Since its foundation in 2001, the Admiral Markets Group continues to expand its services globally. The presence the company have in multiple geographical location enhances the support provided to clients wherever they choose to trade. Read all about Admiral Markets in this comprehensive review.
Operating since 2001, Admiral Markets is a trusted forex broker now being used on a global scale. Its level of client support is enhanced through the company’s global presence. As an ASIC, CySEC, and FCA regulated broker, Admiral Markets presents many strengths and weaknesses for traders and investors seeking to use their services.
Known for its reliability and simplicity, Admiral Markets is gaining a larger client base and is continuing to provide quality service and competitive spreads for global markets trading on the MetaTrader 4, MetaTrader 5 and cTrader platforms. Admiral Markets offer traders both a demo account option as well as a live account.
Admiral Markets offers 3 types account types, a Trade Account which a standard account, A Zero Account which is commission based and an Invest Account for Admiral Markets clients in the UK and Europe who wish to trade equities and Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs).
All Admiral Market accounts offer the same basic features
Admiral Markets clients in Australia will need 100 (AUD, EUR, GBP, USD, SGD) in their account to start trading. Clients of Admiral Markets in the UK and Europe will need 100 (EUR, GBP, USD, CHF) or 200 (BGN), 1000 (CZK), 750 (HRK), 25,000 (HUF), 250 (PLN) or 250 (RON). These currencies are also available as your base currencies.
Admiral Markets offers 2 have two options for each of their CFD trading accounts. These are .MT4 and .MT5 which defines the trading platform available for each account. MT4 is MetaTrader 4 and MT5 is MetaTrader 5 and certain financial instruments are not available with each platform. This is because MetaTrader 4 does not handle derivatives that need to go through an exchange as well as MetaTrader 5. As a result, MetaTrader 5 can offer more CFD choices and a larger range for each choice.
Other differences to note include
Admiral Markets Trade AccountsAdmiral Markets calls their Standard Account, Trade.MT4 and Trade.MT5. Standard accounts have no commissions which mean spreads are widened in place of commission, Admiral Markets adds at least 0.5 pips to these spreads.
A spread-only account is popular with beginner traders as no commissions simplify costs when trading. Long-term traders also may prefer this account as the cost savings compared to STP and ECN style accounts may not be significant enough to concern them.
When choosing a Trade account there are some details to keep in mind. These include
Admiral Markets Zero AccountsAdmiral Markets is a no dealing desk broker (sometimes called b-book broker) which means they connect their clients with liquidity providers who provide quotes as the counterparty to each trade.
Admiral Markets uses an STP execution model when connecting you to liquidity providers such as big banks and hedge funds rather than an Electronic Data Communication Model (ECN), Direct Market Access Model (DMA) or dealing desk model by acting as a market maker.
Admiral Markets Zero Account is available for traders seeking the lowest trading costs. Spread costs with Zero account start from 0 pips. Low spreads are great for active traders and scalper as costs add up through commission with each time a trade is made.
In place of wider spread, the Zero Account utilizes a tiered commission structure for fees whereby they depend on the volume being traded. The commission is calculated using the following formula:
COMMISSION = CONTRACT SIZE X COMMISSION RATE X 2
Following this tiered commission structure, trading less than $10,000 a month will charge a minimum of $6 and as such, may be better suited for a Trade Account. Trading $10,000 to $50,000 a month will charge $4.80, meaning a Trade Account may again be more useful. However, if more than $50,000 is being traded in a month the commission will be around $3.60 and the Zero Account may be more suitable.
| Commission Side Ways Per 1K lot | Round-Turn per 1k lot | |
|---|---|---|
| $3.00 | $6.00 | |
| $10,000 to $50,000 per month | $2.40 | $4.80 |
| > $50,000 per month | $1.80 | $3.60 |
Other feature of the Zero Account to note include
View Admiral Markets Review >>Visit Admiral Markets >>
Spreads for the Trade accounts (regardless if you have MT4 or MT5) generally fare well when compared to other brokers. Spreads for EUR/USD appear to be the best of all brokers compared, while other spreads measure up well with their competitors. Australian traders should find these standard account spreads to be very good value as this broker include negative balance protection.
Admiral Markets No Commission Account Spreads | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | 0.60 | 1.00 | 2.20 | 0.90 | 1.00 |
 | 0.70 | 0.76 | 1.39 | 0.79 | 1.33 |
 | 0.70 | 1.90 | 4.30 | 1.10 | 1.30 |
 | 0.80 | 0.90 | 2.80 | 0.80 | 1.70 |
 | 0.80 | 1.10 | 1.90 | 0.90 | 1.20 |
 | 1.20 | 1.20 | 2.40 | 1.00 | 1.80 |
 | 1.19 | 1.40 | 1.68 | 1.46 | 1.59 |
 | 1.13 | 1.14 | 1.33 | 1.25 | 1.41 |
 | 2.00 | 2.00 | 3.20 | 2.10 | 2.40 |
Admiral Markets average or typical spreads are generally competitive with other brokers. Spreads for EUR/USD is as good as any broker on the market, spreads for other currency pair would be best described as mid-tier. While spreads are slightly higher then what the spreads from the cheapest brokers, its possible you can still save as Admiral Markets commissions are lower than many other brokers. This especially true if you trade greater than 10k each month.
Admiral Markets Commission Account Spreads | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | 0.10 | 0.50 | 1.10 | 0.60 | 0.80 |
 | 0.13 | 0.18 | 0.32 | 0.48 | 0.27 |
 | 0.10 | 0.20 | 0.40 | 0.40 | 0.30 |
 | 0.12 | 0.22 | 0.48 | 0.62 | 0.76 |
| 0.05 | 0.30 | 0.78 | 0.61 | 0.44 |
 | 0.20 | 0.20 | 0.50 | 0.40 | 0.50 |
| 0.30 | 0.50 | 0.60 | 0.50 | 0.50 |
| 0.40 | 0.70 | 1.10 | 0.60 | 0.80 |
| 0.10 | 0.40 | 1.20 | 0.30 | 0.40 |
Compare All Brokers Spreads >>
The available leverage when trading Forex varies depending on which entity of Admiral Markets you are trading with as compliance law that needs to be followed set by the regulator.
Retail Traders with Admiral Markets in the UK and Europe can trade with 1:30 for major currency pair and 1:20 for minor currency pairs. If you qualify for a professional account which essentially means you work in the finance industry, you manage an account of over 500k or you consistently traded large volumes over the past 12 months then you can trade with 500:1.
All Traders with Admiral Markets in Australia can trade any forex currency pair with 1:500 leverage.
An important feature of Admiral Markets is their attention to risk protection. Admiral Markets entities operating with ASIC, CySEC, and FCA regulation employ a Negative Balance Protection Policy, which enables traders to ensure their account balance does not slide into a negative amount.
For CySEC and FCA regulation, the Negative Balance Protection is offered for professional accounts (most brokers typically offer this feature only for retail accounts due to the higher leverage associated with professional accounts). ASIC does not require brokers to have Negative Balance Protection, however, Admiral Markets offer this as a feature.
As an additional layer of protection, Admiral Markets apply a margin call system, meaning they will exit your trades as a conservative measure as negative balance protection should be a last resort.
In Australia, Admiral Markets set the stop-out level at 30% for the Trade Account and 50% for the Zero Account.
In the UK and Europe, stop out level is 50% for retail traders and 30% for professional traders. Stop out means all positions will be closed when the ratio of equity to margin reaches the respective levels for each account.
By default, a call margin is enabled and set to 130%. If or when the account equity reaches 130% of the required margin then a margin call will enact and a notification will be sent via SMS or E-mail. This feature can be disabled, however, it is helpful to improve the trading experience by avoiding excessive slippage.
Furthermore, to combat losses during rapidly moving and high-risk market conditions, Admiral Markets provide a range of advanced trading settings such as automated stop mechanisms to ensure trades are closed when the market is not moving in the trader’s favour, minimizing potential further loss. This form of volatility protection is useful for traders who want to avoid exposure to extreme market volatility. For traders in France, a Guaranteed Stop Loss feature is available under Autorité des Marchés Financiers (AMF) regulation only (the relevant finance regulator in France).
Admiral Markets is regulated by the following authorities, FCA, CySEC and EFSA all fall under European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) meaning these regulators must comply with ESMA requirements set out by MiFID directives. Being part of the ESMA umbrella means regulations throughout Europe will be much the same. ASIC manages regulation for Australia and therefore is independent of ESMA meaning ASIC regulation will differ,
If you join ESMA from outside Australia then Admiral Markets will default to FCA regulation page however you can choose which website you wish to enter.
MetaTrader is an electronic trading platform designed for forex speculation trading and is arguably the most popular trading platform used by professional and retail traders around the world. Since its release in 2005 by MetaQuotes Software, the platform is provided to forex brokers for client use. MetaQuotes have developed a MetaTrader 4 and MetaTrader 5 version of the software, each with their own features. Both the MetaTrader 4 and MetaTrader 5 versions are available through Admiral Markets as account types Admiral.MT4 and Admiral.MT5. The software is typically provided through an online broker and the platform is available upon download. Today, MetaTrader 4 and MetaTrader 5 are made available for mobile trading (iOS and android) as well as through PC and Mac. The software is continuing to improve by adding more and more features, as well as adding to the list of forex pairs and other financial instruments.
In addition to the stop-loss feature as a form of risk protection, Admiral Markets offer the Supreme Edition as an extension of the MetaTrader platform for free. This enhancement tool includes a mini terminal for additional options when setting a stop loss, as well as a built-in economic calendar, market analysis tools, advanced order types and trade alerts, markets sessions map, and many more features to help traders reduce their risk when trading. The Supreme Edition is a feature intended to enhance traders’ experience.
The web version of MetaTrader is also available through Admiral Markets. This allows traders to use the program in their PC or Mac browser with no installation required.
Admiral Markets offer a range of educational resources to help encourage traders to learn and develop. Education packages are available for all users across Basic, Pro, and Advanced levels. These include courses, classes, advanced tools, and master strategies, however, the extent of available resources depends on the deposit amount. Admiral Markets also offers Forex 101 – a free forex and CFD trading course that allows traders to learn the basics before getting started with trading.
As part of their education, Admiral Markets offer a 20-day forex training course for free. The Zero to Hero program is free to register and covers a range of skills for traders to learn. Developed by professional trading coaches, the program allows users to learn steps of forex trading within a relatively short time frame. Zero to Hero encompasses the basic technical and fundamental analysis and teaches factors such as psychology and understanding of market conditions, all within 20 video sessions, Q&A, one live session, and a trading strategy.
A range of free live forex and CFD webinars are available for traders through Admiral Markets. Led by professional financial traders, these webinars are run frequently and are intended to provide insight into improving traders’ skills from novice to expert levels.
Forex and CFD seminars are also included through the broker to provide traders with the knowledge of the basics, progressing to more complex factors of trading such as indicators and expert strategies.
Admiral Markets provide traders with a range of practical and insightful resources. Analytical features include technical analysis articles through trading central, forex market calendar, comprehensive and detailed quotes, trader blogs and posts, a market heat map, and market sentiment, as well as a weekly trading podcast. Premium Analytics is now available for free to traders who sign-up. This feature provides access to a portal for news, analysis, economic calendars, and indicators.
Analytic tools are provided to help traders advance their skills through educational resources and ensure they have a good experience trading with the broker.
Retail investors looking to start trading forex may look to Admiral Markets as their preferred online broker due to the range of trading options. Having a wider variety of financial instruments may improve the trading conditions and overall trading experience, although for novice traders this would not be so vital. For investors with more experience trading forex, Admiral Markets may not be the best forex broker due to the limited range in comparison to other online brokers. The following lists provide a summary of the financial instruments available through the Admiral Markets Group.
The Trade Accounts allows trading of the following instruments.
It is worth noting that MetaTrader 5 Forex Trading platform offers the following instruments which are no available on MetaTrader 4
This wide variety of instruments is beneficial for traders wanting exposure to several types of global markets.
The Zero Account also offers a range of instruments on both the MetaTrader 4 and MetaTrader 5 platforms, however, these are limited to:
This range of available instruments limits flexibility for traders and places more importance in selecting the most suitable account.
Admiral Markets offer a wide range of other CFD in addition to forex, including cryptocurrency CFDs, index CFDs, share CFDs, bond CFDs, and commodity CFDs. TO start trading, clients need a minimum of 100 (for most major base currencies) deposited in their trading account. Some CFDs have 0% commission making the opportunity to diversify their investments relatively simple. The leverage available for CFD is as follows:
The range of currency pairs offered by Admiral Markets is less than 50, which is relatively low. However, given that the most commonly traded major, minor, and exotics are available, the majority of retail traders would not feel restricted. This is still something to be aware of before joining as it may affect particular traders wanting to trade certain pairs.
Currency pair options may vary between entities and even between accounts. The following table summarizes the brokers who offer more or less than 60 currency pairs.
| More than 60 currency pairs | 40 to 59 currency pairs | Less than 40 currency pairs |
|---|---|---|
| Pepperstone | Admiral Markets | FXCM |
| IC Markets | XM | ThinkMarkets |
| City Index | XTB | HANTEC |
| easyForex | eToro | Traders' Way |
| Forex.com | FP Markets | |
| FxPro | Hugo's Way | |
| HYCM | ||
| Fusion Markets | ||
| IG | ||
| Oanda | ||
| Saxo | ||
| CMC Markets | ||
| Interactive Brokers | ||
| Plus500 |
Note: More currency pairs do not necessarily mean the broker is better. The range of currency pairs simply indicates the availability for traders. The most commonly traded pairs are available through all forex brokers.
Social trading platforms and similar add-on tools are becoming increasingly popular among traders. Admiral Markets allow, but do not necessarily support, social trading through the MetaTrader platforms – signals by MetaQuotes and Expert Advisors through MQL5. In terms of automated or copy trading, there is no mention of add-ons such as Mirror Trader, DupliTrade, or MyFxBook. Such integration social tools are available for traders to find themselves, however, Admiral Markets do not provide them.
Under their Education section, Admiral Markets offer a detailed summary of the concept of forex trading signals, copy trading features, and more educational resources. They appear to place more emphasis on their educational resources and training programs rather than advertising common copy trading platforms.
Charting tools such as Autochartist and Trading Central are made available through Admiral Markets. These features are beneficial add-ons that allow traders to utilize fundamental and technical analysis, market sentiment, and insight, as well as signal ideas. These charting tools are presented on the MetaTrader Supreme Edition.
The customer support feature, although helpful and informative, is Europe-centric. This means that traders outside the Eurozone may struggle using the online live chat feature, as there may be a delay in response time due to offline support personnel. In addition to the live chat feature, they also offer general communication through Twitter, Facebook, and Telegram. The site also contains multiple language options to cater to their global customer support.
Admiral Markets offer a range of free options for deposit and withdrawal methods including Skrill, Neteller, Bitcoin, Credit Card, Bank Transfer, Wire Transfer, Visa and more. Deposits are free for all methods and withdrawals are also free, limited to two requests each month. The following table summarizes deposit methods, broker costs, and deposit amounts.
| Deposit method | Broker costs | Deposit amount |
|---|---|---|
| Bank transfer | Free | Any |
| Visa and MasterCard | Free | 75 - 7500 AUD |
| iBank and BankLink | Free | 100 - 200000 CNY |
| Skrill | Free | 75 - 15000 AUD |
| Neteller | Free | 75 - 15000 AUD |
| SafetyPay | Free | 1 - 5000 USD |
| AstroPay | Free | 50 - 5000 USD |
| Trustly | Free | 75 - 7500 AUD |
| Bitcoin | Free | 50 - 3000 USD |
| Rapid Transfer | Free | 75 - 7500 AUD |
| POLi | Free | 75 - 7500 AUD |
The Trade Account (spread-only account) incurs fees through the wider spreads, as it is the broker’s standard account. For the Zero Account (commission account), commissions are formed as the fees instead. Furthermore, Admiral Markets charges no additional fee for opening a trading account and only charge an inactivity fee of 10 EUR per month. Internal transfers between the same base currencies are also free, however, with different base currencies, this process incurs a fee of 1% of the transfer amount after ten free transfers.
As a reputable forex broker for 19 years, Admiral Markets remain a reliable server for traders by offering tight spreads and low commission rates. Their range of educational resources is a stand-out feature for them. Detailed information can be found at admiralmarkets.com or admiralmarkets.com.au.
Loading...
