Tag: review

Fortrade is a forex broker located and regulated in the UK by the Finance Conduct Authority (FCA). Fortrade states that it is providing state of the art trading platforms and services in favor of clients. With great support, every day market analysis, efficient informational network, they are trying to be at your service all the time. In this review, we will be looking into the service being provided to see if they live up to the expectations that they have put on themselves and to help you decide if they are the right broker for you.

Account Types

When it comes to accounts, Fortrade makes it very simple, there is just one account called “Real Account”. This account comes with the following stated features:

• No provision and additional expenses
• Up to € 2500 bonus
• Free Forex book
• Fixed spreads
• Deposit and withdraw your funds with ease
• Fortrade Meta Trader 4, WebTrader & MobileTrader
• 12 hours a day support
• Daily market analysis
• Personal account manager

There is mention of an ECN account in the trading conditions part of the website, however, there is no indication that you can open this account rather than the standard account, so we are unsure if this account is still valid or not.

Platforms

Fairtrade offers two different platforms, one multi-purpose platform in the form of MetaTrader 4 and one custom made a mobile app called Fortrade Trader.

MetaTrader 4 (MT4): MetaTrader 4 (MT4) is one of the world’s most popular trading platforms and for good reason. Released in 2005 by MetaQuotes Software, it has been around a while, it is stable customizable and full of features to help with your trading and analysis. MT4 is compatible with hundreds and thousands of different indicators, expert advisors, signal providers and more. Millions of people use MT4 for its interactive charts, multiple timeframes, one-click trading, trade copying and more. In terms of accessibility, MT4 is second to none, available as a desktop download, an app for Android and iOS devices and as a WebTrader where you can trade from within your internet browser. MetaTrader 4 is a great trading solution to have.

Foretrade Trader: The Foretrade trader is a custom-made mobile app for their clients. It has over 100 different instruments and gives you complete control over your trading. Some of the features include: Create a new trading account, switch from one to another trading account, change the password and personal details directly in the application, deposit funds, send requests to withdraw your funds, use the unique “Double Tap trading” option, close all open positions with a single click, receive information and news directly to your phone in the form of notification, get in touch with Fortrade support directly through the application, full control of your positions and access to the complete trading history, use indicators on charts, change the look of the chart to fit your needs, having access to the latest news from the market and the economic calendar and much more,

Leverage

Leverage with Fortrade is fixed and can not be changed so the account comes with a single leverage which varies by the instrument that you are trading. Some currency pairs are set at 1:20 while others are 1:30. Indicies and some stocks are also 1:20 while indices are at 1:10. If you are able to open up an ECN account then the maximum leverage is stated as 1:200 but we could not find a way to open this type of account.

Trade Sizes

Trade sizes for currency pairs start at 0.01 lots which are also known as a micro lot, they then go up in increments of 0.01 lots so the next available trade will be 0.02 lots and then 0.03 lots. We could not locate information on the maximum trade size, however, no matter what it is we would not suggest trading over 50 lots in a single trade as it becomes increasingly harder for the markets and liquidity providers to execute trades quickly and without any slippage the bigger they get. For other instruments such as commodities the minium trade sizes start at 0.1 lots (known as a mini lot).

Trading Costs

As far as we could tell all trading costs come from spreads and no commission so we will be looking at them later in this review. Swap charges are present though, they can be both positive or negative and are charged for holding trades overnight, these can be viewed directly within the MT4 trading platform.

Assets

Fortrade breaks down its assets into a number of different product categories. There isn’t a full list of what assets are available in each category, instead, they offer a simple overview which is not the most informative way of showing off your assets.

Forex pairs are available, there are only 5 listed, those being EURUSD, GBPUSD, USDJPY, USDCHF and AUDUSD, Fortrade state that there are more but they are not listed on the website. Their next category is called Gold CFDs however, in reality, this involves all metals and not just Gold, Silver, Copper and Platinum are also available to trade. Oils are also present with Crude Oil, Brent Oil, Gasoline, Heating Oil and Natural gas all being mentioned on the website.

We then move on to Agriculture CFDs, this includes the likes of Corn, Wheat, Cotton, Soy Bean, and Sugar. Index CFDs are next up, again there is not a full breakdown, instead just a number are listed including USA 500, USA 100, GER 30, USA 30, UK 100. Finally, we move onto stock CFDs, stocks such as Google, Microsoft, Facebook, Twitter, and Apple are all available.

Note: We have now managed to locate PDFs on the website with all tradable assets listed, these can be found in the “Trading conditions” part of the website.

Spreads

Foretrade offers an average spread on its website indicating what different instruments spreads will be. All spreads are variable which means that while they state 3 pips as an example, they will often be seen higher than this as it is simply the starting point, during times of high volatility the spreads will be much higher.

It is also worth noting that different instruments have different natural spreads, while on the Standard account EUR/USD may have a starting spread of 3 pips, USD/CAD will have a starting spread of 4 pips.

Minimum Deposit

The minimum deposit is not actually stated on the website, however, from scouring the internet it seems that the standard consensus is that you require $100 in order to open up an account with Fortrade.

Deposit Methods & Costs

There isn’t clear information on the methods available to deposit, there are mentions of Bank Transfer, Credit Cards and E-wallets including Neteller and Skrill. No other method is available so we would be expecting that these are the only ones available. There is also no information on any deposit fees but be sure to check with your own processor just in case they add their own processing/transfer fees.

Withdrawal Methods & Costs

The same methods are mentioned as withdrawal methods, the following information is valid for all withdrawals.

Minimum Withdrawals:
Bank Transfer: No Minimum but charges apply
International Telegraphic Transfer (TT) Fees: No Minimum but charges apply
Credit Card: $50
E-wallets: No Minimum

Charges:
International Telegraphic Transfer (TT) Fees: up to £15
Bank Wire Transfer: up to £15

Withdrawal Processing & Wait Time

Fortrade states that all withdrawal requests will take up to three business days to be processed which is longer than what most brokers are looking at now. They also state that it could take up to 15 days for clients to receive their funds when using a credit card or payment processors.

Bonuses & Promotions

The account page states that there is a bonus up to €2,500, however, there is no indication on the website what the terms are like or what you need to do in order to convert bonus funds into real funds (if you can at all). So we can not say if this is a good bonus to take or not. There does not appear to be any other bonuses or promotions active, but be sure to check back regularly just in case any new ones come up.

Educational & Trading Tools

There are two different sections of the website based on education and trading tools.

Education: The education section offers some basic information surrounding different aspects of trading, it gives some simple answers to questions like “What are CFDs” and other basic info like that. There are also webinars available, however clicking on this link brings up a 404 error page, there are also one-day seminars that you can sign up to, however clicking the sign-up button doesn’t work either and simply reloads the page, there is also no information regarding what the seminars go over so their benefits are currently unknown. E-books are stated to be available but just like the other sections, these are not currently available either.

Market News and Analysis: This section focuses on news and analysis, there is a simple economic calendar which tells you of any upcoming news events and what markets they may affect. There is also daily analysis on a number of different pairs which is a more in-depth analysis of what is happening in the markets, along with daily analysis there is also weekly and microanalysis which looks at a broader and more specific view respectively.

Customer Service

If you want to get in touch with Fortrade you can do so but using the online contact form, simply fill in your query and you should get a response back via email. The customer support section also has an email address and phone number available should you wish to get in touch directly. There is also an email address available for marketing and partners along with an address and phone number for two different departments for operations. So plenty of ways to get in touch should you need to.

The website states that the support team is open 12 hours a day and closes at the weekends when the markets are closed, we are not sure what these 12 hours are though.

Demo Account

Demo accounts are available, the exact trading conditions are unknown but we will be assuming that it will match the conditions that we have mentioned in this review. You can have a balance up to €100,000, and get the same support as you do on a real account. It would be nice if there was more information such as how long the accounts last, just in case they have an expiration time.

Countries Accepted

The following statement is present on the Fortrade website: “The information on this site is not directed at residents of the United States or Belgium 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.” As always if you are unsure whether you are eligible for an account or not, get in contact with eh customer service team to find out.

Conclusion

It is hard to recommend Fortrade when there is so much missing information, without a full breakdown and easy to access information on deposit and withdrawal methods it is not somewhere that we would want to put ur money, not to mention the confusion around account types and what the trading conditions on the accounts actually are. While Fortrade may well be a great broker, without this vital information it is hard for us to justify recommending them as a broker.

We hope you like this Fortrade.eu review. If you did, please be sure to check out some of the other reviews on the site to help find the broker that is right for you.

Forex4You is a forex broker that is based in the British Virgin Islands and was formed in 2007, it claims to have 1,800,000 opened trading accounts, and 726 million orders were executed on their platform. In this review, we will be looking at the different features and services being offered by Forex4You so you can then decide if they are the right broker for you.

Account Types

Forex4You has 4 different accounts on offer, we will be looking at the requirements and features of each of the accounts.

Cent Account: The cent account has a minimum deposit of $0 so anyone can use this account, it can have the base currency of USD or EUR. Leverage on the account can be anywhere from 1:10 up to 1:1000, as this is a cent account, 1 lot is equal to 1,000 units rather than the usual 100,000 units. The minimum trade volume is 0.01 lots while the maximum lot size is 1000 lots. Spread is fixed and starts from 2 pips and there is no commission added to the trades on this account. The margin call is set at 50% and the stop out level is set at 10%. This account is eligible for bonuses and promotions and has swap fees for holding trades overnight.

Classic Account: The classic account also has a$0 minimum deposit, it also keeps the base currencies like USD or EUR. Leverage remains at 1:10 to 1:1000 however the contract size is back to normal at 1 lot equals 100,000 units. The spreads remain fixed at a starting level of 2 pips but the margin call level moves to 100% and the stop out level move up to 20%. This account has no commission and is eligible for bonuses and also has swap fees. The maximum trade size has also moved to 200 lots instead of 1000 lots.

Cent NDD Account: The cent NDD account is very similar to the normal cent account, all features are the same exact for spreads and commissions. Instead of spreads being fixed at a starting level of 2 pips, they are now floating and start from 0.1 pips. Due to this lower spreads, there is now a commission charged on this account which is $0.10 (10 cents) per lot traded.

Pro STP Account: The pro STP account is identical to the classic account apart from the spreads and commissions, instead of the fixed spread they are now changed to a variable spread and start at 0.1 pips instead of 2 pips. Due to the lower spread, a commission of $8 per lot traded is added to the account. This account also has the fastest trade execution at around 0.37 seconds.

Platforms

There are two platforms on offer from Forex4You, one being a mobile-only app and the other being the ever-popular MetaTrader 4.

MetaTrader 4 (MT4): MetaTrader 4 (MT4) is one of the world’s most popular trading platforms and for good reason. Released in 2005 by MetaQuotes Software, it has been around a while, it is stable customizable and full of features to help with your trading and analysis. MT4 is compatible with hundreds and thousands of different indicators, expert advisors, signal providers and more. Millions of people use MT4 for its interactive charts, multiple timeframes, one-click trading, trade copying and more. In terms of accessibility, MT4 is second to none, available as a desktop download, an app for Android and iOS devices and as a WebTrader where you can trade from within your internet browser. MetaTrader 4 is a great trading solution to have.

Forex4ou Mobile App: Forex4You have created their own app to help bring the forex markets to their clients in a more accessible manner. It was created to have a simple trading interface, advanced charting tools, customized trading preferences, profit verification, and a built-in economic calendar. We did not manage to test this mobile app but it looks clean and intuitive and could potentially be beneficial to traders who use a mobile platform.

Leverage

Forex4You offer more leverage than you will ever need, you can select increments ranging from 1:10 all the way up to 1:1000, you can select your leverage when opening an account and can also be changed on an already opened account by contacting the customer service team. We would not recommend putting your leverage as high as 1:1000 and would advise that 1:500 should be the limit as the higher you go, the harder it is to apply proper risk management.

Trade Sizes

Minimum trade sizes on all accounts start at 0.01 lots which are also known as a micro lot, if you are using the Cent or Cent NDD then the maximum trade size is 1000 lots while with the Classic and Pro STP accounts the maximum trade size is 200 lots. We would not recommend trading over 50 lots though as the higher the trade size becomes the harder it is for liquidity providers and the markets to execute the trades quickly and without any slippage.

Trading Costs

Then Cent and Classic accounts do not have any added costs as they are based on a spread based payment structure that we will look at later in this review. The Cent NDD account has an added commission of $0.10 (10 cents) added to each lot traded while the Pro STP account has ana added commission of $8 per lot traded which is slightly above the current industry standard of $6 per lot traded.

It should also be noted that all 4 accounts have swap charges, these are charges of interest that are paid or received when holding trades overnight, the swap charges can be viewed within the chose trading platform such as MetaTrader 4.

Assets

There isn’t a full breakdown of what assets are available with Forex4You, the only information that we could locate is 7 different currency pairs and then Gold and Silver. There will, of course, be a lot more than this (we hope) but these are just the ones listed in the live liquidity section of the site.

Spreads

There are two different spread structures being used on Forex4You.

Fixed Spreads: The Cent and Classic accounts use a fixed based system, this means that they do not move no matter what is happening in the markets. Both accounts have them starting at 2 pips which means they will not be seen lower than this figure.

Variable (floating) Spread: The Cent NDD and Pro STP account use a variable spread, this means that they move depending on the conditions of the market, so when there is a lot of volatility the spreads will be seen to be higher than when it is stable. The spreads start at 0.1 pips as they use the raw spreads due to those two accounts have commissions added to them.

It should be noted that not all instruments and assets will have the same spreads, so when the starting spread for EUR/USD may be 2 pips, others such as AUDNZD would be higher. On the variable spread system, EUR/USD is currently at 0.1 pips while USDCHF is at 0.6 pips.

Minimum Deposit

The minimum deposit for each account is currently set at $0, so this means you can open it with any amount that the processor you use allows. Some processors may have a minimum transfer amount of $1 or $5 so that would become the new minimum deposit with Forex4You. We would always recommend depositing at least $200 though as this allows you to undertake better risk management.

Deposit Methods & Costs

Just 4 different deposit methods on offer from Forex 4 You, these are Credit and Debit card, both Visa and Mastercard are accepted, then there is Neteller, Skrill, and WebMoney.

The following currencies and fees apply.

• Neteller – USD, EUR – 0%
• Skrill – USD, EUR – 0%
• WebMoney – USD, EUR – 2.5% + 0.8%
• Credit / Debit Card – USD, EUR – 2.8% +0.5 USD

Withdrawal Methods & Costs

The same 4 methods are available to withdraw, we have set out a table below to indicate any fees that may be charged.

• Neteller – USD, EUR – 2% (min $1, max $30)
• Skrill – USD, EUR – 1%
• WebMoney – USD, EUR – 0.8% (max 50 USD or EUR)
• Credit / Debit Card – USD, EUR – 2.5 USD +2.5% or 2.5 EUR + 2.5%

Withdrawal Processing & Wait Time

Forex 4 You have a statistic on the site that states that the average processing time for withdrawals is 209.2 minutes which is just under 3 and a half hours. Once Forex 4 You have processed your withdrawal, Neteller, Skrill and WebMoney withdrawals should clear into your account within 15 minutes. Credit and Debit card withdrawals will take between 2 to 6 working days to be available in your account.

Bonuses & Promotions

There are a few different bonuses on offer from Forex 4 You so we will be looking at them briefly now.

100% Deposit Bonus: When depositing you can select a bonus of up to 100% (depending on trading volume). Each time you trade 17.5% of the spread will be put to one side, once the total amount put to the side equals the bonus amount it will be released as real funds. You can have up to 5 bonuses running at one time.

50% Cashback Bonus: You can get back 50% of the paid spread and commissions, this is only available to accounts that are not under a partner ID and do not have any other bonuses on the account.

Trading Hero: There are regular competitions being run by Forex 4 You, this is where you trade and the most profitable traders win a bonus prize.

Educational & Trading Tools

Forex 4 You offer a few different tools and educational information to heir clients and those viewing the website. There are a number of different news sections, each one giving different news articles and signals to go along with the news that is occurring. There is also an economic calendar to see any upcoming news events and which currency pairs they may be affecting. The trading central allows you to see different technical analysis and charts, you must be a client to access this information.

VPS: It’s great to get a VPS and many brokers offer them for free, however, Forex4You charge for this and so we would recommend going elsewhere to a dedicated forex VPS provider who offers often cheaper and better performing servers.

Autochartist: Autochartist is present and available from Forex4You, Autochartist constantly examines financial markets such as Forex, Indices, Commodities, Stocks, CFD's and Futures. You will get three reports every day with an overview of popular markets, hot opportunities and expected reactions to upcoming economic events. Market Report saves your time and effort, perfect for busy traders.

Customer Service

Should you wish to get in contact with Forex4You then you can do via their support page. You can get in contact in a number of different ways, there is a live chat to talk to someone quickly, there is also a ticket system where you can submit a ticket and wait for a response, you can also call via telephone in a number of different languages including English, Hindi, Malay, Mandarin / Cantonese, Thai and Vietnamese. You are also able to email different departments including general inquiries, partner departments, and the marketing department.

Support is open 24 hours a day 7 days a week so you will always be able to get in touch no matter when you call or write.

Demo Account

You can easily open up a demo account, these demo accounts give you full functionality and allow you to test out different expert advisors and strategies and can also allow you to compare different accounts with a choice of things such as leverage, and spreads being fixed or variable. You can also use the account on any platform that you wish from MetaTrader 4 to the Forex4You mobile ap. There s no indication regarding how long the accounts last as some brokers leave them indefinitely whole others put a time limit such as 30- days before they expire, so it would have been nice to have this information available.

Countries Accepted

The following statements present on the Forex4You website: “The service is not available for US, Japan, Canada, Australia, and European Economic Area residents.” If you are unsure if you are eligible or not, make sure to get in contact with eh customer service team to find out.

Conclusion

Forex 4 You offer a good looking platform, the trading conditions are competitive with decent spreads and commissions. There is a lack of information regarding what assets and instruments are available to trade and due to this a lot of information regarding the trading conditions of certain instruments is also missing. This is important information that we would expect to be present, the fact that it does not, does not give us too much confidence, the good news is that the rest of the site and the services being offered seem to be present and of high quality.

We hope you like this Forex4U review. If you did, we invite you to check out some of the other reviews to help find the broker that is right for you.

OFMFX is a forex broker that claims that it is an industry leader in the Forex & CFD markets. It is their promise to deliver a powerful, user-friendly, and fair trading platform. On their platform, clients can trade the most popular assets – currencies, commodities, and indices. OFMFX clients benefit from intensive training, dedicated service, and 24/7 professional customer support and assistance. This review is designed to look into the services that are being offered to see if they live up to the promises made and so you can decide if they are the right broker for you.

Account Types

Apart from demo accounts (that we will look at later in the review), there are three different accounts available from OFM, we will be taking a small look at what the features and benefits of each account are.

Lite Account: The lite account requires a minimum deposit of $1,000, it has fixed spreads which start from 1 pip and has a commission of $8 per round lot traded. The minimum trade size of 0.01 lots and offers market execution. There are no swap or hidden fees for this account and it has 24/5 customer service support.

Classic Account: The classic account requires a minimum deposit of $10,000, this account has a variable spread which starts from 0.8 pips, it also has an added commission of $7 per round lot traded. The minimum trade size is also 0.01 lots and this account uses DMA execution, there are no swap or hidden fees and the account comes with a dedicated account manager.

Elite Account: This is the top tier account as so has a massive $150,000 as a minimum deposit requirement. It has a commission of $6 per round lot traded and spreads are simply stated as competitive ECN spreads. It has DMA as an execution method and receives the services of a premium account manager as well as access to daily market updates.

Platforms

OFM FX offers MetaTrader 4 as their only trading platform, so let’s take a look at what it brings to the table.

MetaTrader 4 (MT4): MetaTrader 4 (MT4) is one of the world’s most popular trading platforms and for good reason. Released in 2005 by MetaQuotes Software, it has been around a while, it is stable customizable and full of features to help with your trading and analysis. MT4 is compatible with hundreds and thousands of different indicators, expert advisors, signal providers and more. Millions of people use MT4 for its interactive charts, multiple timeframes, one-click trading, trade copying and more. In terms of accessibility, MT4 is second to none, available as a desktop download, an app for Android and iOS devices and as a WebTrader where you can trade from within your internet browser. MetaTrader 4 is a great trading solution to have.

Leverage

The maximum leverage on all accounts is 1:100, this can be selected when opening up ana account, once an account is open you can change the leverage by getting in contact with eh customer service team. 1:100 is ok, but a little low when comparing to a lot of other brokers.

Trade Sizes

Trade sizes for all accounts start at 0.01 lots which are also known as micro-lots. Trades then go up in increments 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, no matter what it is we would not suggest trading over 50 lots in a single trade as it becomes increasingly harder for the markets and liquidity providers to execute trades quickly and without any slippage the bigger they get.

Trading Costs

Each account type comes with a different commission structure, the Lite account has an added commission of $8 per round lot traded, the Classic account has $7 per round lot traded and the Elite account has a commission of $6 per round lot traded. The industry standard seems to be around $6 per round lot traded so OFM is not far off this figure.

Spreads are another cost, however, we will be looking at them separately later in this review. There are no swap fees on these accounts which is nice to see so you do not need to worry about those.

Assets

The tradable instruments on OFM are broken down into 4 different categories.

Forex: There isn’t an actual breakdown of each currency pair, there is just a simple overview, majors, minors, and exotics are available including pairs like EUR/USD, GBP/AUD and AUD/NZD. Spreads on currency pairs go up to 1:100 and trades start at 0.01 lots.,

Metals: Again there is not a full break down, the only metals that we know are available are Gold and Silver, we can not comment if any others are available though.

Energies: There isn’t a breakdown of which energies or any information at all, it just states that they are there and that there is a lot of volatility, not the most helpful information we could have on them.

Indices: Dow, Dax, FTSE, Nikkei and many more is what the website states, there are 11+ in total, again not really helpful as it would be nice to know which 11+ they were instead of just naming a few different ones at random.

There isn’t a huge range of assets, what is even more worrying is the fact that the ones we know are there, are missing a lot of information and a full breakdown.

Spreads

The spread that you get depends on the instrument that you are trading and also the account that you use.

If you use the Lite account then you get a fixed spread starting from 1 pip, a fixed spread means that it doesn’t move no matter what happens in the markets, it will always be 1 pip. The classic and elite accounts have variable (floating) spreads which means they can change, when there is a lot of movement and volatility in the markets then they will often be seen much higher.

Starting Spreads:
Lite: 1 pip Fixed
Classic: 0.8 pip Variable
Elite: Raw Spreads Variable

It should also be noted that different instruments have different starting spreads, so while EUR/USD may have a fixed spread of 1 pip, another pair such as AUD/NZD will have a higher fixed spread.

Minimum Deposit

The minimum deposit required to open up a new account is $1,000 which will get you a Lite account. If you want one of the other accounts you will need to make a larger deposit. Normally when initial deposits are higher the brokers allow for any subsequent top-up deposits to be lower, but there is no indication of such a scheme with OGM.

Deposit Methods & Costs

It took a while but we found some information on deposit methods. You can currently deposit using Credit or Debit cards, both Visa and MasterCard are accepted, you can also use Bank Wire Transfer along with Skrill and Neteller. There are no added fees by OFM FX, however, be sure to check with your own processor just in case they add any fees of their own.

Withdrawal Methods & Costs

There isn’t much information on withdrawals except for the fact that you must withdraw to the same method you have deposited with, this would indicate that the name methods are available to withdraw as they are to deposit. There is no mention of fees for withdrawals, however, there is also no mention that there aren’t any either.

Withdrawal Processing & Wait Time

OFM FX will try to process any withdrawal requests on the day that they were submitted, however, if not they will process them on the next working day. It will then take between 1 – 5 working days for you to receive your funds depending on the method used.

Bonuses & Promotions

There is no information on the website in regard to any bonuses and promotions so it does not appear that there are any active ones the time of writing this review. There may be promotions un the future so if you are looking for them be sure to check back intermittently to see if any have come up.

Educational & Trading Tools

There wasn’t anything available on the OFM website in regards to trading tools or anything in the form of education which is a shame as a lot of brokers are now looking to help their clients become better traders so it is always nice when you see something and disappointing when you don’t.

Customer Service

You can contact OFM FX in a number of ways. You can use the online submission to send your query and can then expect to get a reply back via email. There are also 2 different phone numbers but we are unsure of what the differences are, there are also 2 emails available to use, one for MT4 (trading platform) support and the other for general support.

We filled in the submission form to ask for some more info however after a couple of days we are yet to receive a reply. The support is open 25/5 and closes at the same time as the markets do over the weekend.

Demo Account

Demo accounts are available by simply signing up via the demo account section, there are no details about the demo account though, such as trading conditions or how long they last, as some brokers give accounts indefinitely while others put a time limit such as 30 days so it would be handy top know this information.

Countries Accepted

There is no specific information surrounding which countries are allowed and which are not, so if you are unsure we would always recommend getting in contact with eh customer service team to find out if you are eligible for ana account or not.

Conclusion

It is a shame that the promising-looking OFM is let down by the complete lack of information in regards to assets, this information is important to potential clients, this along with the total lack of information about depositing and withdrawals is enough for us to pass. Not having information surrounding deposits and withdrawals is a big let down, this information is vital as they will be dealing with our money, so not knowing how or when funds are transferable is criminal. The other aspects such as trading conditions look good, but due to the shortcomings, we can not currently recommend OFM FX.

MIFX (Monex Investindo Futures) is an Indonesian broker that offers to the trade of both Forex and Futures, the latter of which it is most renowned for, and especially so in Indonesia, where it was ranked highly. There is however some confusion in regards to their ‘Legality’ section at the footer of the website which insinuates this broker is regulated, however, if you read carefully you will see that it seems only a clever play on words, and they appear in fact to be under the governing body of ‘Commodity and Futures Trading Regulatory Agency (BAPPEBTI) and ‘members’ of BBJ and BKDI exchanges and a member of the KBI & Indonesia Clearing House futures clearing, which also offer similar services.

The live chat team could not provide a straight answer to clear this issue up, but it is apparent that they are ‘regulated’ or at least comply with Bappebti which gives peace of mind for those trading Futures, but not Forex. In addition, MIFX also offers a referral programme for those that wish to earn also from an affiliate marketing aspect as well as trading.

Account Types

MIFX offers 3 account types, 2 for Forex Trading which is ‘Standard’ and ‘Pro’. For Index trading, there is 1 account type, ‘Standard’. The Forex accounts offer low commission fees, which we will go into shortly, as well as various reward points and rebate schemes. The Index account also offers reward points and prizes.

Platforms

MIFX offers the well respected and most used trading platform, MetaTrader (4). MIFX trading services are compatible not only via MT4 Windows Desktop but also on Mobile (iOS and Android) so clients can trade on the go as well as at home.

Leverage

The maximum leverage that MIFX clients may use (applicable on all account types) is 1:100 which is well desired among many traders, especially for Forex Trading as this allows profits to be maximized rather extensively. This is also good leverage for those who wish to scalp trade and maximize profit opportunity on even small capital. Of course, this leverage may not be suitable for all types of trading and to all trader’s preference, but then, of course, you can lower it as you wish.

Trade Sizes

The minimum trade size requirement cannot be found on the website, and the absence of an FAQ page meant the only alternative was to ask a representative from the customer support team, who advised the minimum trade size for all accounts is 0.1 lot. This is not typical in most brokers, who usually allow 0.01. 0.1 lot would mean that for those who like scalp trading especially, this may not be entirely suitable. If however, you are depositing larger capital and trading high volume, this should not be an issue.

After much searching time on the website, we found under the ‘open demo account’ section that it states: ‘$ 1 commission per lot settled’. If this is true, then commission fees certainly are competitive, but bear in mind, that in the case of low commissions, it is often the case that spreads are marked up, so the client cost in total may be higher than you anticipate.

Trading Costs

Under ‘Trading Fees’ on the website, there is adequate information on what trading fees can be or are charged to the client in the way of spreads and commission charges, however, it is most unhelpful that it does not specifically indicate WHAT the fees actually are. This opportunity was taken to speak to the live chat team who were unavailable at the time, so we left a message (ticket/email) and never ever even received a response on this matter.

In this case of pure unknown, you should be encouraged to check this on demo first to be sure of what charges you as a client would be subject to. You should also ask yourself, why would a broker not be transparent about the fees they charge their clients? This, SURELY, is basic information that should be openly displayed to all prospective clients prior to registering as a client.

Assets

The website advertises that clients of MIFX can trade the following assets: Forex, Gold, Silver, Oil, and Indices. It is not clear however how many assets in total are available. Again, this would be wise to check on demo since the customer support team was yet again unresponsive on this matter and the website proved typically unhelpful once again.

Spreads

The only information regarding spreads offered by MIFX on the website is that there is a small advertisement feature indicating they offer ‘low spreads’, starting from 0 pips. Aside from this, we cannot yet confirm what the spreads are for each trading pair available, since trading pairs are not displayed on the website, and the customer support team are yet to respond on several matters as well as this, as we have stated throughout this review.

Minimum Deposit

The minimum deposit requirements do vary between the account type options available and may appear a little higher than the minimum requirements set by competitor brokers. Nonetheless, the minimum deposit requirements are as follows:

Standard (Forex): 5 Million minimum deposit Indonesian Rupiah (500 USD)
Pro (Forex): 500 Million minimum deposit IR (35,714.28 USD
Standard (Index): 5 minimum deposit IR (500 USD)

Deposit Methods & Costs

MIFX does not mention funding methods on their website. The Customer support team never gave an email response either. It should go without saying that this ambiguity we have encountered is enough for most people to turn away since it is most absurd that a broker would not provide the most basic of information on such trading services.

Withdrawal Methods & Costs

Methods of withdrawal are also not mentioned so we can not confirm which methods clients of MIFX can use to get their funds back or receive their profits. Unfortunately, also, the customer support team did not respond to the email asking which methods are available, even after one consistent week of contact.

Withdrawal Processing & Wait Time

Unfortunately, we could not gain a response on withdrawals let alone timescales and costs, therefore we cannot confirm how long you would have to wait for a withdrawal from MIFX. However, due to the entire lack of response and total lack of clarity on the website, we are inclined to believe this broker is not wholly honest or reliable.

The only hint at withdrawal timescale we can see is that of an icon advertisement on the website that states ‘same day disbursement’ but nothing else, and when you click on it, it appears the link is broken as does not provide further information.

Bonuses & Promotions

According to the website, and social media interaction, MIFX does not advertise to offer any deposit bonus schemes or promotions of the likes. However, they do offer trade rebates of up to $10 per settled lot.

Educational & Trading Tools

Aside from the demo account which clients can use for a maximum of 30 days (free trial), you can also make use of the free educational courses that MIFX offer which includes a variety of Webinars, learning videos and a Forex Glossary to help novice traders grasp and understand fully the trading terminology they will be exposed to.

Customer Service

MIFX does not appear to even have a customer support system! They state they operate 24 hours a day (24/5) yet the live chat almost never appears to be online, regardless of the time around the clock and their emails are never answered. How can one put trust and their own money into a broker that you cannot first communicate with? It is with brokers like this that customer service is highlighted as an important factor in a client’s trading experience. MIFX has been a big let down in this area.

Demo Account

MIFX offers a demo account, valid and free for 30 days. This is handy to make use of; no time is ever wasted on a demo! It is good to use the demo alongside the free educational courses this broker offers, especially if you are still relatively new to trading.

Countries Accepted

It is unclear which countries are accepted to trade with MIFX services; there is no FAQ page or responsive live chat to shed light on this subject. However, in light of the BAPPEBTI regulation as touched on at the beginning of this review, it would be down to you as an individual to check if your jurisdiction complies with these regulations and allows you to take advantage of these trading services.

Conclusion

Due to the sheer lack of clarity the website holds or withholding of information, rather, this broker should obviously be approached with caution, or better still, avoided; why would you think a broker who cannot display basic information, does not outline key trading conditions, in fact, very few, and on top of that, is unreachable with their customer support? There is no trustworthiness in this broker as displayed throughout the course of this review.

TigerWit is a diverse service offering Forex Trading as well as the ever-growing popular Copy Trading service. Based in the Bahamas, and regulated by Securities Commission of The Bahamas (SCB), as well as the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), meaning clients can take peace in the knowledge their funds are secure, and the return of their funds is guaranteed as long as this broker complies with its regulator’s policies in place.

Overall the website itself is very professional, well thought out, and ‘does what it says n the tin’, so to speak. There is also a handy FAQ page which is clearly set out to use as a quick reference guide. In addition, there is a live chat service available for efficient query resolving, should you require it.

Account Types

TigerWit offers one live account called the ‘Experience account’ and one type of live account, SCB of FCA regulated, depending on your residency. The live account requires a minimum deposit which is reasonable set at £50, gives maximum leverage of 1:30 (although varies lower for different assets), and the minimum trade size requirement is 0.01 lot, and 50 lots are the maximum volume clients can trade.

Account verification is also claimed to take just minutes providing you submit the required ID and proof of address documentation, you should have an account verified and approved for trading within the same day of registration.

Platforms

TigerWit offers clients to download their services compatible with MT4 straight from the website. Clients can choose either web trader, desktop or mobile versions, to trade both on the go as well as from the comfort of your own home.

Leverage

As a result of complying with regulation policies, the maximum leverage allowed for TigerWit clients is 1:30. Depending on specific pairs, Forex currency pairs are allowed the use of 1:20 or 1:30 leverage while Energies are 1:10, Metals and Indices are allowed 1:10 or 1:20. Although to some traders, these leverage limits can be restricting, one must bear in mind that low leverage is not the only factor that can restrict profit maximization; the amount you deposit and the length of time you keep your trades open, as well as the trade size, also affect your results.

Trade Sizes

The minimum trade size requirement set by TigerWit s 0.01 lot which is standard and the maximum trade volume allowed is 50 lots, for all clients.

Trading Costs

Swap fees vary according to the currency pairs traded, but all swap fees are listed accordingly directly on the website. Commission fees are not charged by TigerWit which means that clients are charged, essentially, via the spread instead, which is how the broker earns their profit, alternatively.

If you choose to make use of the Copytrading service with TigerWit, this will cost the client 20% of their profit, which is calculated each month, and deducted from the client’s account on the 10th of every month.

Assets

With TigerWit, you have the option to trade from a selection of assets (just under 40 in total): Forex, Precious Metals, Commodities, Indices, and Bitcoin so for those wanting to diversify their trading, this broker allows you to. The only small disappointment here is that Bitcoin is the only Crypto offered to trade on CFD, which may disappoint some crypto enthusiasts, however trading Bitcoin against a handful of the FX majors is also becoming increasingly more popular.

Spreads

TigerWit offer variable spreads to their clients. Spreads can be seen on a demo, but no ton the website. I asked the customer support team for average FX spread, which I was told sit between 0.7 and 1, for EUR/USD, which is competitive. Overall, the spreads offered by TogerWit cannot be complained about, especially on their Forex Currency pairs.

Minimum Deposit

The minimum deposit requirement is 50GBP which is both reasonable and the average expectation among most traders, experienced or novice.

Deposit Methods & Costs

According to the FAQ page on the website, TigerWit clients can fund their accounts using telegraphic transfer or Neteller (via the app). Clients can also make deposits via Paysec in the ‘Deposit’ section of the website. These options are fairly limiting compared to other brokers, but nonetheless, typically efficient in terms of speed of transaction time. Deposit fees are not applicable to TigerWit clients.

Withdrawal Methods & Costs

The withdrawal methods available are the same as the funding methods as mentioned above. TigerWit clients are allocated 4 free withdrawals per calendar month, after which, they will be charged $1 per withdrawal made.

Withdrawal Processing & Wait Time

The minimum withdrawal amount is set at 20 USD and you can withdraw from TigerWit at any time. According to the FAQ page, withdrawals can take up to 3 business days to process, while Telegraphic transfers may take up to five days.

Bonuses & Promotions

If you were seeking any deposit bonus or promotional offers of any sorts, TigerWit will not fulfill the need, as they do not offer any such schemes, which is undoubtedly due to the compliance with their regulating body (FCA).

Educational & Trading Tools

It is a little misleading that the TigerWit website has an ‘Education’tab yet this is a link to the FAQ page, which does NOT contain any educational material at all. Not to worry though, as free educational, as well as paid courses, can easily be found online, if you do a quick search, even on Youtube. As for trading tools, the most interesting appears to be Copy Trading. This tool allows clients to copy the trades of the platform’s most successful and profitable Forex traders.

Customer Service

TigerWit operates its customer support between the hours (UK time) 9 am-5 pm, between Monday and Friday. You may contact their customer support via live chat, leave them an email or give them a phone call during these hours. The quality of customer support is consistent in terms of response time, and the representatives are, on the whole, knowledgable about the products and services they offer.

However, during busy trading periods, there have been occasions where the live chat queue can get a bit congested, and you may need to wait between 5-10 minutes to be answered, however, this is normal and for the majority of the time, the support team delivers very fast responses to their clients.

Demo Account

You may use a demo account offered by TigerWit, however, this is only available for 1 month.

Countries Accepted

Seeing as TigerWit are regulated by both the Securities Commission of The Bahamas (SCB) and the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), this would mean that traders from the USA would not be granted access to a trading account, and it is your duty as an individual to check if your jurisdiction and residency allow the use of trading services. This, of course, will become apparent when you submit your document proof of ID and address/residency document upon account verification. Alternatively, you can check with the customer support team prior to registration, who are always prompt and happy to help.

Conclusion

TigerWit overall is a decent broker in all senses: the website and FAq page combined are clear, concise and provide all necessary information to keep clients informed well throughout their trading experience. The customer support team is also very impressive, with fast responses and a consistent helpful, professional manner.

The trading conditions from the minimum deposit requirement, spreads, and assets available are all reasonable. Reasonable is the best way to describe this broker, as they are not wholly competitive, However, the main ‘let down’, could be considered the leverage caps, however, this is, of course, a restriction set by the regulating bodies. So the sacrifice traders must make to trade with a regulated broker, may affect the profit maximization opportunities, if you rely heavily on leverage in your trading strategies.

One Financial Markets are a forex broker service, fully regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority in the UK (FCA) as well as the Financial Sector Conduct Authority in South Africa so for those of you concerned with the regulation and security of funds, this should add peace of mind. An important side note is that this broker offers the MT5 trading platform in addition to MT4, so clients have the choice to switch between platforms or try MT5 if you haven’t already used it.

Account Types

One Financial Markets offer one type of live account according to the live chat, but the FAQ page insinuates that there is more than one type offered since leverage allowance varies for each account type.

Unfortunately, the live chat has been unresponsive on 3 different occasions in the past 36 hours (business hours) and the offline message facility does not allow messages to send when the live chat is offline, which is totally illogical and unhelpful. This is especially disappointing since the website and its FAQ page is rather ambiguous with its provision of information that one would naturally expect to find prior to signing up. As a result, we cannot depict the full benefits of the live account, or account offered by this broker, at this time.

Platforms

One Financial Markets offer both MetaTrader 4 and 5, so clients can choose whichever platform they prefer to use. Web, Desktop and mobile versions (apple/android) are available for both platforms, so clients can trade both at home or on the go.

Leverage

As a result of regulatory restrictions and policies in place, One Financial Markets offer leverage of up to 1:30 which is not very high in comparison to other brokers of similar standing. This does usually mean however that starting with higher capital is more effective for the profit prospects.

Trade Sizes

The FAQ page does not give detail on what the minimum or maximum trade size requirements are, and the live chat facility was totally unresponsive on several occasions. We also left a ticket that was not responded to via emails so, unfortunately, this cannot be commented on at this time. Assumably, however, the minimum trade size would be standard as with many brokers, which is 0.01 lot, but this is not yet confirmed.

Trading Costs

Again, the FAQ page and the customer support were not helpful in finding out the trade commission and swap fee charges, as this information is (rather oddly) not mentioned at all anywhere on the website. We, therefore, cannot confirm client trade costs that would be applicable with One Financial Markets, at this time.

Assets

With One Financial Trading, clients are at the luxury of choosing from a very wide selection of assets:

• Forex
• Bullion
• Indices
• Commodities
• Energies
• Cryptocurrencies
• Shares

All Instruments are displayed on the website to save you opening a demo to check out the range of tradable assets available. Overall, One Financial Markets is competitive with the provision of instruments to trade, when it comes to the number of pairs offered.

Spreads

On the part of the website where the full list of instruments is displayed, you can also see the minimum, average and typical spreads selective for each individual pair. The ‘minimum’ spread shows the tightest spread available for the pair while the ‘average’ and ‘typical’ spread shows the average spread in a 24 hour period, which are updated for the past 24 hours in the last trading day per month. Overall, the spreads are competitive and should be satisfactory for many traders, even if you are diversifying your portfolio and trading a range of instruments.

Minimum Deposit

The minimum amount of funds for One Financial Markets is unclear as the website oddly enough does not state this basic piece of information. We did not have any luck finding this answer from the customer support team, either, who was totally unresponsive and have not given any reply at all to our emails.

Deposit Methods & Costs

Card, Bank wire and UAE Exchange are the methods of funding your account, offered by One Financial Markets. The website does also includes a handy note to make the client aware to make deposits during 17:30 and 02:00 GMT. If however, you do make your payment outside of this timeframe, it will still go through and be processed, but you may experience a delay. One Financial Markets does not include any fees associated with the deposit methods they offer.

Withdrawal Methods & Costs

One Financial Markets offer the following withdrawal methods: Card, Bank wire and UAE Exchange. One could argue that these 3 methods are a bit limiting in terms of choice but seeing as most cards (Visa/Mastercard) are accepted, and many people do hold a bank card under either Visa/Mastercard, this should be suitable for most traders.

One Financial Markets does not include any fees associated with the withdrawal methods mentioned above, but it is always wise to check with your banking provider to see if you are liable for any fees from the bank’s side, prior to making the deposit/withdrawal request.

Withdrawal Processing & Wait Time

It is important to note that OneFinancial MArkets have a policy in place, commonly known as a ‘closed-loop’ policy, which means that you must withdraw the same amount as the initial deposit, using the same method as originally used for the deposit. Any amount above the initial deposit amount can then be withdrawn separately, or via an alternative method to the one used to make the original deposit.

According to One Financial Markets website, withdrawal requests (all types) are processed within the same day, or else the following business day if the request if receipt of the withdrawal is on a non-business day. They cannot however always guarantee immediate payment, as disclaimer states on the website.

Bonuses & Promotions

One Financial Markets do not advertise any deposit bonus or promotional schemes of the likes. On social media, they also are not heavily affiliated with promoting such schemes so we can assume that they do not offer such schemes to their clients.

Educational & Trading Tools

One Financial Markets do offer a ‘Trading Academy’ which entails a series of regarding material on the basics of Forex, an introduction of how the MArkets work as well as some information on Trading Psychology. Another really great thing about this is they offer Free Trading Seminars, and for various locations, so clients globally can take part.

One Financial Markets also offer their own indicators (only free on demo, live come at a price not stated on the website) but do not offer their own EAs. However, you may integrate EAs that are compatible with the MetaTrader platform if you wish.

Customer Service

The customer service is supposedly reachable via live chat, email and telephone however the hours of operation are not listed on the website. In the entire duration of this review, we have not had one response via any of the customer support avenues offered. This factor is highly concerning when reviewing a broker; what if a client had a pressing trade issue and wanted to speak to a representative asap? This does not seem possible with this broker,espcei\lly given the fact they cannot even provide the basic information on their website and customer support channels, let alone any resolution on complex trade queries a client may have.

Demo Account

A demo account is available on the website should you wish to backtest this broker’s trading conditions, which is always advisable, or in the case of just wanting to brush up on your trading practice and test out your strategies alongside this broker’s offerings.

Countries Accepted

Although the website does not specifically state which countries are accepted to become clients and make use of One Financial Markets trading services, residents of the USA would not be allowed as a result of the FCA regulation. It is up to the individual to take responsibility to ensure your residency allows the use of these trading services so be sure to check this before you go ahead and register and start the onboarding process.

Conclusion

One Financial Markets are disappointing when it comes to communication with their clients both on the website and their FAQ page; on multiple occasions, both avenues did not serve their purpose. In fact, the FAQ page does not directly answer titles displayed, but on almost every section there is a ‘click here’ link for ‘more info’ which inf act just takes you to the sign-up page to become a live client. This is very misleading and entirely uninformative.

The customer support never appears to be online and emails never received a response. Putting this issue aside, however, the trading conditions in regards to spreads and leverage are average for an FCA regulated broker, but how can someone want to sign up to a broker when their customer support does not even respond. It is concerning to think that in a hypothetical case of a trade issue, there is no broker support team to help resolve any issues clients may have.

This is an example of a regulated broker that brings down the expectation many of us have when it comes to reliability and trustworthiness we anticipate from a regulated broker, especially one that has been operating for a handful of years.

At first glance, their low leverage might raise some eyebrows. However, TMS Brokers, established over 14 years ago, enables its account holders to enjoy competitive and market-leading features. In fact, this broker even has its own app, which traders can utilize alongside other popular trading platforms. The firm has over 8,000 certified brokers who work with their customers and offer support, such as one-on-one consultations and in-depth analysis reports. TMS Brokers have account holders from different corners of the world, including major global financial hubs like Beijing, London, Vienna, New Delhi, Ottawa, Tokyo, Mexico City, and others. They are also present in non-financial areas. Washington D.C (United States), Bogota (Columbia), Jakarta (Indonesia), Islamabad (Pakistan), and Oslo (Norway) are a few examples.

Remarkably enough, TMS Brokers heavily prioritizes the role of asset protection and preventing clients’ accounts from turning negative (which mainly happens when traders make risky decisions while using a large amount of leverage/buying power). In fact, these principles guide the firm’s policies when it comes to their margin policies, easily accessible account management software, and, perhaps most noteworthy, the way that they prioritize education. Having said that, there are features that a few types of traders may not find suitable. Many others, meanwhile, will certainly appreciate what TMS Brokers offers. Here is a deeper look into their financial instrument selections, spreads, bonuses, and more.

Account Types

While TMS Connect is the only account type that this broker offers, it is rich with competitive and highly desirable features. For the most part, TMS Brokers charges no commissions, has transparent spreads and gives traders access to plenty to instruments and tools.

Minimum Deposits: None
Spreads: Floating (starting from lower than 1 pip)
Commission: $5 on stocks, $0 on all other instruments

When you open an account, TMS Brokers will ask for certain documents to verify your identity. After submitting them, it usually takes 1 hour or less for the broker to approve them and, from there, you can start trading. However, keep in mind that residents of certain countries (including the US, Canada, and Japan), as well as non-EU citizens, have their own document requirements. To make the account opening process quick and easy, make sure that you provide information that is specific to your residential location or country of citizenship.

Platforms

While TMS Brokers use MetaTrader 5 (MT5), their unique TMS Connect mobile app makes the platform’s features even more user-friendly and accessible. TMS Connect provides you with a live news feed that you can view from your smartphone device and/or directly through your desktop when you log into your MT5 account. Customer service is also available and traders can work with professional analysts that will help them manage their portfolio, understand how each financial instrument works, and choose the right investment approach. Just as importantly, these experts regularly compile reports about important economic developments and news events so that users can get the most up to date information.

Moreover, TMS Connect charges no commissions on currency pairs and other assets, while providing traders with accurate spreads. Position sizes are very flexible, too. MT5 and TMS Connect make it easy to trade crypto CFDs, indices, and commodities. While the MT5 platform is available on all devices, TMS Connect makes managing your account and opening/closing positions from your phone more efficient than if you only did so through MetaTrader’s mobile app. TMS Connect can be downloaded directly from the broker’s website. To install MT5, you have the option of either going through TMS Brokers or downloading it from the platform’s website.

MT5 is very well known for its wide variety of technical indicators and charting tools. TMS Connect enhances these features on smartphones. In fact, they are the only broker in Poland that utilizes MT5. Lastly, through TMS Connect, you can follow other traders and track how they are performing. This adds another layer of in-depth analysis that benefits beginners and professionals alike. Those who are new to the financial markets can learn from profitable traders and emulate successful strategies, while also developing their own approach. Seasoned investors would see how others are doing when trading specific instruments and identify ways to further improve.

Leverage

Forex pairs have a maximum leverage of 30:1, which is considered very low. In most cases, brokers will offer traders between 100:1 and 400:1 in leverage. For that matter, some even provide you with up to 1000:1. When it comes to TMS Brokers, their leverage for indices and commodities is capped at 20:1. The maximum for stocks and cryptos is 5:1 and 2:1, respectively. Across the brokerage industry, digital currencies have low leverage because of their volatility and, therefore, riskiness. However, even TMS Brokers’ 2:1 leverage on cryptos is still low, most other firms have that number at 5:1.

Trade Sizes

The minimum trade size is 0.01 lots, which is a micro lot. TMS Brokers prides itself in offering protection against having a negative balance.

Stop-Out: 50%

In most cases, brokerage firms tend to have separate margin call and stop-out levels. When the margin call is reached, additional deposits are required. Otherwise, you or your broker will have to liquidate some positions and return the account balance to the specified margin requirement.

TMS Brokers, however, doesn’t have a margin call. Instead, once the balance reaches 50% of the margin maintenance, all of your trades will be sold and closed out. Even though there is no margin call that acts as an initial warning, TMS Brokers’s system is set up to prevent you from losing all of your capital and/or having a negative account balance. It might be less convenient, but the main positive aspect of this approach is that your losses and risks will be minimized.

Trading Costs

There are no commissions for trading forex pairs, cryptos, commodities (except for gold and silver), and indices. However, TMS Brokers does charge commissions on stock trades, starting from $5 (or 5 euros). Just as importantly, there are swap fees on positions that are kept open overnight. The charges are based on the interest associated with the currency or instrument that you trade, which can change based on market developments and central banks’ policies. TMS Brokers will also charge you the difference on the spread. Both the swap and spread fees are floating. You can access the most updated figures on this broker’s website.

Assets

There are 42 different currency pairs that TMS Brokers’ account holders can access. Most of them are major, including the USD, EUR, GBP, and AUD. However, you also have the option of trading exotic currencies, such as the Swedish Krone, Norwegian Krone, and Turkish Lira. Traders also access 5 different cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin.
Amongst the 18 available index CFDs are the Dow Jones Industrial Average, Nasdaq 100, S&P 500, the UK’s FTSE 100, Germany’s DAX 30, and more. There are also 19 different commodities. The list of available stock CFDs includes 47 companies that are traded in the US, as well as 28 from Poland, 19 from Spain, 18 from Germany, and 11 from the UK.

Spreads

TMS Brokers has a floating spread, which varies from one FX pair to another. A list of live spreads can be accessed on the firm’s website and the figures are accurate to the 5th decimal (or a 10th of a pip). Major currencies, like the USD and EUR, have a low spread that tends to be less than 1 pip (during normal market conditions). Similarly, the spread is floating for all other assets that can be traded through TMS Brokers.

Minimum Deposit

You can open an account without depositing any funds. However, TMS Brokers recommends that you initially deposit 100 euros or more, which is the required minimum to avoid transaction costs.

Deposit Methods & Costs

TMS Brokers accepts credit or debit cards, Skrill, and bank wires as deposit methods. All transfers into your account are free (as long as they are 100 euros or more). Deposits via Visa, MasterCard, and Skrill are instantly processed while bank transfers are concluded after 1 business day. Transaction requests are made through your account’s user dashboard.

Withdrawal Methods & Costs

You can only withdraw funds through transferring money to your bank account. Transfers via debit/credit cards and Skrill are not accepted, even if you used these methods to make deposits or initially fund your TMS Brokers account. There are no transfer fees if you withdraw 100 euros or more.

Withdrawal Processing & Wait Time

Withdrawals are processed within 3 business days. When you have withdrawn money for the first time, TMS Brokers will ask you for your bank account number and other information. Afterward, you can automatically use the same bank for future withdrawals, without having to provide the information again.

Bonuses & Promotions

There are four main proportional programs offered by TMS Brokers. The easiest one to get is their 20 euro phone verification bonus. If you use the TMS trader platform, they give you another 20 euros after you execute 10 trades on the demo account. Profitable traders are also awarded by TMS Brokers. First, new account holders have 14 days to make a deposit in order to participate in the promotion. Those who fund their portfolio with at least 250 euros (about $280) receive 100 euros ($110) once they make 100 euros in trading profits.

Moreover, account holders who deposit more than 500 euros get 200 euros if they make that amount in profits. Lastly, if you transfer over 1,000 euros into your account and exceed 300 euros in profits, TMS brokers credit your account with another 300 euros in bonuses. However, the website states that most of their bonuses expired on December 31st, 2017. Because of this, interested traders should ask customer service whether or not these promotions are still active and if they plan on running similar ones in the near future.

TMS Brokers also has a rebate promotion. After clients participate in this program, they earn 10% back when they trade between 50 and 200 lots per month. Meanwhile, 200 to 500 lots gets you 15% and anything above that has a 20% rebate. In many ways, rebates act as a refund on the spread costs, which traders incur because of the difference between the bid and ask prices. Each month’s rebate is added up on the 1st and deposited into account holders’ portfolio on the 10th.

Similarly, TMS Brokers will pay you another 0.5% in interest (relative to your account’s balance) when you trade over 50 lots in a single month. Even if your volume is less than that, TMS Brokers will still reward you with a 0.25% interest payment. For example, a trader that has $10,000 in their TMS Brokers account gets $50 (0.5% their balance) after exchanging 50 lots or more. When they go below it (such as 40 lots in a month), the trader receives $25 (0.25% the balance).

Educational & Trading Tools

The educational materials include video courses, live webinars, in-person classes, and eBooks. Meanwhile, the trading tools entail economic calendars, a daily schedule of company earnings reports, as well as live prices and charts that are directly accessed from TMS Brokers’s website. Going back to education, the firm has a glossary of major market and trading terms, which are sorted alphabetically. This can especially benefit beginners when they analyze news stories and research reports. Similarly, traders can either watch short tutorial videos or participate in live online classes, which are available in English, Spanish, Russian, Latvian, and Lithuanian.

The 2 eBooks are titled ‘Profitable Investment Strategies’ and ‘Price Action’. The former outlines the win rates and returns that the most successful traders on TMS Brokers have, which may help new market participants measure their performance and find ways to evaluate results. This eBook also discusses the most popular markets and assets amongst the firm’s management team and account holders. Price Action, on the other hand, is about how you can utilize and implement the ‘Pin Bar’ trading strategy. It is written by a group of experienced and professional traders. Lastly, whether you are a new or current account holder, the TMS Nonstop tool is rich with in-depth research reports and analytical content, alongside a live news feed that the broker constantly-updates. In fact, even non-account holders can access this beneficial and useful platform.

Customer Service

Support is available via phone between 9 am and 5 pm (Central European Time or CST) on weekdays. There are representatives for English, German, Russian, and Spanish-speaking traders, as well as those who prefer other languages. They can also be contacted via email.

Phone: +48 222 766 200 (International), +49 322 11000 7581 (German), +371 66 334 410 (Russian), and +34 911 12 0029 (Spanish).
Email: [email protected], [email protected] (German), [email protected] (Russian), and [email protected] (Spanish).

Demo Account

TMS Brokers will give you 50,000 euros ($55,700) in paper/fake money to practice with when you open a demo account. Just as with a live portfolio, demos can be managed on any device and from anywhere in the world. Moreover, the demo retains the same features that the live account has, including access to the same market prices, trading tools, and platforms. Most people open demo accounts for two main reasons: First, beginners can learn about the market before risking their real money. Second, experienced traders who are unfamiliar with using TMS Brokers’ platforms are allowed time to get comfortable with their different tools and order execution methods.

Countries Accepted

TMS Brokers is headquartered in Poland and its website is available in English, Polish, Russian, Spanish, and other languages, which indicates that they have an international presence. However, traders who are located in Canada, Japan, and the United States may have to abide by certain government restrictions when they open an account with this broker. This is because certain countries tend to regulate CFDs and other financial instruments more strictly because trading them carries more risk than exchanging forex pairs or other safer assets.

Conclusion

To summarize, TMS Brokers has many competitive and market-leading offerings. They include an extensive list of educational content and small spreads. Having said that, the broker does charge somewhat burdensome commissions, the leverage is very small, and their transfer methods are limited. This broker utilizes the MT5 platform, which is more advanced and resourceful than its older version, MetaTrader 4 (MT4), that many brokerage firms still use. Uniquely, they also have their own TMS Connect app.

While this broker only has one account type, they will process applications within only 1 hour. After that, you can immediately start trading. In addition, the customer support team is available in different languages. Their transfers, meanwhile, are a two-sided coin. Deposits, on one hand, can be made via credit/debit cards, wire transfers, and Skrill. They are also free. Withdrawals, on the other end, are only processed as bank wires and transactions take 3 days to complete. Just as with deposits, however, withdrawals are also free.

In comparison to the at large industry, TMS Brokers’ 40+ forex pairs are modest, but not low or limited. Yet, their available commodities and indices are beyond expansive. The same applies to their educational tools, which encompass video courses, eBooks, and more. All of which are available in multiple languages, alongside economic calendars and other useful instruments. They also have various types of bonuses. Lastly, their spreads are relatively contained.

However, TMS Brokers charge an undesirable commission and have a very low maximum leverage of 30:1. Because of this, when you weigh this broker’s pros and cons, always keep your strategy and preferences in mind. High-frequency traders may prefer low commissions, but those who utilize a lot of leverage might not mind these trading fees as long as the spreads are kept at a minimal level.

This firm’s mission and objectives revolve around providing superior customer services to its account holders. Gulf Brokers have a decentralized business model that enables them to immediately make decisions when they work with traders and manage other technical or administrative aspects. For a start, opening an account is quick and easy, which highlights the broker’s efficiency. So does their customer service team that works with traders around the clock.

Moreover, representatives are available in multiple languages while their website has over 10 versions for each one. Just as importantly, Gulf Brokers also prioritize technology and fast order execution. As an instance, they use sophisticated platforms and offer their own app (MyGulfBrokers) that traders can use to manage their accounts.

Meanwhile, Gulf Brokers offers great educational courses and other trading tools that experienced users and beginners will both appreciate. Certain aspects, however, can be undesirable. If you regularly transfer funds in or out of your account, for example, analyze whether their transaction processing time and fees suit your needs. While Gulf Brokers certainly offers advantageous features, some of their negative aspects can carry a different weight from one trader to another, depending on their strategy and methodology.

Nonetheless, account holders have access to the best platforms on the market, an expanded list of forex pairs, and, above all else, a luxurious bonus. In fact, this firm may award traders up to $100,000 in bonuses when they deposit funds. Even those who have a smaller balance will still get a promotion and bonus that is generous in comparison to other companies in the industry.

What are Gulf Brokers’ pros and cons? Can their features and support help you improve as a trader? To find out, read this article and get all the details that you need to know.

Account Types

Gulf Brokers offers one main type of account, but traders can also choose to have Islamic features. The two of them are nearly identical, with the only difference being that the Islamic account doesn’t incur any interest charges. Every month, Gulf Brokers will charge all account holders a $10 maintenance fee.

Minimum Deposit: NA
Spreads: From 3 pips
Commission: NA

Opening an account doesn’t take more than 48 hours. To do so, traders need to submit a copy of their ID and proof of address documents. The US dollar seems to be the only option for default currency. However, even if you live in a country that doesn’t use the USD, deposits can be made in the equivalent value in your local currency.

Platforms

MetaTrader 5 (MT5) is one of the most popular and advanced trading platforms in the world. When compared to its also widely used older version, MetaTrader 4 (MT4), MT5 provides users with a larger amount of charting features, technical indicators, and order execution tools. Customer service is available in multiple languages and can assist you regardless of your account or country’s main currency. MT5 offers over 80 technical indicators, different charting timeframes, and a state-of-the-art strategy tester. The platform’s app can be installed on desktop devices and smartphones (both Android and iOS).

Just as importantly, traders can follow an updated and timely newsfeed from anywhere in the world, alongside utilizing MT5’s detailed fundamental analysis reports and research findings. To download MT5, you would have to visit the platform’s website (through desktop browsers) or find the platform’s app in the Google Play/Mac Store (on your phone). Users can trade forex pairs, CFDs, commodities, indices, and other financial instruments through MT5.

Leverage

Traders get up to 500:1 in leverage, which applies to all currency pairs. The broker doesn’t mention anything, as far as their website goes, about indices, commodities, and share CFDs’ leverage.

Trade Sizes

Major and exotic currencies all have the same, industry-standard 1 lot size of 100,000 in the base currency. The smallest permissible trade size is 0.01 lots.

Margin Call: 50%
Stop-Out: 30%

Keep in mind that Gulf Brokers’s margin call notification can only be seen when you log into the trading account. The firm advises clients to regularly check their trades and portfolio alerts. Otherwise, if their balance further falls to 30%, all positions are automatically closed. In many instances, brokers would liquidate your biggest losing trade(s) to bring back your balance to the margin requirement. Gulf Brokers, however, doesn’t do so at the margin call level. Instead, traders have to deposit additional funds or exit positions manually to avoid reaching the stop-out.

Trading Costs

There are several expenses that you should be aware of. First, a daily swap fee is incurred when trades are kept open overnight. On Wednesdays, the swap is tripled. The Islamic account doesn’t incur these interest expenses. However, many brokers charge portfolios with Islamic features a fixed, non-interest related amount on overnight trades. Commissions on forex pairs aren’t listed on Gulf Brokers’ website, the same applies to commodities and indexes. Stock CFDs, however, come with a commission of 0.5% the position’s volume, with a minimum of $20 fee per trade.

Gulf Brokers will also charge for the spread, which starts at a relatively high 3 pips. This past April, the firm also introduced a monthly account maintenance fee of $10 (or its equivalent value in the trader’s currency). Having said that, only those who haven’t had any trades, deposits, or withdrawals for over 1 month incur this expense.

Assets

You can trade more than 60 currency pairs, including exotics (such as Danish Krone, offshore Chinese Yuan, and Czech Koruna). Moreover, there are 14 indexes of markets from across the world, alongside 15 commodities and the CFDs of stocks that are traded in 5 different countries. This selection is one of Gulf Brokers’ strongest offerings because not many other firms can match it.

Spreads

The spreads, on the other hand, are very high. In fact, you will find that most brokers have a spread that is no more than 3 pips, especially when it comes to major currencies. Gulf Brokers’ lowest spread, on the other hand, is 3 pips. Some major forex pairs even have it as wide as 20 pips, which is the case when it comes to the AUD.NZD and EUR.NZD.

Minimum Deposit

Gulf Brokers doesn’t offer details about minimum deposits, which may suggest that they don’t have one. After all, many brokers will let you open an account as long as you have the minimum needed to trade the smallest permitted lot size. Either way, those who are interested should contact Gulf Brokers to inquire about their deposit requirements and the minimum or maximum amount of funds that can be transferred in a single transaction.

Deposit Methods & Costs

You can deposit money and directly transfer the funds from your bank account. In addition, Gulf Brokers accept deposits via debit and credit cards. However, if for any reason a transfer didn’t go through (such as a trader having insufficient funds or an inactive debit/credit card), Gulf Brokers may levy a $200 chargeback fee. Apart from that, nothing is specified about transaction costs. In any case, almost every broker on the market doesn’t charge users for depositing funds, but an account holder’s bank might.

Withdrawal Methods & Costs

To initiate a withdrawal, traders can either do so through their account portal or by sending an email to Gulf Brokers’ customer support team. Keep in mind, however, that you can only withdraw funds through the method that you used to deposit them. For example, if funds were deposited via Visa or MasterCard, then they can only be withdrawn into the same debit or credit card. When it comes to profits, you can wire transfer them from your Gulf Brokers account to your bank. The website doesn’t include information about withdrawal fees.

Withdrawal Processing & Wait Time

When a trader whose bank or country’s currency is different than the default one on their Gulf Brokers account, withdrawals will be converted through applying the same day’s exchange rate. As an example, assume that a trader in the United Kingdom who withdraws money from their USD-denominated account on June 1st. Gulf Brokers will convert their funds into British pounds (GBP) based on the exchange rate on June 1st.

Generally speaking, all withdrawals are processed within 24 hours or less. At times, the broker may ask for additional information, such as when a trader fills out the transfer form the wrong way or forgets to upload certain documents. Needless to say, withdrawals may take a longer time to process when this happens.

Bonuses & Promotions

One of Gulf Brokers’ main advantages is that they offer lucrative bonuses and a variety of promotional programs. First, they will match any user’s deposit (at a minimum of $1,000) with the exact same amount in trading capital. For example, if you fund your Gulf Brokers account with $5,000, they give you another $5,000 that you can trade with. The maximum bonus per person is $100,000, which is incredibly sizable and generous.

However, the funds can’t be withdrawn out of the account immediately. Beforehand, your traded lots must be half the bonus’s value. Going back to the above example, in order to withdraw the $5,000, the trader must first open and close 2,500 lots (half of $5,000). Nevertheless, we find this bonus to be incredibly advantageous and only a few (if any) of Gulf Brokers’ competitors will offer similar ones.

Moreover, account holders can participate in the Affiliate Program and Introducing Brokers promotions. Amongst the brokerage industry, these types of offerings will normally pay you commissions when you refer other traders to a firm. Considering how strong Gulf Brokers’ bonuses are, interested traders may find it worthwhile to ask customer service about the details of the Affiliate Program and Introducing Brokers promotion.

Educational & Trading Tools

Gulf Brokers have an array of educational materials and they offer the highly resourceful MyGulfBrokers app. The software enables traders to place orders, open/close positions, and transfer funds. This platform has its own website that account holders would use to login. Uniquely, not many brokerage firms provide you with their own platform. Most would rely on MetaTrader or another third party software.

As far as Gulf Brokers’ educational tools are concerned, this firm has a series of online courses that show traders how they can place orders, manage their risk, and more. The classes seem to revolve around mobile and remote retail trading, specifically when it comes to the large risk and rewards, alike, that are associated with individuals participating in the markets. Alongside the general course, each part of the informative series tackles commodities, forex pairs, and other tradable instruments.

Customer Service

Gulf Brokers’ client support department operates 24 hours a day during the week (Monday through Friday). Most likely, these services can be accessed in multiple languages, especially because their website has 10 different versions (including Arabic, Portuguese, Russian, and Spanish, alongside English).

Phone: +44 208 068 9909
Email: [email protected]

Demo Account

Opening a demo is very easy, even more so than a live account. All you have to do is fill out a simple form on the website. Demo accounts, which are free, allow traders to learn about the markets, practice their techniques, and test different strategies while risking paper (fake) money. In turn, this helps them become well-prepared when they exchange their actual funds in live market environments. Similarly, if you’re an experienced trader who is new to MT5, the demo gives you an opportunity to familiarize yourself with the platform’s tools and functionalities, especially if you are transitioning from the MetaTrader 4 (MT4) version.

Countries Accepted

While Gulf Brokers is registered in Seychelles, an island nation off the eastern coast of Africa, they serve clients from around the world. However, their website doesn’t note any country restrictions.

Conclusion

When we look at Gulf Brokers’ features, their bonus stands out as one of the firm’s most lucrative and powerful offerings, especially because an individual trader can be awarded up to $100,000. Not only does this broker provide account holders with this highly generous bonus program, but they also pay commissions for referrals.

Similarly, Gulf Brokers’ currency selection, in terms of the available 60 forex pairs, is only matched by a few other firms in the industry. While they offer one account type, traders have the option of opening a swap-free Islamic portfolio. Perhaps most noteworthy, this broker’s educational courses are especially useful to beginners. Traders can also use the firm’s online platform, MyGulfBrokers, to manage their portfolio, a role that brokers traditionally reserve for third parties (such as MT4 and MT5). However, using the MetaTrader platform is also an option.

On the downside, meanwhile, transferring funds through this firm can be restrictive. You can only withdraw money by using the same method to deposit it. Gulf Brokers accepts both debit/credit cards and bank wires, but crypto traders and e-wallet users’ options are limited. Another negative aspect has to do with their undesirably large spreads. In fact, while many of Gulf Brokers’ features are amongst the best in the industry, their spreads are on the other scale of the spectrum. They start at 3 pips. If you rely on using a lot of buying power and leverage, this broker goes both ways. Their 500:1 leverage is competitive, while their 30% stop-out level is very flexible.

Lastly, Gulf Brokers’ customer support is available 24 hours a day and they serve traders from different countries, but it is always a good idea to check if they are available in your location. Certain government regulations on financial instruments may limit that. To conclude, Gulf Brokers’ strongest offerings are plenty, ranging from a generous bonus to their highly reliable software and platforms. Their spreads and inflexible transfer processing mechanisms, on the other hand, may cause traders to look the other way. At the end of the day, however, the weigh of each pro and con depends on how you trade, the strategies that you deploy, and the amount of funds and/or buying power that you plan on utilizing.

GoTechFX combines digital consumption with the financial profession, especially by focusing on the best of both worlds approach that includes technology and reliable trading tools. Their account types have several types of features that different traders can benefit from, alongside lucrative cash bonuses and access to a variety of assets. Moreover, their margin calls give you plenty of flexibility while trades can choose between fixed and floating spreads. Lastly, but certainly not least, this broker doesn’t charge any commissions, but their website offers little information about transfer costs. Is GoTechFX the right broker for you? Read this article to find out.

Account Types

Alongside the main type, traders can also open a Platinum or Islamic account. The latter has the exact same features as the main account, but the Islamic one doesn’t incur interest fees.

Minimum Deposit: $250 or 250 euros. $25,000 or 25,000 euros for Platinum
Spreads: From 1.5 pips (floating) and from 1.9 pips (fixed)
Commission: A percentage or fixed amount (varies).

You can choose between the USD and EUR as the default currency. GoTechFX doesn’t mention much about the Platinum Account, apart from the minimum deposit and access to more features (without any other details). The broker does invite interested traders, however, to contact their customer service team for inquiries. Commissions vary and depend on specific situations (such as referrals, account type, …etc.). Opening an account is easy and can be done online through the website. You can even access the dashboard and take a look at the different tools before depositing any money.

Platforms

GoTechFX account holders will trade through MetaTrader 4 (MT4). Even though the platform is not as advanced as its modified version, MetaTrader 5 (MT5), it is still very valuable and popular in the forex world. Additionally, GoTechFX has other available platforms, including WebTrader, Social Trading, and Activ8. MT4 can be downloaded from the platform’s website, while WebTrader and Social Trading only require you to create an account (no software or app downloads are necessary).

One of the main benefits that come with using MT4 is that traders can work with professional advisors who will actively guide them through the platform’s features and help users manage their accounts. Given that MT4 is one of the best forex trading platforms in the world, you can trade different currency pairs and assets once you create an account. WebTrader also offers the same level of accessibility to different financial instruments.

In addition to this, there is a very large amount of useful technical indicators and advanced charting tools on both MT4 and WebTrader. For that matter, MT4 allows you to execute trades directly from the chart, especially because of its fast and accurate pricing models. WebTrader also offers advanced charting tools and traders can deploy over 30 different technical indicators. MT4 is available on all devices, but WebTrader is only accessible on desktop browsers.

The Social Web Trading platform offers users a live news stream that contains other investors’ trades. In turn, you can evaluate how others are performing before deciding to buy or sell a currency pair. Just as importantly, you can also emulate successful trades and identify losing instruments or approaches to avoid learning that lesson the hard way. Activ8, on the other hand, is useful for those who prioritize technical analysis, advanced charting features, and an efficient platform that quickly executes orders.

Leverage

Buying power is 400:1, which is closer to the higher range when compared to the rest of the brokerage market. All currencies have the same leverage, with certain exceptions. The lowest are USD.RUB (Russian ruble) and EUR.RUB at 20:1, followed by USD.CNY (Chinese yuan)’s 50:1 leverage. In pairs where the Israeli shekel is quoted (i.e., the second currency) against each of the US Dollar, British Pound, and Euro, buying power is only 100:1. Leverage for the other financial instruments that GoTechFX offers (such as commodities) is not listed on the website and traders have to get that information from their Account Manager.

Trade Sizes

Forex pairs have a minimum of 0.01 lots per position. The maximum trade size is not mentioned, but GoTechFX does categorize account holders into ‘Pro’ and ‘Retail’. The latter might have their trade sizes restricted and leverage limited to 30:1. Margin requirements are also at 3.33% for Retail and 0.25% for Pro. Again, this is one of the areas where you need to contact the broker’s customer support team to get more information, especially if your trading strategy heavily relies on buying power.

Margin Call: 50% the margin level
Stop-Out: 3% the margin level

When your balance reaches the margin call level, GoTechFX will require you to either exit some trades or deposit more funds. Otherwise, they will start closing your positions, beginning with the one that has the largest losses and going downwards until your account’s funds meet the required margin level. At the stop-out, which could be reached very quickly if traders use a lot of buying power during volatile conditions, the broker will liquidate all of the trades.

Trading Costs

GoTechFX doesn’t charge any commissions, but traders have to pay the spread fees. Swaps also apply, where account holders incur interest expenses on positions that are kept open overnight. On Wednesdays and Thursdays, the broker’s swap fees are triple what they generally are per night. During the weekend, however, you only pay one night’s worth of interest charges. Keep in mind that the larger the volume of the position is, the more expensive the swaps are. This is something to watch for on Wednesdays and Thursdays, especially if the issuing central bank of the currency that you’re holding makes major interest rate decisions or changes.

Assets

There are 61 currency pairs, including all the major ones. Traders can also access a verity of exotics, such as the Chilean Peso, Polish Zloty, Norwegian Krone, Hungarian Forint, and South African Rand. GoTechFX provides traders with additional assets, namely commodities, stocks, and indices. If these financial instruments are key to your strategy, contact the broker directly and ask them about the available ones, their spreads, leverage, and other information that you find important.

Spreads

GoTechFX has two types of spreads: Fixed and floating. The former doesn’t change and is ideal for those who want to avoid paying larger than expected spread fees. However, the floating one can provide you with more favorable and tighter bid/ask differences. The main risk, of course, is that the spread is higher during volatile market conditions. Amongst brokers, in general, spreads tend to vary and will range between 1 and 3 pips. Some have them down to the fifth decimal or a point/fraction of a pip.

GoTechFX, meanwhile, tends to offer higher than usual spreads. The lowest fixed rate is 1.9 pips (EUR.USD). All other forex pairs have a spread of 2 pips or more and only six of them are below 3 pips. Similarly, the floating spread is about 1.5 pips for EUR.USD and 1.6 pips for USD.JPY, the remaining currencies are above 2 pips or higher. Most of the major pairs’ fixed and floating spreads are no more than 7.5 and 7 pips, respectively. That number is still large, nonetheless, as far as the industry is concerned. Exotic currencies, because of their low value per unit and more volatile nature, have very wide spreads.

Minimum Deposit

You have to transfer no less than $250 or 250 euros to open an account. The maximum allowed per deposit is $5,000 via credit card and unlimited via bank transfers.

Deposit Methods & Costs

Debit or credit cards and bank wires are the only two ways for you to fund your account. There is no information provided by the broker about deposit processing times. In general, card deposits tend to be instant and bank wires can take a few days. However, you should always double-check by contacting customer support.

Withdrawal Methods & Costs

The only two options are bank transfers and debit/credit card withdrawals. Transactions with your card don’t have any fees, but only the first bank withdrawal of the month is for free. The minimum amount, per credit card transfer, is $50. Bank wire transactions can’t be less than $100, but the GoTechFX website doesn’t mention anything about the transfer charges associated with using this method.

Withdrawal Processing & Wait Time

You can withdraw money by filling out an online transfer request form. GoTechFX generally processes transactions within 3 days, but your bank might take longer (sometimes up to 7 more days).

Bonuses & Promotions

GoTechFX will reward you with a percentage of your account’s balance in trading capital. First, the money can be used to buy/sell forex pairs and other financial instruments. However, account holders cannot withdraw the bonus until they trade a certain number of lots. More specifically, they need to trade the rewarded amount divided by 4. For example, let’s assume that GoTechFX’s bonus is 10% and a trader deposits $10,000. They receive the $1,000 (10% of $10,000) reward. To be able to withdraw it, account holders must trade at least 250 lots ($1,000 divided by 4) in total during their first 60 days with GoTechFX.

This is almost 9 weeks (including Saturday and Sunday) or about 44 market days. CFD trades don’t count towards the bonus. The amount is also limited to 100:1 in leverage. Nonetheless, if you are interested in knowing more about the deposit requirements and bonus percentages, take advantage of GoTechFX’s 24-hour customer service team and get in touch with them.

Educational & Trading Tools

When compared to the at-large brokerage industry, GoTechFX offers top tier educational content and tutorials. Moreover, they can function as useful resources during live trading sessions. For example, their list of economic indicators outlines the definitions and importance of different macro events, including unemployment data releases, interest rate changes, and GDP announcements.

Beginner traders can advantageously use it when they read real-time economic calendars or go through analytical articles. This is even more handy when used alongside GoTechFX’s ‘Order Types’ list. Similarly, the broker also offers an introductory article/written guide about the main technical analysis patterns, indicators, and strategies.

Lastly, the ‘Sharp Trader’ program is an entire website that is dedicated to educating readers about day trading. More specifically, its wide range of video content covers the details that are related to analyzing daily fundamental events, reading short-term technical charts, and utilizing different practical tools (economic calendars, calculators, …etc.). In fact, GoTechFX offers these exact resources to its account holders.

First, the trade calculator helps while you consider a potential trade. After putting in your default currency, the desired leverage, and whether you want to buy or sell a forex pair, the calculator gives you the required margin and reveals hidden costs that many traders forget about, such the swap and spread fees. GoTechFX also offers a daily economic calendar of major data releases from around the world.

Customer Service

There are several ways to contact the broker, including an online form that you can fill out. GoTechFX can also be contacted via email, phone, live chat, and video calls. The customer support team is available 24 hours a day during the week. When contacting them, traders can also pick their preferred language amongst a host of available ones.

Phone: +441134013533
Email: [email protected]

Payment paperwork and documents are sent to their office in Azerbaijan (for those who want to transfer funds via traditional mail). Their headquarters are in Majuro, the capital city of the Republic of Marshall Islands.

Demo Account

If you are still learning about the markets or never used MT4 in the past, a demo account is a good place to start. Through trading fake or paper money, you can test new strategies and experiment with MT4’s different trading tools before putting your actual money on the line. Demos are managed through the platform’s website or on WebTrader, but you open one on GoTechFX’s. The demo account is exposed to the exact same conditions as the real one, including live market quotes and spreads.

Countries Accepted

GoTechFX is not available in the United States or France, but it can be accessed by traders in the United Kingdom, Canada, Belgium, China, Hong Kong, Germany, and almost all other countries. The broker is headquartered in the Republic of the Marshall Islands, located at almost the midpoint distance between Hawaii and Australia.

Conclusion

While their transfer processing methods have their own restrictions, GoTechFX’s different account features and minimum deposit give traders plenty of flexibility. You can also open an Islamic account or, if you have $25,000 or more, upgrade to the Platinum one. Moreover, this broker gives you a 10% bonus on your deposit, an offer than many traders find desirable.

Other advantageous features the GoTechFX account holders enjoy include a relatively large number of forex pairs (over 60), a generous 400:1 leverage, and a very low 3% stop-out level. In addition, only a few firms in the industry can match this broker’s highly resourceful and cost-efficient trade calculator. If used the right way, you can identify and limit otherwise unnoticed expenses, including interest fees on overnight positions and undesirable wide spreads.

Traders who are new to the markets can use the different educational content, glossaries, practical guides while utilizing this calculator and GoTechFX’s daily economic calendar. Meanwhile, customer service is available around the clock and can be contacted in many ways, which is another positive aspect of using this broker. Last, but certainly not least, they allow you to trade through the MetaTrader 4 platform, which is arguably the most popular one in the forex market. Its technical indicators and sophisticated tools, when combined with what GoTechFX has to offer, can take traders a long way.

Genesis Markets caters to crypto and blockchain enthusiasts. It offers competitive order placements that will only execute at your desired price level. In addition, this broker’s GVT wallet utilizes state-of-the-art blockchain software and allows users to enjoy lucrative commission discounts. As is the case with many other brokerage firms, Genesis Markets has its own pros and cons. However, if you are a crypto trader who values innovative technology and advanced order execution tools, this broker is worth considering. To find out more about them, read this article and learn all that you need to know in order to evaluate Genesis Markets yourself.

Account Types

You can open either an individual account or a corporate one through Genesis Markets. Individual accounts are for retail traders who want to invest their own funds. Meanwhile, the corporate account is for companies that want to grow their firm’s capital through trading in the financial markets. Generally speaking, commissions and other trading conditions are the same for both the individual and corporate accounts.

Minimum Deposit: NA
Spreads: NA
Commission: 0.3% the trade volume; 0.15% (for BitCoin and Etherium); 30% to 55% discount for GVT holders.

In order to make a deposit, you must fund your account via Bitcoin, Etherium, or GVT (Genesis Version). The latter is a blockchain platform that allows you to manage money and trusts. Unfortunately, traders can’t make deposits in fiat currencies, which is far from ideal from those who prefer to hold their funds in cash (such as the USD, GBP, or Euro).
Apart from individual and corporate, Genesis Markets offers 3 account types: Base, No Limit, and Hedge. All of them have the same commissions, access to financial instruments, and trading platforms. The only difference between them is that No Limit and Hedge offer more advanced order execution processes than the Base account does.

Platforms

MetaTrader 5 (MT5) is a reliable, advanced, and incredibly popular trading platform. All of Genesis Markets’s account holders use MT5 to manage their trades, open or close positions, deposit funds, and make withdrawals. This can be done on your desktop browser and smartphone device, whether it’s an iPhone or Android. Genesis Markets will provide traders with their login info after they register. Moreover, those who already have MT5 accounts through other brokers can still create one that is connected to their Genesis Markets portfolio.

In fact, the platform allows users to open an unlimited number of accounts. Some of MT5’s most popular features include its variety of chart timeframes, a wide selection of technical indicators, and an aggregated live newsfeed. You can also code and program your own automated trading robot, which would enter/exit positions if it they meet your required conditions and predetermined algorithms.

Leverage

If you have the No-Limit type of account, your limit orders will not show up on the trading platform. Instead, these orders will only be processed and executed when your desired price level is reached. This allows traders to use their margin more comfortably, especially because limit orders do not restrict their purchasing power until they are executed. In other words, this process ensures that the appropriate amount of margin is used and minimizes risks or losses. For example, if your leverage is 100:1 and your account balance is $1,000, then you have up to $100,000 in buying power.

Let’s assume that you already used $80,000 of it and have $20,000 remaining. Through the No Limit Account, you can place multiple orders at the same time that may be worth more than your $20,000 available margin. However, Genesis Markets will only execute the ones that reach your desired price level. These positions, after being filled, will take up the remaining margin. The rest, on the other hand, are canceled when all of the buying power/leverage is used up. In short, not only do you get your preferred price, but you also place multiple orders and wait for the right ones to fill (as opposed to canceling each order individually in order to free up some margin and place new trades).

Trade Sizes

For BCC.USDT (Bitcoin Cash vs. Tether USD), BTC.USDT, and ETH.USDT, the standard lot size is 0.0001. All other cryptos, on the other hand, have a lot size that equals 1 coin of the cryptocurrency. Unfortunately, Genesis Markets offers limited information about its leverage, margin requirements, or stop-out level.

Trading Costs

Because this broker prioritizes executing orders at the desirable level, the costs associated with wide spreads are contained. However, you still have to pay commissions on each trade. If you open a BTC or ETH position, the commission rate is 0.15% the volume. For example, if you invest $10,000 in BTC.USDT, Genesis Markets will charge you $15 (0.15% of $10,000) for that trade. The fee only applies to one side of the trade and you will have to pay another $15 commission when you close the position. The total for each fully completed, round-trip trade is 0.3% of the transaction’s volume (or $30 for the BTC.USDT example above).

Having said that, there are plenty of discounts that you might be able to qualify for if you purchase Genesis Vision Tokens (GVTs). A GVT is a decentralized platform that connects investors with different markets and exchanges through blockchain. Genesis Markets will give you a commission discount based on the size of your GVT holdings.

• 1 to 10 GVT: 0.21% commission (30% discount)
• 11 to 25 GVT: 0.195% commission (35% discount)
• 26 to 50 GVT: 0.18% commission (40% discount)
• 51 to 100 GVT: 0.165% commission (45% discount)
• 101 to 500 GVT: 0.15% commission (50% discount)
• 501+ GVT: 0.135% commission (55% discount)

Assets

Traders can access all of Genesis Markets’s financial instruments and exchanges. This includes cryptos and several ForEx pairs. At the moment, Binance, Huobi, and LMAX Digital are the main liquidity providers that this broker works with. However, Genesis Markets plans on expanding the list in the near future.

Spreads

Even though Genesis Markets’s website doesn’t mention anything about the spreads, there are two things that traders should keep in mind. First, cryptocurrencies may have a larger spread than paper/fiat forex pairs, especially because digital assets are more volatile. The spread is even bigger when a broker follows a floating/live market spread. Second, regardless of whether the bid/ask gap is floating or fixed, limit orders can largely offset undesirably wide spreads. Through Genesis Markets’s No Limit and Hedge account types, traders only buy/sell at their specified price. However, those who are interested in the Base, which executes trades based on live quotes, may want to contact the broker and get more information about the spreads that are associated with this type of account.

Minimum Deposit

Genesis Markets don’t seem to have (or at least mention) the required minimum deposit to open an account. To qualify for the commission discounts, though, traders must purchase at least 1 GVT.

Deposit Methods & Costs

To fund your Genesis Markets account, you need to provide the link or QR code of your cryptocurrency wallet. Deposit requests are made online through your trading account’s menu. The amount it takes for transactions to process will largely depend on how busy the network is. When there are fewer deposit requests, transfers go through quickly. Genesis Markets doesn’t specify its deposit fees on the website.

Withdrawal Methods & Costs

Both deposits and withdrawals must be made via Bitcoin, Ethereum, or GVT. Genesis Markets doesn’t accept transfers in fiat/paper money (such as USD, EUR, and GBP). The minimum withdrawal amount per transaction is 0.44 GVT, 0.002 BTC, or 0.02 Ethereum. Fees are determined by the blockchain system and the most updated transfer costs are available on Genesis Markets’s website. They are 0.22 GVT, 0.0005 BTC, and 0.01 ETH per withdrawal.

You can also transfer money between your different Genesis Markets or GVT wallets. Doing so comes with a 1% charge per transaction, alongside any losses caused by the fluctuations in the exchange rate (as determined by Crypto Compare).

Withdrawal Processing & Wait Time

To withdraw funds, you need to fill out a request form and confirm your email (via a verification link). Afterward, the processing time will begin. Transactions are filled on a first-come-first-serve basis and each transfer is processed within 3 days.

Bonuses & Promotions

Genesis Markets has a referral program that allows account holders to earn money on each trade that a family member or friend executes. After signing up, traders are provided with a direct email link or a social media URL that they can use to invite people to open an account with the broker. From there, you will receive a rebate on each trade that your referral executives. The amount of the bonus depends on the volume of each order. Trades that are less than $1 million in volume award you with 0.03% the trade volume. The rebates for trades with a $1 million to $3 million volume are 0.04%. Lastly, when your referral opens and closes a position that is worth $3 million or more, you earn 0.05% in rebates.

Educational & Trading Tools

This broker’s educational content is limited to its Trading Guide FAQ. It seems to be mainly designed for beginner traders, showing them how to open an account, place an order, add tickers to their watchlist, and buy/sell currencies. Similarly, Genesis Markets’s Trading Guide goes over the different chart timeframes and order types. Nonetheless, MT5, in itself, has its own advantageous educational material and trading tools, alike. All account holders can access and benefit from them. In fact, Genesis Markets seems to rely on MT5’s offerings and is directing traders towards the platform.

On MT5, there are many educational materials and informative content that help new participants understand the forex markets better. Moreover, MT5’s guides can walk you step-by-step on how to use the platform. As far as tools are concerned, MT5 is rich with different charting timeframes, unique technical indicators, and breaking news notifications that are directly sent to the trader’s phone. You can also access economic calendars, research reports, and analytical articles.

Customer Service

Genesis Markets can only be contacted via email. However, they might have different commutation methods (such as a phone number) for account holders. Their website doesn’t mention the hours of service or the availability of customer support specialists.

Email: [email protected]
Phone: NA

Demo Account

When opening a paper portfolio, you can choose your default currency and immediately start trading paper money on MT5. Demo accounts view live market quotes and trade under actual market conditions. Moreover, they are exposed to the same tools and features as real accounts. Demos are useful for new traders who want to test their strategies and practically learn about the forex exchanges before putting their money at risk. If you are used to MetaTrader 4/MT4 (MT5’s still widely used older version) or any other platform, a demo helps you transition more smoothly while minimizing the risk of making an error (such as placing the wrong order type or not understanding how a certain tool works).

Countries Accepted

Genesis Markets doesn’t mention anything about country limitations on their website. However, needless to mention, many governments have restrictions on trading cryptocurrencies and digital assets. For example, the United States’ regulators don’t recognize cryptos as financial instruments and, as a result, many brokers who offer them can’t work with American traders. Other countries also approach cryptos in their own ways, which can be very lenient or incredibly restrictive. For those who are interested in Genesis Markets, the only way to find out if they are authorized to work with account holders in their country is by contacting customer service directly. You should also ask about possible rules that may govern their GVT offering.

Conclusion

In short, the main positive aspects of using Genesis Markets include the technologically advanced tools, access to diverse digital assets, and competitive order execution methods that guarantee a desirable buy/sell price. This broker’s negatives, on the other hand, are the unpredictable transfer processing times, lack of clarity about certain areas (such as minimum deposit requirements), and the commissions.

However, in most cases, brokers who charge trading fees have minimal or no spreads and low or nonexistent general costs. Since Genesis Markets works with multiple liquidity providers and pricing platforms, their commissions may be the only type of cost that traders have to incur. In fact, this is even more so the case when there are reliable liquidity providers and traders place limit orders.

Their various account types access the same assets, features, and market conditions. The only differences between them are related to the way that orders are filled. No Limit and Hedge can place limit orders that only execute at a specified price level. The latter is even designed for traders who want to program their own robot, which would automatically open/close positions if they meet a set of predetermined conditions and algorithmic correlations.

The Base Account, meanwhile, may have less favorable order processing features. Nevertheless, we find that many of Genesis Markets’ tools, platforms, and technology offerings are both desirable and competitive in comparison to other crypto brokers. Yet, because certain elements are absent from Genesis Markets’s website (such as the spreads and minimum deposit), we encourage interested traders to get in touch with customer service and find out of these offerings match what they are looking for.

As a brokerage firm that prides itself on its usage of innovative technology, CJC Markets offers account holders competitively fast trade execution times, multi-account management tools, and access to advanced trading platforms. The firm is headquartered in New Zealand, but it allows traders from around the globe to open an account, manage their portfolios, and place orders. Moreover, we found that CJC Markets’ leverage to be amongst the highest offered in the brokerage industry. Their educational content, diverse trading tools, and user-friendly approach are 3 other great features about this firm. However, there may be certain limitations, as well, including geographical restrictions. Continue reading and learn more about what CJC Markets has to offer.

Account Types

CJC Markets only offer 1 account type, which is a traditional retail trading portfolio. However, they do have a Multi-Account Manager (MAM) services for professionals that manage multiple accounts (such as their clients’ investments).

Minimum Deposits: NA
Spreads: NA
Commission: Varies

This broker has an introducing brokers program. After participants convince their friends or family members to open an account through CJC Markets, they receive a commission whenever their referral makes a trade. Because of this, the broker doesn’t have an across-the-board commission policy. In order to reward and motivate introducing brokers, they may charge their referrals a fee when they trade. Yet, at the same time, other clients (such as those who found the broker online or through an advertisement) might enjoy commission-free trading. CJC Markets doesn’t specify any minimum deposit requirements, nor do they show you their spreads on the website.

Platforms

MetaTrader 4 (MT4) is arguably the most popular forex trading platform on the market. You can place orders, open or close positions, and transfer funds from any device, whether it’s a desktop or a smartphone. Windows users can download the app directly from CJC Markets’s website, the same applies if you have an iPhone and Android. Those with a Mac computer, on the other hand, may need to install special software (usually for free) before downloading MT4’s app. Moreover, they have to do so directly from the platform’s website, rather than CJC Markets’s. However, there is a browser version, WebTrader, that is compatible with different browsers (such as Chrome, Safari, Firefox, ..etc.) and accessible on desktop devices (both MacBooks and Windows).

MT4 is popular because it is easy to use for all types of traders, including beginners and those who are transitioning from other trading platforms. In addition, the platform offers various technical indicators, aggregated live news streams, and different chart timeframes. MT4 also allows you to create a demo account. Users can trade different forex pairs, CFD contracts, and other financial instruments through this platform.

Leverage

CJC Markets offers very competitive leverage at 600:1. In most cases, brokers will offer up to 400:1 and firms rarely exceed that. CJC Markets’s leverage applies to all ForEx pairs that they offer, which are mostly limited to major currencies. Amongst commodities, only gold (XAU.USD) has 600:1 in leverage. Silver (XAG.USD), on the other hand, is limited to 40:1. Crude US oil, crude UK oil, and the commodities offered through CJC Markets have 200:1 in leverage.

Trade Sizes

The standard lot is $100,000 (or 100,000 in the base currency) and the smallest permissible trade size is 0.01 lots. However, your volume cannot be more than 20 lots in a single position.

Stop-Out: 100%

CJC Markets doesn’t have a specific margin call level. However, they do advise traders to immediately close positions that incur significant losses or, alternatively, deposit Moree funds into the account to minimize risks. Either way, if your balance falls below the 100% stop-out level, the broker will immediately liquidate your positions and close all trades after notifying you. It is very important to keep an eye on your available capital. CJC Markets warn that, even if your account falls below the stop-out level, there are circumstances where it could turn negative. This is especially true during volatile and fast-moving markets when trades become illiquid and difficult to close at a desirable price.

A price movement of 1 pip, for each lot, is 10 units of the quote currency. The exception to this is the Japanese yen, where a 1 pip change is the equivalent of 1,000 yens. For example, if you buy 1 lot of the USD.NOK, you gain or lose 10 Norwegian Krones on each pip that goes up or down. With the USD.JPY pair, however, your change in profits is 1,000 Japanese yens per pip.

Trading Costs

Positions that are kept open overnight incur a swap fee on each day-to-day rollover. Traders also have to pay spreads. To a great degree, CJC Markets has no influence on the amount of these costs. Swaps depend on the interest rates of the currencies that you buy or sell, which are determined by economic developments and central banks’ decisions. Spreads, the difference between a currency or CFD’s bid and ask prices, tend to be wider (and, therefore, more costly) during periods of high volatility. They also vary from one forex pair to another.

Commissions aren’t exactly specified, mainly because CJC Markets sets those fees on an individual basis. For example, traders who found the broker online might have different commissions than those join CJC Markets because an existing account holder referred them. Moreover, the commissions are not fixed and can come in the form of a specified dollar amount per trade or as a percentage of the position’s total volume.

Assets

You can trade up to 29 forex pairs, alongside the CFDs of 4 commodities and 7 market indices. CJC Markets only gives you access to major currencies, with the Norwegian krone being the only exotic one. In fact, you can only trade it through the USD.NOK pair. All of them share the same leverage (1:600), minimum trade size (0.01 lots), and maximum volume per position (20 lots).

The available commodities are US Oil (WTI crude), UK Oil (British crude), XAU.USD (Gold), and XAG.USD (Silver). You can also trade the 3 major US indices (the Dow, Nasdaq, and S&P 500). The other available 4 indexes are China’s FTSE China A50, Germany’s DAX 30, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng, and Japan’s Nikkei 225. All commodities and indices are traded as CFDs. CJC Markets doesn’t provide traders with access to stocks or cryptocurrencies.

Spreads

Each currency pair and CFD has its own spreads. It is important to note, however, that CJC Markets utilizes the NDD Model. This allows you to immediately trade and exchange currencies with banks, which almost guarantees a much lower spread than going through third parties or platforms.

Minimum Deposit

CJC Markets doesn’t offer any information about minimum deposits. Some brokers will let you start trading if you have enough money to buy the minimum contract size. CJC Markets may be one of them.

Deposit Methods & Costs

The only listed deposit method on CJC Markets’s website is bank transfers. When you first apply to open an account, the broker will ask for your bank information. The initial routing and account numbers that you provide will be used for future deposits and withdrawals. Whether traders deposit funds in USD or NZD, CJC Markets will not charge them any transfer fees.

Withdrawal Methods & Costs

The same bank accounts that traders provide for deposits will be used for withdrawals. However, you can change your preferred transfer method if needed. Withdrawing funds via the New Zealand Dollar is free, but USD transfers are charged $25 per outbound transaction. Just as importantly, CJC Markets cautions traders that if their financial institutions need to verify additional documents, some banks might require additional fees.

Withdrawal Processing & Wait Time

No transfer times are specified on the broker’s website, but missing or inconsistent information when making a transfer request can cause delays.

Bonuses & Promotions

CJC Markets has an ‘Introducing Broker’ program. When you refer other traders to the firm and they open an account, CJC Markets will pay you a commission. Most brokers that offer this type of promotion reward you on each trade that your referral makes. Others use an Introducing broker program to incentivize professionals who manage other people’s money to open accounts for their clients. In turn, the broker pays the said professional a commission on every trade executed on a client’s portfolio. CJC Markets encourage interested traders to directly contact them for more details about the introducing broker offerings. Apart from that, there are no ongoing bonuses or promotions offered by CJC Markets.

Educational & Trading Tools

This broker’s website has a list of each currency pair alongside the leverage, minimum and maximum contract sizes, the value of each pip, and other trading specifications for each forex instrument. CJC Markets also outlines the different indices and commodities’ details. There aren’t any other educational and trading tools displayed. However, if you are a beginner, MT4 still has valuable tutorials and training content that CJC Markets’s account holders can access. This comes alongside economic calendars, breaking news notifications, and other tools that both new and experienced traders can take advantage of.

Customer Service

You can contact CJC Markets by filling out a form on their website, giving them a call, sending an email, or visiting the broker’s office (located in Auckland, New Zealand).

Phone: +64 (9) 2803716
Email: [email protected]

Demo Account

MT4’s demo accounts enjoy access to live market prices, real-time trading conditions, and almost all other features that an actual portfolio has. It is perfect for beginners and traders who are new to MT4. You can test different methods and get comfortable with the platform before trading (and potentially losing) your real money. To open a demo, users complete a signup form on CJC Markets’s website. After that, they can start trading fake/paper money on MT4.

Countries Accepted

CJC Markets is available to traders in different countries across the world, including the US. The broker is headquartered in New Zealand and registered with the company’s regulatory government agencies. Traders who live in China or Hong Kong, however, cannot open an account with CJC Markets.

Conclusion

In short, the pros of using CJC Markets are the buying power, introducing broker promotion, and advanced portfolio management instruments. Meanwhile, the small number of forex pairs, as well as relatively confined trading and educational content, are the main cons. Aside from geographical restrictions, the broker’s customer support team can be easily contacted. Additionally, CJC Markets’s 600:1 leverage is highly desirable, so are many of the features that are offered on the popular MT4 platform, which this broker’s account holders have access to.

However, some details, such as the spreads and transfer processing times, are barely mentioned on CJC Markets’s website. Because of this, interested traders should get in touch with customer support to ask about the details that matter to their strategy and personal preferences.

CJC Markets’s educational content only includes trading information about different forex pairs and assets that they offer, but account holders still benefit by accessing MT4’s wide selection of tools and guides. This broker only offers 29 forex pairs, which is considered low when compared to the larger industry. They do, however, also have energy commodities and stock market indices.

CJC Markets only have 1 account type, alongside a multi-portfolio management service. In fact, this broker has especially lucrative features to those who oversee the funds of clients and business associates. For a start, CJC Markets’s introducing broker promotions allows professionals to earn commissions whenever their client (or referral, such as a family member or friend) makes a trade.

When combined with the MAM service, this feature is very powerful and advantageous. Traders, in general, may uncover other benefits by inquiring about certain aspects, like spreads. It can suit those who use different styles and methodologies.

Marret Invest is a Russia-based brokerage firm with a physical presence in Hong Kong. They allow you to trade different forex currencies, stocks, indices, and other assets. Some of their features, however, are a bit unclear. In this article, we outline all the pros and cons that will help you evaluate Marret Invest and determine whether its offerings match your trading style.

Account Types

One of the perks of going through Marret Invest is that none of its three account types incur any commissions.

Mini:
Minimum Deposit: $1,000
Spreads: From 1.6 pips/points
Commission: $0

Standard:
Minimum Deposit: $5,000
Spreads: From 1.6 pips/points
Commission: $0

Premium:
Minimum Deposit: $50,000
Spreads: From 1.3 pips
Commission: $0

The main differences between the Mini, Standard, and Premium Account are accessible assets, leverage rates, and customer support services. It is important to mention that the Russian and English websites may be confusing in regards to whether the spreads are in pips or points.

Platforms

Marret Invest utilizes the MetaTrader 4 (MT4) platform. It is available on Mac, Windows, iPhones, and Android devices. Additionally, traders who don’t want to install the software may manage their accounts through the WebTrader version, which is directly available on internet browsers. MT4 is arguably the globe’s most widely used platform. It is easy to install and allows users to deploy sophisticated technical tools and advanced charting features. In addition, you can code your own automated trading algorithm.

Leverage

This broker will give you more leverage when your account balance is bigger. Mini and Standard receive up to 200:1 and 300:1 in buying power, respectively. Premium, on the other hand, may use 500:1. When we look at the larger brokerage market, some firms will trust traders more when they have a lot of funds. Others may restrict the access to buying power for bigger portfolios in order to minimize the risks during turbulent trading conditions. Marret Invest seems to fall under the former category.

Trade Sizes

The smallest possible trade is a mini lot (0.01 lots). Meanwhile, positions can be as large as 100 lots (with the standard one-lot size being 100,000 units of the base currency).

Margin Call: 100%
Stop-Out: 25%

Trading Costs

Marret Invest doesn’t charge you commissions on trades, but their spreads on Premium Accounts are relatively high. Other than that, the broker doesn’t seem to have any other trading fees. Nevertheless, interested traders should inquire about the swap/interest on overnight positions, especially because this expense is out of any brokerage firm’s control.

Assets

All three accounts can trade up to 39 currency pairs, which is relatively limited, and 4 different precious metals. The broker’s 3 energy commodities are not offered on the Mini Account, while only the Premium enjoys access to market indices. Most noteworthy, Marret Invest has a wide variety of stocks that just a few of its competitors might match. While the Mini Account doesn’t enjoy this feature, both the Standard and Premium can exchange the shares of 80 American companies, 22 European ones, and, uniquely, 11 Russian firms. This is alongside another 11 commodities that these two account types may trade.

Spreads

At 1.6 pips, the gap between the bid and ask prices is sizable, which can be inconvenient to those who rely on utilizing their leverage. The broker has a floating spread that may become wide during volatile market conditions.

Minimum Deposit

The minimum deposits are $1,000, $5,000, and $50,000 for Mini, Standard, and Premium, respectively. Marret Invest’s website doesn’t mention anything about minimum deposit sizes per transaction.

Deposit Methods & Costs

This broker offers a variety of ways to deposit money. Inbound transfers can be made via bank wires, Bitcoin, MasterCard, Visa, WesternUnion, and other methods. No specifics about fees, however, are included on the website.

Withdrawal Methods & Costs

You may use the same methods to withdraw money, but the costs aren’t specified, either.

Withdrawal Processing & Wait Time

It takes Marret Invest 3 to 5 days to process withdrawal requests.

Bonuses & Promotions

The broker does offer a 10% deposit bonus. Please see the terms & conditions surrounding this bonus to ensure that you fully understand what must be done before you can actually claim the bonus funds.

Educational & Trading Tools

There are no educational materials, economic calendars, or other similar tools on the broker’s website. However, MT4 gives you access to plenty of trading features and academic guides.

Customer Service

Marret Invest can be contacted through phone calls, emails, and an online form. Standard and Premium have expanded access to support services.

Phone: +852 5806 1091 (Hong Kong) or +7 (499) 702-04-49 (Russia)
Email: [email protected] (technical support), [email protected] (financial issues), and [email protected] (sales).

Demo Account

Nothing is mentioned about demos on the broker’s website, but MT4 may allow you to open a paper account that accesses the same tools and market quotes as the live one.

Countries Accepted

Marret Invest is headquartered in Russia, but also services traders in Hong Kong. Otherwise, no specific country features or restrictions are highlighted.

Conclusion

In short, Marret Invest is greatly resourceful to traders with large portfolios that don’t want their buying power to be restricted. In addition, its variety of stocks is unparalleled by the general brokerage industry. Just as importantly, Marret Invest charges no commissions. Having said that, the firm’s main cons include floating spreads, the relatively limited number of forex pairs, and the website’s lack of information about many other offerings. Contacting customer service to inquire about this, though, may allow you to uncover other advantageous and beneficial features.

TRUE FOREX LTD is located and registered in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines (24123 IBC 2017). This broker offers 5 different account types with relatively attractive spreads and minimum deposits. Clients can choose between fixed or floating spreads depending on which account they choose. On their site, this broker claims to offer 24-hour customer service, fast deposits & withdrawals and seamless execution and access to Tier-1 banks. True4x uses secure, fast and reliable MT5 as their platform and they also offer some bonuses to new clients. We’ve taken a deeper look at what True4x has to offer so keep reading to find out if this broker is the perfect one for you.

Account Types

TRUE FOREX has a number of different accounts that you can choose from namely; True4x Mini Account, True4x Standard Account, True4x PRO Account as well as a Swap Free Account.

The True4x Mini Account comes with the cheapest minimum deposit required of $200 and the highest leverage at 1:400. This account is fee-free and spreads start from 2 Pips. If you opt for this account you can choose between Currencies, Metals and CME Energies Indices as your financial instruments.

The True4x Standard account has quite a high minimum deposit required of $5000 but this account is also fee-free. Swaps and scalping are not allowed when using this account. Leverages are set to 1:200 and spreads start from 2 Pips.

An account that is suited for more professional traders is the True4x Pro which has a steep minimum deposit required of $50,000. This account comes with the largest amount of financial instruments available namely; FX Currencies, CME Energies Indices, Commodities, and CFD US Stocks. No commissions or Swaps are present for this account and spreads are very attractive as they start from a minimal 1Pip. Leverages are set at 1:200 and Stop out level is at 5%. The website indicates that this 5% stop out level comes with some conditions but we were unable to locate this information on their website.

The ECN Account has a minimum deposit requirement of $500 and leverages are the lowest for this account as they are set at 1:100. Unlike the other accounts, this one comes with variable spreads and commissions. Scalping is allowed and hedging is set at a 50% margin.

The last account that TRUE FOREX has to offer is tailored towards clients of the Islamic faith; the Swap Free Account. This account has no interest, no swap fees, and no storage fees. When opting for this account, clients are given the opportunity of holding their positions for an unlimited amount of time. Unfortunately, we could not find basic information such as minimum deposit required for this account, so if you are interested in this account it would be advisable to speak to the broker for more detailed information regarding the Swap Free Account.

You can find the main characteristics of these accounts outlined below.

True4x Mini Account
Minimum Deposit: $200
Leverage: Up to 1:400
Spreads: 2 Pips
Commissions – None

True4x Standard Account
Minimum Deposit: $5000
Leverage: Up to 1:200
Spreads: 2 Pips
Commissions – None

True4c Pro Account
Minimum Deposit: $50,000
Leverage: Up to 1:200
Spreads: From 1Pips
Commissions – None

ECN Account
Minimum Deposit: $500
Leverage: Up to 1:100
Spreads: Variable
Commissions – Commission

Swap Free Account
Minimum Deposit: Not available
Leverage: Not available
Spreads: /
Commissions – None

Platforms

TRUE FOREX uses the award-winning, easy to use True4x MT5 platform. The main advantage of this platform is that it allows the execution of orders in several financial markets and stock exchanges through a single trading account. This is definitely a big plus for seasoned traders that are dealing with more than one execution at a time. Apart from this, MT5 has plenty of other advantages such as; 1-hour response time on all customer inquiries, very user-friendly interface, real-time charting and indicators and much more. You can download this platform for your desktop or mobile device through this broker’s website.

Leverage

Leverage with TRUE FOREX goes up to 1:400 for their True4x Mini Account. Although this account is catered for beginners as it has a low minimum deposit requirement, it is important for new traders to be cautious of having such high leverage as this can result in major wins as well as major losses. The Standard and Pro accounts both have leverage set to 1:200 whilst the ECN account has the lowest leverage set to 1:100.

Trade Sizes

The minimum trade size for the Mini, Standard, and Pro accounts is that of 0.01 lot. The ECN account has an increased minimum trade size of 0.10 lot. There was no indication of the maximum trade size that clients can trade when using this broker, but, we did find that accounts are limited to a maximum of 10 open trades/pending orders at any one time.

Trading Costs

From this broker’s Accounts page, one can notice that the Mini, Standard, and PRO accounts are commission-free, whereas the ECN account has a commission fee associated with it. We weren’t able to identify what this commission is as there seems to be no information regarding it. Although TRUE FOREX claims that there are no fees when dealing with the above-mentioned accounts, we did find this statement in their trading conditions; “All trading performed on this website shall be subject to the following potential charges: spreads, overnight interest and inactivity fee”. After some in-depth searches, we managed to locate the value of this inactivity fee which is $25 for 30 days of inactivity and $100 after a year of inactivity.

Assets

When it comes to assets, this broker has quite a variety to choose from including Forex Currencies, Metals, CME Energies, Indices, Commodities, and CFD US. If you want to trade currencies, you have a choice of 30 major and minor pairs available. This broker also offers gold and silver as precious metals and Light Sweet Crude Oil and Natural Gas as CME-Energies. TRUE FOREX offer DJ30, S&P500, NASDAQ 100 and DAX30 as Indices and Sugar, Cotton and Coffee as commodities. This broker also has a good number of CFD’s available namely; Apple, Google, Amazon, Facebook, Microsoft, Bank of America, Citigroup, General Electric, GM, Johnson & Johnson, JP Morgan Chase, Twitter, and McDonald’s.

Spreads

TRUE FOREX offers both fixed as well as variable spreads according to which account the client opts for. The Mini, Standard and PRO accounts boast quite tight spreads as they start from as low as 1-2 Pips. Clients can find a clearly outlined spread values for each asset that they wish to trade with on TRUE FOREX’s website. For example, both EUR/USD and USD/JPY have spreads starting at 2Pips.

This broker also offers some more information regarding spreads on their Trading Conditions page like the fact that Gold and Silver spreads may be wider than indicated on their list from approx. 22:00 – 020;00 GMT and that Crude Oil and Natural Gas spreads may be wider during weekly inventories.

Minimum Deposit

The cheapest minimum deposit offered by this broker is that of $200 with the MINI account. This increases to $5000 for the Standard account, $50,000 for the Pro account and it decreases again to $500 for the ECN account. As we mentioned before, there is no information regarding the minimum deposit requirement for opening up a Swap-free account with this broker.

Deposit Methods & Costs

TRUE FOREX accepts a number of different depositing methods including – Credit cards, Skrill, Neteller and Wire transfer exclusively by its member banks. In their transfer fees section, this broker only mentioned the Bank wire method, which indicates that no fees are associated with this depositing methods.

Withdrawal Methods & Costs

Since there is no indication of what withdrawal methods are available with this broker, we are assuming that the list is identical to that of the deposit methods, but obviously we cannot be 100% certain. On their Account Funding Channel, they do mention that withdrawals by bank transfer may have intermediary and/or beneficiary bank fees applied. There is also some information in their terms and conditions page regarding withdrawal procedures, but it is not very specific. We did send TRUE Forex an e-mail regarding this query, but no answer was provided during the completion of this review.

Withdrawal Processing & Wait Time

Withdrawals by bank wire may take up to 3-5 business days to be cleared. This is basically all the information provided regarding withdrawal processing and wait time, so we cannot offer more info regarding this at the time being, but this broker states that they offer one of the fastest processing times in the market.  We also could not view the withdrawal request form from this broker’s page as this document was unavailable.

Bonuses & Promotions

At the moment, this broker seems to have 2 bonuses available. The first is the 20% welcome bonus. This bonus is only applicable to clients holding a MINI account. With his bonus, clients can maximize their deposited funds by up to 20%. In order to receive this bonus, clients must make a minimum single deposit of $100 or more as any deposits under that amount will be not entitled.

Bonuses are applied to the clients’ first deposit as a new customer during the promotion period. As always, one should be wary of these bonuses as there are usually strings attached. For example, for this 20% welcome bonus, a client must execute a minimum trading volume of 10,000 base instruments for every $1 bonus within 3 months. If this target is not reached, the bonus will be canceled and removed from the account.

There seems to be another bonus available at the moment, the $25 Live Welcome bonus, but the page for this particular bonus was not working whilst we were writing the review. We are unsure if this is a technical issue or whether this bonus is no longer available for clients.

Educational & Trading Tools

TRUE FOREX has a LEARN page that has the usual basic information regarding trading such as the meaning of frequently used terms within the trading industry. Apart from these short explanations, this broker falls short of offering any up to date information or news regarding Forex or trading.

On the other hand, TRUE FOREX does have a number of additional trading tools available such as; Economic Calendar, Holidays Calendar, Currency Convertor, and Forex Glossary. Obviously clients can also make full use of trading tools found in the MT5 platform.

Customer Service

TRUE FOREX offer 24/5 support through live chat and a one-hour response rate for e-mails. Clients may also place orders via telephone with their dealing room. Clients can also fill in a Call Back Request, but no information is provided regarding the response rate for these types of requests. Here is the contact information provided by TRUE FOREX on their website.

Address – C/o Suite 305, Griffith Corporate Centre, Beachmont, Box 1510 Kingstown, St. Vincent and Grenandines.
Telephone – +995599465093
+995551557528
Email – [email protected]

Demo Account

Potential clients can improve their trading skills with the MT5 platform without actually opening up a live account. The possibility of opening up a free demo account enables new-comers to experience the market, practice trading strategies as well as gain precious insights from global market analysts.

To open up a demo account with this broker, one needs to fill in a simple form that shouldn’t take more than a minute to complete. Clients will be asked to choose between a number of different leverages offered as well as an account with hedging or without.

Countries Accepted

We could not find any information regarding any restriction this broker might have when it comes to certain countries, but whilst checking out the list of countries available when opening up a new account, we did realize that only the United States Minor Outlying Islands are listed and not the US.

Conclusion

The diverse accounts available, as well as tight spreads offered, make this broker an interesting one to consider. Obviously one must be cautious of high leverages and unreachable bonuses. Although their website has a modern look and is quite user-friendly, we did notice some spelling mistakes here and there which makes us wonder whether this broker is as professional as he claims to be. We must also mention that True4x is a trade brand of TRUE FOREX LIMITED, a company that seems to be based in the United Kingdom, but it is not licensed by the FCA or any other European financial regulator, which is something potential clients should consider.

Although there is no mention of cryptocurrencies being available, this broker does offer quite a wide variety of assets available for trading. Another plus is that True Forex uses one of the best trading platforms out there which is the MT5 which enables users to make use of some great trading tools which may help them with their trading endeavors. If you have any more queries regarding this broker, they do have extensive terms and conditions page which might have the information you’re looking for.

Turnkey Forex is an unregulated broker located in Quatre Bornes in Mauritius. This broker offers a variety of five different accounts that clients may choose from, and they also have some attractive bonuses on offer at the moment. Having been in the business since 2011, Turnkey Forex claims to offer Forex trading as it should be, no bells and whistles, just ultra-tight spreads, low commissions, and unparalleled customer service. We have delved into their website to find out whether these claims are true or not. Keep reading till the end to find out if Turnkey Forex is the perfect broker for you.

Account Type

When it comes to accounts, Turnkey Forex has quite a variety to choose from. If you’re considering an opening account with this broker you can choose one of the following accounts; ECN Account, STP Account, Micro Account, Swap-Free Account and VIP Account. We will go over each of their details briefly here and you can find more details on their website.

The ECN account is quite affordable with a minimum deposit of $200, a minimum trade size of 0.01 lots and a maximum trade size of 100 lots. If you opt for this kind of account you will have the option of trading a number of instruments namely; Forex, Commodities, Stock Indices, Shares, and ETFs. This account also has a $2 commission per $100k. The margin call for the ECN account is set at 70% while the stop out level is at 50%. This account also has the option of a deposit bonus which is set up to 100%. If you select this option, all positions are stopped out when you lose 90% of your initial deposit.

The STP (Straight Through Processing) account includes the commission into the spreads, which start from 0.2 Pips. These spreads are variable and each order is executed on the real market. The trading instruments available, as well as the minimum and maximum trade sizes available, are identical to that of the ECN account, but in this case of the STP account, the leverage is decreased to 200:1. The margin call and stop out level are also the same as for the ECN account and the minimum deposit to open an STP account is also $200.

An interesting account option that Turnkey Forex offers is the Micro Account. You can set up this account with $5 only, which is quite unique in itself. While requiring very little money to start up, the Micro account offers basically the same trading conditions as the STP accounts, apart from some minor differences. The client has a wide selection of financial instruments to choose from namely; Forex, Commodities, Stock Indices, Shares and ETF’s.

The Micro account does come with a commission fee of $8 per $100k round turn which is important to take note of if you’re considering opening up such an account with this trader. This account is aimed at either newcomers that are still learning about trading or for seasoned professionals that are looking for ways to test new strategies to help them make more money in trading.

The next account that this trader offers is the Swap-Free account which is aimed towards traders who, for religious preferences or otherwise, choose not to pay or receive daily swap fees. This is why these accounts are also referred to as Islamic accounts. These accounts are also appropriate for long-term trading strategies. Spreads for the Swap-free account start from 1 Pip and leverage is up to 200:1. The minimum deposit required is a fair $100 which is affordable for a wide array of clients.

The last Account offered to clients is the VIP account which is aimed at high net worth traders. As is the norm with these types of accounts the minimum deposit required is a steep $25,000 and traders will be charged a $2 commission per $100k. The minimum trade size available for this account is the same as the others, 0.01 lots while the maximum trade size is given on request, depending on the trading instruments and the client.

We have outlined the main conditions for these accounts below. For more information, you can access Turnkey Forex’s website.

ECN ACCOUNT
Minimum Deposit: $200
Leverage: up to 400:1
Spreads: from 0.00 Pips
Commissions – $2 per $100k

STP ACCOUNT
Minimum Deposit: $200
Leverage: 200:1
Spreads: 0.2 Pips
Commissions – None

MICRO ACCOUNT
Minimum Deposit: $5
Leverage: 200:1
Spreads: 0.2 Pips
Commissions – $8 per $100k Round Turn

SWAP FREE ACCOUNT
Minimum Deposit: $100
Leverage: 200:1
Spreads: from 1Pip
Commissions – None

VIP ACCOUNT
Minimum Deposit: $25,000
Leverage: 100:1
Spreads: from 0.00 Pips
Commissions – $2 per $100k

Platforms

Turnkey Forex use Meta Trader 4 as their platform. The MT4 is the world’s most popular trading platform and for good reason. It is ideal for beginner traders looking to discover more about the business and also for advanced traders who are looking for a data-rich experience. This platform is compatible with several operating systems such as MAC and Windows, as well as iOS and Android.

On their platforms’ page, TurnKey Forex has also given some information on Social Trading and Trade Station. The former is a very popular trend happening at the moment within the financial market. Unlike the traditional trading that most of us are used to, social trading makes things much more interactive and offers a lot of advantages for its users. It allows traders to make use of other’s skills and knowledge to make more money. This could be very beneficial to those still discovering the world of trading.

Leverage

The leverages offered by Turnkey Forex depend on what is being traded and by the account the client opts for. As we mentioned during the Accounts segment of this review, leverages go up to 400:1 for ECN accounts, 200:1 for STP, Swap-free and micro accounts and leverages decrease further to 100:1 for the VIP account. When trading stocks, this broker offers leverage up to 50:1. It is good to note that this leverage is stock-specific, which means it can vary depending on the stock being used.

Trade Sizes

Turnkey Forex allows a minimum trade size of 0.01 lots and a maximum of 100 lots. The broker also states on their website that although there is no limit to the number of orders a client can place, they should not exceed the maximum allowed volume at any time.

Trading Costs

If you do opt to use Turnkey as your broker, you will benefit from interbank pricing, resulting in low transaction costs. As we mentioned before, there are some commissions that are based on the base currency of the account as well as the lot size being traded. Clients will have to pay fees starting from $2 per $100k for VIP and ECN accounts, $8 per $100k for MICRO accounts while the STP and SWAP free account is fee-free.

Assets

When dealing with Turnkey Forex you will have a choice of 5 different assets to trade; Forex, Commodity, Shares, Indices and ETF’s. This broker offers quite an extensive array of minor, major and exotic currency pairs, around 85 of them, on the MT4 and Trade station. One can view the current bid and ask price for each of these pairs on Turnkey’s Forex website page. When it comes to Commodities, this broker handles precious metals as well as oil. Turnkey Forex also offers its clients the chance to trade stocks directly from companies such as Adobe Systems, Aetna Inc, 3M Company amongst others.

Spreads

This broker claims to offer ultra-tight spreads that are made possible through their price aggregation technology. This technology filters rates from Turnkey’s liquidity partners to offer the best bid and ask prices for their clients. This broker only offers variable spreads which start from 0.0 Pips on their ECN account. You can find a clear list of spreads available on their website which can help guide you towards the account that is a good match for your trading needs.

Minimum Deposit

The lowest minimum deposit offered by this broker is $5 for the micro account, which is a great option for those still new to the trading market. Other accounts such as ECN and STP require a minimum of $200 whilst the SWAP free account requires a $100 minimum deposit. The highest minimum account opening balance is that of $25,000 that comes with the VIP Account. This clearly shows that this broker has a variety of accounts that are attainable by a wide variety of clients.

Deposit Methods & Costs

Turnkey Forex accepts a number of funding methods including; BankWire, Bitcoin, Ethereum, Credit/Debit cards, and Neteller. When we asked them on their live chat if there are any charges associated with deposits we were informed that no fees are applied to any of the above-mentioned deposit methods.

Withdrawal Methods & Costs

Clients can withdraw their earnings using the same methods mentioned in the deposit methods above. There are also no charges or fees associated with withdrawing when using this broker.

Withdrawal Processing & Wait Time

After confirmation by email, withdrawals are processed within 48 hours.

Bonuses & Promotions

Turnkey Forex has a number of attractive bonuses being offered at the moment. Their best-seller at the moment is their Free Trades bonus. This consists of 30 days of commission-free trading but it is only applicable for accounts with a minimum deposit of $2500 or more. This cannot be used with other promotional offers. This broker also offers a 30% Rescue Bonus which increases account leverage, protects from a period of drawdown and this only applies to deposits of over $100. It is good to note that funds cannot be withdrawn with this bonus.

Apart from these, Turnkey also has the 100% bonus which is applicable only to new accounts. This also requires a minimum of $100 and this bonus can be withdrawn after volume requirements are met. This bonus is available on all accounts except the Micro and Swap-free accounts.

One can find detailed terms and conditions page explaining all the details that these bonuses have to offer.

Educational & Trading Tools

Turnkey Forex does not have any educational information on their website, but they do have a number of trading tools that one can use. First, they have the MAM Account, which is for money managers as well as clients looking for managers to manage their funds efficiently. VPS Hosting is also available with 3 monthly packages advertised on this broker’s website namely, Silver for $25 monthly, Gold for $45 monthly and Platinum for $80 monthly.

One should note that a client can access free VPS if his/her account is equivalent to $5000 or more. This broker also offers API connectivity to their traders using automated trading systems or even for those developing their own trading system to create trading tools and algorithmic trading strategies. This is obviously targeted towards more experienced traders.

Robo Trading is also available when using Turnkey as your broker. This is a flexible automated trading strategy that trades on your behalf. To do this, you have to answer some questions (no studying required) to help the broker understand your personal circumstances, financial properties, and risk tolerance. From this information, this broker will create expert advisors, custom indicators, scripts, and libraries in MQL4 language.

If you agree to the strategies offered by the broker, you will then have to set up a live account and you’re ready to go. Once the live account has been opened and investments have been made, you can monitor the real-time performance of ROBO EA on your trading terminal. This could be an attractive tool for those who aren’t very confident in their own ability to trade.

Customer Service

According to Turnkey’s website, they are “married to customer service” and from our experience, we can safely say that Turnkey’s customer service is stellar. Our questions were answered within seconds through live chat, and the support agent we spoke to was very well educated and insightful. This broker ensures that you will get the support you need 24/7, 365 days a year. They provide telephonically and live chat support during standard working hours and e-mail response with 6 hours of receiving the query.

Telephone – +442032876032
Email – [email protected]

Demo Account

Potential clients can open up a demo account after they have registered. This will mimic the current market situation which is a great way to sharpen up on your trading skills without actually investing your money.

Countries Accepted

There are no clear indications of whether Turnkey rejects accounts from particular countries on their website so we asked their support agent that was available on their live chat. We were informed that this broker accepts clients from nearly all countries. Whilst browsing through the country list that is offered when opening up an account we didn’t notice any countries missing. If you have any issues with finding your country, get in touch with their Live Chat as their support team will definitely help you.

Conclusion

Turnkey Forex definitely looks like a promising broker. As is stated on their website they have thus far traded over $100 million, they are trusted by over 5,000 traders and they have traders in over 190 countries. Apart from this, they have a nice variety of accounts that are attainable by a large spectrum of potential clients along with a vast variety of assets to be traded.

From our own experience, we can assure you that their customer service is very efficient and reliable. Bonuses offered also make this broker one to consider when deciding which broker is the ideal one for you. If we’ve tickled your curiosity and you’d like to know more about this broker, visit Turnkey’s website for more information.

Swiss Markets is a trading name for BDS Markets Ltd, operating since the year 2016, based in Cyprus and is certainly a leading STP broker in the industry and is one of the most long-standing brokers to date. They exert a sense of reliability under their CySEC regulation status also, which is one of the reasons they have maintained consistent popularity over the years. In addition, they offer the popular MT4 platform and a very good set of trading conditions, suitable for many traders.

Account Types

Swiss Markets offer their clients 4 account types to choose from, and all of which have an Islamic account type option:

• CLASSIC STP Account
• RAW STP – Swiss11
• RAW STP – Swiss8
• RAW STP – Swiss5

All accounts listed have the same base currency options (EUR, USD, GBP, CHF, PLN), leverage allowance of up to 1:30, 200 maximum trade positions and all allow hedging. The only differences between the account types are the commission fees, starting spreads, minimum lot size and minimum deposit amount, which we will go into more detail shortly.

Platforms

Swiss Markets offers the trusted and reliable MT4 platform, compatible with Windows, Mac, iOS, Android and Web. This means that clients can trade on the go as well as the comfort of their own home.

Leverage

For all 4 account types, the maximum leverage allowance is 1:30. Although this is not particularly high, if you take into consideration the minimum deposit requirements (for all accounts), the leverage allowance can still maximize profits greatly.

Trade Sizes

The minimum trade size allowed for the CLASSIC STP Account and the RAW STP – Swiss11 is 0.01 lot, while the minimum trade size for the RAW STP – Swiss8 is 0.1lot and for the RAW STP – Swiss5 it is 1 lot. The maximum trade volume allowed (for all accounts) is 50 lots.

Trading Costs

As mentioned earlier, the trading commission fees vary upon the account type you choose but do bear in mind that since there is a variation in starting spreads across the accounts, the client cost essentially ‘evens out’ regardless of the account type you choose, if you are trading the same volume.

The commission fees for the account types are as follows, as per the website account comparison table:

• CLASSIC STP Account: 0 Commission
• RAW STP – Swiss11: $11
• RAW STP – Swiss8: $8
• RAW STP – Swiss5: $5

The commission charges above are applicable round turn (in total to open and close the trade).

Assets

With Swiss Markets, you can trade a wide range of assets including Forex, Metals, Energies, Indices, Equities, and Crypto. All tradable instruments are set out on the website, so you can average spreads for each pair as well as the swaps, tick values and the margin requirements applicable to each trading account type. Overall, the range of assets available is highly diverse and competitive to many brokers of the same caliber and establishment.

Spreads

As previously mentioned, the spreads do vary from account type, although all spreads are floating, and not fixed, they do vary from starting spread. An example pair, EURUSD is as follows, for the different account type options:

• CLASSIC STP Account: As low as 0.9 Pips
• RAW STP – Swiss11: As low as 0 Pips
• RAW STP – Swiss8: As low as 0 Pips
• RAW STP – Swiss5: As low as 0 Pips

All spreads on each tradable instrument are set out on the website according to each account type so you can be absolutely clear on what spreads to expect whichever account type you opt for, without needing to open a demo account to see this.

Minimum Deposit

The minimum deposit requirement varies according to account type, which is as follows:

• CLASSIC STP Account: $200
• RAW STP – Swiss11: $200
• RAW STP – Swiss8: $2,000
• RAW STP – Swiss5: $20,000

Bear in mind that the higher the deposit requirement, then the spreads and commission fees applied are smaller.

Deposit Methods & Costs

For the majority of traders (deposit methods apply according to your residency) Swiss Markets offer the following deposit methods: Credit/Debit Card by Wire Transfer, Skrill, Neteller, Credit Card by Wirecard, and Coinbase (Bitcash, Ethereum, Bitcoin). This is a dynamic option of funding methods, and it is nice to see a crypto deposit option available for those who wish to make use of their crypto, which typically speaking is usually the simplest and fastest method of transaction.

Swiss Markets do not charge any fees to their clients for funding their account via any of the above methods available.

Withdrawal Methods & Costs

The withdrawal methods available with Swiss Markets are of course the same as the deposit methods listed above, but note that according to their withdrawal procedures, the minimum withdrawal required:

via Bank (Wire) Transfer is 100 EUR/USD/GBP.
via Skrill, BTC, Credit/Debit Card or other is 21 EUR/USD/GBP

If this is not met, then the client would be subject to a fee of 10 EUR/USD/GBP on the withdrawal.

Other than that, no fees are mentioned but do always check with your banking provider if you are subject to any fees from their side, prior to making any deposit/withdrawal request.

Withdrawal Processing & Wait Time

As per the website, and confirmation from a live chat agent, all withdrawals are processed within 24 business hours, but of course, all withdrawal completion times can vary in the timescale depending on your provider. On the whole, however, Swiss Markets do offer a good selection of typically fast withdrawal methods, so clients should not have to wait around too long for their fund to be returned to them.

Bonuses & Promotions

Swiss Markets do not offer any deposit bonus scheme or similar promotional offers meaning that whatever clients deposit, are responsible for, without any confusing bonus schemes getting in the way and adding a false sense of hope and prospects of making greater profits than what the client chooses to allow in respect of the initial deposit requirement being met.

Educational & Trading Tools

Swiss Markets offer a few trading tools (direct from the website) which are handy for new and experienced traders alike, which include Margin, Pip value, and Swap calculators as well as a currency converter. This is incredibly handy to have all such tools in one place and adds to the efficiency of smooth trading experience for all clients of this broker.

Customer Service

Swiss Markets quality of customer service is impeccable and very impressive; a professional and friendly manner is always delivered to their clients on a 24/5 basis, in line with when the markets are open. Clients of Swiss Markets can reach out to a representative via Live Chat, email, and telephone. As a client of this broker, you can expect a consistent high-level quality of customer service which is not all that common to find in a forex broker.

Demo Account

Swiss Markets do offer a demo account for you to test out their trading service overall, however, this may not be entirely necessary as the website provides intricate detail on spreads individual to the account types and pairs offered, as well as swap fees, commission fees, and margin requirement, etc. However, if you are still a relatively new trader, it may be advisable to try the demo first to see if your strategies and trading style are suitable and complement the trading conditions offered by this broker. Of course, remember that slippage is one thing a demo cannot take into account, so bear that in mind when moving from the demo to the live account.

Countries Accepted

In respect of the regulation policies that Swiss Markets comply with, the following countries would be restricted from the provision of Swiss Markets trading services:

• Cyprus
• Democratic Republic of Congo
• Eritrea
• Libyan Arab Jamahiriya
• North Korea
• Somalia
• Sudan
• United States
• Belgium

Conclusion

Swiss Markets are an exemplary broker with impressive trading conditions and impeccable customer service. They must be commended for their intricate consideration for the client trader experience when it comes to the provision of service overall from customer support quality to tools available to help their clients maintain a smooth trading experience. The range of deposit and withdrawal methods available should suffice for all traders also.

This broker is highly dynamic and definitely keeps up with the times which is demonstrated with the fact they offer Crypto not only to the trade on margin but also as a funding/withdrawal method, which is increasing in popularity among traders for its sheer speed and ease of access. If you choose to become a client of this broker, it is essentially guaranteed that you will not be disappointed, and will receive a consistently high-level quality of service.

Infinitas FX is an FX and CFD broker that offers leveraged trading of up to 1:400 on 70+ currency pairs, Precious Metals, Indices, Bonds, Commodities, and Securities. The company is primarily located in Vanuatu and is regulated by the Vanuatu Financial Services Commission (VFSC), with additional offices located in the United States, Canada, Africa, Italy, Russia, and Asia. On their website, Infinitas lists their category of tradable instruments, starting spreads from 0.5 pips, and use of the MetaTrader 4 trading platform as some of their key strengths. Of course, one can’t go on the broker’s word alone, so we decided to dive deeper into the website to find out the real truth. Stay with us to find out what we learned.

Account Types

This broker separates their account types into two options – the Standard account, for less experienced traders, and the Premium account, for more experienced traders that can afford the $100k deposit requirement. The highest leverage options are available on the Standard account, so long as one has equity of less than $50k in their account. Another one of the key differences between the accounts would be the spreads, which start from 1.7 pips on the Standard account and from 0.5 pips on the Premium account. The broker is vague about commission costs, although it does seem that the same charges apply on both accounts. As for trade sizes, tradable instruments, and supported platforms, the accounts share conditions as well. Details for each account type can be viewed below.

Standard Account
Minimum Deposit: $500
Leverage: Up to 1:400
Commissions: See “Trading Costs”
Spreads: From 1.7 pips on FX Majors

Premium Account
Minimum Deposit: $100,000
Leverage: Up to 1:100
Commissions: See “Trading Costs”
Spreads: From 0.5 pips on FX Majors

Note that the broker doesn’t mention whether Islamic accounts are available, although we do see demo and IB accounts on the list. The website is also vague about any documents that may be required to open an account.

Platform

Most have already heard of this broker’s supported trading platform – MetaTrader 4. If not, one should know that developers created the platform as an easy to learn and customizable option that even novice traders will be able to master. When it comes to features, we see one-click trading, unlimited charts, real-time quotes, market orders and pending orders for long and short positions, economic news headlines, strategy backtesting, price alerts, trailing stops, and more. One shouldn’t have any problems accessing MT4, considering that the platform comes in multiple languages and can be downloaded on PC or Mac, through the App Store or Google Play, or accessed through the browser-based WebTrader.

Leverage

On FX options, the leverage cap is 1:400 on Standard accounts and 1:100 on Premium accounts, with the lower limit likely set to limit losses for clients that have made larger deposits. As for the other categories, leverage options depend on the instrument category and the amount of equity within the client’s account. Note that any limit above 1:100 would only be applicable to the Standard account type. When trading Indices & Financials, the broker allows leverage of 1:400 for clients with a balance of less than $50k, 1:200 for clients with a balance between $50,001 and $100k, or 1:100 for clients with a balance above $50k. On Commodities, the cap is set at 1:400 for account equity of less than or equal to $25k, 1:200 for balance between $25,001 and $50k, or 1:100 for any balance that is higher than $50k. When trading Securities, leverage of 1:1 is the only option.

Trade Sizes

At times, Infinitas’ website can be vague when it comes to important information and their customer support team can be slow with responses, which creates a delay in getting that necessary information. We do know that the broker allows for the trading of mini and micro-lots, although maximum trade sizes are not listed anywhere on the website. This is one reason we wish the broker would include an FAQ page that actually provides more details about the broker’s conditions. Due to the lack of information, we cannot provide margin call or stop-loss levels at this time.

Trading Costs

This broker profits through spreads, overnight charges, otherwise known as swaps, and some commission charges. Spreads tend to average 1.6 pips on FX options on the Standard account and start from 0.5 pips on the Premium account type. As for commissions, the broker can be vague when describing terms. The website does mention that commissions are not charged when trading forex, while another section of the website lists a charge of $1 per side when trading Indices.

It is unclear whether these charges are applicable on both accounts. CFD contracts on Indices and fixed incomes have expiry dates and no overnight fees. Swaps, or rollovers, are the interest rate calculations that determine the cost or reward of holding an open position overnight. Rollover takes place for all positions that are opened before 00:00 that are still open after 00:00 CET. When you roll over an open position from Wednesday to Thursday, the settlement date is Monday.

Assets

This broker’s instrument portfolio is made up of FX, Precious Metals, Indices, Bonds, Commodities, and Securities. FX options are made up of 10 majors, 17 minors, and 20 exotics. Precious Metals include Gold and Silver, and we don’t see Pallidum or Platinum options, or others offered. In total, seven options are available under the Indices and Bonds categories. Commodities include Crude Oil, Natural Gas, Corn, Soybeans, Wheat, Cocoa, Coffee, and Sugar. The Securities category includes 6 options. Overall, the broker does seem to be offering a variety of different asset classes, although their total number of tradable instruments is limited to 70 total options.

Spreads

On the Standard account, we see spreads that range from between 1.7 and 2.2 pips on FX majors. Spreads can be as high as 4 pips on minors and fluctuate to higher amounts on exotics and Gold. On the Premium account type, we such much lower spreads that range from 0.5 pips to 1.1 pips on majors. On minors, the spreads range from 1 pip to 2.9 pips. When trading major FX currency options, the spreads on this account type certainly fall below the industry average. Note that the aforementioned spreads are related to normal market conditions and the spreads may spike in times of volatility.

Minimum Deposit

This broker is asking for a minimum $500 deposit in order to open one of their Standard account types. Considering the fact that several brokers don’t even ask for a minimum, or ask of amounts of $100 or less for the same account type, one could argue that this broker is expensive. If the broker would add a Cent or Mini account to the list, then we would certainly see these costs go down for at least that one account type. For the Premium account type, a minimum deposit of $100,000 is required. This amount may force many of the broker’s potential clients to stick with the cheaper Standard account or to choose another broker altogether.

Deposit Methods & Costs

Accounts can be funded through Bank Wire Transfer, Visa, MasterCard, Maestro, Neteller, Skrill, Sofort, and UnionPay. Unfortunately, the broker doesn’t provide us with any further information about fees or processing times. Typically, banks do charge some sort of fee from their side for Wire Transfers, so it would be wise to check with your particular bank. One should also expect longer wait times to see Wire transfers credited to their account, while electronic payment methods are often credited instantly.

Withdrawal Methods & Costs

Sadly, the broker remains vague when it comes to the costs for withdrawals. It does seem that all of the available deposit methods can be used for withdrawals, although it is unclear if the broker has any special rules surrounding the methods one can use. For example, there may be a condition that requires withdrawals to be made back to the same source that was used to fund the account. Some brokers also require profits to be withdrawn through a certain method, like Wire Transfer. Of course, it is possible that there are no conditions on withdrawals; however, the lack of provided details for this section definitely makes us apprehensive about any potential conditions or fees.

Withdrawal Processing & Wait Time

This is another category where the broker fails to provide any information. Once again, we can make guesses about how long it may take for withdrawals to be processed or received, although we cannot be completely sure. Processing times will likely take between 1-2 business days, or 3 business days if the broker is slower than the majority of their competitors. Wire Transfers will likely take longer to be received, considering that one would need to wait for their funds to be processed on the bank’s side. Neteller and Skrill typically tend to be available quickly with other brokers, while we see varying time-frames for withdrawals back to cards.

Bonuses & Promotions

This broker does not seem to be offering any bonus opportunities at this time. While this is disappointing, we aren’t surprised to see a lack of offers with any broker, since this is something that we would consider to be an extra perk that isn’t necessary. Still, one may be able to earn a small deposit bonus or take part in a contest through another broker, so this does take away from the company’s attractiveness. Remember that it is never a good idea to choose a broker based on this section alone.

Educational & Trading Tools

While we do see the website lacking in some departments, we were happy to find that the broker has made the time to include educational material for their clients. This information covers Trading Basics, Types of Orders, Understanding Forex, Techniques, Fundamental and Technical Analysis, and a Forex Glossary. The broker also offers a FAQ that answers simple questions about trading. We do wish that the broker would incorporate video tutorials or e-books into the mix and that the range of information would be widened, although it is still nice to see some beginner level introductory information. Sadly, the website is missing trading tools, such as calculators, an economic calendar, market news, etc.

Demo Account

Risk-free demo accounts are offered as a way for traders to evaluate their trading methodology, practice holding trades for different amounts of time, establish exit plans, become more familiarized with the supported trading platform, and more. These accounts can provide amazing learning opportunities and are made available to everyone, even those that aren’t clients of the company. The website doesn’t detail whether demo accounts will expire and it is unclear whether there is a certain amount of virtual funds that will be applied, or if clients will be able to choose any amount for their account balance.

Customer Service

Support is available from 09:00 – 21:00, Monday through Friday. Traders can reach out through LiveChat, phone, email, fax, by filling out a form on the “Contact” page, or by filling out a callback form. Based on our experience, one shouldn’t always expect an agent to be online on LiveChat at all times, even during business hours. After multiple attempts to contact support at different times of the day, we were met with the same message informing us that an agent was not online.

Finally, we gave up on this contact method altogether and settled for email instead. More than 24 hours later, we were still waiting for a response, so we can’t give this broker much credit for their response times. If you’re in a hurry and an agent isn’t available on LiveChat, a direct phone call would probably the fastest option. All listed contact information has been detailed below.

Phone: +64 9 8896536
Fax: +64 9 8018 090
Email
Technical Support: [email protected]
Sales Desk: [email protected]

Countries Accepted

We couldn’t find a specific list of restricted countries on the broker’s website. This, coupled with the fact that the broker has locations in the US and several other countries, made us hopeful that clients from all countries would be welcome. To be sure, we did attempt to check out the registration page to check for any missing options. Unfortunately, the website seemed to be experiencing difficulties and we were unable to load the available registration options. Our final opinion would be that all countries do seem to be accepted, although you’ll want to reach out to support if your country does seem to be missing.

Conclusion

Infinitas FX is an international broker with an investment portfolio that includes 70 total instruments, made up of FX, Precious Metals, Indices, Bonds, Securities, and Commodities. One can trade with a maximum leverage cap of up to 1:400 through this broker and the popular MetaTrader 4 platform is supported. It costs at least $500 to open an account, both of which offer commission-free trading on forex instruments. The broker’s website can be vague in some important categories – including processing times, deposit and withdrawal fees, maximum trade sizes, and stop-loss levels.

Infinitas has provided several different ways to reach out to an agent, although support hours are limited and we couldn’t get in touch with an agent on LiveChat, despite multiple tries. Sadly, the broker is lacking any bonus opportunities and demo accounts. Educational resources are available, with the information being limited to articles that are targeted towards novice traders exclusively. Overall, the broker does seem to be offering some attractive trading conditions, although one would need to get past their vague website and the fact that extra options are missing.

PrimeXQ is an FX and CFD broker that describes themselves as a company with a mission to help their clients soar in the world of Forex trading – by keeping up with the lightning-fast financial markets, collaborating with teams all over the world to provide the best pricing, and providing rich educational resources to aid in their client’s success. The company was founded a couple of years ago, so there hasn’t been enough time to tell whether this broker will manage to stay afloat in the competitive field of Forex trading. It is unclear whether this broker is operated by one person or by a group, and the exact location is not listed. Read on to find out what our research revealed about this company.

Account Types

PrimeXQ offers three account types; Mini, Classic, or Premium. Unfortunately, the website can be vague and/or contradicting when it comes to certain information, so we have done our best to decipher the actual trading conditions on each account type. Oddly enough, all three accounts do seem to share the same leverages and spreads, with the key difference being the minimum deposit amounts. Accounts also share the same commission fees, so there initially appears to be no real incentive for opening one of the more expensive account types, at least not when it comes to trading conditions. Accounts can be upgraded at a later stage, should one want to upgrade from a Mini account to a Classic account, or from a Classic account to a Premium account.

After taking a look at all of the conditions, it seems that the only differences in each account type, aside from deposit requirements, would be extra perks – online phone support, real-time trading signals, and the Trading Education program are not offered on the Mini account, while the executive team is not available 24/7 for Mini or Classic account holders. All of these options are available for Premium account holders and a trading mentor is provided as well, so one would need to decide if this is worth making the larger deposit amounts. Details for all account types are listed below.

Mini Account
Minimum Deposit: $500
Leverage: Up to 1:400
Spreads: 3 pips
Commission: $6.95

Classic Account
Minimum Deposit: $5,000
Leverage: Up to 1:400
Spreads: 3 pips
Commission: $6.95

Premium Account
Minimum Deposit: $20,000
Leverage: Up to 1:400
Spreads: 3 pips
Commission: $6.95

This broker requires a proof of ID document in the form of a Passport, National ID, or Driver’s License, and a proof of address document in the form of a recent utility bill or bank statement that is no older than 3 months. Without those supporting documents, clients will have issues funding their accounts.

Platform

PrimeXQ provides the world-famous MetaTrader 4 platform through the browser-based WebTrader or via download on PC, Mac, or mobile. In addition, the broker’s own trading platform is provided for mobile devices. Starting with MT4, one should know that this platform offers an experience that is both powerful and convenient – one-click trading, Expert Advisors, analysis tools, customizable options, multiple languages, instant execution, slippage protection, four pending order types, and more features are supported, making this platform the ultimate option for traders of all skill levels. The PrimeXQ Mobile platform is also a worthy option and was designed to support the convenience of on-the-go trading for a variety of devices, including tablets. The mobile version is entirely free and supports Forex, Futures, and Commodities trading.

Leverage

According to their website, this broker offers an impressive leverage cap of 1:400, allowing one to trade with 400 times the amount of available funds in their trading account. While this amount is certainly high enough to satisfy any trader, we do have some doubts about this advertised amount. For the Mini account type, this does seem reasonable, although it seems unlikely for the broker to offer such high leverage on their Premium account.

Even more established brokerages lower the leverage limit on these account types, so it is likely that there may be a catch. Also, there are likely some lower limits set on certain options, especially Cryptocurrencies. The website doesn’t offer further detail, so one may want to expect to see some limitations later on. If we didn’t see contradicting information elsewhere, we would be more likely to believe that the broker actually provides their maximum leverage cap to all clients.

Trade Sizes

The smallest allowed trade size would be 0.01, or one micro lot. Maximum trade sizes are not listed. The broker does mention that stop-limits are in place as their most effective risk management tool; however, the broker doesn’t go as far as to detail their margin call or stop-loss levels.

Trading Costs

This broker seems to profit through spreads, commissions, overnight interest, and inactivity fees. To start, we’d like to point out that there is some conflicting information about fees on the website. For example, the broker points out that inactivity fees will never be charged at a point where the commission fees are described; however, the broker clearly states that inactivity fees are applicable under their terms. Under their FAQ, the broker mentions a flat commission fee of $6.95 on every Internet equity trade, regardless of account balance, and this charge seems to be applicable to all accounts.

Spreads seem to average around 3 pips on all accounts as well. In the case that a trader does not close a trade before the end of the trading day, the broker reserves the right to decide whether to move the pending trade to the following day or not. If a trade is moved to the following day, a charge of 0.01% of the profile balance will be applied at midnight, with a triple swap charge on Wednesdays. A steep inactivity fee of $36 is applied monthly once a trading account has been inactive for 30 days. Once the broker has exhausted all of the funds left in an account, the account will be closed.

Assets

PrimeXQ has an investment portfolio that includes FX, Shares, Futures, Indices, Commodities, and Cryptocurrency CFDs. FX options are made up of more than 50 currency pairs, 20 Indices are available, and Stocks are offered from around the world. Cryptocurrency CFDs include Bitcoin, Ethereum, Ripple, Dash, Litecoin, Zcash, and more, which can be traded against USD, EUR, JPY, and GBP. The website advertises more than 450 tradable instruments; however, we cannot count for ourselves, since a detailed product page is not included.

Spreads

Research shows that the spreads offered by this broker average 3 pips on all account types. One of the main draws to opening a more expensive account would be lower trading costs, so it’s unclear why this broker wouldn’t provide lower spreads, at least on their Premium account type. Three pips is high, but somewhat understandable for a Micro account type; however, we would like to see lower options, especially considering how high the cost is to open an account.

On another note, we did find some inconsistent information that suggests spreads start from 1 pip, and spreads are fixed at 0.7 pips on the demo account. The fixed spread is likely done purposefully to trick traders into thinking that those options will be applied on real accounts. Based on the conflicting information, it would be wise to be very mindful of spreads when trading from a real account.

Minimum Deposit

Some traders will be limited by the minimum deposit requirements on the Classic and Premium accounts and may be forced to choose a Mini account on that basis. For the Mini account, we actually see a deposit requirement of $500, which is much higher than the industry average, even for a Standard account type. The Classic account ups the requirement to $5,000, making this account an expensive option as well.

The most expensive Premium account asks for a minimum deposit of $20,000, so this account type will be best for professional status traders that have the capital to invest. Keep in mind that there aren’t many advantages associated with opening a more expensive account and that you’ll only be missing out on 24/7 service or a mentor if you simply can’t afford to deposit $20,000. In this case, there would be no reason not to choose the Mini account.

Deposit Methods & Costs

This broker advertises Visa/MasterCard, Bank Transfer, Neteller, and Skrill as potential funding methods. Initially, we could only see options to fund by card, although the other methods would likely be unlocked once the account has been approved. Note that the broker reserves the right to cancel any transfer that is made with an unverified account and the broker is not responsible for returning those funds, so it would be wise to provide all documents and to attain approval before attempting to make a deposit.

Funds are typically posted within 1-2 business days, although the website claims that card deposits are processed instantly. In some cases, it could take up to 5 business days for funds sent via Bank Draft to clear. There is a minimum funding amount of $10,000 for Wire Transfers. Fees may apply.

Withdrawal Methods & Costs

Withdrawals must be made back to the originating payment method in the same currency that was used to deposit. Excesses funds (profits) must be withdrawn through Wire Transfer. In order to make a withdrawal request, traders must fill out the required form and send it in via fax or mail. The broker mentions a potential fee of up to $15 fee that may be applicable from their side when making withdrawals.

In addition, currency conversion charges and provider charges may be applicable, which could all add up to be very expensive. Considering the lack of overall information, it may be a good idea to make only the minimum deposit requirement first and then to test out the withdrawal process with a small number of funds. This would reveal any unexplained costs, although it would be too late to avoid these costs altogether.

Withdrawal Processing & Wait Time

This broker seems to take their time processing withdrawals, with one of the longer processing times we’ve seen, of up to 5 business days. As we mentioned earlier, withdrawal requests can be sent via fax or mail, so we would definitely recommend sending the request via fax to speed up the process. Once the request has been processed, the period of time it takes to receive the funds can vary.

Bonuses & Promotions

While the broker doesn’t necessarily mention a specific bonus, there are rules listed under their terms that suggest bonuses are applicable. According to the rules, no bonus amount can be rewarded for more than the client’s initial deposit and withdrawal of bonus funds can only be made once the trader makes $500,000 worth of trades in round turns for every $50 bonus offer granted. It is unclear whether this is currently being offered or if this offer is available at certain periods of time. Any bonus or promotional opportunity can be earned on any of the three account types.

Educational & Trading Tools

Unfortunately, the broker does not seem to uphold its mission to provide a vast amount of educational resources. We do see mention of a Trader Education program on the “Account Types” page; however, the website does not offer any further detail on the subject. Another thing we noticed about this program was the fact that is not available to Mini account holders, which makes no sense, considering beginners are more likely to open one of these account types and would need extra help more than a professional client would. The only other option in this category would be a Trading Glossary, which provides definitions for common trading terms.

Demo Account

Free demo accounts are offered as a risk-free way for potential or existing clients to test their skills in a variety of different ways. Conditions on demo accounts typically mimic those on real accounts, which provides a safe space to test strategies and to practice under the conditions offered on real accounts. One red flag we noticed about this broker’s demo accounts would be the fact that spreads seem to be fixed at lower amounts than those that are offered on real accounts. This could cause one to seemingly make more profits, or to find conditions more attractive when trading on the demo account. The broker has likely manipulated the program to persuade clients into opening a real account with higher expectations.

Customer Service

Support is available from 9:30 – 21:00 GMT Monday through Friday, and from 10:00 – 17:00 GMT on Sunday. Note that the website also mentions 24/7 support, although the first timeframe seems to be more accurate. In order to reach out, one can use Skype, available directly on the website, phone, or email. The popular contact option LiveChat has been replaced by Skype, although this is still a quick and reliable contact method. Unfortunately, it may be annoying if one doesn’t already have a Skype account since one would need to be created before support can be contacted. In addition, several phone numbers are provided for different offices, so it would be important to reach out to the correct office based on one’s location. Available contact information has been listed below.

Email: [email protected]

Phone:
Austria: +43720775471
Switzerland: +41449746080
South Africa: +27129428196
United Kingdom: +442080898014
United Arab Emirates: +97142609875

Countries Accepted

On their website, the broker claims that service is not offered to residents of the United States or Japan. Fortunately, these initial restrictions do not seem to be supported, since we were able to open an account with no problem from our US-based offices and we also found Japan to be an option on the registration list. A quick check of the list did show that North Korea, South Korea, and Iran are missing from the registration list. It’s likely that we’re missing some other options, so be sure to reach out to support if you don’t see your country as a selectable option.

Conclusion

This broker seems to have created three account types that basically offer the same thing – the same commissions, spreads, leverages, instruments, trade sizes, etc. It seems that the only reason to pay the high deposit requirements for one of the “better” account types” would be to access 24/7 support or a trading mentor. Otherwise, one would want to stick to the cheapest $500 deposit for a Mini account. One of this broker’s main draws would be the variety of tradable instruments that are offered, which includes Cryptocurrencies, in addition to the FX, Indices, Futures, Shares, and Commodity instruments that are also available.

Another plus would be the advertised leverage cap of up to 1:400 on all account types, although we have a feeling that there are likely more limitations that will come up once one begins trading. Support can be reached through Skype, phone, or email, with limited contact hours Monday-Friday and on Sunday. Fees on withdrawals are not entirely clear, although it seems that costs will add up quickly and processing times are fairly slow.

Bonuses may or may not be applicable and while the broker briefly mentions an education program, we see no information that supports this statement. Due to the conflicting and vague information on the website, it can be hard to double-check the facts with this broker. This, coupled with the fact that the broker reserves the right to change their terms at any time, makes it hard to be confident that this will be a reliable choice.

FXC Markets is a forex broker based in Bulgaria and offers its clients a variety of products and analyses to help better their trading. They don’t provide too much information about themselves which can be a little concerning but this review is intended to delve deep into the services being offered to help you decide if they are the right broker for you.

Account Types

There are three different accounts on offer from FXC Markets and they are names the Silver, Gold, and Platinum accounts, we will take a little look to see what they offer.

Silver Account: The Silver account is the entry-level account from FXC Markets, it requires a minimum deposit of $1,000 which is reasonable and you can have a choice of either fixed or variable spreads. The account is eligible for a 30% deposit bonus and has flexible leverage. It is also eligible for a free VPN which we will look at later in this review.

Gold Account: The gold account ups the minimum deposit requirement to $2,500. It also has a choice of fixed or variable spreads and is also eligible for the 30% deposit bonus. This account has flexible leverage up to 1:400 and has access to a VPN at minimum charges.

Platinum Account: The platinum account is the premier account from FXC Markets and has a minimum deposit requirement of $25,000. The choice of fixed or flexible spreads remains but it now also states “Attractive Spreads” which we will look at in more detail later in this review. There are trader rebates available along with eligibility for a 50% bonus.

Platforms

Just the single platform available on FXC Markets and that is the ever-popular MetaTrader 4.

MetaTrader 4 (MT4) is one of the world’s most popular trading platforms and for good reason. Released in 2005 by MetaQuotes Software, it has been around a while, it is stable customizable and full of features to help with your trading and analysis. MT4 is compatible with hundreds and thousands of different indicators, expert advisors, signal providers and more. Millions of people use MT4 for its interactive charts, multiple timeframes, one-click trading, trade copying and more. In terms of accessibility, MT4 is second to none, available as a desktop download, an app for Android and iOS devices and as a WebTrader where you can trade from within your internet browser. MetaTrader 4 is a great trading solution to have.

Leverage

We can see from the accounts page that the maximum leverage available is 1:400 which is a reasonable amount as it can provide a lot of profit potential while not allowing you to risk too much. Leverage can be selected when opening up an account and can be changed on an active account as long as there are no open trades.

It is important to note that not all instruments will have the same leverage as forex pairs often have higher available liability to commodities and metals.

Trade Sizes

Trade sizes start at 0.01 lots which are also known as micro-lots, we did not locate the information regarding the maximum trade size however whatever it is we do not recommend using trade sizes larger than 50 lots and it can become increasingly harder for liquidity providers and the market to execute larger trades quickly and without slippage.

While 0.01 lots may be the minimum trade size for forex currency pairs, other assets may have higher minimum trades such as 0.1 lots.

Trading Costs

There was not any information on the website in regards to any trading costs in the form of commissions, there are of course spreads which we will look at in a later section of this review.

There are also swap fees that are charged for holding trades overnight,m these can be either negative or positive and can be viewed from within the MetaTrader 4 trading platform.

Assets

It appears that there is plenty when it comes to tradable assets and instruments. There are over 65 different forex pairs that contain forex majors, forex minors and exotic pairs and include the likes of EUR/USD, CAD/CHF and EUR/SEK. Indices also make an appearance with the likes of the NASDAQ 100, FTSE 100 and S&P 500 being available to trade. If you are a precious metals trader, there are only two on offer which is the standard Gold and Silver so it would have been nice to see more such as Platinum (having looked at the commodities section, it does appear that a lot of other metals including Platinum are in fact available). You can also trade Oils and commodities, there are lots of them available with things like Brent Crude, Cocoa and Soy Beans being available. Finally, there are stocks and indexes.

With so many assets being available it would have been nice to see some cryptocurrencies there to trade as they are quickly becoming a major part of many new and experienced traders’ portfolios.

Spreads

The accounts page mentions spreads both fixed and variable as well as great value, however, there is no mention of what the spreads actually are. In terms of variable and fixed, variable spreads are spreads that move with the markets and can get bigger and smaller depending on the volatility. Fixed spreads are exactly that, they will remain the same no matter what is happening in the markets.

Minimum Deposit

The minimum deposit in order to open ana account if $1,000, this will get you a silver account. Normally once an account has been opened then the minimum deposit to top up the account is reduced however there isn’t any information on the site regarding a reduced deposit limit so we are unsure if this occurs with FXC Markets however as the minimum deposit is $1,000 we would assume that it does.

Deposit Methods & Costs

The only deposit methods mentioned on the site are credit and debit cards (Visa and MasterCard) and also bank wire transfers. Both methods allow you to deposit in both USD and EUR. There is no information regarding any added fees, but be sure to check with your own bank to see if they will add any transaction fees of their own.

The website does show an image of UnionPay but there is no mention of that in the deposit and withdrawals page so we are not sure if UnionPay is actually accepted.

Withdrawal Methods & Costs

You are able to withdraw using the same methods that you did to deposit, you must withdraw the initial deposit amount using the same method until the deposit level is balanced or negative. Once again there is no mention of any added fees so hopefully this means that FXC Markets do not add any to their withdrawals, similarly to deposits though, be sure to contact your bank to ensure they do not add any fees of their own.

Withdrawal Processing & Wait Time

FXC Markets state that they will execute a withdrawal request within 2 – 3 business days which is quite long to be processed when compared to other brokers. They also state that if withdrawing using your card, it will take up to 5 business days to receive your funds and with bank transfer, it will take between 3 to 5 days to receive your funds.

Bonuses & Promotions

The accounts page mentions the deposit bonuses however there is no mention of it on the website, we had to dive deep into the terms and conditions to find anything about it. It is not specific to any bonus but gives some general terms to any promotions. In order to convert any bonus funds into real funds, you must turnover the combined bonus and deposit amount. This makes the bonus very hard to withdraw and really not very good terms.

This is the only real information on any bonuses and there are no terms specific to any current and active promotions.

Educational & Trading Tools

There are quite a few different sections under education however the way that FXC Markets have set up their website makes it appear that there is a lot more than there actually is. There is an economic calendar that lets you know of any upcoming news events and what effect they may have on the markets you are trading. There are also some video tutorials, however, we waited for a while for the page to load but nothing did, there was just a loading symbol in the middle of the screen so we can not comment on how good the videos are or what they are based on.

Market signals are also offered but there was just some basic information on them and we could get an example of how they are. Finally, there is some fundamental and technical analysis, we wouldn’t actually see any of it so we assume you get it once you sign up, the pages we got were just some information on what fundamental and technical analysis is, we hope that this is not all the information that there is.

There is nothing here that you can’t find elsewhere on the internet in more detail.

Customer Service

The contact page is pretty basic, it offers an online submission form where you can input your query and you should get a reply via email. There are also2 phone numbers available and a support email address. At this time we did not manage to test out the customer service team so we can not comment on how good and effective they were. There also want any obvious information on the opening times and if they are 24 hours or open over the weekend when the markets are closed.

Demo Account

Demo accounts or practice accounts as they are called on FXC Markets are available, there isn’t too much information regarding their conditions or features but simply state that they have unlimited practice sessions and that you can practice on an actual trading platform. It would have been nice to have information on how long the accounts last or which accounts the demo accounts are mimicking as the main accounts will differ from each other.

Countries Accepted

The following message is present on the FXC Markets website: “This information is intended for investors outside the United States who are not the US/Japanese citizens and residents. This website is intended for informational purposes only. This website is not directed at any jurisdiction and is not intended for any use that would be contrary to local law or regulation. The products described on this are not offered and may not be sold in the United States/Japan or to US/Japanese citizens and residents.”

If you are unsure whether you are eligible for an account or not, be sure to get in contact with the customer service team to find out.

Conclusion

There isn’t enough information available on the website for us to be able to fully recommend them, information such as spreads, commissions and more information on deposits and withdrawals is vital for potential clients and it is a shame that there is so little information on them, this alone can put off a lot of clients. While there are plenty of assets and instruments available to trade, there isn’t enough to get over the shortcomings.

We hope you like this FXC review. If you did, be sure to check out some of the other reviews on the site to help find the broker that is right for you.

FxNet is a forex broker owned and run by FxNet limited and is based in Cyprus. FxNet state that they are managed by professionals with decades worth of experience in the financial industry. They aim to offer exceptional customer service, excellent trading conditions and they make sure that their clients are the top priority. In this review, we will look into the service being offered to see if they live up to these promises and so you can decide if they are the right broker for you to use.

Account Types

There are three account types on offer from FxNet and each have their own entry requirements as well as different trading conditions, let’s take a little look at what is on offer.

Standard Account: The standard account is the entry-level account from FxNet, it has a low opening deposit amount of $50 which makes it very accessible to new traders. It has spread starting from 2.4 pips. The account states that leverage is dependant on the client categorization and so we will look at this in more detail later in the review. You can have 200 open positions at one time and the margin call is set at 70% with the stop out level being at 50%. There is no added commission on this account. The account can be in the following base currencies: USD, EUR, GBP, PLN, CZK. this account does not come with 24/5 customer support.

VIP Account: The VIP account increases the minimum deposit to $10,000 which is a big increase. Its spread has reduced and now starts at 1.9 pips. Max open positions, margin level and stop out levels all remain unchanged. Similarly to the standard account, there are no additional commission charged on this account and the same base currencies are available. Different to the standard account however is that this account has access to 24/5 brokerage support.

Platinum Account: The platinum account is where things change up a little bit, it has a minimum opening balance requirement of $25,000 but this account has its spread starting from 0 pips, due to these low spreads there is a commission of 1.2 pips per closed lot. All other aspects remain the same as the VIP account including the margin call level, stop out levels and access to the support team 24/5.

Islamic accounts are also available if your beliefs do not allow you to either pay or receive interest charges. You must fill in a form and submit it to the customer service team to have one opened up for you.

Platforms

There is just a singular trading platform on offer from FxNet and luckily that platform is MetaTrader 4 (MT4).

MetaTrader 4 (MT4) is one of the world’s most popular trading platforms and for good reason. Released in 2005 by MetaQuotes Software, it has been around a while, it is stable customizable and full of features to help with your trading and analysis. MT4 is compatible with hundreds and thousands of different indicators, expert advisors, signal providers and more. Millions of people use MT4 for its interactive charts, multiple timeframes, one-click trading, trade copying and more. In terms of accessibility, MT4 is second to none, available as a desktop download, an app for Android and iOS devices and as a WebTrader where you can trade from within your internet browser. MetaTrader 4 is a great trading solution to have.

Leverage

When signing up for an account with FxNet they will classify you as either a retail trader or a professional trade, what you are classified as will affect the maximum leverage that you can receive. The maximum leverage offered to anyone is 1:500 which is the standard that a lot of modern brokers are aiming for.

Trade Sizes

The minimum trade size is set at 0.01 lots which are also known as a micro lot. Trades then go up in the value of 0.01 lots so the next available trade will be 0.02 lots and then 0.03 lots. There is not a mention that we could find regarding the maximum trade size, however, no matter what it is we would not recommend trading over 50 lots at a time as it can become increasingly harder for liquidity providers and the market to execute trades quickly as they get bigger.

Trading Costs

For the standard and VIP accounts, the cost of trading is based on the spreads and we will look them in a little more detail later in this review. The platinum account has an added commission of 1.2 pips for each lot that is traded, this means that the commission is not fixed and is different depending on the pairs or instrument you are trading as pips have different values for different assets.

It is also worth noting that swap fees are present and are either paid or received when holding trades overnight, these can be viewed from within the MetaTrader 4 platform. If you have an Islamic account then there will be no swap fees abut an administration fee will be charged instead.

Assets

A nice feature of FxNet is that they offer a full breakdown of all tradable assets and instruments with plenty of information directly on the website. They have broken down their assets into a number of different categories.

Currency Pairs: There are plenty of forex currency pairs from major pairs, minor pairs, and exotic pairs. A few examples include EURUSD, GBPAUD, and EURHUF. There are too many for us to count to give an exact figure, but that in itself will tell you that there are more than enough of them for you to find something worth trading.

Commodities: A number of different commodities are available to trade including the likes of Corn, Cotton, Sugar, Sugar, and Oil. If you like trading commodities then you will have something to trade here.

Shares: There are too many shares to list or to count so there is plenty on offer, some of the more standout shares are Amazon, Facebook, Tesla, and many others, if you trade in shares then you will find something available here.

Bonds: There are three bonds available, these are US30YBond, US10YBond, and GET10YBond.

Metals: Metals are present with the likes of Gold, Silver, Palladium, Platinum, and Copper being available to trade so it is nice seeing more than the usual 2 available.

Indices: Indices are also available wit ones like the FTSE 100, Italy 40 and DOW 30 available to trade.

With there being so much choice it is a shame not to see Cryptocurrencies making ana appearance tas they are quickly becoming one of the go-to assets for a number of new and experienced traders, so if you are looking for crypto trading you may need to look elsewhere.

Spreads

The base level of spreads are based on the account type that you are using, if you have a standard account then the lowest you will see spreads will be 2.3 pips, if you have a VIP account then the lowest you will see spreads is 1.9 pips, finally, the platinum account can have spread as low as 0 pips.

The spreads on FxNet are variable, also known as floating which means that they change with the markets, if the markets are being volatile, then the spreads will increase. Spreads will not be seen below the minimum value and some assets and currency pairs will naturally have higher spreads, as an example of a standard account EURUSD have a starting spread of 2.3 pips while EURAUD has a starting spread of 3.7 pips.

The spreads on the standard account are considered pretty high and much better spreads can be found on the “standard” accounts of other brokers.

Minimum Deposit

The minimum amount required to open up an account with FxNet is $50, this will get you a standard account, in order to get a different account, you will need a minimum deposit of $10,000 or more. Usually, once an account has been opened any subsequent deposits can be lower, however, there is no mention of a reduced deposit limit after the account is open so to be safe we will keep the minimum stated deposit like $50.

Deposit Methods & Costs

FxNet has 11 different methods available for depositing. There are different fees and accepted currencies depending on the method you use so we have made a little list below to make things simple.

The list format is: Method – Currencies – Fee

Bank Wire Transfer – EUR,USD,GBP,PLN,CZK – Standard bank charges
Visa / MasterCard Credit / Debit – EUR,USD,GBP,RUB,PLN – Up to 3%
Skrill – EUR,USD,GBP,RUB,PLN – 2.8%
WebMoney – EUR, USD – 2%
Neteller – EUR,USD,GBP,RUB,PLN – 3.9%
UnionPay – USD, CNY – 1.7%
Qiwi – USD, RUB, EUR – 6.5%
Fastbank – EUR,USD,CZK,PLN – 2.5%
Przelewy – PLN – 1.9%
iDeal – EUR – 3.15%
Trustly – EUR – 2.55%

It is nice to see some many options available, however, it is a little disappointing to see so many fees being applied, many brokers are looking to remove transfer fees so it would be nice to see FxNet do a similar thing. The strange thing is that FxNet states that they are not adding any fees, however, we have seen certain processors listed with lower standard fees.

It is also worth noting that while FxNet does not charge for bank transfer fees, you should check with your own bank to see if they add their own transfer fees.

Withdrawal Methods & Costs

The same methods are available to withdraw with, however, FxNet is still not covering any fees and so there are additional fees, the site does not make it completely clear if the withdrawal fees are the only fee being paid or if they are on top of the standard commission charged by the processors.

The list below is as follows: Method – Standard Commission – Withdrawal Commission

Bank Wire Transfer – Standard bank charges – Standard bank charges
Visa / MasterCard Credit / Debit – Up to 3% – Up to 3%
Skrill – 2.8% – 1%
WebMoney – 2% – 1.85%
Neteller – 3.9% – 2%
UnionPay – 1.7% – 10 CNY
Qiwi – 6.5% – 2%
Fastbank – 2.5% – Bank charges
Przelewy – 1.9% – Bank charges
iDeal – 3.15% – 1%
Trustly – 2.55% – 1%

FxNet again states that they do not add any fees, but it would be nice to see them cover the processing fees themselves to make it clearer and smoother experience for their clients.

Withdrawal Processing & Wait Time

FxNet will aim to process your withdrawal request the same day, if not then they will process it the next working day. Each individual processor will have their own processing times also, we will outline them for you below.

Bank Wire Transfer – 3 – 5 business days
Visa / MasterCard Credit / Debit – 3 – 5 business days
Skrill – Instant
WebMoney – 3 – 5 business days
Neteller – Instant
UnionPay – Instant
Qiwi – 3 – 5 business days
Fastbank – 3 – 5 business days
Przelewy – 3 – 5 business days
iDeal – Instant
Trustly – Instant

Bonuses & Promotions

There were no mentions of any promotions or bonuses on the website or in the terms so it appears that there aren’t any at present. This does not mean that there won’t be in the future though so be sure to check back to see if any pop-up.

Educational & Trading Tools

There is a very basic tool available in the form of an economic calendar that lets you know about any upcoming news events and what pairs they will be affecting. That is about it when it comes to tools and education, the only other bits are about the market hours and more about FxNet rather than anything that will help you trade or become a better trader.

Customer Service

The customer service team at FxNet is open 24/5 and closes at the same time as the markets do. The methods available are pretty standard including everyone’s favorite online submission form where you input your query and can expect a reply back via email. There is also a direct support email address available along with a phone number and a WhatsApp number to use should you wish to massage them that way.

The site states that you should expect a reply back within 24 hours unless they are currently closed over the weekend.

Demo Account

Demo accounts are available, simply click the open demo account button and fill in the form, you will need to verify your mobile phone number to open up the demo account. There wasn’t too much information about the demo accounts published such as which account it mimics or what the trading conditions are, there also want any information as to how long they last as some brokers they are indefinite, others last for 30 days, so it would have been helpful to have this information available.

Countries Accepted

The following statement is present on the FxNet website: “FxNet does not provide trading or any other services to residents of the following countries and regions: Belgium, Turkey, Russia, Japan, Canada, British Columbia, Quebec, Saskatchewan and the United States of America.” If you are unsure whether you are eligible for an account, be sure to get in contact with the customer service team to find out.

Conclusion

The trading conditions provided by FxNet are far from ideal, the standard accounts have very high starting spreads which when added up can cost their clients a lot. While there are plenty of ways to deposit and withdraw, they come with pretty hefty fees, even though FxNet claim not to add their own, they are still higher than a lot of other brokers we have looked at. Plenty of assets available which means you will always have something to trade. We have given you the information, now it is up to you to decide if FxNet is the right broker for you.

We hope you like this FxNet review. If you did, be sure to check out some of the other reviews to help find the broker that is right for you.

GKFX is a forex broker situated and regulated in Malta by the Malta Financial Services Authority (MFSA), they are also the official trading partner of Arsenal FC. The website claims that they offer innovative technology, a wide range of products and free education. In this review, we will be looking into the services that are being offered by GKFX so you can decide if they are the right broker for you.

Account Types

You have a choice of three different account types when trading with GKFX, we will outline a few of their requirements and features down below.

Standard Account: The standard account requires an initial deposit of €100, this account comes with a variable spread starting from 0.6 pips. The minimum trade size is 0.1 lots and the maximum is 100 lots. The account can have leveraged up to a maximum of 1:30 and can be in either EUR or USD. Stop out level is set at 50% and there is no commission on this account.

Premium Account: The premium account increases the minimum deposit to €20,000 which could price out a lot of retail traders. Its leverage remains at 30:1 but the account now uses raw spreads which can be as low as 0 pips but there is an added commission of €6 per lot traded. The minimum trade size has also increased to 0.1 lots while the maximum trade size remains the same at 100 lots.

Corporate Account: While we will be mentioning this account here,m the rest of the review will not take this account into consideration as we are looking at this broker from a retail client’s point of view. The account requires a minimum deposit of €25,000 and the minimum trade size increases up to 1 lot and spreads can be either fixed or variable and start at around 0.6 pips.

Platforms

GKFX is only offering a single trading platform, MetaTrader 4 is the platform of choice to let’s take a brief look at what is offered.

MetaTrader 4 (MT4) is one of the world’s most popular trading platforms and for good reason. Released in 2005 by MetaQuotes Software, it has been around a while, it is stable customizable and full of features to help with your trading and analysis. MT4 is compatible with hundreds and thousands of different indicators, expert advisors, signal providers and more. Millions of people use MT4 for its interactive charts, multiple timeframes, one-click trading, trade copying and more. In terms of accessibility, MT4 is second to none, available as a desktop download, an app for Android and iOS devices and as a WebTrader where you can trade from within your internet browser. MetaTrader 4 is a great trading solution to have.

Leverage

The maximum leverage from GKFX s currently set at 1:30, this is due to the regulation but the Malta Financial Services Authority (MFSA). Leverage can be selected when opening ana count and should you wish to change it once an account is open, ensure there are no open trades and then get in contact with the support team over at GKFX.

Trade Sizes

Trade sized depend on the account that you have, if you have the standard account, the minimum trade size for you is 0.01 lots which are also known as a micro lot. If you have the premium account then you will have a minimum trade size of 0.1 lots which is known as a mini lot, finally, with the corporate account, you will have a minimum trade size of 1 lot. All accounts come with a maximum trade size of 100 lots, we would not recommend trading over 50 lots though as it can become increasingly hard for liquidity providers and the markets to execute trades quickly and without slippage the larger they get.

Trading Costs

The standard account has a spread based system that we will look at later in this review. The premium account comes with a commission of €6 per lot traded which is in line with a lot of other brokers. There are also swap charges which are either paid or received for holding trades overnight, these can be viewed directly within the MetaTrader 4 trading platform.

Assets

GKFX has divided its assets up into 5 different categories, these are forex, equities, indices, commodities, and cryptocurrencies. Unfortunately, there isn’t a full breakdown of what pairs and instruments are available except for a few different notes, there are over 50 forex pairs, the number of equities is unknown. In terms of indices, there will be more available but the only one names on the indices page are the Dax. The commodities section offers a little more information talking about oils and metal (Gold, Siler, and Copper), however, there is still not enough information and this is something that GKFX should really work on to make them seem more transparent and welcoming.

Spreads

Similarly to the assets, there is not a full breakdown of the spreads, only a mention of the minimums. The standard account has spreads starting from 0.6 pips while the premium account can have spread as low as 0 pips as it is using raw spreads.

The spreads are variable (also known as floating) which means that they move with the markets and during times of high volatility, the spreads will often be seen much higher. It is also important to note that not all spreads are equal, while EUR/USD may have 0.6 pips, other pairs may have much higher starting spreads at around 2 pips or 3 pips.

Minimum Deposit

The minimum amount required in order to open up an account with GKFX is €100 which will allow you to open up a standard account, if you want a premium account then you will need a minimum deposit of €20,000.

Deposit Methods & Costs

Quite a disappointing aspect of GKFX is the fact that there is no information in regards to deposits, no mention of any methods, any costs or any specific minimums which is something that a lot of potential clients would be looking form.

Withdrawal Methods & Costs

Just like the deposits, there is actually no information on the site or the FAQs in regards to withdrawals so we are unsure of what methods are available and if there are any added fees with them.

Withdrawal Processing & Wait Time

You can probably guess that we have no information about this section and you will be right. It is just so strange to us that they have so much information about other aspects but absolutely nothing about such a vital part of a broker’s services.

Bonuses & Promotions

We could not locate any information regarding any bonuses or promotions so as far as we can tell there are currently none available. This does not mean that there won’t be any bonuses from GKFX in the future so be sure to check back regularly if that is something you are after.

Educational & Trading Tools

There is a section for research and tools however there are only very basic things there like an economic calendar that indicates any upcoming news events and which pairs they may affect. There is also a section called trading central which is an award-winning technical analyst, offering different ways to analyze the markets.

Autochartist is present and available from GKFX, Autochartist constantly examines financial markets such as Forex, Indices, Commodities, Stocks, CFD’s and Futures. You will get three reports every day with an overview of popular markets, hot opportunities and expected reactions to upcoming economic events. Market Report saves your time and effort, perfect for busy traders.

There is also a VPS you can get but it is charged monthly so not something we would recommend as you can get them free from plenty of places.

Customer Service

Should you wish to get in contact with GKFX you can do so in a number of different ways, you can use the online submission form to send your query and you will then get a reply back via email. You can also call their central support phone number or use the central support email address. There is also the opportunity to contact a few different departments directly including Support, Payments, Accounts and Press Enquiries.

Demo Account

Demo account sare available from GKFX, however, there isn’t much information in regards to the trading conditions of them or which account they are mimicking, it would be nice to know thing such as how long they last and what settings they are set at, but it is good that they are available at all.

Countries Accepted

The information regarding which countries are accepted is not available on the site so we would recommend getting in contact with the support team if you are unsure if you are eligible or not.

Conclusion

The trading conditions offered by GKFX are reasonable and would be a good environment to trade on, unfortunately, everything is let down by a complete lack of information on the deposit and withdrawal methods, this is vital information that is needed by all potential clients, and the simple lack of this information makes it very hard for us to recommend GKFX, even though the rest of the information and service looks good.

We hope you like this GKFX review. Be sure to check out some of the other reviews here at Forex Academy to help you find the broker that is right for you.

HonorFX is a forex broker based in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, their goal is to provide their clients with the ultimate trading experience. A few reasons why they suggest that you should choose them include their ethical trading conditions, the safety of funds, fast execution and wealth of experience. In this review, we will be diving deep into the website and services being provided to see if they really do deliver on their goals.

Account Types

When looking at the accounts on offer from HonorFX we can see that there are 4 account types each with varying requirements and features, let’s take a look at what they are.

Standard Account: The standard account is the entry-level account with HonorFX, it requires a minimum deposit of $100 and this account has spread starting from 1.5 pips, it does not have any added commission. It can have a base currency of USD, AED or GBP and uses the MetaTrader 5 trading platform. Its margin call level is set at 50% and the stop out level is at 30%. It has a minimum trade size of 0.01 lots and a maximum trade size of 20 lots. Leverage can be set between 1:20 and 1:500.

Variable Account: The variable account also has a minimum required a deposit of $100, it can have a bad currency of USD, AED or GBP and has spreads starting from between 1.2 pips and 1.8 pips. Leverage remains the same and can be set between 1:25 and 1:500 while the margin call and stop out levels are 50% and 30% respectively. This account also uses MetaTrader 5 and has a minimum trade size of 0.01 lots and a maximum trade size of 20 lots.

Honor Pro Account: This account increases the minimum required a deposit to $5,000, the account can also be in either USD, AED or GBP, it uses the MetaTrader 5 platform and has a spread between 1:25 and 1:500. This account does not have a commission added to it and the spreads start from 0.8 pips. The Margin call is set at 50% and the stop out level is at 30%. This account has a minimum trade size of 1 lot and a maximum trade size of 20 lots.

ECN Account: The ECN account requires a minimum deposit of $1,000, it can only be in USD and uses the MetaTrader 5 platform as its only trading platform. It can have a leverage of between 1:25 and 1:500 and there is an added commission of $7 per round lot traded. Spreads are lower due to the commission and start as low as 0.2 pips, the margin call and stop out level remain at 50% and 30% respectively. The minimum trade size is 0.01 lots with the maximum trade size being 20 lots.

Swap-free accounts are available on the Standard, ~Variable and Honor Pro account on request, these accounts are intended for people whose beliefs do not allow them to either receive or pay interest.

Platforms

Only one trading platform is on offer that that is MetaTrader 5 so let’s see what sort of experience this provides:

MetaTrader 5 (MT5) is the younger brother of MetaTrader 4 (MT4)m developed by MetaQuotes Software and released in 2010, MT5 is used by millions and for good reason. Offering plenty of trading and analysis features to ain in your trading. Additional services expand the functionality of the platform making its capabilities almost limitless. MetaTrader 5 offers the built-in Market of trading robots, the Freelance database of strategy developers, Copy Trading and the Virtual Hosting service (Forex VPS). Use all these services from one place, and access new trading opportunities. MetaTrader 5 is also highly accessible with it being available as a desktop download, application for iOS and Android devices and even as a WebTrader where you can trade from within your internet browser.

Leverage

Leverage on all accounts start at 1:25 and can go as high as 1:500, leverage is selected when opening an account and once an account is open, if you wish to change the leverage you will need to ensure that there are no open trades and then get in contact with the customer service team to make the request.

Trade Sizes

Trade sizes when using the standard, variable or ECN account start at 0.01 lots (also known as a micro lot) trades then go up in intervals of 0.01 lots so the next trade would be 0.02 lots and then 0.03 lots.

If using the Honor Pro account, the minimum trade size is 1 lot, trades the go up in intervals of 0.01 lots so the next trade size would be 1.01 lots and then 1.02 lots.

All 4 accounts have a maximum trade size of 20 lots which is appropriate as we always recommend trading under 50 lots per trade to make it easier for the liquidity providers and markets to execute the trades quickly without any slippage.

Trading Costs

The standard, variable and Honor Pro accounts all have a spread based payment structure that we will look at late in this review. The ECN account has an added commission of $7 per round lot traded which is just above the standard $6 per round lot traded seen on a large number of competitors.

There are also swap charges for all accounts (except swap-free versions) which are interest charges for holding trades overnight, these can be either negative or positive and the current rates can be viewed from within the MetaTrader 5 trading platform.

Assets

Assets on HonorFX are broken down into a number of different categories, there are forex currency pairs and the website states that there are over 330 different spots and forward forex pairs, these include the likes of EUR/USD, GBP/USD and AUD/USD. Cryptocurrencies make an appearance which is great to see as they are quickly becoming a major trading asset for both new and experienced traders, coins such as Bitcoin, Ripple, Litecoin, Dash and Monero all feature plus others which can be traded against the US Dollar. As expected metals are also present, the usual Gold and Silver are present as well as Platinum, gold, and silver can be traded against both USD and EUR.

Energies are also available through Crude Oil, Brent Oil, and Natural Gas. Next up are commodities and these feature Coffee, Wheat, Sugar and many more with tight spreads. Shares are available and there are thousands from all over the world including the US, UK, Belgium, and France. Finally, there are indices, these include the UK 100, Germany 30, US 30 and Australia 200.

Spreads

The spreads that you receive will depend on a number of factors when the standard account will have spreads starting at 1.5 pips, the variable account will have spreads starting at 1.2 pips to 1.8 pips, the Honor Pro account will have spreads starting at 0.8 pips and the ECN account will have spreads starting at 0.2 pips.

These amounts are the starting pips, so it is actually quite rare that they are seen this low, all spreads are variable spreads (also known as floating) which means they move with the markets. The more volatile the markets are the higher the spreads are so they will often be seen higher.

It is also worth noting that different instruments and currencies have different natural spreads, while AUD/GBP may have a starting spread of 0.9 pips, a pair like AUD/NZDwill have a starting spread of 2.5 pips.

Minimum Deposit

The minimum amount required to open up a standard or variable account is $100, if you want an ECN account you will need $1,000 and for an Honor Pro account, you will need a minimum deposit of $5,000. Usually for the largest deposit accounts, once an account has been opened the minimum deposit for any future top-ups reduces to a smaller amount but there is no indication of this on the website.

Deposit Methods & Costs

There isn’t any real information when it comes to deposits, there are some images of some payment processors such as Bitpay, FasaPay, Neteller, Skrill, UPayCard and Paypal but no further information, when clicking on one of these images it simply reloads the page.

Withdrawal Methods & Costs

Similarly to the deposit methods, there is no clear indication of what methods are available for withdrawal or any terms surrounding them, this is a little concerning as when money is involved, the more information the better and this leaves a certain air of uncertainty around the broker and their financial capabilities.

Withdrawal Processing & Wait Time

The lack of information regarding withdrawals continues in this aspect too, as there is no information available we can not comment on the processing times or how long it can take for you to have access to your funds.

Bonuses & Promotions

We could not locate any information on the website or within the terms and conditions in regards to bonuses and promotions so it does not appear that there are any at the time of writing this review.

Educational & Trading Tools

Not too much to shout about when it comes to education or trading tools, there is a basic news section which details both upcoming and past news events and what effect they may have or have on the markets, the information isn’t massively in-depth but could help for basic analysis.

The tools section has a simple economic calendar which shows any upcoming news events and which pairs they may have an effect of, there are also live charts and prices for different instruments and assets. Finally, there is a section called Forex Basic which gives very basic outlines of what different things within the forex world mean such as what forex actually is and what a pip is.

Customer Service

Should you wish to get in contact with HonorFX with your query or concern you can do so through a number of different channels. You can use everyone’s favorite online submission for when you fill in your question and then should get a reply via email. You can also email the support directly or use the available phone number to speak to someone directly. The support section did not indicate what times they are open or when they are closed.

Demo Account

It’s nice and simple to open up a demo account, just fill in the demo account for and off you go. The form allows you to indicate how much of a deposit you want to use, what leverage you wish to use and what base currency, it is nice to have these kinds of customizations. The main bit of information that is missing is how long the accounts last, some brokers limit the accounts to a certain timeframe such as 30 days while others allow them to last indefinitely so it would have been nice to know how long the demo accounts at HonorFX last for. It is also unclear which account they mimic in regards to spreads.

Countries Accepted

The following statement is present on the HonorFX website: ”Regional restrictions: HonorFX brand does not provide services to residents of the USA, Japan, British Columbia, Quebec, and FATF blacklisted countries. If you are unsure whether you are eligible for an account or not you should get in contact with the customer support team to find out.

Conclusion

There are plenty of positives when looking at HonorFX, the information provided about the accounts is detailed enough to fully understand what is provided and every asset/instrument is listed so you know exactly what there is to trade. There are also some downsides, the major one being the fact that there is no information about deposits and withdrawals, when a company is handling your money you would expect there to be plenty of information about how you can get it in and how you can get it out, without this information being available it makes HonorFX very hard to recommend.

We hope you like this Honor FX review. If you did, please be sure to check out some of the other reviews to help find the broker that is right for you.

LiteForex is a relatively well-known forex broker that was started in 2005 and is currently located in the Marshall Islands.

Account Types

There are two different accounts when trading with LiteForex and each one has a different requirement and also different features, let’s take a little look at what is on offer.

Classic Account: The classic account is exactly that, it is the standard type of account you will find on many brokers. It has a minimum deposit of $50 which makes it very accessible. It has a floating spread that starts at 1.8 pips and there is no added commission when trading. It can use both MT4 and MT5 and can have leverage ranging from !:1 up to 1:500. In terms of base currencies, it can use USD, EUR, CHF, RUB or MBT. The minimum trade size is 0.01 lots and it has a margin call level of 100% and a stop out level of 20%. This account does not receive any interest for its balance.

ECN Account: The ECN account is the account that LiteForex seems to be pushing a lot more. It also has a $50 entry so it is also very accessible, this account has spreads starting at 0 pips and due to this, there is an added commission of $5 per lot traded which is very reasonable. It can also use both MT4 and MT5 and has the same maximum leverage of 1:500. Its base currency can be in USD, EUR, CHF, RUB or MBT and the margin level and stop out levels remain the same at 100% and 20% respectively. Another major difference with this account is that it receives 2.5% interest on any unused balance each year.

Platforms

There are two different platforms on offer, they are both from the MetaQuotes company, here is a little detail about them both.

MetaTrader 4 (MT4): MetaTrader 4 (MT4) is one of the world’s most popular trading platforms and for good reason. Released in 2005 by MetaQuotes Software, it has been around a while, it is stable customizable and full of features to help with your trading and analysis. MT4 is compatible with hundreds and thousands of different indicators, expert advisors, signal providers and more. Millions of people use MT4 for its interactive charts, multiple timeframes, one-click trading, trade copying and more. In terms of accessibility, MT4 is second to none, available as a desktop download, an app for Android and iOS devices and as a WebTrader where you can trade from within your internet browser. MetaTrader 4 is a great trading solution to have.

MetaTrader 5 (MT5): MetaTrader 5 (MT5) is the younger brother of MetaTrader 4 (MT4)m developed by MetaQuotes Software and released in 2010, MT5 is used by millions and for good reason. Offering plenty of trading and analysis features to ain in your trading. Additional services expand the functionality of the platform making its capabilities almost limitless. MetaTrader 5 offers the built-in Market of trading robots, the Freelance database of strategy developers, Copy Trading and the Virtual Hosting service (Forex VPS). Use all these services from one place, and access new trading opportunities. MetaTrader 5 is also highly accessible with it being available as a desktop download, application for iOS and Android devices and even as a WebTrader where you can trade from within your internet browser.

Leverage

The maximum leverage being provided by LiteForex is 1:500, this is available for both accounts. When creating an account you can select the leverage that you desire, it starts at 1:1 and goes up in increments until it reaches the maximum of 1::500. Should you wish to change it once the account is already open, you will need to get in contact with the customer service team, when making a request to ensure that you have no open trades at the time of the request.

Trade Sizes

The size of trades starts at 0.01 lots which are also known as micro-lots. Trades then go up in increments of 0.01 lots so the next trade would be 0.02 lots and then 0.03 lots. There is plenty of information about maximum lot sizes but nowhere does it actually state that they are (that we could see). Whatever the maximum limit is, we would not recommend trading over 50 lots as it can become increasingly difficult for the markets and liquidity providers to execute larger trades quickly and without any slippage.

You may have an unlimited number of open trades on both account types.

Trading Costs

The classic account uses a spread based system that we will look at later in this review. The ECN account sues a commission-based system and adds a commission to each trade, depending on the asset that you are trading a different amount will be charged, we have broken down the individual charges down below.

The breakdown of commissions are as follows: “Forex Major – 10$ per lot, Forex Crosses – 20$ per lot, Forex Minor – 30$ per lot, Metals – 20$ per lot, Oil – 5$ per lot, CFD on shares – 25 cents per share, Stock indices – 5$ per contract, Crypto – 10$ per lot, MOEX – 25$ per contract”

Assets

The assets at LiteForex are broken down into a number of different categories, let’s take a look at what they are.

Currency: These are your most popular trading assets, within the currency category there are both major pairs, and minor pairs. Some examples are EUR/USD, USD/CHF and EURTRY. There is plenty to choose from when it comes to currency trading.

Metals: There are 4 different metals to trade against the US Dollar, these are Gold, Silver, Platinum, and Palladium, it is nice to see more than just the usual Gold and Silver present at LiteForex.

Oil: Just the 2 oils available, these are the usual suspects of UK Brent and US Crude.

Indices: There are 11 different indices on offer, these include the FTSE 100, HK 50 and S&P 500.

CFD NYSE: There are a number of different CFDs available, these include the likes of American Express Company, McDonald’s Corporation, and IBM Corporation.

CFD NASDAQ: More CFDs are available with the likes of APPLE INC, GOOGLE INC and Tesla falling into this category.

Cryptocurrencies: It is good to see that cryptocurrencies are making an appearance, the main ones like Bitcoin and Ethereum are there and there are smaller coins too such as EOS, many of the coins are tradable against other coins as well as USD to it gives far more options for trading.

Spreads

The spread that you get depends on the account that you are using and the asset that you are trading. If we take AUDUSD as an example, on the Classic account it has a spread of 2.8 pips, while on the ECN account it has a spread of 0.5 pips. Both accounts have a variable (also known as floating) spread which means that it moves with the markets when there is a lot of volatility it will often be seen much higher than the stated amount.

It is also worth mentioning that different instruments have different natural spreads, so on the ECN account, AUDUSD will start at 0.5 pips while USDCHF will start at 1.2 pips.

Minimum Deposit

The minimum deposit required to open ana account is $50, this will get you the choice of either of the account types. Once an account is open the minimum deposit drops to whatever the minimum of the method you are using, for instance, if using a credit or debit card the new minimum for top-ups is $10.

Deposit Methods & Costs

Plenty of ways to deposit with LiteFores which is great to see, they have broken them down into different categories so we will do the same and we will include any fees too.

Bank Cards:
Visa Credit / Debit – 0% Fee
MasterCard Credit / Debit – 0% Fee

Bank Wire Transfers:
Russian Standard Bank – 0% Fee
Deposit by Bank Wire – 0% Fee
Local Deposit – 0% Fee
Alfa-Bank – 0% Fee
Promsvyazbank – 0% Fee

Electronic Transfers:
Skrill – 0% Fee
Neteller – 0% Fee
Perfect Money – 0% Fee
QIWI – 0% Fee
Skrill 1-Tap – 0% Fee
The Yandex.Dengi – 0% Fee
M-Pesa Kenya – 0% +100 KES Fee
M-Pesa Tanzania – 0% + 2000 TZS Fee
Africa Mobile Money – GHS 4.5% Fee

Cryptocurrencies:
Bitcoin – 0% Fee
Litecoin – 0% Fee
Monero – 0% Fee
Ehtereum – 0% Fee
Bitcoin Cash – 0% Fee
Bitcoin Gold – 0% Fee

While LiteForex does not add any fees, it is important to know that you should check with your own processor or bank just in case they charge their own fees.

Withdrawal Methods & Costs

The same methods are available for withdrawal as the ones for a deposit, the same fee structure exists so we will not list them out again, simply refer to the previous list. As with deposits, make sure to check with your bank and processor to ensure that they do not add any fees of their own.

Withdrawal Processing & Wait Time

LiteForex aims to process your withdrawal request within 24 hours except over bank holidays and the weekend where the times will be extended. Once your request has been processed it will take a certain amount of time to reach your account depending on the method used, E-Wallets will arrive within 15 minutes of being processed, while bank transfers and card withdrawals can take an additional 1 to 5 business days.

There is something called an automatic withdrawal, where you can withdraw up to $100 without any processing, this is a total amount and you can make up to 2 withdrawals that total this amount, this will avoid the processing time if you need the money urgently.

Bonuses & Promotions

The only promotion on the promotions page is the fact that there are no deposit or withdrawal fees which is something we would expect from a modern broker anyway. The usual affiliate program is also available but we won’t go into details on that one, apart from that it does not appear that there are any other promotions or bonuses active at this time.

Educational & Trading Tools

There seems to be quite a lot when it comes to trading tools and educational tools so we will go through what we have found, you are able to get a VPS service however they are paid services so it is not something we would recommend as you can get far better ones for the same price or even cheaper from companies dedicated to forex VPS.

There is an economic calendar that tells you of any upcoming news events and also which markets they will potentially effect, along with the calendar is some analysis, they look at and review different events and markets to help give you an idea of some potential trades. There is also some analysis from a company called Claws and Horns which is an independent company giving analysis.

There are a couple of calculators, mainly an order calculator and a Fibonacci calculator that can help you calculate trade sizes and Fibonacci to help with your trading. There is then some additional forex news and an exchange rate page where you can view live exchange rates.

Finally, there is a social trading platform, if you don’t want to trade yourself you can copy the trades of other people, alternatively, if you have a winning strategy you can allow others to copy your trades and receive commissions off their trades.

Customer Service

Should you have a question or concern there are a number of different ways you can get in contact with LiteFores, it is important to note that the support department is open 24 hours a day, 5 days a week and closes at the same time as the markets.

You can use an online chat system to get in touch with general customer inquiries and also the affiliate program department or the financial department, the latter two have different opening times and are not 24 hours.

There is an online form to fill in if you wanted to provide feedback, this is a simple web form that once you send you should receive a reply via email. In terms of contacts, there are a number of different emails and phone numbers for the departments mentioned previously as well as a physical address should you wish to send a physical letter.

Demo Account

You can open a Demo ECN account which mimics the trading environment of the ECN account, features include real quotes from liquidity providers, scalping and news trading allowed, market execution of orders with no requotes, unlimited duration of transactions, no Stop & Limit levels, access to all trading instruments. The one important aspect not noted is how long the accounts last, this could be vital as some brokers allow them to be open indefinitely while others limit them to something like 30 days.

Countries Accepted

The following statement can be found on the LiteForex website: “Liteforex Investments Limited does not provide service to residents of the EEA countries, USA, Israel, and Japan.” If you are unsure if you are eligible for an account or not then please make sure you get in touch with the customer service team in order to find out.

Conclusion

LiteForex ticks a lot of boxes, it has a competitive trading environment offering decent spreads and commissions. It also gives you a choice of either a spread based system or a commission-based system. Plenty of ways to get in contact with the customer service team and a lot of ways to deposit and withdraw, not to mention the 0 fees on money transfers. Plenty of assets to trade and a high level of leverage at 1:500 can make LiteForex a hard broker to turn down.

We hope you like this LiteForex review. If you did be sure to check out some of the other reviews on Forex Academy to help find the broker that is right for you.

TeraFX is a forex broker located in the UK and is regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). their main mission is to provide their customers with exceptional trading experience, reliable trusted dealing technology, and a transparent no dealing desk to enable them to mee the needs of all traders. In this review, we will be looking at the service that is being offered to see if they live up to their mission.

Account Types

There are 8 accounts on offer however we will only be looking at 6 in this section as we will not be looking at the corporate account and we will take a peek at the demo account later in this review. It is worth pointing out that there is no indication of what the minimum deposits are for each account.

Micro Account: The micro account can be in a base currency of USD, EUR, GBP or PLN, it has no commission and has 65 tradable assets. It uses the MetaTrader 4 trading platform and includes swap fees. Leverage on currency pairs can be up to 1:30 and trade sizes are minimum 0.01 lots with a maximum of 100 lots. Strop out level is 50% and as this is a micro account, 1 lot is equal to 1,000 units instead of 100,000 units. The spreads on this account are variable (floating).

Micro Plus Account: The micro plus account is very similar to the micro account in terms of base currencies, no commission, the MT4 trading platform, 1:30 maximum leverage, and the trade sizes, as well as a lot, being 1,000 units. The main difference on the accounts page is that there are now 79 instruments to be traded as indices and crypto pairs have been added to this account.

Starter Account: The starter account is what a standard account would be at another broker, it also uses USD, EUR, GBP, and PLZ as base currencies and a lot of the other features remain the same as 1:30 leverage, MT4 as a platform, swap fees, and variable spreads. The main difference is that with this account, 1 lot is equal to 100,000 units, all instruments are available to trade on this account except for micro symbols.

Premium Account: The premium account increases the number of symbols that can be traded as all symbols are available, there are 147 in total. The account otherwise is very similar to the starter account, the spreads have been reduced and there continues to be no added commission on the account. Leverage remains at 1:30 as a maximum and MetaTrader 4 is still the trading platform to use.

ECN Account: The ECN account is where things change a little, it has 82 currency pairs similar to the starter account but the main difference is that the spreads are raw and so can be as low as 0 pips, due to this a commission of $7 is added to each lot traded. All other features remain the same as the previous accounts in terms of trade sizes and trading platform.

Pro Account: The pro account is marketed as an account for professionals, however, we can not see much difference to the other accounts. The main difference is based on the leverage, the pro account allows leverage to rise up to a maximum of 1:455 which is a strange number but is a vast improvement over the 1:30 maximum. Stop out level drops down to 20% but all other features seem to be the same as the starter account.

Platforms

TeraFX allows you to trade with a single trading platform, let’s take a little look at what it is.

MetaTrader 4 (MT4) is one of the world’s most popular trading platforms and for good reason. Released in 2005 by MetaQuotes Software, it has been around a while, it is stable customizable and full of features to help with your trading and analysis. MT4 is compatible with hundreds and thousands of different indicators, expert advisors, signal providers and more. Millions of people use MT4 for its interactive charts, multiple timeframes, one-click trading, trade copying and more. In terms of accessibility, MT4 is second to none, available as a desktop download, an app for Android and iOS devices and as a WebTrader where you can trade from within your internet browser. MetaTrader 4 is a great trading solution to have.

Leverage

Leverage on all accounts apart from the pro account has a maximum of 1:30, the pro account can have leverage up to 1:455 which is a strange number. Leverage can be set when creating an account, if you wish to change it once an account is already open, you will need to ensure that there are no open trades and then contact the customer service team to have it changed.

Trade Sizes

Trade sizes for all accounts start at 0.01 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. The maximum trade size is 100 lots however we would not recommend making trades bigger than 50 lots as it can become increasingly harder for the liquidity providers and the market to execute bigger trades quickly and without any slippage.

Trading Costs

The majority of the accounts use a spread based payment structure that we will look at later in this review, as for commissions, the ECN account charges $7 per lot traded which is just above the current average of $6, which is reasonable.

There are also swap fees charged on the accounts, this is an interest charge which can be both positive and negative and is paid for holding trades overnight, you can vide the live spreads either from on the website or within the trading platform itself.

Assets

There is a full breakdown of all assets on the website in the form of a PDF document, there are multiple different sections and plenty to chose from, there are forex currency pairs including EUR/USD, AUD/CHF and GBP/DKK which are across major pairs, minor pairs, and exotic pairs. There are also Oils such as UK Oil and US Oil as well as natural gas. There are precious metals from Gold, Silver and Platinum and indices such as the US 30, JP 225 and many more. Finally, there are also cryptocurrencies which include Bitcoin, Ripple, and Ethereum.

Spreads

Spreads are dependant on the account that you have, there is a markup for each account except for the ECN account. When looking at the forex major pairs, there is a markup of 1.8 pips, for the standard account it is 1.2 pips and for the premium account, it is 0.8 pips. This is on top of the raw spreads. It should also be noted that these spreads are variable which means they move with the markets and when the markets are being volatile, they will often be seen much higher. On a final note, some instruments naturally have higher spreads and the markups are different dependant on the category, so exotic pairs have a higher markup to the majors and within each group, different instruments will have different raw spreads.

Minimum Deposit

The minimum deposit for each account is not specified, however, when looking at the deposit methods it is clear that there is a blanket minimum of $100 which is for both opening accounts and for any future top-ups on an account.

Deposit Methods & Costs

There are a few different deposit methods which have been broken down into different categories for an easy to read format. The good news is that there are no added fees for any of the deposit methods, they are as follows:

• Bank Transfer – USD, EUR, GBP, PLN – No Fees
• Credit Card – USD, EUR, GBPO, PLN No Fees
• Debit Card – USD, EUR, GBP, PLN – No Fees
• E-Wallet – USD, EUR, GBP, PLN – No Fees

A full breakdown includes Bank Wire Transfer, Visa, Visa Debit, MasterCard Debit, Visa Delta, Maestro, Visa Electron, Skrill, Neteller, Sofort and UnionPay. While Tera FX does not add any fees of their own, you should check with your own processor or bank to see if they add any of their own.

Withdrawal Methods & Costs

Withdrawals can be used via the same methods you did to deposit, the more good news is that there are no additional fees added by Tera FX, there is a $100 minimum withdrawal amount for each method.

• Bank Transfer – USD, EUR, GBP, PLN – No Fees
• Credit Card – USD, EUR, GBPO, PLN No Fees
• Debit Card – USD, EUR, GBP, PLN – No Fees
• E-Wallet – USD, EUR, GBP, PLN – No Fees

Should you make a withdrawal request without making any trades there will be a one-off $25 fee added to the withdrawal so make sure you place at least one trade. It is also important to check with your own processor or bank to see if they will add any transfer fees of their own.

Withdrawal Processing & Wait Time

Withdrawal requests received before 12 pm (UK time) will be processed on the next working day, any requests after 12 pm (noon) will be processed within 2 working days. The total amount of time each request should take are as follows.

Bank Transfer – 1 to 5 business days (depending on the country).
Credit Card / Debit Card – 2 to 3 business days )or more depending on the credit card).
E-Wallet – 1 to 3 business days.

Bonuses & Promotions

There doesn’t seem to be any indications that bonus offers or promotions are currently running, we had a good look through the site and could not find anything. This does not mean that there won’t be in the future though, so if you are interested in bonuses, be sure to check back regularly.

Educational & Trading Tools

In terms of educational and trading tools, there isn’t too much available. There is the usual economic calendar which tells you about any upcoming news events and what effect they may have on the markets. There is also a section for trading videos, these videos give a basic overview of different thing slike terminology, the trading platforms, basic analysis and more. They will be helpful for beginners but for those that have traded for a while, it will be limited and may not help you improve further.

Finally, there is daily market news which is a video-based on what is happening in the forex markets and potential trade setups, again it is quite basic and those doing their own research will most likely know everything in the videos plus more.

Customer Service

You can get in touch with Tera FX in a number of different ways, the most prominent on the contact us page is the submission form where you can put in your query and you should receive a reply back via email. There is also an email address for both the head office and the warsaw branch along with a phone number and physical address.

We could not see any information immediately present in regards to opening times and if they are open during the weekends but we would assume that they are not as they are not a 24-hour broker.

Demo Account

You can open a demo account by simply clicking the demo account button. Fill in the simple form and you are good to go. The demo account uses MetaTrader 4 however apart from that there is very little information regarding it. The majority of brokers put a time limit on the accounts so they expire but this information is not readily available along with no information regarding trading conditions or which account type the demo account mimics, it would have been good to have this information available.

Countries Accepted

There weren’t any specific mentions of which countries are allowed and which are not but as TeraFX is a regulated broker, there will certainly be some restrictions so we would suggest getting in touch with the customer support team to find out if you are eligible or not.

Conclusion

There are a lot of positives when we look at Tera FX, the trading conditions and spreads are acceptable as well as the commission added to the ECN account, there are also plenty of deposit and withdrawal methods with no added fees. There are not too many downsides, the lower leverage at 1:30 for non-professional traders is a little low but ok if you are happy with that amount. Tera FX seems like a competent broker but the ultimate decision on whether they are worth using is up to you.

We hope you like this TeraFX review. If you did be sure to check out some of the other reviews to help find the broker that is right for you.

UpForex is an online FX and CFD broker that is located in St. Vincent & the Grenadines. Since 2012, the broker’s primary goal has been giving its clients the tools to profit in multiple financial markets, through an entirely transparent setting. We don’t get much more information, such as who exactly owns the company, or how many clients UpForex actually services. If you check other reviews, you won’t find much information about this broker, so stay with us if you’re looking for the most detailed review of this particular broker.

Account Types

Upforex allegedly offers three real account types – Standard, Pro, and VIP. In addition, demo accounts are provided. The “Account Types” page for this broker is very vague and doesn’t cover conditions for each account. Instead, the broker explains that the Standard account provides all of the necessary tools for trading, the Pro account is offered for those that demand more from their brokers, and the VIP account is an elite choice.

After registering an account, we noticed that the broker never even mentions different account types, even when logged into the portal, which suggests that there may actually be one account type after all. We did our best to research terms and to provide as much information as possible, so you’ll want to continue reading through all the sections to find more detailed explanations. We’ve also provided a quick overview below, although it lacks a lot of the information we were looking for.

Standard Account
Minimum Deposit: $5 USD
Leverage: Up to 1:100
Spread: NA (See “Spreads”)
Commission: NA

Pro Account
Minimum Deposit: NA
Leverage: Up to 1:100
Spread: NA (See “Spreads”)
Commission: NA

VIP Account
Minimum Deposit: NA
Leverage: Up to 1:100
Spread: From 0.0 pips
Commission: NA

Although the account verification process has several steps, the broker claims that accounts can be set up in as little as 5 minutes. The broker will allow one to make a deposit and begin trading before the account has been completely verified; however, withdrawals are limited to verified accounts. Traders will need to provide proof of ID (government-issued ID card, driver’s license, or passport) and a proof of residence document (bank statement, utility bill, or lease agreement).

Platform

UpForex exclusively supports a lesser-known trading platform, known as UTIP. The website describes the platform as being an intuitive, easy-to-use and customizable option, with state-of-the-art algorithmic trading support. Another mentioned advantage would be hundreds of trading indicators and powerful drawing tools.

UTIP is used by millions of traders and the platform is highly accessible – available for download on PC, iPhone, and Android devices. The platform can also be accessed through WebTrader, via a link at the top of the broker’s website. We did find more information on the platform’s own website, including photos that prove that this is a worthy option that will definitely support the job it was designed to do. Still, we’re a little disappointed that the broker doesn’t offer one of our favorite platforms, MT4 or MT5.

Leverage

All accounts allow for maximum leverage of up to 1:100, without restrictions based on account equity or other means. Most will be satisfied with this option, especially considering that many professional traders prefer to trade with the cap that is offered by this company. Beginners may even want to stick with lower leverage, in an attempt to avoid the risks that are associated with trading with higher leverage. On the other side of things, it is possible to find brokers out there with higher leverage caps, if this is something you’re definitely looking for.

Trade Sizes

We found an issue with the broker’s website fairly quickly, in which the “Terms of Trade” page was not working. If one could access this page, then it would be possible to find more information for this category. This seems to be a common and frustrating theme on the website – one that the broker is likely aware of. We did point out to support that their website wasn’t working here, although we have doubts that the support team will fix it anytime soon. Sadly, we cannot provide any details about minimum or maximum trade sizes, or stop-loss levels

Trading Costs

As for trading costs, we can’t provide very accurate information. We would assume that spreads and commission charges will be applicable. This assumption is based on the fact that the broker doesn’t mention commissions anywhere on their website. This often signifies that commissions are in fact charged – any broker that has done away with these costs would proudly boast about that advantage on their homepage. If we’re correct, then it isn’t necessarily a bad thing that the broker does charge commissions, although it is disappointing that we cannot provide the exact charge.

It’s also possible that the broker could be hiding higher than average charges. Swaps, or rollover interest, would also be charged on positions that are held open past closing time. The broker doesn’t detail any inactivity fees, but it would be wise to keep trading accounts active just in case these fees can be high if they are charged after a certain period of inactivity.

Assets

Upforex offers trading on FX, Precious Metals, Equities, and Indices. The broker also advertises CFDs on Cryptocurrencies, although we did not see these options available when we tested out a demo account. FX options are made up of more than 30 currency pairs, including exotic options like the Singapore Dollar, Mexican Peso, Danish Krone, Norwegian Krone, and Swedish Krona. As for the other categories, the website is once again limited in the information it provides, so we cannot give more detail.

Spreads

On their homepage, the broker advertises floating spreads from 0.0 pips. While this is certainly a low starting option, there’s no evidence to suggest that one should expect to see spreads this low. If three account types are in fact available, then we would expect spreads to start from 0 pips on the best account, the VIP account. This is how conditions usually work with others – the highest spreads would be charged on the Standard account, while the Premium account would offer a middle option, and the VIP account would have the best starting spreads. However, we also mentioned earlier that there may only be one account type and if so, then the spreads from 0.0 pips would be applicable for everyone. The conflicting information makes it unclear exactly what one should expect to see.

Minimum Deposit

As we mentioned earlier, this broker markets three account types, although it seems that there may actually be one account after all. If the broker does actually allow clients to upgrade accounts, we would assume that the Pro and VIP accounts would require significantly larger deposits. Fortunately, we found that the broker would allow a deposit of $5 from their default account, so we’re happy to see an affordable option here. If you are interested in a more expensive account, you’ll want to reach out to support to find out if this is possible and how high the requirements are.

Deposit Methods & Costs

Accounts can be funded through Bank Transfer, Visa/MasterCard, or Bitcoin in USD, AUD, or EUR. All deposits are credited automatically and fees are applicable. There is a fee of 1% charged on Wire Transfers, 1.5% on card deposits, and a fee of 2.5% will be applied on Bitcoin deposits. The broker will allow clients to make a deposit before their account has been verified; however, the broker warns clients that it would be better to finish the verification process first, based on the fact that funds may be stuck if a client later realizes that they cannot provide documents that will be approved.

Withdrawal Methods & Costs

All deposit methods are also available for withdrawals. Third-party withdrawals can be accepted if the client gives explicit permission over the phone. The website doesn’t detail any special conditions that would force withdrawals to be processed back in a specific order and it seems that profits can be withdrawn through any method of choice. The same fees that are applied on deposits through each method are also applied on withdrawals and have been listed below for convenience.

• Wire Transfer: 1%
• Visa/MasterCard: 1.5%
• Bitcoin: 2.5%

Withdrawal Processing & Wait Time

According to the broker, withdrawals are automatically processed back to all methods. While processing times may or may not be instant, we can definitely assume that wait times will be longer, especially for Wire Transfer, since one would also have to wait for the bank to process the withdrawal back on their side. We would suggest being prepared for a slightly longer wait time than those advertised, just to avoid any frustration with unanticipated delays.

Bonuses & Promotions

Fortunately, we do see a category of the website dedicated to bonuses. Currently, we see two available options – a $100 Welcome Bonus, and a Double Your Deposit Bonus. As for the Welcome Bonus, it seems that this is available by opening a new Welcome Account and the $100 is then automatically added to the account for free. This could provide an excellent opportunity to test out the broker’s conditions since one could ditch the account once funds were depleted if conditions seem unattractive.

As for the Double Your Deposit Bonus, the name is fairly explanatory, and the broker is willing to match one’s deposit amount up to $5,000. Sadly, the broker has failed to provide terms for these bonuses, so we can’t note any conditions or restrictions for the bonus programs.

Educational & Trading Tools

One will not find any educational tools available on the broker’s website, which is disappointing. Traders can always get that information elsewhere, although it is nice to see brokers doing their part to educate clients. There is also an added convenience in having those learning tools right at one’s fingertips. We were also hoping to find some tools, like news, an economic calendar, or trading calculators. Sadly, the website just doesn’t have anything to offer, which isn’t surprising, considering how limited information on the website is overall.

Demo Account

One can open a demo account with this broker by simply selecting “Open Demo” from the website’s homepage. A few details are required during registration, including name, email, country, phone number, city, and zip code. We don’t see any additional options on the registration page, like the ability to choose how much virtual currency will be loaded onto the account. It is also unclear whether the broker provides demo accounts that mimic their live accounts, if leverage options can be changed, etc. Still, even though these demo accounts seem simple, there is no reason not to open one if you could use some extra practice.

Customer Service

If one should need to reach out to an agent, it is possible to do so through email, by phone, or by filling out a contact form on the website. Support hours are from 9 am – 5 pm Monday through Friday. Sadly, we do not see an instant online contact option like LiveChat available, and the broker does not seem to operate through any social media channels. We still wanted an idea of how long it can take to hear back from support, so we reached out via email to see if support would respond in a timely manner.

After more than 24 hours, we still didn’t receive a response, so it seems that it is difficult to get in touch with a member of the customer service team. We’ve provided listed email addresses and the company’s phone number below.

Email: [email protected] or [email protected]
Phone: +44 203 608 6100

Countries Accepted

We couldn’t find any list of restrictions on the broker’s website. This doesn’t always mean that everyone is accepted, so we checked out the broker’s registration page to double-check for any obvious restrictions. The broker does seem to accept clients from most countries, including Japan, Korea, the United States, etc., which are all commonly restricted countries with other brokers. We did find Iran to be missing from the list, so you’ll want to check for your own country specifically and reach out to support if it is not listed.

Conclusion

UpForex offers leveraged trading of up to 1:100 on FX, Precious Metals, Equities, Indices, and possibly Cryptocurrency CFDs and supports a lesser-known trading platform, UTIP. As for funding, we see a few methods, with fees charged for depositing and withdrawing. Fortunately, the broker will allow one to make a deposit as low as $5, although it seems that there may only be one default account type.

Support is available through email, phone call, or by filling out a form on the website, with no instant contact options and wait times longer than 24 hours for email responses. UpForex is accepting clients from the US. The broker generously offers two bonus opportunities that would allow one to open an account with a free $100 no-deposit bonus, or to earn up to $5k back on their initial deposit.

Sadly, educational resources and trading tools are nonexistent, aside from simple demo accounts. Now, we will mention some of the terms that the website is vague about. Spreads supposedly start from 0.0 pips, commission fees are not listed, and minimum deposit fees for all account types are not available. Although this broker describes transparency as a goal, one can quickly see that the website is inconsistent, and this does not help to promote confidence for investors.

IFA-FX is a forex broker based in the Republic of the Marshall Islands. They state that they offer free training and education, access to the best information, essential trading tools, research and analysis, excellent customer service and the best trading environment. In this review, we will be looking at the services being offered to see if they live up to their statements.

Account Types

There are three accounts available from IFA-FX, these are the standard, the pro, and the VIP accounts, let’s take a look at the requirements and features of these accounts.

Standard Account:
The standard account is the entry-level account from IFA-FX, it has a minimum deposit requirement of $300, this account gets you to leverage up to 1:200, spreads starting at 2.8 pips, access to the parentship program and newsletters. You are able to get a 20% deposit bonus and gain access to a few of the education and trading tools that we will look at later in this review.

Pro Account:
The pro account has a minimum deposit of $5,000, this account gets you the same leverage of 1:200 but the spreads have now been reduced down to a starting point of 1.7 pips. The start-up bonus has increased up to 30% now. This account has access to some additional training and tools.

VIP Account:
The VIP account doesn’t have a set deposit requirement, instead, you are required to get in contact with the customer service team. This account gains access to all tools as well as additional out of hours support. It has similar leverage and spread to the pro account as well as all other perks previously mentioned.

Platforms

Just the single trading platform is available from IFA-FX, so let’s take a look and see what it is.

MetaTrader 4 (MT4) is one of the world’s most popular trading platforms and for good reason. Released in 2005 by MetaQuotes Software, it has been around a while, it is stable customizable and full of features to help with your trading and analysis. MT4 is compatible with hundreds and thousands of different indicators, expert advisors, signal providers and more. Millions of people use MT4 for its interactive charts, multiple timeframes, one-click trading, trade copying and more. In terms of accessibility, MT4 is second to none, available as a desktop download, an app for Android and iOS devices and as a WebTrader where you can trade from within your internet browser. MetaTrader 4 is a great trading solution to have.

Leverage

The maximum leverage available for all accounts is 1:200, smaller amounts can be selected and leverage is selected in intervals. When setting up ana account you can select the initial leverage levels, if you wish to change it later then you will need to get in contact with the support team and ensure that there are no open trades at the time of the request. 1:200 is a decent level to trade at as it allows for good profit potential while still allowing you to manage risk effectively.

Trade Sizes

Trade sizes start at 0.01 lots which are also known as a micro lot, trades then go up in increments of 0.01 lots so the next trade would be 0.02lots and then 0.03 lots. We are unsure of what the maximum trade size is, however, whatever it is we would not recommend going over 50 lots in a single trade as it will become harder for liquidity providers and the market to execute trades quickly and without any slippage.

Trading Costs

IFA-FX does not implement any additional trading costs such as commission, instead, all their profits come from the spreads which we will look at later in this review.

It should be pointed out that swap fees are still present and are either charged or received when holding a trade overnight, these charges can be viewed within the MetaTrader trading platform.

If you do not log in or trade on your account for six months then a dormancy fee will be charged which is 10% of the account balance each month.

Assets

The IFA-FX website mentions a number of different times the number of assets that they have and how they abbe a whole range of currencies and commodities, nowhere do they actually indicate what they provide, the only ones mentioned are Gold, Silver, and Oil along with a few currencies such as EUR/USD. So while they may have a large number of tradable instruments, there isn’t a definitive list for us to look at so we can not comment on much in this section.

Spreads

There isn’t a full breakdown of spreads so we can only go on the limited information that we could find, looking at EUR/USD, if you have a standard account the spreads will start from 2.8 pips, if you have a pro or VIP account then the spreads will start from 1.7 pips.

The spreads are variable (also known as floating) which means that they move with the markets and when there is a lot of volatility they will often be seen much higher than the stated amount. It is also good to note that not all assets and instruments have the same spreads, for instance, while EUR/USD may be seen at 1.7 pips, other pairs such as AUD/NZD will have a higher starting spread.

Minimum Deposit

The minimum deposit to open an account is $300, this will get you a standard account, if you want a pro account then you will need to deposit a minimum of $5,000. Once an account is open, the minimum amount to top up reduces down to $100 for the majority of methods or $10 for e-vouchers.

Deposit Methods & Costs

You have a selection of 7 different deposit methods when trading with IF-FX, these methods are ecoVoucher, ecoPayz, Skrill, Neteller, CashU, Bank Wire Transfer and Credit / Debit card, both Visa and MasterCard. Looking through the deposit policy, there is no mention of any fees however it also does not state that there won’t is any, you should also check with your own processor or bank to see f they will add any fees of their own.

Withdrawal Methods & Costs

You can use the following methods to withdraw: ecoPayz, Skrill, Neteller, CashU, Bank Wire Transfer and Credit / Debit card, both Visa and MasterCard. You get one free withdrawal per month, any additional withdrawals will have a processing fee of 30 USD, 25 EUR or 20 GBP.

Withdrawal Processing & Wait Time

The deposit and withdrawal policy states that IFA-FX will aim to process and withdrawal requests within 2 – 5 business days of receipt of the request (which is pretty long compared to the competition). Then there is additional processing of your own bank when using bank transfer withdrawals or credit/debit cards which can add a further 2 – 5 working days onto the withdrawal tie. Using e-wallets should mean that you receive your funds within 15 minutes of being processed by IFA-FX.

Bonuses & Promotions

There is mention of the deposit bonus, 20% for the standard account and 30% for the pro and VIP accounts, there is no mention of any details or terms of these bonuses. So we know that they are there and that they exist, we do not know how the bonus funds are converted to real funds and how good or bad the terms are.

Educational & Trading Tools

This is a section that it seems IFA-FX is focusing on, there is plenty here, in fact too much for us to go through so we will briefly outline what is available. Educational videos are present, these give a basic overview of the basics of trading and how different indicators and analysis work. Next are tutorials, similar to the videos but in written form, they can guide you on how to use tools and as introductions to different aspects of trading.

E-books are available to read online or download, featuring topics like mental training, technical analysis and many more. There are also guides on how to use different strategies such as scalping with CCI or Jarro trading strategies. Finally, there is a glossary of important terms just in case you did not understand or know a word that has been used.

There are also signals available to help guide you on potential trades but we are unsure how accurate or regular these signals are. In terms of tools, there are a number of different calculators such as a Fibonacci calculator and a pivot point calculator. There are a few other smaller tools too such as a historic volatility chart.

Customer Service

If you want to get in touch with IFA-FX you can in a few different ways, you can get in contact via email, phone, submit your query to receive an email response or request a callback. There is also an online chat that we tested and got through to someone after about 8 minutes of waiting, they responded quickly to questions but weren’t able to answer a lot of our questions, simply pointing up to different sections of the site that either did or didn’t answer the question, this was a little disappointing.

Demo Account

We did not see an option to open up a demo account and when signing up there was not an option either, so we do not think that there are any demo accounts available from IFA-FX, if there are, they are well hidden. It would be a shame if they aren’t available as a lot of potential clients would like to test the conditions and test out strategies before going live.

Countries Accepted

Ther is no mention of which countries are accepted or not, we also asked the customer service team but they were not able to tell us, sop we would normally advise you to get in contact with them if you are unsure but that may not be very effective in this case.

Conclusion

The trading conditions offered by IFA-FX seem quite competitive, the spreads are a little high on the standard account but the pro account is much more in line with the competition. Leverage, trading costs, and trading sizes are all good and positive, unfortunately, IFA-FX is let down with the lack of information about the tradable assets which is often vital for potential clients to see, this along with a customer service team that failed to answer the basic questions and no demo account is making IFA-FX a difficult broker to recommend.

We hope you like this IFA-FX review. If you did, please be sure to check out some of the other reviews here at Forex Academy to help find the broker that is right for you.

IFGM is an Australian based forex broker that was founded in 2012 and is authorized by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC). Their values state that they aim to provide the best possible trading environment, offer truly great assets, ensure a polite and effective support service and to be a market leader in innovative trading. This review will be looking at different aspects of their site to see if they live up to these values.

Account Types

There are three account types on offer from IFGM, these are the Standard, Pro and Islamic accounts, let’s take a little look at the requirements and features of the three accounts.

Standard Account:

The standard account requires a minimum deposit of $200 and can have a base currency of AUD, USD, EUR or GBP. The account gets you a choice of leverage between 1:100, 1:200 or 1:500 and has a variable spread (we will look at spreads later in this review). There are no added commissions except when trading on stocks, can use multiple trading platforms including MT4 and has access to the full range of tradable assets, there are swap charges on this account.

Pro Account:

The pro account moves the minimum deposit requirement up to $1,000, the account needs to be ain abase currency of AUD, USD, EUR or GBP. Leverage has been slightly restricted and now only 1:100 and 1:200 are available. Commissions are charged on this account and spreads remain variable (although lower). CFD Commodities and CFD Crypto instruments are not available on this account and swap charges still apply.

Islamic Account:

The Islamic account is for people who for whatever reason can not receive or pay interest such as swaps for holding trades overnight. The minimum deposit if $200 and leverage returns to a selection of 1:100, 1:200 or 1:500. The spread is variable and there is no commission charged on this account at all. The full range of instruments is available to trade including commodities and crypto and there are no swap charges on this account.

Platforms

There is only 1 main trading platform on offer from IFGM, we have outlined a few features of the platform down below.

MetaTrader 4 (MT4) is one of the world’s most popular trading platforms and for good reason. Released in 2005 by MetaQuotes Software, it has been around a while, it is stable customizable and full of features to help with your trading and analysis. MT4 is compatible with hundreds and thousands of different indicators, expert advisors, signal providers and more. Millions of people use MT4 for its interactive charts, multiple timeframes, one-click trading, trade copying and more. In terms of accessibility, MT4 is second to none, available as a desktop download, an app for Android and iOS devices and as a WebTrader where you can trade from within your internet browser. MetaTrader 4 is a great trading solution to have.

Leverage

If you have a standard or Islamic account then you get a selection between 1:100, 1:200 and 1:500 however if you use the pro account you have the choice of only 1:100 and 1:200. Leverage can be selected when opening up an account, should you wish to change it you will need to get in contact with the customer support team, ensure there are no open trades at the time of the request.

Trade Sizes

The minimum trade size on all accounts is 0.01 lots which are known as micro-lots, the trades go up in increments of 0.01 lots so the next available trade is 0.02 lots and then 0.03 lots. The maximum trade size for forex pairs is currently set at 20 lots which is fine as you do not want to go too high due to it becoming harder for liquidity providers and the markets to execute larger trades quickly and without any slippage. Different instruments such as crypto or commodities may have different minimum and maximum trade sizes.

Trading Costs

The standard and Islamic accounts use a spread based payment structure so we will look at that in more detail later in this review. The pro account adds a commission to each trade, the commission is currently set at 0.003% per side of the trade which depending on the instrument you are trading can be around $6 per round lot traded which is in line with the industry average of $6.

For the pro and standard account, there are also swap charges which are either paid or received for holding trades overnight, the Islamic account does not have these charges, the values of the swap fees can be viewed from within the trading platform of choice.

Assets

The website states that there are over 40 different tradable assets, these are broken down into 28 forex currency pairs, 2 precious metals, 9 CFD Indices, 1 CFD Commodity, and 5 CFD Cryptocurrencies. Having just 45 different tradable assets is a little disappointing as it severely limits the possibilities for your trading and there could be periods of time where you can not find something to trade.

Spreads

The website states that all three accounts have variable spreads which means that they move with the markets when there is a lot of volatility in the markets the spreads will move higher and when the markets are stable they will move lower. There isn’t actually any indication of what the starting spreads are which is a shame as this is an aspect that a lot of potential clients will look for before signing up with a broker. The pro account uses the raw spreads due to the added commission so they can be seen as low as 0 pips, the standard and Islamic accounts are currently unknown to us.

 

Minimum Deposit

The minimum amount required to open an account is $200 which will get you a standard or Islamic account, in order to open a pro account you will need an initial deposit of $1,000. Once an account has been opened the minimum deposit drops down to the processors minimum which is around $5 for future top-ups.

Deposit Methods & Costs

There are plenty of options when it comes to depositing, these include Visa credit and debit card, MasterCard credit and debit card, UnionPay, Skrill, Neteller and, Bank Wire Transfer. The good news is that any fees are covered by IFGM, although when using bank transfer, make sure to check with your own bank just in case they add any fees of their own.

Withdrawal Methods & Costs

There is a slightly reduced number of withdrawal methods, these are Visa credit and debit card, MasterCard credit and debit card, UnionPay, American Express, Skrill, Neteller, POLi and Bank Wire Transfer. The good news continues when looking at fees as IFGM will cover all feels, although just like when depositing, make sure to check with your bank when using bank transfers just in case they will charge any fees of their own.

Withdrawal Processing & Wait Time

IFGM seem to be processing withdrawal request quickly, the following are the expected processing times for each withdrawal method.

Processed in 24 hours: Visa credit and debit card, MasterCard credit and debit card, UnionPay, American Express, Skrill, Neteller and, POLi.

2 – 5 business days: Bank Wire Transfer.

Bonuses & Promotions

Aside from the usual affiliate program that we won’t go into, there does not appear to be any bonuses or promotions active at this time, this does not mean that there won’t be in the future so if you are after promotions, make sure to check back regularly.

Educational & Trading Tools

There are a few educational offerings from IFGM, they have an economic calendar that tells you of any upcoming news events and what pairs they may have an effect on. There is also an educational section of the site, this section has a number of articles and support pages which can give you plenty of information about the markets and how the trading platforms work. It is more about learning about the markets rather than how to trade, so if you are looking for help with trading you may need to look elsewhere.

Customer Service

The contact page offers you the opportunity to get in contact with IFGM with your queries or concerns. There is an online contact form that you can fill in and then you can expect to have a reply via email. There is also a physical address and a phone number should you wish to speak to someone directly and finally there is an email address for you to email the support team. The support team is available 24/5 and is closed only when the markets do over the weekend.

Demo Account

Simply click the “Try Demo” button and fill out the form to open up a demo account. Unfortunately, there isn’t much information in regards to the trading conditions of the demo account apart from the fact that it uses MetaTrader 4. There is also no indication as to how long they last, as some brokers allow them to stay indefinitely, while others put a time limit such as 30 days so this information would have been good to know.

Countries Accepted

The following statement is present on the IFGM website: “IFGM does not accept applications from the residents of China, UK, Europe, USA, Japan or any particular country or jurisdiction outside of Australia. The information on IFGM website does not intend to be used by or distribution to any individuals outside of Australia where such distribution or use would be contrary to local law or regulation.” If you are unsure, get in contact with the customer service team to help find out if you are eligible for an account or not.

Conclusion

The trading conditions being offered from IFGM are decent, they are on par with a lot of other brokers and their commission on the pro account is reasonable. There are enough ways to deposit and withdraw and it is good to see that IFGM will cover any fees, unfortunately, there is no information in regards to spreads which are a major factor for new traders and potential clients, so it is hard for anyone to truly understand what the trading conditions are if IFGM could add this information they would be a broker we could recommend, however without this information it is hard to make up a full picture of the broker.

We hope you like this IFGM review. If you did, be sure to check out some of our other reviews to help find the broker that is right for you.

RoboMarkets is an online forex broker established in 2012 and located in Cyprus. Regulated by the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC) the website bears a lot of resemblances with Robo Forex, and for good reason, while they are separate companies, they work together in a number of ways however offer slightly altered services. In this review, we will look at what Robo Markets offer so you can decide if they are the right broker for you.

Account Types

There are 6 main accounts on offer, they have categorized them into different groups with there being 3 accounts in a section titles “Real Accounts” one in Prime and one in R Trader, let’s take a little look at what is on offer.

Pro-Standard Account:
This is the entry-level and standard account offered by Robo MArkets, it requires a minimum deposit of $1000 and can have a base currency of USD, EUR, CHF, GBP or GOLD. It allows the trading of 36 currency pairs, metals, CFDs and Cryptocurrencies. There is no added commission for this account. Spreads are floating and start from around 1.3 pips. Stop out level is set at 50% and the minimum trade size is 0.01 lots while the maximum is 100 lots. This account can use both MT5 and MT4 as trading platforms along with the web trader.

Pro-Cent Account:

The cent account is similar to the standard account, however, instead of working in dollars it works in cents. This account also has a minimum deposit of $100 and has the same tradable assets except there is no access to CFDs. Spreads remain at a starting level of 1.3 pips but the minimum trade size os now 0.1 lots and the maximum is now set at 500 lots. Stop out remains at 50 % and this account can also use MT4, MT5 and the web trader.

ECN-Pro NDD Account:

The ECN Pro account keeps a lot of the features of the standard account including deposit minimums, trading platforms, tradable assets. The main difference for this account is that there is now a commission added to each trade, we will look at them in more detail later in this review, due to the commission the spread reduces down and is now starting at 0 pips. The minimum order reverts back to 0.01 lots but the maximum trade size is now 50 lots. Stop our remains at 50%.

Prime Account:

The prime account is where things get a bit different, it requires a minimum deposit of $5,000 and its base currency can be in USD, EUR, CHF, GBP or GOLD. It has 28 tradable currency pairs along with metals, CFDs, and cryptocurrencies. It has a commission for each trade and so the spreads are starting low at around 0 pips. Stop out level increases up to 100% and the minimum trade value remains unchanged at 0.01 lots and the maximum at 50 lots.

R Trader Account:

The R Trader account is a little different, it is more focused on stocks rather than trading, so if you are looking for a traditional trading experience then you would need to look at some of the other accounts. This account requires a minimum deposit of $100 and has commissions added to each trade. For the purpose of this review, we will not be looking into the finer details of this account so if you are interested in it, be sure to check out the Robo Markets website.

Platforms

Three platforms are available, we will add a little about each one below:

MetaTrader 4 (MT4):

MetaTrader 4 (MT4) is one of the world’s most popular trading platforms and for good reason. Released in 2005 by MetaQuotes Software, it has been around a while, it is stable customizable and full of features to help with your trading and analysis. MT4 is compatible with hundreds and thousands of different indicators, expert advisors, signal providers and more. Millions of people use MT4 for its interactive charts, multiple timeframes, one-click trading, trade copying and more. In terms of accessibility, MT4 is second to none, available as a desktop download, an app for Android and iOS devices and as a WebTrader where you can trade from within your internet browser. MetaTrader 4 is a great trading solution to have.

MetaTrader 5 (MT5):

MetaTrader 5 (MT5) is the younger brother of MetaTrader 4 (MT4)m developed by MetaQuotes Software and released in 2010, MT5 is used by millions and for good reason. Offering plenty of trading and analysis features to ain in your trading. Additional services expand the functionality of the platform making its capabilities almost limitless. MetaTrader 5 offers the built-in Market of trading robots, the Freelance database of strategy developers, Copy Trading and the Virtual Hosting service (Forex VPS). Use all these services from one place, and access new trading opportunities. MetaTrader 5 is also highly accessible with it being available as a desktop download, application for iOS and Android devices and even as a WebTrader where you can trade from within your internet browser.

R Trader:

R Trader is RoboMarkets’s (and RoboForex) own trading platform, it is a web-based application that you access directly within your internet browser. The main draw towards R Trader is the ability to create your strategies from within the terminal, test it and then execute it in real-time and without any programming knowledge. There are over 9,400 tradable instruments within R Trader, making it one of the platforms with the most tradable assets around.

Leverage

The maximum leverage for an account is currently 1:500, when setting up ana account you can select the leverage that you desire and should you wish to change it, you will need to get in contact with the customer service team, but ensure that there are no open trades at the time of the request.

Robo Markets will ask some questions regarding experience and knowledge when creating an account, the answers that you give will mean that Robo Markets may give you different maximum leverage based on this as they may not deem you experienced enough to use such high leverages.

Trade Sizes

Trade sizes are dependant on the account that you use.

The Pro-Standard account has a minimum trade size of 0.01 lots which are also known as micro-lots, it then has a maximum trade size of 100 lots, it can also have unlimited open trades at one time.

The Pro-Cent account works on cents rather than dollars and so the minimum trade size is 0.1 lots which hare known as mini lots. The maximum trade size is 500 lots and you can have a maximum of 200 open trades at any one time.

ECN-Pro NDD account reverts back to the standard account settings with a minimum trade size of 0.1 lots however it has a lowered maximum trade size of 50 lots, it can also have an unlimited number of trades open at any time.

The Prime account has the same settings as the ECN-Pro account on all fronts from minimum, maximum and number of open trades allowed.

We would not recommend making trades larger than 50 lots as the larger a trade becomes hard it is for the markets and liquidity providers to execute the trades quickly without any slippage.

Trading Costs

Both the Pro-Cent account and the Pro-Standard account use a spread based system that we will look at later in this review. The ECN-Pro NDD account has an added commission of $20 per million traded, while the Prime account has a commission of $15 per million traded.

Swap fees are also present, these are either charged or paid when holding a trade overnight, these fees can be viewed either on the RoboMarkets website or within the trading platform that you have chosen.

Assets

There is plenty on offer when looking for something to trade, you should always be able to find something on RoboMarkets. In terms of currencies, there are 36 different ones spread over different major pairs, minor pairs, and exotic pairs including EUR/USD, GBP/CHF and USD/ZAR. There are just two metals available the usual suspects of Gold and Silver, it would have been nice for there to have been some other precious metals to trade though.

CFDs are also available when using the Standard, ECN or Prime account, there are 6 available including Brent Oil, US500Cash, and WTI Crude Oil. The good news is that Cryptocurrencies are making an appearance and are quickly becoming a very popular trading asset, the major coins are all present including Bitcoin, Ethereum and Ripple along with some less traded coins such as Dash and EOS. There are also thousands of stocks available for the R Trader account.

Spreads

Spreads are the main payment structure for the Pro-Standard and Pro-Cent accounts, on these two accounts, spreads start at a minimum of 1.3 pips, these spreads are variable which can also be known as floating which means that they move with the markets. When there is a lot of volatility, the spreads can often be seen as much higher than the stated minimum. The ECN and Prime account shave a spread starting at 0 pips due to the added commissions on those accounts.

It should also be noted that not all instruments have the same natural spreads, for instance, which EUR/USD may have a starting spread of 1.3 pips, the AUD/CAD pair will have a starting spread around 3 pips.

Minimum Deposit

The minimum deposit amount for the Standard, Cent, and ECN accounts is set at $100, the minimum for the prime account is currently $5,000. Once an account is open the minimum amount to top up the account is lower to make it easier to top up your account, the top-up minimum is set at $10.

Deposit Methods & Costs

There are 20 different deposit methods available which are great as you should be able to easily find one that suits your needs. The further good news is that there are no added fees from Robo Markets, however, ensure that you check with the processor that you are using to make sure they do not add any fees of their own.

The current deposit methods are as follows:

Bank Payments:

BlueOrange Bank, Barclays Bank PLC, Deutsche Handelsbank, Fast Bank Transfer iDEAL, Sofort, Rapid Transfer, Trustly, Nordea Solo, Multibanco, GiroPay, Przelewy24, Bank Transfer.

Electronic Payments:

WebMoney, Skrill, Fasapay, Neteller, QIWI Wallet, Boleto/

Bank Cards:

Visa Credit and Debit, MasterCard Credit and Debit.

Withdrawal Methods & Costs

Only 8 of the 20 deposit methods are available to withdraw with, the unfortunate news is that there are withdrawal fees added to them, we have set out a little table below so you can see the fee charged with each account.

Rapid Transfer – 1%
Bank Transfer – 25 USD, 10 EUR, 20 GBP, 150 PLN, 75 CHF
WebMoney – 0.8%
Skrill – 1%
FasaPay – 0.5% (minimum $0.1, maximum $5)
Neteller – 1.9% (minimum $1)
QIWI Wallet – 0%
Visa / MasterCard – 2.4%

Withdrawal Processing & Wait Time

Robo MArkets state that they will process any withdrawal requests within 24 hours of the request (except weekends or holidays). After that, each withdrawal method will have its own processing time based on the processor used.

From 1 minute to 1 day: Rapid Transfer, WebMoney, Skrill, Fasapay, Neteller, QIWI Wallet.

Up to 5 Bank Days: Bank Transfer.

1 – 10 Bank Days: Visa / MasterCard.

Bonuses & Promotions

There are a few different bonuses and promotions available from RoboMarkets, they have the standard affiliate program but we won’t be looking into that in detail.

Classic Bonus:

This is the type of bonus you see more often, you receive a percentage of your deposit, up to 115% as bonus funds, these funds are tradable, but not withdrawable. Once you have fulfilled a certain amount of lots traded, the bonus funds are converted into withdrawable funds.

Profit Share Bonus:

This is a bonus that you get from depositing, it works as extra protection for your drawdown, so if you go into drawdown, the bonus funds are used to help protect your account. No profit from this bonus is withdrawable, but any money made from your own funds is, even if the real accounts drawdown was saved via the use of the bonus funds.

Cashback (Retabtes):

You can receive up to 15% of the companies revenue from your trades in cash depending on how many lots you trade. A large volume of trades is needed to make this promotion valuable.

10% Account Balance Bonus:

You are able to receive up to 10% of your funds as a cash bonus if you trade enough 1 – 10 lots gets you 2.5%, 10 – 1,000 lots get you 5% and over 1,000 lots gets you 10%. Bonus cash is awarded monthly.

Educational & Trading Tools

There are a few basic bits of information present on the site which can help you if you are a beginner in Forex trading, they won’t make you an expert but can give you a push in the right direction.

There are forex analysis and forecasts which will give you basic information about things that have recently happened and also what any potential upcoming news there could be and the effect that it may have, along with this is the economic calendar that can give you a basic overview of upcoming news events.

In terms of tools and education that is about it, there are a few little tips but these are very simple and can be found all over the internet.

Customer Service

Plenty of ways to get in touch with Robo Markets should you have any questions or concerns and they have made their support team very accessible which is great to see. There are three different locations that you can contact and each has its own support numbers and teams, there is a team in Cyprus, Germany, and Lithuania, there are also a large number of different language based phone numbers to use should you wish to speak to someone in your own language.

There is an online submission form where you can submit your query and should then get a reply via email, there is also an online chat function that we tried and got through pretty quickly to a helpful representative who answered all out questions in good time. You can also email each location via a separate support email address.

Demo Account

Demo accounts are available from RoboMarkets, they are completely free and can be used on any platform available. You can have a demo account for either the standard account, pro account or R Trader and get the same features as the main accounts do. The demo accounts expire after 90 days, so if you still want one after that time you will need to open up a new one.

Countries Accepted

RoboMarkets accepts clients from all regions except for the USA, Canada, Japan, and Australia, so if you are from any of those countries you will need to look out for another broker to use. If you are unsure if you are eligible, make sure to get in touch with the customer service team to check before signing up.

Conclusion

RoboMarkets offer a competitive and feature-rich service, they certainly seem like a competent broker. The trading conditions are competitive with decent spreads and leverage along with the very responsive support and the large range of tradable instruments can make Robo Markets and very compelling choice, the ultimate decision though is up toy ou.

We hope you like this RoboMarkets review. If you did, be sure to check out some of the other reviews to help try and find the broker that is right for you.

Founded in 2015, BenchMark is a UK-based broker that gives traders access to a variety of financial assets and instruments. Amongst them are exotic and major forex pairs, alike. BenchMark’s trading costs and spreads are minimal.

Moreover, the broker utilizes state-of-the-art and popular trading platforms. Above all else, you can access in-depth and highly informative educational materials, including video tutorials, eBooks, and more. In addition, traders can transfer money in and out of their accounts quickly, easily, and cheaply.

Lastly, BenchMark offers a wide range of bonuses and promotions that you can take advantage of. Read this article to find out about this broker’s unique features and how traders can take advantage of them.

Account Types

There are two account types offered by BenchMark: Professional and Retail. The broker doesn’t require you to deposit a minimum amount before you can start trading. All you need is enough to buy or sell the smallest permissible lot size.

Minimum Deposit: None
Spreads: From 0.1 pips
Commission: None

One of the main differences between the two accounts is the type of trader that they cater to. Retail, as suggested by its name, is for retail traders. Professional, on the other hand, includes features that are designed for those who trade currencies to make a living. Neither of the two accounts have a minimum deposit requirement. However, the Professional has margin restrictions that are based on the account’s cash balance.

Platforms

You have the option of choosing between MetaTrader 4 (MT4) and MetaTrader 5 (MT5) as your trading platform. Both of them are available for Professional and Retail account holders, alike. MT5 is the newer version, but some traders may prefer MT4 because of certain features that it uniquely provides.

Each platform’s software can be downloaded to mobile and desktop devices. Furthermore, they have a web version that can be accessed directly from your browser, without having to download any software or apps.

Leverage

Retail accounts only have up to 1:30 in leverage, which is low in comparison to the Professional and the general brokerage market. When it comes to the Professional account’s leverage, traders are placed in four different groups. Group 1 (accounts with less than $10,000 or 10,000 euros) have up to 1:400 in leverage. Groups 2, 3, and 4 are given 1:200, 1:100, and 1:50, respectively. The minimum account size threshold is $10,000 to $50,000 (group 2), $50,000 to $200,000 (group 3), and $200,000 or more (group 4).

You can change your leverage amount through the account dashboard. BenchMark, however, recommends that traders gradually work their way up with buying power. Otherwise, it gets too risky when a large amount of money is involved (such as with group 4).

Just as importantly, different currency pairs have their own leverage and buying power. For example, traders enjoy the maximum leverage rate of their account type or group when buying/selling major currencies. The leverage is more restricted when you trade secondary forex pairs (such as the USD.NZD – New Zealand Dollar). It is even more limited for exotic currencies (the Norwegian Krone, for example).

Trade Sizes

BenchMark uses the standard (1 lot equals 1,000 in the base currency) trade size. The smallest Forex contract that you can trade is 0.01 lots or 1,000 in the base currency.

Margin Call: 70% (Retail); 50% (Professional)
Stop-Out: 50% (Retail and Professional group 4); 30% (Professional groups 1, 2, and 3)

A margin call is triggered before the stop-out. When Retail and Professional traders hit the margin call, BenchMark will require you to deposit more funds and, therefore, increase the margin level. The other option is to close some of your trades to bring your balance down to the required amount. A stop-out is triggered when a trader’s balance is at 50% or 30% the margin amount. At this point, all of your positions are automatically closed.

Keep in mind that Professional account holders can change their margin group. This can be done by depositing money and bringing your balance to the required minimum of the desired group. Moreover, traders can request a margin level change by filling out a form on their account dashboard.

Trading Costs

One of the best things about BenchMark is their calculator tool. Not only can users measure their risk, account balance at stop-out, and margin size, but the calculator also gives you the swap fee for each currency pair. This number also depends on how many lots you bought/sold. The swap fee is an interest charge that traders incur when they keep positions open overnight. It covers potential changes to a currency’s value, such as new interest rate policies or major economic developments.

Almost every broker in the industry will charge traders swap fees. Apart from this expense, BenchMark will only make you pay the spread. They don’t charge any commissions on trading. Moreover, this broker’s spreads are minimal, starting at only 0.1 pips. Many other firms may have a spread of 3 pips or more, with 1 pip being considered low. BenchMark is one of a few brokers that go down to the fractions of pips.

Having said that, both the spread and swap fees depend on the traded currency pair. In unstable countries, interest rates may move dramatically and economic events can be difficult to predict. Similarly, short and long positions have their own swap fees on each forex pair. Spreads will also vary from one currency to another, especially because BenchMark’s numbers are tied to the market. For example, during volatile and uncertain situations, the spreads are much larger than what they normally are.

Assets

BenchMark provides traders with a wide range of assets. Indexes, commodities, stocks, and cryptocurrencies are all available. Add to that 40 forex pairs (28 majors and 12 exotics). Uniquely, BenchMark categorizes currencies into majors, secondary ones, and exotics/minors. Secondary pairs are, more or less, major currencies that are not as widely traded as the USD, Canadian Dollar (CAD), British Pound (GBP), Euro (EUR), Japanese Yen (JPY), and Swiss Franc (CHF). There are only two secondaries on BenchMark: The Australian Dollar (AUD) and New Zealand Dollar (NZD). In a way, this makes the category somewhat pointless, especially since most brokers would include the two with the rest of the major pairs.

Amongst the 12 exotics are the Swedish Krona (SEK), Norwegian Krone (NOK), Mexican Peso (MXN), and Polish Zloty (PLN). However, the two pairs involving the zloty (USD.PLN and EUR.PLN) can only be traded through the MT5 platform. Similarly, exchanging the five cryptocurrencies on BenchMark requires you to install MT5. All crypto CFDs are paired against the dollar (Bitcoin (BTC.USD), Bitcoin Cash (BCH.USD), Ether (ETH.USD), …etc.).

Meanwhile, BenchMark lets you trade US and European companies’ stocks, with more than 100 CFDs that are available. If you want to open a demo account and learn how to trade stock CFDs, you can only do so through MT5. Moreover, there are only seven companies on the demo. Trading in the live market, though, can be done on MT4 and MT5, alike. The broker also gives you access to 12 indices, including the three major ones that track the US stock market (Dow Jones, Nasdaq, and S&P 500). International market indexes include those of the UK, France, Japan, Australia, and China. Just as with stocks, indices are traded through CFDs.

Lastly, BenchMark’s commodities list encompasses five precious metals (Gold, Silver, Copper, Palladium, and Platinum) and five energy instruments (Brent, Natural Gas, UK crude, US crude, and WTI). They are exchanged as CFDs, too. All of the different assets have their own margin rules, which also varies from one account/group to another. The same applies to spreads, swap fees, and leverage. However, BenchMark doesn’t charge commissions on trading any of their assets.

Spreads

The Retail account and all Professional groups have the same spread, regardless of the forex pair that you want to trade. The EUR.USD has the lowest bid/ask difference. The highest spread on the majors (including the secondary ones) is about 2.5 pips or less. Popular pairs, such as USD.JPY, GBP.USD, and EUR.GBP are at 1.2 pips or lower, down to the fraction/point.

Nevertheless, BenchMark has a Zero Spread program. You can trade six forex pairs (EUR.USD, EUR.GBP, GBP.USD, USD.CAD, USD.CHF, and USD.JPY) without incurring any spread fees. The difference between the bid and ask would be 0 pips. This program, though, expires at the end of 2019 and its application deadline was April 30th, 2019. Yet, it is always a good idea to keep an eye out for similar future programs or ask customer service about them.

Zero Spread was only available through the MT5 platform and legible traders needed to have a Professional Account. The minimum deposit was $500 or 500 euros, which would let you trade up to 10 lots with 0 spreads. Funding your account with $2,000/2,000 EUR gave you 30 spread-free lots. Anything above $10,000/10,000 EUR came with unlimited zero-spread trades.

Minimum Deposit

There is no minimum deposit required to open an account, regardless of whether it is Professional or Retail. The base currency has to be the US dollar or the euro. Yet, traders can deposit funds in their home country’s money, which will afterwards be converted to the account’s base currency.

Deposit Methods & Costs

You can fund the account via a debit card or a bank transfer. Traders may also transfer money between the BenchMark accounts if they have more than one. The best thing about this is that the broker charges no fees on deposits. Moreover, all transactions are processed within 30 minutes or less (as long as they are made on weekdays between 7 am and 2:45 pm GMT). When a margin call is issued and you try to deposit funds to bring your balance back to the minimum requirement, bank transfers can include the trade that needs to be funded so that the broker automatically buys/sells it after the transaction is processed.

Withdrawal Methods & Costs

The same three methods (debit/credit card, bank wire, and transfers between BenchMark accounts) are used to withdraw money. Just as with deposits, there are no fees charged on withdrawal transactions. One downside, however, is that BenchMark doesn’t accept deposits or withdrawals via Visa cards.

Withdrawal Processing & Wait Time

Transfers are processed within 30 minutes or less. The speedy and cost-free transactions give BenchMark a strong advantage over the rest of the industry. Withdrawal requests, similar to deposits, can only be made between 7 am and 2:45 pm GMT on weekdays.

Bonuses & Promotions

BenchMark has a competitive affiliate program that traders can join by filling out a form on the broker’s website. They can also contact the firm via email or phone. Affiliates receive commission revenues when they promote the broker and persuade other traders to open an account. Even those that can’t rely on personal connections are invited to contact BenchMark for help. There are many marketing materials and promotional content that are available through the firm.

Affiliates must inform the broker before a client they referred opens an account otherwise, they will not receive the commission. BenchMark’s bonus has two structures. The first one allows you to receive one-time payments whenever a new client deposits $200 or 200 euros into their account. This model pays less but faster. The second structure pays a larger commission, but only after an affiliate’s referral makes a certain amount of trades and keeps their account active for a period of time.

Educational & Trading Tools

Educational material is broken into video tutorials, PDFs, and written trading courses. BenchMark’s tutorial footages are professional and easy to understand. Most of the basic introductory videos are from 7 to 10 minutes long. The advanced ones, such as tutorials on specific technical indicators or fundamental measurements, tend to range from 15 to 20 minutes. PDF tutorials are especially useful to those who aren’t familiar with the MetaTrader platforms. They outline how to use both MT4 and MT5 on different devices.

Above all else, BenchMark’s ‘Trading Sentiment’ tool is incredibly unique. It shows how many of their clients bought or sold different currency pairs, as well as the proportion of pending buy to sell orders. Meanwhile, the Financial Radar shows the daily, weekly, and monthly changes of major forex and crypto pairs.

The Financial Radar also includes a correlation scatter plot and a price-change table. Each of them allows you to see the widest moving instruments during the day, week, and month. BenchMark’s rich trading tools include an economic calendar, alongside a calculator that allows you to measure the swap fees, margin, risk, and stop-out balances. Traders would input a certain currency’s ticker, the number of lots to buy or sell, and other similar measurements.

Customer Service

BenchMark’s customer service team is available 24 hours a day, starting from 8 pm GMT on Sunday up until 10 pm on Friday.

Phone: +44 203 769 5788 (general inquiries); +44 203 769 5788 (account information and transfers).

Email: [email protected] (general); [email protected] (accounts and transfers).

Demo Account

You can open a demo account and trade through the MT5 platform. However, an MT4 account is available through a browser trading version. Demos can trade during the same hours as live accounts and they access precise market prices. Traders start with $100,000 in paper money.

Countries Accepted

BenchMark doesn’t mention anything about country restrictions on the website, including the United States. They are registered in France, Germany, Spain, and the UK.

Conclusion

The unfortunate reality is that traders in the US can’t open an account with BenchMark. However, this doesn’t discount the great features that the broker offers to users from around the world. For a start, the MT4 and MT5 platforms are accessible through all types of devices, allowing traders to manage their positions regardless of where they are located. Furthermore, transfers (inbound and outbound ones alike) can be made through various methods.

Just as importantly, they are instant and free. The only downside to BenchMark is that the two account types incur spreads. However, they do offer a Zero Spread promotions that you can take advantage of. This especially benefits traders who rely on scalping or use a large amount of leverage.

BenchMark sets your leverage based on the portfolio’s balance. Professional Account traders start with a generous 1:500, but that goes down as the amount of trading capital climbs. However, if you have a proven track record, the broker may be willing to adjust your buying power. Lastly, but certainly not least, BenchMark’s highly resourceful calculators allow you to figure out a potential position’s spreads, margin, and risks. In short, this broker has plenty of incredibly useful tools that many traders at different levels of experience can appreciate.

While the broker was founded only 5 years ago, Flag FX excels at catering to international clients and providing technology-based approaches. As far as trading is concerned, Flag FX gives you several account options and each of them comes with access to a large selection of currency pairs. One of the unique things about the broker is that all account types have the same balance requirements. In other words, traders have plenty of flexibility and can choose the type that best suits their strategy. 

Similarly, account holders enjoy a great degree of comfort when it comes to other features, such as deposits, the portfolio’s default currency, and more. There are, however, several important aspects that the broker leaves out of the website. Because of this, those who are interested in Flag FX should contact customer service and ask about their available features, especially if they are important to a trader’s strategy or approach. Beforehand, read this article to find out about what Flag FX offers, its unique tools, and other relevant information.

Account Types

You can open one of three account types, including an Islamic Account. What makes Flag FX unique is that its accounts have the same minimum deposit, support features, and platforms. Instead, they vary based on the methodologies and preferences of each trader.

Standard Account:

• Minimum Deposit: $100
• Spreads: From 1 pip
• Commission: $0
• True ECN Account:
• Minimum Deposit: $100
• Spreads: From 0 pips
• Commission: $7 per lot

Islamic Account:

• Minimum Deposit: $100
• Spreads: From 1 pip
• Commission: $0

As Flag FX’s website notes, the True ECN Account is suitable for day trading, scalping, and automated algorithms. This is mainly due to its nonexistent spread. However, its leverage (a key part of intra-day and scalping strategies) is the same as the other two accounts. Standard and Islamic each have no commissions and the same one-pip spreads. The Islamic Account doesn’t incur interest fees on overnight positions, but it has access to less currencies than the True ECN and Standard types.

Platforms

Flag FX utilizes the comprehensive and resource-rich MetaTrader 5 (MT5) platform. It provides you with highly detailed charts and graphs, alongside a variety of technical indicators. You can install it on desktop devices and smartphones. Equally as important, traders can build their own algorithms through MT5’s tools and features.

Leverage

All three accounts give you 1:500 in buying power. This is a relatively large number when compared to the greater brokerage industry. Yet, Flag FX advises traders that they should carefully study their decisions and manage their risk when they use a lot of leverage. Otherwise, their funds could rapidly increase and decrease during volatile conditions. Similarly, traders could incur significant losses if they don’t effectively manage their risks.

Trade Sizes

Positions may be as small as 0.01 lots (or a micro-lot), which is 1,000 of the base currency. Flag FX has a calculator that shows you how much the micro, macro (10,000), and regular (100,000) lots are worth for each currency pair. It also highlights the value of 1 pip after you input the trade size and specify the base currency of your account.

Margin Call: No information is available

Stop-Out: No information is available

Trading Costs

True ECN is the only account that incurs commissions, which is at $7 per lot. However, both True ECN and Standard pay an interest fee on trades that are kept open overnight. The Islamic Account isn’t charged this swap rate. Some traders can’t engage in interest rate-related transactions due to their religion. 

Generally speaking, when brokerage platforms don’t charge you the interest, which is set by each country’s central bank, they incur that fee. Instead, they charge a fixed overnight commission to make up for it and potentially profit. While Flag FX’s website makes no mention of this, most brokers who offer Islamic accounts will charge a fixed fee on overnight positions instead of the swap interest rate.

Assets

Because certain developing countries may have volatile or abnormally high interest rates on their currency, the Islamic Account’s holders can’t exchange exotic pairs on Flag FX. True ECN and Standard, on the other hand, allow you to trade both major and exotic currencies, regardless of how unstable or underperforming the underlying economy is.

True ECN and Standard access 64 forex pairs. The Islamic account has over 50. The broker’s website includes market indexes and futures under its main assets list, but the pages are more educational than informative about the offered instruments. Interested traders who want to buy/sell CFDs, indices, and commodities may want to contact customer support and inquire about this.

Spreads

As mentioned earlier, only the True ECN Account has 0 spreads. Islamic and Standard have 1 pip, which is relatively low. Keep in mind that this can vary from one currency pair to another. In many cases, exotic and volatile forex pairs have a much larger gap between the bid/ask prices. Major currencies also have their own spreads, as opposed to a standard rate across the board. This is another key point that interest traders could ask about when contacting Flag FX’s customer support team.

Minimum Deposit

All three accounts only have a $100 minimum deposit requirement. The website makes no mention of what the options are when it comes to the account’s base currency. However, their currency and trade calculator allows you to choose between seven options; the USD, Australian Dollar, British Pound, Canadian Dollar, Euro, Japanese Yen, and New Zealand Dollar. If this is truly the case, Flag FX’s variety would be much more flexible and diversified that what many other brokers can offer.

Deposit Methods & Costs

Debit or credit cards and bank transfers can be made in each of the seven currencies above, apart from the New Zealand Dollar. Additionally, the Russian Ruble is an option. You can also deposit money via Bitcoin’s platform and in one of the six cryptos that Flag FX accepts (such as Tether, Ethereum, and Bitcoin). The broker will take Visa, MasterCard, and American Express. All debit/credit card transfers are processed instantly on all days of the week, as are deposits made via Bitcoin. Bank wires are only available on weekdays and may take anywhere between 1 minute and up to 48 hours. Flag FX’s website doesn’t mention anything about deposit fees.

Withdrawal Methods & Costs

The broker doesn’t charge you for withdrawing money. Because of this, we can assume that deposits are also free. After all, most brokers don’t even charge account holders for depositing funds, to begin with. Flag FX also offers the same options for both incoming and outgoing transfers. However, you can only withdraw money through the methods you use for deposits.

Withdrawal Processing & Wait Time

Flag FX says nothing about processing times when it comes to withdrawals.

Bonuses & Promotions

There are no ongoing promotions. Similarly, there isn’t any information about previous bonuses or promotional campaigns that Flag FX offered.

Educational & Trading Tools

This broker seems to prioritize education, especially since its website is rich with content that benefits beginner and experienced traders alike. For example, they have a thorough list of major trading terms that are commonly used by trading professionals, analysts, writers, and news outlets. It is somewhat of a dictionary that those who are new to the market can use when they first get started.

There are also guides on how to install and run MT5 on your Mac, Windows, Android, or iPhone. For each device, Flag FX highlights a link that takes traders to MT5’s website. From there, users can follow the step-by-step instructions and access their accounts on the platform.

Moreover, we found the calculators on the website to be incredibly resourceful. Flag FX has four of them: Currency Converter, Price Calculator, Margin Calculator, Risk Calculator. To use the Profit Calculator, you would first input your account’s base currency, the traded forex pair, the entry and exit prices, the position’s size (in lots), and whether you are long or short. After that, the tool reveals your exact profit or loss from the trade. The Currency Converter, on the other hand, gives you the current price of your specific forex pair.

It is important to note that Flag FX’s website seems to have mixed up the Profit Calculator and Currency Converter. Keep that in mind when you use these tools. Meanwhile, users can utilize the Pip Calculator to identify the size of one-pip in price movements for different instruments. Beforehand, they must specify their account’s base currency and the number of lots traded. Lastly, the Margin Calculator requires you to enter the price that a forex pair was bought or sold at, how leverage was used, and the position’s size. Subsequently, it tells you how much buying power was allocated to that trade.

Customer Service

Since Flag FX’s website is lagging in information, traders who are considering the broker should contact the customer service department to get information about spreads, withdrawal processing times, promotions, and any other area that they are interested in.

Phone: 0850 898 0 888 and 0850 305 35 24

Email: [email protected]

The broker can also be reached by filling out an online form. Their hours aren’t posted either. However, they are headquartered in Montenegro and their main office likely operates based on the country’s timezone.

Demo Account

Demos are managed through MT5, which gives those who are new to the platform (or the forex market, in general) a chance to test their strategy with paper money, as opposed to real funds. You can also pick your demo account’s balance or change it by contacting customer support. The demo has access to the same price quotes and market data as the live account.

Countries Accepted

Flag FX works with traders in over 20 countries. Their main office is in Montenegro, but they also have a physical presence across multiple locations in Cyprus. There isn’t a list of country or geographic restrictions. However, the broker allows you to engage in hedging strategies, which is restricted in the United States. In light of this, US-based traders should make sure that Flag FX is available in their country. So should those who live in an area that regulates or prohibits hedging and/or financial instruments that this broker offers.

Conclusion

One of the best features that Flag FX offers is educational material. Its calculators are integrated with actual forex prices, giving traders a way to accurately measure their risks, buying power, and potential profits. Moreover, beginner and expert traders, alike, will appreciate the MT5 guides. Anyone who never used the platform can directly learn from the MetaTrader website about different tools and resources, including ones that they weren’t previously aware of. However, when it comes to spreads, margin requirements, available assets, and transaction times, the information on Flag FX’s website is limited. 

In short, traders who buy/sell commodities or indices should inquire about the available assets and traders who use a lot of leverage should ask customer service about the spreads. Nonetheless, deposits are instant and the broker accepts many ways to fund your portfolio. Just as importantly, their leverage is generous and the account types are rich with a variety of tools. Flag FX is available all over the world, making it easy for traders to access the markets in a convenient and well-informed manner. The broker’s demo account gives you a prolonged period of trial and error, which further prepares beginners before they risk their actual funds. Even the deposit is minimal and more than affordable for many people.

This broker’s mission is focused on building long-term relationships with traders. By prioritizing innovation, FXB Trading provides its clients with advanced tools while also enabling them to immediately execute orders and trade through one of the most sophisticated platforms. Their leverage is large, spreads are lucrative, and the bonuses are plenty.

We find that traders who utilize all sorts of strategies will appreciate and benefit from what this broker has to offer. In fact, beginners, especially, can pick between a wide range of educational resources and content. However, there are other aspects that even experienced professionals may want to utilize. To learn about what they are and other essential details about FXB, continue reading.

Account Types

FXB Trading offers four account types: Basic, Standard, VIP, and Premium. Moreover, you have the option of opening an interest-free Islamic Account. The differences from the four main types include the minimum deposit and leverage amount. Nevertheless, you can choose between the US Dollar, British Pound, and Euro as the account’s default currency.

Basic Account:
Minimum Deposit: $250
Spreads: From 0 pips
Commission: $12 per lot

Standard Account:
Minimum Deposit: $1,000
Spreads: From 0 pips
Commission: $8 per lot

VIP Account:
Minimum Deposit: $5,000
Spreads: From 0 pips
Commission: $6 per lot

Premium Account:
Minimum Deposit: $25,000
Spreads: From 0 pips
Commission: $4 per lot

The commissions apply to fully executed (bought and sold) trades. Regardless of which of the four types you choose, any of them can encompass the features of an Islamic account. It incurs no interest or swap fees on overnight positions. Otherwise, it retains the exact same features and access to forex pairs that the general account does.

Platforms

This broker lets you choose between the widely popular MetaTrader 4 (MT4) and MetaTrader 5 (MT5) platforms. They are available on mobile and desktop devices. MT4 and MT5 are known for their detailed prices, sophisticated technical indicators, and a wide variety of charting features. You can use those platforms anywhere in the world and accounts may be managed through your Mac, Windows, iPhone, and/or Android.

Leverage

The larger your account’s balance is, the less buying power that FXB will give you. For the most part, this is done to minimize risks. Using a large amount of leverage can cause traders to lose their entire balance or even more than that within seconds. The Basic Account has up to 1:500, which is among the higher end in comparison to the overall brokerage industry. From there, the Standard, VIP, and Premium have 1:300, 1:200, and 1:100 in leverage, respectively.

Trade Sizes

Your position can’t be any smaller than 0.01 lots (1,000 in the base currency). The largest forex contract size that FXB permits is 40 lots, with 1 lot being equal to 100,000 in the base currency.

Margin Call: 50%
Stop-Out: 20%

Both the margin call and stop-out levels apply to all account types. First, when a trader’s balance is 50% the margin requirement, FXB will require the trader to deposit funds or close some losing traders. Otherwise, if it reaches 20%, the broker will start doing so automatically, starting with the trade that has the biggest losses and up until the account has enough money to satisfy the margin requirements.

Trading Costs

Commissions are charged after you fully close a trade and exit the position. Even though FXB’s trading fees are lower than other brokers who charge commissions, many forex firms don’t charge any commissions to begin with. Another downside to their commission structure is that smaller accounts incur a larger fee. They are more likely to feel its impact than portfolios with a larger balance.

Nonetheless, FXB provides traders who follow certain religious teachings to open an Islamic Account. Instead of charging them interest fees on overnight positions, traders only pay a fixed fee. Moreover, none of the account types incur a spread. The difference between FXB’s bid and ask prices is 0 pips. When the gap between the bid and ask prices is nonexistent, you don’t have to cover the difference out of your pocket.

Assets

There are 46 forex pairs that you can trade through FXB, 28 of them are major while 18 are exotics. The latter include the Danish Krone, Polish Zloty, and South African Rand. Meanwhile, you also have the option of trading commodities, indexes, and stocks. There are seven market indices; the three major US indexes (the S&P 500, Dow, and Nasdaq) alongside those of Australia, France, Germany, and the UK. Similarly, FXB gives traders access to the shares of American and European companies. Both stocks and indices are traded as CFD contracts, as are commodities. Gold and silver may be traded individually or against the Euro. The broker also offers Copper, US Crude Oil, and UK Crude Oil.

Spreads

FXB’s 0-pip spreads give it a massive advantage over other brokers, especially because all account types enjoy this feature. However, when the markets are illiquid or volatile, the spread may be out of any broker’s control. If your strategy relies on this aspect, contact customer support to inquire about this. It is also important to check what the spreads are for different forex pairs. In many cases, they are different across the board. However, each broker has its own platform specifications and tools.

Minimum Deposit

The deposit ranges and account balances for each of the four types are as follows: $250 to $1,000 for Basic, $1,001 to $5,000 for Standard, $5,001 to $25,000 for VIP, and from $25,001 upward for Gold. The minimum deposit for each transaction, on the other hand, is $250. This applies to all transfer methods.

Deposit Methods & Costs

FXB offers a wide range of deposit methods and you can use any of them without incurring any transfer fees. All transactions are processed within one hour or less. Bank transfers, however, may take up to three days. The main deposit methods are China Union Pay, MasterCard, PaySafe Card, Visa, Alipay, Astropay, Bitpay, Cashpay Fasapay, Maestro, Perfect Money, and WeChat. Additionally, there are other options for traders who want to deposit funds in the Russian Ruble or Chinese Yuan. Having said that, those who are using a PaySafe Card can’t transfer more than 250 euros in one day.

Withdrawal Methods & Costs

The same deposit methods are also available for withdrawals. Likewise, withdrawing money from your FXB account doesn’t come with any fees. However, there are certain aspects that can lengthen this process. First, all withdrawals must be made through the same method used to deposit funds. For example, if you deposit $2,000 through a debit card and $1,000 via a bank transfer, you can only withdraw the exact same amounts from each method. Second, profits have to be transferred through a bank wire. The other payment types aren’t applicable.

Withdrawal Processing & Wait Time

All transfers take between 24 and 48 hours to process. You can’t withdraw less than $100 in a single transaction.

Bonuses & Promotions

FXB will top up your deposit with a 6% bonus, which comes as an interest payment on your balance. A similar offer with a 2.5% interest bonus is also available. Apart from that, FXB has three more partnerships: The Introducing Broker promotion, an affiliate program, and referral cash rewards. In fact, traders get $250 when they refer a friend to the broker. To earn this reward, you can either request a special registration link or email your friend’s information to FXB’s customer support department.

Meanwhile, the Introducing Broker incentive will pay you a commission on each person that opens an account through you. Introducing Brokers make money every time one of their referrals trades. The maximum amount is $10 per position. Earnings are deposited into your MT4 or MT5 account. Introducing Brokers also get support from the broker’s staff and marketers. Lastly, bloggers and traders who are active on social media can benefit from the affiliate program. FXB gives them marketing content (such as website ads or social media graphics). After that, the affiliate can earn up to $600 on each person who signs up.

Educational & Trading Tools

Account holders have access to plenty of educational articles, written courses, and video classes. In addition, the ForEx ebook (which can also be downloaded as a PFD) comprehensively covers different market concepts and details that would dramatically enhance beginners’ understanding of the exchanges. The written content includes definitions of key economic indicators (such as GDP) and trading strategies, as well as future outlooks and predictions authored by analysts. Above all else, FXB’s account holders may directly contact these experts to ask them questions and make inquiries.

Customer Service

FXB is located in London, England and they operate between 7 am and 5 pm local time on weekdays. However, their customer support team is available 24 hours, 5 days a week. Apart from calling or emailing them, traders can fill out a form on FXB’s website.

Phone: +44 20 3504 1520
Email: [email protected]

Demo Account

The demo account is available on both the MT4 and MT5 platforms. You can also pick the features of the live account (Basic, Standard, VIP, or Premium) that the demo would simulate. Additionally, users can deposit more paper funds by emailing the broker. Demos are available for up to three months, but customer support can extend that period. Another option for traders that want to keep using a demo is to open another account.

Countries Accepted

FXB is available to traders from around the world. However, those who are based in the U.S. and Canada can’t open an account.

Conclusion

Unless the broker’s usage is restricted in your country, there are many reasons why a trader would want to open an account with FXB. First, the variety of options suit users with different levels of experience, trading capital, and objectives. Second, they offer a relatively large amount of leverage, especially to traders with a small balance. However, even if you have a sizable amount of funds, you still get a relatively flexible buying power. FXB’s demos give you three months to test your strategy, which is more than enough to learn about the markets and/or the MetaTrader platform. Lastly, both MT4 and MT5 are accessible from anywhere and any device.

Yet, just as with any other broker, there are certain downsides to using FXB. First, they charge a commission per trade, which is a con in itself. FXB also doesn’t mention anything about what the amount is on the website. High-frequency traders should make sure that the commission is within their desired range before proceeding with this broker. Second, the way that transfers are handled may make it difficult to manage cashflow. Lastly, the number of forex pairs on FXB is limited in comparison to other brokers.

When we weigh the pros against the cons, the significance of each one depends on the trader. For example, day-traders greatly benefit from the MetaTrader charting features, the zero-pip spreads, and leverage. However, if FXB charges large commissions, the trader might think twice. Infrequent buyers/sellers, on the other hand, may not be impacted by the spread and commissions, but many of them would still like to retain a large amount of buying power, even if their account balances increase. Similarly, a beginner is going to appreciate the educational content and 500:1 leverage. Yet, the complex cashflow and in-depth charting features on MetaTrader might be problematic to novice account holders.

All in all, however, FXB’s benefits outweigh the cons in many ways. While certain features can be inconvenient to traders who follow a certain method, most of this broker’s tools are highly competitive and advantageous when we put them against the rest of the industry. This applies regardless of the user’s approaches or experience.

FXORO is a forex broker based in Cyprus and was founded in 2012 by a team of young entrepreneurs from the world of finance, all with a common dream: to create an innovative approach to the world of trading In a few years FXORO quickly gained a central role in the financial markets. Today, FXORO is a reference point for all those traders who require a more effective, direct and a customer-oriented trading environment. At least that is what they say on their website, in this review we will be taking a closer look at what is being offered to see if they live up to their statements and so you can decide if they are the right broker for you to trade with.

Account Types

There are three accounts on offer from FXORO and they are all based around their spreads (we will look at spreads in more detail later in this review), let’s take a look to see what is on offer.

Fix: The fixed account means that the spreads are fixed and do not move, this account has a spread starting at 2 pips and you are able to use your full margin. Leverage has a maximum of 1:400 and there are no commissions added to this account. The minimum deposit for this account is $200.

Floating: The floating account has floating spreads which means they move with the market. The account has a minimum deposit of $1,000 and leverage has been slightly reduced to a maximum of 1:200. Similarly to the fixed account, there is no commission added to the account and the margin stop out level has moved to 25%.

ECN: In order to open up an ECN account, you will need a minimum deposit of $5,000, the ECN account has a spread starting at 0 pips however there is now a commission of $6 per lot traded. Leverage further reduces down to 1:100 and the stop out level has moved to 50%.

Islamic accounts are available for all account variants and provide a service for those that are not able to pay or receive interest in holding trades overnight.

Platforms

Just the single platform on offer from FXORO, that is MetaTrader 4 so let’s take a look at it in more detail.

MetaTrader 4 (MT4) is one of the world’s most popular trading platforms and for good reason. Released in 2005 by MetaQuotes Software, it has been around a while, it is stable customizable and full of features to help with your trading and analysis. MT4 is compatible with hundreds and thousands of different indicators, expert advisors, signal providers and more. Millions of people use MT4 for its interactive charts, multiple timeframes, one-click trading, trade copying and more. In terms of accessibility, MT4 is second to none, available as a desktop download, an app for Android and iOS devices and as a WebTrader where you can trade from within your internet browser. MetaTrader 4 is a great trading solution to have.

Leverage

The maximum leverage that you can utilize depends on the account that you are using, the fixed account has a maximum leverage of up to 1:400 which the floating account has a slightly reduced leverage of 1:200 and the ECN account has a further reduced maximum at 1:100. Leverage can be selected when opening up an account and can be changed by contacting the customer support team, there needs to be no open trades or orders when making a request for a change of leverage.

Trade Sizes

Trades start at 0.01 lots which is also known as a mini lot, trades then go up in increments of 0.10 lots so the next available trade is 0.20 lots and then 0.30 lots. The maximum trade size is 300 lots which his far too big, we would not recommend trading over 50 lots per trade as it will become increasingly harder for liquidity providers and the markets to instantly execute larger trades.

Trading Costs

There are no additional trading costs added to the fixed or floating accounts apart from the spreads which we will look at later in this review. The ECN account has an added commission of $6 per lot traded which seems to be the industry standard these days.

There are also swap fees that are either paid or received from holding trades overnight, if you have an Islamic account then you will not have these fees but instead will have an administration charge added to your account of similar value.

There is also an inactivity fee when you have not traded for 3 consecutive months, there will be a fee of 25 base currency each month until a trade is made or the balance reaches 0.

Assets

Assets and instruments with FXORO are broken down into 5 different categories so let us take a look at what they are. There are Forex pairs that include over 60 different pairs from major, minor to exotic pairs. There are CFDs available which are broken down into further categories of stocks commodities and indices. In terms of commodities, there is not a full breakdown but assets such as oil, metals (Gold and Silver) and others are available to trade.

As mentioned indices are also present however the full breakdown is not available so we can not comment on individual indices. Finally, there are cryptocurrencies that are fast becoming one of the go-to trading instruments for both new and experienced traders. It would seem that only Bitcoin, Litecoin and Ethereum are present at this time, however, there may be more as the full breakdown is not available.

Spreads

Similarly to the leverage, the spreads that you receive are dependant on the account you are using and is what the account types are based around. When looking at the fixed spread account, they start at 2 pips which means this is the minimum pip value that there will be, this is true for major pairs such as EUR/USD when you move onto minor and exotic pairs this value increases to values such as 4 pips for AUD/USD. The value of spreads does not change no matter how volatile the markets are.

The floating spreads start at 1.2 pips, floating spreads mean that they move with the markets, so when the markets are being volatile the spreads will increase higher, but never fall below 1.2 pips. Similarly to the fixed spreads, some pairs will naturally have higher spreads, the 1.2 pip minimum is true for EUR/USD but when looking at AUD/JPY as an example, the minimum spreads are 2.6 pips.

The final account is the ECN account which has a further reduced spread due to the added commission. Unfortunately, even with the added commission, the spreads do not drop far enough, many ECN brokers have average spreads for majors ar 0 pips or 0.1 pips however the average with FXORO is 0.6 pips for EUR/USD which is high for a commission paying account. These spreads are also floating and so will move with the markets and increase in times of high volatility.

Minimum Deposit

The minimum deposit to open an account is $200 which will open the fixed spread account. Usually, once an account is open the minimum deposit will reduce, however, there is no mention of a similar scheme or any other minimums based on deposit methods noted on the site.

Deposit Methods & Costs

There are a few different ways to get your funds into your FXORO account, you can use your debit or credit card, Visa, MasterCard, and Maestro are available to sue. You can use a bank wire transfer for a few different e-wallets including Skrill, Neteller, and Wire2Pay. There are no added fees and FXORO will cover all transaction fees when depositing. Different methods have different base currency options so be sure to check which method supports your currency choice before depositing.

While FXORO covers its own banking fees, you must check with your own bank to see if they will charge any transaction fees of their own.

Withdrawal Methods & Costs

The same methods are available to withdraw as they were to deposit, the bad news is that there are now some withdrawals fees added. Credit and Debit card withdrawals have a fee of 5 base currency added which bank wire has a fee of up 50 for transfers between 1 and 10,000 base units and 140 for withdrawals over 50,000 base units. Skrill has a fee of 5 base units while Neteller has 15 base units and finally, Wire2Pay has a fee of 5 USD + 10%.

Withdrawal Processing & Wait Time

Withdrawals from FXORO are normally processed within 48 hours for credit/debit cards and e-wallets and up to 10 days for bank wire transfers. These are the overall waiting times rather than the time it takes for FXORO to approve the request.

Bonuses & Promotions

Looking through the site, apart from the usual affiliate scheme, there does not appear to be any promotions or bonuses going on, this does not mean that there won’t be in the future so if you are looking fora bonus be sure to check back regularly, particularly around any special events.

Educational & Trading Tools

There are a few different tools and educational things available from FXORO, we will outline a little about them now.

Autochartist is available and is one of the world’s most advanced tools that aims to supply the automatic identification of both chart and Fibonacci patterns. Additionally, its technology permits users to monitor thousands of Forex financial instruments 24 hours a day automatically, exposing trading opportunities as soon as they occur. There is also an economic calendar and a new section to give you an idea of what news is coming and what impact it may have, however, there are more in-depth resources already available on the internet. There is a basic signals page too where they give buy and sell signals but they are not incredibly in-depth and the accuracy has not been tested by us.

In terms of education, there are some basic courses as well as some separate in-depth courses on different aspects of trading and how to use different platforms and analysis techniques. There are also a couple of ebooks to download as well as a glossary of forex based terms.

The information provided is more aimed towards people just starting out rather than experienced traders, they will help you get to grips but won’t make you an expert.

Customer Service

Should you have any questions or need any support there are a few ways you can get in contact with FXORO, you can use the online support form to fill out your query, you will then get a reply via email or phone. You can also contact different departments directly such as support, general, partnerships and complaints via email. Finally, there are also some phone numbers available to use should you wish to speak to someone directly.

Demo Account

When registering there is not an option available for creating a demo account, nor is there mention of it on the site so it would appear that they are not available with FXORO, however, we did not get into the client area to see if one can be created from within there.

Countries Accepted

The following statement is present on the FXORO website: “MCA Intelifunds Limited does not offer Contracts for Difference to residents of certain jurisdictions such as the United States of America, the Islamic Republic of Iran and Canada.” If you are unsure of your eligibility, be sure to get in contact with the customer support team to find out.

Conclusion

FXORO offer ok trading conditions, we are a little disappointed in the level of spreads that are present on the ECN account as there is an added commission on top so you would expect the spreads to be lower. Plenty of ways to get in contact with the support team which is a big benefit and plenty of tools and education for those just starting out. As with any broker, it is a shame to see fees being present with withdrawals as this is a practice that is being stamped out by a lot of brokers. If you can live with those downsides then FXORO could be a competent broker.

We hope you like this FXORO review. If you did, be sure to check out some of the other reviews to help find the broker that is right for you.

Capitaria is a forex broker based in the British Virgin Isles and with offices in hile, Peru and Uruguay. Offering multiple account types and plenty of tradable instruments, Capitaria wants to aim for a transparent platform offering competitive trading environments. In this review, we will take a look at what Capitaria is offering so you can decide if they are the right broker for you.

Account Types

There are two account types on offer from Capitaria, each with different entry requirements and trading conditions so let’s take a look at what is on offer from the accounts side of things.

Start Account: This is the entry-level account and the trading conditions kind of show this too. The account needs a $400 minimum deposit to open, this gets you an account with just 16 instruments to trade with which is very very low, leverage is also on the low side with a maximum of 1:4. You only get online support and no analysis. More so there is an additional maintenance fee of $3.

Pro Account: The pro account ups the ante a little bit, the initial deposit is raised to $7,500 and with this, there are over 500 instruments to trade with leverage now increased up to 1:100. There are also more lines of support as now chat, email and phone are also available. You are assigned an analyst and the maintenance fee is removed.

Platforms

Only one platform available from Capitaria, luckily it is a very well established platform. MetaTrader 4 (MT4) is one of the world’s most popular trading platforms and for good reason. Released in 2005 by MetaQuotes Software, it has been around a while, it is stable customizable and full of features to help with your trading and analysis. MT4 is compatible with hundreds and thousands of different indicators, expert advisors, signal providers and more.

Millions of people use MT4 for its interactive charts, multiple timeframes, one-click trading, trade copying and more. In terms of accessibility, MT4 is second to none, available as a desktop download, an app for Android and iOS devices and as a WebTrader where you can trade from within your internet browser. MetaTrader 4 is a great trading solution to have.

Leverage

Leverage is dependant on the account that you have, if you have the starter account, you can only have leverage up to 1:4 which is very low. With the pro account, the maximum leverage rises up to 1:100 which when comparing to other brokers is still quite low as a lot of modern brokers are now aiming for 1:500 as a top for their leverage. Once an account has been opened, the leverage can be changed by getting in contact with the support team, there must be no active trades at the time of the request, or while the request is processing.

Trade Sizes

Trade sizes start at 0.01 lots which are also 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 and so forth. We did not see any information in regards to the maximum trade size, whatever it is, we do not recommend trading more than 50 lots in a single trade as it becomes increasingly harder for liquidity providers or the market to instantly execute larger trades.

Trading Costs

While there is no specific mention of any commissions being charged, the starter account states that it has a $3 maintenance fee, we are unsure if this is a fixed amount per month or if it is their way of saying that there is a commission on the trades, either way, we would avoid the starter account due to the other trading conditions anyway. There are spreads which we will go into later in this review.

Swap fees are also present which are charges either paid or received for holding trades overnight, these charges can be viewed from within the MetaTrader 4 trading platform once you have logged in.

Assets

There is not a full breakdown of tradable assets and instruments on the Capitaria website, the site states that with the pro account you get the option of over 500 different instruments, there is just a small selection mentioned though.

There are forex pairs, major, minor but we are unsure of exotic pairs, pairs such as EUR/USD, GBP/USD and USD/JPY are available. Cryptocurrencies also make an appearance which is great to see, some of the ones included are Bitcoin, Ethereum, Ripple and Dash. Actions that are normally called stocks are present, with the likes of Amazon, Google, Tesla and many more there to choose from. EFTs are present where you can trade on different funds such as the technology, emerging and biotech. Commodities in the form of Gold and Silver are present along with stock indices such as the UK 1200, France 40 and wall street.

Spreads

There isn’t too much information on spreads, we could not work out if they are floating (variable) or fixed or even how much the minimum spread is. As there is no commission, it would be expected that spreads would be up in the high 1.0s or low 2.0s when it comes to pips.

Minimum Deposit

The minimum deposit needed to open an account is $400, usually, once an account has been opened then any subsequent deposits can be of a lower amount, however, there is no mention of this on the website so we are unsure if this policy applies to Capitaria.

Deposit Methods & Costs

Capitaria only accept card payments, both credit and debit along with bank transfers, they have a number of banks located in a few different countries so you will need to select which one you are using and which one you are using as they have different requirements and potential fees.

For banking in Chile, they have credit and debit cards available in the form of WebPay. They also have three banks with BancoEstado, Scotiabank and a second Scotiabank for depositing in dollars. When depositing to the Peru based accounts there are three available including Banco de Credito (BCP), Scotiabank and Banco BBVA. Finally, if you want to deposit to the Uruguay bank, then there is only Santander as an option.

There are no fees added by Capitaria, however, the website states a number of different fees added by different banks and their processing, so be sure to check which bank you are depositing to and if they are adding any additional transfer fees.

Withdrawal Methods & Costs

While the information is not present on the website, it would be assumed that the same methods for depositing will also be available for withdrawing. We would also be assuming that the same fees will also be applicable to the withdrawals.

Withdrawal Processing & Wait Time

No information regarding withdrawal times was present on the website,e normally requests are processed within 48 hours and then once processed bank transfers can take between 3 to 5 business days and credit or debit card withdrawals can take between 1 and 5 business days.

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 in the future, so if you are on the lookout for bonuses, make sure to regularly check back to see if anything has popped up.

Educational & Trading Tools

In terms of education, there are some very basic tools available to you, there is an economic calendar but it is not the most informative and there are better ones already out there. There are also some webinars that you can sign up to in order to view different types of tutorials live, you can also view any historical webinars too. Finally, there is a blog, but this does not add too much value and far better resources are available throughout the internet.

Customer Service

There isn’t a dedicated support page on the site so instead, we had to find the contact details down in the footer of the website. You can get in contact at three different locations including Santiago, Lima, and Montevideo, there is a phone number present for both as well as a physical address. Finally, there is also an online chat which we attempted to use but did not get a response. No mention of when support is open usually it is 24 hours a day 5 days a week but we can not confirm this for Capitaria.

Demo Account

There does not seem to be a direct way to open up a demo account from the website, if demo accounts are around then they may be opened from within the client area rather than creating a demo account from scratch.

Countries Accepted

We could not locate this information, if you are unsure if you are eligible for an account we would recommend getting in contact with the support team to find out, hopefully, you will have more luck than us.

Conclusion

Plenty of missing information and quite important information at that including withdrawal information, the lack of deposit methods being stuck with bank deposits and only one bak accepting cards is a little bit of a shame. These things combined with the lack of information on spreads and trading costs make Capoitaria a hard one for us to recommend over the other great brokers that are out there.

We hope you like this Capitaria review. If you did, be sure to check out some of the other reviews to help find the broker that is right for you.

CPT Markets is held under the CPT Markets Limited, and the company’s registered address is located in Belize. This company is officially and legally regulated by FCA and also ‘regulated’ by the Belize International Financial Services Commission, which adds some peace of mind for clients should any trade issues arise, and should they wish to file a formal complaint that could cause damage to the company’s reputation. However, this broker appears to be relatively new, however well established enough in the industry since they also offer white label packages as well as trading services.

Account Types

CPT Markets offer 3 account types to choose from, and each has slightly different benefits:

-Standard
-PRO Bare Point
-Platinum

All accounts do however have access to MT4 trading platform, the same leverage allowance, no maximum limitation to the number of open trades, access to variable spreads, and all have the same access to the same tradable assets. In fact, all bar one feature is the same across all accounts. The only variation is that the floating spreads vary; the Standard account has spread from 1.8 while the Pro Account has spreads starting from 0.1 and finally the PLatinum account spreads start from 0.6 pips.

Platforms

CPT offers an MT4 trading platform, which to many is the preferred and most reliable trading platform to date. CPT Markets offer their services fully compatible with PC Desktop and Mobile versions. CPT Markets also offer their very own customized version of the perhaps slightly lesser-known, cTrader platform, should you prefer this one as an alternative.

Leverage

All 3 account types have access to the same leverage allowance, which is 1:1000. Yes, you heard that right- 1:1000! That is incredibly generous and also not particularly common to find in a broker. While this leverage allowance may appear incredibly appealing, one must utilize this carefully as high leverage can also be a risky tool in one’s trading; it is important to ensure you understand leverage and how it works before using such high leverage.

Trade Sizes

The minimum trade size required from clients of CPT Markets is 0.01 lot. Thi sis the same for all 3 account types. The maximum trade volume allowed (for all 3 accounts also) is 60 lots. CPT also allow their clients to have an unlimited threshold of open positions at once, providing collectively they do not go beyond the 60 lots.

Trading Costs

It is odd that commission and swap fees are not actually mentioned on the website, so we asked the customer support (via Email) and received only an automated message assuring me someone would get in touch soon, but a reply was never received. As a result, we cannot confirm any trading costs in terms of commission and/or swap fees that CPT Markets may charge.

Assets

CPT Markets offer a small but also a fair range of tradable assets:

• 36 Forex
• 4 Commodities
• 9 Stock Indices
• 5 Cryptocurrencies

It is nice to see that this broker is staying ahead of the game by offering cryptos to satisfy the ever-increasing popularity of cryptos. unfortunately, the available assets are not displayed on the website, but of course, a demo is available to check these. Without doing so, there is no guarantee the above-mentioned number of tradable instruments are truly available. This is very poor conduct on the broker’s part and a very sneaky way to lure clients into registering for an account right away.

Spreads

Although the CPT Markets website does not provide live spreads, one would naturally assume the next step is to open a demo and check out the spreads there, which is the best option anyway to see if these spreads coincide well with your trading style and meet your expectations. The only thing we know about the spreads offered by CPT Markets is that 1, they are variable, not fixed, and 2, the floating spreads start from different pip points, depending on which account type you choose. The website tells us the following:

Standard: from 1.8 pips
PRO Bare Point: from 0.1 pips
Platinum: from 0.6

Minimum Deposit

For all accounts (Standard, PRO, and Platinum) it is actually rather strange that the minimum deposit, according to the website, is the same for all, which is 500 USD. It seems odd that there are 3 account types, and they all have the same features with an exception of the spreads. It is, however, not a bad thing, that the minimum deposit requirement is the same across the board, for the client, which means there is one less deciding factor into which account type to opt for.

Deposit Methods & Costs

CPT Markets included the funding method available on their website: China UnionPay. This is just the one deposit method available, which some may find restricting or else not suitable for them individually.

Withdrawal Methods & Costs

The only withdrawal method that CPT Markets offer is China UnionPay which as mentioned above, may seem restricting to offer just one method as this could mean it is a likely factor that could deter many potential clients from registering as a result of not having banking services with this one provider.

In regards to depositing as well as withdrawal fees from the broker, no charges are mentioned but it is always good to check with your banking provider to see if you are individually liable for any applicable fees.

Withdrawal Processing & Wait Time

Withdrawal processing timescales is not something that is mentioned on the website, however, in this case, it is always advisable to check with the banking provider (if you have accounts held with China UnionPay) and asks them directly what timescale you should expect to receive your funds from a broker after processing. Unfortunately, even processing timescale for withdrawals is a question we asked the customer service email team but a response was never received, so we cannot confirm this at this time.

Bonuses & Promotions

The only bonus scheme that CPT Markets offers is now! This bonus scheme runs from the 1st Dec 2019- 29Th Feb 2020. This scheme is giving All CPT Markets first deposit customers up to $500 per account. If you are new to bonus schemes, ensure you fully read and understand the terms and conditions that apply with such promotions, as withdrawing profits is not as simple as it may appear on the surface.

Educational & Trading Tools

CPT Markets have a website tab titled ‘Education’ which provides some basic videos and small amounts of reading material on the basics of Forex Trading. However this tab is slightly misleading in the sense that yet again this broker seems keen to get clients to sign up before knowing too much about what they’re getting into; on the education tab, yes, there is some info on the advantages of trading with this particular broker, however, this is then closely followed by a rather sly ‘register now!’ section to encourage people to sign up ASAP.

Customer Service

CPT Markets offer customer support on a 24/7 basis via telephone or email. However, for an FCA regulated company, you’d expect this status to reflect on the quality of customer service provided which was actually fairly disappointing; it took over 4 hours to receive an automated email response, and even after that, a comprehensive response to an email attached with basic queries, was never received.

Demo Account

It is not obviously set out on the website, but CPT Markets do offer a demo account to their potential clients. In this case, it makes it possible to see and confirm the advertised tradable assets offered, as well as testing the leverage and other trading conditions they claim to offer, to see if these fit well with your individual trading strategy.

Countries Accepted

Due to FCA regulation status of this broker, most countries, bar the USA are eligible to trade with CPT MArkets, however, it is of course down tot he individual to check if your jurisdiction or residency allows the use of such services.

Conclusion

When you are presented with an FCA regulated broker, especially one that appears to be reasonably well established, the expectation on the high quality of service is automatically there. CPT Markets for some reason seems to lack sophistication when it comes to the reality versus expectations of this broker. The reason for this conclusion starts with the fact this broker does not state all specific assets that are available to trade.

Moreover, there is no way for clients to know the withdrawal timescales, and even when they ask the customer support team (email/telephone- no live chat facility available), even after the standard 48-hour wait, a response was never even received! It all appears to be very poor conduct from a regulated company.

GalaFX appears to be a relatively new unregulated Forex broker to join the industry, which can be deduced from the little talk it currently receives online and on social media platforms. Nevertheless, the website advertises enticing trading conditions and including a 15% bonus if you decide to move your current competitive forex account over to GalaFX. This offer could appeal to many of those who already have a live account but maybe looking for a new trading service with potentially more appealing aspects.

Account Types

GalaFX keeps it simple by offering one type of demo and one type of live account. The website does not offer too much int the way of specifications of the live account, meaning you need to scout around the website and ask live chat specific questions to get a clear overview. The following information was not displayed on the website clearly or at all which was not helpful, so instead, the live chat facility was used to share the following: Maximum leverage: 1:500, min trade size is 0.01 lot, and the minimum deposit is $100. Due to an unresponsive live chat and a very bare website in terms of the provision of information, this is all we could establish so far.

Platforms

GalaFX offers both MT4 and MT5 platforms, both offering web trader, mobile and desktop compatibility meaning clients can trade both at home or whilst out and about.

Leverage

GalaFX offers a maximum leverage of1:500 which is more than amicable, and very favorable for the wider majority of clients; the possibility of being able to maximize profits by a scale of 500 is definitely a bonus in itself.

Trade Sizes

0.01 is the minimum trade size allowed, which is stated on the website. It is unknown if there is a maximum trade volume cap so we cannot comment on this at this time.

Trading Costs

GalaFX website does not tell us the commission or swap fees (if any) and unfortunately, the customer service team did not generate a response, even after 36 working hours wait. For this reason, we cannot comment on this at this time but do bear in mind these costs may well be applicable.

Assets

It is most absurd that a broker does not state which markets they give access for their clients to trade; GalaFX does not say which tradable assets are available for CFD trading (on the website. It is additionally unhelpful that once more the customer support live chat and email service never responded to this question, even 36 hours after submitting this query. So, at this time, we can not confirm exactly which markets, other than FX (assumably, the majors as well as the general Forex pairs you’d expect to see) are available to trade.

Spreads

It is impossible for us to comment on whether GalaFX offers fixed or Floating spreads as this could not be answered by the website or customer support. We do however know that the spreads start from 0.01 pip according to the website.

Minimum Deposit

The website states that the minimum deposit requirement is $100. In comparison to other brokers, this is fairly reasonable as it is not overly expensive, although maybe a little above the average of other brokers of the same level of establishment and service.

Deposit Methods & Costs

As with many aspects we have tried to establish about this broker, it may come as no surprise that GalaFX has not let on which deposit methods are even available to their clients, on both the website or even via email response- no response was received.

Withdrawal Methods & Costs

Unfortunately, GalaFX does not tell us which withdrawal methods are available – and is there are any associated costs- on the website, nor did we get any luck with getting a response from the customer support email address that the website provides.

Withdrawal Processing & Wait Time

It was impossible for us to gather any information regarding GalaFX deposit/withdrawal methods, costs, and timescales, so, unfortunately, we cannot comment on this at this time. But this should be noted as a seriously concerning element and therefore all should approach this broker with intent caution as this broker has not demonstrated a very trustworthy feel at all.

Bonuses & Promotions

GalaFX offers a deposit bonus but it is understood this is NOT a revolving product, but instead, a one time offer for the very first deposit. GalaFX gives 20% of the initial deposit, not exceeding USD 2000. The website does state that this offer, however, is only valid until 31.12.2019.

Educational & Trading Tools

GalaFX offers some free educational tools such as e-books, videos (directly on the website) and also offers one-to-one training, which is also totally free of charge. In addition, there is also a Forex Glossary on the website for a quick reference guide which could be particularly beneficial if you are just starting out in your forex career and still need to learn forex terminology.

Customer Service

The quality, or lack of, we should say, of customer support from GalaFX is overall, possibly one of the worst you could find in a broker; the email address provided and the live chat is unresponsive 99% of the time, even though they are supposed to be operative on a 24/7 basis (according to the website). This is evidently not the case.

Demo Account

GalaFX does offer a demo account which is handy if you are wanting to practice your trading skills and test your strategies against their trading conditions. This is good practice whether you are a total novice or an experienced trader so that you can gauge if your trading style fits well with what you will be provided on a live account.

Countries Accepted

Due to the fact this broker is unregulated, you are personally and individually responsible for finding out if your residency/jurisdiction allows you to make use of such trading services. Unfortunately with GalaFX there is no shortcut to finding out which countries are accepted without actually registering first and finding out from there.

Conclusion

GalaFX has ranked disappointingly low in comparison to other brokers of the same or similar standing. The recurring obscurity and ambiguity presented on the website, coupled with a totally unresponsive customer service team, who are supposed to be there 24/7, is incredibly frustrating and also a cause for concern. If a broker cannot provide simple information, how can they be trusted with the public’s money and the possibility of being able to withdraw it?

ATFX is an online FX and CFD broker that is located in St. Vincent & the Grenadines and regulated by the Financial Services Authority (FSA). This particular broker is managed by AT Global Markets Limited and is part of the AT group, with sister companies that have been regulated by the FCA and CySEC. The company was founded in 2014, giving them a few years to become more established. Considering the success of the overall brand, it seems that this broker will be up and running for many years to come. If you’re interested in a commission-free, spread only account type, then this broker may very well be a suitable option.

Account Types

Traders registering through ATFX will be limited to one main account type. We do enjoy seeing diversity, although there should be no issues with this limitation, should one find the conditions to be advantageous. Tradable instruments are made up for Forex majors, minors, and exotics, Precious Metals, Crude Oil, Indices, and Share CFDs. It costs $100 to open an account and leverage options are based on the type of asset that it being traded, with a maximum cap of 1:200. Trade sizes are also based on the type of asset that is being traded. Trading costs are built directly into the spreads, meaning traders will not have to worry about commissions at all with this broker. Conditions have been outlined below.

ATFX Account:
Minimum Deposit: $100 USD
Leverage: Up to 1:200
Spreads: 0.6 pips on EUR/USD
Commissions: None

The broker requires a form of ID (Identity card, Driver’s License, Passport) to be uploaded before the registration process can be completed.

Platform

If you decide to open an account through this broker, you’ll be trading through the world’s most popular trading platform, MetaTrader 4. Even with further advancements in the time since the program was released, MT4 still remains the best-suited platform on the market, due to its wide array of features, including the ability to tailor indicators by customizing scripts, libraries, and even EAs, 31 chart analysis tools and 30 different indicators, support for a wide variety of trading instruments, market diversity, and more.

Another important factor that adds to the platform’s success would be how easily it can be accessed by downloading on PC, Mac, or Mobile devices. MT4 can be downloaded on any device that supports the App Store or Google Play, including iPhone, iPad, Android, etc. Those that don’t wish to download the platform can also access MT4 via WebTrader, which provides the same experience in a browser-based version.

Leverage

Leverage options are dependent on the asset class that is being traded and caps are as follows: 1:20 on Shares CFDs, 1:50 on USDX and FX exotics, 1:100 on Oil and Indices (not including USDX), 1:200 on FX majors and minors, Gold, and Silver. Overall, the maximum cap here is slightly lower than what one may typically see with the competition. It is worth noting that beginners, or even more advanced traders, likely won’t even notice the cap, since many prefer to trade with a leverage of 1:100 or lower. If you’re just getting into trading, you’ll definitely want to stick with lower leverage than the 1:200 option. If you prefer the high-risk experience that comes with trading higher leverages, this broker may not be a good fit.

Trade Sizes

The minimum trade size is 0.01 lot, or one micro lot, on all asset types. There is a maximum trade size of 20 lots on FX majors, minors, and exotics, Metals, Oil, and Indices. The maximum trade size for Share CFDs is 500 lots. The broker does not detail any margin call or stop out levels on the website.

Trading Costs

This broker profits through spreads, swaps, and withdrawal fees in special cases. The trading cost has been built-into the spread on the broker’s sole account type, making it simpler to calculate how much it really costs to place a trade. Of course, some would prefer to pay commissions in exchange for lower spreads; however, we can say that the spreads with this broker are fairly competitive, especially considering that commissions are not applicable.

Swaps are applied to positions that are held overnight, with triple charges on Wednesdays. Traders can only view applicable swap fees from within the trading platform. If a withdrawal is made with no trading activity in the client’s account since the previous deposit, the broker will charge a fee of 5%, applied on the amount of the previous deposit. This charge will be applied to the credited amount of the withdrawal.

Assets

Asset classes include FX, Precious Metals, Crude Oil, Indices, and Shares CFDs. FX options are made up of 43 currency pairs, including majors, minors, and exotics. Precious metal options are limited to Gold and Silver. Crude Oil options include WTI Oil and Brent Oil. 15 types of Share Indices are offered from the US, Europe, and Asia. The broker also offers 50 major US and German shares from famous enterprises like Apple, Amazon, etc. Altogether, the broker is offering 110+ tradable instruments.

Spreads

Due to the No Dealing Desk (NDD) policy adopted by the broker, traders can expect to see transparent spreads with no intervention from the company. This works well and leaves us with spreads that are fairly competitive. For example, we see spreads as low as 0.6 pips on the pair EUR/USD. On Share CFDs, we see spreads that can be as low as 0.5 pips, according to the broker. On the downside, it can be difficult to find a lot of examples on the spread through the broker’s website, so we can’t provide further examples of the typical spreads on other instruments.

Minimum Deposit

The broker requires a standard $100 minimum deposit when opening an account. Even in situations where a deposit amount is not required, it’s always going to cost something to maintain some trading activity. Therefore, we feel that $100 is a sturdy deposit amount that still manages to fall slightly below the industry average. Traders should be able to maintain their balance long enough without having to make another deposit immediately.

Deposit Methods & Costs

ATFX allows traders to fund their accounts with cards, electronic payment methods, and bank transfers. All of the available deposit methods are as follows: Visa, MasterCard, Neteller, Skrill, Ngan Luong, Local Bank transfer, and Bank Wire Transfer. As long as the client has provided necessary documents and completed the verification process, the broker will be able to process and credit deposits instantly. In the case of Bank Transfers, it can take 3-7 business days for funds to be processed. There are 0 fees charged on all deposit methods, aside from Bank Wire Transfers. Bank fees will be applied on funded amounts less than $1,000, while the broker will cover any fees upon proof of receipt for deposit amounts of more than $1,000.

Withdrawal Methods & Costs

Due to the broker’s anti-money-laundering policy, funded amounts must be withdrawn via the same payment method used to deposit. Fees are only applied to Bank Wire withdrawals. The first withdrawal via this method per month will be fee-free and the company will charge administration fees on subsequent withdrawals. A $5 USD fee will be charged on withdrawals equal to or less than $100. If the amount of a single withdrawal is more than $200, the withdrawal will be free of charge. For the second Wire withdrawal request of the month, a $40 fee will be charged on the bank’s behalf.

Withdrawal Processing & Wait Time

It takes the company 1-2 days to process each withdrawal application. All electronic payment methods (Neteller, Skrill, Ngan Luong) are available instantly once processed. Wait times for Visa/MasterCard withdrawals are subject to bank processing times and exact time frames are not listed. It can take 2 business days to receive Local Bank Transfer after processing and it can take between 3-7 business days to receive Bank Wire Transfers once processed. The exact timeframe would depend on the individual bank.

Bonuses & Promotions

The broker is currently offering a $100 Welcome Credit and a Rebate Promotion. In order to claim the $100 bonus, traders would need to deposit at least $200 USD. The amount becomes fully withdrawable once the client has traded 6 Standard Lots. This promotion is only valid in the Philippines, Malaysia, Thailand, and Indonesia. As for the Rebate Promotion, cashback is paid back per Standard Lot traded.

The higher the net deposit, the higher the amount the trader will earn per lot. The maximum payout is also dependent on the net amount. For example, a net deposit from $1.00 to $1,000 will earn a $1 rebate per lot, with a maximum payout of $100. A net deposit of more than $10,000 would earn $5 per lot, with a maximum payout of $2,500.

Educational & Trading Tools

All offers in this category are located under the “Market Analysis” section of the website. As far as educational resources go, options are limited to seminars. This section of the website is laid-out conveniently and the broker lists the title and date of any upcoming seminars. Sadly, this just won’t be enough to help a beginner trader get on their feet. Tools are limited to an economic calendar, quarterly market outlook, and Trading Central.

Demo Account

This broker offers demo accounts for any trader that would like to use one. Since this service is provided free of charge for any potential or existing client, this would be an excellent opportunity if you need more practice, or if you’d like to test out this broker before opening a real account. Demo accounts can be funded with between $1,000 USD and $5,000,000 USD in virtual currency by selecting a predetermined amount from a drop-down list. The broker only requires a few personal details, including name, phone, email, and country when signing up for a demo, so you’ll be able to get straight to trading.

Customer Service

Support is available 24 hours a day, Monday through Friday and is provided in 13 languages, including English, Cantonese, Mandarin, Spanish, Italian, German, Arabic, Thai, Uyghur, etc. In order to get in touch with an agent, one can use LiveChat (available directly on the website), phone, or email. The broker is also active on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, and YouTube.

All inquiries will be directed to the same email address, while phone calls will need to be made to the office corresponding with one’s location. Response time is typically one day through email or social media. As usual, we did attempt to try out the LiveChat feature; however, we were greeted with a message stating that agents were not available at the time. Considering that this was within business hours, we were disappointed with the service and it made the instant contact option seem less convenient.

On a positive note, we did manage to get in touch with an agent immediately on our next attempt, so this somewhat made up for the previous experience. All listed contact information is included below.

Email: [email protected]

Phone:
China: +84 284 458 1666
Taiwan: (2) 231 2153
Malaysia: 400-1200-143
Philippines: 1800 813 690
Thailand: 0080 112 7901
Vietnam: 180012752

Countries Accepted

On their website, the broker claims that service is not provided to residents of Canada, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Iran, and the United States of America. On the sign-up page, we did find Canada and Iran listed, so it seems that it would still be possible to open an account from one of those locations. The other two options are missing from the list entirely, so it seems that residents of the US and DPRK won’t be able to register.

Conclusion

ATFX is a regulated broker that offers leveraged trading on more than 110 tradable instruments. The broker is best for traders that prefer for all trading costs to be charged through the spreads, with no commissions. Since only one account type is available, this is the only pricing option. The spreads with this broker do seem to be below average, although the website could provide more details. Leverage caps are dependent on the asset category, although the maximum cap is not entirely impressive, at 1:200 on FX majors and minors, and Gold and Silver.

Aside from Bank Wire, all deposits and withdrawals are completely free. Multilingual support is available 24/5 via LiveChat, phone, email, or social media, although there were no agents online when we first attempted to test out LiveChat. Sadly, educational resources are not sufficient enough for beginners and there are only a couple of tools available on the website. There are a couple of ongoing promotions, including a $100 Welcome Credit that would be advantageous to anyone opening a new account.

Stock Global is a global brokerage firm based in the Republic of Marshall Island whos rich experience in the global financial markets enables them to build a reliable company that offers superior trading conditions to both amateur and experienced traders. That is what their site says and this review is designed to delve into what is being offered to see if they can live up to it and then enable you to decide if they are the right broker for you.

Account Types

There are 4 accounts on offer from Stock Global, each with their own entry requirements and trading conditions, we will briefly look at what is on offer.

Bronze Account: The bronze account is the entry-level account, it has a minimum deposit of 250 which is reasonable. This account comes with spreads starting at 2.8 pips, and no added commissions. Leverage can be up to 1:300 and uses MetaTrader as a trading platform. The base currency for the account can only be in USD. Trade sizes range from 0.01 lots up to 50 lots and the stop out level is set at 5%. Expert advisors are not usable on this account.

Silver Account: The silver account increases the minimum deposit to $2,000, a lot of features such as leverage, trade sizes, base currency, trading platform and stop out level. One major difference is that the silver account is able to use expert advisors while the bronze account can not. Spread is also reduced down to a starting level of 2.5 pips.

Gold Account: The gold account increases the minimum deposit further as it now sits at $10,000. It isn’t much different from the silver account, the main difference is the spreads, which have been reduced to 1.5 pips as a starting level. Al other aspects such as leverage and trade sizes remain the same.

Platinum Account: The top-level account from Stock Global, this account requires a minimum deposit of $50,000 which will price out the majority of retail traders. Spreads have reduced down to 0.1 pip as a minimum and there is still no commission charged to this account. All other features seem to remain the same such as leverage, trade size, stop out levels and the ability to have unlimited open positions.

Platforms

Just one platform on offer, the good news is that it is the ever-popular MetaTrader 4 which is always a good option to have.

MetaTrader 4 (MT4) is one of the world’s most popular trading platforms and for good reason. Released in 2005 by MetaQuotes Software, it has been around a while, it is stable customizable and full of features to help with your trading and analysis. MT4 is compatible with hundreds and thousands of different indicators, expert advisors, signal providers and more. Millions of people use MT4 for its interactive charts, multiple timeframes, one-click trading, trade copying and more. In terms of accessibility, MT4 is second to none, available as a desktop download, an app for Android and iOS devices and as a WebTrader where you can trade from within your internet browser. MetaTrader 4 is a great trading solution to have.

Leverage

The maximum leverage being offered by Stock Global is 1:300, this can be selected when opening up an account, various other increments are also available to choose from. 1:300 is a good level as it offers a lot of profitability without letting you use huge amounts of risk. Once an account is open, you can change the leverage by getting in contact with the customer service team, there must be no trades open at the time of the request and until the request has been processed.

Other tradable assets such as Indices have different leverage with indices having maximum leverage of 1:100, metals 1:100, energies 1:100, futures at 1:50 and stock at 1:20.

Trade Sizes

Trade sizes start at 0.01 lots which are also known as a micro lot, they then go up in increments of 0.01 lots so the next trade size would be 0.02 lots and then 0.03 lots. The maximum trade size available is 50 lots which are a good limit as we would not recommend trading over that amount anyway as it can become increasingly harder for liquidity providers and the market to execute larger trades instantly and without any slippage.

Trading Costs

It does not appear that there are any commissions charged, at least that is according to the website. The accounts use a spread based payment structure that we will look at in the spread section of this review. There are swap charges though, these are either paid or received from holding trades overnight and can be viewed directly within the available trading platforms.

Assets

Assets of Stock Global are broken down into a number of different categories, we will briefly have a look at them to see what is on offer.

Currency Pairs: In terms of forex pairs, there are currently 43 different pairs on offer, these are across the major pairs, minor pairs, and exotic pairs. Some examples of what is available as EUR/USD, AUD/CAD and EUR/NOK.

Indices: Indices are present, there are 15+ available so plenty to chose from, some examples are the US30, NSDQ-100, and UK100.

Metals: Metals are available to trade with both Gold and Silver being available and gold is tradable against both the USD and EUR currencies.

Energies: Three different energies are there to be traded, these are Spot UK Brent, Spot US WTI and Natural Gas.

Futures: There are 10 futures on the Stock Global platform, these include Wheat, Cocoa, and Cotton, they offer competitive trading conditions and tight spreads.

Shares: The final asset type is shares, plenty available to trade such as Apply, Amazon, Ferrari, and eBay.

With so many assets available it is a surprise to not see cryptocurrencies making an appearance, they are quickly becoming a major trading instrument for many new and experienced traders.

Spreads

Spreads are dependant on the account that you are using and the asset that you are trading. When trading currencies, if you have a bronze account you will be looking at spreads starting at 2.8 pips when trading the EUR/USD pair, the same pair will have a minimum spread of 2.5 pips on the silver account and 1.5 pips on the gold account. The platinum account has greatly reduced spreads due to the added commission.

It is worth noting that these spreads are variable (floating) which means that they go up and down depending on the volatility and market conditions, however, they will not drop below the stated starting amount of pips. As mentioned, different assets will have different starting spreads as some naturally have higher spreads in the market.

The spreads on the bronze account are pretty high when compared to other brokers and we would usually want to see starting spreads at under 2 pips.

Minimum Deposit

The minimum amount to open up a standard account (bronze) is $250, if you want an ECN account then the minimum required will be $50,000 which will price out a lot of people. Usually, after the initial deposit, the next deposit used to “top-up” your account will be reduced however there is no mention as to whether this applies to Stock Global or not.

Deposit Methods & Costs

Only three methods on offer when depositing with Stock Global, these are Bank Wire Transfers, Credit and Debit cards, and Bitcoin. It is nice to see bitcoin being included as a lot of people are now beginning to use it as a money transfer method. It would have been nice to see some e-wallets included, but the methods used are secure and accessible.

There is no mention of any fees or if the fees are covered by Stock Global, but the fact that there are no fees mentioned leads us to believe that there are none added when depositing.

Withdrawal Methods & Costs

The same three methods of Bank Wire Transfer, Credit and Debit cards and Bitcoin are available to withdraw. Similarly to the deposits, there are no mentions of any fees so we are assuming that there are none added to withdrawals which would be nice to see.

Withdrawal Processing & Wait Time

Withdrawal requests are processed the same day as long as they are made between 09:00 and 18:00 if requested after 18:00 then they will be processed on the next working day. Bank transfers then normally take between 3 – 5 working days, credit and debit cards also between 3 – 5 working days and Bitcoin will come as soon as there are confirmations on the network.

Bonuses & Promotions

There does not appear to be any promotions or bonuses active on the site, this does not mean that there won’t be any in the future so if you are interested in bonuses, be sure to keep checking back just in case one comes up.

Educational & Trading Tools

In terms of education, there is just an FAQ and a glossary of forex based terms in case you need to find out what something means. It is a shame to see nothing else to help make their clients a better trader as a lot of brokers are now investing in helping their clients become better traders.

Customer Service

There are a few different ways of getting in contact with Stock Global should you have any queries or concerns, they are also open 25/5 and close only when the markets do over the weekend. As with most brokers, there is an online form to fill out, once submitted you should receive an email as a response. There is also an email to email directly along with a phone number to speak to someone.

Demo Account

Demo accounts are available and Stock Global state that the conditions are similar to the real trading accounts, however, please bear in mind that they will never be identical. There isn’t much information in regards to the conditions and if you can select to have a demo account mimic any of the available account types or if you are just stuck with one of them, it would have been nice to have this information available. There is also no mention of how long the accounts last as some brokers only give you a certain number of days, while others last indefinitely so it would have been nice to know.

Countries Accepted

We had a look through the site and the terms and conditions however we could not locate any information regarding which countries are eligible and which are not so we would recommend getting in contact with the customer service team to make sure before you sign up.

Conclusion

Stock Global seem to offer a decent service with plenty of information available, having said that, the lack of real info regarding deposits and withdrawals can be a little concern but not one big enough to completely turn us off. The main downside of their trading conditions are the higher than normal spreads on the bronze account, however moving up to the gold the spreads become a lot better and more in line with the competition, the only bad thing about that is that you need a much bigger deposit to get to that level. The initial $250 minimum is great if only the trading conditions were a little better.

We hope you like this Stock Global review. If you do, be sure to check out some of our other reviews to help find the broker that is right for you.

FXFlat is a broker focusing on Forex, CFDs, and futures, they are based in Germany and was founded in 1997. FXFlat states that they have won multiple awards for their brokerage service and offer proven and powerful trading software and tools to help bring a beginner up to a professional level. In this review, we will be looking at what is on offer from FXFlat and to see if they live up to their own expectations,

Account Types

There are two account types on offer, the standard account, and the professional account, let’s take a little look to see what each of them offer and require.

Standard Account: The standard account requires an opening deposit of 200 Euro. Leverage depends entirely on the asset that you use and we will go into that in more detail in the leverage section of this review but for forex, this account offers up to 1:200 leverage. The margin call is set at 50%, there isn’t much more information on the accounts page, but we will go into more details about different reading conditions throughout this review.

Professional Account: Similarly to the standard account, there is not too much information available, this account requires a deposit of 200 euro plus, and in regards to its leverage, the forex remains at 1:200 as a max, other leverages are different but we will look at those in the leverage section of this review. Margin close is set at 100% for professional accounts.

Platforms

There are three platforms on offer from FXFlat, we will go over them and what they offer down below, it is great to have a choice so you can be sure you will find a platform that offers the tools you need.

MetaTrader 4 (MT4): MetaTrader 4 (MT4) is one of the world’s most popular trading platforms and for good reason. Released in 2005 by MetaQuotes Software, it has been around a while, it is stable customizable and full of features to help with your trading and analysis. MT4 is compatible with hundreds and thousands of different indicators, expert advisors, signal providers and more.

Millions of people use MT4 for its interactive charts, multiple timeframes, one-click trading, trade copying and more. In terms of accessibility, MT4 is second to none, available as a desktop download, an app for Android and iOS devices and as a WebTrader where you can trade from within your internet browser. MetaTrader 4 is a great trading solution to have.

MetaTrader 5 (MT5): MetaTrader 5 (MT5) is the younger brother of MetaTrader 4 (MT4)m developed by MetaQuotes Software and released in 2010, MT5 is used by millions and for good reason. Offering plenty of trading and analysis features to ain in your trading. Additional services expand the functionality of the platform making its capabilities almost limitless.

MetaTrader 5 offers the built-in Market of trading robots, the Freelance database of strategy developers, Copy Trading and the Virtual Hosting service (Forex VPS). Use all these services from one place, and access new trading opportunities. MetaTrader 5 is also highly accessible with it being available as a desktop download, application for iOS and Android devices and even as a WebTrader where you can trade from within your internet browser.

AgenaTrader: AgenaTrade is an award-winning software (according to FXFlat) designed specifically for FXFlat. Offering C# programming it offers huge amounts of customization in regards to automating your trading. There isn’t too much information regarding this platform on the site, but it comes free with any active clients of FXFlat.

Leverage

Leverage depends on the account that you use and the asset or instrument that you are trading, we have noted all available leverage below dependant on the account type.

Standard Account: Futures from 1:135, Spot forex 1:200, Index CFDs – main values 1:20. Index CFDs – Small caps 1:10, Forex CFDs – main values 1:30, Forex CFDs – Small caps from 1:10, Gold CFDs 1:20, Metal CFDs 1:10, Oils CFDs 1:10, Stocks of DE CFDs 1:5, Shares US CFDs 1:5, Interest CFDs 1:5, Crypto CFDs 1:2

Professional Account: Futures from 1:135, Spot forex 1:200, Index CFDs – main values 1:200. Index CFDs – Small caps 1:200, Forex CFDs – main values 1:200, Forex CFDs – Small caps from 1:200, Gold CFDs 1:200, Metal CFDs 1:200, Oils CFDs 1:50, Stocks of DE CFDs 1:10, Shares US CFDs 1:20, Interest CFDs 1:100, Crypto CFDs 1:3 

Trade Sizes

Trades start at 0.01 lots which are also known as a micro lot, trade sizes can then increase in increments of 0.01 lots so the next available trade size would be 0.02 lots and then 0.03 lots. We could not see any mention of maximum trade size, but no matter what it is we would not recommend going over 50 lots as it can become harder for instant execution the bigger you get.

Trading Costs

It does not appear that there are any commissions added to trades as there was no mention of them in the trading conditions page, there was only mention of spreads which we will go into later in this review. We are still unclear if there are commissions or not, but at the moment we feel that there are no added commissions. There are however swap fees that are either paid or received by holding trades overnight, these can be viewed from within the trading platform of choice.

Assets

FXFlat have broken down their tradable assets into the following categories of Futures, Forex CFDs, Spot Forex, CFD Individual Shares, Index CFDs, Crypto CFDs, CFD Commodities Metals and, CFD Euro Bund. There is not a full breakdown but quite a few are mentioned and displayed on the website, there are too many for us to go through but the selection includes a number of major tradable assets such as major, minor and exotic forex pairs, cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, Ripple and Ehteruem and Oils, metals such as Gold and Silver and many more. You will easily find something to trade with FXFlat.

Spreads

Spreads with FXFlat are floating or variable spreads, this means that they change depending on the market conditions, FXFlat also adds a markup to the spreads to make them slightly higher instead of charging a commission on each trade.

Spreads can start as low as 0.6 pips, however, for the most part, will not fall below 1.2 pips. It is also important to note that different assets and instruments naturally have higher spreads, so while some may sit at 1.2 pips, others will naturally site much higher.

Minimum Deposit

The first deposit has a minimum deposit value of 200 Euro, this is needed to open up one of the accounts. After this initial deposit, future deposits for already opened accounts will drop to 50 Euro.

Deposit Methods & Costs

There are a number of different deposit methods available, you can use bank transfers, you can also use credit or debit cards, PayPal, Instant Internal Transfer, iDEAL and Skrill. There are no added fees to deposits, however when using credit or debit cards, you can deposit up to 3 times and a total value of 15,000 Euro free, any further deposits will result in a 4% fee being charged.

Withdrawal Methods & Costs

The same methods to deposit are also available to withdraw, you must withdraw to the same account that you deposited to and can only change method once the same amount has been withdrawn as has been deposited. There are no added fees to withdrawals.

Withdrawal Processing & Wait Time

FXFlat aims to process withdrawal requests within 2 working days after it has been processed the amount of time it will take is dependant on the method used. E-wallets such as PayPal and Skrill should come within 15 minutes of being processed, credit or debit cards can take between 1 to 5 business days and bank transfers can take between 3 to 5 business days to arrive in your account.

Bonuses & Promotions

At the time of writing this review, there did not appear to be any promotions or bonuses available, however, there are several references to past ones so there may be some more available in the future.

Educational & Trading Tools

FXFlat offer some webinars but that’s about it when it comes to education, the webinars are available on YouTube once they are finished and offer some helpful advice but nothing that you can not find in other places on the net.

Customer Service

The FXFlat support team is open 24 hours a day from Monday to Friday. There are a few different ways of getting in touch including the broker’s favorite online contact form, fill in your query and you can expect a reply via email. There is also a call back service to leave your number and someone will give you a phone call back later. There are direct lines available to several departments including support and the trading desk. Finally, there is also a dedicated form for complaints which is nice to see.

Demo Account

Demo accounts are available, Simply click the open demo account button and fill in the form. The demo account gives you a taste of the trading conditions that FXFlat offers. When creating the demo account you can choose the platform to use and test and the account type. We did not locate information in regards to how long they last so we can not comment on that at the moment.

Countries Accepted

We did not see much information in regards to any countries that are excluded, so if you are unsure, be sure to get in contact with the support team to see if you are eligible for an account.

Conclusion

FXFlat offers some decent trading conditions, there are far worse looking environments to trade on out there. It would have been nice for there to be a bit more information in regards to the account features and some of the other items we looked at. Plenty of ays to get in contact is always a good sign. There is not enough information regarding deposits and withdrawals for us to be completely confident, but it appears that FXFlat could be a competent broker.

We hope you like this FXFlat broker review. If you did, be sure to check out some of the other reviews to help find the broker that is right for you.

The first thing the broker is associated is with the well known Cryptocurrency Exchange, Coinex. The name is used probably to get digital marketing upper hand although there are similarities as this broker deals only with the cryptocurrency accounts. Coinexx is a smaller group of a dozen employees that changed the orientation after acquisition or rebranding of FinproTrading.com to an exclusive crypto model. As for the regulation, there is none. They are located in Kingstown, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, one of the favorite locations for an easy entry into the brokerage business, some of which are not honest.

Also, the broker is from Seychelles, as the support staff told us, making things very confusing. Coinexx is very obscured about its location, it is nowhere to be mentioned on their website or in the legal documents. There is a considerable risk when dealing with a broker with crypto accounts, without regulation or verifiable location. Still, Coinexx has some solid ratings on the benchmark sites, probably the only way traders can put trust in. The broker recognized the need and the potential dealing with cryptocurrencies, an area where none of the heavily regulated brokers can get involved. On top, Coinexx offers some very competitive trading conditions and services. We will evaluate if the inherent risk this broker carries is worth your while.

Account Types

There is only one account type offered. The logic behind this is that there is no need to make selections, one account for all trader’s needs. This may be only temporary although traders can have a sense of simple, pure, and professional approach to trading without marketing or gimmicks. This is a good sign and a marketing strategy to show honest intentions and no reasons to hide behind flashy statements. As stated, the Pro ECN Account will be appropriate for scalpers, news traders, EAs, crypto lovers and the rest of fast strategy traders.

The main features are instant withdrawals, (apparently using the crypto technology), Secure and private Wallets, Crypto based accounts in BTC, BCC, LTC, ETH and USD, and negative balance protection. The Account is protected by Two Factor Authorization (2FA) method and it is also stated that Coinexx wallets are cut off from the internet, so-called cold wallets, that keep hacking impossible. In addition to account security, End to End encryption is in place. All trading styles are allowed. Commissions exist but they are one of the smallest in the industry. Spreads from 0.0 pips are promoted and also a bonus, whether this is true or just marketing will be evaluated in respective sections.

Platforms

Coinexx has two platforms offered, MetaTrader 4 and 5. All of the versions exist, For PC, Mac, iOS, and Android. The web MT4/5 is also available from the Client Portal that does not require any installation. The server scan showed two Coinexx servers, Demo and Live, with almost the same ping of 51ms. Log In was very quick giving a feeling the servers are not loaded and ready for fast executions.

The MT4 client is updated to the latest version with all the settings by default and visible One-Click trading buttons. The four classic charts show major Forex pairs with basic, included indicators. The execution times are just a bit over 150ms including the server latency, which is considered top tier in the industry.

The assets symbols are grouped although not very user-friendly, for example, Forex crosses and exotics have just a dot suffix to set it apart from the major currency pairs. Trade Terminal will account for the commissions and the swaps for each trade and instrument specifications are filled with enough information. The MT4 though does not show Cryptocurrencies available for trading, only MT5 does.

The MT5 has a bit different symbols layout and traders may need adaptation if their account nominated in BTC. Interestingly, we have noticed another Coinexx location in the About window. This time the broker is in Edinburgh, UK. Anyways, the execution is even faster than with MT4, with an average of 55ms, a figure that can rarely get better.

Coinexx stated that the liquidity is arranged with 20 tier 1 banks. The only drawback with MT5 is the lack of abundance of EAs and custom indicators. The base currencies available for MT5 are USD, BTC LTC, BCC, ETH, and XRP. We have noticed that the commission in MT5 is not displayed it the Trade terminal by default, it has to be enabled. The specification window states $1 per lot and this is per side.

Coinexx features a free VPS service. This VPS is located near their servers in Amsterdam. Coinexx also has servers in Chicago and London as stated by their staff. The VPS service is available for $5000 deposits or, if the trader does not meet the requirement, it is still available for $25 per month. The VPS service can be requested within the Client Portal or via chat.

Leverage

The leverage can be set up to 1:500. From the Client Portal, it is easy to change, the minimum one can set is 1:100, which may be too high for some traders. The maximum leverage is 1:500 for all major Forex pairs, while the exotics have between 1.6 to 10 times lower leverage. For example, USD/CHN has 1:50 leverage or GBP/TRY with 1:200. Indexes do not have any change while cryptocurrencies are all fixed to 1:5 maximum. Metals and Oil types retain a maximum of 1:500. Only Natural gas is reduced to 1:300.

Trade Sizes

Coinexx trade sizes are in micro-lots or 0.01 lot. The minimum trade size is set to 0.01 while the steps volume is also 0.01 lots. The maximum trade volume for Forex currency pairs is 100 lots. The same trade size setup is across all the offered instruments except for Indices where the minimum trade volume is 1 lot. The standard micro-lot trade sizes are convenient for precision trading and Money Management used in high-frequency trading.

Coinexx has somewhat higher Stop Out and Margins Call than usual. Stop Out is set at 50% margin level, a mark where most of the brokers set their Margin Calls. In the case of Coinexx, Margin Call is at 70%.

Coinexx is very friendly when it comes to Stops levels. We have not found an asset in their offer that does not have zero Stop level, meaning absolute freedom where to put your Stop Loss or Take Profit pending orders.

Trading Costs

There is a $2 commission charged for every lot traded. This is one of the lowest commissions in the industry as it is usually integrated if the broker uses raw, tight spreads. The swaps are a bit higher than usual, but under normal levels, calculated in points and tripled on Fridays. There are positive swap figures but know that the negative always overweight the positive swap.

For a better picture, the most traded currency pair, EUR/USD the swap is 1.86 for short and -8.92 for long. If you trade crosses, AUD/NZD has -3.9 long and -3.2 short position swap, EUR/CHF -2.5 long and -8.16 short, GBP/CAD -3.6 long and -5.32 short, etc. And in the exotic pairs area, some have very low swaps like GBP/MXN with -12.3 points long swap and -8.6 short, USD/PLN has -37.5 long and 1.5 short position swap. Of course, some are in the extremes like the USD/RUB with -430 long and 49.3 short. Precious metals do not have positive swaps. XAU/USD has -16.3 for long and -3.74 points for short position, while XAG/USD has -1.45 long and -0.55 on short.

Crypto swaps are calculated in USD, and in percentage terms, they are roughly 0.25% per day, depending on the crypto price. For example, BTC/USC has -$19.1 long and -$18.4 for short position, ETH/USD -$0.937 for long and -$0.475, Ripple -$0.0348 / -$0.0144, and so on. The commission is calculated in percentages, exactly 0.001% per side.
Coinexx does not charge any maintenance or inactivity fees, commission and the swaps are the only non-spread trading costs.

Assets

Coinexx does not have an impressive range of instruments apart for Forex. There are 5 categories if you trade with MT5 and 4 with MT4, where Cryptocurrencies are excluded. The forex range is great and will satisfy picky traders. We have counted a total of 68 currency pairs, far better than the average number other brokers offer. All the majors are present, lots of crosses and the exotics are under GBP and EUR too, not just the USD, hence the bigger Forex range. Coinexx covered exotic currencies like TRY, RUB, ZAR, SGD, HKG, MXN, HUF, CNH, PLN, CZK, and Scandinavian currencies.

Under the CFD group are Indices. The range is limited to the majors, a total of 11. Majors like FTSE, S&P, DAX and so on are mixed with some less popular like CAC 40, Hang Seng and IBEX 35.

Commodities range is limited to only energy assets, a total of 3. These are UK Oil, US Oil, and spot Natural Gas.

Metals are also limited, spot Gold and Silver are found, all denominated in USD.
Finally, Cryptocurrencies should be one of the best categories for a crypto broker, although to our surprise there are only 5 listed, and only in the MT5 platform. All of the coins are denominated in USD without any crosses. These are Bitcoin, Litecoin, Ethereum, Bitcoin Cash, and Ripple. Note that the trading session for Crypto is not 24/7, but 24/5 like the rest of the assets.

Spreads

The spread is a floating type and were not 0.0 pips at any moment during our observation, still, they are close enough. Spreads presented on the Coinexx website are not the ones we see on the platform, as they are not updating. The EUR/USD showed 2-4 points spread and even lower is the USD/JPY in the range of 1-3 points during a stable environment.

Similar spreads have AUD/USD, EUR/JPY, CAD/JPY and to our surprise, an exotic, USD/CHN. Coinexx is probably the only broker that offers 2 points spread on USD/CNH pair. Crosses have 5 points wider spreads, for example, EUR/AUD has 5-12 points, AUD/NZD 9-14 points, and GBP/CAD 10-18 points. Exotics have some unexpectedly small spreads, like the GBP/CZK – 2 pips, EUR/CZK – 7 points, and USD/HKD – 25 points. Others have normal spreads for their volatility. USD/MXN – 325 points, USD/HUF – 91 points, USD/RUB – 1100 points, and so on.

Precious metals have also very competitive spreads. XAU/USD did not go over 20 pips while XAG/USD had 3-4 pips. Cryptocurrencies show spreads that vary a lot more than other assets. For, example, BTC/USD varies between 40 and 60 pips, BCC/USD from 100 to 120 pips and XRP/USD 70-80 pips.

Minimum Deposit

The minimum deposit I very small for the current price of Bitcoin ($7000) and is 0.001 BTC. This low minimum is convenient if you are interested to test their services and withdrawals without risking considerable sums.

Deposit Methods & Costs

The deposits are possible by using many Cryptocurrencies. These will be converted to the base account currency you have selected at the broker rates if they differ. Deposit coins are Bitcoin, Litecoin, Ethereum, TrueUSD, Gemini USD, USDC, Bitcoin Cash, ZCASH, Monero, Binance Coin, OmiseGO, Lisk, Siacoin, NEM, Monaco, Stratis, Dash, Dogecoin, Ether Classic, NEO, BlackCoin, NXT, and Pot Coin. The transfer fees do not exist. For those unaware, any deposits made in crypto are permanent, the investor is not protected by chargeback by any financial institution.

Withdrawal Methods & Costs

Withdrawals are the same as deposits, using the cryptocurrency of choice, regardless of deposit coin. The minimum withdrawal amount is 0.001 BTC or $5 and there are no fees. Note that incorrect wallet address may result in permanently lost funds. Coinexx encourages small transfers before large sums to secure correct usage.

Withdrawal Processing & Wait Time

One of the selling points if Coinexx is the withdrawals. By using digital assets technology, they claim to have 48 hrs policy before the funds are reflected in the client’s e-wallet. By user reports, this processing time is correct.

Bonuses & Promotions

Coinexx offers a 100% bonus on first-time deposits with the maximum leverage of up to 1:200, requested within the Client’s Portal. The requirements are only $100 minimum deposit, no trading volume required. The bonus cannot be withdrawn and serves just like the fund’s extension. Any withdrawals that exceed the original deposit amount will reduce the bonus proportionally, but profits withdrawals will not affect the bonus. This kind of bonus does not have any purpose as it has the same function as the leverage, except in this case the leverage maximum is reduced to 1:200. Based on the bonus conditions, it is better to open an account with 1:500 leverage without the 100% bonus.
Coinexx also has PAMM/MAM accounts and Introducing Brokers (IB) programs.

Educational & Trading Tools

Coinexx does not have any educational material has calculators. They are presenting 7 calculators on their website. Forex, Margin, Pip, PNL, Commission and Swap calculator with the addition of currency convertor. In essence, it is one calculator that shows different figures. Forex calculator contains all of the calculations mentioned, Profit/Loss, Margin, Pip value, Commission, and the swap amount. It is well designed and useful.

Customer Service

What we have noticed is that the support is 24/7 and they respond quickly, in 1-minute for chat service. The staff is knowledgeable but may avoid direct answers on touchy questions like for example for their location. You may wait for half a minute for every new question and the response may not be in full, with additional relevant information that may interest you. There is also email contact but no phone lines. The website does not feature any FAQ so visitors will have to rely on the support for any questions.

Demo Account

The demo account has no limits and is opened only within the Client Portal. This means visitors need to register first. The phone number is required for this and is later used for OTP security, in addition to the optional 2FA. The demo will reflect the live account trading environment without any differences and the information provided.

Countries Accepted

Taking into account that this is now an exclusive cryptocurrency broker, there are no restrictions, as confirmed by the Coinexx staff.

Conclusion

The main issue Coinexx has is intricately connected to the nature of cryptocurrencies. There are multiple clone sites like coinexx.net, coinexx.org and similar, that are used by scammers so unwary visitors will deposit their crypto to addresses not owned by the broker. The reason the broker is attractive for such practices is hard to track owners of cryptocurrency wallets.

Coinexx is a popular choice for many US traders, as it allows much more leverage, good trading conditions, and the option to use cryptocurrencies in a way other brokers cannot. Definitely, the main drawback is the risk of having a broker that can get closed one day, without a trace and all the funds will probably be lost. There is no security here, even if Coinexx is legit. On the other hand, smaller accounts could be a great choice or for a quick in and out methods that will not allow exposure to such risks for too long. The broker location issue is better to leave aside, this obscurity is probably to avoid legal pressures by the governments that would like to put the cryptocurrencies in control.

As per user ratings, Coinexx is a solid broker and most of the complaints are met with the Coinexx staff response. We have not found any serious negatives in reading user experiences.

QuickTrade is a forex broker based in South Africa, during this review we will be looking into the service being offered by QuickTrade but as a word of warning, there is very little information available on the website so there may be some questions you have let unanswered by the time we finish.

Account Types

There isn’t any account-specific information available on the website, there are a few aspects that are relevant but we will be looking at them later on in this review in their individual sections.

Platforms

QuickTrade only offers one trading platform, the good news is that the available platform is MetaTrader 5.

MetaTrader 5 (MT5) is the younger brother of MetaTrader 4 (MT4)m developed by MetaQuotes Software and released in 2010, MT5 is used by millions and for good reason. Offering plenty of trading and analysis features to ain in your trading. Additional services expand the functionality of the platform making its capabilities almost limitless.

MetaTrader 5 offers the built-in Market of trading robots, the Freelance database of strategy developers, Copy Trading and the Virtual Hosting service (Forex VPS). Use all these services from one place, and access new trading opportunities. MetaTrader 5 is also highly accessible with it being available as a desktop download, application for iOS and Android devices and even as a WebTrader where you can trade from within your internet browser.

Leverage

The maximum leverage currently on offer is 1:100, leverage can be selected when opening up a new account.

Trade Sizes

Trades start at 0.01 lots and go up in increments of 0.01, so the next available trade size is 0.02 lots and then 0.03 lots. There is no mention of the maximum trade size however with most brokers this is between 50 lots and 100 lots but we would not recommend trading over 50 lots at the time as it can make it harder for liquidity providers and the market to execute the trade quickly without any slippage.

Trading Costs

In terms of additional costs, there isn’t any information, the spreads are noted (we look at these later in the review) but in terms of commissions, there is no mention of them, based on the spreads we would assume that there is none charged. Swap fees are present and are charged or paid for holding trades overnight, these can be viewed directly within the MetaTrader 5 trading platform once you log into your account.

Assets

There isn’t a full breakdown of the tradable assets or instruments but it appears that there are currently 30+ currency pairs, CFDs, EFTs and a few commodities and indices available, however, without the full breakdown, it is hard to see which ones and how many of each are on offer.

Spreads

Spreads start at 1.2 pips and are floating (variable) which means that they change depending on the market conditions. If the market is being volatile then the spreads will be a little higher, however, they will not fall below 1.2 pips. It is also worth mentioning that certain assets naturally have higher spreads and so may always be seen about 1.2 pips or even over 2 pips, but this is normal for all brokers.

Minimum Deposit

QuickTrade does not publicize what the minimum deposit is, so we, unfortunately, can not comment on this part of the review.

Deposit Methods & Costs

Just like the minimum deposit amount, there is no information about funding methods, the only information available is that all deposits must be in South African Rands, so this will alienate a lot of clients from outside South Africa. Information regarding deposits (as well as withdrawals) is vital for new clients so it is something that Quicktrade should work on providing.

Withdrawal Methods & Costs

Just like the other financial information, there is none available for withdrawing either. This is vital information and something that needs to be added to the site.

Withdrawal Processing & Wait Time

The trend continues and so we can not comment on this section of the review, however most brokers process within 48 hours so we will hope that QuickTrade does the same.

Bonuses & Promotions

There was no mention of bonuses or promotions on the site or in the terms so it does not appear that there are any available. There was, however, mention of a trading contest on the company’s Facebook page. A screenshot of that advert is shown below.

Educational & Trading Tools

There is something called “MT45 Training Login” on the site, however when clicking it, it takes us to a login page so we could not proceed any further, we expect this is a place to get to know and understand the MetaTrader 5 trading platform. There doesn’t seem to be much more information on the website.

Customer Service

There are a few ways to get in touch with QuickTrade, you can use the phone number provided to talk to someone directly, there is also an email address available, finally, there is an online chat system which we tested out but did not get through to anyone for the 10 minutes that we waited.

Demo Account

A demo account is available, simply click the open demo account link and fill in the required information. This is where we got a lot of the information regarding the accounts from, there is no mention of how long the accounts last or any other details like that.

Countries Accepted

While it is stated that other countries are accepted, it seems that QuickTrade is aiming their service solely at the South African market. If you really wish to signup, we would suggest trying to get in contact with the customer service team to see if you are eligible.

Conclusion

There is just too much information missing for us to be able to recommend using them as a broker, they have alienated a lot of potential clients by only accepting South African Rand as a currency and even with that, there is no information on how you can deposit or withdraw, this coupled with the fact that we were unable to get through to the customer service team means we can not recommend them at this time.

We hope you like this QuickTrade review. Be sure to check out some of the other forex broker reviews that we have in order to help find the broker that is right for you.

Phillip Futures is a primary futures-based broker which is situated in Singapore. Started in 1983 they have been running for a long time now and have grown to become one of the regions biggest brokers, their aim is to bring the global markets closer to individuals. In this review, we will be looking at the services that are being offered and to try and find out if they offer what they suggest and so you can decide if they are the right broker for you.

Account Types

It appears that there may only be one account type available. We will go over the individual conditions throughout this review as it is broken down into the appropriate categories.

Platforms

There are two platforms on offer from Phillip Futures, one being the ever-popular MetaTrader 5 and the other being a platform names Phillip Nova which seems to be a purpose-built platform, we will briefly look at what each one has to offer.

MT5: MetaTrader 5 (MT5) is the younger brother of MetaTrader 4 (MT4)m developed by MetaQuotes Software and released in 2010, MT5 is used by millions and for good reason. Offering plenty of trading and analysis features to ain in your trading. Additional services expand the functionality of the platform making its capabilities almost limitless.

MetaTrader 5 offers the built-in Market of trading robots, the Freelance database of strategy developers, Copy Trading and the Virtual Hosting service (Forex VPS). Use all these services from one place, and access new trading opportunities. MetaTrader 5 is also highly accessible with it being available as a desktop download, application for iOS and Android devices and even as a WebTrader where you can trade from within your internet browser.

Phillip Nove: The Phillip Nova platform was designed especially for the Phillip Futures site, it uses an HTML 5 interface and is compatible with both desktop and mobile devices. It offers a user-friendly interface, high mobile responsivity, a fully customisable trading layout and seamless trading between mobile and desktop. Plenty to trade with a there are 90+ instruments and live market news to go along with them.

Leverage

There isn’t actually any information regarding leverage on the website, as it is not a traditional forex broker there may not be any as most of the trading will be done via futures and commodities. Forex currencies are available, but no information regarding leverage is present on the site.

Trade Sizes

Trade sizes depend on what you are trading, different assets have different minimum or instance for Forex, Gold and Silver you can trade at 0.01 lots, while other assets such as coal and oil have a minimum trade size of 0.1 lots. There is no stated minimum but we would not use trades bigger than 50 lots as it becomes increasingly harder for, liquidity providers and the market to execute larger trades without any slippage.

Trading Costs

There isn’t much mention of any commissions except on two of the asset groups, for metals, it states that there is no commission, the same is stated for forex currency pairs, however for all other assets there is no mention of any commission. There are also swap fees mentioned which are either charged or paid for holding trades overnight, these swap fees can be viewed from within your chosen trading platform.

Assets

Phillip Futures is primarily a futures-based broker, so that is where the majority of their assets lie, they do have a number of others which we will briefly look at now. There are forex pairs, both majors and minors however there are only 40 in total, which is still more than some forex based brokers have. In terms of futures, there are plenty of them from multiple different markets, there are precious metals like gold and silver, there are also base metals such as copper and lead. There are agriculture futures in the form of Soybeans, Rubber, Crude Palm Oil and more along with energies such as Brent Crude, Natural Gas and Heating Oil.

Spreads

Spreads again depend on what you are trading, if you are trading forex pairs then a couple of examples of the spreads would be EUR/USD at 0.6 pips or GBP/USD at 0/8 pips. These are not bad considering it does not appear that there is any commission. All spreads on Phillip Futures are variable which means they move with the markets and in times of high volatility can be seen much higher. It is also important to note that different pairs and assets will naturally have different base spreads, some will be higher than the stated amounts at all times.

Minimum Deposit

The minimum deposit depends on what you want to trade, there is not a minimum for opening an account, instead, you need to ensure that you have enough to cover the trade you wish to make.

Deposit Methods & Costs

There are a few different deposit methods but they are all aimed at people who currently live in Singapore and have physical access to one of the branches, due to this we do not fully understand how the deposit methods are working, it does not appear that there are any added fees though.

Withdrawal Methods & Costs

Similarly to the deposit methods, we do not have a great understanding of the methods being used by Phillip Futures and so can not fully comment or give an informed opinion about them.

Withdrawal Processing & Wait Time

Withdrawal requests will be processed the same day as long as they are requested before 10 am, any requests after this time are processed the next working day.

Bonuses & Promotions

There is a promotion page but there isn’t anything that we would class as a real promotion or bonus. There is a refer a friend scheme which is similar to any other affiliate program and something about lower spreads on certain pairs but that is standard for all rather than an actual promotion.

Educational & Trading Tools

There are a couple of different educational things, firstly there are seminars and events, these help in Singapore so unless you are from there they won’t be of many benefits to you. There are also webinars than you can views online along with one on one coaching where you can sit with an expert to go over strategies and other trading based subjects.

Customer Service

There are plenty of options when it comes to getting in touch with Phillip Futures, there are multiple different departments including general enquiries, it supports, gold enquiries, futures dealing desk, bullion/forex desk, commodities/energies/metals desk, feedback and complaints, trading member enquiries and personal data protection. Each department has its own telephone number and email address to get in touch directly with them.

There is also the usual online contact form to fill in and you should then get a reply via email. It does not mention their opening times or how long a response should take, the only info is that if your query requires investigating it could take up to 14 days./

Demo Account

You can request a demo account from Phillip Futures by filling out the appropriate application form. The demo page just lists the benefits of the trading platform rather than any features of the demo account, so things like trading conditions and how long they last are currently unknown to us, there is also nothing in the FAQs regarding demo account.

Countries Accepted

The website does not state who it is intended for or who it is not, however, it is clear that they are focusing their trade on residents of Singapore and we would not recommend others signing up with them unless you are a resident there.

Conclusion

Phillip Futures is clearly targeting the Singapore market and have pretty much alienated the rest of the world due to their very limited and physical deposit methods. While the trading conditions seem quite favourable, the majority of people will not be able to experience them. Plenty of ways to get in touch is always a benefit and there are plenty of assets to trade, it would have been nice to have had a bit more information regarding trading conditions. If you are from Singapore then they may be a good choice, if you are not then it would be best to look elsewhere.

We hope you like this Phillip Futures review. If you did, please be sure to check out some of the other reviews to help find the broker that is right for you.

NPBFX is a Forex broker, registered in St Vincent and the Grenadines, and are in association, or rather, ‘registered’ with the Financial Commission Service, which is not to be confused with a regulating body as we know it, but more an undertone regulation body in which clients can approach in the case of feeling their broker has caused them to make a loss, which was made at the hand of the broker, and not the actual client trader. According to the website, they have been providing trading and forex services since 1996, so we can safely assume this broker is well equipped to provide a more than satisfactory service to its clients.

Account Types

NPBFX offer 3 live trading account types:

• Master
• Expert
• VIP

There is a comparison table for all 3 account types displayed on the website, clearly set out with each account specifications to help potential clients decide which account is most suitable. All 3 accounts have access to both MT4 trading platform as well as this broker’s very own customized platform, namely NPBFX Trader. No matter which account type you opt for, you will not be charged trade commissions, and all accounts also have the same access to the same markets. The minimum deposit requirements vary, which we will go into shortly.

Platforms

NPBFX offers the well known MetaTrader 4 platform (mobile, web and desktop versions all compatible) and they also offer their own NPBFX Trader Platform. It is also nice that despite which account type you choose, you can choose which platform you wish to use.

Leverage

NPBFX offer different leverage allowances according to the account type, which is as follows, as stated on the website:

• Master: 1:1000
• Expert: 1:200
• VIP: 1:200

All Leverage options are more than generous and competitive also. Even 1:200 allows traders to maximize profits greatly, taking into consideration especially the minimum deposit requirements.

Trade Sizes

Minimum trade size again varies according to the account type:

• Master: 0,01 (1 000 units of the base currency)
• Expert: 1,0 (100 000 units of the base currency)
• VIP: 1,0 (100 000 units of the base currency)

The trade size definitely seems fair and just in accordance with the minimum deposit requirement and the leverage allowed on each account.

Trading Costs

NPBFX does not charge any trade commission fees, on any of the 3 account types, which is definitely a bonus in itself for clients. In regards to the swap fees, they are specific to the pairs you are trading, which can be calculated accordingly and taking into consideration trade volume also. All relative information can be found on the website itself.

Assets

All 3 accounts have the same access to the same markets which are: 38 currency pairs, gold, silver, oil, and natural gas. This is not a particularly extensive selection of tradable assets for a broker to offer, with the majority of brokers in the industry offering a lot more.

Spreads

All tradable assets are shown on the website with their minimum (variable) spreads, the smallest appearing to be 0.4 pips. Overall, in comparison to brokers of similar standing, their spreads appear to be competitive.

Minimum Deposit

The minimum deposit requirement varies according to account type, which you can get from the website account comparison table:

• Master: 10 USD
• Expert: 5 000 USD
• VIP: 50 000 USD

The deposit requirement is also a good gauge to indicate the level of expertise a trader must go for when choosing the account type most suitable for them.

Deposit Methods & Costs

The website is very clearly set out and outlines deposit methods available very clearly. The deposit methods offered by NBPFX are Skrill, Neteller, Bank Wire (a very large variety of which you can see on the website) and also Visa/Master Card. Bank Cards, local bank transfer, and Wire Transfers are the only ones that come with a fee by the bank, while all other methods do not incur any fees from the broker.

It is also good to note that the more ‘modern’ approaches to money transfers such as Skrill and Neteller are available since these do seem to be the more popular methods these days, undoubtedly for the sheer ease of use as well as the speed of transfer.

Withdrawal Methods & Costs

The withdrawal methods are the same as the deposit methods, and again the costs are the same, other than it should be noted that WIre (swift) transfers incur a 100 EUR fee. It is always good to check with your own banking provider to see which fees you are liable for, before making any withdrawal requests with your broker. All Withdrawal methods available are displayed on the website, and another really useful thing is that there is a guide on ‘how to’ make the withdrawal, which is beneficial to those who are unfamiliar or uncertain with particular methods.

Withdrawal Processing & Wait Time

According to a live chat agent of NPBFX, All withdrawal requests are checked by the payment department which can take around 1 working day. Processing time does, however, depend on the withdrawal method used. Typically speaking banks (card/wire) can take anywhere between a few days and a week, and Skrill/Neteller are usually the same day/48 hours.

Bonuses & Promotions

The only promotional scheme that NPBFX offer is a one-time deposit bonus (first deposit made). It was not particularly clear to find this info on the website, but the live chat agent gave assistance promptly with the provision of information on this scheme. The welcome bonus essentially gives new clients $20 or equivalent currency.

Educational & Trading Tools

Aside from eh demo account offered, which is an excellent way of practicing and perfecting trading strategies, NPBFX also offers some free learning material and tools on the website including reading material, but this is only available once you register as a client, and then you will see it on the client portal.

Customer Service

NBPFX offers a very friendly and professional customer support team, which can be contacted via telephone, email or live chat on a 24/5 basis which is useful to have to hand int he case of any general queries, or trade issues. Alternatively, there is a handy FAQ page on the website to answer any basic questions or queries you might have as a potential client.

Demo Account

NPBFX does offer a demo account, which is good to use as part of a practice and training exercise, and of course, to backtest the trading conditions offered, which should reflect precisely on the live account. The only thing a demo does not take into account is things like slippage. So do bear that in mind.

Countries Accepted

Taking into account that NPBFX is not regulated, there is a disclaimer at the footer of the website stating regional restrictions include not providing services for Canada and United States residents. Be sure to check if your country allows the use of such services, before signing up. You can check individually with the customer support team also.

Conclusion

Taking into consideration all elements we have reviewed, NBPFX does seem like a very strong contender int he Forex Industry; The leverage options are competitive, as are the spreads, and 0 commission fees are charged to clients. Withdrawal options are lengthly in terms of selection, and the customer service is consistent, friendly and professional.

Global Market Index is a forex broker that claims to be one of the most respected names in online leveraged forex trading, they have offices based in the major financial hubs in London and Shangai. They state that they are committed to providing market-leading services and a fair transparent pricing structure. In this review, we will take a closer look at what is being offered to see if they can live up to their claims.

Account Types

There are 4 different accounts on offer from GMI Global Market Index, below wee take a little look at their differences and requirements.

Standard Account: The standard account is the entry-level account from Global Market Index, it has a minimum deposit amount of $2,000 which is quite high for an entry-level account. It has a leverage of between 1:50 and 1:200 and its minimum order size is 0.01 lots. Any orders either buy or sell must be made at least 2.4 pips away from the current market position and there are no restrictions when it comes to trading styles.

Plus Account: The majority of the plus account information on the accounts page is the same as the standard account apart from the change in the minimum deposit which increases up to $5,000. All other information remains the same but there must be some other differences, we will explore each part a bit later in this review to see what the differences actually are.

Pro Account: The pro account increases the minimum deposit up to $30,000 which will price out the majority of retail traders. Its leverage and minimum trade order remain unchanged but now the minimum order distance reduces down to 0 pips.

ECN Account: The ECN account has a huge minimum deposit amount of $100,000. All other parts of this account remain unchanged except for the minimum trade size which no longer states 0.0 lots but instead 1,000 contracts.

Platforms

Plenty of platforms available to sue, however, a number of them are not currently available to all regions, for example, 3 of the platforms were not available to people from the UK, so be sure to check if they are available for you to use.

MetaTrader 4 (MT4) is one of the world’s most popular trading platforms and for good reason. Released in 2005 by MetaQuotes Software, it has been around a while, it is stable customizable and full of features to help with your trading and analysis. MT4 is compatible with hundreds and thousands of different indicators, expert advisors, signal providers and more.

Millions of people use MT4 for its interactive charts, multiple timeframes, one-click trading, trade copying and more. In terms of accessibility, MT4 is second to none, available as a desktop download, an app for Android and iOS devices and as a WebTrader where you can trade from within your internet browser. MetaTrader 4 is a great trading solution to have.

GMI Alpine Trader is one of the platforms that are currently not available to UK clients, it offers intuitive UI, convenient trading from the charts, ability to trade in fixed dollar amounts, top of book view, OCO orders, server-based trailing stops (pip-by-pip) and, a VAT (Visual Algorithm Trading) wizard.

GMI Clear Pro: Not huge amounts of information on the site, but this platform offers full market depth view institutional platform, View Value Weighted Average Pricing (VWAP) for different order sizes, customizable workspace with module docking, 9 order types and up to 72 order combinations, one-click order reversal and, Micro-lots enabledInterbank style daily settlement.

GMI MTF: Another platform that is not available to UK clients, it offers ECN trading venue, MTF venue for multiple asset classes, flexible connectivity with FIX/APIs, low-latency, high-throughput, no “last look”, no trade rejections and, ultra-high order acceptance rate.

GMI Currenex: The final trading platform and another that is not available to UK clients, it offers ECN automatic matchmaking system, a wide variety of order types, ESP quote system and, a deep Liquidity pool

Leverage

Currently leverage is offered between 1:50 and 1:200 which is an appropriate level, however, a lot of modern brokers are looking to push leverage up to around 1:500. Leverage can be selected when opening up an account and can be changed by contacting the customer service team as long as there are no open trades before or during the request being made.

Trade Sizes

Trade sizes start at 0.1 lots which are also known as a micro lot. The maximum trade sizes are dependant on the asset that you are trading, if we look at the forex markets, the maximum trade size is set at 20 lots which is an appropriate level as it is more than most will trade at one time and any higher can make it harder for the liquidity providers or markets to execute instantly.

Trading Costs

There isn’t much talk or information on the site in regards to any trading costs in relation to commissions. GMI most likely use a spread based structure rather than commissions, however, we can not rule out the possibility of there being spreads. Swap charges are also applied for holding trades overnight, these can be both positive and negative.

Assets

Assets on GMI Global Market Index are broken down into a number of different categories. Forex pairs include the likes of EUR/USD and USD/CHF, offering major pairs, minor pairs and exotic pairs available to trade with leverage up to 1:200. Metals are also available with the usual Gold and Silver and there are also Indices and commodities available to trade however the information regarding which ones or any trading conditions around them is not currently present on the website.

Spreads

Spreads on Global Market Index are stated as being “ultra-tight floating spreads” however there is no indication of what this actually means. Looking around the internet it appears that they are sitting at around 2 pips, which is hardly ultra-low, however as we did not manage to see them ourselves it is hard to put in a full judgment on what they are actually like.

Minimum Deposit

The minimum deposit to open up an account is currently $2,000 which is relatively high for an entry-level account. Usually when there is a higher minimum deposit for accounts, any subsequent deposits after the account is open have a lowered minimum, however, there is no information on whether this happens with Global Market Index or not.

Deposit Methods & Costs

There is no information on the site in regards to what methods of depositing are available and if there are any extra costs so we can not comment on this, it is very strange that there is absolutely no information as this is info that a lot of potential clients will be looking for.

Withdrawal Methods & Costs

Similarly to the deposit methods, there is no information regarding withdrawals, both deposits or amounts. We feel this is an area that GMI really need to improve on as it will put off a lot of potential clients.

Withdrawal Processing & Wait Time

As expected, due to there being no withdrawal method information, there is also no information in regards to the length of time they will take and how long it takes for requests to be processed.

Bonuses & Promotions

There is no mention of any bonuses or promotions on the site so we do not believe that there are any active at present. This does not, however, mean that there won’t be in the future so if you are interested, be sure to check back regularly to see if any have appeared.

Educational & Trading Tools

There isn’t really anything notable to talk about when it comes to education or trading tools. It states that there is marketing information available but this won’t help you as a trader, the website also mentions a powerful member area but we have no idea what this means and is most likely just a client area similar to any other broker.

Customer Service

The GMI Global Market Index support team is available for your queries 24 hours a day 5 days a week and close at the same time as the markets do. There is an email address available and a few different phone numbers based in different locations such as China, Shanghai, Beijing, Dailan and Aukland.

Demo Account

We could not locate any information in regards to a demo account so it appears that they are not available, there may be a way to open them but we could not locate it.

Countries Accepted

Just like a lot of other things, this information is not available on the site, if you are interested in joining, we would recommend getting in contact with the support team to find out if you are eligible for an account or not.

Conclusion

It is hard to recommend a broker that has such a small amount of information on their site, and the information that they do provide is very obscure and does not answer any questions. Without knowing what deposit and withdrawal methods are available, or if there are any commissions or accurate information on spreads it is very hard to find good reasons to sign up as a potential client.

We hope you like this GMI Global review. If you did, be sure to check out some of the other reviews to help find the broker that is right for you.

FP Markets is an FX and CFD broker that offers leveraged trading of up to 1:500 on Forex, Metals, Commodities, Indices, Equities, Cryptocurrency CFDs. The broker’s head office is located in Sydney, Australia and is regulated by the Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC). Five different account types are offered, with three supported trading platforms. Different account types are made up of different price structures, allowing clients to choose different ways of paying costs. Stay with us to find out more about the advantages and disadvantages of choosing this broker.

Account Types

This broker offers five different account types: Standard and Raw accounts on MT4/MT5 and Standard, Platinum, and Premier accounts on the Iress platform. Note that the Standard account conditions are completely separate on the two Standard accounts, so we will refer to the them more specifically as Standard (MT4/MT5) and Standard IRESS throughout this review to avoid confusion.

The broker offers trading on FX, Equities, Metals, Commodities, Indices, and Cryptocurrency CFDs; however, MT4/MT5 based account holders cannot trade Equities or Cryptocurrency CFDs. If you choose to open a Standard MT4/MT5 or Raw account, you’re associated trading costs will come from traditional spreads and commissions. Iress accounts are subject to commissions and financing fees instead, so you’ll definitely want to compare on that bases.

The minimum deposit requirements are also much lower on those traditional accounts and leverage caps are set higher than on the Iress account types. If you’re having trouble making a decision, it may help to know that the broker has tagged the Raw MT4/MT5 account and the Platinum Iress accounts as being popular, so this could help to narrow down the choice to two options. We’ve outlined the aforementioned details below.

Standard Account (MT4/MT5)
Minimum Deposit: $100 AUD
Leverage: Up to 500:1
Spread: From 1.0 pips
Commission: Zero

Raw Account (MT4/MT5)
Minimum Deposit: $100 AUD
Leverage: Up to 500:1
Spread: From 0.0 pips
Commission: $6 USD Round turn

Standard Account (IRESS)
Minimum Deposit: $1,000
Leverage: Up to 1:200
Financing: Base rate + 4.0%
Commission: $10 AUD min per lot, then 0.1%

Platinum Account (IRESS)
Minimum Deposit: $25,000
Leverage: Up to 1:200
Financing: Base rate + 3.5%
Commission: $9 min, then $0.09%

Premier Account (IRESS)
Minimum Deposit: $50,000
Leverage: Up to 1:200
Financing: Base rate + 3.0%
Commission: No min, then 0.08%

This broker requires proof of identity (valid passport, driver’s license, national ID card) and address document (utility bill or bank statement, dated within the last 6 months) for account verification. Support aims to approve accounts within an hour; however, the process can take up to one business day. If you’d like to open an Islamic account, you’ll be limited to choosing one of the MT4/MT5 platform options (Standard or Raw).

Platform

This broker places a lot of importance on the trading platform that is supported for each account type. The Standard and Raw accounts support the well-known MetaTrader 4 and MetaTrader 5 platforms. On the other side of things, the Standard Iress, Platinum, and Premier accounts support the Iress platform. We’ll start by taking a look at the more well-known, standard MT4 and MT5 platforms. Both offer user-friendly interfaces, one-click trading, live price streaming, Expert Advisors, pending orders and trailing stop orders, a variety of analytical objects, timeframes, charts, and more.

MT5 builds on its predecessor’s features and adds more pending order types, an improved strategy tester for EAs, a built-in economic calendar, and greater flexibility for different trading styles. Both MT4 and MT5 are highly accessible, available through download on PC, Mac, Android, or through Google Play for iPhone/iPad. These platforms can also be accessed through the browser-based WebTrader. Moving on, we were interested to get more of an in-depth look at the Iress platform, since this broker markets three account types around this trading platform.

Iress is made up of Viewpoint, Trader, Investor, and Mobile options. Viewpoint is also browser-based, markets a user-friendly interface, the ability to manage multiple portfolios, multiple timeframes, real-time price streaming, 59 technical indicators, 50+ drawing tools, and is designed for professionals. Trader is a web-based platform that provides tools to help with advanced trade management and charting. The Investor version seems to have the same idea in mind and introduces strategies like diversification and hedging. Those using the Iress platform may have to pay some fees for doing so if live pricing is chosen. The click and refresh pricing model is available fee-free. You can view more detail about those fees under ‘Trading Costs’.

 

Leverage

The Standard MT4/MT5 and Raw accounts both support flexible leverage options that go up to 1:500, depending on what instrument is being traded and the amount of funds in the client’s account. The maximum leverage cap is available on accounts with an equity of less than $10,000. Other limitations are as follows; 1:400 for equity of up to $25,000, 1:300 for equity of up to $50,000, and 1:200 for equity of up to $100,000. Leverage of 1:100 and lower options are not limited based on the account’s equity.

When trading Bitcoin, leverage is limited to 1:5 and the cap on Precious Metals is 1:500. When trading Forex pairs on any of the Iress accounts, the maximum leverage cap is set at 1:200. For Stocks, the leverage is based on characteristics of the stock in question. The broker mentions that it is too risky to allow traders to use leverage on certain instruments, but does not explain which instruments require leverage of 1:1.

Trade Sizes

The minimum trade size is one micro lot. On Forex instruments, the maximum trade size is 50 lots. Otherwise, the maximum trade size will depend on which asset type is being traded. For the Standard and Raw accounts, margin call level is set at 100% and stop out occurs at 50% margin level. Meeting the stop loss level would result in trades being automatically closed by the system, starting with the trade that is incurring the largest loss. Stop out is not an automated process on the Iress system. Instead, the risk management team will reach out to clients if there is an issue with the amount of funds needed to maintain positions within their account.

Trading Costs

The charges you pay with this broker depend on the account type that has been opened. All clients, aside from Islamic account holders, are subject to swaps. If you’ve opened a Standard or Raw MT4/MT5 account, you’ll pay traditional commissions, if applicable, and you’ll also pay charges through spreads. For any Iress account holders, commissions and financing charges are applicable. It’s also possible that you’ll be paying Iress trading platform fees. We’ve broken down these fees below.

Commissions: Commissions are not charged on Standard MT4/MT5 accounts and are charged at a rate of $6 round turn on Raw accounts. The Standard Iress, Platinum, and Premier accounts are sorted into three sizes; $1-$25,000, $25,000 to $50,000, and $50,000 plus. Commissions correspond to 0.10% with a $10 minimum, 0.09% with a $9 minimum, and 0.08% with no minimum.

Spreads (Standard + Raw Accounts): Spreads start from 0.0 pips on Raw accounts and are from 1.0 pips on Standard MT4/MT5 accounts.

Financing Charges (Iress Accounts): Financing charges on Iress accounts are charged at the base rate + 4.0% on Standard Iress, base rate + 3.5% on Platinum, and base rate + 3.0% on Premier. The broker doesn’t go into further detail.

Swap Fees: Swap is a form of interest that is applied to overnight trades and can either be positive negative. Right-click in the Market Watch window on the symbol you wish to know the rates for, and select ‘Specifications’. You will then see the long and short swap rates if you scroll down. Note, the rates for Forex are displayed in points. Swap-free status does not apply on the following instruments; USDTRY and EURTRY, so be sure that all open positions are closed before 00:00 platform time to avoid being charged swaps on an Islamic account.

IRESS Platform Fees: In addition to standard trading costs, there also seem to be some fees associated with using an account that trades through the Iress platform. Note that it is free to use the click and refresh version of the platform, while fees are associated with live pricing. For live pricing, there is a $55 GST + $22 live data fee for Standard Iress and Platinum account holders. These fees are waived on Premier accounts. GST fees are also waived for traders that generate more than $150 in commissions per month and live data fees are waived for clients that generate more than $50 per month in commissions.

Assets

Available markets include Forex, Equities, Metals, Commodities, Indices, and Cryptocurrency CFDs. All options are available on Iress accounts, while both MT4/MT5 centered accounts limit the options to FX pairs, Metals, Indices, and Commodities. The broker advertises 70 currency pairs as being available; however, we only counted 52 available instruments ourselves, all of which were made up of majors, minors, and exotics. Trading Metals is available with leverage of up to 500:1 on XAUUSD, XAUUAD, XAGUSD, and XAGUAD.

According to the website, Commodities are made up of energy, metals, and agricultural products; however, there are only 3 listed oil products for the category. The twenty total available Indices are made up of DMA and CFD Indices. Note that this would be the extent of the options within accounts that support MT4/MT5. Moving on, we see a large number of available Equities, including; 2,165 Australian options, 1,674 UK options, 1,674 USA NASDAQ choices, 1,885 USD NYSE options, 2,149 Hong-Kong options, and 781 Singapore options. Cryptocurrency options are made up of Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Litecoin, Ripple, and Ethereum.

Spreads

Spreads are only applicable on Standard and Raw MT4/MT5 accounts. Those spreads start from 0.0 pips on Forex for the Raw account type and are from 1.0 pips on Forex for the Standard account. Since spreads are floating, the actual minimum spreads you’ll see will differ, based on the instrument that is being traded. Comparing these options shows that minimum spreads tend to be significantly lower on Raw accounts, for example, the minimum spread on AUDCAD is at 1.2 pips on Standard accounts and starts from 0.4 pips on the Raw account type. However, the typical spreads can climb higher. Looking at the same instrument, we see typical spreads of 1.93 pips on the Standard account and 1.16 pips on the Raw account. If you’d like to compare some of the spreads for yourself, you can do so under ‘Trading’ > ‘Pricing’ > ‘Spreads’.

Minimum Deposit

Both of the MT4/MT5 accounts are on the more affordable side, with a minimum deposit requirement of $100 AUD, or equivalent, on both the Standard and Raw account types. If you’re set on one of the Iress accounts, the cheapest option would be the Iress Standard account, which requires a minimum deposit of $1,000 AUD, or equivalent. From there, prices are significantly higher, with a $25,000 amount for Platinum accounts and a $50,000 requirement to open one of the exclusive Premier accounts. Since some of these amounts are obviously large, traders may be limited to choosing between two or three account types, based on affordability.

Deposit Methods & Costs

This broker offers a variety of funding methods, including: Visa, MasterCard, Domestic or International Bank Wire, Neteller, Skrill, POLI Pay, BPAY, Fasapay, Paytrust88, Ngan Luong, PayPal, and Bank of China Online Pay. Broker to Broker transfer is also supported. The broker separates Visa/MasterCard deposits into two categories, with one being for the MT4/MT5 supported accounts, and the other being for the Iress support accounts. The difference would be that there are no fees charged on deposits for the Standard or Raw MT4/MT5 accounts, but there is a domestic fee of 1.6% and an international fee of 3.18% when funding an Iress supported account through Visa/MasterCard. PayPal charges in the same way, with no fees charged on MT4/MT5 accounts and a 2% fee for Iress accounts.

There is a fee of 12.5 AUD on International Bank Wires and a charge of 25 AUD for Broker to Broker transfers. All of the remaining methods are fee free. The majority of these methods are funded instantly, with a one day waiting period on some methods. Note that the broker is typically slower to credit Iress based accounts and can take 1 business day to credit funds sent through PayPal and POLI Pay, where these methods are funded instantly for MT4/MT5 based accounts.

Withdrawal Methods & Costs

Due to the company’s regulation guidelines, traders are required to withdraw the same amount that was deposited back through the same method. Once that amount has been withdrawn, any profits can be withdrawn through another method. All deposit options are available for withdrawals. We see various fees charged on most methods, with no fees charged on Visa, MasterCard, or Domestic Bank Wire withdrawals. PayPal withdrawals are also fee-free for MT4/MT5 account holders. All applicable fees for the remaining methods have been listed below.

• International Bank Wire: 10 AUD
• Neteller: 2% (max 30 USD) 1% + country fees (if applicable)
• FasaPay: 0.50%
• Paytrust88: 1.5%
• Ngan Luong: 1,000 VND + 1%
• PayPal: 2% for Iress accounts (fee free for MT4/MT5 accounts)
• Bank of China Online Pay: 18 USD
• Broker to Broker Transfer: 25 AUD for International transfers (fee free for Domestic transfers)

Withdrawal Processing & Wait Time

Withdrawals through all methods are processed within one business day. For Domestic and International Bank Wires, the company mentions that the 1 day waiting period is applicable as long as the correct documents are received, otherwise, there could be some delays. If you haven’t received a Bank Wire within 5 business days, the company will then provide some information to help track that deposit.

Bonuses & Promotions

Unfortunately, the broker doesn’t seem to be offering any bonuses or promotions right now. This isn’t something that you should always expect to see offered from brokers, although bonuses do provide a nice incentive to join, so long as the terms and conditions are actually realistic. If you do decide to sign-up, there’s always a possibility that this broker could add some type of options in the future, so keep a look out for any updates.

Educational & Trading Tools

Traders will find a few options under the ‘Resources’ section on the broker’s website. Educational resources are made up of eBooks, video tutorials, trading courses, and a glossary. The eBooks section tends to focus more on trading strategies and the video tutorials section only offers three videos that cover installing and logging into the MT4 platform. The MT4 tutorial could be helpful for anyone struggling to figure out how to install the platform, although we wish those sections were more in-depth. The trading courses section is made up of three categories; Forex, Stocks, and CFDs, and the category is actually made up of an eBook on each subject. The broker also provides company news, newsletters, daily market news, news for the week ahead, and an economic calendar.

Demo Account

Free demo accounts are available through this broker for any potential or existing clients that would like the advantage of practicing on one. Signing up for a demo takes as little as 30 seconds and simply requires one to enter their name, email, country, and phone number. As long as a demo account is logged into regularly, it will never expire. Support is also willing to top up demo accounts for any clients that reach out and ask them to do so. Demo accounts can be opened for the Raw or Standard account types and can be accessed through MT4, MT5, or the Iress platform. Conditions on demo accounts mimic real market conditions, aside from the fact that virtual currency is used. Also, placed trades on demo accounts are not sent to the market for execution, therefore, you may receive faster fills or less slippage when trading from a demo account.

Customer Service

Support is available 24 hours a day, 5 days a week and can be contacted through LiveChat directly on the website, phone, email, or via callback request. If you’re looking for the fastest, most convenient option, we would definitely recommend hopping on LiveChat. When we tested the company’s response time, we were overjoyed to find that support was available to respond to our inquiry immediately on this contact option. All provided contact info is for the company’s primary headquarters in Australia.

Phone:
General: 61 (0)2 8252 6800
Toll-Free: 1 300 376 233
Fax: +61 (0)2 8252 6899

Email:
New Enquiries: [email protected]
Account Opening: [email protected]
Withdrawals: [email protected]
Funding: [email protected]
Trades: [email protected]
Support: [email protected]

Countries Accepted

The broker states that residents from the Unites States, Japan, New Zealand, or any other location where local laws would be violated by participating will not be allowed to open a trading account. In some cases, brokers will still allow clients from supposedly restricted locations sign-up, so we attempted to open a live account from our US based offices to be sure. Sadly, all three of these countries are in fact missing from the sign-up list, so there’s no way around this restriction. If you also find your country is missing from the list, it is very likely that your location is also restricted, based on the information we found on the broker’s FAQ.

Conclusion

Fpmarkets is a regulated broker that provides traders with several options, including; 5 different account types, three separate platforms, and accounts that offer the ability to pay costs in different ways. The broker offers leveraged trading of up to 1:500 on some account types on a variety of assets, including cryptocurrencies, and a significant number of Equities. The MT4/MT5 based accounts are affordable, while minimum deposit requirements climb much higher on some of the Iress based accounts, with the largest requirement being $50,000. Spreads are only applicable on the MT4/MT5 accounts and are floating, starting from 0 and 1 pips.

The broker offers several quick funding methods. Some fees do apply, although Domestic Bank Wire, Visa/MasterCard, and withdrawals through a couple of other methods are fee free. There are no ongoing bonuses and while there seem to be some useful categories related to education, these options could be more in-depth. Support is readily available on weekdays and be contacted through a variety of methods, including LiveChat. This broker restricts residents of the US, Japan, and New Zealand, so some traders may have problems based on those rules. If you’re in an accepted location and these terms seem advantageous, then this broker could be a worthy choice.

BlueMax Capital is an offshore, unregulated ECN type broker without anything distinguishable in their services except the PAMM. Their HQ is in Belize but the location in the footer of their website states another, familiar address, in Saint Vincent And Grenadines. The same address is used for many unregulated brokers without a physical registered location. BlueMax Capital was found in 2014 and has only achieved a mixed reputation since then. Recently they had a setback with the PAMM accounts that are popular among the users, which hit their reliability.

According to the website, they also have offices in Hong Kong and London which are claimed not to be real. Most of the website is blanked with common marketing phrases like best the execution times and an industry leader with top tier banks for liquidity. The content does not showcase any figures or specifics that could make the website more useful for an experienced trader. Some of the information is inconsistent in different parts of the BlueMax Capital website, such as for spreads and the commission. Still, this broker managed to attract 12.000 traders mostly from India, primarily interested in their PAMM service. We will evaluate their services by sections so traders can understand the risks and advantages.

Account Types

Blumax Capital is offering 4 types of trading accounts, Explorer, Lite, Standard and Prime. They all feature 5 digits and technical reports, although most brokers are 5 digits. The Explorer Account has the smallest deposit requirement and the main advantages are the leverage, micro-lot trade sizes, and no commission.

Lite Account has increased deposit requirement and it is different from the Explorer Account by tighter spreads and the included commission. As we go to the next tier, Standard Account has further increased deposit requirement, lower commission but the spread is the same. The leverage is reduced and also the trading sizes are bigger. The final, Prime Account has a very big deposit requirement and the smallest commission of them all. Trade sizes are increased and the leverage is further reduced.

BlueMax Capital states in their FAQ that the broker does not charge any commissions and the broker is only compensated for their services by the spread. This said it could be possible that there are no other account types except for the Explorer. This information could not be confirmed with the BlueMax Capital, we could not reach them by any means.
Note that there is another pdf document in the User Guide section about account types that is different than what is published on the web site. As registrations seem to be closed at the moment of writing this review for cyber attack reasons, we could not check this information.

Automated trading is not restricted and also all trading styles are allowed. Scalper type traders are also allowed although the FAQ states “unethical” and close end scalping are not allowed by banks and are prohibited. There is no information about Swap-free accounts.

Platforms

BlueMax Capital is a MetaTrader 4 platform only broker. The MT4 platform is usually available in multiple versions depending on the OS. There are links to PC and Mac versions as well as for mobile devices running on Android and iOS. An additional version for PAMM managers is available and features multiple subaccounts management from a single instance. The platform is updated to the latest version and quickly finds the BLuemax Capital servers, showing a ping of 133ms.

The location of the broker is presented to be in Belize according to the MT4 About window. Everything is set to defaults, showing the usual four major currency pairs charts, with one-click trading buttons visible. Trading instruments are a bit overcategorized as Forex is split into 4 groups and mixed with the other asset categories. The execution times are always below 200ms with great consistency, 180ms which is competitive. The commission column does not show any figures and the specification window is also devoid of any commission information. Swaps are displayed correctly though.

Leverage

The leverage will depend on the account type. The Explorer account features a maximum of 1:400 leverage, as well as the Lite type. The Standard account has a maximum of 1:200, and Prime has the leverage reduced to 1:50 considering the high minimum deposit requirement. The maximum leverage is kept for all currency pairs, even for exotics, while all Oil assets are 1:80. Precious metals still have the maximum leverage and Cryptocurrency is fixed to 1:4 regardless of the account type.

Trade Sizes

According to the account types specifications, micro-lot trade sizes are available only for the Explorer and Lite packages. For these, the minimum trade volume size is 0.01 lots as well as the additional volume steps. The maximum volume for a single trade is 10,000 lots as per the MT4 specifications. Standard Account has the minimum trade volume set to 0.1 lots while keeping the increments volume to 0.01 lots. The Prime account is set to work only with full lots for all orders.

Cryptocurrency trade sizes are a bit extreme to the point they are not all tradeable for the minimum deposit according to the Explorer account. The minimum trade volume is 1 lot, also the additional steps have to be 1 lot. The maximum trade size for cryptos is 10 lots. For Oil, the minimum trade size and steps volume are 0.1 lots. Indexes’ minimum trade volume is 1 lot and 100 lots maximum.

There is conflicting information about the maximum volume size on the BlueMax Capital’s website and within the MT4 platform, what we have encountered on the website is 50 lots maximum for all account types.

BlueMax Capital does not have Stops levels, which means Stop Loss and Take Profit orders do not have a margin from the current price. This is true for all trading instruments according to the MT4 specifications. Stop Out level is not disclosed on the website. Legal documents are also not available.

Trading Costs

According to the described account types, BlueMax Capital charges commissions for the Lite, Standard, and Prime accounts. While Explorer Account is commission-free, Lite Account has $7 commission per lot traded. The Standard account has $6 and the Prime account $4. Note that the commissions do not show up in the MT4 so we can only confirm what is published form the website. The FAQ also states there is no commission charged by BlueMax Capital.

Swaps that are presented in the MT4 specifications are under normal levels, without a single case of extreme figures and calculated in points except for the cryptocurrencies. Whatsmore, the swaps were consistently low for all currency pairs with common positive numbers. The most traded pair, EUR/USD has -7.21 long and 3.6 points for short. Non USD pairs like EUR/JPY has -2.29 long and -1.01 short swap, GBP/CHF 0.64 long and -3.36 short, AUD/NZD -0.65 long and -0.4 short and so on.

From the exotics we could mention USD/CHN with -13.8 points for long and -1.8 for short, USD/MXN -180 long and 50 short, USD/RUB -770 long and 140 short, and USD/PLN with -7.2 points long and -4.8 points for short position swap. Precious metals swaps follow low swaps like with Forex, so XAU/USD has -10.88 long swap and a positive 3.58 for short. XPT/USD has -11.36 long and -1.41 short. Oil assets have very low swaps and cryptocurrencies are all -20% on both positions.

BlueMax does not have any account maintenance or inactivity fees.

Assets

The full list if not published on the broker’s website, only a TradingView feedback window unrelated to BlueMax Capital. What is offered could be described as modest and mostly focused on Forex trading. This category has a total of 40 currency pairs. All the majors are present although some crosses are missing. In the exotic domain, we have encountered USD/RUB, USD/PLN, USD/MXN, USD/ZAR, USD/CHN and some non-USD like the GBP/SGD. Enough pairs for a common trader.

Precious metals are not minimal and traders can trade Platinum in addition to spot Gold and Silver. The list does not feature other quoted currencies except for the USD so a total of 3 instruments are found in this category.

Indexes are present but very limited. The MT4 showed only 6 of them, SPX 500, US 30, UK 100, NASDAQ, Nikkei 225, and CAC 40. In the Cryptocurrencies category, the range is similar to the Indices. All quoted in USD, we found Bitcoin, Litecoin, Ethereum, and Dash.
Energies have both Oil types, Brent and WTI. BlueMax Capital offer ends with Natural Gas.

Spreads

The spreads are a floating type and are scaled to account types. For the Explorer account, the spread is stated to be from 1.2 pips. What we have encountered in MT4 was much lower. For the Standard account and up, the spread is reduced to 0.2 pips. What we have observed in the MT4 is 5 to 20 points for the EUR/USD pair, nothing close to from 0.2 pips nor 1.2 pips stated for the Explorer account.

The spread for the other majors in wider, almost triple the EUR/USD. Less liquid currency pairs had spreads that are not so attractive compared with other brokers, for example, GBP/NZD – 8 pips, EUR/CAD – 4 pips, or EUR/CHF – 4 pips. Exotics like the USD/CHN had 20 pips.

Spot Gold has a tighter spread with 25 pips and Platinum 85. Silver is also competitive with 19 pips. Brent and WTI showed 10 pips spread while some will be disappointed to see Bitcoin with 100 pips difference we have noticed.

Minimum Deposit

The minimum deposit is $1000 for the starting Explorer and Lite account. For the Standard, it is increased to $10,000 and Prime requires no less than $100,000. Note that the minimum trading sizes are increased for the last two account types. Also, the minimum of $1000 may not be enough even for Bitcoin/USD trade as cryptocurrencies have 1 lot minimum trade size.

Deposit Methods & Costs

BlueMax has a few deposit methods, one of which is via Bitcoin and Ethereum. Bank Transfer fees depend on the depositor’s bank, the deposit process will take 3 to 5 days. Card deposits will induce a 3% transaction fee and will take 1 to 2 days to be completed. Netteler deposits should be faster but the broker will need 1 day to process the funds. A fee of 2.5% will apply. Skrill is similar to Netteler but with an increased fee to 2.8%.

Now crypto deposits have some special requirements, Bitcoin minimum deposit is 0.2 BTC and for Ethereum 4 ETH. The fee is 0.2 to 1% and will require 1 day to complete. Note that we could not test these as registrations are closed at the moment and you may see some options missing in the Client’s Area. Currencies available for the deposit are GBP, EUR, and USD.

Withdrawal Methods & Costs

BlueMax Capital state that if you fund via credit/ debit card or any e-wallet, withdrawal of funds will be made only on the same channel. For crypto, withdrawals know that BlueMax Capital can decide if the withdrawal will be approved in cryptocurrency or the USD. The costs are not disclosed but trades should expect the same costs as with deposits.

Withdrawal Processing & Wait Time

The minimum withdrawal amount is 100 USD. For PAMM Investor withdrawals will be processed only on weekends when markets are closed. The withdrawal time is 3 to 5 days for Bank Transfers, and 1 day for cryptocurrency, Netteler and Skrill. The request is made within the Client’s Area.

Bonuses & Promotions

BlueMax Capital does not have any bonuses offered. Promotions are associated with the PAMM and the special benefits for Promoters who bring clients to the PAMM program.

Educational & Trading Tools

BlueMax has a minor, in-house educational material that contains seven articles. These are not long, up to 3 pages and do not have any special qualities, mostly are elementary subjects that are very common on the internet. Some of the topics are “Forex Trading Market Strategies”, “Introduction to Forex Trading Charts”, “Forex Trading Money Management”, etc.

The User Guide is an addition on how to use the MT4 platform, PAMM features and guides, IB program introduction, how to deposit and withdraw and some other articles that are mostly marketing content.

The Blog section of BlueMax Capital is outdated, the staff has stopped producing new content since the end of 2018. The articles posted are much broader with educational content than the actual Education section of the website. The topics are more advanced and interesting like “How To Choose a Good Forex Broker?”, “Best Investment Plan with Consistent Returns and Controlled Risk”, “Cryptocurrency- Creation | Mining | Wallet | Trading” and so on. The content quality is better than the basics with some honest statements about the regulation being one of the factors for selecting a broker, even though BlueMax Capital does not have any.

Market Research section has more recent material, but we have noticed a sudden stop after September 2019. The research featured Forex Daily Forecasts that are based on Price Action, Support and Resistance, and Channels, with the short notice on Economic Events.

Forex News section is also discontinued since September 2019. The news content had almost no useable information for traders, mostly half baked rumors and statements from the officials mixed with some price levels.

Customer Service

The BlueMax Capital promotes outstanding 24/5 customer support. We were met with closed doors on all channels, phone lines, email, and chat that was always in the offline status. This is probably because of the latest cyber-attack.

Demo Account

The Damo account can be easily opened within the MT4 platform, no need for registration that is currently closed. There is no information if there are time limits, and we cannot claim that the demo will reflect a live trading environment. We were unable to asses the reason for the spread difference in MT4 and what is presented on the broker’s website.

Countries Accepted

There is no information on what countries are denied service. Taking into account the Cryptocurrency deposits and the lack of regulation we can assume there are no restrictions.

Conclusion

BlueMax Capital’s main issue now is to resolve the alleged cyber attack. In their popular PAMM service, we have noticed that almost all of their promoted PAMM managers have a negative performance, which is not intended and proves the display shows actual figures. The users that have invested in PAMM are showing their dissatisfaction and the ratings of this broker plummeted. Some of the hacked funds were returned to the investors which shows BlueMax Capital’s genuine intention.

If we set this aside, the broker does not show great trading conditions but average, in terms of instruments range, spreads, and security of funds. The main selling point – PAMM service, is now compromised leaving the only one specialty of BlueMax Capital remaining – cryptocurrency deposits. Of course, this kind of deposits brings other risks and advantages but remains popular.

Prior Capital is a forex broker based in Cyprus and established in 2016. Prior Capital vows to offer step-by-step support, direct access to the markets, instant execution, unique analytical information, algorithmic trading software. In this review, we will be looking into the services being offered to see if they live up to these statements and so you can see if they are the right broker for you.

Account Types

There are 3 account types on offer, however only 2 of them would be relevant to 99% of retail traders, we will look at them in a little bit of detail.

ECN Account: The ECN account requires a minimum deposit of $100 or of your selected base currency which can be in USD, EUR, GBP or CHF. It has access to both MetaTrader 4 and MetaTrader 5 as trading platforms and leverage can be anywhere up to 1:30. Spreads are floating and start as low as 0.6 pips with a margin call of 100% and a stop out level at 50%.

Access to all available assets from Prior Capital and the minimum trade volume is 0.01 lots and goes up in increments of 0.01 lots. It states that there is a commission of $25 per but does not specify what the per is for, there is an asterisk indicating that this is explained somewhere else on the page but there is not. We will explore the commissions later in this review.

Pro Account: The pro account requires a much larger initial deposit of $10,000 or the same amount in your base currency which remains the same. Leverage remains at a maximum of 1:30 but the spread has slightly reduced down to 0.5 pips as a starting position. The majority of other features remain unchanged including stop out and margin levels along with trade sizes and available assets. The commission has reduced down to $20 per but again we are unsure what the per means and will explore this later in the review.

Fix API: This account is more intended for people who have a development background and can use the API from Prior Capital. This account requires a minimum investment of $20,000 or base currency equivalent, all other features remain the same as the pro account.

All accounts can be used as a swap-free account if you are not able to pay or receive interest charges for holding trades overnight.

Platforms

Prior Capital currently offers 2 different trading platforms, both from MetaQuotes software, we outline their features below.

MetaTrader 4 (MT4): MetaTrader 4 (MT4) is one of the world’s most popular trading platforms and for good reason. Released in 2005 by MetaQuotes Software, it has been around a while, it is stable customizable and full of features to help with your trading and analysis. MT4 is compatible with hundreds and thousands of different indicators, expert advisors, signal providers and more. Millions of people use MT4 for its interactive charts, multiple timeframes, one-click trading, trade copying and more. In terms of accessibility, MT4 is second to none, available as a desktop download, an app for Android and iOS devices and as a WebTrader where you can trade from within your internet browser. MetaTrader 4 is a great trading solution to have.

MetaTrader 5 (MT5): MetaTrader 5 (MT5) is the younger brother of MetaTrader 4 (MT4)m developed by MetaQuotes Software and released in 2010, MT5 is used by millions and for good reason. Offering plenty of trading and analysis features to ain in your trading. Additional services expand the functionality of the platform making its capabilities almost limitless. MetaTrader 5 offers the built-in Market of trading robots, the Freelance database of strategy developers, Copy Trading and the Virtual Hosting service (Forex VPS). Use all these services from one place, and access new trading opportunities. MetaTrader 5 is also highly accessible with it being available as a desktop download, application for iOS and Android devices and even as a WebTrader where you can trade from within your internet browser.

Leverage

Leverage can be selected when opening up an account and can be anywhere between 1:1 and 1:30, due to regulations Prior Capital does not offer higher leverage than 1:30. Leverage can often be changed on an account by getting in touch with customer services but will only be changed if there are no active trades on the account.

Trade Sizes

Trade sizes start at 0.01 lots which are also known as a micro lot, sizes then increase in increments of 0.01 lot so the next available trade will be 0.02 lots and then 0.03 lots. The maximum trade size is 100 lots but we would not recommend trading over 50 lots so the liquidity providers and markets and execute the trade quicker. There is a maximum amount of 500 orders that can be open at one time. Non-forex or metals have a minimum trade size of 0.1 lots and a maximum trade size of 20 lots.

Trading Costs

The account types page states that there is a commission of $25 per for the ECN account and $20 per for the Pro account but does not specify what the per is for. Looking through the various documentation does not make this any clearer and our only assumptions would be that this is the commission per lot traded, which would put it at a very high level when compared to the competition.

There are also swap fees charged for holding accounts overnight, these can be both positive and negative and these can be viewed from within the trading platform of choice. There are swap-free accounts available should you not be able to receive or pay swap fees based on your beliefs and so these charges will be paid as administration costs rather than interest.

Assets

When it comes to tradable assets, they are broken down into a number of different categories. There are forex currencies in which there are over 50 different major, minor and exotic pairs to trade. There are 6 indices including Dow 30, Nasdaq 100 and Nikkei 225. Energies are present and broken down further into spot contracts, commodity contracts and future contracts for assets such as Berent and crude oils. Metals are present in the form of gold and silver and finally, there are 5 cryptocurrencies available to trade including the popular Bitcoin and others such as Ripple and Litecoin.

Spreads

Dependant on the account type that you have spreads will be starting as low as 0.5 pips or 0.6 pips. It is important to note that all spreads are variable which is also known as floating so they will not always remain the same and the more volatile the markets, the higher they will be. Also, the 0.5 pips and 0.6 pips are absolute minimums, so will often be seen higher and certain pairs will have a higher natural spread meaning they will never be as low as that.

Minimum Deposit

The minimum deposit to open an account is $100, however, once an account has been opened the minimum deposit for further top-ups reduces. There is not a mention of the absolute minimum but this will depend on the processor you are using to make the deposit.

Deposit Methods & Costs

There aren’t a whole host of ways to deposit with Prior Capital, in fact, there are just two methods available.

Credit / Debit Card (Visa and MasterCard): Deposits over $100 there will be a fee of 2% + EUR 0.24 (or equivalent) and for international cards there will be a fee of 2.5% + EUR 0.24 (or equivalent). For deposits under $100, there will be an additional service charge of $10 (or equivalent). The maximum daily deposit limit is $15,000 (or equivalent).

Skrill: Deposits can only be made in EUR or USD. There is a fee of 2.9% + EUR 0.25 (or USD), there may also be a surcharge of 0.5% – 1% depending on the country you reside in. Deposits under $100 (or equivalent ) will receive an additional charge of $10 (or equivalent).

Bank Transfers: Deposits can be made in CHF, EUR, USD, AED, AUD, CAD, CZK, DKK, GBP, HKD, HUF, ILS, ISK, JPY, MXN, NOK, NZD, PLN, RUB, SEK, SGD, THB, TRY, or ZAR. There are no added fees for deposits via bank transfer however your own bank may charge transfer fees so it is important to check.

It is a shame to see such high fees for withdrawals and this is an aspect of brokers that can really put off any potential clients.

Withdrawal Methods & Costs

Withdrawing is done via the same methods as depositing and there are a few things to note with each method.

Credit / Debit Card (Visa and MasterCard): You can only withdraw with a card if you have deposited using one and it must be the same card. For a card refund (up to the amount of depositing) there is a fee of USD 0.30 for each transaction, for full withdrawals over the deposit amount there is a 1.3% +EUR 3.50 (or equivalent) for each withdrawal. The maximum payout per transaction is EUR 2,000.

Skrill: For Skrill withdrawals, there is a fee of 1% for all withdrawals, for refunds, there is a fee of EUR 0.49 (or equivalent) for any amounts until the deposit amount has been withdrawn.

Bank Transfer: While there are no fees for depositing via bank transfer, there are for withdrawing, depending on the bank being used there are two types of fees. Swissquote charge 2 EUR / CHF within the EEA and 10 when outside the EEA. Withdrawals under $10 have an additional 5 fee charged. Deutsche Kontor charges a 0.35 EUR for each transaction, transactions up to EUR 2,500 have a fee of EUR 5.50, 2,500 – 12,500 have a fee of EUR 12.50 and withdrawals over 12,500 have a fee of 0.15% or at least EUR 20.00 and a maximum 100.00 EUR.

Similarly to the deposits, it is a shame to see withdrawal fees present as this is a practice that a lot of modern brokers are getting rid of and so would be nice to see Prior Capital follow suit.

Withdrawal Processing & Wait Time

Withdrawal times are not specifically specified on the site, however Prior Capital will aim to process any withdrawals within 48 hours, once the withdrawal has been processed, Skrill withdrawals should take just 15 minutes to arrive which bank card will take 1 to 5 business days and bank transfers normally take around 3 to 5 business days to arrive in your bank account.

Bonuses & Promotions

There does not seem to be any promotions or bonuses happening at the time of writing this review, that does not, however, mean there never will be so if you are interested in joining Prior Capital with a promotion be sure to check back regularly to see if one has come up.

Educational & Trading Tools

There are a few basic tools on offer to help with your trading, there is some market analysis that is very basic showing a chart of various currencies but not much more information than that. You can contact Prior Capital though to help create a personalized report. Market data is also available but this much the same thing as the market analysis. The economic calendar on offer gives you information about any upcoming news events that may affect the pairs you are trading ut there are more detailed ones available for free on the internet. Finally, there is a forex calculator allowing you to calculate things like lots and pips

There is also an education center, this contains things like ebooks and webinars however the site states that it will be active soon and so at the moment you can not access any of the resources.

Customer Service

The contact section of the Prior Capital site is what you would expect, it has an online web form where you can submit your query and can expect to get a reply via email. There are also email addresses and phone numbers for a number of different departments including the support desk, the affiliate departments, human resources, client relations, the back office, and PR inquiries. These departments are open between 08:00 and 16:00 GMT so it is disappointing to not see them open 24 hours a day. In terms of the time frame for a reply, Prior Capital simply states that you will get a reply in a “timely” manner.

Demo Account

There is no mention on the website in regards to demo accounts so we are unsure if they are being offered or not, there may be a way to access them from within the client portal though.

Countries Accepted

The following notice is present on the Prior Capital site: “Prior Capital CY Ltd does not offer its services to residents of certain jurisdictions such as the USA, Canada, Japan, Iran, Cuba, Sudan, Syria, and North Korea.” If you are unsure if you are eligible for an account, please make sure to get in contact with the support department for confirmation.

Conclusion

Prior Capital started us off on a confusing note with the commissions not being completely clear, it seems like it is $20+ per lot traded which is excessive and enough to make the majority of people steer well clear. Plenty of ways to get in contact but with so few support opening hours it could be more difficult to get through. All of this along with the fees being charged for both deposits and withdrawals can make Prior Capital a very expensive broker to trade with.

We hope you like this Prior Capital review. If you did, be sure to check out some of the other reviews to help find the broker that is right for you.

ICM Capital is an online FX and CFD broker that was established in 2011. During their 8 years in operation, the company has managed to complete their regulation with the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) under registration number 520965. The company’s primary office is located in the UK, with secondary offices located in Dubai and China. The fact that this is a regulated broker that accepts US clients may be enough to gain some attention, although there’s a lot more to look into before choosing this broker based on those facts alone. Keep reading to find out more important details.

Account Types

This broker offers two account types; ICM Direct and ICM Zero. The Direct account offers trading on Forex, Metals, Futures, Shares, and Cash CFDs with a leverage of up to 1:30. This account type requires a deposit of $200 USD and makes up for the lack of commission charges by executing higher spreads. The Zero account takes a different approach, with a price model that centers on providing lower spreads in return for charging commission fees of $7/Round lot. Tradable instruments are limited to Forex, Energy, and Metals on this account type and the leverage cap is also set at 1:30.

This broker will also upgrade clients to Pro status if two of three conditions are met; You must have carried out significantly large transactions, on the relevant market, at an average frequency of 10 per quarter over the previous four quarters; the size of your financial instrument portfolio must exceed $500,000 EUR, and/or you must have experience working in the financial sector for at least a year in a professional position.

If you qualify, then you’ll have access to slightly reduced spreads, leverage options of up to 1:200, and negative balance protection that will cover your account of up to $1,000,000. We’ve provided a quick overview of the two main account types below.

ICM Direct
Minimum Deposit: $200 USD
Leverage: Up to 1:30
Spreads: From 1.3 pips
Commissions: Zero
Assets: Forex, Metals, Futures, Shares, and Cash CFDs

ICM Zero
Minimum Deposit:
Leverage: Up to 1:30
Spreads: From 0 pips
Commissions: $7 Round lot
Assets: Forex, Energy, and Metals

Swap-free versions of both account types are available for clients of Muslim faith. If you’re interested in opening one of these account types, you’ll need to reach out to a member of the broker’s client services team.

Platform

Both account types exclusively support the world-famous MetaTrader 4 trading platform. MT4 is highly accessible and available for download on PC, Mac, iPhone/iPad, and Android. MT4 provides a multilingual interface, contains a complete technical analysis package, a wide range of built-in technical indicators and charting tools, the ability to create various custom indicators, different time periods, and more. Even with the release of MT5, MetaTrader 4 remains the most popular and most commonly offered trading platform on the market to this day. We certainly don’t have any complaints regarding this broker’s choice.

Leverage

The available leverage caps for your account can vary depending on the price volatility of the underlying instrument. The leverage cap is set at 30:1 on major Indices, 10:1 on Commodities other than Gold and non-major Equity Indices, and 5:1 on individual Equities and other reference values. On another note, the broker offers a slight advantage in this category for Pro account holders by setting the maximum leverage cap at 1:200, a significantly higher option.

Trade Sizes

The minimum trade size is set at one micro lot for both account types on the majority of instruments, aside from Cash CFDs, which have a minimum trade size of 1 lot. Maximum trade sizes depend on the type of instrument being traded. The maximum trade size is set at 500 lots on FX pairs, 50 lots on Precious Metals, and 5,000 lots on Cash CFDs. The contract size is set at 100 shares on US stocks. The formula for calculating the margin requirement with this broker is as follows; Required Margin = (Trade Size (lot size) / leverage) * account currency exchange rate (if different from the base currency in the pair being traded). The broker’s stop loss level is set at 50% and the broker reserves the right to initiate an automatic stop-out on all positons if this limit is reached.

Trading Costs

This broker profits through commissions, spreads, and swaps. Traders will not pay commissions on Direct accounts and commission charges of $7/Round lot are applied on Zero accounts. Spreads on the Zero account start from 0 pips, while spreads on the Direct account start from around 1.3 pips. Commissions are not applicable on Energy or Index Futures. Forex and Precious Metal positions that are left open overnight or over the weekend are subject to swap charges.

The swap rate varies for both Long and Short positions and can be viewed for each instrument through the MT4 platform on ‘Specification’. Daily market rollover occurs around 22:00 server time (UK time). In the event that the open position was kept open after midnight on Wednesday, 3 days of swap will be calculated. Even if you’re operating a swap-free account, swaps will apply to the USDTRY and EURTRY currency pairs.

Assets

The Direct account offers access to Forex, Metals, Futures, Shares, and Cash CFDs and would be the best choice if you’re looking for more variety. The Zero account limits tradable instruments to Forex, Energies, and Metals. FX options are made up of majors and minors and include 34 options. Precious Metals include Gold and Silver. Energies include Light Sweet Crude Oil, Brent Crude Oil, and Natural Gas. Note that this would be the extent of what is offered on the Zero account type. There are 45 total options available under US stocks and major brands like Apple, Citigroup Inc., Google, Microsoft, Disney, and more are available. The broker also lists 6 Index Futures and 11 Cash CFDs.

Spreads

On the Account Type Table, we see spreads on the Zero account listed as starting from 0 pips. However, reading the fine print reveals that this is only on the EUR/USD pair. The broker is vague when it comes to describing the spreads on the Direct account type and suggests potential clients check out the Contract Specifications for themselves in order to view them. Upon checking the spreads for ourselves, we weren’t exactly surprised that the broker wasn’t boasting about their offers.

The lowest spread we saw was listed at 1.3 pips on USDJPY, however, spreads climbed to 2.8 pips on AUDCAD, 3 pips on AUDJPY, and so on. All of the options weren’t too bad, although we’re assuming that the broker is making up for the lack of commissions charged on this account type with these spreads. If you are a Pro account holder, then the average spreads are lowered slightly.

Minimum Deposit

The minimum deposit requirement for both accounts is $200 USD, or the equivalent in other currencies. This limit is not only set for initial deposits, but the broker requires also deposits of no less than this amount on future deposits as well. We’ve definitely seen lower offers out there, although this amount is fairly standard. It would be nice if the broker would allow follow up deposits to be made for lesser amounts, especially considering that traders may not want to make larger deposits each time.

Deposit Methods & Costs

Accounts can be funded via Wire Transfer, Visa/MasterCard, Skrill, China UnionPay, Neteller, or through the company’s own ICM Capital Prepaid MasterCard. Some international transfers will incur a fee from the bank’s side, which will be deducted from the total funded amount. The broker will cover any transfer fees on deposits above $500 USD incurred through intermediary and beneficiary banks. Wire Transfers should be credited to the account within 2-5 working days.

Deposits by Visa/MasterCard can be made for amounts up to $10,000 USD and the company requires the address on the card to match the client’s registered address, otherwise, there can be delays. There are also some restrictions related to which countries can fund with cards. There is a charge of 1.75% on all card deposits, including the company’s prepaid card.

Skrill charges a 0.32 transaction fee + a 1.9% fee + a 1% country fee on incoming deposits. Neteller charges a 2.5% deposit fee + a 0.29% transaction fee + a 1% country surcharge fee. Deposits via China UnionPay are subject to a 1.50% fee. Earlier, we mentioned that the broker offers a prepaid card. In order to receive one of these, the client would need to apply and pay a $40 fee.

Withdrawal Methods & Costs

ICM Capital will only return funds to clients in the same manner in which they were received. For example, if you made a $200 deposit via Visa/MasterCard, the company will refund $200 back to the same card that was used to deposit. The broker doesn’t mention which method profits would be returned to, although brokers typically return profits via Wire Transfer. Various fees are charged on some withdrawal methods and others are fee-free. We have outlined those fees below. Also, keep in mind that these fees would not apply to Professional status clients.

• Wire Transfer: 15 GBP
• Visa/MasterCard: No Fees
• ICM Capital Prepaid Card: $1.95
• Skrill: 1% Transaction Fee (max $10)
• Neteller: No Fees
• China UnionPay: $5

Withdrawal Processing & Wait Time

The broker typically processes withdrawals within the same business day; however, it can take 3-5 business days for the funds to be credited back to your account. If you still haven’t received your funds after this period, the broker recommends clients contact their customer service team.

Bonuses & Promotions

Currently, the broker does not seem to be offering any special promotions. Do keep in mind, as previously mentioned, that the broker will upgrade status levels on accounts that hold at least $50,000 worth of currency. If your account qualifies, you would be rewarded in the form of rebates, lower spreads, returns on funding fees, etc. This could be considered a special advantage, although many traders simply won’t have the funds to qualify.

Educational & Trading Tools

Under the ‘Education’ section of their website, this broker provides some brief explanations about forex, mentions some of the key features related to forex trading, briefly mentions some information on technical analysis, provides a few trading examples, includes a trading glossary, and offers a forex FAQ that answers a couple of questions. At first glance, it would seem that the broker is offering several helpful pieces of information; however, each section is fairly short and does not contain enough information to get traders started. The broker does have a section dedicated to listing live seminars, although the upcoming list was empty when we checked. Aside from offering market news, there are no tools offered on the website.

Demo Account

Free demo accounts are available to any client or potential client of this company. Demo accounts do expire after 30 days; however, the broker will allow traders to create a new demo account at any time. Demo accounts must be created from within the MT4 platform by clicking ‘Select File’ > ‘Open MT4 Account’ > and selecting the server as ‘ICM Capital – DEMO – New Account’. Leverage can be changed by contacting customer service and the maximum leverage is limited to 1:30, as with real accounts. Pro versions of the demo account are also available. The broker requires the trader to contact a services team member in order to open one of these account types due to the fact that they must be configured separately. Demo accounts reflect the same environment as real accounts, although demo account servers may differ from the live environment from time to time.

Customer Service

Client Services support is available from 6 am to 6 pm GMT, Monday through Friday. Support can be contacted via LiveChat, email, phone, or by filling out a contact form on the website. Alternatively, if you’re experiencing technical difficulties, you’ll want to contact Technical Support via their direct phone number. This department operates 24 hours a day, Monday through Friday. The main phone lines are linked to the UK location, but this broker also lists separate phone numbers for offices located in Dubai and China. The broker is also active on LinkedIn, YouTube, Google Plus, Facebook, and Twitter. All contact information can be viewed below.

Email: Client Services: [email protected]

UK Office
Phone: +44 207 634 9770 (Client Services) (6 am – 6pm GMT, Mon – Fri)
Technical Support: +44 207 634 9777 (24/5)
Fax: +44 207 516 9137
Address: ICM Capital Limited, New Broad Street House, 35 New Broad At, London, EC2M 1NH, United Kingdom

Dubai Office
Phone: +971 4 429 4500
Fax: +971 4 457 9207
Address: Dubai (Rep Office) P08, building 3, Bay Square, Business Bay, Dubai, P.O. Box 113058

China Office
Phone: 0431-88880936
Address: Honghui International Plaza, No. 3299 Renmin Avenue, Chaoyang District, Changchun, Jilin, China

Countries Accepted

Considering their regulation with the FCA, we would expect to see some type of restrictions set in place. We couldn’t find a list on the website, so we visited the account registration page to see if any important options were missing. We confirmed that the United States, Japan, India, and many other commonly restricted countries are able to sign-up for accounts with no issue. We did notice that North and South Korea were missing from the list of available countries. It’s possible that we may have overlooked a few more restricted countries, although you can search for your country on the account registration page.

Conclusion

ICM Capital is a regulated broker that offers leveraged trading of up to 1:30 for their regular clients on more than 100 assets that are made up of FX, Metals, Shares, Futures, and Cash CFD options. Traders can open a commission-free Direct account and pay no commissions, or a Zero account, which provides tighter spreads in exchange for commission charges. The broker supports the world-famous MetaTrader 4 trading platform and a $200 deposit is required to open an account. Several funding options are available and withdrawals are processed somewhat quickly; however, fees are charged on deposits and when withdrawing through certain methods.

One can trade with a leverage of up to 1:200 and avoid any funding fees if they have a Professional status with this broker, although an account balance of at least $50,000 is needed to qualify for these perks. Education and tools are slim to none and the broker is not really offering any bonuses or promotions at this time. Support is available on weekdays and can be contacted through LiveChat, phone, email, or buy filling out a form on the website.

TitanFX is an online ECN FX and CFD broker that offers leveraged trading of up to 500:1 on 70+ FX, Precious Metals, Index CFDs, and Energies. The company is regulated by the Vanuatu Financial Services Commission (VFSC), with offices located in Vanuatu, New Zealand, India, London, and even the United States. This broker certainly seems to have been thriving since its launch in 2014, although we were curious to find out whether this broker will manage to stand out from the crowd. Stay with us and you’ll be able to judge for yourself.

Account Types

TitanFX provides two main account types, in addition to corporate and demo accounts. The broker offers a Zero Standard STP account and a Zero Blade ECN account as their regular trading account types. The Zero Standard account is an Institutional Grade STP account that offers access to interbank spreads on MT4 & MT5. The account is a commission-free option, with starting spreads as low as 1 pip. The Zero Blade account is an ECN account that offers the tightest available spreads and is ideal for day traders, scalpers, and EA traders. Accounts share the same trade sizes, leverage caps, and minimum deposit requirements, so there will be no need to compare on that basis. We’ve outlined the aforementioned details below.

Zero Standard Account
Minimum Deposit: $200
Leverage: Up to 500:1
Spreads: From 1 pip
Commission: None

Zero Blade Account
Minimum Deposit: $200
Leverage: Up to 500:1
Spreads: From 0.0 pips
Commission: $3.5 per lot (See “Trading Costs”)

In order to register for an account, potential clients must be able to provide a proof of ID (Passport, Driver’s License, National ID) document and a proof of residence document issued within the last 3 months. It is also possible that the broker may require a previous bank statement and/or reference later, both dated within the last 3 months as well.

Platform

This broker offers both the MetaTrader 4 and 5 platforms for download on PC, Mac, Android, and iOS devices. Alternatively, MT4 can be accessed through the WebTrader. Chances are, many of our readers have already heard about MetaTrader 4, which is the world’s most popular trading platform. MT4 contains all of the tools that a trade of any skill level could need, including live quotes, real-time charts, in-depth news, multiple order types, analysis tools, secure trading, and more.

MT5 was released more recently and while this platform is modeled after its predecessor, MT5 was developed to provide faster performance, an improved strategy tester for EAs, more pending order types and analysis tools, etc. Many still prefer the earlier version, while others have switched to the newest version of the platform. Fortunately, this broker will allow traders to decide which platform is their favorite, instead of limiting to traders to one option or the other.

Leverage

Available leverage options range from 1:1, which would be the same as trading with the exact amount of funds in the account, up to 1:500, allowing one to trade with 500 times the amount of available funds. Many other brokers set even lower caps than their initial offer, based on the equity in the account, or when trading certain instruments. TitanFX does not seem to place any restrictions on their leverage limits, meaning all traders will have access to the advertised leverage cap. We do want to offer a word of warning to any traders that may be lacking experience, since trading with leverage as high as the one offered here may result in significant losses due to the risk that is involved. If you’re not sure where to start, we recommend testing out different leverages on the demo account.

Trade Sizes

The broker’s technology allows clients to trade without restrictions, with minimum trade sizes starting as low as one micro lot. The maximum trading volume for the majority of assets is set at 100 lots. When trading Precious Metals, such as Gold, Silver, Platinum, or Pallidum, the maximum trade size is 50 lots. An automated stop-out will be triggered when the account’s margin reaches a level of 20% or below.

Trading Costs

Clients of this company will pay trading costs through commissions (if applicable), spreads, and swaps. There do not appear to be any inactivity fees associated with trading through this broker. The Zero Standard account offers a commission-free experience, with spreads that start from 1 pip. On the Zero Blade account type, the tightest spreads, from 0.0 pips, are offered with commission charges of $3.50 per Standard Lot. Taking a closer look, we do see some differences in the commission cost based on the currency or asset type being traded.

For example, that cost is $4 when trading one Standard Lot using the AUD currency, while the cost is only 30 cents when trading Energies, Metals, or Index CFDs in USD. The exact fees can be viewed on the account type’s main page under “See Our Commissions”. Swap rates are determined by the overnight interest rate differential between two currencies involved in the pair and whether the buying position is a long or short swap. Rollover period goes from 23:59 to 00:01 server time.

Assets

This broker’s instrument portfolio is made up of FX, CFDs, Precious Metals, and Energies. FX options are made up of 70+ currency pairs, including majors, minors, and several exotics. Nine options make up the list of CFDs and Precious Metals and include Gold, Silver, Platinum, and Pallidum. Energy options are made up of XTI/USD (West Texas Intermediate Crude Oil) and XBR/USD (Brent Crude Oil). Altogether, this makes up a total number of 76+ tradable instruments. Sadly, we don’t see any Shares or Cryptocurrency options available through this broker.

Spreads

TitanFX maintains a relationship with more than 50 liquidity providers in order to provide the tightest spreads without delays, intervention, or re-quotes. Both accounts offer starting spreads that start lower than the industry average, although spreads are floating and can climb higher in some circumstances. The tightest spreads start from 0.0 pips on the Titan Zero Blade account, while spreads start from just 1 pip on the Zero Standard account. Around rollover time, spreads can widen and may spike due to the low liquidity, so the broker does warn clients to be very careful when trading around that time.

Minimum Deposit

It costs a minimum of $200 USD, or equivalent in another base currency, in order to open a trading account with this broker. For a Standard account, this is slightly above the $100 requirement we’re used to seeing; however, the amount could be considered very reasonable for the Zero Blade account type. The requirement should be realistic for most traders, although some beginners may have been looking for a lower starting amount.

Deposit Methods & Costs

Accounts can be funded through Visa, MasterCard, Neteller, Skrill, or Bank Wire Transfer. Note that there are some restrictions based on the client’s location that may limit the ability to fund via Neteller or Skrill. In order to fund via card, the compliance team must be able to verify that the name on the card matches the account, that the last 4 digits of the card are visible, and that the expiry date has not passed through a provided photo. Note that the credit card number should be covered in the photo, aside from those last 4 digits that are needed. It takes 30 minutes – 1 hour for funds sent via Japanese banks to clear. A fee of AUD15 is applied to deposits of less than $50,001 made from Japanese banking instructions, while other banking institutions may charge international fees from their end. Aside from Bank Wire, all deposit methods are fee-free.

Withdrawal Methods & Costs

There are some conditions that will affect which withdrawal methods can be chosen. If the client has funded via Bank Wire, then any amount can be withdrawn via Bank Wire, Neteller, or Skrill (if applicable in the client’s location). If the account was funded by Visa/MasterCard, Neteller, or Skrill, then the amount of the deposit must be withdrawn back to the original source. Any profits can then be withdrawn via Bank Wire, Neteller, or Skrill. There are associated fees with Bank Wire, Neteller, and Skrill, meaning that withdrawal fees cannot be avoided when withdrawing profits. The only time fees could be avoided would be when withdrawing funded amounts by card. All associated fees for each method are listed below.

Visa/MasterCard: No fees
Bank Wire Transfer: Bank Fees (Typically AUD 20)
Neteller & Skrill: 3.75%

Withdrawal Processing & Wait Time

Depending on the withdrawal method, it can take between 4 days to 4 weeks to receive funds. Credit card withdrawals are subject to the client’s card provider processing times. Neteller and Skrill withdrawals will be processed and deposited into the client’s account within one business day. Overall, the processing times for e-wallets are quick, although waiting times of up to 4 weeks for some of the other methods are not exactly advantageous. If you are planning to withdraw through a method aside from Neteller or Skrill, it would be wise to plan out the withdrawal ahead of time.

Bonuses & Promotions

Currently, this broker isn’t offering any type of special opportunities. It’s always beneficial to see a broker with a welcome bonus or some type of rebate program, although this should never be enough of a reason to choose a broker alone. However, this broker does provide personalized service for clients that trade high volumes, including perks like a dedicated relationship manager and VPS. Many clients will not qualify for these extra options; however, this could be an advantage if you are one of the high-volume traders we mentioned. The broker doesn’t mention exactly how much one would need to trade to qualify, so you’ll want to reach out to support if you think you may qualify.

Educational & Trading Tools

This broker primarily focuses on providing news updates centered around research and market insight. Sadly, we just don’t see educational resources available on the website, aside from demo accounts. There is a small section on the website that is titled “Learn Forex”; however, further investigation reveals that this section is very short and does not provide enough information to be helpful to beginners. On the bright side, the broker does an excellent job with research tools, including Market Analysis, Forex Monthly articles, Economic News, and articles centered around the Forex Lifestyle. VPS is also available for lease from the website.

Demo Account

If interested, any current or potential applicant can open a free paper trading demo account in order to test out the trading conditions on the MetaTrader 4 platform. Demo accounts use the same price feed as the live servers and trading from one provides an experience that mimics the conditions on a live account as closely as possible. From the demo, traders can test an Expert Advisor (EA) with realtime prices, test out new strategies, become more familiarized with the MT4 platform, and try placing trades without using real money.

The default amount of virtual currency is set at $50,000; however, traders can reach out to support to request a different amount. If you’re looking for a more realistic experience, it may be worth asking for an amount that falls within a lower range. Demo accounts expire after 30 days; however, non-expiring demo accounts are available for clients holding live accounts.

Customer Service

Support is available 24 hours a day, from Monday through Friday. Sadly, this means that it won’t be possible to contact an agent during weekend hours, when many traders may be looking to sign-up. Traders can contact a member of support instantly through LiveChat, by calling into one of the companies’ hotlines, by filling out a contact form on the website, or through email. Multiple phone numbers and email addresses are provided, so you’ll want to be sure that you’re reaching out through the correct one.

We did quickly test out LiveChat, which allows one to either sign-in using social media, or by filling in a few quick details. We were connected instantly to a live person and options about our question could be selected from a predetermined list, or we could type anything in the chat box. Our agent was extremely helpful and quick, so we have to give this company full stars for the customer service experience. Keep in mind that this broker also provides an FAQ that may eliminate the need to actually contact an agent. In addition to these contact options, you’ll also find TitanFX on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter. All contact information is provided below.

Email
Support: [email protected]
Back Office: [email protected]
Partnerships: [email protected]
Marketing: [email protected]
Phone
Asia: +64 9 950 8902
Europe/Americas: +1 214 2388 269

Countries Accepted

Currently, the broker does not accept residents from New Zealand or Australia, although the website claims that the broker will soon be overcoming restrictions that will allow them to welcome clients from these locations. Although the broker does have an office located in the US, CTFX regulations seemingly ban this broker from offering service to clients located there. Fortunately, we found it to be extremely easy to sign-up for an account from the United States, as the option is included on the registration list with absolutely no bans. This would make the broker more attractive for those located in the US, considering that these traders are often banned from opening accounts with forex brokers.

Conclusion

TitanFX is a regulated online broker that offers leveraged trading of up to 1:500 with no hidden restrictions, on 76+ total assets, primarily made up of FX options, in addition to CFDs, Precious Metals, and Energies. The broker has several office locations, including one in the US, and offers 2 account types; one with a commission-based pricing model that has starting spreads from 0.0 pips, while the other is commission-free with spreads starting from just 1 pip. A $200 USD deposit is required to open either account. Traders can also choose between the MetaTrader 4 and MetaTrader 5 trading platforms, rather than being limited to one option or the other.

Accounts can be funded through Visa/MasterCard, Bank Wire, Neteller, or Skrill and deposit fees are not charged from the broker’s side. It is impossible to withdraw profits without paying some type of withdrawal fee and processing times can take longer than we’d like to see for a couple of methods. Aside from providing a few perks for high-volume traders, bonus opportunities are non-existent.

Educational resources are also missing, although the broker does provide VPS and helpful articles that revolve around news and research. Support is available 24/5 and the broker’s customer support team exceeded our expectations on LiveChat. Overall, the broker does seem to be lacking in some of the extra categories, although the trading conditions available through this broker offer the ability to trade in a competitive environment.

Trademax is a broker that is committed to providing a highly professional and independent platform with a team that offers optimal devotion and efficiency. This is what is stated on the Trademax website and so in this review, we will be diving deep into the service being offered to see if they live up to the expectations they have put upon themselves.

It is important to note that there are different versions of the TradeMax website, for the purpose of this review we will be looking at the global site, if any of the information is different, this would be due to your viewing a different version of the site as the one we are reviewing may not be available to you based on your country of residence.

Account Types

There are 4 accounts on offer from Trademax, each with their own requirements and trading conditions, we will take a little look at them to see what is on offer:

Standard Account: The standard account requires a minimum deposit of $1,000 in order to open the account, this account comes with a maximum leverage up to 1:400 and does not charge any commission. You get a dedicated account manager but no access to the VIP desk, no free VPS and no MAMM services.

Premium Account: The premium account ups the, minimum deposit to a much larger $50,000 which will price out a lot of regular retail clients. It would appear that all other aspects of the account remain the same, however, we do not believe this and so during this review, we will look at other aspects to see where the differences lie.

Pro Account: The pro account increases the minimum deposit further to $100,000 and due to this increased value, the maximum leverage reduces down to 1:200. This account comes with a dedicated account manager, access to the VIP desk, a free VPS and access to the MAMM services.

Raw Spread Account: The raw spread account works a little differently, it also has a minimum deposit of $100,000 and leverage of 1:200, however, this account now charges a commission of $7 per lot traded and so the spreads will be far lower than the other accounts. This account also comes with all the perks that the pro account does.

Platforms

Just one platform is available when trading with Trademax and that is MetaTrader 4 (MT4):

MetaTrader 4 (MT4) is one of the world’s most popular trading platforms and for good reason. Released in 2005 by MetaQuotes Software, it has been around a while, it is stable customizable and full of features to help with your trading and analysis. MT4 is compatible with hundreds and thousands of different indicators, expert advisors, signal providers and more. Millions of people use MT4 for its interactive charts, multiple timeframes, one-click trading, trade copying and more. In terms of accessibility, MT4 is second to none, available as a desktop download, an app for Android and iOS devices and as a WebTrader where you can trade from within your internet browser. MetaTrader 4 is a great trading solution to have.

Leverage

The maximum leverage available depends on the type of account that you have, the standard and premium accounts come with a maximum leverage of 1:4090 while the pro and raw spread accounts come with a maximum leverage of 1:200. The minimum is usually 1:1 however this is not explicitly stated on the site, you can also change your leverage by selecting new leverage in your account section and then notifying your account manager.

Trade Sizes

Trade sizes start at 0.01 lots which are also known as micro-lots, trades then increase in increments of 0.0 lots so the next available trade is 0.02 lots and then 0.03 lots. The maximum trade size is currently set at 80 lots however, we do not recommend trading at more than 50 lots as it increasingly becomes harder for liquidity providers and the market to execute bigger trades instantly.

Trading Costs

The standard, premium and pro accounts work on a spread based structure so we will look at them later in this review. The raw spread account adds a commission to each trade, currently, the charge is $7 per lot traded which is around the standard ($6 per lot) for the industry at this point in time. There are also swap charges that are either paid or received for holding trades overnight, these charges can be viewed from directly within the trading platform being used.

Assets

There are 3 types of assets and instruments available with Trademax and combined they make up over 100 different tradable instruments. The assets are broke down into three categories, forex currency pairs including majors, minors and exotic pairs. There are also commodities that include popular ones such as Gold, Silver and natural gasses, as well as oil. Finally, there are indices, which include the likes of the FTSE 100 Index and the S&P 500. It is a shame not to see cryptocurrencies being available as these are quickly becoming a major trading asset for both new and experienced traders.

Spreads

While spreads are not specifically mentioned on the site, they can be seen from 1.6 pips, however these are floating spreads, so this means that they will regularly rise higher than this especially when the markets are volatile. It should also be noted that some pairs naturally have higher spreads and so will always be seen much higher than the 1.6 pip figure. The spreads on the raw spread account can be as low as 0 pips, but there is the added commission to make up for this.

Minimum Deposit

The minimum amount in order to open up an account is $1,000 which will get you the standard account, in order to have a lower spread account you will need a deposit of $100,000 which prices out 99.9% of all retail traders. Usually, when there is a high opening deposit needed, any subsequent top-ups are lower than the initial amount but there is not any information regarding such a scheme here.

Deposit Methods & Costs

There are a few methods that you can use to deposit with Trademax including bank wire transfers, credit and debit cards (both Visa and MasterCard) as well as some e-wallets such as PayPal, UnionPay, POLi, and FasaPay. The documentation states that there are no additional fees when depositing with Trademax.

Withdrawal Methods & Costs

The same methods are available for withdrawing as they are for depositing, while Trademax will not add any fees, the individual processors may which can be small but they add up over time.

Withdrawal Processing & Wait Time

Processing times are not made obvious but it is stated that Trademax will process your withdrawals within 48 hours. Once the withdrawal is processed the amount of time that it will take depends on the method being used. E-wallets will generally take around 15 minutes to arrive after being processed which bank transfers and card withdrawals can take an additional 1 to 5 working days to arrive in your account.

Bonuses & Promotions

There is currently one promotion taking place which ends on 31/12/19 so there may be a different one at the time you are reading this. The current promotion offers you a 10% trading bonus up to $10,000 on new deposits (not internal transfers). It states that terms and conditions apply, but there are none posted on the site so we can not comment on what they may be.

Educational & Trading Tools

There are a few small learning opportunities being offered by Trademax, these include in-house classes for beginners, intermediate and advanced traders. In order to access these, you must be a client of Trademax and then apply to take part. There are also 1 on 1 VIP classes where you can sit with an expert and learn more advanced techniques to help improve yourself as a trader. Finally, there are online tutorials that are more of a forex based FAQ.

Finally, there is also an economic calendar which gives basic information about upcoming news events and which Paris they may effect, there is also a news section to get up to date in what is happening in the world, both of which can be found elsewhere on the internet in more detail.

Customer Service

There are a few ways to get in touch with Trademax however they are not the most appealing and not as direct as we would like. You can use the online contact form to send your query and get a response via email, there is also an email address to use.

Finally, there is an online chat system that we tested out, unfortunately, the person on the other end was not able to help with any of our basic queries around spreads or countries that are accepted so we gave up with no extra information being obtained.

Demo Account

Plenty of buttons to open a live account, however noting to open a demo account so we are unsure if they are available with Trademax, if they are, it may only be from the client area and not from directly on the website.

Countries Accepted

While the website only states “Products and Services offered on this website is not intended for residents of the United States.” When signing up to an account a number of regularly excluded countries were not present such as Iran. So in order to be sure, if you are eligible or not, we would recommend getting in contact with the support team.

Conclusion

With so much information being missing or hard to find, along with the atrocious customer support team, it is hard for us to recommend using Trademax at all. Trademax really needs to up their game in regards to providing the right information for potential clients and do not instill much confidence at all.

We hope you like this TradeMax review. If you did, be sure to check out some of the other reviews to help find the broker that is right for you.