NZ Forex Brokers In August 2022

TradeMax Global Markets is a Great ECN-style Broker

TradeMax Global Markets (TMGM) recently acquired an FMA financial license to operate in New Zealand. The forex and CFD broker was founded in Australia in 2013 and is well known for its competitive no dealing desk (NDD) execution and ECN trading environment.

TMGM offers commission and commission-free pricing structures, in 3 different accounts. Both main trading accounts require a minimum deposit of $100 and use fast ECN execution methods.

• Edge Account: Raw spreads from 0.0 pips + $5 NZD commission fee per side
• Classic Account: No commission spreads from 1.0 pip

An Islamic account option is only available for those following sharia law and on the edge account.

As well as a good selection of account types with low spreads, TMGM offer three popular trading platforms:

• MetaTrader 4 (MT4) – Good for all TMGM products but shares only available business hours
• MetaTrader 5 (MT5) – Good for all TMGM products
• IRESS – for share trading using DMA (Direct Market Access) only

In total, thousands of CFDs can be traded with TMGM. Just keep in mind that if you want to trade shares, IRESS is your best option as you can trade shares all hours.

Regardless of the trading platform you choose, TMGM utilises diverse liquidity sources to achieve ultra-tight spreads and fast execution speeds. Overall, there are many benefits to becoming a TMGM trader. You can access tight spreads from 0.0 pips with low commission fees and trade a wide selection of CFDs using the world’s best trading platforms.

Full TMGM review >>Visit TMGM >>

CMC Markets Has The Highest Maximum Leverage

A multi-regulated global broker with a long history of facilitating CFD trading, CMC Markets offers the highest maximum leverage across all markets. This includes leverage of 500:1 on major currency pairs and indices, 400:1 for treasuries, and 200:1 for commodities. Aside from being licensed by the FMA, the New Zealand regulator, the broker offers its brokerage services across the world with FCA regulation (formally FSA) in the UK and ASIC regulation in Australia.

Within New Zealand, the broker provides contracts for difference (CFDs) and countdowns across:

• Forex
• Indices
• Shares
• Commodities
• Treasuries
• Cryptocurrencies

CMC Markets Spreads

Most CFDs have trading costs included in the spread with no additional commission fees. CMC Markets have 330 currency pairs which start from 0.7 pips. Other CFD products with no commission fees include indices, cryptocurrencies, hard and soft commodities and treasuries.

If you do wish to purchase share CFDs, then you can trade over 9000 shares across 23 markets including NZX, ASX, NYSE and LSE. The commission will vary for each market but if you trade on the NZX (New Zealand Exchange), the fee is 0.10% with a minimum charge of NZD 7.00. Trading on the ASX will cost you 0.09% with a minimum fee of AUD 7.00 while the US stock exchange charges 2 cents (min. USD 10.00).

You can see the spreads offered by CMC on the core markets below, ranging from Forex to Cryptocurrencies.

Trading Platforms

CMC offers a choice of two different trading platforms: Next Generation, the broker’s proprietary trading platform, along with the ever-popular MetaTrader 4 (MT4) platform. Both platforms are available via a desktop trading platform, web trader platform or mobile trading apps for Android and iOS devices.

While most proprietary platforms lack advanced technical analysis tools, Next Generation is on par with third-party options like MT4. The platform offers 115 in-built technical indicators and over 70 chart patterns across 12 types of charts to help you develop robust trading strategies.

Perhaps the most interesting feature is the availability of a guaranteed stop-loss order (GSLO). As CMC has its own trading platforms, it is one of few brokers that can offer this feature. A GSLO is the same as a stop-loss order but CMC will guarantee to close out of the trade at the price you set for a small premium. This means you don’t need to worry about being caught out in the event of slippage or market volatility. Best of all, if you close your trade without needing to use the GSLO, then the entire GSLO cost will be refunded.

There is no minimum deposit to open an account with CMC, meaning you can open a trading account with as little as $1. To get started, you can deposit trading funds using a credit card, direct deposit or PayPal.

Leverage With CMC Markets

CMC Markets offers the highest maximum leverage on major currency pairs of up to 500:1. There is a high level of risk when trading CFDs with high leverage, so only experienced traders with a high-risk threshold should consider choosing the maximum leverage available.

Maximum leverage for other products is similarly high, with 500:1 for indices, 400:1 for treasuries and 200:1 for commodities. You can view more leverage information in the review of CMC Markets. It should be noted that leverage is more limited if you are trading with the broker’s ASIC (Australia), FCA (UK) or CySEC (Cyprus) regulated subsidiaries.

Should you start trading with CMC, it is useful to note that this broker does have an office in New Zealand (not all brokers do) at Level 25, 151 Queen Street, Auckland which can be useful if you desire a broker with a local presence.

Full CMC Markets Review >>Visit CMC Markets >>

IG Markets Has The Best Range Of Financial Services

As one of the largest FX brokers worldwide, IG markets itself as an all-in-one trading solution provider. They provide stockbroking, currency, and CFD trading services across a number of forex platforms.

IG Markets is a market maker, meaning they use internal liquidity to fill your orders and act as the counterparty to your trade (compared to no dealing desk brokers that connect you to external liquidity providers).

Market maker brokers like IG offer commission-free spreads, making them a good option for traders looking for a simpler cost structure. Traders also benefit from a range of risk management tools and industry-leading educational resources. You can find more about IG with our in-depth review here.

Trading Products

IG offers a large and diverse range of products for trading across over 17,000 markets making it a great option for portfolio diversification. Very few brokers offer the range of products that IG Markets provide access to. Financial products include:

• Forex, Indices, Shares CFD
• Hard & Soft Commodities
• Cryptocurrencies, ETFs, Bonds
• Options, Interest Rates, Sectors
• Digital 100s (Binary trading)

Should you wish to sign up with IG, it may be useful to know the broker does not have an office in New Zealand.

Regulation

IG is a large global broker that holds multiple regulation licences including New Zealand’s FMA. Some of the other tier 1 licences include Australia (ASIC), the UK (FCA), Germany (BaFin), and even UAE (DFSA).

Commissions and Fees

In terms of Forex, you can choose from over 100 currency pairs including AUD/USD and EUR/USD CFDs with competitive average spreads sitting around 0.8 pips. IG also offers a huge range of 12,000 shares across a wide range of markets for New Zealand traders, with market-based spreads and a 0.09% commission per side (minimum of NZ $7).

Final Verdict Of IG

IG is the largest forex broker globally but their NZ offering is weak compared to established brokers like BlackBull markets. Their brokerage is higher than other brokers and their customer support is mostly offshore. The broker is only recommended if you are looking for niche tradeable instruments that only IG offers, otherwise, an alternative broker is recommended.

Open a demo account >>Visit IG Markets >>

Plus500 Is The Best Broker For NZ Beginner Traders

Those new to trading should consider Plus500 because of the brokers:

• Easy-to-use trading platform
• Risk management tools
• Low minimum deposit of just $100

Trading Platform

Plus 500’s proprietary trading platform offers a range of useful trading tools not always found with other brokers including:

• Stop-loss order, Trailing-stop loss & Stop-limit functionality
• Guaranteed stops (locks in the maximum losses on a trade).
• Negative balance protection (ensuring only the deposit can be lost)

Plus500’s in-house trading platform is user-friendly with a wide range of CFD products, making it our pick as the top CFD trading platform. The platform features robust charting, with 109 indicators and 20 drawing tools, across 2,500 CFD products including:

• Indices – 30 indices including Cannabis Stocks, Crypto 10, Real Estate Giants
• Forex – Over 70 major, minor and exotic currency pairs
• Commodities – All the popular commodities plus some unique options like low sulphur gasoil, lean hogs, cattle
• Cryptocurrencies – 15 currency pairs including Tron, Monero, Cardano and Crypto 10 Index
• Shares/Stocks – Choice of 24 international markets such as Australia, Germany, Singapore, US, UK
• Options – including selected stocks like Amazon and Alphabet and Indices such as US 500 and UK 50
• ETFs – Over 90 ETFs

Plus500 Regulation

Plus500 is not only FMA regulated, the broker is licensed in several financial jurisdictions such as South Africa (FSCA), Singapore (MAS) and Europe (CySEC). One weakness of choosing Plus500 is that the broker does not have an office in New Zealand, which may present issues should you want to engage with the broker in person.

Final Verdict On Plus500

The easy-to-use trading platform, range of products and risk management tools is why Plus500 is recommended for novice NZ traders. While trading fees are higher than low costs brokers such as BlackBull Markets, this should be a lower consideration for those new to trading for which novice mistakes can cost significantly more than any increases in spread charges.

Open a demo account >>Visit Plus500 >>

*Your capital is at risk ‘72% of retail CFD accounts lose money’

Hantec Markets Is A Leading NZ MetaTrader 4 Broker

Hantec Markets New Zealand is part of the Hantec Group, which also operates regulated entities for forex trading in Australia, Japan, England and Vanuatu. The company has its headquarters in Hong Kong where it was founded 30 years ago and holds a licence to offer derivatives by the FMA in New Zealand since November 2018.

Hantec Trading Accounts

Choosing Hantec Markets gives you access to commission-free spreads starting from 0.2-0.6 pips for major currency pairs. The broker uses straight-through processing (STP) which means there is no dealing desk. No dealing desk interference ensures your orders receive the most optimal execution and pricing when you trade.

Trading products available with Hantec include:

• Forex
• Stocks
• Commodities (Gold, Silver, US/UK oil)
• Indices

Hantec MetaTrader 4 Platform

Hantec offers the most popular forex trading platform, MetaTrader 4, for both Windows and Mac (via an emulator). This platform is still the most used by online brokers worldwide and by many of the top retail traders participating in forex markets. MetaTrader 4 (MT4) is suitable for all levels of forex trader experience, with Hantec Markets offering different base currency options including GBP, USD and EUR. There is also the option of a demo account to trade virtual funds before going live with real money.

Final Verdict On Hantec Markets

Hantec is a solid MetaTrader 4 broker offering solid spreads, trading features and leverage. The key issue is that other brokers excel in these areas offering lower brokerage or superior trading speeds making it difficult to find a key reason to select the broker over the alternatives listed in this comparison.

Visit Hantec >>

Jarden Securities Is The Top Derivatives NZ Broker

One of the top forex brokers in NZ is Jarden Securities. Jarden specialises in trading derivatives and offers the following products for trading:

1. FX Hedging and Payment – an advisory service for forward and spot contracts
2. Equity Markets – connects NZ investors to equity products including ETFs, equities and various CFDs
3. Futures Market – access to the most active exchanges to trade financial instruments ranging from commodities to interest rates
4. Carbon Trading – a facility to trade OTC derivatives and spot carbon markets
5. Power – exchange-traded OTC electricity future contracts to help power companies hedge

Jarden Markets Trading Platforms

Jarden offers a choice of 3 platforms for trading. When choosing your platform, it is important you have mapped out your trading strategy as each platform offers different market access. The following platforms are available:

1. Jarden CommTrade – designed for Carbon trading in the NZ market
2. Jarden X24 – for competitive FX rates and international payments
3. Jarden Market Trader – the best choice for the widest range of products for trading. Good for trading forex, equities CFDs, options, futures and selected commodities.

Market Trader Trading Platform

Market Trader has lightning-fast execution which makes the platform popular with scalpers, high-frequency traders, copy traders and algorithmic traders. In addition, the platform has a number of useful technical analysis features such as multi-charting and multiple time frames. As a trader, you will have access to more than 50 order types and algorithms to assist you in making the correct trade.

If you choose Jarden’s Market Trader platform you’ll gain access to the following features:

• CFDs in multiple currencies and Direct Market Access (DMA) to options
• Risk management tools including a margin calculator
• 50+ order types and algorithms for traders looking to automate their strategies
• Daily market reports with commentary and research papers

Rockfort Markets Offers NZ Share And Forex Trading

Rockfort Markets is an FMA-regulated broker that offers both CFD and stockbroking services. Both MetaTrader 4 (MT4) and cTrader, two popular trading platforms, can be used to access the broker’s range of tradeable products. Both forex platform solutions can be utilised on mobile through iOS and Android apps.

Contracts For Difference (CFDs)

A range of financial instruments is available to trade with Rockfort Markets as CFDs or physical assets. 54 major and minor currency pairs can be traded as CFDs, with the pricing structure dependent on the account type you sign up to:

• MT4 Standard Account: Forex spreads start from 0.9 pips with no commission fees
• MT4 Pro Account: FX spreads from 0.6 pips plus round-turn commission from $7 per lot
• Trader Workstation: Commission fees start from USD $6 per side, Active Trader rates are available.

Along with forex trading, the online broker offers the following asset classes to trade as CFDs:

• 5 cryptocurrencies: Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Ethereum, Litecoin and Ripple
• 2 precious metals: Gold and silver
• 2 commodities: Brent and Crude Oil
• 11 indices: including the UK 100, US SPX 500 and Australia 200
• 8,800 single-share CFDs

As well as CFDs, longer-term investment opportunities include trading shares, options, futures and ETFs as physical assets.

Share Trading

Rockfort Markets provide access to thousands of different stocks to trade from 14 different countries. Brokerage fees are competitive:

• Australian Shares: Whichever is greater than AUD $18.95 or 0.1895%
• US Shares: Whichever is greater than USD $9.95 or USD $0.02 per share

Overall, Rockfort Markets may be well-suited if you are looking to trade a range of CFDs alongside a selection of longer-term investments such as stocks and ETFs.

HFTrading has Good CFD Crypto Trading

Regulated locally by the FMA in NZ and ASIC in Australia, HFTrading is one of the best brokers in New Zealand for crypto trading, offering a great range and diversity of 20 crypto CFDs against multiple currency pairs. HFTrading is also MetaTrader 4 broker, with over 300 CFDs available to trade on the platform, including cryptocurrency, stocks, ETFs, indices, commodities and forex pairs.

The Kiwi broker offers NZ and Australian traders three account types:

• Silver Account: Minimum deposit of $250 and spreads from 2.8 pips, commission-free.
• Gold Account: Minimum deposit of $5000 per day, commission-free spreads from 2.0 pips
• Platinum Account: $10,000 daily minimum deposit and spreads from 1.8 pips with no commission fees and a 50% swap discount.

Cryptocurrency Trading

HFTrading specialises in crypto trading with 20+ different CFDs that can be traded against the US Dollar (USD), Euro (EUR) and/or the Great British Pound (GBP).

• Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash ABC, Bitcoin Cash SV, Bitcoin Gold
• Ethereum, Ethereum Classic
• Litecoin
• Dashcoin
• Stellar
• Cardano
• Ripple
• IOTA
• Lisk
• NEO
• QTUM
• NEM
• Zcash
• Verge
• Siacoin
• Monero

In terms of other charges and trading costs, HFTrading charges no deposit or withdrawal fees when managing your account balance. As with any broker, swap fees apply for open positions held overnight.

It is worth noting a hefty inactivity fee may apply for traders that do make, open or close a trade for more than 60 consecutive days. If you are inactive for 61 days the broker may charge $160, and if you don’t trade for 271 days, you may incur a $500 fee.

Overall, HFTrading could be a good option if you are a high-volume trader making large deposits and actively trading. Otherwise, between the wide spreads and high inactivity fees, trading costs may add up.