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Forex Brokers

Osprey FX Review

Osprey FX is a foreign exchange broker where traders can trade on institutional grade liquidity from the top investment banks, as well as from completely transparent dark pool liquidity execution venues. Osprey FX pride themselves on their 24/7 customer support, STP execution, and market-leading affiliate program. We will be using this review to find out what is actually on offer and how they compare to the competition.

Account Types

There are four different accounts available from Osprey FX and they are based on their entry requirements and a few other small changes to the trading conditions, we have outlined them below along with the trading conditions available to all accounts.

All Accounts: All accounts are ECN STP accounts that use market execution as their execution type. They come with a maximum leverage of 1:500 and have a minimum trade size of 0.01 lots and a maximum of 1,000 lots. They have 55 forex pairs, 11 indices, 9 commodities, metals, 109 stocks, and 31 cryptos available to trade. They all use the MetaTrader 4 trading platform and have wap charges. The margin call is set at 100% with the stop out level set at 70%.

Mini Account: The mini account has a minimum deposit recommendation of $25, it comes with a spread starting from 1 pip and a commission of $1 per lot traded. This account only has 29 available currency pairs.

VAR Account: This account has a minimum deposit recommendation of $250, it comes with spreads starting at 1.2 pips and there is no added commission on this account. The account comes with the full 55 currency pairs available to trade.

Pro Account: This account has a minimum deposit recommendation of $500, it comes with spreads starting at 0.4 pips and there is an added commission of $3.5 per lot traded on the account. The account comes with the full 55 currency pairs available to trade.

Standard Account: This account has a minimum deposit recommendation of $50, it comes with spreads starting at 0.8 pips and there is an added commission of $3.5 per lot traded on the account. The account comes with the full 55 currency pairs available to trade.

Platforms

The platform on offer from Osprey FX is MetaTrader 4, 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 WebTrader 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

Leverage on all accounts can go as high as 1:500, this can be selected when opening up a new account, and should you wish to change it on an account that is already open you will need to contact the customer service department with your request.

Trade Sizes

Trade sizes start from 0.01 lots and go up in increments of 0.01 lots. The maximum trade size is 1,000 lots which is far too high, we would recommend not trading over 50 lots in a single trade to avoid execution and slippage issues. We are not clear on what the maximum number of open trades you can have at any one time is.

Trading Costs

Each account type has its own added commissions, we have outlined the costs below.

  • Mini Account: $1 per lot traded
  • VAR Account: No added commission
  • Pro Account: $3.50 per lot traded
  • Standard Account: $3.5 per lot traded

There are also swap charges which are fees for holding trades overnight, these can be both positive or negative and can be viewed within the MetaTrader 4 trading platform.

Assets

The assets have been broken down into a number of different categories, we have outlined them for you below.

Forex Majors: AUDUSD, EURUSD, GBPUSD, NZDUSD, USDCAD, USDCHF, USDJPY.

Forex Crosses: AUDCAD, AUDCHF, AUDJPY, AUDNZD, CADCHF, CADJPY, EURAUD, EURCAD, EURCHF, EURGBP, EURJPY, GBPAUD, GBPCAD, GBPCHF, GBPJPY, GBPNZD, NZDCAD, NZDCHF, NZDJPY.

Forex Exotics: CADSGD, EURCZK, EURDKK, EURHKD, EURNOK, EURPLN, EURSEK, EURTRY, ERUZAR, GBPDKK, GBPSEK, NOKSEK, USDCNH, USDCZK, USDDKK, USDHKD, USDHUF, USDILS, USDMXN, USDNOK, USDPLN, USDRUB, USDSEK, USDSGD, USDTRY, USDZAR.

Crypto Currencies: BTCUSD, DASHSUSD, EDOUSD, EOSUSD, ETHUSD, IOTAUSD, LTCUSD, NEOUSD, OMGUSD, SANUSD, XMRUSD, XRP USD, ZEXUSD.

Metals: Copper, Silver, Gold, and Platinum.

Indices: ESP35, EUSTX50, FRA40, GER30, NAS100, SPX500, UK100, US30.

Shares: Both US and EU shares are available including the likes of Amazon, Coca Cola, Microsoft, Intel, Adidas, Siemens, and Volkswagen.

Energies: Natural Gas, Brent Crude Oil and, WTI Crude Oil.

Spreads

The different accounts each have their own starting spread, these are as follows. 

  • Mini Account: Starting from 1.0 pip
  • VAR Account: Starting from 1.2 pips
  • Pro Account: Starting from 0.4 pips
  • Standard Account: Starting from 0.8 pips

The spreads are variable which means they will move with the markets and those are just the starting numbers when there is volatility in the markets they will be seen higher. Different instruments will also have different starting spreads so some will naturally be higher than others.

Minimum Deposit

The minimum amount required in order to open up an account is $25 that will get you a Mini account. The minimum deposits for each account are below.

  • Mini: $25 min
  • VAR: $250 min
  • Pro: $500 min
  • Standard: $50 min

Deposit Methods & Costs

There are a few different methods available, each having its own deposit fees, we have outlined them below:

  • Bitcoin (BTC): Free
  • Wire transfers: ($100 minimum) –  $25 fee per wire
  • VLoad: Free
  • UPay Card: Free

Withdrawal Methods & Costs

We have outlined the available methods below along with their fees.

  • Credit/Debit Card: 0%
  • Wire Transfers: $25
  • Bitcoin (BTC): 0%
  • ACH: $12
  • Other Withdrawal Methods: $0-$20*

Withdrawal Processing & Wait Time

Osprey FX will process withdrawal requests within 1 business day. Each method will then have its own timescale.

Cards: Once processed, it’s instant.

Bank Wire/ Transfer: Once processed, your bank’s timelines can vary but on average it is 3-6 days

Bitcoin: Once processed, it will be 1-3 hours or as soon as 6 confirmations on the Blockchain. You can monitor/search on www.blockchain.info 

Vload: Once processed, it’s instant.

Bonuses & Promotions

It doesn’t look like there is a traditional style of bonus however there are trading competitions. We have the outline done below so you get an idea of what is involved.

The winners will be decided by the traders who achieve the highest percentage profit by the time the competition ends. The trader with the highest percentage profit will win $50,000, the trader with the second-highest will win $20,000 and third place will win $10,000.

1st Prize = $50,000

2nd Prize = $20,000

3rd Prize = $10,000

Educational & Trading Tools

Apart from a news section which gives you… news, there doesn’t seem to be any other educational material on the site. This is a shame as a lot of modern brokers are now trying to help improve the trading abilities of their clients so it would be nice to see Osprey FX do something similar.

Customer Service

Osprey FX is a little more elusive when it comes to getting in contact with them, there is an online submission form foto fill in and you should then get a reply by email within 24 hours. There is also a chat system in the bottom right of the website. Then we had to fo all the way down on the website to the footer to find an email address we could use.

Email: [email protected]

Demo Account

Demo accounts are available and can be opened by filling in a short form, you can select the leverage between 1:100 and 1:500 and a balance between 1,000 and 1,000,000, we do not know which account spreads the account will use or if there is an expiration time on the account.

Countries Accepted

The only bit of information regarding this is the following: “In conjunction with UK financial guidelines and policy, OspreyFX does not offer Contract for Difference (CFD’s) or CFD-like trading options to UK customers.” If you are not sure of your eligibility then we would suggest contacting the customer service team in order to find out prior to opening an account.

Conclusion

There is a nice selection of accounts to choose from with very distinct trading conditions, with the highest account only needing $500 it makes them very accessible. MetaTrader 4 as the trading platform is another positive. Plenty of assets to trade and in terms of deposits, there are some fees that are a shame but they are not excessive and there are enough ways to deposit, however, some more electronic wallets would be nice. The main downside is around the customer support or lack of ways to contact them, it would be nice to have a phone number or call back service available. You now have all the information you need to decide if Osprey FX is the right broker for you.