Minimum Deposit
$250
Regulators
CFTC, CIMA, FCA, FSA, IIRO, NFA
EURUSD Spread
1 pip
US Traders
No
Platforms
FOREXTrader & MT4 for PC, MAC, iPhone, iPad and Android, WebTrader
Founded
1999
Country
UK

Forex.com touts the relatively newly added cryptocurrency-based CFDs it features, as one of its main selling points. Of course, being the global Forex/CFD brokerage that it is, the operation sees no shortage of such selling points.

It covers more than 200 global markets, including equities, commodities, FX pairs, as well as indices. It is licensed to operate in the US – quite a feat indeed for an online trading company, and its regulatory status is truly enviable for its peers.

Still, not everything is right in the virtual land of Forex.com – according to trader feedback. Some say that the operation is a market-maker, and as such, it essentially trades against its own clients. This conflict of interest is not just irreconcilable, it is also something of a mystery, in regards to how it managed to slip past US regulators.

One Click Install EA Packages

  • Alarm Manager – Customize alarms for balance, margin, P/L, consecutive wins/losses, and more
  • Correlation Matrix – Assess hypothetical scenarios, highlight strong or weak correlation between all markets
  • Correlation Trader – Inspect historic correlation between symbols in more detail and watch for, and trade, emerging differences in that correlation
  • Market Manager – Current open position and profitability for each symbol, quickly switch between different groups of symbols, ability to place new market and pending orders
  • Mini Terminal – Simple fields for setting orders in pips, open position marker, templates, and risk calculators, and more
  • Sentiment Trader – Current long/short sentiment for a market, dashboard of current sentiment for multiple symbols. Sentiment data is from FXBlue.com
  • Session Map – Shows current active session with the user’s local time as a reference point. It also includes an integrated economic calendar and key market changes.
  • Tick Chart Trader – Simple tick chart which updates every time the ask or bid price changes, tick chart plus tick speed: shows bars indicating how long the last N ticks have taken to form, indicating market activity, and more
  • Trade Terminal – Pop-up dealing form for creating pending orders as well as market orders, ability to create templates for quick order entry, displays key symbol information (pip size, value per pip etc)

Forex.com’s Background and Regulatory Profile

The company behind Forex.com is GAIN Capital Group LLC, and its US-facing branch is based at 135 US Hwy 202/206 Bedminster NJ 07921, USA. The side of the operation that offers services to US traders is registered with the CFTC, and it is also a National Futures Association member. In this regard it has to be mentioned that the silver and gold contracts featured by the broker are not subject to US regulation.

GAIN Capital UK Limited carries the Forex.com brand on the other side of the Atlantic. The company is a registered corporate entity in England and Wales. Its company registration number is 1761813. The address of the operation is 16 Finsbury Circus, London, EC2M 7EB.

The UK branch of the company is licensed and regulated by the FCA. The FCA license number of the brokerage is 113942. This license means that the operation is MiFID-compliant and as such, it can legally offer its services all through the EEA (European Economic Area). One country apparently excluded from this fold is Belgium, which is clearly noted at the Forex.com website.

In addition to the above mentioned jurisdictions, Forex.com is regulated by scores of other regulatory bodies world-over. These include Hong Kong’s SFC, Canada’s IIROC and FSA and Australia’s ASIC.

Forex.com’s Main Draw

According to its own website, Forex.com is “invested” in the success of its clients. Given the fact that the broker is indeed a market maker, one would think that it is naturally more invested in their failure…

Anyway, the operation brings superior trade execution to the table, coupled with a superb offer of trading platforms.

Scores of advanced trading tools are available and professional guidance and support is always but a click away.

The operator is indeed a truly global one, and the fact that it accepts US traders is something rather rare these days as well.

The above-detailed regulatory profile is nothing to sneeze at either. In fact, it is safe to say that very few (if any) online brokers can match it.

Forex.com Trading Platforms

Trading platform-wise, Forex.com is something of an outlier…One would expect an operator of this scale and prestige to focus on MT4 and even MT5 one way or the other, but that does not seem to be the case. While MT4 is indeed available, the focus seems to be somewhere else.

The go-to platform of the operator is the Advanced Trader. This platform features impressive visuals and charting-wise, it is quite probably the equal of MT4. It comes with more than 100 preinstalled technical indicators and users are always welcome to tweak and create their own. Some 15 time-frames are supported, and trading is possible directly off the charts. Technical analysis is further aided by an expansive package of drawing tools.

The Advanced Trader also features a massive selection of strategy templates, which display possible entry and exit points for trades. The platform also supports a number of advanced programming languages, through which traders can create and add their own strategy templates.

From a visual perspective, the most attractive feature of the Advanced Trader is the fact that its dashboards are fully customizable.

The Web Trader is obviously optimized for browser-based trading. Despite the fact that due to its nature, one would expect it to be more simplistic, it too is surprisingly powerful.

It too offers advanced charting features and technical analysis-focused perks, such as more than 70 technical indicators. More than 50 drawing tools are also part of the Forex.com web trader experience.

This platform makes advanced account management possible, including withdrawals and deposits.

Features of Web Trader:
– Smart trade ticket with advanced risk management option
– Pre-defined and customisable layouts
– Powerful charts with integrated one-click dealing

As already mentioned above, MT4 is also available as a platform-option. It comes in a traditional desktop version (which can be downloaded for free from the Forex.com website), in a Web Terminal version, as well as in Mobile versions. There’s a separate MT4 version available to those looking to run Expert Advisors (EAs).

The third branch of Forex.com’s trading platform “triad” is represented by mobile traders. Available for iOS- as well as Android-based devices, these mobile apps offer full access to the market coverage of the brokerage, as well as advanced trading features.

Multiple order types are supported, as well as real-time alerts and notifications.

Forex.com Account Types

The brokerage offers a demo account, which lasts 30 days after registration. It lets traders dip their toes into the action risk free, by trading with virtual money. After expiry, the demo account can be renewed, by contacting Forex.com support.

Other than that, there’s one real money account version really. The minimum deposit requirement on this account is USD 500, however the broker recommends that deposits of at least $3,000 be made.

Those who deposit more than $25,000 apparently gain access to Premium Account privileges.

Market Coverage

Forex.com’s market coverage is quite superb. In addition to the traditional asset categories of Forex pairs, indices, commodities and shares, it also covers cryptocurrencies. This particular asset-class is extremely interesting on account of its volatility. A special section is dedicated to it at the Forex.com website, explaining its peculiarities. Bitcoin, Ethereum, Ripple and Litecoin are supported.

It is important to note that traders cannot actually gain ownership of cryptocurrencies through Forex.com. The said assets are only traded through financial derivatives, which essentially means that one can only speculate on their price variations.

Needless to say, the spreads on cryptocurrency-based CFDs are rather on the steep side.

The brokerage does not charge commissions on any of its featured assets. Instead, the spread is used. Some say the spreads on popular Forex pairs are tight: they start from 1.2 pips on pairs like the EUR/USD, but it is important to remember that Forex.com does not offer fixed spreads.

It is also important to remember that the broker does indeed charge a monthly inactivity fee.

Deposits/Withdrawals

Forex.com accounts can be funded through credit- and debit cards, as well as through bank wire. The maximum on credit/debit card transactions is $10,000. There is no such ceiling on bank wire transfers.

The Bottom Line

A prestigious operation which is indeed truly global in scope, Forex.com is a market maker after all and one cannot just glide over that fact.

From the point of view of regulation, it is quite outstanding. The same goes for its trading platform selection and tradable asset-coverage.

Forex.com’s reputation is mixed as far as actual user-feedback is concerned.

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