FXCM

International clients will be trading under the subsidiary Stratos Global LLC, which is not regulated by any authority and is registered in St Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG). 

CFD brokers registered in SVG are not required to segregate client money from company operational capital, nor are they required to participate in compensation schemes. They are also not required to offer negative balance protection and have no leverage restrictions. 

While FXCM does hold all client money in segregated client trust accounts, it does not offer Deutsche negative balance protection, which means they can lose more than their initial deposit.

Leverage is also high – up to 400:1, and FXCM has low minimum deposit requirements. This means that it will be difficult for traders who deposit small amounts to hold a substantial trading position without losing the money in their trading account and possibly going into a negative balance. 

Overall, because of its strong international regulation, segregation of client funds, and history of responsible behaviour, we consider FXCM a safe broker to trade with. However, traders should be aware of trading with low minimum deposits and high leverage, as this could see their trading accounts wiped out.

The account-opening process at FXCM is fully digital, but the process is slower than at other brokers.

Traders are eligible to open an account at FXCM, but need to meet the minimum deposit requirement of 50 USD.

FXCM offers individual, joint, and corporate accounts, but we will focus on opening an individual account:

1. Click on the “Open Account” button on the home page.

2. Traders are required to select their country of residence and trading platform.

3. Traders are then directed to FXCM’s secure server to complete the online application. This requires filling in one’s name, email address, and selecting their preferred base currency. Traders are also required to fill in their contact information, employment status, and financial status. 

4. The next step requires creating a password and agreeing to FXCM’s terms of service.

5. Lastly, traders are required to upload documents to verify one’s identity and residency. You can upload a copy of your ID/passport for verifying your identity, and a bank statement/utility bill for verifying your residency. 

Overall, FXCM’s account-opening process is fully-digital, but it takes longer than usual for the support team to verify one’s account.

FXCM’s’ range of financial instruments for CFD trading include Forex, share CFDs, commodities, cryptocurrencies, and indices.

Unlike other brokers that offer a range of accounts with higher minimum deposits linked to tighter spreads, FXCM offers one commission-free Standard account with wide spreads and an Active Trader programme. In order to become an active trader, clients must meet the minimum combined notional volume of USD 10 Million on a monthly basis. However, FXCM does not offer the Active Trader programme to clients trading under the Bermuda-based entity. These traders merely receive a rebate for high-volume trading.

Unfortunately, FXCM has not made the average spreads and data on individual currency pairs available, which is unusual for a large broker.

FXCM offers one live account with trading costs included in its variable spreads. This means that the spread will fluctuate and get wider or tighter depending on trading volume and market volatility. Overall, at 13 USD per lot traded, FXCM’s trading costs are higher than the industry average. The trading costs on the EUR/USD at other good brokers tend to be around 9 USD per lot traded.

Swap Fees

Another important cost to consider is the swap rate charged on positions held overnight. Interest is paid (or received) for each night a position is held. When trading a currency, you are borrowing one currency to purchase another. The swap interest fee is calculated based on the difference between the two interest rates of the traded currencies. Unfortunately, FXCM does not publish the swap fees on its website.

Overall, the trading costs and swap fees at FXCM are higher than other brokers.

We opened and tested FXCM‘s accounts:

Standard Account

The Standard Account is a commission-free account with a minimum deposit of 50 USD. Spreads average at 0.74 pips on the EUR/USD, which is wider than other similar brokers. Traders have the option of becoming Active Traders or copy-traders on the Zulutrade platform. 

Active Trader Account

Active Trader status is achieved by maintaining a trading volume of over 10 million USD, which can be achieved with a minimum deposit amount of 25,000 USD (in combination with leverage). Benefits of the Active Trader programme include rebates of between 5 – 25 USD per million traded.

Active traders also receive dedicated customer support, two free expedited withdrawal requests per month, free access to multiple APIs, complimentary VPS hosting (dependent on the tier), and free access to high-end institutional derived FX data through an eFXplus premium subscription.

Demo Account

The Trading Station Demo has 5000 USD virtual money and expires after 30 days of inactivity.

FXCM‘s mobile trading support is better than other brokers.

FXCM offers traders easy access to the Forex market with the Trading Station and MT4 mobile platforms, available on Android and iOS.

Trading Station

The Trading Station mobile platform allows trades to be placed and managed on the go through its simple, well-designed, and intuitive interface. The mobile platform boasts the same functionality as the desktop version of the platform, making it easy to open and close trades, view charts, and various technical analysis data.

MT4

Traders should be aware that there is some loss in functionality when compared to the desktop trading platform, including reduced time frames and fewer charting options, but traders can close and modify existing orders, calculate profit and loss, and trade on the charts.

Trading Station

Winner of the award for Best Proprietary FX Platform 2012 from Forex Magnates, this award-winning platform has continued to impress FXCM customers.

The features are similar to MT4, including EA integration, micro-lot trading, custom indicators, strategy optimisation, strategy backtesting, and advanced charting. But in contrast to MT4, Trading Station is easy to use and requires less setup. That said, MT4 is still used by many other brokers, so traders who may switch brokers in the future might prefer to use industry-standard software. Other features of Trading Station include:

• A news calendar is integrated into the platform.
• Education and research accessible through the platform
• Customised trading analytics
• A wide range of charts

MetaTrader 4

MetaTrader 4 is still the industry standard even though its successor, MetaTrader 5, has been available for some time. MetaTrader 4 has been around since 2005, and most ECN and STP brokers offer its support.

The advantages of using MT4 are numerous, but most centre around the community support and the number of users that the tool boasts. Support is available for MT4 from FXCM customer support, and you will also find a wealth of guidance online.

Setting up MT4 is more involved than with Trading Station, but should you wish to change broker or operate multiple accounts at different brokers simultaneously, MT4 is a better platform choice. Other features of MT4 include:

• A built-in library of more than 50 indicators and tools to streamline the analysis process.

• An impressive array of analytical tools, available in nine timeframes for each financial instrument.

• Live price streaming on live accounts and demo accounts 128-bits encryption for secure trading

• Algorithmic trading, which allows any trading strategy to be formalised and implemented as an Expert Advisor. 

• Customisable alerts

Specialty Platforms

FXCM supports a number of specialty platforms for experienced traders.

• QuantConnect: An algorithmic trading platform with API integration.
• MotiveWave: A platform for technical traders with advanced tools.
• AgenaTrader: A powerful platform for professional traders.
• Sierra Chart: A professional platform with numerous 3rd party tool connections.
• SeerTrading: An algorithmic trading platform with strong back-testing capabilities.
• NeuroShell Trader: A technical trading platform for building custom strategies for manual and automated trading.
• StrategyQuant: A machine-learning automated trading platform.

A well-regulated broker, FXCM ensures that all Anti-Money Laundering rules and regulations are followed, and as such, all withdrawals are returned to the deposit source.

Traders can deposit and withdraw funds either by credit/debit card, Skrill, Neteller, or via an EFT/Bank Wire Transfer. FXCM does not charge administration fees for deposits via credit card, debit card, and bank transfer. There are also no withdrawal fees for credit or debit card transfers, but bank wire withdrawals incur a fee of 40 USD. 

Deposits via bank transfer can take several business days to land in a trading account, while credit card/debit card and e-wallet transfers are instant.

Withdrawal by bank transfer takes 3 – 5 days to be processed, and credit/debit cards and e-wallets are processed within 24 hours.

FXCM offers fewer base currencies than other large international brokers, and it charges high currency conversion fees.

FXCM only offers accounts denominated in USD. This means that Deutsche with bank accounts denominated in PHP will have to pay currency conversion fees on deposits and withdrawals. Currency conversion fees can make trading expensive and affect profitability.

For traders that trade in high volumes (over 10 lots per month), it is better to open a USD-based account at a digital bank. Digital banks usually offer bank accounts in several currencies with great currency exchange rates as well as free or cheap international bank transfers. 

FXCM is unique in the number of algorithmic trading tools available and a strong set of premium signals, a Technical Analyzer, Trading Analytics, and social trading via Zulutrade. Additional major toolsets at FXCM are apps, VPS hosting, and API tools to build custom applications for algorithmic trading.

Zulutrade

Clients can also follow top traders through the Zulutrade platform for 30 USD/month. A social trading platform, trades are executed with FXCM’s competitive spreads, and 25% of profits are paid to the trader if they earn a successful return on investment. Clients can trade shares, forex, CFDs, and cryptocurrencies on Zulutrade. Zulutrade selects its traders using advanced algorithms and a dedicated trading desk.

FXCM Apps

FXCM Apps include different expert advisors, apps, and indicators, some of which are free. The FXCM App Store has add-ons for all the supported platforms and is broken down into the following areas.

• MT4 Expert Advisors and Automated Strategies
• Indicators
• Scripts and Add-ons
• Standalone Apps

API Trading

The API trading toolset is a way for traders to build their own applications and use the APIs offered by FXCM to connect those applications to different data sources. These connections are required to build smarter algorithmic trading applications. FXCM offers four free APIs, each connecting directly to FXCM’s trading server: a REST API, FIX API, Java API, and a ForexConnect API.

fxcmpy Python Package

The fxcmpy Python Package enables application builders to use a REST API in their applications, creating algorithmic trading strategies.

VPS Hosting

FXCM offers two VPS solutions, charged at 30 USD or a currency equivalent per month. 

VPS hosting allows traders to run automated algorithmic strategies, including expert advisors 24 hours a day 7 days a week on a virtual machine. VPS services have the advantage of never suffering connectivity issues and have extremely low latency due to their proximity to major international exchanges. 

TradingView

TradingView is free of charge for traders who open a live account. It is an excellent tool for researching, charting, and screening any instrument. Additional features of FXCM’s’ TradingView tool include:

• 50+ intelligent charting tools
• Over 100,000 custom user-built indicators and scripts
• Synchronised layout for multiple charts

FXCM provides excellent insights through various third-party tools.

FXCM’s market analysis comprises news delivered by third-party providers, including Trading Central. It also has a detailed economic calendar, Market Data Signals, and a Market Scanner.

Like other brokers, FXCM offers a complementary economic calendar and daily economic news containing some light analysis. However, FXCM takes its analytical offering one step further with Market Data Signals and the Market Scanner – tools to help traders uncover potential trading opportunities in the market.

The Market Data Signals, which are also posted to the FXCM Markets Data Twitter account, are a collection of technical signals ranging from indicator data to asset pricing and market impact.

The Market Scanner helps traders uncover potential trading opportunities based on preferred indicators and timeframes. Some traders prefer to trade a limited set of currency pairs, while others will enjoy trading unique patterns using specific indicators over longer or shorter timeframes. In this way, the Market Scanner is a unique tool for technical traders. Still, it is important to note that it does not consider a trader’s personal circumstances and trading objectives; therefore it should not be considered investment advice. As always, be aware that past performance is not indicative of future results. 

Forex Trading Guides

The Forex Trading Guides at FXCM includes a set of 5 downloadable eBooks, a good educational resource for beginner traders. These books can be printed and used as study material when away from a computer screen. The eBooks introduce Forex basics, trading strategies, trading habits, the FXCM’s proprietary Trading Station platform, and how to identify potential trading opportunities on the market.

Video Tutorials

The video library is organised into different categories that span from more broker-focused topics like making deposits on the platform, to more advanced trading topics like order types that help traders manage risk in trades, charting, and advanced features. Additionally, this section has an introduction to the Trading Station platform on both desktop and mobile. Since this platform is unique to FXCM, new clients will find these videos very useful.

Free Online Live Classroom

Run by Senior Market Specialist, Russell Shor, webinars are run four times a day. The webinars help traders develop trading strategies and learn about major economic events around the world. An archive of previous webinars is also available on the site.

Overall, the educational materials available are comprehensive, in-depth and cater to traders of all experience levels.

Support is available in 19 languages, and FXCM’s phone support is available for free for residents of 42 countries.

For the purposes of this review, we found the live chat and phone support responsive, and we received answers to our emails within one day. Additionally, the customer support was well-informed and provided extra reading material where relevant.