are not available on the LION Trader.

Spreads

The spreads you get depend on the platform you are using, if we take EURUSD, on the MT4 platform the typical spread is 1.9 pips, for the LION Trader platform it is 0.8 pips. The spreads are variable which means they constantly change, the more volatility in the markets the bigger they get, different instruments also have different types spreads, so while EURUSD maybe around 1.9 pips, something like GBPUSD is typically around 2.9 pips.

Minimum Deposit

There is no minimum deposit required in order to open up an account, instead, the minimum is based on the minimum allowed by a payment provider, which in this case is $20.

Deposit Methods & Costs

There are 4 different methods available to deposit with, we have outlined them below along with the minimum deposit amounts for each.

• Credit / Debit Card – Min 50 USD, 50 EUR, 50 GBP
• Skrill – Min 20 USD, 20 EUR, 20 GBP
• Neteller – Min 20 USD, 20 EUR, 20 GBP
• Bank Wire Transfer – Min 50 USD, 50 EUR, 50 GBP

The fee section for all methods simply states “Subject to the Deposit Fee Waiver Campaign.”. We are not fully clear on what this means, but be sure to check with your own bank to see if they add any transfer fees of their own.

Withdrawal Methods & Costs

The same methods are available to withdraw with, however, there are now some added fees that we have detailed below.

Credit / Debit Card:
Fees: Free
Minimum Withdrawal Amount: 20 GBP, 20 USD, 20 EUR

Skrill:
Fees: Free
Minimum Withdrawal Amount: 20 GBP, 20 USD, 20 EUR

Neteller:
Fees: Free
Minimum Withdrawal Amount: 20 GBP, 20 USD, 20 EUR
Maximum Withdrawal Limit: 5,000USD per transaction

Local Wire Transfer:
For GBP, £6.00 per transaction
For EUR, £8.50 per transaction
For USD, £8.50 per transaction
Minimum Withdrawal Amount: 20 GBP, 20 USD, 20 EUR

International Wire Transfer:
For EUR, £5.00
For USD, £8.50 per transaction
For GBP, £8.50 per transaction
Minimum Withdrawal Amount: 50GBP, 50 USD, 50 EUR

Withdrawal Processing & Wait Time

Withdrawal requests should be processed within 1 business day, how long it takes after that depends on the method used but should be fully processed within 1 to 5 business days. It should be noted that funds will not be debited from your trading account at the time you have made a withdrawal request. We will process your withdrawal request daily at 01:00 (GMT) on weekdays and it is at this point in time that funds will be debited from your trading account.

Bonuses & Promotions

It does not seem like there are any bonuses or promotions active at the time of writing this review, this doesn’t mean that there won’t ever be any, so if you are interested in bonuses, make sure to check with the customer service team to see if there are any coming up that you could take part in.

Educational & Trading Tools

There seems to be quite a lot when it comes to education, the first aspect is a guide for beginners, this has various sections detailing the very basics of trading such as what leverage is, or how to place orders. There are also trading manuals which detail how each of the trading platforms works just in case you get stuck. There is then an FAQ about various aspects of trading and how to work things like pips out. The glossary is up next which simpy, details the meaning of lots of trading-related terms, handy if you come across something you do not understand.

The next page is information about technical analysis, this isn’t analysis done for you, instead, it simply tells you what technical analysis is, and how it can be performed, there are some examples of different patterns too. The final section is about economic indicators, it tells you what they are and what they do, handy if you are just starting out.

Customer Service

The customer service team is available Monday to Friday from 9 am to 6 pm UK time. You can contact them using the online contact form, there is also a live chat available. If you wish to you can also contact them via email, or phone and there is even the ability to screen share in skype.

Address: 25 Finsbury Circus, London EC2M 7EE
Email: [email protected]
TEL Free: 0800 860 0923
TEL Local: 0203 687 0348
TEL International: +44 (0)20 3687 0348

Demo Account

You are able to open up a demo account for their of the trading platforms, you do not sign up directly with the site. Instead, you need to download or open the trading platform and sign up for a demo account that way, trading conditions will be the same as the accounts are. There is no information on expiration times so we hope they will remain indefinitely. Demo accounts allow potential clients to test out the trading conditions while also allowing experienced traders a chance to test new strategies without risking any capital.

Countries Accepted

The following statement is available on the site: “The information on this site is not directed at residents of the United States or any particular country outside the UK and is not intended for distribution to, or use by, any person in any country or jurisdiction where such distribution or use would be contrary to local law or regulation. Hirose UK is unable to accept applications for live accounts from residents of Japan.” If you are still not sure of your eligibility, we would recommend contacting the customer service team prior to signing up.

Conclusion

Hirose makes it simple, your account is based around the platform of choice. It is easy to get involved as there is no minimum required to open either of the accounts. In terms of trading conditions, the spreads are ok as there is no added commission, however, the leverage being maxed out at 1:30 could limit some of the profit potentials. Deposit and withdrawal methods are okay, but there are added fees for withdrawing with bank wire so it may be good to avoid that method if possible. Hirose seems like they could have the potential to be a decent broker, but the decision to try them is up to you.

BlackBull Markets is an ECN foreign exchange broker specializing in Forex, CFDs, Commodities, Fibre Optic Communications, and Fintech solutions. Based in New Zealand and registered with the Financial Services Provider Registry (FSPR) and Financial Services Complaints Limited (FSCL), BlackBull Markets aim to be the best and to provide the best for their clients. We will be using this review to delve deep into the services being offered to see how they compare to the competition and so you can decide if they are the right broker for you.

Account Types

There are three different accounts available to use when signing up with BlackBull Markets, we have outlined some of their features below.

ECN Standard: This account has a minimum deposit requirement of $200, it comes with spreads starting from 0.8 pips with a minimum trade size of 0.01 lots. There is no added commission on the account and it can be leveraged up to 1:500.

ECN Prime: The ECN Prime account increases the minimum deposit up to $2,000, it comes with spreads as low as 0.1 pips and there is an added commission of $6 per round lot traded. It can still be leveraged up to 1:500 and the trade sizes start at 0.01 lots.

ECN Institutional: This is the top tier account, it requires a minimum deposit of at least $20,000. The account has spreads starting from 0 pips and the commission is negotiable. The trade sizes start from 0.01 lots and the account can be leveraged up to 1:500 just like the other accounts.

Platforms

There are two different platforms both from MetaQuotes available to sue, let’s have a look at some of the features included in them.

MetaTrader 4 (MT4): MetaTrader 4 is one of the world’s most used trading platforms and for several good reasons. A few of its many features include multiple order types, Market watch window, a navigator window, lots of pre-installed indicators and analysis tools, multiple chart setups, and the ability for automated trading and order execution capabilities. The platform is also highly accessible, as you can use it as a web trader in your internet browser, a mobile application or as a desktop download.

MetaTrader 5 (MT5): MT5 is currently coming soon to BlackBull Markets, so it is not currently available to use but will be soon. Some of the features it includes are 20+ time frames, 30+ built-in indicators, an integrated economic calendar, optimized trade processing speeds, the ability to hedge your trade positions and, advanced pending order functionality. Just like with MT4, it is also available as a desktop download, mobile application, and web trader.

Leverage

The maximum leverage available on all three accounts is 1:500 and can be selected when opening up an account. Should you for any reason need to change the leverage on an account you are already using, you will need to contact the customer service team to request a change.

Trade Sizes

Trade sizes start from 0.01 lots which is known as a micro lot, they then go up in increments of 0.012 lots. The maximum trade size is unknown but we would recommend not trading over 50 lots in a single trade due to execution and slippage issues with larger trades. It is also not known to us what the maximum number of open trades at any one time is.

Trading Costs

The ECN Prime account comes with an added commission of $6 per lot traded which is in line with the industry average. The ECN Institutional account also comes with an added commission but the amount needs to be negotiated with an account manager. The ECN Standard account does not have any commission as it uses a spread based system that we will look at later. There are also swap charges, these are fees for holding trades overnight and can be viewed within the MetaTrader trading platforms.

Assets

The assets on BlackBull Markets have been broken down into a few different categories, we have outlined the different instruments within them below.

Forex: AUDCAD, AUDCHF, AUDJPY, AUDNZD, AUDUSD, CADCHF, CADJPY, CHFJPY, EURAUD, EURCAD, EURCHF, EURGBP, EURJPY, EURNZD, EURUSD, GBPAUD, GBPCAD, GBPCHF, GBPJPY, GBPNZD, GBPUSD, NZDCAD, NZDCHF, NZDJPY, NZDUSD, USDCAD, USDCHF, USDJPY, USDMXN, USDSGD

Metals: Silver and Gold

Energy: WTI Crude Oil, Brent Crude Oil

Indices: AUS 200, UK 100, US 500, ESTX 50, SUI 20, GER 30, JPN 225, NAS 100, US 30

Spreads

The spreads that you get depend on the account you are using. The ECN Standard account has spread starting from 0.8 pips, the ECN Prime account has spread starting from 0.01 pips and the ECN Institutional account has spreads starting from 0 pips. The spreads are variable which means they move with the markets, the more volatility in the markets the higher the spreads will be, different instruments will also have different starting spreads.

Minimum Deposit

The minimum amount required to open up an account is $200 which will get you the ECN Standard account, if you want a commission-based account then you will need to deposit at least $2,000. Once an account has been opened the minimum deposit requirement is removed and there is no fixed limit for top-up deposits.

Deposit Methods & Costs

There are a number of different methods available to deposit with, these include Bank Wire Transfer, Visa, MasterCard, Skrill, Neteller, China Union Pay, and FasaPay. Fees are not mentioned on the site which leads us to believe that there aren’t any added fees for depositing, however, we cannot be 100% sure about this. At any rate, you should check with your own bank or processor to see if they add any fees of their own.

Withdrawal Methods & Costs

The same methods are available to withdraw with, for clarification these are Bank Wire Transfer, Visa, MasterCard, Skrill, Neteller, China Union Pay, and FasaPay. When using Credit or Debit card, you are only able to withdraw the same amount that you have deposited, any extra will need to use another available method. There is an added fee of 20 base currency for withdrawing with Bank Wire Transfer and a fee of 5 base currency for withdrawals using any other method. You should also check with your own bank or processor for any potential fees added by them.

Withdrawal Processing & Wait Time

BlackBull Markets will aim to process any withdrawal requests within 24 hours of the request being made. The amount of time it takes after this will depend on the method used, however, all withdrawals should fully process between 1 to 5 business days from the request depending on the processing speed of the method used to withdraw.

Bonuses & Promotions

From looking around the site it does not appear that there are any promotions or bonuses currently running. If you are interested in bonuses you could always contact the customer service team to see if there are any coming up that you could take part in.

Educational & Trading Tools

In terms of education, there are only two things on offer, the first is an economic calendar that details any upcoming news events along with the markets and currencies that they may affect. Then there is are some market reviews, these are looking at what has happened in the past and the last few days to try and give a reason for any movement that took place. If you are looking to actually learn how to trade you will need to look elsewhere.

Customer Service

There are quite a few different ways to get in contact with BlackBull Markets, there are a whole bunch of email addresses to use to contact different departments including Customer Services, Chines Support, Compliance, Deposit and Withdrawal Queries, Institutional, Introducing Broker Queries, Partners/White Labels/Representative, Trade Relations and Queries and Media./Marketing/PR.

There are also postal addresses and phone numbers available for New Zealand and Malaysia.

New Zealand Offices:
Address: BlackBull Markets, Level 22, 120 Albert Street, Auckland, 1010
Phone: (+64) 9 558 5142
Email: [email protected]

Opening hours are Monday to Friday from 10:00 – 23:00 NZT.

Demo Account

Demo accounts were not mentioned o nth site so it gives the appearance that there aren’t any, we did not create an account so there may be a way to get them from within the back office, demo accounts are a great way for potential clients test the trading conditions and for existing clients to test new strategies without any risk, so if they are not available BlackBull MArkets should look at getting them implemented into their platform.

Countries Accepted

There is no information on the site about country eligibility, so we would suggest getting in touch with the customer service team prior to creating an account t just to be sure you are eligible to trade with them.

Conclusion

BlackBull Markets give a very good first impression with a very clean looking website. The accounts give enough variation for them to make sense. In terms of trading conditions, the spreads are starting low and the commission on the commission-based account is in line with the industry average ($6 per lot traded). There are enough ways to deposit to keep most people happy, there are some fees for withdrawing but they are kept relatively low. Plenty of ways to contact the customer service team gives a bit of confidence and so we are happy to recommend them as a broker to sue, but the final decision is up to you.

GIC Markets, known as Global Integrated Captech Markets (GICM for short) is an online STP broker with more than two decades worth of experience. Based in St. Vincent & the Grenadines, the company is regulated under the Financial Services Authority (FSA). A few of the broker’s advertised advantages include low deposit requirements, a leverage cap of 1:400, and access to 60 currency pairs, plus CFDs on a popular trading platform. We did find some advantages to choosing this broker; however, traders will want to carefully consider a few of the downsides as well. Keep reading to find out more.

Account Types

GICM features four separate account types: Cent, Classic, Standard, and ECN. Traders can also request Islamic versions of each of these account types. A Cent account can be opened for as little as $10 and deposit requirements range from $20 to $500 on the other account types. All accounts allow for the trading of micro-lots and support the advertised leverage cap of up to 1:400. Spreads vary, starting from 0.4 pips on the ECN account, 1.2 pips on the Standard account, 1.5 pips on the Classic account, and 1.8 pips on the Cent account.

Those looking for a commission-free experience can open a Cent, Classic, or Standard account. Commission charges of $7 per lot apply to the broker’s ECN account. There do seem to be some differences based on the number and type of instruments available for trading on each account type, but the website doesn’t give us a lot of detail about those exact restrictions. More on that later. We’ve provided a quick overview of each account type below.

Cent (VIP) Account
Minimum Deposit: $10 USD
Leverage: Up to 1:400
Spread: From 1.8 pips
Commission: Zero

Classic Account
Minimum Deposit: $20 USD
Leverage: Up to 1:400
Spread: From 1.5 pips
Commission: Zero

Standard Account
Minimum Deposit: $100 USD
Leverage: Up to 1:400
Spread: From 1.2 pips
Commission: Zero

ECN Account
Minimum Deposit: $500 USD
Leverage: Up to 1:400
Spread: From 0.4 pips
Commission: $7

Platform

The broker features their own trading platform, which is accessible on desktop or through the Mobile Trader. The platform (simply named Desktop Trading Platform and Mobile Trader) is supposedly preferred by thousands of traders across the globe. It provides access to hundreds of trading tools, ranging from indicators, expert advisors, charts, order functionality, etc. A user-friendly interface and direct news feed are also mentioned as some of the supported features. Our conclusion is that the GIC Markets platform seems to stand on its own, but many traders will be missing the option to trade through one of the most popular trading platforms, MetaTrader 4 or MetaTrader 5.

It’s a little concerning to see that the broker mentions the most popular forex trading platform is available, even though this isn’t true. If you’re used to the more familiar options, it may be a good idea to test out the broker’s platform on a demo account in order to determine whether you’re willing to make the switch.

Leverage

All traders will have access to a leverage cap of 1:400, regardless of the chosen account type or the amount of equity within the account. This amount is very flexible when compared to the 1:30 and 1:100 restrictions that are set by many regulators. The caps are so high, in fact, that some traders may want to stick with a lower amount since trading with higher leverages can be so risky. Either way, GIC Markets provides an impressive option that doesn’t feel so restrictive. Even if one isn’t prepared to use the highest option, many traders may become more comfortable with a larger leverage setting as time goes on. This broker leaves room for those clients to grow.

Trade Sizes

All four accounts support the trading of micro-lots. Maximum trade sizes differ, at 100 lots on the Cent account, 250 lots on the Classic account, 500 lots on the Standard account, and 1,000 lots on the ECN account. The Cent account supports an order volume of 100 lots, while the Classic account allows an order volume of 150 lots. The Standard account raises the order volume to 200 lots and the ECN account supports 400 lots.

Stop out occurs at 30% on all accounts. According to one section of the website, all types of trading strategies are allowed, including scalping, hedging, EA trading, etc. Under the broker’s terms & conditions, it is later explained that scalping (such as trading with a duration of 5 minutes or less) is completely prohibited. This was not the first time we found contradicting information on the website.

Trading Costs

GIC Markets profits from spreads, commissions, and swap charges. The floating spreads range from starting from 0.4 pips to 1.8 pips, and traders will find that three of the accounts offer starting spreads that are at or below the industry average. Commissions are only applicable on the ECN account, so Cent, Classic, and Standard account holders won’t have to worry about these charges. The broker does list a commission charge of $7 per lot on the ECN account, but the website doesn’t specify whether the charge is per side or round turn. This could obviously make a big difference.

Swaps are overnight interest charges applied to positions that are held open past market closing time. The only way to view these charges would be from within the trading platform, due to the fact that the charges are not listed on the website. Islamic account holders would be able to avoid paying swaps and would pay accounting charges on positions that are left open for 3 days instead. There do not appear to be any extra charges based on inactivity or other unnecessary fees.

Assets

The broker provides access to FX, commodities, and stock indices. In total, there are 50 currency pairs available. GICM does note that this number is subject to account type, but we don’t get any details stating which accounts wouldn’t have access to all 50 options, which include majors, minors, and exotics like the USDHKD and USDNOK. The website states that one can trade commodities with a deposit as low as $200 on their trading platform. There isn’t an account type that specifically requires a $200 deposit, but the website does state that the full range of commodities can be accessed on the Standard and ECN account.

Available commodities include metals like Gold and Silver, in addition to energies. The broker also offers the stock indices SP500, Hangsen Index, Dax, Ftse100, and UK100. We noticed that the website advertises 60 currency pairs in some places, even though their products page listed 50. We went with the amount listed on the products page, but it was a little concerning to see that the website has more conflicting information listed.

Spreads

GIC Markets manages to keep spreads at or below the industry average 1.5 pips on three of their main account types. The ECN account features the tightest spreads, starting as low as 0.4 pips. Spreads on the Standard account are raised to 1.2 pips, while spreads on the Classic account start from the industry average of 1.5 pips. Those opening the Cent account will be given access to starting spreads from 1.8 pips. We’ve definitely seen higher starting spreads, and one would want to consider that this is the cheapest account type and no commissions are charged. Still, traders could spend an extra $10 to upgrade to the Classic account in order to access slightly better conditions.

Note that the broker doesn’t provide live spreads or list minimum and average spreads on their products pages, so we weren’t able to check to see just how high the spreads on each account could go. In times of market volatility, spreads could fluctuate more widely. Once again, we should point out that the broker lists spreads as being from 0.4 pips on the ECN account while advertising a spread from 0.0 pips on the account type in multiple other places on the website.

Minimum Deposit

GIC Markets features two account types with lower than average costs – the Cent account has a deposit requirement of just $10 USD, while the Classic accounts requires a low $20. The Standard account is also priced below the industry average at $100. The lowered costs should provide an incentive for traders that don’t have a lot of funds to invest initially.

The only account type featured by the broker with a higher deposit requirement would be the ECN account, which asks for $500. Elsewhere, we’re used to seeing better account types priced in the thousands, or even hundreds of thousands. Overall, this broker’s accounts are priced well below average and traders should be able to choose from at least three of the accounts with no restrictions based on affordability. Do note that the website mentions a $200 deposit required to trade commodities.

Deposit Methods & Costs

Accepted deposit methods include bank wire transfer, Visa/MasterCard, Neteller, and Skrill. There is a $100 minimum deposit requirement when funding through bank wire and a maximum limit of $50,000. The maximum limit is also imposed on card deposits. All of the other methods require deposits of $10 or less with no set deposit limit. All of the deposit fees are covered by GIC Markets. Most deposits are credited instantly, with the exception of bank wire transfer. It can take 1-7 working days for those funds to be credited.

Withdrawal Methods & Costs

All of the available funding methods can be used to withdraw funds. The broker sets minimum withdrawal requirements for each payment method, at $5 on Skrill and Visa, $10 on Neteller, and $100 on bank wire transfers. The maximum withdrawal amount is $50,000 on bank wire transfer and card with no limit on Neteller or Skrill withdrawals. Bank wire withdrawal fees are covered by GIC Markets. All of the remaining methods will be charged a fee of 2.5% of the total withdrawal amount.

Withdrawal Processing & Wait Time

All back-office transfers are processed during standard business hours, i.e. 07:00 – 20:00 (GMT+2) (GMT+3 during Daylight Savings Time). Neteller and Skrill withdrawals are processed within 1-2 working hours, while card withdrawals are processed within 6-12 working hours. The withdrawal time for bank wire withdrawals falls between 1-7 working days.

Bonuses & Promotions

The broker is currently offering a deposit bonus, no deposit bonus, cashback, and free VPS. We’ve provided an overview of each promotional opportunity below. Further terms and conditions can be viewed on the website under “Promotions”.

Deposit Bonus: This 40% bonus is credited on deposits of $100 or more. Traders will need to contact support after depositing funds in order to claim the bonus. The bonus is cashed to the account based on daily trading volume. Larger bonus amounts would require larger trading volumes. For example, there is a requested lot size of 50 lots on a $100 deposit, which returns a $50 bonus.

No Deposit Bonus: The broker deposits money into a trading account as an incentive for new traders to sign-up through this promotion. The deposit amount cannot be withdrawn, but profits can, with a $25 withdrawal requirement. The trading account would need to be maintained for 30 days. The website doesn’t list the exact amount of the bonus.

Cash Back: This promotion is available for Standard and Classic account holders that deposit at least $100 USD. Traders would then need to contact support to have the bonus activated. A daily rebate amount of $1-2 could then be earned daily, with the exact amount being based on the number of traded lots.

Free VPS: This service is offered free to clients that deposit at least $2,000 USD into their trading account. The broker would expect the account to maintain the $2K balance with active trades on the account.

Educational & Trading Tools

Traders will find sections dedicated to educational videos, Technical Outlook, Fundamental Analysis, and Signals & Forecasts available on the broker’s website. Note that it can be easy to miss these resources, as they are not available from the top bar on the website; however, the categories can be accessed easily by scrolling to the bottom of the webpage and checking underneath “Market Research”. All of the educational efforts are focused on the video tutorials, which are divided into the following sections:

• Technical Outlook
• Fundamental Analysis
• Daily Trading Signals
• Video Tutorial
• Events

There do appear to be helpful resources related to market analysis, but we do wish the website would offer more functional tools. Perhaps some types of calculators or calendars could make more of a difference.

Demo Account

Traders can sign up for a free demo account on the broker’s website with no risks or requirements to open a live account. The registration process can be completed quickly, with the only requirements being the trader’s name, email, county, DOB, and phone number. Those that haven’t used a demo account before should know that these accounts serve as simulations that allow one to trade under the broker’s conditions using virtual currency. Demo accounts serve several purposes, like educating beginners, allowing one to test different strategies and account types, etc. Another purpose of this broker’s demo account could be to test out their trading platform if one isn’t sure about switching from a more popular option.

Customer Service

Customer support is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The ability to speak to an agent on a weekend, which is often a busy period where many traders are looking to sign-up and ask questions, provides an added layer of convenience that many other forex brokers simply don’t offer. Contact methods include LiveChat, phone, and email. Traders can also submit a ticket or a callback request directly from the website.

Getting in touch with an agent seems to be extremely convenient through this broker and many traders will be happy to know that agents are so readily available in case of an emergency. GIC Markets is also active on several social media platforms, including Facebook and Twitter, in addition to Google Plus and YouTube. The contact information has been listed below.

Email: [email protected]
Phone: +442032393863

Countries Accepted

We couldn’t find any mention of restricted countries on the broker’s website or under their terms & conditions. To be sure, we did check the account registration page in order to look for any missing options. Fortunately, the United States, Iran, Japan, North & South Korea, and many other commonly restricted countries were available on the country selection list. It appears as though the broker’s more relaxed overseas location has helped them to offer service to a wider range of clients.

Conclusion

GIC Markets offers leveraged trading of up to 1:400 on 50 currency pairs, commodities, and stock indexes. Some restrictions based on account type or the total deposited amount may apply. The most affordable account can be opened for $10, with requirements at $100 or below for two other account types. A $500 deposit is required for the ECN account type.

Traders will find low starting spreads from 0.4 pips on the ECN account, 1.2 pips on the Standard account, 1.5 pips on the Classic account, and a higher 1.8 pips on the Cent account. Commissions are only charged on the ECN account type. Some traders may view the lack of access to popular trading platforms MT4/MT5 as a disadvantage. The website also provides some contradicting information about important details at times, which is enough to make one a little apprehensive.

The broker accepts deposits through bank wire and card, along with a couple of e-wallets. Deposits are fee-free and traders will pay a 2.5% fee for withdrawals, with the exception of bank wire. Withdrawals are processed relatively quickly. Support is active 24 hours a day, including weekends, and can be contacted instantly through LiveChat. Traders can receive a no-deposit bonus, 40% bonus, cashback through rebates, or earn free VPS in the case that a $2K deposit is made.

The broker’s educational resources are focused on video tutorials, which can be helpful, but we do wish that more information and trading tools were available. Overall, GICM does seem to be offering some obvious advantages, but it is up to the individual trader to weigh those against any potential disadvantages.

***IMPORTANT***

From the time this review was written until the date it was to be published, the BearsMarkets website was taken down. We’re going to go ahead and publish this content on the off-chance that the brokerage does return. As of now, we are not entirely sure if or when that will be, but we will certainly provide an update if you receive any new information.

BearsMarkets is a CFD broker with a particular emphasis on Cryptocurrency trading, so much so that trading of forex currencies is not available through them. BearsMarkets is the trading name operated by Danha Solutions KFT, this is a company incorporated under the laws of Hungary. Its registered office is found in Budapest Hungary (Regulation Number: 26527866241). Hungary is a member-state of the EU and trading is part of its regulatory framework which is modeled after the ESMA guidelines.

Whilst we were going through their website, we failed to find any information about any kind of licensing by Hungarian Authorities, so it seems like BearsMarkets does not fall under any regulatory oversight. After some online searches, we also found that this broker was issued an official warning by the Financial Services and Markets Authority (FSMA) in Belgium. These official warnings are based on the findings of the FSMA, particularly as a result of consumer reports, so potential clients should take this into consideration before deciding to open up an account with this broker.

Moving on from these worrying facts, BearsMarkets offers a variety of accounts that can be traded upon via a web-based trading platform. Leverages are quite high and we also came across a number of withdrawal fees which could be unattractive for potential clients. If after all this information, you’re still curious to know more about this broker, keep reading to find out what else BearsMarkets has to offer.

Account Types

This broker offers its clients a choice of 5 accounts; Mini, Silver, Gold which BearsMarkets claim to be their best value account, Diamond and VIP account. All accounts have a different minimum deposit required, ranging from 2BTC for the MINI to more than 45Btc for the VIP. The Mini account, which is suited for beginner traders, or those still discovering the trading of crypto, has access to daily news, weekly market reviews, account manager, weekly live stream and trading webinars.

Apart from these perks, the other accounts also have daily reviews, one on one sessions with top analysts, personal chief broker, daily market signals and customized education. You can see what BearsMarkets’ accounts include on their main website page. All accounts have a margin loan; up to 25% for the Mini, up to 35% for the Silver, up to 50% for the Gold, up to 75% for the diamond and finally up to 100% margin loan for the VIP account as well as super-tight spreads for the latter. This broker also offers an Islamic account that is catered to clients who follow the Sharia Law.

Platforms

BearsMarkets make use of a simple web-based interface. This platform looks very straightforward and easy to use, with the most important information such as; Balance, Equity, M. Margin and Profit seen on the top right corner. Although it seems very user-friendly, many features such as automated trading, Expert advisors, advanced charting and customization options are not present. It would be ideal if this broker could also provide popular platforms such as MT4 or MT5 which are by far the most popular platforms for traders all over the globe.

Leverage

The leverages this broker offers depend on the type of account the client has. The highest leverage, which is very high when comparing it to leverages offered by other CFD Crypto brokers, is of 1:400. Although this leverage suits most trading styles, volatile assets such as Cryptocurrencies involve high risk for the trader. The Mini, The Silver, and the Gold all have a leverage ratio of 1:200 and the Diamond account has increased leverage of 1:300.

Trade Sizes

Unfortunately, we could not find any information regarding minimum and maximum trade sizes available for clients of BearsMarkets on their website, so we cannot comment on this at the moment.

Trading Costs

Potential clients can get an idea of what costs are applicable when trading with this broker on their Walking time and Fees page from their website. Here they state that their daily overnight financing rate, or swap rate, is (At the time of writing this review) 0.0128% for Bitcoin (4.5% per annum) and 0.0392% for other cryptocurrencies (14.3% per annum) when going long. If clients are going short, their account will be credited with annualized overnight fee charges of 0.009% per day (3.2% per annum) for bitcoin and 0.0128% (4.5% per annum) for positions on the rest of the cryptocurrencies opened after 23:00 (Paris Time). Overnight financing fees are regularly reviewed and updated on their website in the Trading Conditions segment.

Apart from these, BearsMarkets also charges administrative fees of 2.5% per annum. This is applied to all positions. We also found that this broker charges a dormancy fee for accounts that have been inactive for over six months. Dormant accounts will be subject to a deduction of 10% each month, so be cautious when opening up an account with this broker and make sure you do not fall victim of these high fees.

Assets

Unlike most brokers, BearsMarkets does not have any Forex currencies available for trading. This is because they have focused on Cryptocurrency CFD’s as their main asset available for trading. CFD’s offer clients the opportunity to invest in a diverse number of cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, Litecoin, Ethereum and Ripple (all available with this broker) in an instantaneous and direct manner to benefit from their high volatility. Obviously one will encounter risks as well as benefits when dealing with such high volatility, but the broker does not mention that on their website. Apart from listing the above-mentioned cryptocurrencies, this broker does not offer any more information regarding the assets that they offer.

Spreads

BearsMarkets does not offer much information regarding the spreads that it offers for clients on their website, apart from a short sentence in their Trading Training page which states that in times of high volatility, their minimum spreads may increase significantly.

Minimum Deposit

The minimum deposits required to open up an account with BearsMarkets depends on which one of the 6 accounts available you choose. The cheapest minimum deposit available is for the Mini Account, up to 2Btc. The price increases as follows for the rest of the accounts; up to 10Btc for the Silver, up to 45% for both the Gold and Diamond Accounts and the VIP account can be opened with a deposit of more than 45Btc.

Deposit Methods & Costs

Clients who want to deposit money into their BearsMarkets account can do so via Visa, QIWI Wallet, Mastercard and WebMoney including others. This broker states that in order to certify that a SWIFT confirmation is authentic, it has to be sent to BearsMarkets to confirm the origin of the money. Clients that do not comply with this WD policy, may be prevented from depositing money through Bank or Wire transfer. Whilst we assume that the above-mentioned deposits are transferred instantaneously, clients should allow 5 business days for deposited funds via Bank/Wire transfer to appear in their account.

Withdrawal Methods & Costs

Withdrawals can only be performed through the same bank account or credit/debit card that was used to initially deposit funds. If clients deposit or withdraw money using alternative payment methods, they can be faced with additional fees, which will be deducted from the withdrawal amount. In order to withdraw, clients must submit a withdrawal request which can be found in the Client Area.

Unfortunately, clients of this broker will encounter high withdrawal fees including; $50 for wire transfer, $25 for credit cards and a processing fee of $10 and $25 for ePayments. Apart from this, a charge of 10% of the withdrawal amount will be charged to any withdrawal from an account that has not executed more than 200 in turnover and/or from accounts that have not been verified.

The minimum withdrawal permitted for wire transfers is $250 and $100 on any other method. The above-mentioned charges exclude the transaction fee imposed by this broker, for instance, if a client withdraws $250 by bank wire transfer, a transaction fee of $50 will be charged.

Withdrawal Processing & Wait Time

On their site, BearsMarkets state that withdrawal requests will be processed within 4-7 days of receipt, which is quite long. Funds are then sent to clients’ credit cards once the credit card merchant has debited the funds from their accounts. This process will again take up to 5 business days. BearsMarkets also make it clear that they are not committed to any time frame and that additional charges imposed by third parties shall be deducted from the withdrawal as applicable.

Overall, we feel quite uneasy about this broker’s withdrawal methods and conditions, as clients will face numerous fees which they might not even be aware of. We also came across a number of online reviews and complaints regarding withdrawing with this broker, so we urge you to do some research yourself so as not to have a bad experience with BearsMarkets.

Bonuses & Promotions

At the time of writing this review, no bonuses or promotions seem to be available with BearsMarkets.

Educational & Trading Tools

When it comes to educational content, this broker offers a number of steps and tips to follow on their Trading Training page on their website. The information given, which is practically two articles, may help beginner traders, especially those new to Cryptocurrency trading.

Apart from having a boring, text-only layout, the information provided leaves much to be desired. We suggest potential clients do their own research using alternative websites before opting to use this broker for their trading.

Customer Service

It seems like this broker isn’t the easiest one to get in touch with. They do not offer any live chat options, and we managed to locate their e-mail address hidden in the FAQ page of their website. Their Contact page, which for some reason is listed under their LEGAL menu on their front page, currently lacks any information and is completely empty. On their website, they do have a CALL BACK button which allows clients to fill in their name and phone number. We did fill in this information, but after 48 hours, we did not receive any call back from this broker, yet. The only other option left for clients to contact this broker is to call the broker themselves. Find BearsMarkets contact details down below;

Telephone: +44 20 36 70 17 63
Email: [email protected]

BearsMarkets’ customer service seems to be very limited and not very reliable. This is usually a sign of a broker that doesn’t like to get contacted often which in most times, only leads to bad experiences.

Demo Account

From what we could see on their website, this broker does not offer any Demo accounts for clients to experience what it would be like to trade using BearsMarkets’ trading platform and trading conditions.

Countries Accepted

Although we found no concrete list of what countries are accepted by this broker, they do mention in their footer that users of their website must be sure that the use of their services are not contrary to legal norms and acts of the country of residence. We also went through the list of available countries when opening up an account and we did notice that the US was not listed as an available country. If you have any issues with finding your country in this list, try and contact the broker for more information.

Conclusion

BearsMarkets have a user-friendly website and available trading platform available for their clients. They offer a number of accounts that clients can use with leverages set quite high. We failed to find some basic information on their website such as spreads and trade sizes which is obviously essential for clients to determine whether they want to use this broker or not.

Deposits and withdrawals are available through a number of methods but we feel the fees charged are way too high and disadvantageous for their clients. Their customer support leaves much to be desired as we were left with unanswered questions after 48hours, as well as the lack of a live chat option, is irritating in this day and age. Overall we highly suggest people interested in this broker to do some in-depth research beforehand, as some things seem pretty fishy to us.

CF Group is an Australian-based foreign-exchange broker that has been in business for more than eleven years. The company’s established time in the competitive market, coupled with its strong regulation by the Financial Services Provider (license #507506) and the Securities Commission of the Bahamas (license #001273790) make the broker a reliable provider. The company, which provides leveraged trading as high as 1:500 on FX, metals, and CFDs, has become a leader in the industry and is highly favored by investors. Stay with us to find out more about the costs and features associated with this broker.

Account Types

CF Group allows traders to choose from three unique account types; Mini, Standard, and Platinum. The Mini account is targeted towards beginners that would like the advantage of an account that only requires a $20 minimum deposit. This account offers the same 1:500 leverage cap like the other accounts, with a drawback being a higher floating spread. The Standard account lowers the spread cost by 30% while asking for a realistic deposit of $200 USD. It costs at least $5,000 to open a Platinum account, with incentives being a spread cost that is reduced by 50%, a new member gift, and a birthday gift worth $30.

Although the broker does have a category related to commissions on their cost spreadsheet, all of those inputs remained blank, essentially showing that commissions are not charged on any instruments. Accounts also share some other similarities, including supported trading platforms, margin call levels, etc. We’ve provided a quick overview of each account type below.

Mini Account
Minimum Deposit: $20 USD
Leverage: Up to 1:500
Spread: From 1.6 pips
Commission: None

Standard Account
Minimum Deposit: $200 USD
Leverage: Up to 1:500
Spread: From 1.2 pips
Commission: None

Platinum Account
Minimum Deposit: $5,000 USD
Leverage: Up to 1:500
Spread: From 1 pip
Commission: None

Platform

The broker offers its own CFD Platform, alongside the world-famous MetaTrader 4 platform. Both platforms feature free demo accounts, market execution, and drawing tools while being easily accessible on PC, web, Android, and iOS devices. A few incentives to choose the broker-based platform would be an additional chart type, price alerts, daily history quotes, and the ability to deposit directly into the platform.

Another huge incentive would be the fact that spreads seem to differ on the two platforms, with the broker advertising floating spreads that average 0.3 pips on their own platform, while market spreads average 1.2 pips on the MT4 platform. Many traders would likely to prefer MT4 for its vast array of features, or for the simple fact that they may be more used to trading from that platform. It seems a little disappointing that those traders wouldn’t have access to the better spreads if they decide to stick with the familiar option.

Leverage

This broker provides a generous leverage cap of up to 1:500 for all account holders, with no restrictions based on the account’s equity. Many regulators limit that maximum leverage that can be offered to 1:30 or 1:100 and many traders will find this broker’s options to be much better than several of their competitor’s offers. All traders should keep in mind that trading with high leverages, especially with one as high as the cap offered by this broker, is extremely risky. Doing so can result in large gains or large losses and taking those risks is better suited for professionals that have the funds the risk. If you need more experience, then there would always be room to grow and select a larger option through this broker once you’re prepared to do so.

Trade Sizes

The Mini and Platinum accounts support a minimum trade size of one micro lot on all instruments. The Standard account type has minimum trade size of 0.05 lot on foreign exchange pairs, while micro lots are allowed on all other instruments. The maximum number of open orders (including open positions and pending orders) allowed is 50 contracts on the Mini account and 100 contracts on the Standard and Platinum accounts. If the account reaches a margin level of less than 20%, the margin call mechanism will automatically close the positions with the highest losses.

Trading Costs

CF Group only profits from spreads and swap charges, with commission costs being eliminated altogether. We did find a category related to commission costs on the page that details minimum and average spreads and swap costs, but all of the inputs for that category remained blank, meaning that traders will not have to worry about commission costs when trading any instrument. Swaps would be charged or credited based on the current rate when holding positions past market closing time, and the applicable swap rates can be viewed on the website under “Charges and Fees on CF CFD Platform”. The broker reserves the right to charge statement fees, idle account fees, order cancellation fees, transfer fees, and other fees at any time without notice.

Assets

CF Group provides access to a rather limited number of currency pairs, with 29 total options. Exotic pairs are missing from the list entirely, which accounts for the lowered number of options when compared to the number of FX options that are usually provided by other brokers. CFDs are available as well on the most popular metals Gold and Silver, in addition to US Oil, UK Oil, Natural Gas, and 12 other cash indices. The combined total comes out to 46 tradable instruments, which doesn’t allow for much variety. Traders that are looking to trade assets from more diverse categories, or even to simply trade exotics may need to consider opening a secondary account with another broker.

Spreads

Earlier, we listed the broker’s advertised spreads when referencing all of the available account types. In order to paint a more accurate picture, we checked the broker’s charges and fees for more detailed information. Doing so revealed that the broker was advertising the minimum charges, while average options could climb higher. For example, the minimum spread on the currency pair EURUSD is 1.8 pips, but the average spread was 2 pips.

Most of the average spreads were 0.1 – 0.2 pips higher than the minimum. Comparing spreads based on different account types can also help one to see how much the pricing can differ. Taking the currency pair USDJPY, we see an average spread of 2 pips on the Mini account, 1.6 pips on the Standard account, and 1.4 pips on the Platinum account. Traders will be able to compare all options for themselves on the broker’s website by navigating to the “Account Types” page and selecting “CFD Prices and Charges” underneath the account chart.

Minimum Deposit

One of the advantages of opening an account through this broker would be the low deposit requirements on the Mini and Standard account types. The Mini account only asks for a $20 deposit, an affordable amount for any trader. In order to gain access to tighter spreads, traders could also choose to deposit $200 USD to gain access to a Standard account. This amount falls in line with the industry average while remaining fairly affordable. The Platinum account, which reduces spread costs by 50% and comes with some added incentives, requires a $5,000 deposit. Even if one can’t afford this amount, there will still be two options to choose from without having to account for affordability.

Deposit Methods & Costs

It seems as though deposits are only accepted via bank wire transfer. The website doesn’t address funding information very transparently, which forced us to check the Client Agreement for relevant details. Within the agreement, we could only find information that addressed wire transfers, although the broker never directly stated that this was the only payment method. If you need your funds to be available quickly, note that the document states that traders must understand that the broker needs time to process deposits and that if a deposit is made to avoid a margin call, it won’t be credited immediately.

Withdrawal Methods & Costs

Before making a withdrawal, traders will need to ensure that the account’s remaining balance would be enough to cover the broker’s margin requirements if there are any open positions. Clients would also need to agree to pay any fees involved in transfers, including bank fees, exchange rates, and all related costs. Third-party withdrawals are not accepted. Any withdrawals for less than $50 USD will be charged a $3 remittance fee. If the customer requests a withdrawal that is less than 60% of the injection amount, then the company will receive 6% of the withdrawal amount as the remittance fee.

Withdrawal Processing & Wait Time

Accounts must be completely verified before clients will be able to make any withdrawals. Once a withdrawal request has been submitted, CF will deduct the balance of the withdrawal from the client’s account in real-time. The broker goes on to mention that it takes time to process those withdrawals and the amount will not be available immediately. All withdrawals are processed within two hours; however, the amount of time that it can take for those funds to be received will depend on the bank. This could likely take a few business days.

Bonuses & Promotions

CF Group is currently advertising a referral program that rewards both the referring client and the referred client with $10 each once the new client makes a deposit of at least $100 and completes the trade requirement within 30 days. Inviting 4-10 people would increase the cash reward to $15 per client while referring more than $10 people would change the award amount to $20 per client.

Traders can also earn rebates based on their referrals trading activity at a rate of $5 per lot, up to $400 per person referred. Platinum account holders are eligible for a birthday gift worthy of $30 USD as long as those clients have closed at least 20 lots. The broker also advertises a new member gift for those clients, but we don’t see any details about how much that gift is worth and exactly how it would be awarded.

Educational & Trading Tools

Aside from real-time quotes, traders won’t find any trading tools or educational resources like articles, eBooks, video tutorials, or other materials that we sometimes find available through other brokers on the CF Group website. The lack of resources shouldn’t be enough to cause one to switch brokers, but we always enjoy seeing forex brokers making an effort to educate their clients. If you’re already up to date on current terms and understand how forex trading goes, then opening a demo account through this broker could be helpful. Otherwise, traders would need to conduct research elsewhere on the web.

Demo Account

CF Group may be missing other educational alternatives, but traders should be happy to know that the broker does manage to offer risk-free demo accounts, which serve as a simulation for traders that aren’t quite prepared to open a live account. Demo accounts can also serve other purposes, and can even be helpful for more advanced traders that would like to test out new strategies or trade under the broker’s exact conditions. Registering for an account only takes a moment, since the broker doesn’t ask for very much identifying information. We didn’t see an option to choose an amount of virtual currency or leverage setting for the demo account, meaning that these factors are likely predetermined.

Customer Service

Traders can reach out to the broker’s support team through Skype, instant chat, phone, or email. It’s easy to miss the instant chat option, so traders will want to know that this can be accessed from the top right of the website, by clicking on “Customer Service”. Choosing this option opens a direct chat mini window. When we tested this method, we were connected to a real person immediately, so this seems to be a quick and convenient way to contact an agent. Skype would be another excellent option for those that are looking to get in touch with support asap. The website doesn’t mention exact contact hours, but many brokers are closed on weekends. The contact information has been listed below.

Email: [email protected]
Skype: [email protected]
Phone
12280872 (Viettel network)
12032559 (VNPT network)
+842844581685 (Vina, Mobi, Viettel)

Countries Accepted

While the website didn’t directly state any restricted countries, we checked the registration page as always to check for any missing locations that stood out. Sadly, the United States and other related options were missing from the list entirely. The broker does seem to accept clients from other commonly restricted countries, including Afghanistan, Iran, Japan, North and South Korea, and many others.

Conclusion

CF Group is an online foreign exchange broker that allows traders to open one of three account types for $20, $200, or $5K. All traders are provided an impressive leverage cap of 1:500 with no restrictions, but the total number of tradable instruments is limited to just 46 options, divided into FX, metals, and a few CFDs. Spreads vary based on the account type, starting from 1.6 pips on the Mini account and from 1 pip on the Platinum account type.

The broker does feature the MT4 platform, although traders are pushed to use their own platform, as it comes with lower spreads. Commissions aren’t charged, but the broker does reserve the right to charge several extra fees at any time should they decide to. Deposits only seem to be accepted in the form of wire transfer, and the broker tacks on extra fees on withdrawals that don’t meet certain minimums, with a steep 6% fee on withdrawals of less than 60% of the deposited amount. On the bright side, processing times for withdrawals are extremely fast.

The website can be disappointing in the fact that the only available educational resource would be a demo account. Promotional opportunities consist of a referral program, plus a birthday gift and new member awards for Platinum clients. Traders located in the United States cannot open an account through this broker. If you’re considering opening an account through CF, you’ll want to study these factors closely and choose an account type that is best suited for you personally.

ProTradeFX is an unregulated broker located in the popular offshore destination Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. This broker’s website and the information we found on it had us confused from the get-go as different segments of their page mention different companies including Everest Tech Ltd and the well-known Game Capital Ads Ltd which is associated with a number of unregistered brokers mentioned in various warnings and reports by CONSOB. The way in which these three above mentioned companies operate is not clearly defined on their website. There is also no mention of any regulatory body or license which is associated with this broker, so clients should be extremely cautious of the risks involved when dealing with non-regulated brokers such as ProTradeFX.

On their main page, ProTradeFX state that they offer a number of advantages including the use of the popular MT4 platform, low spreads, low commissions, low swaps, and a low rollover. On their About us page, this broker claims to provide premium-quality commodities and forex trading services, outstanding customer support and an experienced founding team. Join us as we explore their website and determine whether these claims are based on factual information.

Account Types

ProTradeFX offers four different accounts namely the Standard Account, the Classic account, The Premium account and lastly the Gold Account. The accounts vary in their minimum deposit requirements with amounts ranging from $250 for the Standard to $50,000 for the Gold. Leverage is set at 1:200 for the Standard, Classic, and Premium whereas clients using the Gold account have the freedom to adjust their leverage. Not all accounts enable customers to trade all their available assets and spreads are also dependent on the account type. We will go into the specifics of these further on in this review.

To open up an account with this broker, customers must fill in a simple form found on their website as well as submitting proof of identity, proof of address and also proof of funds. We have outlined the main features of each account below.

Standard Account
Minimum Deposit Requirement – $250
Assets Available – Base Currencies
Spreads – Fixed
Leverage – 1:200

Classic Account
Minimum Deposit Requirement – $2500
Assets Available – Base Currencies, Gold, Silver and Oil
Spreads – Fixed or floating
Leverage – 1:200

Premium Account
Minimum Deposit Requirement – $20,000
Assets Available – All currencies, Indices & Shares
Spreads – Fixed or floating
Leverage – 1:200

Gold Account
Minimum Deposit Requirement – $50,000
Assets Available – All instruments
Spreads – Adjustable
Leverage – Adjustable

Platforms

This broker uses the popular MT4 platform which is undoubtedly one of the most trusted and reliable platforms available today. This platform is rated very highly in many online reviews thanks to its benefits to traders of different levels, customizability, a large range of tools, charts, and expert advisors. Being popular world-wide, the MT4 server is capable of supporting thousands of trades at any given moment whilst also processing a large number of different financial instruments. The popularity of the MT4 platform is also due to its multilingual service which helps to eliminate trading errors caused by communication barriers.

Leverage

The leverage offered by ProTradeFX is set at 1:200 for the Standard, Classic and Premium account whereas the Gold account has adjustable leverage. The broker does not specify the highest leverage clients using the Gold account can use however we did find mention of a 1:400 leverage on their terms and conditions page, however, we are uncertain whether this is the maximum leverage offered.

Trade Sizes

We could not find any information regarding minimum and maximum trade sizes available when trading with this broker so we cannot comment any further about this for the time being.

Trading Costs

ProTradeFX makes its profit through spreads which vary from one account to another. The Standard account, which offers clients the most basic assets and conditions, has fixed spreads whereas the other accounts have the choice of either fixed or floating spreads. From their Account Packages page, we did notice that spreads are quite high, especially on the lower packages on offer.

We did not find any mention of commissions or swap fees on their accounts page or their Terms and Conditions document. However potential clients should not consider this to be the case as unregulated brokers tend to have hidden fees that may take clients by surprise.

Assets

Strangely, this broker does not offer a full list of the available assets it offers. From their Account Packages page, we did see that they offer Forex Currencies, Metals (Gold, Siler), Indices and Shares, however, that is all the information we could find regarding their assets. Undoubtedly, this is a key piece of information that all brokers should have clearly outlined on their website for potential clients to determine whether they would like to make use of their brokerage or not.

Spreads

As we mentioned briefly earlier, the Standard account is the only one that has fixed spreads. The broker outlines that typical spreads for this account are 2.4 EUR/USD,3.3 AUD/USD and 2.8 USD/JPY, which when compared to other brokers is quite high. The spreads are quite similar for the Classic account, although slightly less and the Premium and Gold account have much more reasonable spreads; for example, EUR/USD 0.6 and USD/JPS 0.6.

This big difference in spreads makes us wonder whether the Premium and the Gold account have any commissions that might not be clearly outlined on the broker’s website. We did try to get in touch with the broker to ask about this, but unfortunately, we were not given any answers, so we cannot comment any further on this for the time being.

Minimum Deposit

The minimum deposit required by ProTradeFX is dependent on the account type one opts to open. The Premium and the Gold account are obviously directed towards experienced traders as their minimum requirement is $20,000 and $50,000 respectively which is very high and unreachable for many beginner traders.

However, the Standard account has a reasonable minimum requirement of $250, although clients should keep in mind the high spreads that this account carries with it. The Classic account has a $2,500 requirement which is still quite high when considering that only base currencies and metals are available for trading with this account.

Deposit Methods & Costs

We could not find any information regarding what deposit methods are available when dealing with this broker. Form their terms and conditions page we did find that there is a maximum deposit limit of $10,000 per credit card transaction and a minimum deposit of $250 per credit can transaction.

Withdrawal Methods & Costs

ProTradeFX does not outline what withdrawal methods are available when dealing with them, which is certainly a crucial piece of information for any potential client.
Unfortunately, we cannot go into any details regarding this.

Withdrawal Processing & Wait Time

As mentioned above, the website gives no information regarding withdrawal processing and time frames clients may encounter when using this broker.

Bonuses & Promotions

Although there is no mention of bonuses and promotions on their main page, we did find a dedicated segment of their terms and conditions that vaguely mentions marketing Promotions and Bonuses.

The broker states that traders must buy or sell a minimum of 3.3 lots in real money for each unit of $10 bonus granted by Cryptocapitalfx. We are unsure how Cryptocapitalfx relates to this broker as this is the only instance where it is mentioned.

Apart from this the broker also mentions that Game Capital Ads offers ‘enticing reward packages’ to its new and regular clients. The rewards/bonuses have specific time limits and conditions can change from time to time. If clients want to withdraw their reward, they must first fulfill a trading volume of a minimum of 25 times for every $1 reward.

Although having welcome bonuses and interesting promotions is always a good way to attract new clients and keep regular clients interested in your service, the lack of detailed information leaves us questioning the advantages of offering such promotions and bonuses.

Educational & Trading Tools

On their Education Center page, this broker offers interesting and interactive video trading courses that enable new traders to gather all the basic information they would need to delve into the trading world. These video courses include topics such as Market analysis, trading psychology, trading strategies, signals, using the MT4 platform and technical indicators amongst others. The videos are enhanced with interactive graphics as well as an easy to follow voiceover.

Apart from this video series, ProTradeFx also offers a glossary with commonly used terms and phrases in the industry as well as a number of E-books. However, clients must register to be allowed access to the complete version of these available e-books.
Although their education center is quite interesting and can be very beneficial to those just starting out, it seems like this broker does not offer any trading tools at the moment which means their clients must make use of the trading tools found on the MT4 platform.

Customer Service

Clients can reach ProTradeFX via email or telephone. It seems like they do not offer Live Chat which is unfortunate as it is an easy and quick way clients like to interact with brokers.

Here are their contact details:

Address – Suite 305, Griffith Corporate Centre
P.O Box 1510, Beachmont, Kingstown
Saint Vincent & the Grenadines
Telephone – Great Britain – +442080788663
Bahrain – +97316195023
Email – [email protected]
[email protected]

Demo Account

At the moment, this broker does not offer a demo account for clients wanting to test out their trading in a risk-free environment.

Countries Accepted

The last note mentioned in their terms and conditions page states that U.S citizens would be violating the law if they made use of their services. The broker makes no other mention of any more restricted countries.

Conclusion

ProTradeFX has a number of disadvantages as well as some advantages that potential customers should take into consideration before investing their money through them.
Firstly, this broker is not authorized or regulated which means that any funds you may deposit with them are not securely held. Such a risk might be off-putting for a large number of clients as the safety of funds is an important aspect one should take very seriously.

The broker does offer a variety of accounts with different entry requirements which are attainable by beginner traders as well as those who are much more experienced. We did notice that spreads on some of these accounts are quite high whereas leverage is set at a standard of 1:200.

We did notice quite a lot of missing information such as a full list of assets, deposit & withdrawal methods and costs as well as commission specification which should make any potential client wary of investing their money with ProTradeFX. Our favorite part of their website is their Education Center which has a unique video course that could be very beneficial to beginner traders. Although they boast top of the line customer service we were quite disappointed as they do not offer live chat and our emails were not answered.

Overall, we feel that clients interested in this broker should get in touch with them before to make sure that they have the full picture before investing their hard-earned money with them.

AAAFx is a foreign exchange broker that was founded in 2008 in Athens, Greece. They don’t give a lot of information about themselves away except for the fact that they employ over 70 people and have in house offices in 11 different languages. In this review, we will be looking at what is being offered by AAAFx so you can decide if they are the right broker for you.

Account Types

When joining AAAFx you are offered just one account type however you need to make a choice on what method you wish to use to access the account (see Platforms section in this review). Due to this there is only one account type and one set of trading conditions, throughout this review we will be looking into these in detail, so all that is written in the different sections are relevant to the account you will be using should you sign up with AAAFx.

Platforms

AAAFx offers a number of different platforms for their clients, we are going to look at them briefly to see what they offer.

ZTP: Provides you with a fully-fledged web-based Trading Station for Forex and CFDs manual trading. Offers technical charts (Candlesticks, OHLC, lines) and indicators (Trend, Oscillators, volatility, volumes, Bill Williams, etc.) you can tailor according to your trading requirements. In addition, ZuluScripts™ allows trading robots to be used or developed via your own algorithms to run your trading strategies. Your account is shielded at all times against connectivity issues and can run EAs uninterruptedly without the need for a VPS.

MetaTrader 4 (MT4): The AAAFx version of MetaTrader 4 provides clients with the most powerful tools and resources needed to fully analyze the markets and improve their trading performance. This platform offers opportunities to FX traders of every skill level, providing each with advanced technical analysis tools, a flexible trading system, algorithmic trading opportunities, Expert Advisors, and mobile apps.

ZuluTrade: ZuluTrade is the largest network of talented Forex and Crypto Traders from 192 countries that you can simply choose to follow and automatically set your account to copy their trading signals. As a follower, you can fully manage your account, customize it and protect your capital through advanced risk management features such as ZuluGuard™ or the Margin-Call-O-Meter™ in your Forex account.

This advanced auto-trading platform is easy to use, requires no installation, delivers all the right tools to make your trading experience easy. It is offered with all the above platforms: ZTP and MT4. Finally with its native mobile applications for iOS, Android, and Windows you can auto-trade from anywhere, anytime and also enjoy support in multiple languages.

Leverage

AAAFx has different leverage based on the instrument that you are using, due to the ESMA restrictions these are as follows:

• Major Currency Pairs: 1:30
• Non-Major Currency Pairs: 1:20
• Gold and Major Indices: 1:20
• Commodities other than Gold and non-major indices: 1:10
• Bund: 1:5
• Cryptocurrencies: 1:2

Should you be classified as a professional trader then you are able to get increased leverage, however, we are not clear on what the increased maximum is.

Trade Sizes

Trade sizes start at 0.01 lots (known as micro-lots) and go up in increments of 0.01 lots so the next available trade would be 0.02 lots and then 0.03 lots. The maximum trade size for a single trade is 100 lots, but we would recommend not trading in sizes larger than 50 lots, as the bigger a trade becomes the harder it is for the markets or liquidity provider to execute the trade quickly and without any slippage. There can also be a maximum number of 1000 trades open at any one time, but you will find it hard to get anywhere near that number anyway.

Trading Costs

There is quite a hefty commission when trading with AAAFx, so hefty that we haven’t really seen any so high in a long time. There is a commission of 10 USD (9 EUR, 1200 JPY, 13 AUD, 9 CHF or 6.5GBP) per side of a lot traded, this means the commission is added when a trade is opened and when it is closed, so the total commission will be $20 per round lot traded. This is incredibly high considering the average seems to be around $6 per round lot traded.

Swap charges are also included, these are interest charges that are incurred for holding trades overnight, they can be both negative or positive and can usually be viewed from within the trading platform of choice, they can also be viewed on the AAAFx website.

Assets

AAAFx have broken down their assets into a few different categories that we will look at and outline what assets and instruments are available within them.

Forex: EURUSD, USDJPY, GBPUSD, USDCHF, EURCHF, AUDUSD, USDCAD, NZDUSD, EURGBP, EURJPY, GBPJPY, CHFJPY, GBPJPY, EURAUD, EURCAD, AUDCAD, AUDJPY, CADJPY, NZDJPY, GBPCAD, AUDNZD, EURNZD, AUDCHF, GBPAUD, CADCHF, EURSEK, USDSEK, EURNOK, USDNOK, USNMXN, USDZAR, ZARJPY, NZDCHF, NZDCAD, USDCNH.

Indices: ESP 35, GER 30, US 30, CHN 50, NAS 100, SPX 500, AUS 200, FRA 40, UK 100, EUSTX 50

Commodities: US Oil, UK Oil, Gold, Silver, Copper, Natural Gas

Treasury: Bund

Cryptocurrencies: Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, Ripple, Bitcoin Cash

Stocks: US Stocks

Spreads

Spreads start from as low as 0.3 pips, the spreads are variable (also known as floating) so this means that when the markets are being volatile, the spreads will often be seen higher. It is also important to note that different instruments and assets have different starting spreads, so while EURUSD may start at 0.3 pips, other assets like GBPJPY may start slightly higher, in this case, 1 pip.

Minimum Deposit

The minimum amount required to open an account is 300 USD, 250 EUR, 35,000 JPY, 200 GBP, 250 FR, and 370 AUD. Once an account has been opened, any subsequent deposits will have their minimum reduced down to $100.

Deposit Methods & Costs

There are quite a few different deposit methods available and each has its own fees and currencies, we have outlined them below is a list which follows the order of “Method – Currencies – Fee”.

• Visa / MasterCard (Wirecard) – EUR, USD, JPY, CHF, GBP, BGN, AUD – 2.5%
• Union Pay – CNY – 2.99%
• Visa / MasterCard (Ecommpay) – EUR, USD, CHF, GBP – 2.8%
• Bitcoin – BTC – up to 0.25%
• Sqissquote Bank – EUR, USD, JPY, CHF, GBP, AUD – Bank commission
• Eurobank – EUR, USD, JPY, CHF, GBP, BGN, AUD – Bank commission
• Skrill – EUR, USD, JPY, CHF, GBP, AUD – 2.9% + 0.25%
• Neteller – EUR, USD, GBP – 3.4% + 0.29 USD
• Giropay – EUR – 2.2%
• EPS – EUR – 2.9%
• DirectPay24 / Sofortüberweisung – EUR – 2.2%
• iDeal – EUR – 0.7%
• Przelewy24 – EUR – 2.9%
• QIWI Wallet – EUR, USD, GBP, CHF, AUD, JPY – 4.2%

As you can see some of the fees are quite high, this is for depositing which most brokers allow for free so it is a disappointment seeing them so high, you should also check with your own bank and processor to see if they add any fees of their own. The only good side is that there are plenty of options for depositing.

Withdrawal Methods & Costs

You must withdraw to the same method that you used to deposit (see list above), once the withdrawal amount equals that of the deposit, all further funds must be withdrawn via Bank Wire Transfer.

There is no fee for Instant Deposit Credit Cards, however, all other withdrawals have a flat $25 (25 EUR, 3,000 JPY, 30 AUD, 17 GBP, and 25 FR) fee added to all withdrawals, you should also check with your own bank and processor to see if they add any fees of their own. It is disappointing to see such fees present, hopefully, this is an aspect that AAAfx will look to improve for the future.

Withdrawal Processing & Wait Time

Withdrawal requests are normally confirmed within 1 business days, once the request is confirmed the time it takes to reach your account will depend on the method being used, if you are using Bank Wire Transfer as an example, it can take an additional 2 to 5 business days for the money to become available to use.

Bonuses & Promotions

We could not locate any information on the website in regards to bonuses or promotions so it does not appear that there are any active ones at the time of writing this review. If you are interested in bonuses then be sure to check back regularly or get in contact with the customer service team to see if there are any upcoming bonuses or promotions. The FAQ also states that there are no active promotions at this time, there is a bonus section of the account section, however, it is currently blank.

Educational & Trading Tools

There doesn’t appear to be anything in regards to education or trading tools. This is a shame as a lot of brokers these days are looking to help their clients improve and become more profitable with educational courses or tools to help them trade or analyze. It would be nice to see AAAFx do something similar for their clients.

Customer Service

There are plenty of ways to get in contact with the customer service team from AAAFx. The support team is open 24/5 from Sunday 21:00 UTC to Friday 23:000 UTC. Support is available in English, Greek, German, French, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Russian, Chinese, Arabic and Japanese.

You can get in touch via an online chat window to speak to someone via chat, there is also a support email to use and there is a phone number for various locations including Moscow, London, Melbourne, Athens, Tokyo, and Bogota.

Demo Account

You can easily sign up for a demo account, just click the demo account button and fill in the short form. The demo account is for MetaTrader 4 however you can sign up for a ZuluTrade demo account by visiting the ZuluTrade website. The conditions will match those that we have described in this review and they should work indefinitely as long as they are in use, if left dormant for too long they may be removed to free up server space.

Countries Accepted

The information about which countries are accepted and which are not is not present on the website, so if you are interested in joining, be sure to get in contact with the customer service team to check if you are eligible for an account or not.

Conclusion

AAAFx is a well-known name in the social trading world thanks to their affiliation with ZuluTrade, they have adapted their accounts for that trading platform above all else. The spreads and leverage are what you would expect from a commission-based regulated broker, the big let down to the trading conditions are the huge commission, $20 (or currency equivalent) per round turn lot is incredibly high, over triple what the industry average of $6 is.

The other major downside is the big fees and charges when depositing and withdrawing, it should cost you to give someone your money, nor should it cost to get it back out, this is something that really needs to be approved. Plenty of ways to contact the customer service team is a plus though. If you can survive the huge costs then AAAFx looks promising, however, there are far cheaper brokers out there.

Juno Markets is a foreign exchange broker based in Vanuatu and regulated by the Vanuatu Financial Services Commission (VFSC) with a Principal’s License (No. 40099) for dealing in securities. Their values are to provide a personal service, tools to help you succeed and to put trading first. In this review, we will be looking into the services being offered to see if they live up to the values they have stated.

Account Types

Juno Markets offer Institutional, Individual and Managed accounts, for the purpose of this review we will only be looking a the individual accounts as that is the sort of account a retail trader would sign up to. There are two different individual accounts with differing features, so let’s look at what they are.

STP Account: The STP account requires a minimum deposit of $100, this account comes with leverage up to 1:400 and has spreads starting from 2 pips for forex pairs and 40 cents for gold. There are no added commissions and there are forex pairs, CFDs and metals available to trade. Expert Advisors are ok to be used on this account.

ECN Account: The ECN account raises the minimum deposit up to $1,000, this account reduces the overall leverage to a maximum of 1:200, spreads are also reduced with forex spreads starting at 0.2 pips and gold starting at 10 cents, due to this reduced spread there is a commission added to trades on this account. Forex, CFDs, and metals are available to trade and Expert Advisors are ok to use on this account.

Platforms

There are two different platforms available, MetaTrader 4 and Juno Auto Trader, let’s look at the features of both.

MetaTrader 4 (MT4): The MT4 Client Terminal is designed to appeal to clients of all levels of trading experience. It offers live quotes, real-time price charts, and a variety of order management and trading tools. Clients who use this FX platform have access to 50+ technical indicators and preinstalled Expert Advisors. Those who wish to trade while on the go can do so using the Metatrader 4 mobile app for iPhone and Android. The MT4 apps are widely known as the most powerful mobile trading application in the world of Forex.

Juno Auto Trader: Juno Auto Trader is a copy trading platform that allows you to automatically follow the trades of other successful traders. With the click of a button, you can choose from multiple trading strategies and easily duplicate their trades within your own account. The platform is ideal for those who don’t have the time to trade themselves or investors who would rather follow traders with a proven track record. Choose from hundreds of successful traders from around the world to follow and build your own trading portfolio. The platform will copy trades to your account automatically. Whenever a strategy provider opens or closes a trade on their account, the identical trade will execute on yours. There’s no need to be in front of your computer to monitor to constantly manage positions.

Leverage

Depending on which account you chose you will get an option of different leverage levels. The STP account allows leverage up to 1:400, the ECN account allows leverage up to 1:200. Leverage can be selected when opening an account and if you wanted to change the leverage once an account is open you will need to get in contact with the customer service team who will be able to help.

Trade Sizes

Trade sizes start from 0.01 lots which are known as a micro lot, they then go up in increments of 0.01 lots so the next trade would be 0.02 lots and then 0.03 lots. The maximum trade size is 20 lots which are fine as most retail traders won’t get this high and those that do it is better to not make trades too large due to the difficulties of executing larger trades quickly and without slippage.

Trading Costs

We know that there are commissions added to the ECN account, however, there is no information as to how much, even looking through the internet we did not come up with a figure which is quite strange as this is something quite important to know. The STP account uses a spread based system that we will look at later in this review and so there are no added commissions.

Swap charges are present, these are interest charges that are incurred for holding trades overnight, they can be both negative or positive and can usually be viewed from within the trading platform of choice.

Assets

Three different categories of assets are available to trade at Juno Markets, these are forex currency pairs, the website only lists the major pairs however there is mention of minor pairs also being available, some examples given are EURUSD, GBPJPY, USDCAD and, NZDUSD. Next up is CFDs, this includes the likes of UK 100, NASDAQ 100, French 40 and German 30. Metals are the next available asset which includes the two regulars of Gold and Silver. There are a few commodities also thrown in although not given their own section, things like US Crude Oil are also available to trade.

Spreads

Spreads are dependant on the account that you use along with a number of other factors. If you use the STP account then you will have spreads starting from 2 pips, the ECN account has spreads starting from 0.2 pips. The spreads are variable (also known as floating) so this means that when the markets are being volatile, the spreads will often be seen higher. It is also important to note that different instruments and assets have different starting spreads, so while EURUSD may start at 2 pips, other assets like GBPJPY may start slightly higher, in this case, 2.5 pips.

Minimum Deposit

The minimum deposit required to open an account is $100, this will get you the STP account. Should you wish to use the ECN account you will need to make an opening deposit of $1,000 or more.

Deposit Methods & Costs

The following methods are available for depositing with Juno Markers: Visa and Mastercard (credit and debit cards), Skrill and Neteller, China UnionPay, WeChat Pay, and AliPay, FasaPay. International bank wire and, Instant online bank transfers. There are no deposit fees mentioned so we are not sure if there are any added, at any rate, be sure to check with your bank or processor to see if they add any transfer fees of their own.

Withdrawal Methods & Costs

The same methods are available to withdraw, for clarification these are Visa and Mastercard (credit and debit cards), Skrill and Neteller, China UnionPay, WeChat Pay, and AliPay, FasaPay. International bank wire and, Instant online bank transfers.

There is no fee for Credit / Debit cards and the use of online payment services when using Bank Wire Transfer there is an added fee of $40 per withdrawal if your account is over $25,000 you get one free withdrawal per month. As always be sure to check with your bank or processor to see if they add any transfer fees of their own.

Withdrawal Processing & Wait Time

Juno Markets aims to process withdrawals the same day that they were received. The funds will take between 1 to 7 business days to return to your bank depending on the method used.

Bonuses & Promotions

We could not locate any information on the website in regards to bonuses, but the broker does offer a cashback program that provides cash payments to active traders. The Moneta Rewards Program is designed to reward loyal clients by giving them cash back just for trading with Juno Markets. For each trade that one makes, they will earn cash back at the end of each month. The amount earned will be based on the qualifying tier that is reached that month. The Moneta Rewards Program is open to all Juno Markets clients, regardless of their account type or balance.

Educational & Trading Tools

There are tools and research sections of the site, but without having an account it is hard to get a real grasp as to what is involved and how effective the tools are. There is a technical analyzer which updates once a day to give trade suggestions, there is also real-time forex signals throughout the day based on a pattern recognition system, we do not know the profitability or accuracy of these signals through. Finally, there is a Juno Insights section which seems to give a review of the past week and an idea of what could be happening in the future.

Customer Service

Shockingly there isn’t a page on the website giving contact details, instead, the only thing we could find is a live chat in the bottom right of the website, there is no email address and no phone number displayed as a way to get in contact with Juno Markets, as they are a financial institute dealing with money, we would think that it is only right to have multiple ways to get in contact, this is a major thumbs down.

Demo Account

Demo accounts are available and can be opened up very easily. The demo account simulates a $50,000 balance with leverage of 1:200. You can select to have it as an STP account or as an ECN account in order to simulate the trading conditions. The only information missing is how long they last as some brokers put on a time limit such as 30 days and after that time they automatically expire, so it would be nice to know how long the Juno Markets one last, at the moment it seems like they last indefinitely.

Countries Accepted

The following information is present on the website: “Juno Markets does not accept clients from certain countries/regions including the United States and Hong Kong.” If you want a full list of excluded countries or to find out if you are eligible for an account you will need to get in contact with the customer service team.

Conclusion

Juno Markets are offering some good trading conditions along with a good selection of assets with good spreads. There is no information about the mentioned commission which is strange, deposit and withdrawals seem ok, lots of options and not many fees (just one for bank wire transfer withdrawals). Where Juno Markets are massively let down is the lack of customer service, or ways to get in contact with them, if you are going to be using Juno Markets, either hope that nothing goes wrong, or hope that there are more options once you are a full member.

LowCostForex is a foreign exchange broker aiming to become one of the best. They do not offer a lot of information about their background, just some of the targets they set out to meet, these include allowing clients to trade in the real markets, offering no slippage intervention, transparency, no conflict of interests and to offer a customer-centric model. We will be looking into the services on offer to see if they achieve this and so you can decide if they are the right broker for you.

Account Types

There are three different main accounts when signing up with low-cost Forex. each one has its own trading conditions and entry requirements so let’s look at what they are.

Micro ECN: This account has an entry requirement of 1000 USD, it comes with spreads from as little as 0.1 pips and as spreads are so low there is a commission of 5 USD per lot traded. Leverage can be between 111 and 1:1000. There are swap charges but the account can also be in a swap-free format. It has access to Forex, CFDs, Commodities, and Crypto with a minimum trade size of 0.01 lots, going up in 0.01 lots until it reaches a maximum of 1 lot. There is a margin call level of 1%0 and a stop out level of 5% and the account has access to the bonus program. If the balance is over $10,000 it has access to an account manager.

Pro ECN: This account comes with a minimum deposit requirement of 5000 USD. It has spread starting from 0.1 pips and there is an added commission of 3 USD per lot traded. Leverage can be between 111 and 1:1000. There are swap charges but the account can also be in a swap-free format. It has access to Forex, CFDs, Commodities, and Crypto with a minimum trade size of 0.01 lots, going up in 0.01 lots until it reaches a maximum of 100 lots. There is a margin call level of 1%0 and a stop out level of 5% and the account has access to the bonus program. If the account balance is over $10,000 then it has access to an account manager.

VIP ECN: This is the top-level account and it requires a minimum deposit of $50,000, this account can be leveraged between 1:1 and 1:200. It comes with spreads as low as 0 pips and there is an added commission of $2 per lot traded. There are swap charges but the account can also be in a swap-free format. It has access to Forex, CFDs, Commodities, and Crypto with a minimum trade size of 0.01 lots, going up in 0.01 lots until it reaches a maximum of 100 lots. There is a margin call level of 1%0 and a stop out level of 5% and the account does not have access to the bonus program. If the account balance is over $10,000 then it has access to an account manager.

Platforms

LowCost Forex uses MetaTrader 4 as its sole trading platform. MetaTrader 4 is an extremely popular trading platform from MetaQuotes. It is used by millions of traders and is packed full of features. Some of the features include 100+ trading instruments, 85+ preinstalled indicators with the ability to add thousands more, it offers a highly secure trading environment, it offers multiple languages and is accessible as a desktop download, mobile application and as a web trader in your browser. There is also API access, but this is very advanced and not something retail traders will look to do.

Leverage

The leverage that you receive is dependant on the account you are using, if you have the Micro or Pro ECN account then your leverage ranges between 1:1 and 1:1000, if you have the VIP ECN account then it ranges from 1:1 to 1:200. We would suggest not going over 1:500 where possible as the risks increase exponentially, stick to 1:500 where there is a good balance of risk and reward.

Leverage can be selected when first opening up an account, should you wish to change it on an account you have already opened then you should contact the customer service team with your request.

Trade Sizes

Trade sizes for all account start from 0.01 lots and go up in increments of 0.01 lots, the maximum trade size on the Micro ECN account is 1 lot, while the Pro ECN and VIP ECN are 100 lots, we would not recommend trading over 50 lots in a single trade though.

The Micro ECN is a cent account, this means that a trade size of 0.1 lots is actually the equivalent of 0.0001 lots. 1 lot is equal to 1,000 units while the Pro ECN and VIP ECN account 1 lot are equal to 100,000 units.

Trading Costs

All three accounts are ECN accounts so they have an added commission, we have outlined the fees below.

• Micro ECN: 5 USD per lot traded
• Pro ECN: 3 USD per plot traded
• VIP ECN: 2 USD per lot traded

Compared to the industry average of $6 per lot traded Low-Cost Forex really is low cost.

There are also swap charges, these are an added fee for holding trades overnight, they can be viewed within the trading platform of choice. There are also swap-free accounts should your beliefs require this.

Assets

Unfortunately, there doesn’t appear to be a full breakdown of available assets, so we cannot comment on what is available to trade. This information should be made available as it is important for potential clients to be able to see wat s on offer and to see if their favorite instruments are available to trade.

Spreads

LowCost Forex state that their spreads are all starting as low as 0.01 pips on the Micro and Pro account and 0 pips on the VIP account, unfortunately, there is not a breakdown of assets or a product specification so we cannot comment on the accuracy of this. What we can say is that the spreads are variable which means they move with the markets, added volatility in the markets will often make the spread s a little higher, the different instruments also have different starting spreads and some will naturally be higher than others.

Minimum Deposit

The minimum deposit required to open up an account is $1,000 which will get you the Micro account, if you want a full (non-mini) account you will need to deposit at least $5,000 for the Pro account. Once an account is already open, any subsequent top-up deposits do not have a minimum requirement.

Deposit Methods & Costs

On the site there isn’t a page dedicated to deposits and withdrawals, the only evidence we have of any available methods is via some images at the bottom of the site, these indicate that Bank Transfer, Visa / MasterCard, Skrill Neteller, and UnionPay are all available for use. LowCostForex dows not charge for deposits, however, be sure to check with your own bank to see if they add any fees of their own. LowCost Forex needs to get this information on the site for potential clients to know how they can fund the account.

Withdrawal Methods & Costs

Just as with deposits there is no real information about withdrawals, there is a refund policy but this doesn’t really give any insight into what is available, just that they will be following money-laundering rules such as returning funds to the same method used to deposit and other things like that. This information is vital, so it not being present is a real shame, people need to know how they can get their money out and how much it will cost them to do it.

Withdrawal Processing & Wait Time

LowCostForex aims to process withdrawals within 1 business day and we would expect and hope that any withdrawal requests would (depending on the method used) be fully processed between 1 to 7 working days after the request is made.

Bonuses & Promotions

The accounts page and accounts comparison page both indicate that the Micro and Pro accounts have access to a bonus program, however, there is no indication as to what this is, no information anywhere on the website. This may mean that there were promotions in the past but it doesn’t look like there are any at the moment. There does seem to be a 500% credit bonus which is only displayed as a banner, but the terms are unknown.

Educational & Trading Tools

It does not look like there is any education available on the site. This is a shame as a lot of brokers are now trying to help their clients improve, so it would be good to see LowCost Forex follow the same route. They do, however, offer an equity protection program for those who have managed accounts. Details regarding this program are available on the LowCostForex website.

Customer Service

You can get in contact with the customer service team in a couple of ways, you can use the online submission form to fill in your query and you should then get a reply vial email. There is also an email address, unfortunately, that seems like the only way to make contact which limits contact to an extent. It would be nice to have more options such as a way to speak to someone directly via the telephone.

Demo Account

Demo accounts are available but we couldn’t actually work out how to access them or how to sign up, there also wasn’t any information surrounding their trading conditions or any potential expiration times.

Countries Accepted

The information on the site states “Any information and software provided by LowCostForex.com is not intended to solicit citizens or residents of the US for the purpose of financial trading.”, so if you are interested in signing up, we would recommend contacting the customer service team prior to doing so to find out if you are eligible for an account or not.

Conclusion

The accounts from Low-Cost Forex offer very low spreads and they live up to their name as the commission is low, all under the $6 average we see around the forex industry. The part where they fall short is on their target of being transparent, it is hard to achieve this when you do not display what assets are available to trade, and even worse, do not describe what funding methods are available. Potential new traders need to know what they can trade and how they can get their money in or out and if it will cost them Just having those aspects of the site missing make it enough for us to recommend looking elsewhere.

Aetos is a global Forex and CFD brokerage that offers its clients access to a wide range of markets. This broker is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Aetos Capital Group, which, according to them, is one of the most prominent non-banking financial institutions in Australia. Their main headquarters are located in Australia’s capital, Sydney, but apart from this, they have over 25 offices around the globe including ones in London and China which are undoubtedly economic powerhouses.

They operate on four main principles mainly, fairness, efficiency, intelligence and most of all a customer-first approach. A big plus for Aetos is that they are authorized and regulated by the FCA (Registration no. 598778) in the UK. Clients of this broker can rest assured that their funds are kept safe and completely separate from the company’s own funds in major well-known banks. Another advantage is that clients also have the opportunity to claim through the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) which covers business conducted by firms by the FCA. Aetos is also regulated in Australia by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC).

If this information about Aetos has piqued your curiosity, read through this in-depth review and determine whether trading with this broker would be a good choice or not.

Account Types

Although in the past this broker had two account types, the General and the Premium, nowadays they offer only the General. This account enables clients to trade all the available assets, which we will go into further detail about later on in this review, and it can be opened in a few easy steps. Clients who chose to open up this account can execute trades based on pre-defined parameters, including various combinations of technical analysis indicators, support and resistance levels. Aetos claim that their General account has competitive spreads and fast execution without delays and re-quotes.

The initial deposit required to open up this account is $250, which is quite average although other brokers have a lower minimum deposit requirement. Clients can make use of this account through the very popular MT4 and MT5 platforms. Once an account is activated, clients will receive their account login details via email and they can begin their trading. Although they do not offer much choice when it comes to account types, their General account seems to be suitable for both beginner traders as well as more experienced ones.

Platforms

As we’ve mentioned this broker offers the MT4 and the more recent MT5 platforms. These platforms are well known for their large number of technical indicators and they are by far the most popular platforms available at the moment. The MT5 offers a few more technical indicators, 38 in total, whereas the MT4 currently has 30 available. Apart from this, there are other advantages when using the MT5 including an embedded MQL5, community chat, an economic calendar, and more graphical objects but overall, both platforms are quite similar.

On Aetos’ website, you can find a table comparing both platforms to enable you to make the best choice for your trading activities.

Leverage

Aetos mentions leverage multiple times on their website, but we could not find any factual information about what the leverage offered actually is. On online reviews from their clients, we did find information that the maximum leverage that they offer is 1:200 but we cannot be certain if this is, in fact, accurate so we cannot confirm this.

Trade Sizes

When using their General account, the minimum trade size available is that of 0.01 lot, also referred to as a micro lot which is industry standard. The maximum trade size available is 50 lots but the broker states that any clients wanting to alter their maximum trade size can send a request to [email protected].

Trading Costs

Aetos offers floating spreads on their General account and on their transaction costs you can find a full list of the typical spreads offered on all of their available assets. From what we could see, spreads seem to be slightly high, for example, the popular EUR/USD forex pair has a typical spread of 1.8 which is higher than the industry standard which is usually around 1.0/1.5 pips.

Apart from the spread, clients are also susceptible to overnight fees (Swap fees) which are generated at the cut off time. On Wednesday’s a three days’ fee is charged to make up for the weekend, whereas a one-day fee will be charged on Monday, Tuesday Thursday and Friday.

The broker also states that due to the liquidity issue of Offshore Chinese Renminbi market, the swap rates for the USD/CNH and AUD/CNH will be changed quite frequently. Aetos continuously adjust the swap rate based on the underlying market conditions.
Although they do not specify the percentage, on their terms and conditions page, the broker states that they may also charge a commission on each transaction.

Apart from this, we also found another piece of important info in their T&C page which claims that frequent transactions may result in commissions, fees and/or charges that may be substantial and not necessarily offset by the net profits made by the clients. Obviously, we suggest any potential clients get in touch with the broker to have a clearer idea of what commissions or fees they may be expected to pay when dealing with this broker.

Assets

Aetos have quite an extensive list of assets available for trading including Forex Pairs, stocks, indices, metals, and energy. For Forex pairs, this broker offers around 27 major, minor and exotic pairs including popular pairs such as EUR/USD, EUR/GBP and USD/CAD just to mention a few. Gold, Siler, and Copper are available when trading Metals.
Potential clients can find the full list of available assets on the broker’s website.

Spreads

This broker offers floating spreads, which from what we could see are slightly high when compared to other brokers. For their Forex pairs, the broker states that their spreads start from 1.8 pips. Unlike their Forex pairs, Aetos offer fixed spreads on most of their indices, but unfortunately, they do not specify the amount and on which indices these are applicable.

Minimum Deposit

The minimum deposit required to open up an account with this broker is $250. Although there are brokers that require a lower sum, some even as low as $5, the fact that this broker is authorized and regulated by the FCA makes the minimum requirement of $250 quite reasonable and affordable to a variety of traders, even those just starting out.

Deposit Methods & Costs

Clients wanting to deposit funds into their Aetos General account can do so via Wire Transfer, Visa/Mastercard, Skrill, Neteller, and Safecharge. On their Funding procedures page, Aetos inform their clients that after their initial deposit of $250, they must deposit a minimum of $50 when using Visa/Mastercard, Skrill, Neteller, and SafeCharge. When depositing via Wire Transfer clients can deposit unlimited funds to their account. Clients should expect their deposits to be available on their account within 1 day, although deposits executed via Wire Transfer may take up to 5 days.

It is important to note that a 3% transaction fee is deducted to their clients’ account when depositing through Credit Card or SafeCharge, but Aetos will then compensate this with an equivalent amount of trading credit. As always, the broker advises their clients that other fees incurred by their banks may be charged for depositing and withdrawing.

Withdrawal Methods & Costs

In order to withdraw funds, clients are required to login to their account, select Withdrawal function and chose the amount of funds they want to withdraw. Aetos have quite a high withdrawal fee of $25 when using Wire Transfer which is charged only if there is no valid trading registered in the particular client’s account.

Withdrawal Processing & Wait Time

The broker states that Wire transfer deposits may take up to 5 days to be processed and completed.

Bonuses & Promotions

From what we could see, this broker does not have any bonuses or promotions on offer at the moment. However, this does not mean that they won’t have any in the future, so it might be a good idea to take a look at their website every now and then to see whether they have added any promotions or bonuses. Although no bonuses or promotions might seem like a disadvantage for some, it is important to note that usually, these come with a number of terms and conditions.

Educational & Trading Tools

Clients can make use of a number of Trading tools that are found on Aetos’ website. These tools include; Trading Central Technical Analysis which is a leading investment research provider aimed at financial market professionals. The technical strategies cover equity, index, forex, commodities and also fixed-income markets.

Clients can also make use of a number of charts that are updated constantly so their clients can stay up to date enabling them to make wise trading decisions. Another important tool that is offered is the economic calendar that helps their clients stay ahead with key events as well as an extensive and current Market news segment which takes into consideration everything that is moving the markets and shaping trading trends.

Apart from this, the broker also offers a market commentary that is updated daily as well as video commentaries hosted by James Sweeny. From what we could see, the video commentaries aren’t uploaded as frequently as the Market commentaries, but they are informative and great for those clients who prefer gathering info via video.

Customer Service

Clients wanting to contact Aetos can do so via a contact form found on their Contact Page, via telephone or through their Live Chat option. We did try to contact the broker through their live chat, but we did not receive an answer yet. We found it quite strange that in order to contact them through this medium, clients need to fill in an online form and then they will be contacted within 1 working day via email, so we are unsure how their live chat actually works. This is their contact information:

AETOS Capital Group Pty. Ltd.
Level 15, 122 Arthur Street, North Sydney, NSW 2060, Australia
Tel : +61 (2) 9929 2100
Fax : +61 (2) 9929 2055

AETOS Capital Group (UK) Ltd.
Level 6, One Canada Square, Canary Wharf, London, United Kingdom, E14 5AA
Tel : +44 (0) 20 8104 9400
Fax : +44 (0) 20 8104 9401

Demo Account

Potential clients wanting to test out trading with Aetos can do so via a 14-day MT4 Demo account. The account will be credited with $10,000 in virtual money. Clients can register and set up their demo account through the broker’s website.

Countries Accepted

On their footer, the broker states that anyone opening a live trading account with them needs to adhere to the laws of their country as laws and regulations differ from country to country. They do not, however, mention any particular countries that may be restricted from doing business with them.

Conclusion

Overall, Aetos seems to be a good broker to trade with, mostly because they are fully authorized and regularized by the FCA, which means clients can be assured that their funds are safe. Apart from this, the broker offers the most popular platforms that are currently available the MT4 and MT5 which are by far the most preferred platforms worldwide. They have an extensive list of assets available but they do not have any cryptocurrencies available which might be a big disadvantage for those traders interested in Crypto.

Aetos does not have much choice when it comes to account types, as clients can only choose one account. They did offer two types of accounts until a few years ago, but we are unsure why they decided to remove the Pro account. Another advantage of this broker is that it offers a demo account, which is funded with $10,000 of virtual money, but clients can only make use of this for 14 days. The minimum deposit required to open up an account is average at $250 but we did notice that spreads seem to be quite high, especially on certain Forex pairs which have lower spreads through other brokers. Clients should be wary of deposit and withdrawal fees as well as unspecified commissions this broker might charge. We did not have a very good experience when trying to contact the broker via live chat, as we were left without an answer, but clients can reach out to them via multiple channels.

If you’re interested in opening an account with this Aetos, head to their website to get a clearer picture of what they have to offer.

MyFX Markets prides itself on the way that the firm caters to beginners and professionals, alike. They do so efficiently by offering some of the best spreads, leverage rates, and platform tools on the market. Similarly, their selection of different financial instruments includes over 50 forex pairs, alongside the most popular cryptocurrencies. Perhaps most importantly, MyFX Markets strives to provide retail traders with the same accurate quotes and order processing times that institutional investors enjoy.

How many account types does this broker have? What is the buying power? How can I deposit and withdraw funds? Does MyFX Markets charge commissions? What do their spreads look like? Read this article for answers to these questions and much more.

Account Types

Both of this broker’s offered accounts have competitive spreads. Additionally, while the Pro has a minimum deposit of $1,000, it is considered relatively low in comparison to other firms in the industry, especially those that offer multiple account types. MyFX Markets also has a Multi-Account Manager (MAM) system. Traders who manage the funds of their clients or have several personal accounts can use the MAM functionality to oversee the different portfolios from one dashboard.

Standard Account:
Minimum Deposit: $200
Spreads: From 0.6 pips
Commission: $0

Pro Account:
Minimum Deposit: $1,000
Spreads: From 0 pips
Commission: $7 per trade

Opening an account is relatively easy. First, traders must fill out an online form and upload certain documents (namely a government-issued photo ID and proof of address, such as a bill or bank statement). Once these steps are done, MyFX Markets will approve the account (as long as all the needed information is provided). At this point, you can start trading immediately after making an initial deposit. This broker accepts transfers in the Australian Dollar (AUD), Japanese Yen (JPY), and US Dollar (USD).

Platforms

Arguably the globe’s most widely-used platform, MetaTrader 4 (MT4) is the software that MyFX Markets’ account holders use to trade. It enables them to exchange forex pairs, commodities, and futures, alongside other financial instruments. On MT4, you can initiate positions through one-click, access a variety of charting tools, utilize almost 50 technical indicators, and work with experienced financial advisors.

Perhaps most importantly, MT4 can be downloaded on Windows, MacBooks, Android, and iPhones. Through the MT4 app, you can view live prices, edit orders, execute new trades, program your own high-frequency algorithm, and more. These advantageous features are available on both of MT4’s desktop and smartphone apps.

Leverage

The Standard and Pro Account each come with a 400:1 buying power. In this respect, MyFX Markets is different than other brokerage firms. Most of the time, brokers will either limit your leverage as you deposit more funds (to minimize risks) or, conversely, increase the buying power when an experienced trader has a sizable account balance (therefore, incentivizing them to transfer more capital). MyFX Markets takes a middle ground by giving different accounts the same leverage.

Equally as important, this broker’s buying power is even more advantageous because it is relatively high (the industry average will range between 200:1 and 400:1). Crypto traders should be aware that MyFX Markets’ 400:1 leverage only applies to forex pairs. Digital currencies, because of their risky and volatile nature, only give you up to 5:1 in buying power. Account-holders can modify or change their leverage through the user dashboard.

Trade Sizes

The smallest position size that this broker permits is 0.01 lots, which is a micro-lot. Crypto and fiat/paper currencies have the same minimum trade size. For all of MyFX Markets’ forex pairs, the largest permissible trade is 1,000 lots, with one lot equaling 100,000 in the base currency. Cryptos, meanwhile, has a maximum of 10 lots per position. Each digital currency has its own standard lot size.

Margin Call: 90%
Stop-Out: 50%

When your account balance reaches the 90% margin level, the broker will only send you notifications via email, without automatically closing any positions. However, if you don’t deposit additional funds or exit some trades (in order to bring your balance above the 90% margin call point) and the account size becomes 50% the margin requirement, a stop-out is triggered. In this instance, all of your open positions are automatically closed. Equally as important, some margin rules and levels may change based on the amount of leverage you have.

Trading Costs

The Standard Account incurs no commissions, but it has a spread that starts at 0.6 pips. The Pro Account, on the other hand, pays $7 per closed lot (6.2 JPY or 7 AUD). Otherwise, both Pro and Standard are charged an overnight swap fee, but it only applies to overnight positions that aren’t closed by the end of the day. It is important to keep in mind that the swap isn’t a fee that the broker determines, but it is based on the interest rate of the currencies held in the overnight position.

More specifically, the swap depends on the central banking policies and economic events in a currency’s home country. In fact, some of them have a positive swap that allows traders to earn interest, as opposed to paying it, when a trade is kept open by the end of the day. Whether you pay this amount or profit from it, the swap on MyFX Markets (as well as almost any other broker) is tripled on Wednesday.

Why? Because this fee isn’t incurred on the weekend (when the market is closed) and, instead, Wednesday’s interest also takes Saturday and Sunday into account. On your MT4 trader account, you can view the swap of each forex pair.

Assets

MyFX Markets’ 55 currency pairs entail both majors and exotics. This selection also makes the firm advantageous since many other brokers don’t offer as many forex instruments. Some, however, may allow you to trade over 60 currencies. Nonetheless, alongside major pairs, MyFX Markets account holders have access to exotics such as the Norwegian Krone (NOK), Singapore Dollar (SGD), and South African Rand (ZAR). This broker also offers the 5 most popular cryptocurrencies: Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Ethereum, Litecoin, and Ripple. Apart from that, there are several indices that track global markets (such as the US’s Dow Jones, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng, and Britain’s FTSE 100). All of which are traded as CFDs. Lastly, MyFX Markets has commodities that include precious metals and energies.

Spreads

The bid/ask price differences are floating for each of the Standard and Pro Accounts. In other words, during illiquid and volatile economic conditions, the spread may become undesirably large. Equally as important, different forex pairs have their own spreads. For the most part, though, we find that MyFX Markets bid/ask gap to be highly competitive and advantageous. Most brokers’ spreads will range between 1 and 3 pips, but MyFX Markets offers quotes that are down to a fraction of a pip (or a point). Furthermore, even though the spreads are variable, most of them are still below 1 pip. Traders should keep in mind, nonetheless, that the bid/ask variation for the same forex pair is different based on your account type. To clarify, Pro’s spreads are much lower than the Standard.

Minimum Deposit

As previously outlined, the minimum deposit requirements are $200 and $1,000 to open a Standard and Pro Account, respectively. No information about the minimum deposit per transaction is provided.

Deposit Methods & Costs

One of the main advantages that MyFX Markets account holders enjoy is that the broker offers a wide selection of deposit methods. You can fund your portfolio through a bank wire or Visa/MasterCard. The latter, though, is currently unavailable. Additionally, you may deposit money through electronic payment systems (Bitpay, Bitwallet, and STICPAY). It doesn’t cost any money/fees to make a deposit. MyFX Markets processes transfers within 10 minutes. At times, though, it may take up to 1 business day, depending on the payment method that you choose. Most deposits can be made 24 hours per day during weekdays and the broker will process them immediately.

Withdrawal Methods & Costs

In order to withdraw money out of your MyFX Markets, the external method (such as a bank account) must match your name. In other words, if you run a company account or manage funds on behalf of clients, money can’t be withdrawn to a personal account. Otherwise, you also have to incur a fee whenever you transfer funds out of your trading portfolio. Credit/debit card withdrawals are free, but bank wires, China Union Pay, and Allpay cost $25 for each transfer. Meanwhile, outbound transactions through Bitpay, Bitwaller, Fasapay, and STICPAY are also free.

Withdrawal Processing & Wait Time

Traders who wish to withdraw money must do so during regular business hours and on weekdays, despite the fact that deposits can be made 24 hours between Monday and Friday. When you withdraw money, your bank or electronic payment method defines how long it takes until the transfer is fully processed. Moreover, because MyFX Markets is a globally-present trader, some international withdrawals could require you to wait from 2 to 5 business days. Bank wires, specifically, might take up to 5 days to process.

Bonuses & Promotions

It seems that MyFX Markets doesn’t have any current promotions. Their most recent one, which expired at the end of November 2019, gave new and current account holders the opportunity to earn as much as $500. The ‘Celebration Bonus’ was launched after the broker switched to a new website. Traders with $500 to $999 in funds who close 5 lots get a $50 award. Account sizes that are between $1,000 to $1,499, $1,500 to $2,499, and $2,500 to $2,999 need to trade 10, 15, and 20 lots in order to receive $80, $120, and $200 in bonuses, respectively.

Those who have over $3,000 and execute 40 lots or more get the maximum $500 credit. Previously, MyFX Markets had a $25 bonus on each referral that opens an account. In 2017, they ran a ‘Welcome Bonus’ and credited new traders’ portfolios. Because of this, if promotions and bonuses are important to you, you should inquire about any upcoming ones. Since MyFX Markets ran similar programs in the past, they will likely do so again in the future.

They do, nonetheless, have current promotions for dedicated traders. Through the Introducing Brokers (IB) bonus, those who manage the funds of their clients can earn rebates and access valuable trading data for each account. IBs earn profits every day and on every trade that one of their clients executes. Serious and seasoned traders can also participate in the regional partnership program. If they qualify for this, MyFX Markets will give partners their branded materials, customized account types, and customer service reps that speak their local language. The regional partnership enables the broker to grow through recruiting and supporting dedicated and experienced forex traders.

Educational & Trading Tools

The only features that this broker offers are a financial/economic calendar (which can be customized based on your timezone and embedded onto third-party/external websites) and live quotes. Otherwise, MT4’s trading and educational tools will certainly benefit traders from all types of backgrounds. For example, beginners may work with consultants, read tutorials, and learn how to trade. Similarly, technical analysts can use a variety of indicators and charting tools. When it comes to the fundamentals, MT4 has customizable newsfeeds that can either be related to a specific forex pair or the at-large market. You may also set up phone notifications that alert you whenever something significant happens.

Customer Service

MyFX Markets is based out of Saint Vincent and Grenadines, an island country located in the Caribbean Sea. You can contact them via email or phone. They also offer live support if you prefer to chat with them online. Another option is to fill out the contact form on the website with information about your question/inquiry and the best way for customer service to reach you.

Phone: +64 9 889 4022
Email: [email protected]

Demo Account

Once you download the MT4 desktop software or smartphone app, you can immediately open a demo account. One of the best features of a MyFX Markets demo is that it doesn’t expire after a certain period of time. It only gets canceled when you don’t login for a period of 90 days. In general, demos are used by new traders who want to learn about the market before putting their real money on the line and those that never used MT4 before. Similarly, if you want to try a new trading strategy or technique, the demo is a perfect place to do so. Above all else, this paper/fake account gives you access to the same live quotes, spreads, and market conditions that you would have to navigate when you start trading real money.

Countries Accepted

This broker is not available in the United States, especially because cryptocurrencies are unregulated/unrecognized by American governmental bodies. However, if you are located in Belgium, Canada, France, Japan, or Germany, you may still open a MyFX Markets account. At times, these countries also have restrictions and rules on different types of financial products.

Conclusion

To summarize, MyFX Markets has the following pros and cons: The positive aspects are the incredibly reliable MT4 platform, a relatively high leverage, more flexible margin call policies, $0 commissions, very tight spreads, a wide selection of assets, different transfer methods, cashback bonuses, customizable tools, and a non-expiring demo account. The negative features, on the other hand, are the commissions that apply to the Pro Account, withdrawal fees, the broker’s lack of availability in the U.S, and the fact that almost all of the bonuses have expired. In short, while these cons are not ideal, we find that MyFX Markets’ positive aspects make this broker worthwhile.

Even though their services are not available in the U.S, they still work with traders in other countries that regulate or restrict cryptocurrencies and CFDs. Their demo account also doesn’t expire (unless you don’t use it for 90 days), which gives new traders and those who are unfamiliar with the MT4 platform plenty of time to go through the learning process. Additionally, MyFX Markets doesn’t provide you with a lot of educational content, but their economic calendar is customizable and the website includes live forex quotes. Otherwise, the MT4 platform has plenty of tutorials, one-on-one guidance sessions, sophisticated charting tools, and much more.

You can choose between several traditional (such as bank wires) and electronic transfer methods. Most deposits are processed instantly or on the same day. They also don’t require you to pay a fee. However, some withdrawal methods cost $25 per transaction. Outbound transfers may also take a few days until they are completed and you can only make a withdrawal request during regular business hours (deposits, on the hour hand, can be made 24 hours per day).

MyFX Markets’ spreads are very tight and advantageous. The Pro Account’s bid/ask gap starts at 0 pips, while Standard’s is 0.6 pips or more. Both of these figures are much more desirable than what competitors have to offer. Moreover, this broker doesn’t charge the Standard Account any trading commissions, although the Pro must pay $7 per round trip position. Lastly, but certainly not least, the firm’s leverage is 400:1, which is closer to the upper range in the brokerage industry.

All in all, the two account types’ distinct features offer traders the flexibility to choose the one that suits them best. Meanwhile, their common toolsets and trading conditions are very advantageous in comparison to most of the MyFX Markets competitors.

As a globally present firm that offers comprehensive trading services, many market participants will appreciate what Windsor Brokers has to offer. However, they do have some notable geographic restrictions on where their services are available. Other than that, if you are looking for sophisticated trading tools, educational content, flexible funding methods, engaging bonuses, and lucrative leverage, you will find what you need through Windsor Brokers. Their multilingual website and customer support reps further enhance how comprehensive and inclusive this broker is.

In this Windsor Brokers review, we’ll cover the ins-and-outs about the firm’s account types, assets, trading costs, and more. After that, you can make your own informed evaluation.

Account Types

Windsor Brokers’ Prime Account is designed for traders who value consultations and ongoing support from experts. The Zero Account, meanwhile, suits high-frequency traders who are looking for minimal spreads.

Prime Account:
Minimum Deposit: $100
Spreads: From 1 pip
Commission: $0

Zero Account:
Minimum Deposit: $2,500
Spreads: From 0 pips
Commission: $8 per fully closed (round trip) trade

VIP Zero Account:
Minimum Deposit: NA
Spreads: From 0 pips
Commission: NA/reduced

Those who open a Zero Account should keep in mind that they have the option of upgrading to the VIP Zero type. The main difference between the two is that VIP Zero comes with reduced commissions and more access to expert support services.

Additionally, to upgrade from Zero to VIP, account holders need to deposit additional funds. However, the exact amount is not specified on the Windsor Brokers website. Instead, they encourage interested traders to contact customer support directly. Other than the potential upgrade, a key difference between the Prime and Zero Account is that the former allows you to add Islamic swap-free features, while the latter doesn’t.

Platforms

You can download MetaTrader 4 (MT4) on your desktop, tablet, and/or smartphone, all of which are done directly from this broker’s website. MacBook users, though, may need to install additional software from the Mac Store before downloading MT4. Another option is to use MT4 WebTrader, which is accessible from any desktop browser (Chrome, Safari, Firefox, etc.). Yet WebTrader doesn’t have the same comprehensive and expanded tools as MT4’s desktop app. For a start, the latter allows you to utilize up to 50 technical indicators, while WebTrader and the MT4 smartphone apps only have 30.

Nonetheless, all of the versions have fast trade executions, in-depth charting tools, and user-friendly account management features. There are also other platform options that Windsor Brokers’ account holders can choose from. MT4 Multi-terminal is for those who manage more than one account, such as a trader who opens two different portfolios and deploys a different strategy on each. In fact, the multi-terminal software lets you control 100 different accounts.

Leverage

Windsor Brokers will give you 500:1 in leverage, regardless of which account type you choose. This puts the firm’s buying power amongst the highest in the industry. Additionally, traders can request more or less leverage by contacting the broker. They may increase it up too 1000:1. However, your trade sizes may limit your buying power. If your open positions are equal to 50 lots or less, then you may use up to 500:1. However, at 50 to 75 lots, it is reduced to 200:1. Leverage further goes down to 100:1 and 50:1 when your open trades range from 75 to 100 lots and 100 to 200 lots, respectively.

Windsor Brokers’ buying power is both unique and flexible. A lot of firms will limit your buying power when you despot additional funds, which makes it hard for traders that have a sizable amount of capital to rely on leverage. This broker, on the other hand, calculates your leverage based on your trade sizes. Equally as important, their website has several calculators that allow you to enter your position, the number of open lots, and, after that, the tool shows you the available leverage and margin requirements.

Trade Sizes

The minimum and maximum trade sizes are 0.01 lots (1,000 of the base currency) and 50 lots (5,000,000 of the base currency), respectively. This position size range, alongside the margin call and stop-out levels, applies to both of the Prime and Zero Account.

Margin Call: 100%
Stop-Out: 20%

Windsor Brokers doesn’t outline its margin call and stop-out policies. Most firms follow one of two approaches: First, they will send you a notification at the margin call level, but without closing any positions. They only do so at the stop-out point. The second common scenario is that a broker closes some of your positions at the margin call level until you have enough cash to meet the margin percentage requirement. Otherwise, all trades are liquidated if an account holder incurs more losses and goes below the stop-out level.

Again, Windsor Brokers’ website doesn’t mention what their approach is, it only specifies what margin call and stop-out percentage requirements are.

Trading Costs

When choosing between Windsor Brokers’ account types, traders must identify whether a low spread or a nonexistent commission is more suitable for them. Typically, those who use a lot of leverage or deposit a relatively large amount of capital may prefer to pay a commission rather than incur the bid/ask difference. This is the case because the larger the trade is, the more costly the spread becomes. Commissions, on the other hand, are fixed at $8.00 per round trip trade (as far the Windsor Brokers’s Zero Account is concerned).

When it comes to the Prime type, it’s $0 commission is more suitable for traders who have a small amount of capital and market participants that don’t use a lot of buying power. In this instance, the spread, although it’s large, wouldn’t come with hefty costs due to the relatively small trade sizes. Moreover, while this flexibility certainly counts as an advantage to using Windsor Brokers, there are notable downsides.

If you are thinking about opening a Zero Account, the swaps are another form of trading cost that you should account for. This fee depends on the interest rate associated with each of the base and quote currencies, which are normally set by the home country’s central bank. Furthermore, the spread can either be an expense or a profit. The forex pair you trade and whether you are short or long determine whether you pay or earn the interest.

Above all else, swaps only apply to positions that are kept open overnight, not those that are bought and sold on the same day. Windsor Brokers gives those who have the Prime Account the option to integrate Islamic/swap-free features. Doing so means that you incur a fixed, non-changing swap that is not related to the interest rates. Keep in mind that the Zero Account doesn’t have this option.

Assets

There are over 45 forex pairs that are available through Windsor Brokers. Their at-large asset selection is also very expanded, with account holders having access to commodities, indexes, stocks, and even bond CFDs. The latter is almost unheard of in the brokerage industry. Having said that, crypto enthusiasts will be disappointed since no digital currencies are offered by Windsor Brokers. Their exotic currencies, nonetheless, are especially appealing to traders who focus on the European markets. The list includes the Danish Krone (DKK), Hungarian Forint (HUF), Norwegian Krone (NOK), Polish Zloty (PLN), and Swedish Krona (SEK), alongside exotics from other parts of the world like the Singapore Dollar (SGD) and South African Rand (ZAR).

Spreads

The firm’s spreads are also relatively low. While most brokerage firms have a bid/ask gap that tends to be between 1 and 3 pips, the Windsor Brokers Prime Account only starts at 1 pip, putting it within the average range if not the lower one. Yet their commissions are somewhat high in comparison to the at-large industry.

Minimum Deposit

Each of the Prime and Zero Account have a minimum deposit requirement of $100 and $2,500, respectively. As previously mentioned, traders who are interested in the VIP Zero Account should contact customer support to inquire about the minimum deposit. None of the funding methods have a minimum requirement per transaction, but there are exceptions. Account-holders who deposit money via Neteller or Skrill must deposit $100 (or £100/€100, depending on their preferred currency) or more in a single transfer. Those using a regional bank in Thailand have a minimum deposit of the equivalent of $20 in the Thai Baht (THB) per transaction.

Deposit Methods & Costs

Windsor Brokers accepts China Union Pay, Neteller, Skrill, Visa/MasterCard, WebMoney, and wire transfers. They also let account holders deposit money through their local or regional banks in Thailand. Credit/debit card transfers have a fee that’s 3% transaction size, so do Neteller and Skrill deposits. For example, a trader who deposits $1,000 into their account incurs a $30 (3% of $1,000) fee. This feature isn’t ideal, especially since most brokerage firms don’t charge traders any money when they deposit funds.

Nonetheless, transfer through Thai regional/national banks and China Union Pay is free. The fee for Web Money is 0.8% the deposited amount, while bank wire costs may vary. Traders can transfer funds in USD, EUR, or GBP if they do so via Neteller and Skrill. MasterCard/Visa and WebMoney deposits can only be made in USD. Similarly, Windsor Brokers only excepts CNY (Chinese Yuan) for China Union Pay transactions and THB (Thai Baht) if a deposit is from a regional/national financial institution in Thailand. Bank wires can be made in USD, EUR, and KWD (Kuwaiti Dinar). All deposits are processed on the same day, but the ones made via a Thai bank are instant. Wire transfer times are different from one situation to another.

Withdrawal Methods & Costs

The same methods are available for withdrawals. They also cost the same, apart from Skrill and Visa/MasterCard transfers. Both of which have a $3 fee on each transaction. As far as accepted currencies go, Visa and MasterCard withdrawals can be made in the British Pound and Euro. The rest have the same available currency options for both inbound and outbound transactions.

Withdrawal Processing & Wait Time

Just as with deposits, all withdrawals are posted on the same day, apart from regional/national Thai banks (instant transfers) and bank wires (variable processing times).

Bonuses & Promotions

Windsor Brokers has currently ongoing and past bonus programs. The existing one is offered to non-clients and those that only have a demo/paper portfolio (current account holders aren’t eligible). Since the firm is celebrating its 30th birthday, anyone who doesn’t already have an account with them can get a $30 portfolio for free (i.e. they don’t have to deposit money to access the capital). This may be a great opportunity for those who are interested in the broker but are unsure about whether or not to open an account. The bonus allows them to test the Windsor Brokers’ trading conditions and tools without having to commit any deposits.

Meanwhile, the firm’s past bonuses can tell us a lot about what type of promotions they might run in the future. The Demo 500 competition was offered to traders who had a fake/paper account. Between March and June of 2018, each week’s top 3 demo account holders (in terms of profits) were awarded $250, $150, and $100 in cash, respectively. During the 2018 FIFA World Cup, Windsor Brokers picked a match every day and its existing account holders submitted their scoreline predictions. The firm gave away up to $30,000 in cash prices. While this is unrelated to the forex market, the bonus is certainly an engaging and stress-free way to make money.

Windsor Brokers also had a Market Prediction bonus that they ran on Facebook. Going back to existing promotions, this broker will award you every time you refer an associate or acquaintance to their services. The bonus amount is based on how long your referral’s account remains active and the type of assets they exchange. For traders that have a large personal network, they can participate in Windsor Brokers’ affiliate marketing program, which is especially useful for those with a strong online or social media presence.

The Business Introducers (BI) promotion allows professionals to manage their clients’ investment accounts through the firm. In turn, they receive rebates and revenues each time the client makes a trade. White Label is for financial sector businesses that want to use an established trading platform and prebuilt asset infrastructure, as opposed to creating their own brokerage software. Liquidity Services helps corporations manage their reserve capital in a manner that minimizes risks.

Educational & Trading Tools

Whether you’re a beginner who is looking for tutorials or an expert that wants to utilize practical trading tools, you will certainly appreciate what Windsor Brokers has to offer. Every once in a while, the firm hosts live training webinars. They don’t have any courses scheduled in the near future, but you can access past videos on the website to learn about topics such as the different forex trading strategies, psychological management, how each instrument is exchanged, the role of technical indicators/signals, and more.

Windsor Brokers also has 3 ebooks and each of them covers the markets of a specific financial instrument, namely forex pairs, stocks, and CFDs. Lastly, but certainly not least, there is an in-depth trading glossary that defines different market terms and concepts.
Just as importantly, this broker’s trading tools cover several essential aspects that are relevant to day-to-day operations. Pieces of financial analyses are prepared by expert advisors who specialize in specific topics.

On a regular basis, they post articles and reports about trade ideas and technical predictions. Their blog, most noteworthy, is incredibly active. They post multiple news stories per day on a user-friendly site that is very easy to navigate through. Incredibly enough, it is as active as if it was a media organization or news website. In addition, Windsor Brokers has 5 different calculators (profit, margin requirements, pip sizes, Fibonacci, and pivots), alongside a customizable economic calendar.

Customer Service

There are three ways to get in touch with support: By visiting an office location (either in Jordan or Belize), giving customer service a call, or sending them an email. Their two offices have different phone numbers and emails. Another option is to contact them through their social media profiles, namely Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and/or YouTube.

Phone: +962 6 550 9090 (Jordan) and +44 3301280930 (Belize)
Email: [email protected] (Jordan) and [email protected] (Belize)

Demo Account

Once you open a demo, you may start trading under live market conditions and quotes through the MT4 platform. Demos provide account holders with a risk-free opportunity to learn about the markets and define new strategies. It also allows experienced traders to get comfortable with MT4’s tools if they haven’t used the platform before.

Countries Accepted

Even though this broker is registered and licensed in Belize, its services are not available to traders in the country. Similarly, you can’t open an account with Windsor Brokers if you live in the United States or an EU country, despite the fact that the firm is also registered with Cyprus’s regulators. This broker mainly caters to traders in the Middle East and the greater Arab World. It is licensed and registered with Jordan’s financial regulatory entities.

Conclusion

If you are the type of trader who appreciates low commissions and prioritizes reliable support, the Windsor Brokers Prime Account could be a very good choice, even more so if spreads aren’t a dealbreaker. The Zero Account, on the other hand, suits traders who are willing to pay a commission in exchange for nonexistent spreads. Above all else, this broker’s relatively low minimum deposits make both account types within the reach of many market participants. The Zero Account also comes with the option to upgrade it.

Equally as important, since many firms in the industry might limit your buying power when you deposit more funds, Windsor Brokers is a great place to go if you want to avoid that restriction, especially because of their 500:1 leverage that could be increased to 1000:1. However, keep in mind that your buying power could go down as you open new positions.

When it comes to bonuses, referral promotion is the only ongoing one. Yet their past offerings, which include cash awards for opening an account and weekly contests that apply to demos, give us a clear insight on potential future bonuses. In short, this firm has diverse and engaging promotions. You can open a demo account and start trading on MT4, the platform that the broker uses. MT4 is highly popular because of its array of charting tools, rapid news updates, and the ability to access it from any device. Opening a live or demo account isn’t the only easy process, but transfers in and out of your account are just as fast and simple.

Despite the fact that Windsor Brokers isn’t available in Europe and the United States, it still works with regional banks from around the world in order to facilitate deposits and withdrawals. They also accept electronic payments and wallets. The only downside, though, is that some transfers, including deposits, come with a fee, but you may avoid it by picking a no-cost transaction method. Other than that, we find that the firm’s educational content is rich with valuable resources, while its trading tools are essential-to-use during day-to-day market activities.

In short, almost all of Windsor Brokers features are competitive and advantageous, with a few negative parts here and there. Nonetheless, this broker is certainly worth considering for all types of traders, regardless of their level of experience and market philosophy.

FXPremax is a global online forex broker based in St. Vincent & the Grenadines. The company offers leveraged trading as high as 1:1000 on FX, metals, CFDs, and cryptocurrencies. Founded by a group of industry professionals in 2014, the company has since devolved a business model that is aimed towards providing an effortless experience. That business model allows clients to open an account, deposit, and start trading immediately, with rapid access to the best liquidity pools, fast execution speeds, and instant deposits/fast withdrawals. Although the registration process is convenient, most traders understand how crucial it is to study a broker more closely before opening a live account. Stay with us to find out everything you’ll need to know about this option.

Account Types

FXPremax offers five separate account types: Micro, Standard Fixed, Standard STP, ECN, and Crypto. Swap-free versions of each account type are available upon email request. Most of the accounts provide access to 74 currency pairs plus Gold and Silver, with no minimum deposit requirements. The Crypto account asks for a $1,000 deposit and features 36 crypto pairs.

Aside from the Crypto account, all accounts will allow traders to select leverage as high as 1:1000, so long as the account’s balance is below a specified amount. Spreads start from 1.9 pips on the Micro and Standard STP accounts, are fixed from 3 pips on the Standard Fixed account, and start from 0 pips on the ECN account. Traders will only pay commission fees on the ECN account type, with no fees charged on any of the other accounts. Account details have been provided below.

Micro Account
Minimum Deposit: $1
Leverage: Up to 1:1000
Spread: From 1.9 pips
Commission: None

Standard Fixed Account
Minimum Deposit: $1
Leverage: Up to 1:1000
Spread: Fixed from 3 pips
Commission: None

Standard STP Account
Minimum Deposit: $1
Leverage: Up to 1:1000
Spread: From 1.9 pips
Commission: None

ECN Account
Minimum Deposit: $1
Leverage: Up to 1:1000
Spread: From 0 pips
Commission: 0.005% from the amount of the transaction

Crypto Account
Minimum Deposit: $1,000
Leverage: 1:1
Spread: NA
Commission: None

Platform

Like many other forex brokers, FXPremax offers the highly-popular MetaTrader 4 platform. This is the most commonly offered option among forex brokers, due to its high demand, user-friendly interface, and variety of built-in features that make the trading process convenient. Just to name a few of those features, traders will have the ability to write custom indicators, access to 30 technical indicators, 9 timeframes, market watch, Expert Advisors, etc.

Those trading on MT4 will find the program to be powerful in that there is no lagging effect, even if one is running multiple operations on their device. Traders will also find that hedging, scalping, and other strategies are all supported. At the bottom of the broker’s website, traders will find a link to download the MT4 platform. MT4 can also be downloaded on iOS and Android devices, or accessed through the browser-based WebTrader.

Leverage

Those trading on the Crypto account will only be able to use a leverage of 1:1, a realistic option considering that the account focuses solely on crypto pairs. Micro accounts holding a balance of less than $10,000 can use leverage as high as 1:500. Traders can also request leverage of 1:1000 on those accounts through the trader cabinet, but only if the balance is below $10K. Once the account balance reaches that amount, the leverage would be reduced 100 times. For example, leverage set at 1:500 would be reduced to 1:5. Note that those rules only apply to the Micro account.

The remaining account types (Standard Fixed, Standard STP, and ECN) allow for a leverage of up to 1:1000 for accounts holding a balance up to $10K, 1:500 for accounts with a balance of $25K, 1:200 for accounts with a balance up to $100K, and 1:100 on accounts with a balance above $100K. Traders should find all of these leverage options to be extremely flexible and much more significant than many of the competitor’s offers. A word of warning to those that aren’t used to trading with extremely high leverages – doing so can be extremely risky and may result in large losses.

Trade Sizes

All five accounts support the trading of micro-lots. The Micro account supports a transaction size of 20 micro lots, while both Standard accounts and the Crypto account allow for a maximum trade size of 20 standard lots. The ECN account’s maximum trade size depends on the market’s available liquidity. The number of open trades allowed on the Micro and ECN accounts is unlimited, while the Standard accounts and the Crypto account all allow for 100 simultaneously opened trades. If the margin call level is reached, traders will need to deposit more funds or close out some open positions in order to avoid stop out. Once the stop out level is reached, open positions will be closed automatically by the system. Margin call and stop out levels have been listed below.

• Margin Call: 60% on Micro, Standard Fixed, & Standard STP; less than 100% on ECN; 100% on Crypto
• Stop Out: 30% on Micro, Standard Fixed, & Standard STP; below 50% on ECN; 99% on Crypto

Trading Costs

FXPremax profits from spreads, swaps (overnight interest charges), and commission fees, in the case of the ECN account type. The ECN account charges commissions at a rate of 0.005% from the amount of the transaction, while the other accounts offer a commission-free experience in exchange for a higher spread. Overnight interest charges would be credited or debited based on current rates on applicable positions that are left open past market closing time. The long and short swap rates for each instrument can be viewed on the “Instruments” section of the webpage. Those charges can be avoided if the account is set to swap-free, with accounting charges taking the place of traditional swap charges.

Assets

Micro, Standard, and ECN account holders will have access to currency pairs, metals, CFDs, and energies. Although the broker advertises 74 currency pairs as being available, their products page only lists 65 options. Available metals include the most popular options Gold and Silver, while energies cover US Oil, UK Oil, and Natural Gas. In total, 14 cash indices are available as well. Those that choose to open a Crypto account will have access to an impressive 36 crypto pairs, including the most popular pairs BTCUSD, BCHUSD, ETHBTC, LTCUSD, and many other well-known pairs, in addition to some lesser-known options.

Spreads

The account pages do not detail the spreads charged on each account type, but traders will be able to use a link that is available on the webpage to check those charges for themselves. We checked those pages for each account type in order to gain a better idea of what type of spreads traders will see. Starting with the Micro account, the lowest spread we observed on currency pairs was 1.9 pips, while the maximum was 3.5 pips on the pair EURNZD. Options on other instruments varied more widely, from 1 pip on NAS100 to a high 45 pips on the more volatile Gold.

The Standard STP account, which has floating spreads, shares the same exact spreads with the Micro account. Those that wish to open the Standard Fixed account will find those fixed spreads to be higher than average, from 3 – 10 pips on currency pairs. On Gold, the spread was doubled from the amount on the other account types. Spreads on the ECN account depend on the market and start from 0 pips. The website doesn’t provide an overview of this account type.

This is also true for the Crypto account, so there is no way to study those ranges in more detail. Keep in mind that the spreads we observed were not live and the broker did not specify whether these were the minimum charges or the average spreads. This, coupled with the fact that most of the spreads are floating, could result in fluctuations.

Minimum Deposit

Those that decide to open an account through FXPremax will have the advantage of choosing from four account types that have zero deposit requirements. The Mini, Standard Fixed, Standard STP, and ECN accounts all fall into this category. The low requirements make it less intimidating for new traders to sign up, and the fact that so many account types offer this allows those traders the ability to choose an account based on preference, rather than affordability.

Traders should note that the maximum balance allowed on the Micro account is $10K, so another account option would be better if you’re planning to make a large deposit. Those that would like to open the broker’s specialized Crypto account would need to deposit at least $1,000.

Deposit Methods & Costs

Accounts can be funded through bank wire transfer and Visa/MasterCard, in addition to a variety of e-wallets, including Neteller, Skrill, OkPay, UnionPay, FasaPay, and Thailand local deposit. Deposits can be made in USD, EUR, RUB, and JPY. Bank wire deposits are credited within 3-5 business days and all of the remaining methods are deposited instantly. There are no commissions charged from the broker’s side on incoming deposits through any payment method.

Withdrawal Methods & Costs

All of the available deposit methods can be used for withdrawals and the broker doesn’t state any conditions that force withdrawals to be made back to a certain method. Typically, there is a requirement that withdrawals must be processed back to the original payment method, so traders shouldn’t be surprised if this condition does come up. Commissions are not charged when withdrawing through electronic payment methods. Bank wire transfers will likely be charged a fee on the bank’s behalf, with typical fees ranging from $25 to $50. Bank wire withdrawals can only be made in USD, otherwise, currency conversion charges may apply as well.

Withdrawal Processing & Wait Time

Withdrawals to a card or any e-wallet will be processed within 24 hours and it can take 3-5 business days for withdrawals to be processed back to bank wire. Once funds have been sent, the broker doesn’t mention exactly how long it can take for those funds to show up in the client’s account. E-wallet withdrawals would likely be credited almost instantly once processed, while we estimate it could take additional business days to receive bank wire withdrawals, depending on the bank.

Bonuses & Promotions

The broker is currently offering multiple bonuses and cashback opportunities. All available offers have been detailed below.

Deposit Bonus: $200 deposit bonus is credited per each $1,000 deposit that is made. The bonus can be received an unlimited number of times.

Trading Bonus: $100 USD bonus is applied for every 100 standard lots that are traded. This bonus is fully withdrawable and can be received an unlimited number of times.

Cashback: Rebate amounts are credited on the basis of 0.5 pips for majors and 0.8 pips for exotic pairs. After reaching a certain volume, the earned amounts will be credited to the trading account. Micro account holders earn the least, ECN accounts the third-highest, Standard STP accounts the second-highest, and Standard Fixed accounts earn the highest amounts.

100% Bonus: Traders simply need to open an account, verify the account, and deposit funds in order to earn this bonus. Deposits between $100 and $6,000 are eligible. The bonus expires one month after being credited to the MT4 account.

Interest Profit: Traders will receive $50 interest every month under the condition that a deposit of at least $5,000 must be made to the account and maintained throughout the entire month. If the account does drop below this level, the amount won’t be available for that month but can be earned the following month.

Educational & Trading Tools

The FXPremax Academy is made up of multiple educational videos of various lengths. In total, there are 21 videos available in this section that detail some of the most crucial knowledge that is required by those that are just getting started in the world of forex trading. Video tutorials do seem to be easier to understand than articles or other mediums, so this could be very beneficial to those that are just getting started. The website also offers multiple tools, including Technical Analysis, a margin calculator, an economic calendar, and Copytrade.

Demo Account

Demo accounts are an invaluable tool in the world of forex trading, as they allow traders to gain the full live account experience without depositing any funds or taking any real risk. Most brokers understand how beneficial these accounts can be to their potential and existing clients. Fortunately, this broker is no different. In fact, FXPremax offers five separate demo accounts, modeled after each of their live accounts, which provides a more personalized experience. Traders will also have the ability to choose leverage from 1:1 up to the broker’s maximum 1:1000 cap and to type in any amount as a starting balance. All of these details show that FXPremax is offering a better, more personalized demo experience than many other brokers.

Customer Service

Support can be reached instantly through LiveChat and Skype, or via email or direct phone call. While we did attempt to contact an agent on LiveChat, we were left waiting for more than ten minutes with no response. The website stated that agents were online and we were first in the queue, so it seems as though this instant contact option may not always be so convenient. Traders should note that there are separate email addresses for general inquiries, customer support, and finance. The broker also provides four different phone numbers based on office locations in the UK, Hong Kong, Russia, and Malaysia. All contact details have been listed below.

Skype: fxpremax

Email:
General: [email protected]
Customer Support: [email protected]
Finance: [email protected]

Phone:
UK: +4420 8133 3029
Hong Kong: +85281990578
Russia: +74999187280
Malaysia: +60327727238

Address: C/O Suite 305, Griffith Corporate Centre, Beachmont, Box 1510 Kingstown, St. Vincent & the Grenadines

Countries Accepted

At the bottom of their website, the broker writes that clients from the United States are not accepted. As usual, we headed over to the account registration page to see if this restriction was upheld. Fortunately, the United States is an option on the country selection list, and the system allowed us to finish the registration process with the US selected. Our final conclusion is that it seems as though traders from all locations are accepted by the broker.

Conclusion

FXPremax provides investment opportunities in 74 currency pairs, metals, CFDs, and energies, with crypto pairs available on the specialized Crypto account. Four of the broker’s main account types can be opened with a deposit as low as $1, creating an advantage for those that may not have a lot of funds to start with. Leverage options are extremely flexible, going as high as 1:1000 on accounts that have equity below $10K. The ECN account offers spreads as low as 0 pips and comes with commission costs, while the other accounts offer spreads that start from 1.9 pips or fixed from 3 pips with no commission costs.

Support can be contacted by LiveChat, Skype, phone, or email, but we never managed to get a response from an agent when we reached out through the instant contact method LiveChat. Traders will be able to earn extra funds through multiple promotional opportunities, including deposit bonuses, a trading bonus, rebates, and monthly earned interest. The website also provides 21 educational video tutorials and multiple trading tools, in addition to highly personalized demo accounts. If you do decide to open an account, your country of residence shouldn’t matter, as the broker accepts clients from all locations.

CCFDbank is an FX and CFD broker that provides three live account types, plus partner accounts. The broker doesn’t seem to see the importance of providing clients with background information, based on the fact that their establishment date, missions & goals, etc. are missing from the website entirely. We do know that the company is based in Switzerland and apparently remains unregulated. On one hand, the lack of information is enough to make one apprehensive, but we do see some particular advantages offered by the broker as well. If one is willing to look beyond the initial shortcoming, then there could be potential to profit by opening an account. Keep reading to find out everything we know about this broker.

Account Types

CCFDbank provides three separate account types; Micro, Silver, and Gold. The Micro account is designed for beginners that want to trade lower volumes with a smaller initial deposit, while the Silver and Gold accounts accommodate more experienced retail traders. Accounts share minimum trade sizes, tradable instruments, and allow access to the same trading platforms. It costs at least $250 to open the most affordable account, while the requirement for the most expensive account is $5,000.

The Gold account does have a slightly lower leverage cap that the other accounts; however, the broker still manages to provide competitive and flexible leverages on each account. There are zero commission costs, meaning that most of the trading costs are built into the spreads, which start from 0 to 3 pips. The broker reserves the right to perform credit checks and/or other checks that are deemed suitable, which will be used to evaluate the terms of the account. Findings may determine whether the broker accepts, rejects, or modifies the terms of the particular account.

We’ve provided the average account details below.

Micro Account
Minimum Deposit: $250
Leverage: Up to 1:500
Spread: From 3 pips
Commission: None

Silver Account
Minimum Deposit: $1,000
Leverage: Up to 1:500
Spread: From 1 pip
Commission: None

Gold Account
Minimum Deposit: $5,000
Leverage: Up to 1:300
Spread: From 0 pips
Commission: None

Platform

Rather than featuring a well-known trading platform, CCFDbank has decided to provide its own platform on PC, Mac, tablet, WebTrader, iOS, and Android devices. Aside from the range of accessibility, the broker doesn’t spend much time explaining what features are available within the program. Usually, brokers see the importance of pointing out the ways in which their options manage to stand on their own.

The broker does tell us that the service will revamp the experience one has had so far, the platform comes with state-of-the-art technology and high speed of order execution. Yet, they don’t really provide us with concrete facts or screenshots from within the platform. It’s possible that their option could be likable, we simply don’t see enough evidence to decide whether it can compete with a more popular option like MetaTrader 4. We would recommend testing the platform from a demo account, but demo accounts are not even available on the website.

Leverage

This broker offers extremely flexible leverages on all three of their account types, regardless of the balance that is held within the account. Both the Micro and Gold accounts allow for the maximum leverage option of 1:500. This amount is scientifically higher than what is available through most other brokers, especially considering that some regulators limit the leverage cap to 1:30. Moving on, the 1:300 cap on the Gold account is also high for an account requiring a $5,000 deposit. These options should be high enough to satisfy a vast range of traders, although beginners may want to start with a lower option to be safe.

Do note that the way that the leverages are presented makes it seem as though there is a condition that may affect one’s maximum cap. Earlier, we mentioned that the broker reserves the right to perform credit checks or other checks and that the terms for accounts may be changed due to their findings. It seems most likely that a low credit score/unfavorable background may result in a lower cap for each individual.

Trade Sizes

The Micro account allows for the trading of micro-lots and the number of simultaneously positions allowed is 150, which includes pending orders. Keep in mind that this account is designed for those wishing to make smaller trade sizes. The Silver account also supports micro-lots, while raising the number of open positions to 300 open orders. Traders that choose to open a Gold account will have access to micro-lots as well and will be able to open up to 500 contracts at once.

The maximum trade size for the Micro account isn’t listed and the size is limited to 60 lots for Silver and Gold account holders. The amount would likely be lower for Gold account holders. The broker also fails to mention a margin call and stop out levels for each account.

Trading Costs

CCFDbank primarily profits through spreads and swaps. Having the ability to trade without commission fees provides an advantage, especially for beginners, because it makes it easier to keep up with the costs of one’s trade. However, the elimination of commission costs can sometimes cause spreads to be higher. We will provide those in more detail later, but traders should know that options can be lower than average on certain accounts. Swaps, or overnight interest charges, would also apply to positions that are held past market closing time.

The amounts can be credited or debited based on the current value of the long and short positions. The current rates aren’t available on the website, so traders will have to view them from within the trading platform. There is no word on whether the broker offers Islamic accounts that would allow one to trade without paying swaps. We also couldn’t find any mention of extra fees, like inactivity charges, which is a good sign that traders won’t have to worry about unnecessary charges.

Assets

Tradable instruments are composed of currency pairs and CFDs, which includes indices, stocks, commodities, bonds, ETFs, and several cryptocurrencies. Available cryptocurrencies include Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, Ripple, Dash, IOTA, Monero, Zcash, EOS, Ethereum Classic, Ada, Bitcoin Cash, Bitcoin Gold, NEO, Qtum, Tron, and Stellar Lumens.

While we can positively comment on the vast variety of instrument categories that are offered, we were a little disappointed that the website doesn’t list all of the products for each category. It isn’t clear how many currency pairs are available or how many instruments are provided in total. This will likely leave many traders curious about what stocks are offered, what types of metals, etc.

Spreads

The advertised minimum spreads start from 0 pips on the Gold account, 1 pip on the Silver account, and 3 pips on the Micro account. Traders will likely recognize the competitive offers on the two better account types, while the Micro account offers a spread that is twice the industry average amount. If possible, we would recommend making the $1K deposit to open a Silver account to avoid the doubled charges. If you don’t have the funds to open an account of Silver level or better, it may be best to choose another broker in the meantime.

Traders would be able to make the $250 Micro account deposit elsewhere and likely access a better account with better spreads. If you do open a Silver or Gold account, keep in mind that the advertised spreads are only the minimum. The website doesn’t give us the option to view live spreads, so it isn’t possible to say just how high the average numbers may fluctuate.

Minimum Deposit

The minimum account opening requirements vary based on account type. The Micro account is described as being the ideal account type for those that want to make a low initial deposit; however, the $250 deposit requirement on the account is steep, especially when compared to similar accounts elsewhere. The Silver account raises the requirement to $1,000. This could be difficult to come up with for some, although the account does provide a low starting spread as an advantage to those that can make the deposit.

The Gold account is the best account offered by the broker and therefore requires the largest initial deposit of $5,000. It isn’t uncommon to see requirements of $10,000, or even $20,000 and higher for similar accounts that offer the same spreads. Overall, it seems that the asking amount on the Micro account is high for that type of account, the Silver account’s requirement is average, and the amount required on the Gold account is relatively low.

Deposit Methods & Costs

Accounts can be funded via Visa/MasterCard, bank wire transfer, QIWI, Yandex, and WebMoney. Deposits via credit card must meet a $250 minimum amount for each deposit and are limited to a $10,000 cap per transaction. The website doesn’t even provide us with a funding category, which forced us to gather information from the broker’s terms & conditions. Sadly, this section barely mentions funding at all and leaves us with no clear explanation of any associated deposit fees.

Withdrawal Methods & Costs

One sentence under the broker’s terms & conditions states that refunds would be made back to the original payment method, minus transfer fees, so we would assume that transfer fees are in fact charged on regular withdrawals as well. Once again, the broker doesn’t mention what those exact fees could be. Some brokers charge relatively low fees, while others can charge insane amounts when clients try to withdraw funds. The fact that we don’t know where CCFDbank stands makes us apprehensive that there could be some unpleasant surprises. Note that non-deposited monies, such as incentives, bonuses, or gains that did not come from deposited funds, do not have the option for immediate withdrawals unless clearly agreed. If one requests a withdrawal involving those funds, the request will be canceled.

Withdrawal Processing & Wait Time

The website never provides us with clear processing time for withdrawals. We did notice a term that stated non-deposited funds wouldn’t be eligible for instant withdrawals. We would assume that might mean that certain payment methods, like QIWI, Yandex, and WebMoney, may offer instant withdrawals. The broker does mention that it can take up to 7 business days to process refunds, so it may take the same amount of time for methods like bank wire transfer and card to be manually processed. Keep in mind that this is only our assumption and the timeframe could be longer or shorter.

Bonuses & Promotions

Rewards are offered periodically with conditions that state a minimum trading volume of 25 lots needs to be fulfilled for every $1 reward. Funds can only be withdrawn once the trading volume has been met in its entirety. If a withdrawal request is made before this is done, the broker will cancel the request and debit the bonus funds from the account’s balance. At the time this review was written, there weren’t any ongoing promotions.

Educational & Trading Tools

Although CCFD bank has dedicated a section of their website to education, traders will be met with a coming soon message if they attempt to access this area. It’s still promising to see that the broker is actively working to provide materials for beginners and hopefully even intermediate traders, even though this isn’t helpful to those that need the resources right now.

There isn’t any mention of exactly what will be offered in the section, but we would hope that the broker will add articles, eBooks, video tutorials, and other information sources. It would be a good idea to check this section periodically in case it is updated. From the website’s homepage, traders can currently view market news, including top trades, popular trends, and financial news. There don’t seem to be any plans to add further trading tools anytime soon.

Demo Account

We were surprised to see that demo accounts are not offered on the website. Most brokers do manage to provide these risk-free simulation accounts, even if absolutely nothing else is offed educationally. Our hope is that CCFDbank is planning to add demo accounts in the near future, especially considering that they are currently working to add other educational materials. Still, traders that decide to open an account soon won’t be able to take advantage of any of the features offered by demo accounts.

Customer Service

CCFDbank advertises 24/7 support as one of their advantages; however, the contact page later claims that customer service can be contacted at any time Monday – Friday. Another downside would be the lack of availability of any instant contact option, like LiveChat or Skype, etc. Traders can still reach out via phone call, email, by filling out a contact form on the website, or through a callback request.

While we’re happy to see the direct phone number listed on the website, it is a little disappointing that traders can’t simply reach out instantly. In today’s world, instant online support does seem to be a standard that many people look for, as it provides the ultimate level of convenience. On the bright side, traders will still be able to contact support at late hours on working days, so there is some convenience there. We’ve provided all the contact details below.

Phone: +41715087095
Email: [email protected]
Address: CCFDbank LTD 1574 Sofia, R.A, Hristo Smirnenski, 112 Geo, Milev Str., Partner Floor, Office 1

Countries Accepted

The broker’s website doesn’t mention any specific restricted countries, although we did find a missing option on the registration list. The United States seems to be the only restricted country, likely due to how difficult current regulation has made it for brokers to offer service to clients from that location. It’s possible to find other brokers that are willing to overlook the restriction and allow those users to register, so traders should always check the registration pages to see if those restrictions are actually enforced. On another note, clients from many other commonly restricted countries will be able to open an account through this broker.

Conclusion

CCFD offers generous leverage caps of up to 1:500 (upon approval) when trading currency pairs and a vast variety of CFDs, including cryptocurrencies. The minimum threshold to open an account is $250 or up to $5K for a Gold account. Some traders may see a downside in the fact that the broker offers its own mysterious platform in place of more popular options like MT4 or MT5. Spreads start from double the industry average on Micro accounts, while starting from 0 and 1 pip on Silver and Gold accounts with no commission fees.

Other than advertising a few available deposit methods, the broker barely tells us anything about funding. We don’t know what fees would be charged on deposits/withdrawals or have any type of timeframe to consider for withdrawals. Customer service is available 24 hours a day, Monday through Friday with no instant contact options. There are some conditions for periodical promotions, although none are currently available.

The broker is also actively working to add educational resources to their website. We hope to see the Education section updated soon, but traders will not even be able to open demo accounts in the meantime. Those located in the US won’t have the option to open an account through this broker. We would recommend this broker to traders that can afford to open a Silver or Gold account, while traders that can only afford the Micro account would do better elsewhere.