*IMPORTANT NOTE* The TradeFred website was down as of the time of this review posting. We’re providing the review anyway, on the off-chance that the site may be up again in the future.
TradeFred is a brand name of BrightFX Capital Limited, a Cyprus Investment Firm (CIF) that is authorized and regulated by the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC). TradeFred opens its doors to all sorts of traders, working tirelessly to ensure their clients are fully satisfied through the use of five-star customer service, and advanced trading technology. We will be looking into the services on offer to see if they achieve this or fall short and so you can decide if they are the right broker for you.
Account Types
There are three different accounts available, they do not give too much information away about the trading conditions though, os throughout this review in each section we will outline any differences between the accounts that we find. So let’s look at what we do know.
Basic Account: This account requires a minimum deposit of at least $100, it has one-day withdrawals and access to eBooks and educational videos.
Standard Account: The minimum deposit requirement is increased up to $500, it has one-day withdrawals, access to ebooks and training videos as well as free trading signals, and lower spreads.
VIP Account: This is a top-tier account and it requires a minimum deposit of at least $5,000. It comes with one-day withdrawals, access to the ebooks and educational videos as well as free trading signals, lower spreads, and access to a VIP account manager.
Platforms
TradeFred uses MetaTrader 4 (MT4) as its sole trading platform. Boasting a wide range of features, MetaTrader 4 provides ultra-fast execution and lets you execute complicated strategies with ease. You also get access to the latest market updates, analytical tools, and trend charts. With MT4 you are able to trade six asset classes, get five-star customer support, exclusive educational material, available as a desktop download, mobile app, and WebTrader. It is highly accessible and allows you to access the markets wherever you are.
Leverage
The maximum trade size seems to be set at 1:30 which is rather low. This may be due to TradeFred following the recommendations from the ESMA which are:
Leverage limits on the opening of a position by a retail client from 30:1 to 2:1, which vary according to the volatility of the underlying:
- 30:1 for major currency pairs;
- 20:1 for non-major currency pairs, gold, and major indices;
- 10:1 for commodities other than gold and non-major equity indices;
- 5:1 for individual equities and other reference values;
- 2:1 for cryptocurrencies
Trade Sizes
Trade sizes start from 0.01 lots and go up in increments of 0.01 lots. We do not know what the maximum trade size is or how many trades you can have open at any one time.
Trading Costs
There are no added commissions on any of the accounts or the tradable instruments, the only things that have any commissions are shares that have a 10% commission on all accounts. There are also swap charges, these are fees for holding trades overnight and can be viewed within the MetaTrader 4 platform.
Assets
The assets at TradeFred have been broken down into a number of categories that we will now outline for you.
Forex: EURGBP, CADCHF, CHFJPY, EURCHF, EURJPY, EURUSD, GBPCAD, GBPCHF, GBPJPY, GBPUSD, USDCHF, USDJPY, EURCAD, USDCAD, AUDCHF, AUDJPY, AUDUSD, EURDKK, EURHUF, EURNOK, EURPLN, EURSEK, GBPAUD, USDDKK, USDHKD, USDRUB, USDSGD, AUDNZD, EURAUD, EURNZD, GBPNZD, NADUSD, USDCNH, USDMXN, USDNOK, USDPLN, USDSEK, USDZAR, EURTRY, USDTRY, AUDCAD, NZDJPY.
Metals: Silver and Gold are the only available metals to trade.
Energies: Brent Crude Oil, Lite Sweet Crude Oil, and Natural Gas are available.
Shares: There are plenty of shares to be traded, these include the likes of Alibaba, Apple, Bank of America, eBay, Facebook, and Netflix.
Indices: CAC 40, DAX 30, Dow Jones, FTSE 100, Nasdaq, S&P 500, Hang Seng Index, Madrid 35.
Commodities: Cocoa, Cotton #2, Palladium, Platinum, Soybeans, Coffee, Sugar #11, Aluminium.
Cryptocurrencies: Bitcoin is tradable against USD, EUR, and GBP.
Spreads
The accounts page states that there is a difference between the three accounts in regards to their spreads, but when looking at the product specification we cannot see any differences listed. The spreads listed start from 1.7 pips and are variable which means they will move with the markets when there is added volatility they will often be slightly higher. Different instruments will also have different starting spreads.
Minimum Deposit
The minimum amount required to open up an account is $100 which will allow you to use the Basic account, if you want a different account you will need to deposit at least $500, We do not know if this amount reduces for further top-ups.
Deposit Methods & Costs
There are a few different methods available which are Bank Transfer, Credit/Debit Cards, and Online Wallets. Unfortunately, we do not know what the online wallets are, as they are not mentioned by name, however at the bottom of the website there are images of Skrill and Neteller. In terms of fees, TradeFred does not add any of its own. However, any fees added by your bank or payment processor will be your responsibility to pay.
Withdrawal Methods & Costs
The same methods are available to withdraw with, these are Bank Transfer, Credit ./ Debit Cards, and Online Wallets. Again, we do not know exactly which wallets they are. Just like with the deposits, there are no added fees from TradeFred but you should check with your bank or processor for any fees added by them.
Withdrawal Processing & Wait Time
Withdrawal requests will be processed within 1 business day. The amount of time it takes after this will depend on your bank or processor but should be fully processed between 1 to 5 working days from the date of the request being processed.
Bonuses & Promotions
There doesn’t seem to be any active promotions or bonuses at the time of writing this review, however, if you are after bonuses you could always contact the customer service team to see if there are any coming up that you can take part in.
Educational & Trading Tools
There is quite a lot when it comes to the educational and tools side of the broker. There are some daily reviews that give brief highlights of trends and events affecting the markets. There is an economic calendar that shows upcoming news events and they could affect your trading strategy. A news and blog section with the latest market events, plus informative articles about Forex trading and techniques. You can get free trading signals that can help you decide on your next investment position. You can also watch televised market updates, get market analysis and technical analysis from partners in the trading central part of the site.
There is also an education center that has information on trading, how to trade, what CFDs are, fundamental analysis, technical analysis, a glossary, FAQs, eBooks, video tutorials, and webinars. So there is plenty to help you along your trading journey.
Customer Service
The TradeFred support team is available 24 hours a day 5 days a week and closes over the weekends when the markets are also closed. You can use the online submission form to send your query and then get a reply via email, you can also use the postal address provided as well as a support email or phone number.
Address: 24 Piraeus Street, 4th Floor, Office 401, Strovolos, Nicosia 2023 Cyprus
Email: [email protected]
Phone: +357-22009101
Demo Account
Demo accounts are available and allow you to test out the markets, conditions, and strategies without risking anything. The demo account comes with funds of $10,000 and uses the same market conditions as the live accounts, we are not sure if there is an expiration time on the accounts though.
Countries Accepted
This information is not present on the site and so if you are thinking of signing up you will need to contact the support team to find out if you are eligible for an account or not.
Conclusion
TradeFred offers three different accounts however we do not really know what the differences between them are, they state that the higher tier accounts have lower spreads but there was no indication of what they are. The broker follows recommendations from the ESMA which means the leverage is very limiting. There are plenty of assets available to trade and a few different methods of moving your money in and out, however not all of them are detailed, no added fees are also a plus. You now have the information to decide if they are the right broker for you, or if you need to look elsewhere to satisfy your trading needs.
