Trading with ATFX gives clients access to an FCA-regulated broker for trading CFDs and forex. The goal of ATFX is to deliver the best possible trading experience. The broker has a client portal that is state-of-the-art and relies on the leading encryption systems.

ATFX uses the most recent bridging technologies to get the best rates from its liquidity provider. The payment systems on ATFX are super-fast, including for deposits and withdrawals.

The broker also makes the process of opening accounts quick and easy, allowing for trading right away and also provides a free demo account for testing the system.

ATFX also has a mobile application for trading on the go and convenience. It offers 24/5 customer service from an expert team. Clients can also enjoy full account management via the sleek client portal.

The headquarters of ATFX is located in the City of London. They are in the heart of the city. The specific address is 1st Floor, 32 Cornhill, London EC3V 3SG, United Kingdom.

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ATFX at a Glance

How Is ATFX Regulated?

Since ATFX has its headquarters in the United Kingdom, it is regulated by the FCA. The official name of ATFX is AT Global Markets (UK) Limited. The Financial Conduct Authority regulates and authorizes this company. The FCA registration number is 7605555 and the company number is 09827091.

The regulation and authorization from the FCA are for ATFX to be a CFD and FX broker. The FCA CASS rules authorize ATFX to hold client funds. As part of its FCA regulation and authorization, ATFX follows the agency’s strict regulatory requirements. These include the fair treatment of clients and the protection of client money.

ATFX is also regulated in the Middle East and North America.

Additionally, ATFX Global Markets (CY) Ltd. operates from Limassol, Cyprus. As such, this section of ATFX is under regulation from CySEC, the Cyprus Securities and Exchanges Commission. CySEC regulation provides access to the EU and EEA countries. Switzerland and the Middle East also have access to ATFX via CySEC regulation.

ATFX Country Restrictions

ATFX is a global brokerage overall. That being said, it is not available to clients in certain countries of the world. These include Yemen, Vanuatu, Tunisia, Trinidad and Tobago, and Sri Lanka. It also includes Bosnia and Herzegovina, Iraq, Ethiopia, Syria, Sudan, DPRK, and Turkey. ATFX cannot be used in Cuba, Japan, Iran, Canada, or the USA either. It is best to confirm that ATFX is available in your country if it is not explicitly stated. You can do this by contacting ATFX directly.

MiFID

In addition to the regulation, ATFX complies with MiFID, the Directive on Markets in Financial Instruments. The European Parliament and Council adopted this on Nov. 1, 2007. MiFID regulates financial instrument markets for providing investment services as well as activities, specifically in the European Economic Area. This EEA includes all 27 member states of the EU in addition to Norway, Liechtenstein, and Iceland.

The goal of MiFID was to harmonize financial market governance in the EEA. It also aims to improve financial transparency, efficiency, competition, and consumer protection. With MiFID, investment firms are able to freely offer services within other member state’s territories or those of third parties. The only requirement is that the investment firm must have authorization for those services.

As part of its transparency, ATFX has a range of legal documents available on its website. This includes all documents related to compliance and regulation. Each is downloadable for convenience. They span categories such as general, CFDs, and spread betting. This is where to go for details on terms and conditions related to specific services and products.

Edge Accounts

ATFX offers an Edge Account that has better spreads and faster speeds. It is designed for advanced traders and also includes additional latency reduction.

This type of account has a minimum deposit of $5,000. It includes spreads starting at 0.6 pips and $0 commission per lot. There is a stop-out at 50 percent. Edge Accounts have market (STP) execution and maximum leverage for retail clients of 30:1. There are no requotes nor rejection. This account has Negative Balance Protection for retail clients. It also has slippage and allows both hedging and Expert Advisors.

To opt for an Edge Account, you simply create your ATFX via the regular process. Once you validate the live account, you can contact ATFX customer service to switch to an Edge Account. If your Edge Account drops below the $5,000 equity minimum, ATFX may change it to a Standard Account.

This type of account has limited availability. It is available in the United Kingdom, which includes England, Scotland, the Channel Islands, Northern Island, and Wales. It is also available in the European region. That includes most countries in the EEA.

Edge Account Trading Conditions:

ATFX Professional Clients

Professional client classification is also available from ATFX. Professional clients do not have to deal with the margin increases from the ESMA changes in 2018. The European Securities and Markets Authority restricted certain products for retail clients starting Aug. 1, 2018.

Professional clients also have access to leverage of up to 200:1. There are no changes to tax status or requirements of products. Nor are there changes to client money protection.

Professional clients do waive some FCA protections. These include a lack of negative balance protection and waived restrictions on CFDs. ATFX can also use sophisticated market language when talking to professional clients and assume higher experience levels. There are also changes to considerations for best execution. For retail clients, priorities are the transaction cost and the overall price. For professional clients, speed and execution likelihood also play a role.

Demo Account

ATFX does have a demo account. This is a great way to get a feel for the offerings of the broker. It can also be a useful tool for beginner traders who need to hone their skills. Or advanced traders can use the demo account to test new strategies.

ATFX Deposits

There are three main deposit methods available on ATFX: credit or debit cards, bank transfers, and e-wallets. E-wallets include Safecharge, Neteller, and Skrill. All three methods support deposits in EUR, USD, or GBP. There are no fees for any deposits charged by ATFX. In the case of debit or credit cards from outside the UK, your provider may charge a small processing fee. ATFX will reimburse you for this fee if you provide a receipt to prove the charges. Deposits made with credit cards, debit cards, or e-wallets typically appear within 30 minutes. Bank transfers will appear in your trading account within a working day after ATFX receives the funds.

ATFX Withdrawals

ATFX offers the same withdrawal methods as deposit methods: credit or debit card, e-wallet, or bank transfer. As with deposits, there are no fees charged by ATFX and you can withdraw in EUR, USD, or GBP. Most withdrawals are processed within a working day, but ATFX is not liable for delays. Most withdrawals requests that ATFX receives before 2 p.m. (in the UK) get processed that day.

Following processing, funds will usually clear between 1 and 3 working days. International bank wires typically require 3 to 5 more working days to appear in your account, depending on the bank. Withdrawals via e-wallets will typically arrive within 2 days. Refunds to debit and credit cards typically finish processing in 2 to 5 days.

Remember that for compliance reasons, withdrawals must be returned to your original payment source. In the case of profits on trades from deposits made with a card, the extra funds will go to a bank account. You must also fully verify your ATFX account before you can withdraw funds.

How Do You Deposit and Withdraw Funds With Your ATFX Account?

To deposit funds into your ATFX account, just log into your account. Visit the Client Portal and select Deposit. Remember that ATFX will not accept third-party payments. This means that your deposits must come from your own accounts.

To withdraw funds, visit the Client Portal again. Instead of choosing Deposit, select Withdrawal. Keep in mind that you can only request one withdrawal each day. This improves efficiency for ATFX.

ATFX Promotions

Depending on the country that you sign up for ATFX in, you may have access to a bonus. There is a $100 USD welcome credit promotion. This only requires opening up a Live Account and then depositing $200. Once you trade six lots, the credit becomes withdrawable.

Keep in mind that this bonus is not available to all clients. European guidelines make it very challenging to offer bonuses. These are banned outright in the EU.

ATFX Trading Instruments

One of the focuses of ATFX is offering forex trading. The broker offers 43 different forex trading pairs. Additionally, it constantly reviews its product range. ATFX strives to always offer the broadest possible range of FX pairs. Those pairs include majors, minors, and exotics. The forex market is available 24/5 on ATFX.

ATFX also offers access to trading precious metals. Specifically, you can trade London Gold or London Silver, either of which is on a spot contract. This market remains open 23 hours each day and 5 days a week. ATFX allows opening sell/short or buy/long positions. The market is highly liquid. There is also the ability to use leverage as high as 1:20.

Crude oil is another highly liquid asset that can be traded with ATFX. You can use ATFX to buy or sell commodity-based oil ETFs. There is a vast trading volume; in fact, it has the biggest trading volume of goods in the world. It also experiences regular price movements.

You can trade indices with ATFX, with 15 types of shares indices from Asia, the U.S., and Europe. The spot indices on ATFX have low margin requirements and low spreads. There is access to 1-to-1 customer support 24/5 plus tight spreads and no commissions. Trading of this type of asset begins with a 0.10 lot size.

There are also several cryptocurrency CFDs available. Finally, ATFX supports trading of 50 major shares CFDs from the United States and Germany.

ATFX Spread Betting

When you choose to spread bet with ATFX, there is no UK stamp duty or capital gains tax. There are also no commissions and spreads are competitive, starting at just 0.6 pips. Spread betting lets you speculate on the rising or falling markets. It also allows for trading on margin. Spread betting is done via MetaTrader 4. It includes tools to limit risk, such as stop-loss limit orders and balance protection. Spread betting is popular for traders who want to diversify their portfolios. It is also popular for those who want to trade with leverage and a small investment.

Spread betting accounts have a minimum deposit of £100. The stop-out is 0.5 and the maximum leverage for retail clients is 30:1. There are no requotes nor rejection. There is slippage with both hedging and EAs allowed. The execution type of STP or market.

Read our Complete Guide to Bitcoin Spread Betting

Orders Types

Unsurprisingly, ATFX offers market order execution. Market orders are sent to the market, then executed at the market’s tradeable price. Following execution, the information regarding the transaction will go to the MT4 platform. The execution price for market orders is influenced by the amount of liquidity from banks and if it is enough. It can change rapidly. Remember that the MT4 platform will send the transaction instructions to the given MT4 server.

ATFX offers a range of order types to choose from. Pending order options include Buy Limit, Buy Stop, Sell Stop, and Sell Limit. A Take Profit or Stop Less closes pending orders. All pending orders connect to company instructions within the server. The pending order is triggered, then transacted and executed in the form of a market order. This occurs when the market price reaches the correct point. It is important to remember that pending orders do not have guaranteed execution at their original price.

ATFX Fees

When you trade with ATFX, you do not have to pay any commission charges. Additionally, AFTX prides itself on offering tight spreads that are highly competitive. This reduces the costs associated with trading and opening positions.

Trading Conditions

The trading conditions on ATFX vary by asset. For convenience, ATFX offers an updated list of trading conditions for each individual asset. These are divided by category, such as forex majors, minors, and exotics. Other categories include metals, oil, indices, cryptos, and shares. There are also spread betting trading conditions outlined for FX majors, FX minors, metals, oil, and indices.

For each product, you can view the name, minimum spread, contract size, and minimum and maximum lot size. Keep in mind that there are specific product specifications for each account type. Those include Retail – Standard Clients, Standard – Edge Account, and Professional Clients.

ATFX has a No Dealing Desk policy. This reduces intervention from ATFX as a broker. That, in turn, improves the transparency of trading conditions. It also improves the trading environment.

ATFX Leverage

ATFX offers a list of default leverages for clients in its Trading FAQ section.

ATFX UK follows FCA/ESMA rules, offers 1:30 for retail clients and up to 1:400 for professional traders (subject to eligibility).

FX exotics default at leverage of 1:50. Both gold and silver have default leverage of 1:200. Default leverage for indices is 1:100, except it is 1:50 for USDX. Default leverage is 1:100 for oil, 1:5 for cryptocurrencies, and 1:20 for shares CFDs.

ATFX Platforms

All trading on ATFX is done via the popular MetaTrader 4 platform. This platform has support for all types of devices, so every client is able to use it. Because of MT4’s popularity, there are also numerous guides and resources available online.

MetaTrader 4 for Windows has multilingual trading support plus multi-currency support. There is also a VPS service for connectivity all day long. MT4 Desktop offers custom indicators and the ability to customize libraries, EAs, and scripts. This lets it meet a range of trading styles.

MT4 Desktop additionally offers cutting-edge charting tools. There are more than 50 indicators as well as over 30 tools to analyze charts. Furthermore, you can set parameters and display methods for every chart type and indicator. MT4 Desktop allows for diversification thanks to full support for a range of assets.

The use of Expert Advisors allows for automated trading strategies. MT4 also has enhanced trading speed and is known for its robustness and stability.

MetaTrader 4 also has a WebTrader which is optimized to maximize web-based performance. It works in all browsers and does not require any download whatsoever. This particular version of MT4 is designed for convenience. It is user-friendly and supports many languages. The WebTrader also includes one-click trading. It even incorporates real-time information, so traders can make their decisions with all the available information. It also includes the full flexibility of the Desktop platform plus advanced charting.

Mobile Trading

The mobile trading platforms for ATFX are also versions of MetaTrader 4. You can download an application for either Android or Apple devices, allowing everyone to trade on the go.

The iPhone MT4 application includes the most useful features, such as EAs and customizable indicators. The same is true for the Android application. Either mobile version has the full functionality and all of the tools of the other versions. It also has full multi-language support available 24/5. It includes real-time information that helps with the decision-making process. MT4 for iOS or Android also includes advanced charting, such as customization and rapid analysis. You get the flexibility to adapt to your trading strategy and full support for assets, allowing for diversification.

Advanced Trading Tools in MetaTrader 4

To view all the products that ATFX offers on MetaTrader 4, visit the Market Watch window. When you right-click, select Show All. This way, you can find any asset and use the available advanced trading tools with it.

If you want to insert a chart indicator, visit the top menu on the platform. Click on Insert and then select Indicators. Alternatively, you can go to Navigation and select Indicators. From there, you will be able to customize the indicator.

It is also simple to create studies for movements like trend lines. Visit the top menu and select Insert. There, select your chosen trend line. You will notice a crosshair icon appear there. Move this icon to your chosen chart. You can adjust the trend line’s size by clicking and holding your mouse. There is also a quicker option. You can select Browse, then Toolbar, and Line Study. This will display the icon by the menu bar. Click on the Fibonacci Retracement, crosshair, or trend line for even more options.

Trading Central

Trading Central is known for its top-tier technical analysis resources. ATFX clients get access to Trading Central features, helping with the full array of investment strategies. Trading Central is well-respected worldwide, conducting research for over 200 investment banks, professional dealers, brokers, and fund managers. It is used in 45 different countries. All ATFX clients get free access to Trading Central.

The Trading Central access provides professional data analysis and technical strategies for a range of assets. These include indices, precious metals, currencies, and commodities. Strategies are updated ten times every day for each product for up-to-date information.

To give traders confidence in the Trading Central information, it is part of three different associations for Independent Research Providers. These include Asia IRP, Euro IRP, and Investorside Research. Trading Central also has no investment conflict. It is a Registered Investment Advisor with the SEC (U.S.) and SFC (Hong Kong).

The research displayed in Trading Central utilizes chartist analysis to determine targets and price direction. It also includes mathematical models to determine timing relevance and confirm directions. Trading Central additionally uses Japanese candlesticks and related signals to verify acceleration or reversal markets.

Trading Central also includes advanced features such as adaptive candlesticks that recognize candlestick patterns in real-time continuation and reversal. It also has Adaptive Divergence Convergence based off the MACD indicator. This tool allows for the visualization of buy and sell signals right off the charts.

To take advantage of Trading Central, you just download the installation package. There is also an installation guide if you need assistance.

Economic Calendar

As expected from a broker, ATFX does indeed have an economic calendar. The broker refers to it as a “live forex news calendar.” The calendar is automatically updated so traders can have the latest information. It also includes the ability to check past events in the history. For each event on the calendar, you will see the time, currency, importance, event, actual, forecast, and previous figures.

You can change the time zone or the dates you wish to view. There are also filters, including for country, time, importance, and category. Category includes options such as central banks, balance, economic activity, inflation, bonds, and more. Or you can search for a specific event by name by clicking on the Filters.

Technical Analysis

ATFX has a full section dedicated to technical analysis. This includes market news and analysis for popular products such as oil, precious metals, indices, gold, crypto, and FX majors. Technical Analysis is posted several times a week. Updates focus on specific products and include predictions, influences, and more.

Expert Analysis

To help traders make educated decisions, ATFX has a daily market report. This includes the latest overviews for sentiments and technical elements. The report has sentiment figures related to both small and large players. It also includes the main strategies and technical for traders, whether they are contrarian or conformist.

This is a daily market report and you can download it right from the ATFX website. Past market reports are also available on the same page, including those from the last few months.

The market reports are created by a third party. ATFX does not take any responsibility for the completeness or accuracy of the reports. Even so, the inclusion of the reports for ATFX clients is an incredibly useful tool. It can lead to a great deal of time savings in research or supplement a client’s other research strategies.

In addition to the daily market reports, ATFX also offers Fundamental Commentary. This comes from the Market Analysis Research Team. It includes detailed, updated fundamental commentary. You will find articles related to fundamental moves, upcoming events in the economic calendar, and advanced economic indicators. These Fundamental Market Commentaries are weekly. They are also available for download in the Analysis section of ATFX. They include a number of older reports so you can view historic information. As with the market reports, the Fundamental Commentary is from a third-party and ATFX does not take responsibility for accuracy.

Education

The education section on ATFX focuses on webinars. You will not find e-books or the vast range of resources that many other brokers offer. There are, however, more webinars available from ATFX than many competitors offer. The webinars are free to ATFX clients but do require registration.

The range of webinars helps clients develop trading skills or grow understanding of concepts. There are webinars for all skill levels, from professional traders to beginners. They are always run by professionals to provide a high level of accurate information.

The list of webinars always includes the title, language, date, start time, and duration. You can also read a description of the webinar to help you decide if you want to register. The webinars include regular ATFX Daily Market Updates several times a week in English. You can also find webinars in Italian, German, Spanish, and other languages. In addition to the market updates, webinars can focus on useful trading skills as well, such as trading using RSI and moving averages or Fibonacci trading.

VPS Services

Depending on the type of account you have, it is also possible to use a VPS via ATFX. The use of a virtual private server leads to more secure execution of Expert Advisors. That execution tends to be quicker with a VPS and more reliable.

Competitors

ATFX is in competition with similar brokers which have covered before, as follows:

• Plus500
• AVATrade
• IQ Option
• 24option
• ExpertOption
• Vantage FX
• Forex.com
• Pepperstone
• ETX Capital
• NordFX
• City Index
• Binary.com
• XTB
• FXTM
• Markets.com

ATFX Affiliate Program

The ATFX Affiliate Program is designed to help clients grow their forex business. It includes transparent reporting with plenty of details plus competitive commissions and exceptional customer service. To make use of the affiliate program, you just register to be an ATFX Partner. Your website will be approved and you can get started. Take a look at the various ATFX marketing materials so you can increase your conversions. For every client you introduce, you earn a CPA commission. You receive the commission once the client meets a minimum trading threshold.

There is also an Introducing Broker Partnership Program. This allows partners to earn rebates for clients they refer. There is no concern about complexities during the integration process into ATFX. You also do not need to make any up-front investment. As an Introducing Broker, you just introduce the client. ATFX takes it from there and you earn a rebate. There are no limits on the commissions per client.

The rebate options are customizable and competitive. There is also a Multi-level Commission Payout mechanism. This means that every ATFX client referral case leads to gains. Every closed deal from your referral leads to a commission. You can also get earnings from sub-IB referrals. Commission payments are instant without hidden charges or fees.

Partners also receive 24/5 live support from an assigned Account Manager. This support is multilingual. IBs even receive training to help them maximize profits. There are guides from experts depending on plans, business goals, and your competitive advantages. IBs also receive free access to Trading Central and other trading tools.

ATFX Awards

Over the years, ATFX has earned numerous awards across various markets. It was named the Best NDD Forex Broker 2018 from the Online Personal Wealth AwardsMoneyAM. ATFX was also honored with Best Forex Customer Services 2017 at the Entrepreneur JFEX Awards and 13th Jordan Forex Expo. It was named the Top Forex Broker 2017 by Third Session of Chinese Foreign Exchange Brokers Annual Conference HT Financial. ATFX was also the Best Branded Broker 2017 from Shenzhen Huiyu Financial. It was also the Best Forex Broker 2017 at Tapei International FinanceWord Forum FinanceWord.

The Global Banking & Finance Awards 2018 also named ATFX the FX Broker of the Year, UK. This is an addition to the Best Forex CFDs Broker title from the UK Forex Awards of Share Magazine. In 2017, the broker was the Fastest Growing Forex Broker, Europe 2017.

How Does ATFX Protect Client Funds?

ATFX has a strong commitment to ensuring that client funds remain safe at all times. The company uses the latest encryption technology currently available to protect data. This is combined with effective protection measures and strict supervision. The result is a trading environment that is safe and reliable.

Additionally, ATFX segregates client funds in trust accounts. Its custodian bank is Barclays Bank PLC. Holding client funds in segregated accounts ensures the funds are always separate from those of ATFX. Furthermore, if something happens to ATFX and it becomes insolvent, your funds are safe. Since they are segregated, they cannot be used to reimburse creditors.

To add to the protections in the unlikely event of insolvency, AT Global Markets (UK) Limited clients have FSCS coverage. The Financial Services Compensation Scheme is available to clients in organizations regulated by the FCA. The scheme comes into play in the rare case that ATFX cannot satisfy its repayment claims. In this situation, the FSCS provides as much as £50,000 in compensation per person for eligible investments.

ATFX also has its own self-developed accounting system which is automatic. It ensures that withdrawals are only possible when the identity of the client matches the information on the account. For further finance transparency, ATFX has partnerships with EY, a professional audit organization.

How Do You Contact ATFX?

For the convenience of clients, ATFX offers multiple methods of contacting the team. There are main phone lines available on weekdays between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., UK time. There is an 800 number from the UK and a separate number for calls from outside the UK. Or you can send an email to the relevant department. The Contact Us section of the ATFX website lists all. Email addresses are for general information, complaints/disputes, partnerships, support, and sales inquiries. You can also contact support via live chat in the bottom right corner of the page.

ATFX Help Center

One area in which ATFX is lacking is a help center. Most brokers have an obvious help center or section with FAQs. There is no such obvious section of the ATFX website. Instead, there are webinars and there is ready information for contacting customer support. There are some sections with FAQs, such as those related to trading. Overall, however, there is no convenient way to find information on other FAQs. It would be nice to have a dedicated section for information such as this. It would make it easier to open an account, fund the account, and do basic troubleshooting without contacting ATFX.

ATFX Complaints

Since ATFX is a regulated firm, it has a clear complaint-handling procedure. Any complaint is handled thoroughly. This includes a full response as well as an explanation. The staff at ATFX all undergo complaint-handling training. In most cases, ATFX is able to resolve complaints early on.

In the rare case of an unresolved complaint, clients can sometimes refer to the FOS. This independent body has the purpose of investigating complaints made against regulated firms. The FOS will investigate your complaint and deliver a response. For the best results and least hassle, ATFX suggests only contacting the FOS following a final response from ATFX.

ATFX Sponsorships

To be involved in the community, ATFX sponsors some events. This includes The Duke of Edinburgh Cup, the China Event 2018. ATFX chose to sponsor this particular event since it began in the UK and is promoted in regions worldwide. Additionally, the Duke of Edinburgh Cup is a known charity that has Royal Patronage. The charity helps young people around the world. This lines up with the philosophy of ATFX, which further encouraged the broker to sponsor the event. This particular event is long-standing, with 18 years of events. Over 20 countries from five continents have participated and there have been over 134 tournaments.

Conclusion

ATFX is a broker with its headquarters in the United Kingdom, specifically London. This broker offers trading for a range of assets, including forex, CFDs, and commodities. There are several types of accounts available, including for Professional Clients.

ATFX offers competitive spreads and has no commissions.

Trading is done via MetaTrader 4 with support for all devices, both mobile and desktop. Customer service is available 24/5. The range of deposit and withdrawal methods offers something for most traders.

If you are based in the UK, the spread betting option might be attractive to you as this method of trading is capital gains tax-free.

Visit ATFX

The post ATFX Broker Review: Is it Safe? Complete Guide With Pros & Cons appeared first on Blockonomi.

This strategic move is expected to provide tools and resources to traders of all levels with a robust set of tools and resources, fostering a more sophisticated trading environment on the platform.

Embracing a Market Leader

The MT5 platform boasts a well-established reputation within the financial industry, known for its comprehensive functionality and user-friendly interface.

Its integration into Zenit World signifies a commitment to providing traders access to industry-standard tools and resources.

This move opens doors to a wider range of trading opportunities across various asset classes, including commodities, futures, and cryptocurrencies, catering to diverse trading styles and strategies.

Unveiling the Benefits

The MT5 integration delivers a suite of powerful features designed to elevate the trading experience on Zenit World:

• Multi-Asset Trading: Traders gain access to an extensive portfolio exceeding 400 assets across seven distinct financial markets. This diversity empowers users to diversify their portfolios, explore new market dynamics, and adapt their strategies based on market conditions.
• Advanced Charting Tools: MT5 equips traders with a customizable charting interface and a comprehensive arsenal of analytical tools. These features facilitate in-depth technical analysis. Enable users to identify market trends. Formulate informed trading decisions and refine their strategies over time.
• One-Click Trading: This intuitive functionality allows for the swift execution of trades directly from the charts, a crucial advantage in fast-paced markets. With just a single click, traders can capitalize on fleeting market opportunities.
• Automated Trading Bots: MT5 fosters a dynamic trading environment through the use of customizable trading bots. These automated programs can execute pre-defined trading strategies, freeing up traders’ time while ensuring adherence to their established risk parameters.
• Flexible Trading Options: The platform offers a vast array of order types and execution modes, catering to diverse trading philosophies and risk tolerances. This flexibility empowers users to tailor their trading approaches to their unique needs and business goals.

A Strategic Leap Forward

The integration of MT5 marks a significant step forward for Zenit World’s commitment to fostering a well-equipped trading community. Zenit World empowers its users with advanced tools and resources, ultimately promoting informed decision-making and strategic diversification.

Zenit World positions itself as a leading force as the platform continues evolving and embracing cutting-edge technological solutions. This attracts novice and seasoned traders seeking a sophisticated and comprehensive trading environment.

About Zenit World

Zenit World is a project that aims to empower people with the tools, resources, and knowledge to navigate the growing digital asset space with ease and peace of mind.

As a tech platform, it offers features and services such as copy trading, tiered ranking systems, and crypto wallet solutions to enable people to become natives of the future virtual economy.

Learn more about the ZEN token, Zenit World, and the buzzing Zenit community by visiting their website at Zenit.world or by following Zenit World on social media.

Twitter — Facebook — LinkedIn — Youtube — Blog — Telegram — Reddit — Linktree

Disclaimer: The information in this article is for informational purposes only and should not be taken as financial advice. Users should be aware of the risks associated with trading digital currencies and other virtual assets and are advised to conduct their own research and exercise caution.

The post Zenit World Elevates Trading Experience with Powerful MT5 Integration appeared first on Blockonomi.

Founded in 2009, XM group provides traders with the full MetaTrader platform suite by MetaQuotes Software Corporation.

XM Group has evolved into an online multi-asset broker offering 57 currency pairs and 1000 CFDs. Five CFDs on cryptocurrencies are also offered covering Bitcoin, Dash, Ethereum, Litecoin and Ripple.

Risk Warning: CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 71.61% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.

XM has 10 million clients in 190 countries around the world.

So far, it has executed more than 1.4 billion trades with an impressive zero rejections or requotes. The management team of XM has visited more than 120 cities to meet with partners and clients.

The history of XM goes back to 2009 when it was founded. Now, it is an industry leader and a well-established investment firm. XM currently has more than 300 professionals, each of whom has long-year experiences within the financial industry.

XM has extensive experience and offers support in more than 30 languages. This helps the broker appeal to those all over the world and of any skill levels. XM also has 16 full-feature trading platforms for clients to choose from.

Visit XM

XM at a Glance

How Is XM Regulated?

The XM brand (XM Group) is a group of online regulated brokers. The group’s first entity was founded in 2009 in Cyprus (regulated by CySEC under license 120/10) under the name Trading Point of Financial Instruments Ltd.

In 2015, the group established an entity (ASIC-regulated, license number 443670) in Sydney, Australia, and the same year obtained regulatory status in London (FCA-regulated, license number 705428), under Trading Point of Financial Instruments UK Ltd.

More recently, XM Global Limited was established in 2017 in Belize (regulated by the IFSC, with license number IFSC/60/354/TS/18).

Other Legal Information

XM Global has its registered address at No. 5 Cork Street, Belize City, Belize, C.A. XM Global (CY) Limited has offices in Cyprus. This is at 36, Makariou & Agias Elenis, ‘Galaxias’ Building, 5th floor, Office 502, 1061, Nicosia, Cyprus.

Anyone interested in trading with XM should also be aware of areas where it is not available. Residents from certain countries cannot receive services from XM Global Limited. These include the USA, the Islamic Republic of Iran, and Israel.

You can view all of the relevant legal documents for XM on the Legal Documents page of the website. This includes documents such as terms and conditions, the bonus program, the loyalty program, the conflicts of interest policy, and more. At the time of writing, there are 12 documents in this section, all available for download as PDFs.

XM Overview

The broker offers an advanced trading platform as well as flexible trading conditions to accommodate a range of global clients. XM’s expertise comes from in-depth knowledge of and experience with the global financial markets.

The broker is dedicated to offering superior services. Those include trading currencies, CFDs, precious metals, energies, and equity indices.

XM also offers its operational philosophy as a reason to consider choosing this company as a broker. Its philosophy is to earn loyalty as a way to ensure the satisfaction of clients. XM recognizes that credibility and reputation are closely linked.

XM also takes steps to adapt to changing client needs as they become more demanding and sophisticated. This is done by monitoring industry trends and technologies. XM is proud to have never compromised on factors impacting client performance. This directly leads to the broker’s ability to deliver the best execution and tight spreads.

One of the important characteristics of XM is the company’s strive to remain human and connect with clients. This is why management has visited more than 120 cities worldwide to meet with clients as well as partners. XM feels that human interactions have a high value and always aims to deliver those interactions.

XM strives to offer a range of learning opportunities for traders of all skill levels. Part of this is hosting seminars around the world. The goal is to give traders the skills needed to make improved trading decisions. XM has already hosted hundreds of these seminars, with even more planned.

The XM Foundation

XM also runs the XM Foundation. This foundation focuses on creating equal opportunities via humanitarian action. The mission of the XM Foundation is making a positive difference to people and assist them with achieving their potential. This goal applies regardless of religion, ethnic background, and culture.

The XM Foundation assists with development and access to vocational skills and education via initiating projects. It also provides international aid by working with international and local human aid foundations that are active.

The XM Foundation page on the XM broker’s website includes recent news and initiatives from the foundation. These include specific donations made and the goals of those donations.

What Types of Accounts Does XM Offer?

XM lets clients choose from four main types of accounts: Micro, Standard, XM Ultra Low, and Shares Accounts. All account types have exceptional trading conditions and unlimited access to MT4/MT4 with EA trading.

XM also offers the ability to trade standard or micro lots, and the same execution quality across account types. There are free and regular intra-day market updates plus technical analysis. There is also multilingual customer support plus Personal Account Managers.

Micro and Standard Accounts

Micro Accounts can have the base currency of USD, GBP, EUR, CHF, JPY, AUD, PLN, HUF, RUB, ZAR, or SGD. 1 lot is 1,000 and there are no commissions. This type of account has negative balance protection, trading bonuses, and no deposit bonuses.

An Islamic account is optional and the minimum deposit is $5. Hedging is allowed. Trading on MT4 must meet the trade volume minimum of 0.01 lots, which is 0.1 lots on MT5. These clients can only have up to 200 positions open or pending at a time. There is a limit of 100 lots per ticket.

The main difference for Standard Accounts with XM is that 1 lot is 100,000. There is a restriction of 50 lots per ticket and the minimum trade volume is 0.01 lots. Other than this, the Standard and Micro Accounts are essentially identical.

XM Ultra Low Account

An XM Ultra Low Account is available with the base currency of USD, GBP, EUR, SGD, AUD, or ZAD. You still have no commissions and negative balance protection. Islamic Accounts remain optional. There are no trading bonuses and no deposit bonuses, plus hedging is allowed.

• The minimum deposit is $5. There is still a maximum of 200 open or pending positions.
• XM Ultra Low Accounts can be Standard Ultra or Micro Ultra.
• For Standard Ultra, minimum trade volume is 0.01 lots and there is a limit of 50 lots per ticket.
• For Micro Ultra, these figures are 0.1 lots and 100 lots, respectively.

What Other Accounts Does XM Offer?

Shares Accounts are always Islamic and have a minimum deposit of $10,000. There are no trading bonuses, no deposit bonuses, and hedging is not allowed.

The contract size is 1 share with a minimum trade volume of 1 lot. Clients can have a maximum of 50 positions open and pending, and the lot restriction per ticket depends on the share.

XM can also help clients create custom-tailored accounts for trading forex. This allows flexibility to meet the needs of any client.

Islamic Accounts

As previously mentioned, most of the account types available on XM are offered as Islamic accounts. Islamic or swap-free accounts do not have any rollover or swap interest for overnight positions.

To open an Islamic account, simply open an account normally and then validate it in the Member’s Area. At this point, you just contact XM to change it to an Islamic Account. Keep in mind that XM does reserve the ability to revoke the swap-free status in case of abuse.

Compared to other forex brokers who offer Islamic accounts, XM’s offerings stand out. That is because most brokers will give Islamic accounts higher spreads. XM, however, does not apply additional charges on Islamic Accounts.

Additionally, XM remains respectful to the idea of Islamic Accounts, never using “swap-free in disguise” accounts. Some brokers use this type of account, in which they transfer the interest charge to a different fee. As this would still be a charge covering interest, it goes against ethical and fair trading.

What Assets Can You Trade With XM?

XM gives clients the ability to trade more than 1,000 instruments across 9 asset classes:

• Forex,
• Crypto CFDs,
• Stock CFDs,
• Turbo Stocks,
• Commodities,
• Equity Indices,
• Precious Metals,
• Energies,
• Shares

You can view all the specific instruments available for trading on the individual asset pages.

• There are 57 forex pairs available, including majors, minors, and exotics.
• There are 1,210 stock CFDs. You can browse or search them, including by country.
• The stock CFDs span 17 countries.
• Those include the USA, the UK, Germany, France, the Netherlands, Belgium, Switzerland, Spain, Greece, Italy, Portugal, Norway, Finland, Sweden, Austria, Australia, and Russia.

XM offers access to eight commodities via futures CFDs. There is access to 18 cash indices CFDs and 12 futures indices CFDs. XM also lets clients trade two spot metals instruments, gold and silver. Finally, there are five futures CFDs of energies.

Leverage and Margin at XM

XM offers leverage from 2:1 up to 30:1 depending on the instrument traded. Higher leverage allows traders to open larger positions with less capital, but also increases risk.

Margin refers to the amount that must be deposited to open a position. For forex, gold, and silver, new positions can be opened if the margin requirement is less than or equal to the free margin (available funds) in the account. For other instruments, margin requirements are stricter.

Margin Requirements

Margin requirements are calculated separately for each position and adapt based on the account leverage and symbol leverage, whichever is lower, as shown in this example:

Margin Requirement = [Lots * Contract Size * Open Price] / [Lower of (Account Leverage, Symbol Leverage)]

So if account leverage is 200:1 but symbol leverage is only 100:1, the lower 100:1 leverage would be used to calculate margin.

Risks of Leverage

• Leverage allows trading larger positions with less capital
• Losses can also become much larger with high leverage
• Leverage over 30:1 is very risky and not recommended

To manage risk, XM provides:

• Real-time monitoring of used and free margin
• Margin call warnings if equity drops too low
• Automatic closing of positions if equity falls below 50% of required margin (stop-out level)

XM offers high leverage but also tools to monitor risk exposure. Traders should use leverage judiciously based on their risk tolerance.

XM Spreads

It is important to note that XM uses variable spreads, as does the interbank forex market. By offering variable spreads, XM is able to eliminate the need for an insurance premium. That would be necessary for fixed spreads since they tend to be higher than the variable spreads.

This is further hampered by the fact that many brokers restrict trading close to news announcements. As such, the required insurance premium becomes worthless.

By offering variable spreads, XM is able to avoid these issues for traders. There are also no restrictions related to trading at the time of news releases.

XM also gives clients access to fractional pip pricing. This allows for the best prices from the XM liquidity providers.

Essentially, a 5th digit can be added to the typical 4-digit price quotes. This lets clients take advantage of even tiny price movements. It also allows for the most accurate quoting and tighter spreads.

What Should You Know About Overnight Positions With XM?

For overnight positions, XM prides itself on offering competitive and transparent swap rates. The rollover policy is that XM will credit or debit client accounts and take care of rollover interest.

This applies to any position held open following 22:00 GMT. It is important to note that rollovers do not take place during Saturdays and Sundays since the markets are closed.

Despite this, banks will calculate interest on positions held during the weekend. As such, XM applies 3-day rollover strategies on Wednesday.

How Do You Place an Order With XM?

XM allows you to place a range of order types. These include trailing stops, stops, limits, and market orders. Place the trade at any time of the day, provided that it is during trading hours. There is also the ability to place trades via the telephone for those who prefer this method.

What Are the Trading Hours?

The trading hours on XM are those of the market. For the forex market, one market will close when another opens thanks to markets in New York, Sydney, Tokyo, and London.

This allows for 24/5 trading on the forex market. The XM trading hours are from Sunday at 22:05 GMT to Friday at 21:50 GMT. This applies to phone trading.

If you use the trading platform outside of these hours, trades will not execute. Instead, you can only view the relevant features.

What Is the XM Execution Policy?

With XM, clients can trade with real-time execution and no requotes. Since the policy began in 2010, XM has had no rejection of orders and no requotes at all. 100 percent of orders are executed, with an impressive 99.35 percent executed within a second.

You can place orders on the XM-supported platforms at any time during the trading hours. Positions stay open until your closing trade gets executed. The balance of your account will be updated in real time to reflect the current market prices. Just keep in mind that there is a maximum of 200 positions that can be opened at a time. This includes pending orders and is per client.

XM offers fractional pip pricing that makes it possible to trade using tighter spreads. It also allows for the most accurate quoting possible.

Fills for market orders occur with a simple click. Market orders can be filled with up to 50 lots (or 5 million). Those who want to trade even larger quantities with market orders have two options. You can place the trade by phone or divide the order into several smaller ones.

Fills for limit and stop-loss orders are guaranteed with up to 50 lots. These occur at the market price that is the best available. This policy allows clients to manage their risk.

There is a clear policy for market gaps between Friday close and the Sunday opening. This can include holidays and weekends. XM will execute the pending stop and limit orders at the first market price available for the position size.

Even in cases of illiquidity and volatility, XM has a competitive policy. XM partners with numerous liquidity providers to significantly limit the risk of illiquidity. In volatile market conditions, XM will execute orders at the market price that is the best available.

What Trading Platforms Can You Use With XM?

Clients of XM have access to either MT4 or MT5, both of which are popular MetaTrader platforms. They are available across devices and you can trade via the XM WebTrader in the browser.

Despite the popularity and prevalence of the MetaTrader 4 and MetaTrader 5 platforms, XM stands out. XM was a pioneer in offering an MT4 platform that focuses on trading execution quality. Trading on MT4 with XM gives you access to leverage between 1:1 and 1:1000. There are also no rejections or requotes.

MetaTrader 4

The MetaTrader 4 platform for XM gives you a range of features. There are more than 1,000 instruments available to trade via this platform. With a single login, you can access 8 different platforms.

There is full support for Expert Advisors and one-click trading. Choose from three chart types and use the technical analysis tools, which include 50 indicators plus charting tools.

Spreads on this platform start at just 0.6 pips and there is the option of micro lots. There is also VPS functionality, and hedging is allowed.

Additionally, there are built-in help guides for MT4 as well as Metaquotes Language 4. The platform can handle a wide range of orders. It also allows for the creation of custom indicators as well as time periods.

You can use MetaTrader 4 to manage your trade history in the database, including importing and exporting. There is also an internal mailing system and a guarantee of full security and backup.

MetaTrader 4 is available for PC, Mac, iPad, iPhone, Android, Android Tablet, and as the WebTrader. All versions have similar functionality and allow for working on one device and then switching to another.

MT4 Multiterminal

Although MT4 Multiterminal is technically a variation of MT4 for XM, it has additional functionality. This platform is specifically designed to let traders handle more than one MT4 accounts from a single terminal.

Using MT4 Multiterminal gives you a single login and password to access the accounts. It supports as many as 128 trading accounts.

You still get similar features to other MT4 platforms. MT4 Multiterminal offers three allocation methods, multiple order types, and execution and management in real time.

MetaTrader 5

The other major platform available from XM is MetaTrader 5. MT5 builds on the offerings of MT4, adding 1,000 stocks/shares CFDs. As such, it is a great multi-asset platform.

You still get the same flexible leverage and no requotes or rejections. There is a single login for seven separate platforms.

MT5 is available for PC, Mac, iPad, iPhone, Android, and Android Tablets, or as a WebTrader.

MT5 allows hedging, full EA functionality, and one-click trading. It supports all order types and spreads start at 0.6 pips.

There are more than 80 technical analysis objects plus more than 40 analytical objects. MT5 shows the market depth of the latest price quotes.

This platform also lets you display an impressive 100 charts simultaneously. Those who want more will appreciate the superior MQL5 development environment built-in. There is also a multi-currency tester, alerts, and an internal mailing system.

How Can You Learn to Use the XM Platforms?

In addition to other educational resources, XM offers extensive information to guide the use of MT4 and MT5. On the pages for each platform, you will find multiple tutorial videos. These cover things like using Expert Advisors, placing orders, the terminal window, using templates, and more. There are 27 tutorial videos for MT4 alone.

At the bottom of the same page, you will find FAQs for MT4, including validating and gaining access to your account. XM has a similar FAQ section for MT5.

It is also worth noting that MetaTrader 4 and MetaTrader 5 are very widely used. As such, there are also numerous support and educational materials available online from third parties.

XM Trading Tools

XM gives clients access to a long list of algorithmic trading tools.

These include River Indicator, Ribbon Indicator, Ichimoku Indicator, Bollinger Bands Indicator, and ADX and PSAR Indicator.

You can make use of any by contacting your Personal Account Manager. Those supplement the algorithmic trading tools already built into MT4 and MT5.

XM also offers live account holders free forex signals from Avramis Despotis in the Member Area. Or you can use MQL5 Trading Signals. There is also an economic calendar and forex calculators.

Research and Education

XM gives clients access to an extensive Research and Education center. There are daily updates on major trading sessions. There are also daily briefings for critical market events.

Twenty multilingual market professionals man the center to ensure up-to-date information in a range of languages.

What Type of Research Does XM Offer?

There are separate homepages on XM for research and for education. The research section includes highlights and links to the subsections. The right side of the screen shows some of the most common assets and their current spreads and prices. Below this, there is a calendar of webinars.

The Market Preview page features daily previews of the European open. Here, you can find assets to watch and some expert insights. The Stock Market News section is as it sounds, with news related to stocks.

Articles may be news-related when relevant or labeled as technical analysis. There is then a separate page for Forex Previews, also with news and insights. You can also find a separate Technical Analysis page on XM. This page has recent expert technical analysis on a range of crucial assets and their movements.

The Special Reports page has more in-depth articles, but they are posted less frequently. The previously mentioned pages have new articles nearly every day, if not more often. By contrast, there are Special Reports posted a handful of times each month, when the need arises.

Those who prefer videos over reading will appreciate the Analysis Videos. There are videos for the Daily Forex News, Daily Technical Analysis, and Weekly Forex Outlook. All videos feature professionals in the industry, with their expertise listed below the video.

The Daily Forex news includes both news and analysis. The Daily Technical Analysis focuses on forex markets and includes simple technical indicators. The Weekly Forex Outlook covers the main events of the past week and explores their effect on major currencies. It also looks at the economic data we will be seeing soon.

XM Webinars

Like most brokers, XM offers a range of seminars and other educational tools to help traders enhance their skills. This includes hundreds of seminars that have already been hosted around the world, with more to come.

Compared to other brokers, XM does an excellent job of offering webinars. They are available 7 days a week from 37 webinar instructors and in 19 languages. To view the schedule, simply click on the language of your choice.

The education rooms mentioned below also serve as daily webinars in English. For other languages, you will find dozens of webinars with focused topics, such as specific tools.

Some webinars are more general. Each webinar includes the title, description, date, and time as well as what you can expect to learn. You can also register for the webinars right there.

If you visit the seminar page, you can view recent seminars. There are also archives for information on older ones. Clicking on a past seminar will show you the location and date as well as photos and news.

At the top of the page, you will see the upcoming seminars. At the time of writing, 16 were listed in a range of countries from the Philippines to Mexico.

Click “Register Here” to view information on the seminars date, time, location, and language. This is also where you can register for the seminar.

What Other Education Does XM Offer?

XM also offers Education Rooms. There are three of these, each custom-built. They all have daily live interactive training on weekdays. They include coverage of all topics with real-time guidance and up-to-date information.

Every education room has a systematically designed syllabus to help you strengthen your skills. Anyone, whether or not they are a client of XM, can access the Primary Education Room. This room focuses on fundamentals, basic concepts, opening accounts, and trading, among other topics.

The Intermediate Education Room is open to those with a validated XM account. This room helps with the development of strategies needed to hone strategic thinking. It also includes education about various analysis tools, like Bollinger Bands and the Avramis Ribbon.

Finally, the Advanced Education Room is open to anyone with a funded XM Account. To access it, you must have deposited a minimum of $500 USD in the past three months. This room delivers real trading experience using real-time simulated trading conditions. Visiting this room helps clients actually use time frame techniques, charting techniques, indicators, and more.

There is also a range of educational videos available on XM. They are divided by the same Primary, Intermediate, and Advanced distinctions. All videos are Primary or Intermediate so anyone with a validated XM Account can access all of them.

There are eight videos, covering topics such as an intro to financial markets and trading essentials for Primary levels. The Intermediate videos cover fundamental and technical analysis, money management, trading psychology, and trading strategies.

You can also find the previously mentioned MT4 Video Tutorials in the education section of XM.

XM Customer Support

XM offers support via live chat as well as the phone. You can contact the company via its registered address at No.5 Cork Street, Belize City, Belize, C.A. Or you can take advantage of the support email address or the live chat. Or you can access phone support. Both the live chat and phone support are available 24/5 for convenience. This way, clients do not have to wait to get answers to important questions.

Client support is available in more than 30 languages. This makes it possible for nearly anyone to communicate with the support team in their preferred language.

If you have a complaint, XM encourages you to contact either your Client Relations Manager or the Customer Care Company. Most customer complaints can easily be resolved via this step. In cases of an unresolved complaint, XM asks that you contact the Compliance Department of the company.

The Compliance Office handles all complaints impartially. It also takes necessary actions in accordance with XM’s Complaints Handling Procedures. The Complaints Form is easy to find within the Members Area.

XM Awards

Third parties also indicate their approval for XM via awards and accolades. XM organizes its awards and accolades into categories.

• Its most recent Forex Service Award is the title of the Best FX Service Provider. This honor was awarded by the City of London Wealth Management Awards 2019.
• XM was also named Best Forex Customer Service by Shares Magazine in the UK Forex Awards 2018.
• Capital Finance International Magazine (CFI.co) named XM the Best Market Research & Education and Best Trading Support for 2017.

XM Competitions

• Beginner and professional traders can compete among each other, test out their trading skills and stand a chance to win exciting rewards and prizes.
• Traders can get the chance to be on top of the leaderboard, build their portfolio and assemble their own followers.
• There are daily, weekly, and monthly competitions for traders to participate in – each competition has different total prize pool, tiers of rewards, and terms and conditions
• Champion traders can get the chance to win a funded account and be a Strategy Manager

XM Copy Trading

• Traders can follow the strategies of the experts and copy their trades, but it is up to their own risks.
• They also can view the performance of some of our most profitable traders and browse through it.
• Traders can choose to be either an Investor or Strategy Manager for this Copy Trading.
• As an Investor, traders can choose the strategies they want to follow and decide how much to invest in each. This benefits new traders as it allows them to participate in the markets while enhancing their trading education and developing their own strategies.
• As a Strategy Manager, traders create their own strategies and share them with the community. Traders then can earn up to 50% profit share on any profits from the other traders copying their strategies.

Conclusion

XM is an international broker offering clients access to more than 1,000 instruments across 7 asset classes. XM has high liquidity and no requotes or rejections of orders.

There are four account types to choose from, plus the ability to customize an account. A demo account is available and you can open a live account with just $5.

Depending on where you are based, XM also offers some nice signup bonuses including a no-deposit bonus of $30 and another 100% bonus matching your deposit up to $5000.

XM has an excellent educational area for clients new to trading, including videos, tools and live webinars it’s one of the best educational areas we have seen with a broker of this type.

They don’t offer their own propriety trading platform, instead opting to support Meta Trader 4 & 5.

XM is a large and well regarded company with some good offers and is well regulated so you can feel safe when choosing this broker to trade with.

Visit XM

The post XM Broker Review: Forex & CFDs Trading Platform, All You Need to Know appeared first on Blockonomi.

Pepperstone helps both institutional and retail investors with using instruments like forex as a class of assets as part of an trading strategy. The broker always strives to deliver low-cost pricing, fast execution, top client support, the best trading platforms, and reliable trading infrastructure.

With Pepperstone, clients can directly access multiple liquidity destinations within the forex markets without having to use a deal desk or put up with other hassles.

Visit Pepperstone

Pepperstone at a Glance

Pepperstone’s History

A veteran management team founded the company in 2010, putting years of experience in technology and forex to good use. The team decided to create Pepperstone after noticing that traders became increasingly frustrated when using online-based forex firms with trade execution delays, poor customer support, and excessive spreads.

From the start, Pepperstone aimed to overcome this via its superior technology, exceptional customer service, low-cost spreads, and low-latency execution.

The management team members behind the company has vast experience within the industry, helping them understand the requirements of retail forex traders to effectively trade.

The team does not want to just stay up to date with forex developments; the company wants to constantly improve its services. Pepperstone always aims to create and develop then introduce its own solutions that can enhance the ease of online trading.

At the same time, these solutions make trading more professional and fairer and can aid all clients, regardless of whether they are a large institution or a small retail investor.

Vision and Values

Since its founding, the vision of Pepperstone has been spearheading online forex trading’s evolution in more than 65 countries. Pepperstone hopes to make forex more accessible to individual retail investors.

At the start, the company aimed to start revolutionizing the industry with better service, quicker execution, and lower spreads than existing brokers, something Pepperstone continues to do today. The overall vision of Pepperstone is becoming the largest provider in the world of online foreign exchange trading.

The key values of Pepperstone include acting responsibly, being flexible and innovative, offering the best possible service, promoting ethics and integrity throughout the industry, and upholding the highest standards for compliance and regulation.

Pepperstone Trading Instruments

One of the main goals of Pepperstone is to make forex trading more accessible to retail traders. As such, it should come as no surprise that Pepperstone offers many forex instruments for trading.

There are over 70 currency pairs to choose from. When it comes to forex trading on Pepperstone, you will find all the major pairs with spreads starting at just 0 pips. There is a high focus on high-quality execution, low latency, a reliable trading structure, and flexible leverage of up to 500:1.

In addition to the forex trading pairs, you can also trade CFDs with Pepperstone, including Cryptocurrencies, metals, commodities, indices, and more. With the index CFDs from the broker, you will find 14 major global stock indices without hidden markups or requotes and with low latency.

You will find new markets that help you diversify trading strategies and vary your opportunities across the global equity markets. With the major stock indices, you can buy or short sell without commission.

Precious metals from Pepperstone have fast execution, flexible leverage options, no commission, and low-cost pricing models, making them a fantastic way to diversify trading strategies. There are six precious metal pairs available, including gold, platinum, silver, and palladium against the USD or EUR. These assets often move along with inflation and market cycles.

Energy trading also has no commission, minimum trade sizes, and flexible leverage. You will find both major oil markets, Brent Crude Oil and West Texas Intermediate Crude Oil, as well as natural gas and more. All trading instruments have a minimum trade size starting at 10c per pip, and you can get leverage of up to 500:1.

Soft commodities are another choice for diversifying your portfolio with Pepperstone since the prices depend on moving and delivering physical assets. Soft commodities that are tradeable with Pepperstone include coffee, sugar, cocoa, cotton, and orange juice, each of which has a 2 percent used margin per one lot.

Those interested in trading cryptocurrencies can do so on Pepperstone with Bitcoin, Ethereum, Bitcoin Cash, Dash, and Litecoin, each against the U.S. dollar. These trading instruments offer leverage of up to 5:1 across the trading platforms and make it possible to invest in crypto without having to actually buy them or keep a cryptocurrency wallet. Additionally, cryptocurrency trading with Pepperstone lets you hedge on a single account.

Trading CFDs with Pepperstone

Pepperstone has CFD technology that is ideal for executing large CFD orders while minimizing slippage. This way, the broker can give clients the best trading experience possible. Pepperstone also has a deep pool with liquidity sources without execution manipulation or a dealing desk, allowing for ultra-low latency.

The CFD technology was specifically designed to support the trade flows of institutions, which gives clients a robust, scalable solution they can count on.

The method from Pepperstone includes handling multiple fills, so it can sweep large orders through several levels into its Liquidity Aggregator. Additionally, Pepperstone systematically executes clients’ CFD orders with a market execution basis that does not require requotes and enables both negative and positive slippage.

Trading CFDs with Pepperstone can be done directly with the MetaTrader 4 or cTrader client terminals so there is no need to have multiple trading accounts.

Pepperstone Account Types

There are four main types of accounts from Pepperstone, including the Edge Standard Account, Edge Razor Account, Edge Swap-Free Account, and Edge Active Traders Account.

Edge Standard Accounts have institutional grade STP spreads and $0 commissions. With this account, you get to enjoy the liquidity from 22 banks, trading via MetaTrader 4, and negative balance protection, all from an Australian-regulated firm. The interbank spreads start at just 1 pip.

Moving to an Edge Razor Account gives you $3.50 commissions and spreads from 0 pips. The spreads for this type of account are raw interbank direct pricing. The average EUR/USD spread is between 0 and 0.8 pips.

The commission of $3.50 AUD is per 100,000 traded. This type of account has a minimum trade size of 0.01 lots, a maximum trade size of 100 lots, and leverage of up to 500:1.

These accounts require an opening balance of $200 AUD or the equivalent with the ability to choose the following base currencies: AUD, USD, GBP, JPY, EUR, CAD, NZD, CHF, SGD, and HKD. Edge Razor Accounts also allow scalping, EAs, and hedging.

Edge Swap-Free Accounts are interest-free, have $0 commissions, and feature STP spreads. This type of account is specifically designed for traders who are unable to pay or receive swaps.

The spreads are straight through processing with no swaps. There is no commission and the minimum account opening balance is $200 USD or the equivalent. Base currencies can include USD, AUD, EUR, and SGD. The average EUR/USD spread is 1 to 1.2 pips with a minimum trade size of 0.01 lots and a maximum trade size of 100 lots.

t also allows EAs, scalping, and hedging. It is worth noting that if you hold a trade on this type of account for two days, Pepperstone does make an admin charge, according to the clear table of commissions on the page dedicated to this account type.

Finally, Edge Active Traders Accounts are for high volume or institutional traders. Spreads start at 0 pips, and you have to contact Pepperstone for pricing. Those who qualify for the Active Trader Program can earn cash rebates for their forex trades and save as much as 43 percent on trading commissions.

The rebates depend on the volume of standard lots you trade monthly, with higher rebates for higher trading volumes. To stand out from the competition, rebates from Pepperstone are paid daily and right into your account on the day after you close the position. You can then use the rebate right away.

Active Traders also earn Qantas Points via the Qantas Frequent Flyer program, get priority client support with a dedicated account manager, enjoy complimentary VPS hosting that makes it possible to run automated strategies, and get exclusive access to various reports and insights, such as daily Autochartist signals and market analysis from Pepperstone.

There is also a demo account available from Pepperstone.

Pepperstone’s Professional Client Service

To become a Pepperstone professional client, you must meet the minimum threshold for forex, commodities, or CFDs for two consecutive quarters in the calendar. You only need to meet the threshold for one of the markets, and the notional volume per month for each market is $15 million USD.

Those who qualify as premium clients get to enjoy a long list of additional benefits. These include priority client support, advanced market insights, premium rebates, invitations to premium events, access to the Qantas Point offers, VPS solutions, and advanced trading tools.

Premium clients work with a highly skilled dedicated account management to help with premium solutions and support to meet individual trading styles. You can contact Pepperstone to become a premium client or learn more about qualifying to become one.

Pepperstone Trading Platform

Traders with Pepperstone accounts can choose to trade using either MetaTrader 4 or cTrader. MetaTrader 4 is compatible with Windows, Mac, the Web Trader via your choice of browser, iPhone, Android, and tablets (both Android and iOS). cTrader is compatible as a WebTrader, cAlgo, or mobile.

MetaTrader 4 is user-friendly and filled with features, such as enhanced charting functionality, Expert Advisors and other automated trading strategies, a Market Watch Window, a Navigator Window, your choice of order types, 85 preinstalled indicators, order execution capabilities, multiple chart setups, and analysis tools.

It delivers first-class charting with unlimited charts, real-time data export, and secure trading. There is also support for MetaTrader 5, which has optimized processing speeds, 38 built-in indicators, 21 time frames, a built-in economic calendar, advanced pending orders, and the ability to hedge positions.

With cTrader, you get robust trading infrastructure, lightning-fast speed, and top-tier liquidity. cTrader was designed by and for traders and has a highly customizable user-friendly interface with order management systems and enhanced charting abilities.

It includes detachable charts, level II pricing, extensive backtesting facilities, automated trading via a dedicated platform, and next-generation charting techniques and user interface.

Money Managers who use the MetaTrader 4 platform can also use Pepperstone with Multi Account Manager and Percent Allocation Management Module software via MT4. You just need to apply for access to use the system. There is also API Trading available.

Pepperstone Trading tools

Those who choose to trade on MetaTrader can opt for the Smart Trader Tools from Pepperstone. This package includes 10 smart trading apps that help deliver an edge. The tools help with advanced trade management and execution, sophisticated alarms, decision assistance, up-to-date market data, and more.

The tools include Connect, Alarm Manager, Correlation Matrix, Correlation Trader, Excel RTD, Market Manager, Mini Terminal, Sentiment Trader, Stealth Orders, Session Map, Trade Simulator, Tick Chart Trader, Indicators, and Trade Terminal.

Pepperstone also has a section dedicated to forex news with multiple new articles every day, an economic calendar, and Technical Analysis Software powered by Autochartist.

Educational Tools

Pepperstone has a nice section for education, including FAQ and a glossary. You will also find informative Trading Guides on a range of topics, free webinars for all skill levels, and a section dedicated to learning to trade forex.

Pepperstone Customer Support

You can contact Pepperstone customer support via live chat on any page of the website. You can also find the broker’s phone number at the bottom of any page or click “Contact Us” at the top of any page. That will show you the broker’s physical address, 24-hour online support options (email and live chat), and numbers for 24-hour phone support.

Pepperstone Spreads & Fees

You can view the current spreads at any time via the Pepperstone website on the Spreads page within the section for “Forex Trading.” This is also where you will find more detailed information about commissions, when applicable. To view the swap rates, right-click on “Market Watch” from the MT4 trading platform and choose “symbols.” Select your currency pair and then “Properties.”

Funding Your Account

You can choose among various base currencies. The base currency is the currency of your account as well as the one you use for deposits. Options include the Australian dollar (AUD), British pound sterling (GBP), United States dollar (USD), euro (EUR), Japanese yen (JPY), Canadian dollar (CAD), New Zealand dollar (NZD), Singapore dollar (SGD), Hong Kong dollar (HKD), and Swiss franc (CHF).

There is an extensive list of funding methods for Pepperstone accounts, including e-wallets and credit and debit cards. You can use Verified by Visa, MasterCard Secure Code, Visa or Mastercard, traditional domestic or international bank transfers, PayPal, POLi for an instant bank transfer, China Union Pay, BPay for transfers from Australian banks, Skrill (Moneybookers), Neteller, Qiwi, Fasapay, other local funding methods, and broker-to-broker transfers.

Many of these methods allow for instant funding 24/7, but you should check the specific timeframe for your chosen funding method. Broker-to-broker transfers typically take two to three days.

Pepperstone will not charge you any fees for a deposit or withdrawal. However, your payment provider might charge you a transfer fee or a conversion fee. It is also noteworthy that Pepperstone does not accept third-party payments, meaning that the name on the Pepperstone account must match the name on the account you use to fund. For joint bank accounts, your name must be one of the parties on the account.

Pepperstone Withdrawals

You can only return funds to a bank account that bears the same name as your Pepperstone account, as with deposits, due to the third-party transaction regulations. Know that if you make a credit card withdrawal, you can only use it for the amount you deposited with the credit card; after that, you must choose another method.

If you fund your account with a credit card and then withdraw within 60 days, the withdrawal will have to go back to your same credit card. Withdrawals are processed the same day if Pepperstone receives them before 21:00 GMT (which is 07:00 AEST). Otherwise, you may need to wait until the following day for processing. Bank Wire Transfer withdrawals typically take three to five business days to arrive in your account.

Pepperstone does not charge fees with withdrawals, but your financial institution could. If this happens, Pepperstone will pass the fee onto you in most cases, including in the case of an international telegraphic transfer fee that Pepperstone’s banking institution charges, which is usually about AUD 20. Any suggested time frames for withdrawals from Pepperstone may be lengthened by unforeseen circumstances.

EDGE Technology

You will notice that all the Pepperstone accounts have “Edge” in their name. This is because the broker uses the EDGE Environment, which is considered the highest-performing portfolio for forex trading technology enterprise clients who want to reduce speeds and enjoy execution acceleration.

EDGE makes it possible to trade via MetaTrader 4 with an improvement of up to 12 times in execution speed and up to 10 times in latency reduction. There are also extra optical fiber connections with Interbank Servers within New York, allowing for one-click MT4 ordering for an ultra-fast trade placement.

There is also Pepperstone Price Improvement (PPI) Technology that routes FX orders intelligently, so it can deliver the optimal price and detect the market hotspots. The EDGE spreads are tight thanks to the new Dark Pool Liquidity. Overall, the EDGE technology allows for one-click trading, a secure client area, ultra-low spreads, dark pool liquidity, price improvement technology, and more than 70 tradable instruments.

You can also view the Interbank Market Depth to help inform your trading decisions.

Pepperstone’s Trading Servers

Pepperstone uses Equinix trading servers to deliver fast trading. This is the broker’s method of staying competitive in the competitive industry of the global electronic financial markets since the electronic trading systems it offers can only work well if the infrastructure is effective.

Because of the need for speed and reliability, Pepperstone chose to partner with Equinix to make a state-of-the-art infrastructure for trading forex just a few miles from New York’s Wall Street. Pepperstone is part of the Equinix Financial eXchange, which is a state-of-the-art network with execution venues, bank trading servers, and sell and buy side firms at the Equinix high-performance data centers.

It is access to this Equinix Financial eXchange that lets Pepperstone deliver low-latency as well as allowing the broker to exchange data directly with customers and strategic partners nearby.

Additionally, Pepperstone has a direct interlink to the multiple providers in Equinix NY4 via Optical Fiber. These direct connections allow for ordered transmissions at higher speeds than conventional internet connections, which leads to reduced latency. Pepperstone also directly connects to the backbone of the global internet.

Pepperstone’s VPS Hosting Options

With access to Virtual Private Servers (VPS), forex traders can run their chosen expert advisors or automated algorithmic strategies 24/7 via a Virtual Machine. This reduces downtime from connectivity and technology failures and Pepperstone has two partnerships that give customers access to VPS hosting.

You can get 20 percent off Pepperstone FXVM VPS, which has ultra-low latency times of just one millisecond. FXVM also has multilingual staff available 24/7 and can help with troubleshooting and installing expert advisors.

Or you can get 20 percent off on a customized Pepperstone VPS plan from New York City Servers for low latency. These high-powered servers run 24/7/365, have a low latency stable connection, and feature fast executions with 24/7 customer support.

Pepperstone Licenses & Regulation

Pepperstone is based out of Melbourne, Australia, with additional offices in London, Bangkok, and Dallas. Due to its location in Australia, Pepperstone is regulated and licensed by ASIC (the Australian Securities and Investment Commission) and the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).

Residents of the UK and EEA fall under the regulation of the FCA, where Pepperstone Limited is registered in Wales and England with Company Number 08965105. The FCA requires that financial firms implement and follow various internal procedures, such as audits, accounting, staff training, and risk management and that firms meet strict requirements for capital. Those who trade with Pepperstone Limited do so with FCA registration number FRN 684312.

Pepperstone Limited also has Professional Indemnity Insurance from Lloyds of London and has the client accounts maintained with Barclays, a top-tier UK bank. Furthermore, Pepperstone Limited is independently audited by Ernst & Young, a global accounting firm.

Additionally, clients from the UK and EEA receive protection under the UK Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS), which includes coverage of up to £50,000 per person in the category of “investments” in case of the firm’s insolvency or default.

Residents of Australia and other countries open accounts with Pepperstone Group Limited, which is registered in Australia with CAN 147 055 703. Pepperstone Group Limited holds an Australian Financial Services License (AFSL) and is regulated by ASIC. As with FCA, ASIC has strict requirements for capital as well as implementation and compliance with various internal procedures in the same categories of audits, staff training, risk management, and accounting.

The ASIC regulation number for Pepperstone Group Limited is AFSL 414530 and this branch of Pepperstone also has Professional Indemnity Insurance from Lloyds of London and independent auditing from Ernst & Young. The client accounts are maintained with National Australia Bank. There is no compensation scheme like the FSCS in Australia.

Is Pepperston Safe?

Pepperstone prides itself on its strong culture of compliance and regulation. To keep client funds secure, the broker keeps client accounts segregated. In Australia, this is done with the National Australia Bank.

In the UK, this is with Barclays. Pepperstone also has additional professional indemnity insurance with Lloyds of London and maintains independent auditing to provide peace of mind.

Pepperstone Pros

Because many forex brokers are available, Pepperstone is sure to list some features and qualities that help set it apart from the competition. One of these qualities is the understanding of what traders want. Pepperstone understands that traders want convenient, fast, and low-cost online forex trading.

The company can deliver this thanks to its high-speed processing and years of market intelligence, combined with the use of cTrader and MetaTrader 4, world leaders in trading platforms. Pepperstone even has spreads as low as 0 pips.

Pepperstone also strives to always offer clients excellent trading conditions. In fact, the company offers all traders (including retailer traders) low spreads and high liquidity levels, which only institutional clients (such as hedge funds and banks) could have previously. Pepperstone remains relevant and an industry leader by using the latest technology.

Essentially, Pepperstone aims to deliver institutional grade trading to every online forex broker, without having to worry about catches and account structures. The focus is on low-cost trading and quick execution, and retail investors of all types and styles are welcome. The minimum account size of $200 AUD means that Pepperstone truly is open to nearly anyone.

Because of its focus on technology hand innovation, Pepperstone has developed leading technology for execution and continues introducing tools that modern traders will use, such as mobile apps, a proprietary client area, and advanced account analytics.

Pepperstone is also regulated and segregates client funds for protection. The company also has extremely high ratings for customer service, which is personalized and includes access to a team with years of expertise and knowledge.

Competitors

Pepperstone is in competition with our similar brokers which have covered before, as follows:

• Plus500
• AVATrade
• IQ Option
• 24option
• ExpertOption
• Vantage FX
• Forex.com
• Pepperstone
• ETX Capital
• NordFX
• City Index
• Binary.com
• XTB
• FXTM

Pepperstone Awards

To further solidify its spot as a global leader as an online forex broker, Pepperstone has earned many awards, such as being number 1 for customer service and overall client satisfaction. Going back to 2012, Pepperstone earned the title of Best Intelligent Platform from Forex.com.cn and the Best ECN Broker Asia 2012.

In 2013, Pepperstone earned the Deloitte 2013 Technology Fast 50 Award – #1 Rising. That same year, the broker earned a spot on the Smart 100 list from Anthill Magazine. Pepperstone was also a top 100 fastest growing companies according to the 2013 BRW Fast Starters.

In 2014, Pepperstone was the 2014 Australian EY Entrepreneur of the Year and the winner of the Governor of Victoria Export Awards 2014. This year also saw it earn a place on the 2014 BRW Fast Starters, indicating its place as the fastest growing company within Australia by BRW Magazine.

The awards continued in 2015, as the Investment Trends 2015 Australia FX Report winner as well as the 2105 Australia FX Report #1 Overall Client Satisfaction from the same organization.

In 2016, Pepperstone won an impressive eight number 1 honors from Investment Trends as part of the 2016 Australia FX Report. These included Overall Client Satisfaction, Customer Service, Value for Money, Execution Speed, Spreads, Platform Reliability, Platform Ease of Use, and Commissions.

In 2017, a similar trend occurred, with Pepperstone winning six number 1 honors from the Investment Trends 2017 Australia FX Report. These included Customer Service, Value for Money, Spreads, Risk Management, Education Materials, and Fund Withdrawal.

Also in 2017, Pepperstone won the Governor of Victoria Export Awards for Exporter of the Year and the Digital Technologies Award. This same year, the company earned two Australian Growth Company Awards, including the Financial Services Growth Company of the Year Award and the Growth Company of the Year Award.

So far in 2018, Pepperstone earned three UK Forex Awards and two CompareForexBrokers.com.au awards. The UK Forex Awards included Best Forex ECN Broker, Best Forex Trading Conditions, and Best Trading Support. The CompareForexBrokers.com.au honors included Best Trading Platform and Best Australian Broker.

The plethora of awards over the years shows that Pepperstone successfully maintains a well-rounded experience for clients, with top trading conditions, support, platforms, risk management, educational materials, and more.

Conclusion

Pepperstone is a well-respected online broker offering the ability to trade forex and CFDs and are regulated in the UK and Australia which will give potential clients reassurance.

While they have not created their own proprietary trading platform, Pepperstone lets traders use MetaTrader 4 or cTrader with the ability to trade on multiple devices.

There are several account types to choose from, depending on your skill and investment level. They have around 90 asset types which you can trade which mainly focus on CFDs, Forex and some Cryptocurrencies.

The broker offers tight spreads with no or low commissions and they have a fairly low minimum deposit requirement which will appeal to beginner or retail investors. They also have a free demo account which you can use to test out their platform before making your first deposit.

Visit Pepperstone

The post Beginner’s Guide to Pepperstone: Complete Review appeared first on Blockonomi.

The company has received consistent recognition as a secure, safe forex broker that provides highly transparent access to the markets.

Vantage FX was founded back in 2009 with the founders consisting of a highly specialized team with experience in technology, forex, and finance. The goal behind Vantage FX was to assist clients with pursuing financial goals by providing powerful trading platforms, transparent forex market access, award-winning customer service, and exceptional execution speed.

Vantage FX prides itself on delivering better service and access to the forex markets than competitors, both for retail and professional traders. Additionally, Vantage FX strives to enhance its offerings, ensuring it remains superior to the competition in terms of service.

Visit VantageFX

Risk Warning : Trading derivatives and forex carries a high level of risk to your capital and should only be traded with money you can afford to lose. Ensure you read the documents on our Legal Page (including FSG, PDSs and Terms & Conditions), and seek independent advice, to fully understand the risks,before deciding to trade. The information in this website is of a general nature only and the advice has been prepared without taking account of your objectives, financial situation or needs.

Vantage FX at a Glance

Trust & Transparency

Vantage FX makes transparency a priority, particularly given that the forex industry is frequently cloudy. Because of this, the company goes above and beyond to ensure it is fully available to meet the needs of clients and continue delivering reliable and exceptional services.

Additionally, Vantage FX believes that trust must be earned, something the company feels helps differentiate it from competitors. To earn that trust, Vantage FX always actively promotes integrity and ethical practices and offers the best possible services.

Vantage FX also places a focus on maintaining its reputation of delivering integrity. To do so, the company matches its interests with those of clients, so everyone works toward the same goal. At the same time, the company also holds itself fully accountable for its offerings, which allows Vantage FX to ensure that it never compromises its exacting standards.

Vantage FX Advantages

When creating its services, Vantage FX asked itself what traders want from a forex broker. Based on that question, it chose what to include and what values or features to strive toward.

Vantage FX is transparent with strong regulation, lets clients trade on the powerful MetaTrader 4 and MetaTrader 5 platforms, and offers lightning-fast trading execution. It also offers the ability to trade forex, commodities, cryptocurrencies, and indices.

Vantage FX has raw ECN spreads from 0.0, offers exclusive FX promotions, has a leverage of up to 500:1, and has earned numerous awards. There is no conflict of interest since traders get true STP/ECN execution that does not involve a dealing desk.

Additionally, Vantage FX prides itself on using top-tier liquidity providers so clients have access to deep institutional liquidity pools.

Vantage FX Licenses & Regulators

Vantage FX is regulated by ASIC (Australian Securities and Investment Commission) as a leading forex broker based out of Australia. As such, the company upholds the highest standards for compliance and regulation from ASIC.

As part of the ASIC regulation, Vantage FX clients can rest easy thanks to Professional Indemnity Insurance that covers the work done by employees, representative, and authorized representatives of Vantage FX.

Vantage Global Prime Pty Ltd CAN 157 768 5661 has Vantage FX Pty Ltd CAN 140 903 886 as an Authorized Representative (with number 343547). Additionally, Vantage Global Prime is regulated and authorized by ASIC and has the Australian Financial Services License number of AFSL 428901.

Vantage FX Standards

The standards that Vantage FX follows due to its ASIC regulation are considered a regulatory benchmark globally, giving clients a great deal of confidence. Additionally, KPMG strictly audits Vantage FX. KPMG is a network of a global nature that includes professional firms that provide audit services as well as those of an advisory nature and tax services.

KPMG annually audits the Vantage FX financial reports and Australian Financial Services License. Additionally, KPMG conducts quarterly reviews of controls over the client money, with all reviews and audits following the auditing and assurance standards of Australia.

Furthermore, Vantage FX segregates all client funds in a trust account that the National Australia Bank holds. This allows for further protection for the funds as the National Australia Bank is AA rated and among the four largest financial institutions in the country. It also consistently ranks among the top 20 safest banks in the world.

Vantage FX Liquidity Partners

To ensure clients always have the best possible liquidity, Vantage FX has 14 different liquidity partners.

These include KCG Hotspot, J.P. Morgan, NAB, CitiBank, Westpac, Nomura, BNP Paribas, HSBC, RBS, Credit Suisse, Goldman Sachs, Bank of America, Societe Generale, and UBS. Overall, Vantage FX has more than 30 liquidity providers.

Vantage FX Account Signup

Opening a Vantage FX account is specifically designed to be incredibly simple. You can begin live trading within minutes. Begin by filling out the online application and then fund the account using your choice of ten different funding methods. From there, you can start trading global markets.

Types of Accounts

Vantage FX offers three main types of accounts: Standard STP, Raw ECN, and PRO ECN, with the second being an incredibly popular option.

• A Standard STP Account is the ideal choice for beginner traders in search of no commissions and direct, simple access to the market.
• RAW ECN Accounts are ideal for more experienced traders who need deep liquidity and spreads that are razor sharp.
• PRO ECN Accounts are ideal for professional traders or money managers that trade with high volumes.

Regardless of account type, Vantage FX clients get access to MetaTrader 4, MetaTrader 5, WebTrader, and mobile apps for trading platforms. In terms of markets, all clients can access 40 currency pairs, 13 indices, and 20 commodities.

As the name implies, the Standard STP account uses STP as the execution type. This account can use the following base currencies: AUD, CAD, GBP, EUR, JPY, NZD, SGD, and USD.

There is a minimum balance of $200 and a minimum trade size of 0.01 lot. The leverage for Standard STP Accounts is up to 500:1 and the spreads start at 1.4 pips. There are no commissions and lot rebates are $2.00 AUD each.

Given the name, RAW ECN accounts follow the ECN execution type. It offers the same eight base currencies and does not offer $2.00 AUD per lot rebates.

The spreads are from 0.0 pips and the commission is $3.00 per lot per side. The minimum trade size is still 0.01 lot and the minimum balance is $500. PRO ECN Accounts limit base currencies to AUD, CAD, EUR, GBP, and EUR.

There is no $2.00 AUD per lot rebate and commissions are $2.00 per lot per side. Spreads still start at 0.0 pips with a leverage of up to 500:1. While the minimum trade size remains 0.01 lot, the minimum balance is $20,000.

It is possible to change your account type at a future date. Log in and make sure that your account has the minimum balance for your desired type of account. From there, close any open trades you have. At this point, you can contact Vantage FX support to upgrade your account.

Vantage FX Islamic Accounts

Vantage FX also offers an Islamic Account for Muslim traders to utilize so they can enjoy a swap-free account. This account was specifically designed for those forex traders who cannot pay or receive swaps due to religious beliefs.

The account type is fully compliant with Sharia law and Sheikh Hasan Qamra, the Chairman of the Sharia Supervisory Board, fully certified The Islamic Account from Vantage FX. This is unique as Vantage FX is the only forex broker that is officially Sharia compliant.

Vantage FX Demo Accounts

Vantage FX does offer a demo account and it takes less than 30 seconds to sign up for one. Additionally, those who already hold a live account with Vantage FX can take advantage of an Unlimited MT4 and MT5 demo account.

This is designed to ensure that all Vantage FX clients feel confident using their chosen trading platform. This is also a useful feature for testing out a new trading strategy in a risk-free manner, so you can potentially adjust your current strategy and improve future earnings.

The unlimited demo account also includes on-demand access to price data from Vantage FX.

Deposit and Withdrawals

There are no fees for deposits to Vantage FX. Funding options include credit or debit cards, bank wires via international SWIFT or Australian banks, BPAY (in Australia), POLi Payments (in Australia), Skrill/Moneybookers, Neteller, broker to broker transfers, and FasaPay.

As is standard, withdrawal requests must use the same method as your deposit up to the original amount deposited. After this amount, you can select another withdrawal method from the same options as deposits.

Vantage FX Bonuses

Vantage FX now offers a unique feature that helps active forex traders, an 8.88 percent cash bonus on the account balance. Those who move their account to Vantage FX or sign up for an account will earn an extra 8.88 percent cash bonus in their available balance. Traders get to opt in to receive this 8.88 percent cash bonus and in either case, you get the same trading conditions, without spread markups.

To receive the cash bonus, you just need to meet the minimum monthly trade volume, which depends on your account balance and whether you have a RAW ECN or Standard STP account. Residents of China should note that this interest promotion is not offered in that region.

There is currently a total of eight forex promotions from Vantage FX, including the 8.88 percent cash bonus, forex rebates, Smart Trader Tools, free forex VPS, a 50 percent welcome bonus, email forex signals, the Active Trader Program, and MT4 Indicators.

The forex VPS means that traders do not have to rely on their own internet connection to make trades. The welcome bonus can be up to 50 percent and depends on your initial deposit.

If you deposit $300, you get a bonus of $150, which increases to $200 for deposits of $400 and $250 for deposits of $500. Deposits over $500 also get a bonus of $250.

Vantage FX Forex Rebate Program

With the Vantage FX Forex Rebate Program, clients receive rebates daily in the form of cash that is instantly sent to their MT4 trading account. This program applies to Standard STP Accounts and makes it possible to receive $2.00 AUD for every standard FX lot.

The program is transparent, showing your earned rebates that you can then withdraw or trade whenever you want. To take advantage of the rebate program, you should deposit a minimum of $1,000, which will let you earn as much as 10 percent of the deposit back via rebates.

The rebate program also applies to future deposits higher than $1,000.

Trading Platform

Vantage FX uses the MetaTrader 4 and MetaTrader 5 platforms, the best-respected and most popular platforms in the world of forex trading. These platforms are available in 32 different languages with 24/5 market hours.

It also includes forex signals and other features. MetaTrader platform is available via desktop downloads for Windows and Mac, mobile applications, and there is also a WebTrader interface if you prefer that.

There is also support for MAM/PAMM, MyFXBook AutoTrade, and ZuluTrade. The Vantage FX MAM/PAMM solution allows for unlimited trading accounts, with an allocation speed of 5 milliseconds per account, multiple allocation methods, partial close orders, Expert Advisors, all trading styles, and other features. Zulu Trade offers social trading and MyFXBook AutoTrade offers automated trading.

Assets Coverage

The focus of Vantage FX is forex trading, where you will find more than 40 forex pairs available, along with the ability to use up to 500:1 leverage.

Vantage FX also offers access to 10 world stock exchange indices with a focus on the most liquid indices and a leverage of up to 200:1.

Commodities trading from Vantage FX includes a maximum volume of 20 lots traded for precious metals, a leverage of up to 100:1 on energy markets, and margins from 1 percent on soft commodities markets.

Those interested in cryptocurrency trading can trade Bitcoin with a leverage of up to 5:1, Bitcoin Cash with a 2:1 leverage and contract volume of 0.01, and Dashcoin with up to 50 contracts per trade. There is also trading for Litecoin, Ripple, and Ethereum.

Finally, you can trade U.S.-listed share CFDs with up to 50 U.S. blue-chip companies, from $6 per trade and a leverage of up to 20:1.

Trading Tools

Vantage FX offers a Smart Trader Tools Package that helps the MT4 platform rival even highly advanced institutional trading platforms available, helping retail traders get the same benefits as institutional traders.

This package includes an Alarm Manager with six types of alarms and alerts via pop-up, email, SMS, and Twitter as well as a Correlation Matrix, Correlation Trader, Excel RTD Link, Market Manager, Mini Terminal, Sentiment Trader, Session Map, and Trade Terminal.

This Smart Trader Tools Package is free for anyone who meets the minimum deposit of $1,000.

Traders can also take advantage of daily forex signals sent right to their inbox thanks to the Vantage FX partnership with Trading Central. This includes Technical Analysis as well as forex signals, with as many as two emails each day covering 70 tradable markets.

You can also view as many as 9 timeframes with up to 3 chart types. The Active Trader Program provides new and existing clients with a cash rebate when they meet the minimum deposit requirement.

Those who opt for ECN trading can take advantage of automated trading, including Expert Advisors. There is also the previously mentioned free forex VPS, so you can ensure your MT4 platform runs 24/7.

The economic calendar from Vantage FX lets you view upcoming events that will impact the market, including their location, the currency affected, and the predicted impact. You can also utilize Client Sentiment indicators.

Are Vantage FX’s Spreads Competitive?

Vantage FX always strives to offer low spreads that are industry leading. This is possible thanks to the number of liquidity providers that Vantage FX works with as well as the fact that feeds come from up to 70 institutions.

• The typical spreads for Standard STP Accounts are from 1.4 for EUR/USD, from 1.6 for GBP/USD, from 1.4 for AUD/USD, and from 1.5 for USD/JPY.
• For RAW ECN Accounts, these spreads go from 0.1, 0.6, 0.4, and 0.5, respectively.
• PRO ECN spreads tend to go from 0.0, 0.5, 0.3, and 0.4, respectively.

Education

Vantage FX provides an extensive selection of educational tools to help forex traders of all skill levels. There is a step-by-step guide for Learn to Trade Forex, including a market overview, market analysis, and trading psychology.

You can also attend one of the broker’s regular webinars that are led by experienced market strategists and professional traders, look at the MT4 user manuals or comprehensive MT4 video tutorials, or view the MT4 SmartTrader Tools videos to make the most of the MT4 SmartTrader Tools Package.

Trading Servers

To help ensure its quick execution times and excellent service, Vantage FX also uses high-end trading servers. The broker has live trading servers in New York and London, allowing easy access to two of the world’s major financial hubs. The trading servers allow for sourcing ECN market liquidity and streaming that liquidity into the MT4 accounts of clients.

The decision of where to place the servers was not taken lightly. Vantage FX dedicated resources and time into researching the location to maximize the advantage of the trading servers for clients. That led to the decision to have the servers in both London and New York.

Vantage FX also constantly works on enhancing its trading network made up of data centers and servers, which includes updates to the physical locations and hardware. This is one of the many ways that Vantage FX aims to maintain its industry-leading position and maximize its strength. Thanks to the carefully planned trading servers, Vantage FX clients can appreciate stable and super-fast trading conditions unlike those from competitors.

Other Technology

Vantage FX also has a strategic partnership with Equinix for a fiber optic network solution that connects its trading servers to the world. That partnership’s fiber-optic network helps guarantee the lightning-fast execution for every trade and gives Vantage FX a further advantage.

The main points of the fiber optic server network are in New York and London, which account for live servers 1 and 2. There are data centers in Sydney, Guangzhou, Kuching, and Tianjin.

Those who are interested in statistics will want to know that Vantage FX is stable at 99.99 percent of MT4 uptime and has improved the execution speed by 78 percent. Vantage FX carefully tested each fiber optic line that connects the servers to ensure minimization of latency. This allows for the quickest execution speeds for every client.

The goal is to make it possible for clients to realize new possibilities, ignite execution speed, and accelerate performance. This is all done with as much as 100 GB/S of bandwidth.

Vantage FX uses a oneZero MT4 Bridge, which is a next-generation price aggregator that connects Vantage FX’s dark liquidity pool with the client’s MT4 platform. This oneZero MT4 Bridge is actually the only existing solution of a technically advanced nature that can handle the vast number of market orders that require execution and do so at high speeds.

Thanks to this technology, Vantage FX can execute as many as 500,000 trades per millisecond and process as many as 150 unique price feeds at speed.

Vantage FX uses Intel Xeon E7 Processors that feature Turbo Boost Technology to ensure the oneZero MT4 Bridge runs at the maximum possible speed. That helps clients receive the quickest access to global markets, with a core speed of 18 and frequency of up to 3.2 GHz.

Vantage FX Partners

Vantage FX has several partners that it maintains and develops relationships with to enhance the offerings and services available to clients. These partnerships are designed to maximize data resources as well as trading methods that are at the disposal of clients.

One of the partners is the previously mentioned oneZero, a partnership that provides Vantage FX with crucial trading technology, including the oneZero MT4 Bridge platform.

This platform has reliable IT infrastructure, reliable technical support, proven liquidity, and a low-latency trading environment. It is fully customized with scaling designed to serve Vantage FX clients via the increase in liquidity options as well as the lightning-fast execution of trades.

With the oneZero Liquidity Bridge, Vantage FX can manage its trading platform via an intuitive front end that offers extensive flexibility in terms of the ways that the broker offers spreads, integrates with post-trade processors, aggregates liquidity, and configures pricing.

Another partner of Vantage FX is MetaQuotes, which was established in 2000 and is a leading forex trading platform provider. This is the company responsible for the immensely popular and useful MetaTrader 4 platform, which has helped it earn the reputation as a leading developer for software applications designed for exchanges, banks, and forex brokers.

This partnership with MetaQuotes lets Vantage FX clients get access to the most popular trading platform solutions. At the same time, it also gives clients the ability to enjoy stable and super-fast access to the MT4 forex trading account that you cannot get with another broker.

Trading Central is another partner of Vantage FX and this company delivers research that combines forex signals, mathematical indicators, and a chartist approach for assessing price targets and directional moves. Its methodology is unique, and a team of trading experts and portfolio management experts manages it.

Trading Central’s methodology is award-winning, supplying complex content and a format that clients find intuitive to understand and implement. This is a useful partnership for Vantage FX clients as the most prestigious financial institutions around the world rely on Trading Central for investment strategies for forex, indices, commodities, and more. Trading Central is also a world-renowned benchmark for Technical Analysis.

Finally, Vantage FX partners with CellXpert, which makes it possible for CPA Partners to make use of the latest marketing tools available. CellXpert lets affiliates of Vantage FX server their ads, manage their campaigns, track conversions, and optimize performance in a single, convenient package. This partnership helps ensure that CPA Partners have all the tools needed to enhance productivity and revenue.

Vantage FX Awards

Over the years, Vantage FX has earned honors around the world from respected publications and organizations for premium level service and vast offerings.

• Finance Monthly honored Vantage FX as the Financial Trading Service Provider of the Year in 2017 as well as 2018 in its Fintech Awards, showing that the broker not only surpasses the competition but does so consistently.
• Vantage FX is a true ECN broker, and as such, it takes pride in the awards for ECN brokerage services that it has received. The RAW ECN account from Vantage FX has earned honors for its lowest commissions, most transparent trading conditions, and tightest spreads.
• The Forex Awards honored Vantage FX with the title of Best ECN Broker 2016, Best IB Broker 2016, and Best Customer Support 2016.
• The Forex Awards 2016 honored Vantage FX as the Best ECN/STP Broker.
• The Global 100 2017 honored Vantage FX as the winner.

• Going back further, in 2012, Vantage FX earned honors from the DealMakers Annual Banking Awards for Best Forex Broker and Forex Execution House South East Asia.
• The same year, World Finance honored the broker during its Foreign Exchange Awards and the IBTIMES Trading Awards awarded Vantage FX for Best Forex Execution in Asia-Pacific.
• In 2011, the IBTIME Trading Awards honored Vantage FX with an Excellence Forex Award as a Forex Broker Australia and with a Best Forex honor for Forex Broker South East Asia.
• Also in 2011, the Smart Investor Blue Ribbon Awards labeled Vantage FX as Recommended for Forex.
• The broker also was a winner at the 2011 IAIR Awards and a finalist for Best Forex Broker from The Bull.

Vantage FX IB Program

The Vantage FX IB Program stands for Introducing Broker and is designed to help corporate clients and individuals by providing a method of earning revenue of an ongoing nature via client trading activity.

IBs are rewarded with competitive rebates. According to Vantage FX, this broker’s IBs tend to have a greater income than those from other brokers thanks to the award-winning customer service, superior IB infrastructure, transparent IB reporting, and strong brand reputation of Vantage FX.

IB partners can earn rebates on 120 tradable assets and trade on the two most popular platforms, MT4 and MT5.

Vantage FX CPA Affiliates

Becoming a CPA Affiliate is another method of increasing revenue with Vantage FX. Affiliate partners earn commissions on referrals and also receive exclusive access for highly personalized and targeted marketing products.

CPA Affiliates get complimentary access to CellXpert, via the Vantage FX partnership with that state-of-the-art marketing platform. The partnership is available for both corporate clients and individuals worldwide.

Competitors

Vantage FX is in competition with our similar brokers which have covered before, as follows:

• Plus500
• AVATrade
• IQ Option
• 24option
• ExpertOption

Vantage FX Customer Support

From any page on the Vantage FX website, you can click on the Chat button in the lower right corner of the screen to begin a live chat.

You can also call Vantage FX via the phone number conveniently displayed at the top of any page on the website. Vantage FX also has a support email address. The broker always aims to respond to messages within 24 hours.

For added convenience, there are specific phone numbers for those in Australia, the UK, China, Canada, and International, as well as a fax number.

Additionally, those in Sydney can visit the Vantage FX head office. There is an additional office in Melbourne and both offices have their addresses and phone numbers clearly displayed on the Contact Us page of the Vantage FX website and within your client area.

Conclusion

Vantage FX is an Australian broker that focuses on forex trading but also offers trading of other assets, including cryptocurrencies, share CFDs, indices, and commodities.

This broker is regulated by ASIC and has a strong reputation that should inspire confidence in clients. There are several account options available, including an unlimited demo account that you can use to get a feel for their platform.

Vantage FX have a leverage cap in place at $5000 which might put off larger investors but it does have a low deposit requirement of just $200 which is lower than other brokers of this type. Vantage FX also blocks clients from the USA so customers from there will need to find another broker to accommodate them.

You can have confidence in trading with VantageFX, they are a large established company, well regulated so your funds are safe there.

The range of trading platforms is solid, you can trade on the web, mobile, Meta Trader and ZuluTrade.

Visit VantageFX

Risk Warning : Trading derivatives and forex carries a high level of risk to your capital and should only be traded with money you can afford to lose. Ensure you read the documents on our Legal Page (including FSG, PDSs and Terms & Conditions), and seek independent advice, to fully understand the risks,before deciding to trade. The information in this website is of a general nature only and the advice has been prepared without taking account of your objectives, financial situation or needs.

The post Beginner’s Guide to Vantage FX: Complete Review appeared first on Blockonomi.

Keep in mind that XTB operates in 17 different countries/regions and also has a separate international version. Each of these has slight differences in spreads, leverage, account types, funding methods, and other intricacies. Unless specified, all of the following information is based on International Accounts.

Visit XTB

Risk Warning: 79% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with XTB Limited.

XTB at a Glance

XTB Regulations

While most brokers are only regulated by one, possibly two, organizations, XTB is regulated by a long list. XTB has offices in over 10 countries around the world, including France, Spain, Germany, Poland, the UK, and Belize.

With its reach in so many different countries, it should come as no surprise that XTB is regulated by numerous supervision authorities from around the world, including CySec, KNF, FCA, and IFSC. With so much international regulation, you can trust that XTB is held to a high standard, particularly in terms of protection of client funds.

XTB International Limited (XTB) is regulated and authorized by IFSC (International Financial Services Commission) in Belize under IFSC License No: IFSC/60/413/TS/17. XTB is registered in Belize with Registered Number 153,939. The company’s address is 35 Barrack Road, 3^rd Floor, Belize City, Belize, C.A.

XTB is one XTB Group’s trademarks. The XTB Group also includes X-Trade Brokers DM SA, XTB Limited, and XTB Sucursal. Other international organizations authorize and regulate these other entities. Komisja Nadzoru Finansowego (KNF) in Poland authorizes and regulates X-Trade Brokers DM SA (KRS 0000217580, REGON 015803782, NIP 52 7-24-43-955).

The Financial Conduct Authority in the United Kingdom authorizes and regulates XTB Limited (FRN 522157). The Comision Nacional del Mercado de Valores in Spain authorizes and regulates XTB Sucursal.

XTB Ltd’s (XTB UK) registered trading office is located at Level 34, One Canada Square, Canary Wharf, E14 5AA, London, United Kingdom. X-Trade Brokers DM SA’s registered address is ul. Ogrodowa 58, 00-876 Warszawa, Polska. XTB Sucursal’s registered address is C/ Pedro Teixeira 8, 6ª Planta, 28020, Madrid.

History of XTB

XTB has a rich history that reaches back to 2002. In 2002, X-Trade was incorporated. With its location in Warsaw, it was, at the time, the very first foreign exchange brokerage house in Poland offering leverage. In 2004, X-Trade merged and became XTB as a way to comply with the updated regulations for the Polish market.

By 2005, XTB was authorized by the Polish Financial Supervision Authority (KNF) for offering brokerage services across all types of financial products. In 2005, XTB earned the honor of “Best Broker in Europe” from the Money Markets Journal.

In 2006, XTB became part of the Polish National Clearing House and the Warsaw Stock Exchange. In 2007, it opened its first foreign branch, which was located in the Czech Republic. It followed this achievement by also opening offices in Romania, Slovakia, Germany, and Spain in 2008.

X-Trade Brokers rebranded to become XTB Online Trading in 2009. In 2010, XTB opened up new branches in Portugal, France, Italy, and Hungary. These branches included cross-border licensing in Austria, the Netherlands, Sweden, Bulgaria, Greece, and Belgium. The year 2010 also saw XTB establish subsidiaries in Turkey and the United Kingdom.

In 2016, XTB signed a deal with Mads Mikkelsen, the award-winning Hollywood actor, to become a brand ambassador. In 2016, XTB was successfully listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange. The first day that it was a publicly traded company, the shares rose over 4%.

XTB Account Types

XTB has multiple account types, including a demo account which is super easy to signup for and will allow you to test out the platform with either MetaTrader 4 or the web-based Xstation.

• Demo Accounts – There is a Demo Account from XTB that lets you test out the platform without any commitment.
• Standard Accounts – This account has access to over 1,500 instruments, including forex, commodities, crypto, indices, stock CFDs, and ETF CFDs. This account type has market execution, leverage of up to 1:200, a minimum spread of 0.35, and a minimum order of 0.1. There is negative balance protection and automated trading. Both account setup and management are free for this account type. You can use MT4 or xStation with this type of account.
• Pro Accounts – have identical access to assets, with a minimum spread of 0.28 and maximum leverage of 1:200. There is free account set up without any management fees, and the minimum order size is 0.1 lot. This account type also works with both xStation and MT4.
• Islamic Accounts –  are similar to Standard Accounts. The only differences are that they do not offer cryptocurrency trading and are swap-free.

Only the Standard and Pro Accounts are available to clients in the UK. Both of these types of accounts for UK clients use floating spreads, with Pro Accounts also featuring market execution. This involves paying a small commission in order to reach market levels. A UK Standard Account spreads float with a minimum of 0.9 pips, while Pro Accounts have a minimum spread of 0 pips, which are also floating.

XTB Account Signup

It is incredibly easy to create a trading account with XTB. To get started, simply fill out the online form, which you can easily find on the main page or nearly any other page on the XTB website.

While XTB verifies your details, you will get immediate access to the trading platforms. You will likely need to upload additional documents. After your application is approved, you can deposit your funds and begin trading.

Account Verification Requirements

After you create an account with XTB, you will need to activate it before you are able to start trading. This activation process is essentially XTB’s verification process, and it involves uploading required documents to prove your identity as well as your address. Specific requirements vary slightly by region but are generally very similar.

In the United Kingdom, for example, XTB accepts a passport, national identity card, or driver’s license as proof of identity. In the case of the latter two, you must upload an image of both the front and the back of the ID. The proof of address must be from the past three months and must be a full page.

It cannot be an online document. Accepted proof of address (in the UK) includes a bank statement, a utility bill, a phone bill for a landline, or a tax statement or bill. After XTB reviews and accepts your documents it will then officially activate your trading account.

XTB Spreads & Pips

With XTB, traders are able to enjoy spreads as high as 200:1 or as tight at 0.3 pips. To round it out, clients enjoy market level execution. For full transparency at all times, XTB includes the pip value, swaps, and spread on your deal ticket; this way, there are never any surprises. XTB also uses advanced trading technology that prevents requotes so you can trust that the trade will enjoy smooth execution.

Each instrument type has its own specific trading terms. If you visit the Market Analysis section of the XTB website, you can go to the Price Tables. Here, you will find the current price for each instrument, including figures for bid, ask, spread, and percent change.

Click on “Instrument Specification” below each chart to see the information for all instruments within a category, as this main page only displays around 10 to 15 of each instrument type due to space limitations.

XTB Deposits

To deposit funds into your XTB account and begin trading, simply log in and head to “Deposits.” From there, you just choose your trading account as well as the payment method. XTB offers many methods of depositing funds, some of which have additional charges and many of which are free.

Keep in mind that if you deposit funds into XTB in a currency that is not that of your bank funds, XTB will not pay for the exchange rates. There are also some variations in accepted deposit methods based on location.

Bank transfers are free and accepted in USD. In some cases, your bank may charge a transfer fee, although XTB will not charge you any additional fees. Bank transfers that you make to XTB must come from banks that are registered in your full name, with the name matching that of the XTB account. If this is not the case, you risk wasting time as the funds will return to the original bank account.

Deposits can also be made via credit cards, including Visa, MasterCard, and Maestro. These deposits can be made in USD; XTB does not assess any additional fee for this transaction.

Finally, you can use one of several e-wallets to deposit funds into XTB. Paysafe, which used to be known as Skrill, comes with a fee equal to 2% of the amount deposited. SafetyPay comes with a 1.5% fee.

Deposit and withdrawal methods vary by region and country for XTB clients. In the UK, for example, you can also make a deposit via PayPal or Neteller, but SafetyPay is not an option. Deposits for UK accounts can be in USD, GBP, or EUR.

Minimum Deposit

The initial deposit into an XTB account must be at least £250, $250, or €250. After this initial deposit, there is no minimum size for subsequent deposits.

XTB Withdrawals

Withdrawing funds from your XTB account is just as straightforward as making a deposit. Visit your Client Office after logging in and choose the account you want to withdraw from. Next, choose the amount you want to withdraw.

Keep in mind that if your account that you want to withdraw the funds from is not in the same currency as your trading account, Pekao will convert the amount at its rate, either at the time the bank receives the payment or at the time of request. As is the case with deposits, you can only make a withdrawal to a bank account bearing your exact, matching name.

When making withdrawals, XTB processes the payments with the SHA model, covering the full cost that the Sending Bank charges. Your bank may charge you an additional fee. If you choose to withdraw less than $100, this will come with an extra $30 commission.

XTB Trading Instruments

To appeal to a wide range of traders, XTB supports a long list of assets. In total, there are 3,000 markets that you can trade with the broker, including forex, commodities, shares, and indices.

For forex, you can enjoy spreads from 0.1 pips; these are tradeable 24/5. There are 48 currency pairs, micro lot size contracts, and there is no minimum initial deposit.

There are more than 20 indices available with XTB, including those from China, Germany, and the USA. All have low transaction costs, the ability to go long or short, financial leverage mechanism, and no overnight cost to hold an open position.

There are popular commodities available, such as oil, silver, and gold. These have no overnight holding cost, 24-hour trading, low transaction costs, and high volatility for precious metals and commodities.

XTB supports CFDs on over 1,500 equities, with leverage as high as 1:10. The commissions are low, starting at just 0.08% and there is ultra-fast execution plus the ability go long or short.

There are 60 ETF CFDs, with leverage of up to 1:10, low commissions starting at 0.08%, ultra-fast execution, and negative balance protection.

Finally, XTB offers the option to trade cryptocurrencies, including Dash, Bitcoin, Litecoin, Ripple, Stellar, Ethereum, and more. The market is open 24/7 and there are low transaction costs and no risk of losing capital to a hacking attack.

XTB Fees

Commissions vary slightly by account type. There is no commission on Standard Accounts for crypto, forex, indices, or commodities, with commissions on other types starting at 0.8% per lot. These are also the commissions (when applicable) for Islamic Accounts.

For Pro Accounts, the commissions on forex, indices, commodities, and cryptocurrencies start at $4 per lot. Commissions for stock CFDs and ETF CFDs start at 0.08% per lot.

XTB Service Levels

In addition to account types, XTB offers different service levels. These levels let the broker accommodate the needs of each client, regardless of their experience level or expertise.

Base service levels do not have a minimum volume in lots or a minimum deposit. This service level also provides clients with access to the Premium Educational Materials. The education system was created by XTB specialists and it includes materials for all skill levels to guide you through your trading journey.

Plus service levels have a minimum volume of 10 lots and a minimum deposit of 100 EUR. In addition to providing access to Premium Educational Materials, this service level provides access to Premium Research Materials, Premium Email and Push Notifications, and a priority pass to events, such as Trading Clubs.

The Premium Research Materials come from the XTB award-winning analyst team. They are designed to help you stay up-to-date with the latest market movements and provide expert guidance to support your strategies.

The Premium Email and Push Notifications include information like market news, trading signals, and analysis. The idea is to give you quick information that is actionable so you do not miss out on opportunities. The Trading Clubs occur weekly, and professional traders run these sessions to include real-time market analysis. There is also priority access to XTB Masterclasses.

Finally, the VIP service level requires a minimum trade volume of 100 lots and a minimum deposit of 25,000 EUR. In addition to all of the above, this service level gets one-to-one coaching sessions, market analysis on demand, and direct access to market analysis.

Market analysis on demand involves consultations with market analysts who can give you feedback on your trading strategy and explore specific markets for you. This goes hand-in-hand with direct access to market analysts so you can get information on market movements in real-time.

The one-to-one coaching sessions help you improve your technical analysis skills and tools, such as Market Geometry, Ichimoku, and Price Action. These sessions can also help develop trading psychology or risk management. VIPs can contact their Account Manager for a current list of available trainings.

XTB Trading Platforms

The Online Personal Wealth Awards named the XTB platform the “Best Trading Platform 2016.” The platform provides clients with live market commentary as well as an economic calendar. There is an ultra-fast execution speed and access to advanced chart trading tools. You can use XTB on any device, including your desktop, laptop, tablet, or smartphone.

There are two platform choices with XTB: xStation 5 and MetaTrader4.

xStation

xStation 5 is the award-winning platform from XTB. It’s simple to use and has superior execution speeds. This platform includes a trading calculator, advanced chart trading, trader statistics, advanced technical analysis, bulk order closing, Trader’s Talk, market sentiment, top movers, and equity screener.

xStation 5 is available for desktop devices, tablets, mobiles, and even smartwatches. The desktop version is fully functional and is the fastest version of the platform. The tablet application maximizes the tablet device version’s interface and delivers full trade management along with powerful tools.

Like the desktop version, it offers bulk order closing, complete trade management, and interactive charts that include technical indicators.

The mobile version is incredibly popular, with over 50% of XTB clients actively using it. It is filled with powerful tools and features, including complete trade management, the interactive charts, the technical indicators, and bulk order closing. The smartwatch application lets you trade the markets in just a few taps and it works with both Android and iOS smartwatches. The interface is simple to use, and you can trade and manage your orders right from your smartwatch.

MetaTrader 4

MetaTrader 4 is the most popular trading platform in the industry, providing XTB clients with all the benefits of a well-loved and easy-to-use platform. There is a vast array of analytical tools built right in as well as the ability to add automatic strategies, indicators, and oscillators.

One special feature of MT4 is the ability to optimize technical trading via powerful pattern recognition. This tool lets you spot trends that are just emerging so you can define the exit and entry points as well as set the profit taking and stop loss levels.

With a one-click dealing system, entering and exiting trades is quick and efficient. MT4 also has a strategy tester and a great deal of experience.

MetaTrader 4 is available for desktop, tablets, and mobile devices. The desktop version is full of features. The tablet version lets you have full control and management over your open transactions. The mobile version is available for both iOS and Android and lets you trade anywhere at any time. It includes intuitive abilities to execute transactions and analyze market trends.

Order Types

Those who trade on MetaTrader 4 with their XTB accounts can choosing from Buy Stop, Sell Stop, Sell Limit, and Buy Limit pending orders. There is also the ability to open a trade with an instant order. xStation also lets you make Stop Loss and Take Profit orders to make the most from your trades.

How Do You Trade with XTB?

The specific steps to trading with XTB will depend on the platform you use. With MetaTrader 4, you can open a trade by using the Market Watch window found along the platform’s left-hand side. Alternately, you can press the F9 button on your keyboard or go to the “tools” tab by the platform’s top menu. After this initial step, just fill in the relevant information for your trade and submit the information.

There are also three methods of placing a trade using xStation, all of which are simple and intuitive. You can do so via the Market Watch window, which opens when you click on the name of a market.

This window features a built-in calculator so you can view things such as commission, pip value, spread in pips and its monetary value, and daily swap points. You can also trade via the chart; specifically, look for the top left-hand corner where you will see buy and sell buttons plus the ability to modify the quantity.

Finally, you can opt to use the three-click trade functionality. When on the market you want to trade, select the “Place pending order on Chart” icon. Now, you can click where you want to trade on the chart, followed by where you would like to put the stop loss and then your profit target. This will give you a new deal ticket and you just have to select Buy or Sell.

XTB Trading Tools

One unique feature of XTB is that it provides clients with detailed live trader performance statistics. These statistics can be incredibly useful in terms of seeing areas for improvement and areas in which you are doing well.

The broker also offers a Trader’s Calculator that is designed to help you calculate your trade based on your reward and risk. This feature is built into xStation 5 and determines your potential loss or profit based on stop loss, limit order, and lot size. The calculator is designed to assist with risk management.

xStation 5 also includes advanced chart trading, letting you trade right from the charts and take advantage of pending orders, take profits, stop losses, and market orders. xStation 5 also includes advanced technical analysis via technical indicators such as RS, Moving Averages, Fibonacci Retracement, and others.

The bulk order closing trading tool lets you use a single click to close all losing or winning trades, limiting losses or locking in profits. The equity screener on xStation 5 lets you filter out stocks via an advanced screener to make it easier to find the best trading opportunities.

Those who trade with MetaTrader 4 get access to the Strategy Tester. This lets you test and optimize your EAs. Thanks to this trading tool, you can back test every strategy across your intervals and market assets to discover which solution works best. The results from Strategy Tester are extensive and divided into three tabs for thoroughness.

If you use MetaTrader 4, you will also have access to the MQL programming language, which lets you program and edit technical analysis tools. If you prefer not to create your own code for technical analysis tools, MT4 also includes access to the MQL4 community, which lets you share and/or download the tools, signals, and scripts or simply share strategies.

It is also possible to add technical analysis tools to MT4 without any use of MQL by downloading and saving a tool in the appropriate spot. You can find detailed information on this process in the XTB FAQ section.

MT4 also includes multiple other tools to assist you with trading, including the ability to create price alerts. MetaTrader also provides access to technical tools like Gann-based tools and Fibonacci indicators, as well as your choice of charts, including candlestick, bar, and line. It also has various oscillators and indicators like Stochastic Oscillator, RSI, MACD, and Moving Averages.

XTB also features an economic calendar on its website, as well as within the xStation platform, which the company refers to as a market calendar. As expected, this calendar includes a full listing of all the upcoming and current events that can influence the various markets. You can filter the search results by impact and country, or just view the whole thing.

You can also adjust the calendar view between a day, week, month, or a custom length of time. For each event, you will see the date and time, country, economic indicator, impact, period, current, forecast, and previous period.

Market News & Analysis

You can get market news and analysis directly via the xStation 5 platform with Trader’s Talk. This is a live audio feed right in the platform that lets you hear breaking news for real-time market opportunities.

On the XTB website, you will find an entire section dedicated to Market News. Visiting this page will show you the latest relevant information for markets that can be traded on XTB. You can view the headlines or read the specifics. Each article has a quick summary as well as more in-depth explanation, including charts and graphs where useful.

You will find news as well as analysis on this page. Most of the articles are available to anyone, but some are locked and require a login. Any type of XTB account gets full access to the news and analysis section.

XTB Education

To ensure that all clients have the knowledge they need available at their disposal, XTB offers an extensive Education section; this is one of the main navigation tabs on the website. Within the Education section, you can divide the Trading Academy sections up by skill level or topic. The skill levels include Basic, Intermediate, Expert, and Premium.

Basic helps you learn the most important information about the forex market, instruments, and trading platforms and teaches basic trading techniques. Intermediate takes it deeper by teaching fundamental and technical analysis. This is also where clients learn about managing risk and controlling emotions. Expert courses will be available very soon and will focus on advanced tools and techniques, expert trading knowledge, and advanced functions on the XTB platform.

Finally, the Premium section is filled with Premium content and includes tools, tips, and advice from top traders in addition to advanced trading strategies and techniques. You can access most of the educational materials on XTB without logging in or registering, but the Premium section does require you to log in.

If you prefer, you can also browse the courses in the Education section by subject instead of level. This way, you get to choose from an MT4 Tutorial, an xStation Tutorial, an Introduction to CFDs, Fundamental Analysis, or an Introduction to Forex.

At the time of writing, the Basic category has 27 lessons to choose from and covers topics like using specific platforms in great detail, risk management, an introduction to types of charts, resistance and support, trading the trend, why macroeconomics matters, global sessions, and more. There are 15 Intermediate lessons at the time of writing, including more advanced how-tos on specific platform features, market sentient and positioning, stocks, cryptocurrencies, intermarket correlation, and more.

There is also a useful search feature on the Education page so you can easily find a topic that you wish to learn more about.

Depending on the language and region you choose when viewing the XTB website, you will also notice live webinars. These allow you to connect with XTB’s market experts and learn or review skills from the comfort of your home.

XTB FAQ Section

Like most brokers, XTB has a FAQ section, also known as its Knowledge Base. Unfortunately, at the time of writing, the FAQ section does not information on the International Page. It is labeled as “Soon” with categories for Our Platforms, Your Account, and Trading Glossary. While the FAQ section will likely be useful in the future, the lack of content at the moment is a significant disadvantage for XTB over other trading platforms.

Without FAQs in place, the chances of needing to contact customer support to understand a process or resolve a minor issue increases. This may be a hassle for clients and likely also increases the wait times for support as more people contact support for minor issues.

In the meantime, we suggest that if you cannot find an FAQ section with information on the XTB website dedicated to your region, that you visit that of another region. The version of XTB targeted towards United Kingdom clients in English, for example, currently has a reasonably detailed FAQ section with a total of 31 categories and 51 topics.

XTB Affiliate Program

XTB offers both an affiliate program and an Introducing Broker (IB) program. With the affiliate program, you get marketing tools from XTB that you can use to advertise on your platform or website.

Visitors get redirected to XTB via a unique link. You can then earn money for successful referrals, doing so on a monthly basis. This method can earn you as much as $600 per trader.

The Introducing Broker program acts as a partnership. You refer your clients to XTB and they open up and account and start trading. You will then receive a commission based on the trading volumes that your clients generate.

XTB Customer Support

The client support from XTB is very highly rated, having earned a five-star rating from its clients. Part of this is due to the friendly, prompt service, while another aspect is XTB’s previously mentioned desire to build long-term relationships with its clients. The support team is available 24 hours a day Sunday through Friday. This makes it easy to get help exactly when you need it.

The fact that everyone gets their own personal account manager is also incredibly useful as this allows for personalized service and a simple point of contact.

Is XTB Safe?

Since XTB is regulated, you can rest easy knowing that the broker holds all of its retail clients’ funds in a segregated account. This means that those funds never mix with the broker’s own funds. There are also additional measures in place, such as storing the funds in ring-fenced accounts separate from those of XTB. The use of segregated funds for client funds ensures that if something happens to XTB and the broker must file for bankruptcy, the client funds cannot be considered recoverable assets by XTB’s general creditors. Instead, the funds would have to be returned to the clients.

In the case of XTB clients in the United Kingdom who sign up via the UK version of XTB, there is additional fund protection via the Financial Services Compensation Scheme. This scheme, known as FSCS, provides insurance of up to £50,000 per person if the unlikely scenario occurs and XTB becomes insolvent.

XTB Security

All personal information that you submit to XTB remains safe with the company. All of the data passes through a secure SSL connection to prevent hackers from gaining access to it. Due to XTB’s regulation and authorization from various financial organizations around the world, you can count on the broker to maintain the highest level of security.

Competitors

XTB is in competition with similar brokers which have covered before, as follows:

• Plus500
• AVATrade
• IQ Option
• 24option
• ExpertOption
• Vantage FX
• Forex.com
• Pepperstone
• ETX Capital
• NordFX
• City Index
• Binary.com

XTB Awards

Over the 12 years that XTB has served traders, it has earned numerous awards and honors. Both Forbes and Bloomberg have praised the broker. It has also earned honors from M&A Today Global Awards 2018 and AtoZForex.com’s 2017 Forex Awards. In 2018, XTB was the Wealth & Finance Highest Rated FX/CFD Broker for the Global Excellence Awards.

XTB won an Online Personal Wealth Award in 2016 as well as a runner up. It also received honors at the World Finance Exchange Brokers Awards in 2013. Also in 2013, XTB earned the title of Bester Forex Broker (Best Forex Broker) from the Leser Award. In 2010, XTB earned honors for being a Forex Broker and CFD Broker from.

Conclusion

XTB is an international online broker with 14 years of experience. The broker now operates offices in 10 countries worldwide and offers clients access to thousands of instruments to trade. XTB has gained an excellent reputation for it’s high quality platform, fast order executions & transparency. Add in the fact it is a highly regulated and publicly traded company, you can trade with them with confidence.

There are multiple account types, including a swap-free Islamic account, and various service levels to accommodate the needs of various traders. XTB has its own trading platform, xStation, or works with MetaTrader 4 for those who prefer something familiar. xStation itself is a very well built piece of software which you can use on web, mobile or with the desktop downloadable app.

XTB is regulated by multiple international organizations, providing clients with peace of mind. The broker is simple to use, has good customer service, and offers a very nice selection of educational tools.

If you are looking for one of the best brokers, we highly recommend you try out XTB.

Visit XTB

79% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with XTB Limited.

The post Beginner’s Guide to XTB: Complete Review appeared first on Blockonomi.

ForexTime (FXTM) offers an solid trading platform based on MetaTrader 4 and 5 and offers a wide range of trading instruments including Forex, CFDs for Indices & Commodities, Spot Metals and Shares CFDs.

ForexTime is well regarded in the industry with competitive spreads and is regulated in the UK by the FCA and Cyprus by CySec.

Although ForexTime is one of the newer brokers, it has been growing at a fast pace and has earned numerous awards in it’s lifetime. Read on, for our honest review of the ForexTime broker.

Visit FXTM

ForexTime at a Glance

Broker	ForexTime
Regulation	FSCA (South Africa), FCA (UK) & CySec (Cyprus)
Minium Initial Deposit	$/€/£ 10
Demo Account	Yes
Asset Coverage	CFD markets: Forex, Indices, Commodities, Spot Metals, Shares
Leverage	30:1 Retail & Up to 1000:1 Professional
Trading Platforms	MetaTrader 4 & MetaTrader 5

Licenses & Regulations

• ForexTime Limited (www.forextime.com/eu) is regulated by the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission with CIF license number 185/12
• licensed by the Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) of South Africa, with FSP No. 46614.
• The company is also registered with the Financial Conduct Authority of the UK with number 600475.
• Exinity Limited (www.forextime.com) is regulated by the Financial Services Commission of the Republic of Mauritius with an Investment Dealer License bearing license number C113012295.
• Forextime UK Limited (www.forextime.com/uk) is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority, firm reference number 777911.

ForexTime Trading Instruments

With FXTM, traders are able to trade a nice range of instruments.

• There are more than 50 currency pairs.
• Those who prefer to diversify their investments can also trade CFDs, spot metals, share CFDs, and CFDs on Commodity Futures.
• Additionally, they can trade CFDs on Indices and ETFs
• This includes more than 180 US shares.
• You can trade up to 59 exotic currency pairs, 5 spot metals, 14 spot CFDs, 3 CFDs on commodities

Many traders appreciate the ability to engage in both stock trading and stock CFD trading with ForexTime.

Trading stocks with FXTM is a good way to diversify your portfolio and introduce risk. It also helps not have to deal with the time limits associated with stock CFDs.

To trade stocks with FXTM, you need an FXTM Pro MT5 Account. This will give you spreads from 0 pips, the fastest execution, and your choice of mini, macro, or standard lots.

ForexTime Trading Terms

ForexTime prides itself on offering excellent trading terms. There is fast execution and the availability of micro and mini lots.

The minimum deposit is conveniently low and the platform uses No Dealing Desk (NDD) technology. FXTM also has deep interbank liquidity and allows for Expert Advisors as well as Logarithmic Trading.

Floating leverage can be as high as 1:1,000. Spreads can be as tight as 0.1 pips depending on the market conditions and account type.

The leverage of up to 1:1,000 is part of the FXTM floating leverage system. With that high leverage, traders are able to increase their potential profits via trading larger volumes. This does, however, come with a higher risk.

The tight spreads from ForexTime help to ensure that traders can take advantage of low initial trading costs.

FXTM also delivers fast execution as transactions are executed immediately. This means that you do not have to worry about delays interfering with your ability to get the best prices.

The NDD technology mentioned lets ForexTime work with various liquidity providers. That gives the clients the best possible prices for both bid and ask. This tech provides deep interbank liquidity. It also provides the ability to deliver those previously mentioned instant trades.

To view the full contract specifications for all trading instruments, go to the Trading Instruments portion of the ForexTime website. Then, visit Contract Specifications.

You can view specific information for forex, spot metals, CFD US shares, spot commodities, stock trading, spot indices. You will see information such as minimum or typical spreads, pip values, swaps, and trading sessions.

ForexTime Margin & Leverage

You can view every single one of the margin and leverage requirements for ForexTime trades on the appropriate page on the broker’s website. All the info is under the main category of Trading Accounts.

The margin requirements and leverage requirements are listed for Standard, ECN, and ECN Zero Trading Accounts. View the requirements in the categories of FX majors, FX minors, FX exotics, spot metals, BTCUSD, ETHUSD, LTCUSD, and RPLUSD.

For each of these, you can find the notional value for USD, EUR, GBP, or NGN, as well as the leverage offered and floating margin as a percent.

The same information is displayed below this with the information for FXTM Pro MT4 Trading Accounts. Then, for FXTM Pro MT5 Trading Accounts as well.

FXTM Comissions

The commissions charged by FXTM vary based on account type. There is no commission on Standard Accounts, Cent Accounts, Shares Accounts, ECN Zero Accounts, or FXTM Pro Accounts. ECN Accounts have commissions of $2 per lot.

In the case of certain accounts, there are floating commissions. For ECN MT4, for example, the commission depends on the trading volume and equity, with lower commissions corresponding to higher trading volumes and equities.

You can view the specific floating commission rates under Trading Accounts on the Commissions page. You will also find commissions for stock trading via PRO MT5 here.

Example Commissions on ECN MT4

ForexTime Deposits & Withdrawals

ForexTime offers dozens of deposit and withdrawal methods as a way to appeal to a wide range of clients. Deposit methods include FasaPay, Ghana local transfers, Nigeria local bank transfers, Algerian local transfers, Kenyan local transfers, Indonesian local transfers.

Also, local transfers for Pakistan and India, online banking Indonesia, online banking Malaysia, Local Exchange House, Afghani local transfers.

Moreover, Laos local transfers, Nganluong (e-wallet and banking channel), Baokim, GlobePay, Egypt local transfer, Iraqi local transfer, Bangladeshi local transfer.

Finally, Palestinian local transfer, online banking Thailand, online banking Vietnam, China Online Banking, and Tanzanian Local Transfers (BRK).

Clients can also make a deposit with Visa, Mastercard, or Maestro cards. VIPs can deposit via Neteller or Skrill/Moneybookers.

All clients can also deposit via cryptocurrencies, Dusupay, Alfa-Click, Dixipay, WebMoney, Yandex.Money, QIWI, Perfectmoney, Bitcoin via Skrill, Bitcoin, or Konnexone. Finally, there is the option of a bank wire transfer.

None of those deposit methods charge commissions. Processing times range from instant to 24 hours/up to a business day for most methods. The exception to this is a bank wire which takes three to five business days.

The methods for withdrawal are nearly identical, with a few differences. You can withdraw, for example, via China Union Pay and cannot withdraw via Alfa-Click or Cash U. Most withdrawal processing times are 24 hours with the exception of China Online Banking which takes 48 hours.

Other exceptions: Konnexone which is up to a business day, and crypto, Bitcoin, or Bitcoin via Skrill which take 24 to 48 hours. There are commissions for some of the withdrawal methods as well. These can be either a low set fee or a low percentage of the transaction. Many withdrawal methods are commission-free still.

You should always look at the fees and time frames associated with your chosen withdrawal or deposit method on ForexTime.

Minimum & Maximum Deposits

ForexTime’s minimum and maximum deposits depend on the type of account that you choose.

• Standard Accounts, Shares Accounts, ECN Accounts, and ECN Zero Accounts have a minimum deposit of $/€/£ 100 or ₦20,000. They do not have a maximum deposit.
• Cent Accounts have minimum deposits of $/€/£ 10 or ₦1,000, with no maximum deposit.
• FXTM Pro accounts have a minimum deposit of $/€/£ 25,000 and no maximum.

ForexTime Account Types

ForexTime truly offers an account for everyone.

Standard Accounts include a Standard Account, CENT Account (with micro lots), and Shares Account.

ECN Accounts include the ECN MT4 Account, the ECN MT5 Account, the ECN ZERO Account.

Also, the ECN Manager Account, FXTM Pro, FXTM Pro MT5, and ECN Zero MT5.

• Standard Accounts work with MetaTrader 4. They include tight floating spreads, floating leverage from 1:1,000, instant execution, hedging, a SWAP-free option, and no hidden commissions. These accounts can be in USD, EUR, GBP, or NGN.
• Cent Accounts also have instant execution, tight floating spreads, and a SWAP-free option and work with MT4. They are available in EUR cents, GB pence, USD cents, or NGN kobo. They feature Cent Lots and have a minimum deposit of just 5 EUR/USD/GBP.
• Shares Accounts also use MT4 and have a SWAP-free option and instant execution. Hedging is allowed and there are no commissions. Leverage is fixed at 1:10 and this account gives access to more than 180 US shares. The account is available in USD, EUR, GBP, or NGN.

Additional Trading Accounts

ECN Zero Accounts use MT4 or MT5 and can include FXTM Invest. ECN Zero Accounts have tight floating spreads, no commissions, market execution without requotes, and floating leverage of up to 1:1,000.

They also have a SWAP-free option, and your choice of GBP, USD, EUR, and NGN. Both scalping and hedging are allowed.

An ECN Account also uses either MT4 or MT5, with market execution and no requotes, floating leverage of up to 1:1,000.

It has spreads from 0.1, a SWAP-free option, and the same currency options as well. Scalping and hedging are allowed and the commissions start at just $4. This type of account is also available with FXTM Invest.

Finally, an FXTM Pro Account lets you use MT4 or MT5. It features tight spreads from 0 pips, no commissions, floating leverage of up to 1:100, and ultra-fast market execution without requotes.

There is no last-look pricing and this account takes advantage of deep liquidity right from ForexTime’s tier-1 providers.

Regardless of the type of account, NGN accounts are only offered for clients in Nigeria.

FXTM Invest ( Copy Trading )

FXTM Invest is a relatively new offering from ForexTime that lets clients become FXTM Invest Strategy Managers.

It is a copy trading program that relies on cutting-edge technology. This lets you use your forex skills to earn additional capital. With this program, other investors can copy your trades. That way, you will earn a percentage of their profits, as much as 50 percent.

To become a Strategy Manager, you register for an ECN Zero Account and verify your profile. Then, you get your own Manager page to display trading statistics and start sharing your trading results via social media.

FXTM Invest lets people who are starting out trading copy the trades of those who have a proven record of success. This also works for those who simply do not have the time to make complicated trading strategies.

At the same time, it lets successful traders make money from their success by letting others copy their trades.

Part of the FXTM Invest program is the inclusion of a list of the top-ranking strategy managers. This information has been verified by an audit. For each Strategy Manager in the program, you can view detailed information to help you decide.

This includes a profitability chart, the Strategy Manager, the return, the week’s return, and the max drawdown. It also includes the risk level, the days open, and the profit share in percentage.

Each Strategy also has a rating out of five stars to help you make your decision. You can view the Strategies by only looking at those that are top ranked or all of them.

Clicking on any of the Strategy Accounts will show you its rank, the number of investors, the days open, the risk level, the return. It will also show you specific figures for the day and month.

There is also a section where the Strategy Manager tells you about the Strategy and any other additional relevant information. Below this, you will find charts and graphs detailing returns and monthly statistics by trades.

Below this are general statistics, including total trades, profitable (and unprofitable) trades by percent, average trade length, consecutive wins. Additionally, there are statistics on the greatest win in pips, average daily trades, deals with stop loss, deals with take profits.

Finally, info on sell, buy, consecutive losses, greatest losses, and maximum simultaneous orders. Underneath this, you can find additional information such as statistics per instruments like profitability, pip, average pip, SL/TP, average SL/TP, duration, and type. Also, the trades by hour and trades for specific days of the week. The last two of these figures include profitable and unprofitable trades separately.

Overall, FXTM Invest gives those looking to engage in copy trading all the information they need to decide which Strategy Manager or Strategy Account to copy.

Automated Trading

FXTM allows for Logarithmic Trading and Expert Advisors. The algorithmic trading is automated trading, which provides a great deal of convenience for traders who are busy.

This method lets ForexTime clients create their trading strategy or choose the strategy of someone else. They can then use an automated trading system, such as Expert Advisors, to follow the trading strategy.

The system will automatically trade for clients based on the strategy you implement.

Many traders appreciate the fact that automated trading ensures you do not miss any opportunities if you cannot watch the markets 24/7.

FXTM offers this since it makes it possible to make a profit even when asleep. Of course, automated trading can lead to losses as well as profits, as everything depends on your strategy and the market.

Trading Restrictions

With a Standard Account from ForexTime, there is a minimum volume of 0.01 lots per trade. It supports standard, mini, and micro lots and a maximum of 30 lots per trade.

You can have up to 100 orders or pending orders with this account type. This type of account has a margin call at 40 percent and a stop out at 20 percent.

Cent Accounts have the same minimum lot volume per trade but a maximum of 1 lot per trade. There is a maximum of 100 pending orders and 300 orders with this account type. Margin calls are at 60 percent and stop outs at 40 percent.

With Shares Accounts, the trade volume can be between 0.01 and 10 lots. There is a maximum of 100 orders and 100 pending orders. Margin call is at 40 percent and stop out is at 20 percent.

ECN Zero Accounts and ECN Accounts have trade volumes between 0.01 and 100 lots. There is a maximum of 300 pending orders and no limit on orders. Margin call is at 80 percent and stop out is at 50 percent.

FXTM Pro Accounts allow for trade volumes of 0.01 to 250 lots, with 300 pending orders and unlimited orders. Margin call is at 80 percent and stop out is at 50 percent.

FXTM Trading Platforms

Those with ForexTime accounts can use MetaTrader 4 and MetaTrader 5. This compatibility with the top forex trading platform eliminates the learning curve for those who switch to FXTM from another broker.

It also means that there is a wealth of resources and tutorials available, both from ForexTime and other sources. Of course, that also means that traders get all the great features of the MetaTrader platforms.

Those who prefer to trade on the go will also appreciate the support for applications for tablets and mobile devices.

In terms of MetaTrader 5, clients get access to Level II data and all execution modes. They also get an extensive range of order types and trading signals with MQL5.

You can use MT5 for FXTM on PC, MAC, mobile, and tablets. There are versions for desktop, iPhone/iPad, Android, Mac, and WebTrader. You can read more about any of these specific versions of MT5 or download them via ForexTime’s website.

Clients can use MetaTrader 4. Its user-friendly features are cutting-edge, and they will have access to all of the major trading instruments. They will also get automated trading via Expert Advisors, and support for multiple currencies and languages.

Like MT5, MT4 is available for nearly every device you can think of. You can learn more about or download the versions for PC, iOS, Android, Mac, WebTrader, or Multi Terminal via the ForexTime website.

One very useful part of the ForexTime website is a comparison between MetaTrader 4 and MetaTrader 5. That way, clients can choose which platform from MetaQuotes will work best with their FXTM trading experience.

The comparison includes the key differences, including order execution types, partial order filling policies, order filling policies, pending order types, and hedging.

It also includes netting, market depth, technical indicators, timeframes, graphical objects, email systems, economic calendars, strategy testers, and the embedded MQL5.community chat.

ForexTime Web Trader

As mentioned, ForexTime works with WebTrader for MT4 and MT5. This lets you access the markets on a PC or Mac without the need to download any software.

The MT4 version includes support for 18 languages, one-click trading, an intuitive user interface, 9 timeframes, real-time quotes, comprehensive account history. It also includes advanced analysis tools, real-time quotes in MarketWatch, and reliable data protection.

The MT5 WebTrader includes hedging options, built-in technical and fundamental analysis tools, an advanced strategy tester, real-time market depth.

It also includes detailed trading history, 21 timeframes, 3 chart types, support for 18 languages, over 300 tools, real-time quotes, reliable data protection, and one-click trading.

ForexTime Mobile Trading

As mentioned, ForexTime supports mobile trading for convenience. This includes the MetaTrader 4 and MetaTrader 5 applications for both iOS and Android devices.

With the MT4 mobile application, you get real-time quotes, 9 timeframes, 24 analytical objects, 30 technical indicators, trading history. You also get real-time interactive charts, all trade orders available, all execution methods available, multiple chart types, and full control of your trading account.

MT5’s mobile application includes real-time quotes, trading history, 24 analytical objects, 30 technical indicators, a full-featured trading system with Market Depth. It also includes hedging and netting functionality, built-in chat, push notifications, up-to-date financial news.

Additionally, it includes availability of all trade types and execution methods, complete trading account control, and optimization for iPads.

Additionally, there is an FXTM Trader Application that lets you trade more than 250 instruments while on the go. This is a new trading application and it delivers lightning-fast mobile trading for iOS or Android.

That mobile application includes unlimited access to MyFXTM as well as cross-platform trading, 250+ financial instruments, no need for extra downloads.

It also includes one-click trading for quick market action, real-time updates that include live currency updates, and state-of-the-art charting tools. In addition, a trading dashboard with your balance, profit, and margin as well as the ability to open, close, or modify positions within a matter of seconds.

ForexTime Performance Statistics

FXTM shares its performance statistics on its website to deliver transparency and show potential clients what they can expect from the broker.

FXTM verifies all of its performance statistics before publishing them. That verification is done with PricewaterhouseCoopers Limited (PwC). This is in accordance with the International Standard on Assurance Engagements (ISAE) 3000.

According to ForexTime, the company publishes all these statistics to reset the benchmarks and standards of the forex industry. Also, to improve transparency and to enhance awareness.

In terms of statistics related to clients and customer service, the average wait time is less than 12 minutes. More than 84 percent of client funds are processed within just five minutes. FXTM receives feedback that is more than 90 percent positive.

You can also view graphs on the FXTM Performance Statistics webpage that display the order execution speed, slippage, and requotes.

At the time of writing, each of these graphs displays the statistics for each month of 2018. Order execution speeds are lowest for Pro trades, which get as low as 0.050.

The slippage graph shows that most FXTM clients get to take advantage of positive slippage while enjoying reduced negative slippage. In 2018, positive slippage got as high as 85.82 percent in March. Negative slippage got as low as 14.18 percent in the same month.

Looking at the requotes, you see that ForexTime has a competitively low rate that the company is striving to improve. The requote rates in 2018 never averaged above 2.08 percent and got as low as 1.51 percent.

To supplement these performance statistics, ForexTime lets traders connect with a Strategy Manager to copy their trades via FXTM Invest. To assist with the decision, ForexTime displays the live rankings for top performers, with all the data verified by PwC.

ForexTime Market News

ForexTime has a streaming news Feeder that comes from FX Street, the Forex News Timeline. This is to give traders all of the information they need to make educated trades.

Additionally, there is an Economic Calendar from FX Street. Clients also have the option of setting up SMS alerts for major market news. That way, they can take action immediately and never miss out on an opportunity.

ForexTime Market Analysis

FXTM delivers an analysis of the market that includes FXTM Trading Signals. There are both weekly and daily reports. The Daily Market Analysis covers a range of topics with articles of varying lengths from the experts at ForexTime.

There is also a specific market analysis related to Brexit via a Brexit Countdown and guide.

Those who prefer videos over reading will appreciate the daily market analysis videos. These come from ForexTime’s market research team and include things like the latest market opportunities. The most common analysis video is an overview of the market for the week.

Additionally, FXTM offers a quarterly market outlook so traders can stay ahead of the markets. This market outlook includes the potential movements within the forex and commodity markets in the coming months.

It also features insights that can help you develop a trading strategy. Of course, it also includes expert forex and commodity technical analysis.

There is a free sample of this quarterly market outlook available for non-clients. Clients can download the full PDF without any additional cost.

ForexTime Trading Signals

You can utilize trading signals on ForexTime. This feature is available with both MT4 and MT5. There are actually FXTM Trading Signals, which are all created to interpret fluctuations in key financial instruments based on price.

These trading signals rely on price-movement scenarios that have been designed thoroughly and carefully. FXTM Trading Signals were developed by the ForexTime Head of Education.

These FXTM Trading Signals include 8 currency pairs, 3 market indices, and 3 commodities plus 3 popular technical indicators, and 2 scenarios. They also include 4 take-profit levels, 2 daily updates before the opening of the US and EU trading sessions, and protective stop-loss to protect your capital and minimize risk.

When you use FXTM Trading Signals, you can choose a strategy based on your trading style and risk profile. Thanks to the ability to use a protective stop-loss and choose profit levels, you can plan your trades. There is also the option to buy or sell as a way to boost profit potential.

Other Trading Tools

One of the innovative tools offered by ForexTime is FXTM Pivot Points Strategy which lets you identify the market sentiment immediately.

It lets you combine three popular indicators with five calculations for pivot points to improve your financial strategy.

There are 8 timeframes, real-time updates with commentary, a user-friendly interface, and downloadable pivot point indicators. Also, over 250 financial instruments, and MACD, moving averages, and momentum.

You can also find several useful trader’s calculators on ForexTime. These include a currency converter that lets you view the exchange rates at the moment for major FX pairs. It also lets you calculate foreign exchange rates of various currencies.

Another calculator is the FXTM Invest Profit calculator. This calculator has you input your investment amount, your expected profit, your profit share, and your gross withdrawal amount. This will give you the amount paid to the manager based on the profit share and the net withdrawal.

When trading with ForexTime on MT4, you can also take advantage of various trading indicators. These include an Orders Indicator, Pip Value Calculator, Pivots SR Levels, Spread Indicator, Market Data to CSV, and Day Bar Info Indicator.

Finally, ForexTime offers VPS hosting to allow for an enhanced trading experience. By using a Virtual Private Server, FXTM clients can enjoy a 99.9 percent operational connection time, an optimal connection speed.

They can also enjoy the ability to be unaffected by system errors, power outages, and connection cuts. Orders can run with minimal delay, lost data is quickly recovered, and the VPS works smoothly with a range of operating systems.

It is particularly useful for traders using Expert Advisors since it ensures the EAs can run all the time without interruption.

Educational Resources

ForexTime has a vast amount of educational resources on hand, including a section all about learning how to trade forex. This section explains the fundamental concepts within the forex trading industry.

There are free FXTM eBooks, including options for all skill levels from advanced traders to beginners. These are free for clients of FXTM.

ForexTime also offers regular workshops and seminars for its clients. These take place around the world, with each telling you the language, location, and topic of the seminar or workshop.

There are at least several workshops or seminars every week, so there should be one that appeals to most clients.

For those who cannot attend any of the workshops or seminars, ForexTime also offers free trading webinars to its clients. These take place nearly every single day and are in a range of languages with a variety of topics. You can sort webinars by language if you want.

Other educational resources from ForexTime include the forex glossary, an introduction to forex trading, forex trading for beginners, a demo account.

There are also forex trading strategies, forex trading videos, general forex educational videos, and educational articles. Clients can also find tutorials on a range of subjects, and a periodic table with investment terms.

ForexTime Loyalty Program

ForexTime offers a loyalty program in the form of Loyalty Cashback. This program gives you withdrawable cash for your loyalty instead of virtual dollars or points with limited usability.

Throughout the Loyalty Cashback program, you work your way through five different rebate levels. As long as you remain in the promotion and continue trading, you receive continuous rewards for as long as six months. The five levels depend on the amount that you deposit.

To participate in the program, register your account with ForexTime. Then, go to MyFXTM where you will find the option to join the promotion.

After reading and accepting the Terms and Conditions, make a deposit and start receiving your weekly cashback for your trades.

For a limited time, as of the time of writing, FXTM offers Double Cashback for orders made via the FXTM Trader App. This offer is only valid for orders placed via the application and lasts until March 31, 2019.

ForexTime Customer Service

As mentioned before, more than 90 percent of the feedback from clients regarding ForexTime is positive. This is a very strong indicator that the company has great customer service and client satisfaction.

The customer support team delivers multilingual service, as do the Personal Account Managers. This lets FXTM appeal to native speakers of a range of languages.

ForexTime provides technical and trading support as well, exclusive privileges for VIP clients, and makes it easy to open accounts.

ForexTime offers live help at any time from within your account area, simply hit the chat icon and you can choose a live chat option including options for Telegram, Facebook Messenger, Whatsapp or request them to call you.

Is ForexTime Safe?

Overall, FT Global Limited always follows regulations strictly. Thus, emphasizing the protection and security of clients and their investments plus client fund safety.

In addition to the company’s international regulation, it practices segregation of client funds. This ensures the safety of client funds on the off chance that something should happen to FXTM.

All of the client funds are kept in EU banks of the top tier. FT Global never uses customer funds in any investment, including operations, to ensure the protection of fund at all times. FT Global also has multiple bank partnerships to add a level of security to client funds.

In terms of security, FT Global utilizes the SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) protocol for network security. This ensures that a secure connection is used for all communications with clients. It also protects customers during any transactions they conduct with the company and ensures all customer information remains private.

The encryption includes server authentication and user identification policies. Thus, ensuring the data gets sent to the proper server and customer terminal.

It also includes encryption of data transmission as a way to stop unauthorized third-party access and data theft.

Additionally, it includes keeping data integrity and ensuring all data stays unchanged throughout a transmission.

FT Global also prides itself on delivering full transparency. The company must periodically report to its regulators and always meets strict financial standards.

Competitors

FXTM is in competition with similar brokers which have covered before, as follows:

• IQ Option
• ExpertOption
• Vantage FX
• Forex.com
• Pepperstone
• ETX Capital
• NordFX
• XTB
• XM

ForexTime Awards

Over the years, ForexTime has earned a long list of honors and awards from a range of sources.

• These include Best Online Forex Trading Company in Nigeria from the International Finance Awards and the award of Reputable Investor in Education Forex Broker from HEXUN.com.
• Best Forex Education Provider Africa from International Business Magazine and Forex Brand of the Year 2018 China from FXEye.com.
• Best Trading Conditions from World Finance and Best FX Broker Asia from World Finance too.
• Best Forex Broker Russia from FXDailyInfo and Most Innovative Broker from FXEmpire.

Conclusion

ForexTime is an online broker offering a vast assortment of account types. It has competitive spreads, leverage of up to 1:1,000, and a wide range of instruments.

FXTM clients can trade via MetaTrader 4, MetaTrader 5, or the FXTM Trader application for mobile devices.

FXTM offers a range of different account options to suit most types of traders from beginners to pro, each has different pros and cons so make sure you take time to look at what each offers.

There is a free demo account you can take advantage of before committing your money to the broker so you can get a feel for how it works. The minimum deposit is just $100 when you want to start trading for real money.

There is a good range of instruments to trade including the usual Forex and shares option.

FXTM invest is an interesting addition for copy trading ( this isn’t available in the UK though) which not a lot of brokers, apart from eToro, include in their offering. This allows you to invest in a trader of your choosing and take a share of any profits they manage to generate.

FXTM does not have their own propriety trading platform, instead choosing to provide MetaTrader 4 & 5 as options. These are well establishes pieces of software so you should feel right at home with them.

Unfortunately, FXTM is not available to traders in the USA so these clients will need to find a different broker.

Overall, ForexTime is a very solid company with good regulations, competitive spreads and a well maintained platform. We can happily recommend them to you.

Visit FXTM

The post FXTM Review (ForexTime) Is it Safe or Scam? All Pros & Cons appeared first on Blockonomi.

The FOREX market, or FOReign EXchange market, has a daily turnover of more than $3 trillion USD. That figure makes it the biggest and most liquid market on a cash basis. With the exception of the ‘weekend lull’, the FOREX market is open 24/7 and trading all the time.

Many people are attracted to the FOREX market because they think it is possible to make a lot of money very quickly, and to some degree, this is true. The amount of ‘leverage’ that FOREX brokers will let their clients use is unmatched, but using huge amounts of borrowed money is a double-edged sword.

While there are FOREX brokers that are well regulated, there are also an enormous number that aren’t located in developed nations, and operate outside of any regulation or law. Before you start trading FOREX, or give away your personal information to a ‘broker’, it is a good idea to learn a little bit more about the industry.

We have put together this guide to help you find the best forex broker for you, there are a lot of different variables and options to consider and here at Blockonomi we have spent the last year reviewing and rating many brokers, this post is a break-down of what we learned and an aim to provide the most useful list available.

We have researched most brokers on the market currently, conducting in-depth reviews of over 20 different brokers and written 100,000 words on the subject

Top Forex Brokers

We have reviewed all the major Forex brokers and have picked the following companies as our top recommendations.

These brokers are all well established, regulated in major jurisdictions around the world, provide good asset coverage and top rate trading platforms.

Broker	Regulation	Asset Coverage	Leverage	Trading Platforms
Vantage FX VisitReview	ASIC (Australia)	CFDs Forex Cryptocurrency Shares Commodities Indices	500:1	Web Mobile MT4 MT5 ZuluTrade
XM VisitReview	FCA (UK) CySec (Cyprus) ASIC (Australia) IFSC (Belize)	Forex Indices Commodities Spot Metals Shares Cryptocurrencies Energies	30:1 Retail Up to 888:1 Professional	MetaTrader 4 MetaTrader 5
ATFX VisitReview	FCA (UK) CySec (Cyprus)	Forex Indices Shares Cryptocurrencies Commodities Metals Crude Oil	30:1 Retail 200:1 Professional	MetaTrader 4
XTB VisitReview	FCA (UK) CySec (Cyprus) KNF (Poland) IFSC ( Belize)	Forex Indices Commodities Shares Cryptocurrencies	30:1	xStation ( Web & Mobile ) MetaTrader 4
FXTM VisitReview	FCA (UK) CySec (Cyprus)	Forex Indices Commodities Spot Metals Shares Cryptocurrencies	30:1 Retail Up to 1000:1 Professional	MetaTrader 4 MetaTrader 5
Pepperstone VisitReview	ASIC (Australia) FCA (UK)	Forex Indices Precious Metals Energy Commodities Cryptocurrencies	30:1 Retail 500:1 Professional	Web Trader MetaTrader 4 Meta Trader 5 cTrader cAlgo cMirror

What is FOREX Trading?

At its most basic level, FOREX trading is speculating on the value of global currencies.

The biggest players in the FOREX market are money center banks and central banks, like the Federal Reserve in the USA, or banks like Barclays. For bigger financial entities, the FOREX market is a way to move money from one country to another.

A bank also may need to hedge their exposure to a foreign currency or help one of their clients do the same thing. While this is part of what the FOREX markets do, there is also a lot of speculation by major investors and trading desks at big banks and hedge funds.

Unlike equity or debt markets, FOREX markets operate via contracts that rely on the price difference between two currencies to have value. These derivative contracts are how FOREX trading happens, no matter how big or small.

For example, a trader may want to gain exposure to the US Dollar, but that must happen as a result of the US Dollar appreciating against another currency. The most liquid currency pair on the planet is the US Dollar/Euro, which is abbreviated with the currencies’ ISO codes as ‘USDEUR’.

Major banks and hedge funds often buy FOREX contracts that will deliver the currency to their account. Most retail FOREX brokers don’t offer this kind of derivative contract and are designed for currency speculating.

How Does FOREX Trading Work?

For the individual FOREX speculator, trading usually involves the use of borrowed money, or ‘leverage’. Depending on what FOREX broker you choose to use, the amount of leverage can range from 2 or 3 times (2x or 3x) the money you have deposited, up to 500x depending on the regulations.

Regardless of the leverage, a FOREX trade starts by either buying or selling a currency pair. The currency pair will be quoted with a selling and buying price, for example:

EURUSD 1.3415/1.3418

The selling price is almost always given before the buying price, but it is a good idea to make sure.

In any event, the selling price will always be lower than the buying price. Once you decide which way you are going to trade the currency pair, you will either buy or sell it at the prevailing market price (assuming you don’t use a limit order, but more on that later).

In this example will assume that you decided to buy the pair at 1.3418.

Welcome to the Wonderful World of Pips

The classic lot size in the world of FOREX trading is 100,000 units for most major currencies. That means that when you opened the trade described above, you bought a contract that will track the performance of 100,000 Euros against the market value of the US Dollar.

Today, there are many brokers that use smaller lot sizes. However, for this example, we will use the classic lot size of 100,000.

Instead of being denominated in currency units, like shares, or an interest rate, like bonds, FOREX contracts are denominated in ‘Pips’.

For the 100,000 Euros that are the basis of our example trade, one pip would be equal to 0.0001/1.3418, or 0.00007452675. That tiny number is then multiplied by 100,000 (the lot size) to arrive at 7.45 Euros, which is the value of a pip in this example.

In plain English, for every digit up or down in the fourth position from the decimal point moves (0.000X), the value of the contract will change by 7.45 Euros. It isn’t hard to see how loads of money could be made or lost in the FOREX markets, and why there are so many brokers out there!

FOREX Market Regulations

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is responsible for regulating FOREX brokers, and it is a very good idea to limit your choice of brokers to firms that are fully regulated here in the UK.

There are some brokers that are regulated in other responsible jurisdictions (like the US or Australia), though every country will have some variances when it comes to the rules and how they are enforced. Using an unregulated broker is generally legal, but it can be dangerous, as the broker will be operating with little, if any, oversight.

The FCA has an extensive set of rules for FOREX brokers. Any FOREX broker in the UK must be fully licensed by the FCA, and will fall into one of three categories:

• Dealer License Any broker that holds a Dealer License from the FCA can engage in market making activities, and can also hold client funds along the regulations set forth by the FCA. It can also run a ‘B-book’, which allows the broker to act as its client’s counterparty, instead of brokering the trade on the open market.
• Intermediary License An intermediary license from the FCA will allow a broker to operate a ‘matched-principle’ model brokerage that is limited to Straight-Through-Processing (STP) of orders. The difference between a market-making and STP of orders will be covered below.
• Restricted Broker License A broker with this license can act as an marketer for FOREX brokers, but can’t hold client funds. This class of broker is more like an intermediary between retail clients and brokers that handle trades, more than a ‘broker’ in the normal sense of the word.

Every Class of Broker is Different

Any broker that holds a Dealer License or Intermediary License could also issue and trade in Contracts for Difference (CFDs), whereas a broker with a Restricted Broker License could market the services of a broker who has a wider range of trading instruments.

The capital requirements for all three classes of dealers are also different and may change in a post BREXIT world. For now, to hold a dealer license the minimum capital requirement is EUR 730,000. An Intermediary License holder will need EUR 125,000, and a Restricted Broker License, requires EUR 50,000.

FOREX brokers that are regulated by the FCA will have have to demonstrate that their “mind and control” is in the UK, and this means a physical presence and staff on the ground. The Compliance Officer and Chief Executive Officer have to be in the UK, and both will have to pass tests to ensure their competency.

The process for becoming an FCA regulated FOREX broker is no walk-in-the-park, which is why it is worth shortlisting brokers who are willing to comply with FCA regulations.

Best Copy Trading Brokers

Some brokers offer a featured called copy trading or social trading, which allows you to “copy” another member’s trades. Thanks to the progression of trading platforms and the spread of social media, more and more brokers are now building this feature into their sites.

The idea is simple and quite brilliant, you can sign up to follow or copy a certain trader and your trades will mirror theirs. The stand out broker who pioneered this concept is eToro.

Broker	Regulation	Asset Coverage	Leverage	Trading Platforms
eToro VisitReview	CySEC (Cyprus)	CFDs ETFs Forex Cryptocurrency Shares Commodities Indices	20:1	Proprietary Web Mobile Apps
Pepperstone VisitReview	ASIC (Australia) FCA (UK)	Forex Indices Precious Metals Energy Commodities Cryptocurrencies	30:1 Retail 500:1 Professional	Web Trader MetaTrader 4 Meta Trader 5 cTrader cAlgo cMirror
FXTM VisitReview	FCA (UK) CySec (Cyprus)	Forex Indices Commodities Spot Metals Shares Cryptocurrencies	30:1 Retail Up to 1000:1 Professional	MetaTrader 4 MetaTrader 5

Risks Involved in FOREX Trading

Highly-leveraged retail FOREX trading isn’t inherently risky in the same way that driving F1 cars professionally isn’t inherently risky. Regulated FOREX brokerages are required to report how many of their clients lose money on their platform, and most are well above 75%!

There are a few reasons why retail FOREX trading can be extremely dangerous for your fiscal health. Using high amounts of leverage is probably the most prominent reason, but the difficulties connected with trading macroeconomics directly are also pretty substantial.

Don’t go into the FOREX market blind, do your homework and learn as much as you can!

Understanding How Leverage Works

Let’s go back to the example trade of a standard lot of 100,000 EURUSD bought at 1.3418. If the position was bought in cash, there would be no leverage, and you could theoretically hold the position for as long as you would like.

For that matter, you could just buy 100,000 Euros and park them in a German bank account, and wait for the US Dollar to fall (then send the cash back to the US). This approach is seldom the case with retail FOREX trading. Instead, traders use borrowed money to buy a contract.

In this example, let’s say that you used 100x leverage to buy the contract. That means that you used 1,000 Euros to buy a contract that is worth 100,000 Euros. As we established above, one pip would be worth 7.45 Euros, which means that a movement from the purchase level of 1.3418 to 1.3315 would result of a loss of 748 Euros (or more than 70% of the money you started with).

In some cases, brokers will allow the use of 500x leverage, which would mean that the loss in the above example would be 5x higher, or 3,725 Euros (or more than 3.7x the money you started with). In most cases, a broker would force you to sell your position if your losses exceed the value of the account.

Depending on how the market is trading, you may end up owing your broker money, because it had to sell the position at a lower level to close it out as soon as possible.

The Manic Macro Environment

There is no shortage of factors that can move exchange rates on a daily basis. Depending on the strategy that a FOREX trader uses, data could make a huge impact on how the market trades. If something unexpected happens in the geopolitical environment, that can also make exchange rates jump in unknown directions.

Ultra short-term FOREX traders (scalpers) are more or less immune from the macro factors that affect medium-term traders. In fact, some scalpers use the release of market data to make their trades.

The takeaway from all this should be that using loads of leverage to trade in a market that is extremely unpredictable is very risky. Not only can you lose all the money in your brokerage account, but you can also end up owing your broker loads of money you may not have.

Common Trading Platforms & Software

There are a few industry standard trading platforms for the FOREX market, and some brokers have also created their own platforms that get great reviews. The vast majority of platforms will look and feel like Meta Trader 4 (MT4), which was the go-to platform for decades.

• MT4 Meta Trader 4 was released back in 2005 by Metaquotes Software, and has become the most widely used (or copied) FOREX trading platform there is. As a result of its popularity, there are countless programs that have been designed to work with MT4. Some create trading signals, and others are trading bots that make trades based on algorithmic models.
• MT5 Meta Trader 5 was created to be the successor to MT4, but it hasn’t been the knock-down success that many thought it would be. While MT5 does offer some features that MT4 lacks, many of the third-party programs made for MT4 won’t work with MT5. Most major FOREX brokers will allow you to choose which platform you want, and there really isn’t a one-size-fits-all solution.
• Currenex Currenex isn’t going to be a good fit for smaller retail traders. Instead of dealing with your broker, Currenex connects you with market liquidity providers (full ECN), and usually requires $20,000 USD to start using the platform. On the plus side, you will be getting the actual market rates for currency pairs, which is attractive for bigger traders.
• Proprietary Platforms Many of the larger FOREX brokers have created their own trading platforms or advanced options that work with MT4. Each one of these platforms will be different, and your broker will be able to explain the different trading platform options you can use.

How Brokers Make Money

Every single FOREX broker is going to have a different way of doing business. Some may offer zero fee trading and make their money from the spreads (more info below), while others will charge a flat fee per trade, and offer tighter spreads.

It is a very good idea to learn about which kind of FOREX trading strategy fits your goals before you decide on a broker. Some brokers have special account types for scalpers, while others ban the practice outright!.

• Fees & Spreads There is no way to give a comprehensive description of all the ways that brokers apply fees to FOREX trading. We will concentrate on some of the most important terms, so you can sort through a broker’s fee structure before choosing to give them your business.
• Spread The spread refers to the difference between the bid and ask price for a FOREX contract. In the example used earlier, the price was quoted as: EURUSD 1.3415/1.3418 The spread between the two prices is 3 pips, which would have a value of EUR 22.35 on a standard lot of 100,000 Euros. In a practical sense, the spread determines the value of your contract, which is important to keep an eye on. If the spread widens substantially, it could force a margin call from your broker. Every broker will have different policies on how margin calls work, but it is important to understand that when spreads widen, you could be in for some trouble. Low market liquidity or major events can cause spreads to widen, and the only way to protect yourself is to use smaller amounts of leverage.
• Broker Fees Every FOREX broker will have a fee structure, and it may vary based on the account type you select to use. There are four main ways that FOREX brokers make their money:
• Trading Fees Much in the same way that a stockbroker will charge a client when they buy or sell a share, a FOREX broker can charge you when you open or close a position. Some may have trading fees that are based on the lot size, while others may offer flat fees regardless of how much you buy.
• Spread Markups One of the ways that FOREX brokers offer ‘zero fee’ accounts is by using larger than normal spreads to make money. If the broker is able to buy the EURUSD contract at 1.3417 and sell it to you at 1.3418, they will make money. Many brokers offer accounts for new FOREX traders that use this system, as it is far more simple.
• Financing If you plan to hold on to a leveraged position for more than a single trading day, your broker will charge you interest on the money that you are borrowing to keep the position open. The amount a broker will charge varies, but it is generally in the single digits on an annual basis.
• Commissions Instead of charging a flat fee for FOREX trades, some brokers use a commission-based model to make money. The client will pay a small percentage of their trades, usually measured in basis points, to the broker. Be sure to talk to your broker before you start trading so you understand all the additional fees that you will have to pay!

What to Look For in a Broker

Every FOREX trader will have different needs from their broker. One of the most important things to do is decide on how you want to trade the FOREX market and base your choice in broker on your trading habits.

Clearly, you will also need to know that you are doing business with a reputable broker that will treat you fairly, and pay you when you ask to withdrawal money. Some brokers will charge you when you deposit or withdrawal money, and this is important to consider.

If you plan on making weekly contributions to your trading account, a broker that makes you pay to deposit funds isn’t going to be a good fit!

It is also worth mentioning that there are many unscrupulous operators in the online FOREX industry. Some will refuse to allow you to withdraw money, and other operations are designed to steal your identity and financial information outright.

Dealing with a broker who is regulated by the FSA basically removes these risks. That is why regulation is so important, especially in an industry which has seen an influx of bad actors over the last decade.

Account Types / Demo Accounts

Today, major FOREX brokers will have some sort of multi-tiered system for client accounts. There is generally an account that is aimed at smaller traders, or people who are just starting out in FOREX trading. These lower-level accounts generally have ‘zero-fee’ models which make money from marking up the spread or dealing directly with the broker.

There are two different ways to trade in FOREX. One is called ECN (Electronic Communication Network) trading, and this means that you are actually dealing with a counterparty that isn’t your broker.

The other form is called ‘market-maker’ trading, and this means that you are trading directly with your broker. In other words, if you make money, your broker loses it. There is a substantial debate about how honest market-makers really are. If you are dealing with a regulated broker, and there is an issue, you have some legal recourse.

In any event, every broker listed below will allow you to open up a demo account before you start trading with your real money. Some brokers will let you demo its platform for months, while others will give you as little as a week.

Even if you have loads of experience trading FOREX, it is a good idea to use the demo account for a little while, and make sure you understand how everything works!

Order Types and Execution

When you are ready to trade, you will have a few different options in how you buy or sell a FOREX contract. The simplest way to trade is to use market orders, which the broker will fill at the current market prices.

Keep in mind that the market prices may change before the broker can fill your order and that the price you pay can change.

If you need to be sure your order is being filled at a certain price, you can use limit orders to try and buy or sell a contract at a given level. All you have to do is tell the broker what level you would like to buy or sell the contract at, and if the market moves to that level, it will be executed.

One of the most important orders there is in FOREX trading is the STOP LOSS order.

A stop loss order allows you to set a predetermined level at which your trade will be closed. This will make sure you don’t lose more money than you can afford to do without, or get caught pumping money into margin calls for a trade that will end up eating you alive.

The TAKE PROFIT order is the positive opposite of the STOP LOSS order, and lets you sell your winning position at a given level of your choosing.

Customer Service

FOREX firms have mixed reputations in the area of customer service.

Many FOREX brokers have only been around for a few years, and their turnover of clients is generally high. Once someone loses all their money in a single trade, they rarely come back for more.

Some of the bigger firms tend to deliver great service to their larger clients, while smaller accounts will struggle with getting their complaints heard. There are numerous things that can affect the FOREX market, and the broker may not be able to control all of them.

For example, if you are using an ECN broker, and the spreads widen after an economic announcement was made, the market action is beyond the control of the broker. It is important to get a feel for what a FOREX broker can and can’t do, before reading the huge number of FOREX broker reviews online.

Again, we highly recommend you limit your choices to brokers that are regulated by the FCA, or a similar authority in an established jurisdiction.

Conclusion

Statistically speaking, the vast majority of FOREX traders will lose money in the market. Part of this has to do with what actually drives FOREX market movements, and part of it is the eye-watering amount of leverage that retail investors are offered by many FOREX brokers.

Over the last two decades, there have been numerous new FOREX brokers entering the marketplace, which has democratized FOREX trading to a much greater degree than ever before. Some brokers will allow you to start trading with as little as $50 USD in your account, which can then be leveraged up to as much as $25,000 if 500x leverage is permitted by the regulator.

The 20% (approximately) of the FOREX traders that make money probably aren’t using huge amounts of leverage, and also have years of experience in both macroeconomics and how FOREX markets actually work. The good news is that with smaller account sizes on offer, younger people can get into the market and start learning with far less money than ever before.

If you decide to start trading FOREX, use this article as a starting point for your learning. If you go into the FOREX market with little knowledge, and big expectations for profit, you will probably be unsuccessful.

However, it is worth noting that when FOREX trading strategies are combined with a high level of geopolitical and economic knowledge, the potential for profit is enormous. That is how George Soros made more than a billion US Dollars in one day when he ‘Broke the Bank of England’!

The post Best Forex Brokers: Fees & Comparison Complete Guide appeared first on Blockonomi.

NordFX prides itself on offering minimal spreads with immediate order execution. The spreads on major currency pairs are just 0.2 to 2 pips, lower than most competitors. That savings helps increase profits while cutting expenses. Clients can also take advantage of the leverage ratio of up to 1:1,000, which clients can use for both metals and all currency pairs. Accounts, deposits, and withdrawals are all available in USD for ease of use.

Visit NordFX

NordFX began in 2008, and clients have opened more than 1.2 million accounts since then. These clients are spread across more than 100 countries. NordFX’s parent company is NordFX CY (NFX CAPITAL CY LTD) which is headquartered in Limassol, Cyprus.

Clients will also appreciate the range of assets you can trade with NordFX. There are 33 forex currency pairs, as well as equities investments, Cryptocurrencies and precious metals. The various platforms offer something for all trading styles, including mobile accessibility. NordFX also supplies reliable, stable trading due to the stability of its platforms and servers. Thanks to the servers and platforms, orders are executed in just 0.5 seconds.

It is also very quick to register for an account, with the entire process taking place online for convenience. This means that new clients can start trading nearly right away.

NordFX Account Types

There are four types of accounts available from NordFX. All account types give you access to a trading manual and MetaTrader 5. With a Fix account, there are no commissions and the minimum deposit is just $10. The spreads for this type of account start at 2 pips and you can enjoy credit leverage of up to 1:1,000. These accounts can have their balances in USD, BTC, or ETH and have a quote precision of four digits. With this type of account, clients can trade 28 currency pairs as well as gold and silver.

Pro Accounts still have no commission and have the same leverage and account balance currencies. There is a minimum deposit of $50 and the quotes are precise to five digits. The spreads start at just 0.9 pips with this account type. The access to assets is also greater, with 33 currency pairs plus metals and cryptocurrencies.

The Zero Account is ideal for traders who want the lowest possible spreads as spreads go from 0.0 pips. There is a minimum deposit of $100 and there is a commission of 0.0045 percent per trade on each side. You have the same three account balance currencies and leverage with access to 33 currency pairs, cryptocurrencies, and metals.

Finally, NordFX offers a Crypto Account with a minimum deposit of $1 and spreads from one pip. The accounts can be in USD, BTC, or ETH and there is access to 16 cryptocurrency pairs plus four cryptocurrency indices. There are maker fees of -0.02 percent (paid to the trader) and taker fees of 0.09 percent.

Account Verification Requirements

In general, NordFX does not require any documents to register an account. Even so, it is sometimes necessary to supply documents to verify an account. If this is the case, you will need to submit scans of a photo ID as well as proof of residence, with the information on those documents matching the information on your trading account registration. You will need to verify your account if you plan to use your bank card to make your deposit.

NordFX Demo Accounts

NordFX does offer a free demo account without any expiration date. The lack of expiration date is nice since many other brokers limit the amount of time that traders can use a demo account. The only thing to keep in mind is that if your demo account is inactive for more than 14 days, it gets automatically deleted. You can easily create a demo account via MetaTrader 4 or MetaTrader 5 or in the Trader’s Office for your live account.

Viewing the Trader’s Office

The Trader’s Office is where you will find your account information on NordFX. You will see it when you log into your account. If you go to the Personal Settings section of the Trader’s Office, you will see your personal data as well as key account parameters, including the account type, selected credit leverage, and balance. This is where you can choose to transfer funds to either MT4 or the Trader’s Office. If you do not select an option, the default is crediting the funds to your MT4 balance. For those concerned about security, you can limit the IP addresses from which it is possible to access your Trader’s Office. To do so, enter the IP addresses that are allowed, separating each by a comma, new line, or space.

NordFX Deposits & Withdrawals

To appeal to a range of clients, NordFX offers a range of funding methods. You can fund your account in USD, EUR, or RUB using a bank transfer, which will take three to five business days. Your bank may charge fees for this, but NordFX will not. You can also make an instant deposit via Visa or MasterCard with these three currencies without a commission.

Alternatively, NordFX supports over a dozen online payment systems, all of which are instant. Those without fees include Ngan Luong (in VND), DCPay (in USD or EUR), Fasapay (in USD or IDR), Alipay (in USD or CNY), Yandex.Money (in RUB), Alfa-Click (in RUB), Neteller (in USD), Skrill (in USD or EUR), and QIWI (in RUB). You can deposit USD, EUR, or RUB via WebMoney for a fee of 0.8 percent but not more than $50. You can make Visa or Maestro deposits via Neteller for a fee of 1.75-4.95 percent or 0-4.95 percent, respectively. There is a fee of $0.50 for USD deposits with PayWeb and a commission of 4 percent when depositing THB with PayToday. Finally, you can deposit USD or EUR with Perfect Money, which has a fee of 0.5 percent with premium or verified accounts and 1.99 percent with unverified accounts.

Withdrawal methods are nearly identical with a few notable exceptions and a longer transfer period. Withdrawals via bank transfer take three to five business days. Withdrawals via Visa and Mastercard take five to six business days and cost 4 percent plus $7.50. PayToday has instant withdrawals with a commission of 2 percent. The other online payment systems take a business day for withdrawals. QIWI, Neteller, PayWeb, and Ngan Luong do not charge fees, while WebMoney charges the same fee for withdrawals as deposits. Skrill charges 1 percent and Perfect Money charges 0.5 percent.

There is also a final option of withdrawing from your NordFX account as an internal transfer in USD or EUR without a commission. It is instant for consolidated accounts and takes one business day otherwise. Keep in mind that all withdrawals are just processed between 9:00 and 18:00 CET. Withdrawals submitted after this time limit will be completed the following business day and NordFX does not process withdrawals on weekends or holidays.

If for some reason you make a deposit, but the funds do not get credited to your account balance, you can visit the Trader’s Office online and then head to the Lost Transfer Notification section. There, leave a notification that includes the transfer details. The money should arrive in your account within a business day after this. If it does not, you should email the NordFX Finance Department.

Trading Platforms

You will find NordFX traded on MetaTrader 5, MetaTrader 4, iPhone/iPad, Android, and MultiTerminal.

MetaTrader 5

MetaTrader is an extremely popular platform, and MetaTrader5 is the most modern version available. There are several advantages you will find from the other platforms and it is designed more for the exchange trade and Forex market, as well as trading cryptocurrencies. Metaquote, the developer, considers it promising because of its efficiency in operations trading on the exchange market and technical analysis in real-time that is comprehensive.

Some top advantages of MetaTrader 5 include:

• Plenty of statistical and graphical data for exchange trading efficiency.
• May be able to get news from leading agencies.
• For use with exchange trading cryptocurrencies.
• 7 order types and market executions.
• MetaTrader 5 Strategy Tester offers expert advisors and high-precision rapid testing of selected strategies.
• Possibility of getting volumes offered at current prices or ‘Depth of the Market.’
• Plenty of scripts, graphical tools, expert advisors, and other technical indicators built-in to help with technical analysis that is highly accurate and essential to providing advice in transactions and decision making.

It’s fast when placing sell or buy orders and with the wide selection of trading strategies, you have many order types available. The programming language with this platform allows you to use expert advisers and apply individualized indicators, offering higher speeds of execution and more accurate price dynamics analysis.

MetaTrader 5 is available as a download for desktop or an application for either Android or iPhones.

MetaTrader 4

MetaTrader 4 allows for trading on the forex market as well as precious metals trading. With this platform, you can enjoy instant execution as well as market execution and access a range of order types to let you adapt your trading style. MT4 makes it possible to create then test scripts and indicators. MetaQuotes Language 4 is easy for developers to use to create expert advisors and indicators to test your trading strategies. Or you can use the built-in indicators and the other graphical tools available. MetaTrader 4 is commonly considered the standard for forex trading, meaning that there are many tutorials and support resources available. MetaTrader 4 also has high-grade security for the trading transactions and can incorporate news feeds right into the platform.

Some advantages of MetaTrader 4 include:

• Newsfeed integration from multiple agencies, such as Dow Jones, the world-famous agency.
• Tools that allow for real-time technical analysis.
• Ability to create then test your own scripts and indicators.
• Both Market Execution and Instant Execution.
• Various time intervals available for trading.
• Superior security.

Because of its popularity and widespread use, NordFX traders can use MetaTrader 4 on a lengthy list of devices. There are desktop versions for both Windows and Mac as well as mobile applications for both Android and iPhone.

MultiTerminal

NordFX also appeals to those who manage multiple accounts or traders with several accounts by offering trading via MetaTrader 4 MultiTerminal. This platform is specifically designed for managers and traders who have to work with multiple accounts simultaneously. The interface is highly user-friendly, and it includes all of the major features of the MetaTrader 4 platform.

With MT4 MultiTerminal, you can place a buy or sell order, modify an existing order, and close a position either partially or fully. There is also automatic or manual distribution of the required trade volume for every individual account. Of course, this platform also has the expected high levels of security via Advanced Security for safe data transmission.

Some key advantages of the MetaTrader 4 MultiTerminal include:

• Ability to fully or partially close positions.
• Ability to make and change buy and sell orders.
• Only carries out operations in the investor’s account, allowing for some supervision of the actions of the manager.
• Choice of automatic or manual distribution of the trade volume required for every account individually. (This is done either by letting the program distribute trade volumes automatically based on equity ratios or using algorithms of equal distribution.)

It is important to note that using an MT4 MultiTerminal platform is somewhat challenging for all but advanced traders. As such, NordFX strongly suggests that you read the User Guide for this particular platform before using it and that you first test the program using a demo account. You should also keep in mind that with the MetaTrader 4 MultiTerminal, all of the managed accounts must be on a single server.

Mobile Trading Devices

iPhone and iPad

MT4 for your iPhone is designed to be used with MetaTrader 4 users. Those with iOS mobile devices will be happy to learn the application facilitates foreign exchange instruments online trading from anywhere at any time. One benefit of the application is that it provides an intuitive interface as well as many of the functions from MetaTrader 4 to provide for successful trading while mobile.

Some features you can expect to enjoy include:

• Three chart styles: broken lines, candlesticks, and bars.
• Total account control.
• Real-time quotes on financial instruments.
• Direct trading from the chart.
• Entire trading history.
• Real-time, interactive charts with scrolling and scaling.
• Full trading orders set, as well as pending orders.
• Simple to use interface.
• Charts have volumes and trading levels clearly displayed.
• Thirty different oscillators and indicators.
• All types of trading operations executed and supported.
• Minimal data used.
• 7 different timeframes: D1, H4, H1, M30, M15, M5, and M1.
• Network allows for secure data transmission.
• Can go offline. (Trading history, charts, quotes, and current trading positions).

This application is available from the Apple Store, with a link on the platform description on NordFX’s website.

Android

The features of the Android platforms available from NordFX are essentially identical to those of iOS platforms, including the full list of features mentioned above. The Android application has an intuitive interface and delivers the features of MetaTrader 4.

To download the Android application, you can visit the Google Play Store, click the download link in the application description on the NordFX website, scan the QR code on this page on your phone, or download it via email.

With either MetaTrader mobile applications, whether it is for iOS or Android, it becomes possible to trade on NordFX wherever you go at any time. The applications have full functionality, although the smaller size of your smartphone screen does somewhat limit the ability to view information in a chart in great detail. These applications are, however, incredibly useful for beginner traders who do not want to use complicated strategies. They can also be helpful for advanced traders who have to be away from their computers for a period of time and want to confirm that their trading strategies are going as planned.

NordFX Managed Investment Products

NordFX offers Investment Funds as a simple, transparent, and affordable method of investing in shares of leading companies around the world. New investors with limited amounts to invest can also use these funds to take advantage of professional asset management.

The Pro-Industry Fund from NordFX has an expected yield of 27 percent per annum and includes companies like Motorola, Nike, Ferrari, HP Inc, McDonald’s, Johnson & Johnson, Pfizer, Boeing, and Coca-Cola. This fund has a minimum investment amount of $1,000 USD with an investment period between six months and a year.

The Pro-TECH Fund includes AMD, Adobe Systems, NVIDIA, Cisco Systems, Apple, Microsoft, Intel Corp, Electronic Arts, and Alibaba for an expected yield per annum of 40.9 percent. The minimum investment is $3,000 and the investment period can range from 3 months to one year.

Finally, the Pro-Expert Fund includes Netflix, Visa Inc, Amazon.com, Mastercard, PayPal, Facebook, FedEx, Google, and 21 Fox. The investment period is three months to one year with a minimum investment of $5,000 and an expected yield of 57 percent per annum.

In addition to the NordFX Investment Funds, the broker offers other investment products. These instruments offer maximum protection of investments along with potential profits that exceed bank deposits. NordFX creates a balance by allocating some funds to lower-risk financial instruments that are less profitable and some to instruments that are relatively risky but have a greater potential for profit. These products include guaranteed income and capital protection. You can sort the options by the minimum investment amount and/or the term of investment.

NordFX Trading Tools

As with any reputable broker, NordFX offers a range of tools traders to use to help them strategize and make a profit. One of these features is regular analysis and market news, including weekly forecasts for both forex and cryptocurrencies.

Unsurprisingly, there is also an economic calendar that lets traders know which upcoming events may influence the markets. The economic calendar includes the time and date for each event, as well as the title, the currency, the impact, and figures for actual, forecast, and previous. It is also possible to use filters on the economic calendar to better view the events relevant to your trading strategies.

NordFX traders can use the Trader’s Calculator to calculate their potential profit. You begin by entering your account type, leverage, and currency. From there, the calculator lets you input your trading positions. For each, you indicate the instrument, the position size, and sell or buy. The open and close prices are filled in automatically. Once you press calculate, you will see the calculated price, the pip value, the spread, the swap, the margin, and the profit for each position. At the bottom, there are total calculations that account for all the positions input into the calculator, displaying the total profit and total margin.

All clients of NordFX also get access to trading signals via MetaQuotes Software Corp. These trading signals are integrated right into the MetaTrader 4 platforms and let traders connect with thousands of different trading signal providers worldwide. Traders can then automatically copy the preferred signals right in their accounts. NordFX also lets clients become signal providers to increase their income. The Signals service has an easy subscription and includes protection against wrong calculations for trading lot sizes as well as excessive deposit loads. It is highly secure for the signals providers and traders and includes transparency for the trading history.

Neither traders nor providers must allow third-party access to balances and accounts; you do not even need your password to subscribe to the Signals. Depending on the chosen signal, it will have a fee or be free of charge. Other than this, using Signals does not increase commissions or spreads and the subscription term is typically one month.

NordFX also works with Fozzy, a hosting provider, to give traders the ability to use a VPS. The Fozzy Forex VPS sits with the NordFX servers and helps traders ensure they experience 24/7 trading worldwide without any interruptions. The price for the forex VPS from Fozzy for NordFX clients is twice cheaper than the standard price, delivering savings. Because Fozzy VPS is right by NordFX trading servers, there is an excellent transfer rate of less than a millisecond, 200 times faster than the exchange rate you get between the NordFX server and your computer. There is also 24/7 uptime with the VPS so expert advisors can trade without interruptions. The service is also simple to use and reliable thanks to daily backups of all the stored data.

Educational Resources

NordFX gives traders access to a vast range of educational resources as well. The Learning Center is an online resource that provides traders with the resources they need regardless of their skill levels. The educational information there can help all traders develop skills and get insights for successful trading. There are sections for forex, a glossary, the economic calendar, a Trader’s Guide to Markets, and the ability to test forex robot advisors. Both the forex section and the glossary supply the expected information, detailing what you need to know about the forex market and its basics in the former while the latter includes an extensive list of definitions.

The Trader’s Guide to Markets is especially useful with a range of topics, such as how to start trading with MT4 and MT5, the calculator, articles on various strategies, trading crypto, cryptocurrency strategies, using 1:1,000 leverage, and more.

The section for Testing Forex Robot Advisors looks at some of the more popular robot advisors for forex trading and tests them out. There are a range of advisors tested in this section, including simple to difficult ones and those that are free as well as paid advisors. To expand this section, NordFX also welcomes traders to submit their own results when using some of the robot advisors.

NordFX Awards

NordFX has received several dozen awards over the years. Going back to 2010, the broker earned the Best Forex Dealing Service award from China’s Financial Annual Champion Awards HeXun. 2011 saw the broker earn the 7^th Guangzhou International Investment & Finance Expo’s Best Forex Broker Trading China and Academy Masterforex-V’s World Best Forex Dealing Service honors. 2012 honors included a repeat of the latter, as well as the World Best Micro Forex Broker honor from the same organization and the title of Best Broker for Trading with Advisors from the IAFT Awards.

In 2013, NordFX won CFI.com Magazine’s Best FX Broker in Asia; MENA 12^th Forex Show’s Best Forex Arabic Platform; China Forex Expo Awards’ Best Micro Forex Broker; and Academy Masterforex-V’s World Best Bonus Program, World Best Dealing Service, and World Best Micro Forex Broker. 2014 saw a continuation of honors from Academy Masterforex-V, including World Best Micro Forex Broker, World Best Broker with Trading Signals Service, and World Best Forex Dealing Service. From the Forex Awards Ratings, the broker earned the title of Best Micro Forex Broker and Best Forex Broker, Russia.

2015 included honors from the Forex Awards Ratings for the Best Micro Forex Broker and Best Execution Broker. That year, NordFX received the honors of World Best Forex Broker, World Best Micro Broker, World Best Broker for Copy Trading, and World Best ECN Broker from Academy Masterforex-v. NordFX also earned the title of Best Broker in Asia from the IAFT Awards and Best Broker/Forex Trading India from the IAIR Awards.

2016 saw a repeat of the last of these awards as well as honors for Best 24/7 Customer Service (from Forex Expo Awards), Most Reliable Broker 2016 (from the Forex Awards), World Best Broker (from Academy Masterforex-V), and Best Affiliate Program (from Forex Awards Ratings). In 2017, NordFX earned the titles of Most Reliable Broker from ShowFx World, Best Bonus Programs and Promotions in Asia from the Forex Expo Awards, the Best Broker to Work with Cryptocurrencies from the IAFT Awards, the Best Forex Affiliate Program and World Best Broker from Masterforex-V EXPO, and Best Crypto Broker Asia from the Forex Awards Ratings.

So far in 2018, NordFX has already received the title of Most Trusted Cryptocurrency Broker from the Global Brands Awards. The broker has also already received the honors for Best News & Analysis Provider from Fxdailyinfo Awards and Best Broker for Trading Cryptocurrencies from the International Business Magazine Awards.

How Is NordFX Customer Support?

You can access NordFX customer support by clicking on the support button by the top right of the page. Alternatively, you can click on Contact in the main navigation menu. This will take you to the contact form, which asks for crucial information. Start by selecting the department you wish to contact, with options including customer service, payments, technical support, marketing, introducing brokers, and human resources. From there, you input your name, email address, the subject, and your message, say whether you are already a NordFX customer, and complete a quick human test to prevent spam.

At the bottom of this page, you will also find the phone numbers for support, with specific numbers listed for China, the Russian Federation, Thailand, India, and Sri Lanka. The support email address is also listed here, as is an address in Vanuatu. This page also has a brief FAQ section. While it answers the most important questions, it is not as extensive as the FAQ sections on some competitors.

Competitors

NordFX is in competition with our similar brokers which have covered before, as follows:

• Plus500
• AVATrade
• IQ Option
• 24option
• ExpertOption
• Vantage FX
• Forex.com
• Pepperstone
• ETX Capital

Conclusion

NordFX is a broker that provides access to trading for forex, precious metals, and cryptocurrencies. NordFX prides itself on offering very tight spreads, and it has a range of deposit and withdrawal options.

This broker has a good reputation and a range of account types to meet the varying needs of clients from retail traders to more experienced traders.

Their trading platform is good with a range of options to suit most traders.

A stand out feature of NordFX is the face they also offer managed investment funds, something that not many other similar brokers offer.

Visit NordFX

The post Beginner’s Guide to NordFX: Complete Review appeared first on Blockonomi.

eToro

eToro is an Israeli broker founded in 2006. The platform is known for its social trading functionality (copy trading) and for having a large number of CFD instruments.

Visit eToro

Deposits and withdrawals

eToro supports deposits and withdrawals via credit cards, bank transfer, cryptocurrencies, PayPal, Skrill, Neteller, Rapid Transfer, UnionPay, IDEAL, Sofort, Giropay and Rapid Transfer. The minimum amount of opening deposit depends on the country of the client: from $50 for USA and Australia to $10,000 for Israel. After an opening deposit a client may deposit $50 upwards (or $500 upwards in case of bank transfer). No deposit fee is charged.

The withdrawal fee is fixed at $5. The minimum withdrawal amount is $30. If you open a deposit or make a withdrawal in a currency other than USD, you will have to pay upward of 50 pips for currency conversion. Only 10 withdrawal currencies are supported: USD, EUR, GBP, AUD, IDR, RMB, THB, MYR, PHP and VND.

Tools for trading

eToro specialises in CFD (contracts for difference) and Forex trading, but users can also trade equities, cryptocurrencies and ETFs without leverage. All index and commodity trades and all leveraged trades are CFDs. In total, there are more than 2,000 instruments on the platform.

Among eToro’s innovations are CopyTrader (copying other users’ trades) and CopyPortfolio (investing in top traders’ portfolios).

When trading with leverage, the maximum leverage for retail clients in the Forex market is 30x, 10x for commodities, 5x for stocks and 2x for cryptocurrencies. Currency pairs trading is not available for clients from Russia.

Trading commissions

Trading in equities (not CFDs) is free and commissions for CFDs are relatively low. However, eToro has relatively high commissions on Forex pairs. The cryptocurrency spread ranges from 0.75 per cent for VTS and up to five per cent for XTZ. There is a small fee for rollover (overnight).

In addition to trading commissions, eToro charges a fee for inactivity: $10 each month if you haven’t  logged in for a year or more.

Referral programme

The Refer a Friend programme offers a $50-$100 bonus for each user who joins through a referral link. However, both the client and the referred client must live in one of 44 specific countries. Russia, Ukraine and CIS countries are unfortunately not on the list.

Security

eToro is supervised by three financial regulators: Cyprus, UK and Australia. Depending on the client’s country of residence, the account is registered with one of the three subsidiaries and receives the appropriate protection:

• UK: £85,000
• Australia: no deposit insurance
• Other countries: €20,000

For EU retail clients, there is negative balance protection for forex pairs and CFDs. In addition, all investments (regardless of their country) are protected by an insurance deposit of up to $1m from Lloyd’s, but only should eToro’s become bankrupt. The broker can cancel the insurance at any time.

Trading 212

Trading 212 was launched in Bulgaria, but has now moved its headquarters to London. Trading 212 is the most popular mobile trading app in the UK (15 million downloads), although the tools available are limited compared to other brokers.

Visit Trading212

Deposits and withdrawals

Trading 212 allows deposits and withdrawals from $1 and for bank transfers from $10 with no fees. If you use a currency other than the base currency for your account (usually US dollar and local currency), you will need to pay a conversion fee. The system supports bank cards and transfers, as well as a number of e-wallets (PayPal, Giropay, etc, depending on the country). Withdrawal to your card takes on average one business day.

Tools for trading

The broker offers three types of accounts with different sets of available instruments. A CFD account allows you to trade CFDs only. For those registering an investment (Pro) account or ISA account (UK citizens only), stocks, cryptocurrencies and ETFs are available.

The maximum leverage for retail clients is 30x, but the specific leverage for each instrument is different. For Pro accounts, leverage is available up to 500x.

Trading commissions

Trading 212 has fairly low commissions on CFD instruments, although they are higher than on eToro. Trading commissions on forex pairs range from medium to quite high. There are no commissions for trading stocks and ETFs, but these instruments are not available to everyone. The total number of instruments on Trading 212 is more than 2,500.

The currency conversion fee is 0.5 per cent. Unlike eToro and Plus500, Trading 212 does not charge for an inactive account.

Referral programme

If a new user joins using a client’s referral link and makes a deposit, both the new user and client receive one free share each. The maximum you can get is 20 shares worth no more than $100 each chosen at random. Unfortunately, the programme is available only in 12 countries: UK, Germany, Austria, France, Italy, Spain, Switzerland, Ireland, the Netherlands, Luxembourg and Liechtenstein.

Security

The broker is regulated in the UK and Cyprus. The same mandatory deposit protection applies as on eToro: £85,000 for UK users and €20,000 for all others. The insurance will protect you only in the case of Trading 212 going bankrupt.

Plus500

Plus500 is an international CFD broker headquartered in Israel. Plus500’s shares are listed on the London Stock Exchange. The company was founded in 2008 and is registered with the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), the Israel Securities Authority (ISA), the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) and others.

Visit Plus500

Deposits and withdrawals

Deposits can be made from a Visa/MasterCard, a bank account or an e-wallet: PayPal, Skrill and some regional systems are supported, depending on the residence country of the user. Minimum top-up amount: $100 by card, $300 by bank transfer. There are no commissions.

One of Plus500’s advantages is free withdrawal of funds. Keep in mind that one can withdraw money only five times a month for free. After that, a $10 withdrawal fee is applied. There may be an additional withdrawal fee of $6 for withdrawal to a bank account. Each withdrawal method has its own minimum limit, which on average is $100.  If you wish to withdraw less than this, you will need to pay an additional $10 withdrawal fee.

Withdrawals take three to seven business days, with the first one to three days used for security checks.

Tools for trading

The CFD list on Plus500 includes around 70 currency pairs for forex trading, as well as more than 25 stock indices, around 20 commodities, 15 cryptocurrency pairs and numerous stocks, options and ETFs. In total, there are around 2,500 different CFD instruments available.

Plus500 also provides margin trading, with a maximum leverage of 30x for standard clients and 300x for professional traders.

Important: no scalping is allowed on the platform, which Plus500 defines as opening positions of less than two minutes in order to profit from short-term price movements.

Trading commissions

Many transactions on Plus500 are technically free on particular deposits and withdrawals, but with restrictions. Opening and closing positions are also free of charge. Every transaction includes a spread, on which the broker earns money. Several types of transactions are subject to a separate commission: overnight, currency conversion and guaranteed stop order. There is a fee for inactivity: $10 per month if you have not logged into your account for more than three months.

Referral programme

To join the 500 Affiliates programme, you need to have your own website, and it must be approved by the platform. You attract traders by using a marketing toolkit for your website: banners, widgets, etc. Remuneration amounts range from $200 to $800 per referred trader, plus up to 10 per cent of commissions paid by referrals.

Security

As Plus500 shares are traded on the LSE, its financial statements are publicly available. The broker is regulated by eight different regulators. The degree of protection of clients depends on their country of residence. For example, traders from the EU, Switzerland and Norway are covered by insurance for €20,000, clients from the UK are covered by  £85,000. For EU retail clients, there is also protection against negative balances. Traders outside of these territories are not covered by insurance.

Currency.com

Currency.com is one of the few fully regulated crypto exchanges in the world and the largest regulated marketplace in the CIS. The main difference between Currency.com and other exchanges is the ability to trade tokenised assets. The company is headquartered in the UK and is known for low spreads and transparent commissions.

Visit Currency.com

Deposits and withdrawals

Deposits and withdrawals can be made by bank card, bank transfer, SEPA payment system for EU residents and Yandex.Money e-wallet. Given that Currency.com is a crypto exchange, deposits and withdrawals can be made in cryptocurrencies: BTC, ETH, XRP, LTC, BCH, USDT as well as DeFi tokens UNI, COMP and LINK. Available currencies for deposit are USD, EUR, GBP, RUB and BYN. The minimum deposit amount is $10. Most withdrawal requests are processed the same day and deposits are processed within 20 minutes.

Currency.com has a simple and transparent commissions system: 3.5 per cent for deposits from card and e-wallet, and 2.4 per cent + $3 for withdrawal to Visa and 1.9 per cent + $3 for withdrawal to MasterCard. Depositing from banks is absolutely free and withdrawal will cost 0.15 per cent (minimum $20, maximum $150). Withdrawals to an offshore bank account incur a 15 per cent surcharge.

Tools for trading

The platform supports more than 1,500 tokenised assets including top cryptocurrencies, stocks, commodities, currencies, ETFs, indices and corporate bonds. Tokenised assets are a safer and more affordable alternative to CFDs and real equities: thanks to Currency.com, any Bitcoin and Ethereum owner can earn from various tokenised financial markets.

Account holders can trade any instrument with leverage:

• up to 500x for tokenised currencies;
• up to 200x for tokenised commodities;
• up to 100x for tokenised indices and cryptocurrency pairs BTC/USD, BTC/EUR and ETH/USD, ETH/EUR;
• up to 20x for tokenised shares, other cryptocurrencies and ETFs.

Currency.com supports more countries than almost any other major trading platform. The services are not available to residents of only 21 jurisdictions. They are Albania, Bahamas, Barbados, Botswana, Cambodia, Ghana, Iceland, Jamaica, Mauritius, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nicaragua, Pakistan, Panama, Syria, Uganda, Yemen, Zimbabwe, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), Iran and USA.

Тrading commissions

The fee charged by Currency.com depends on the type of transaction. Two modes are available on the platform:

Trading (spot market):

 cryptocurrency: 0.2 per cent

• tokenised equities, indices, commodities and ETFs: 0.05 per cent
• tokenised bonds: 0.03 per cent
• tokenised currencies: 1 per cent

Trading with leverage:

• takers (crypto): 0.075 per cent
• makers (crypto): -0.025 per cent

Commission for makers and takers only applies to cryptocurrencies and DeFi tokens, leverage trading for 1,539 tokenised assets including stocks, commodities, ETFs, currencies, bonds and indices are currently commission free. This promotion is valid to January 31, 2021.

Referral programme

Currency.com has two programmes:

• Affiliate: for business owners with a website and anyone who has clients of their own. When you bring a client to Currency.com, you will earn 40 per cent of the commissions paid by them over 24 months and your referral partner will get a 12 per cent discount on commissions.
• Referral: for anyone. You will earn 50 per cent of your referrals’ commissions for six months. Your referral will also receive a 10 per cent discount on commissions for three months. The number of referrals is unlimited.

The programmes are open to Currency.com customers from all supported countries.

Security

The platform is strictly regulated in accordance with the legislation of the Republic of Belarus. Cryptocurrency legislation in Belarus is advanced, making it an extremely attractive jurisdiction for blockchain projects. It is the favourable regulatory regime that allows Currency.com to offer services in more countries than other platforms, as well as to offer faster and cheaper deposits and withdrawals.

The company conducts regular audits. Currency Com Limited is also DLT-licensed by the Gibraltar financial regulator.

Conclusion

All of the presented platforms have a good reputation and a high level of security and service.

Currency.com offers favourable trading conditions for customers. Tokenised assets, unlike CFDs, can be withdrawn to ERC-20 compliant crypto wallets, allowing assets to be safely stored on the Ethereum blockchain. No leverage fees on tokenised assets allows you to profitably hedge price risk and protect your investment portfolio. Low commissions, regulation and accessibility to citizens of almost all countries all make Currency.com an attractive investment platform compared to other brokers in the European and international market.

The post Currency.com vs Popular Brokers: Which is The Best Platform to Invest With? appeared first on Blockonomi.