FXCM Review
In the following review of FXCM, our experts will take you through every important detail that you need to know about what the broker offers. FXCM was established back in 1999, and now is headquartered in the UK. The broker has quickly managed to gain a great reputation; it has won dozens of awards and its parent company, Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE: JEF), is also listed among the Fortune 500’s companies.
FXCM is regulated by three agencies from three countries, including Australia, the United Kingdom and South Africa. These licenses ensure that your funds are stored in segregated accounts and some jurisdictions, you’re also eligible for fund insurance.
FXCM is the best broker for someone who wants to enter the trading world and improve their knowledge/skills. With its extensive educational and research materials, you can really take your trading game to the next level. Read on to find out more.
FXCM Background and Regulation
FXCM is a truly international broker that operates all across the globe. Our review of the broker’s trading site revealed that FXCM was established in 1999 with the goal of introducing safe trading practices across Europe.
Within a short period of time, FXCM received licenses from five different institutions:
- Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) – The UK
- Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) – Australia
- The Autorité de Contrôle Prudentiel et de Résolution (ACPR)/The Autorité des Marchés Financiers (AMF) – France
- Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) – South Africa
Trading CFDs and spot instruments (70+ in total) under the supervision of these agencies is much safer. With FXCM, your funds are stored on segregated bank accounts so that should anything happen to the company, your money will be safe. Plus, in some jurisdictions, including that of the UK and France, you are also protected by fund insurance schemes.
- Website: www.fxcm.com
- Support: +44 20 7398 4050
- Leverage: 2:1
- Min. Deposit: £300
- Spreads: 0 pips
- MacWindowsAndroidLinux
Advantages
- Fast execution speeds
- High leverage
- Lots of research tools
- Helpful customer support
Disadvantages
- No bonuses
- No negative balance protection for retail customers
FXCM Account Types and Trading Conditions
FXCM offers two main retail account types; the Standard account and the Active Trader Account.
The standard account offers average spreads of 1:3 for EUR/USD and of 2.0 pips for GBP/USD. With this account, clients can enjoy the following leverages, depending on which entity they’re trading with:
FXCM Ltd caters for clients who reside in the UK and Europe:
- Forex Pairs – up to 30:1
- CFDs – up to 20:1
FXCM AU, FXCM ZA and FXCM Markets (for clients who reside in Australia, South Afica and other countries respectively):
- Forex pairs – up to 400:1
- CFDs – up to 200:1
A huge benefit of trading with FXCM is that the broker allows traders to begin with minimum deposits of only £ 300 (FXCM LTD) and $50 (other entities).
If you are a high-volume trader, we’d also recommend checking out FXCM’s Active Trader program. With this account, you can take advantage of lower spreads and other benefits. To qualify for the Active Trader program, you’ll first need a normal FXCM account. After that, your monthly trading volume should exceed $50 million, and you must maintain a minimum account equity of $25,000 for a given month.
FXCM Mobile and Desktop Trading Platforms
Once you sign up at FXCM, you immediately get the opportunity to choose your preferred trading platform. One of the many reasons why FXCM is a highly rated forex broker is that it offers a multitude of trading platforms. This includes the broker’s proprietary platform, Trading Station, MetaTrader 4, ZuluTrade, TradingView and Ninja Trader. The availability of trading platforms does, however, depend on which FXCM entity you are trading with.
With Trading Station, you can use all the available trading instruments, indicators, and charting tools that make FXCM so advantageous. Plus, there’s also an auto trading feature and trading signals.
With MT4, these features are still present while some others are added as well, including stop-loss/take-profit orders and VPS hosting. MT4 is also a great platform to choose if you want to use EAs and robots. There’s also the ZuluTrade platform that is dedicated to social trading. With ZuluTrade, you can copy other traders’ positions and learn new skills along the way.
As if that wasn’t enough, with an FXCM account you’ll also gain a one-year free subscription of TradingView Pro. TradingView’s advanced charts, technical indicators, and other features will greatly benefit your positions.
FXCM Educating and Training Materials
During our FXCM broker review, we discovered that a great emphasis is placed on teaching clients to become the best trader they can be. With FXCM, you can benefit from online courses and webinars held by economists and professional traders. In these courses/webinars, you’ll get a better grasp of everyday economic developments and how they affect your trades.
You can also open a demo account that has a virtual balance of 20,000 USD (50,000 GBP for FXCM Ltd) and offers you all the tools you’d get in a live trading account. This allows you to put your new knowledge into practice, without risking your own money.
On top of that, there are other educational materials such as tutorial articles, interactive videos, glossaries, and an extensive FAQ section. What’s more, you can access these materials on your iOS or Android mobile.
Customer Support at FXCM
If you have any questions about the way things work at FXCM, or you encounter a problem, you can always contact customer support 24 hours a day, 5 days a week. You can do this from both desktop and mobile devices via email, phone, or live chat.
During our FXCM review, our team contacted FXCM’s support a couple of times and their responses were very friendly and helpful. Plus, there are different phone lines for over 40 areas, which is super-convenient for international traders.
FXCM – Final Summary
In this review, we checked out yet another broker that impresses us with its generous offerings and sturdy platforms. FXCM is an online broker that originates from the UK but has quickly gained global acclaim.
The broker is regulated by three institutions, the UK, Australia, and South Africa. These institutions should provide you with great confidence in FXCM, as they are some of the strictest authorities around.
Another impressive aspect of FXCM is its wide range of trading platforms. Not only can you choose between industry-leading software options, but there’s plenty of indicators and signals to help you maximize your trades. FXCM also offers you a range of over 70 instruments with lucrative conditions, such as a 400:1 leverage ratio (30:1 for FXCM Ltd), spreads from 0 pip, and execution speeds around 0.026 seconds.
Sign up to FXCM today to experience an accomplished broker that appeals to both beginner and veteran traders.
FAQs
- How can I sign up for FXCM?
Creating an account at FXCM is a simple and quick process. To get started, visit the broker’s homepage and click the Open Account button. You’ll then need to select which trading platform you want to use, and what base currency you prefer. After that, you’ll need to supply some personal details and a photocopy of your proof of identity and address. During this review of FXCM, our experts found that registering should take around 10 minutes.
- Is FXCM safe?
Yes, FXCM is one of the safest and best brokers around. You will benefit from multi-jurisdictional licenses and regulation, which serve to keep your funds secure. On top of that, you’ll also be protected by SSL encryption, compensation schemes, and various risk management tools.
- Does FXCM charge commission fees?
No, FXCM does not charge commission fees for CFDs. There are also no commissions for making deposits, no matter what banking method you choose. Overall, this allows you to benefit from low-cost trading options.
- What products can I trade with FXCM?
By creating an account at FXCM, you get the ability to trade 70+ instruments. The main product class here is forex, which is why the broker offers 39 currency pairs and 3 currency baskets. However, if you want to diversify your portfolio, you can also trade cryptocurrency, index, commodity, share CFDs. Note, however, that the availability of these instruments is subject to regulations.
- How much money do I need to trade with FXCM?
The minimum deposit at FXCM depends on which entity you’re trading with. You will need to fund your account with at least £300 if you are trading with FXCM LTD, whilst you will only need $50 to trade with other entities.
