While Fondex is not a regulated Forex broker, we did find some appealing features like decent spreads, 500:1 leverage and trading via the cTrader trading platform. See what we say about Fondex in our Fondex review.
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Fondex’s primary point of difference is commission-free trading via the cTrader trading platform. This along with high leverage (500:1), some of the tightest spreads we’ve seen for a standard account and the option of Bitcoin (BTC) as the account ‘currency’ are other features that will appeal. There are good reasons for us to recommend Fondex but they are not regulated, have conflicting information on their website and do lack the MetaTrader trading platforms and for us, that’s not ideal.
Fondex is the only broker we’ve come across that only has trading exclusively via the cTrader trading platform. While the lack of MetaTrader (and even TradingView) as an option may disappoint some, we think cTrader is a quality platform in its own right, especially if you plan on scalp trading. The other point we note is that Fondex offers the full suite of cTrader products meaning you can trade manually, copy trade or auto trade.
While Fondex only has one trading account which has no-commission spread, we found conflicting information on how wide the spreads really are. According to the Fondex website, Forex spreads start from 0.5 pips, yet the broker claims an average daily spread for EUR/USD of 0.45 pips. Obviously, this doesn’t make sense and we found an average spread of 0.7 to 0.8 pips for major pairs to be more realistic and still decent- we cover our findings on the broker’s spreads in the Trading Spreads section.
You can use leverage up to 500:1 when trading these and this is backed with negative balance protection. With this in mind, we think Fondex can be a decent choice if you are not afraid of the risks associated with margin trading.
Some other features the broker offers worth mentioning include the fact they have 80 Forex pairs which are more than many comparable brokers. Account funding with cryptocurrencies and even the option to choose Bitcoin (BTC) as the base currency for your account.
Lastly, like all brokers, we can find some faults, despite having crypto as an option to fund your account, we thought the broker’s options were both limited. Actually, we found it confusing to work out all the allowable funding methods given the funding section on their website doesn’t match the FAQ section. Clearly, the broker needs to review the information on their website given, we’ve already highlighted concerns with their advertised spreads.
The faults in the scheme of things are minor issues, our biggest concern is the fast Fondex is not a regulated broker. Fondex is simply registered as a business in Bermuda but not is licenced by the Bermuda Monetary Authority, the country’s financial regulator. While your funds should still be safe given the broker uses segregated funding accounts, we at CompareForexBrokers are not in the habit of recommending unregulated Forex brokers.
Overall, we actually think Fondex has some worthy points of difference from other brokers in the market. If you do not have a bias towards the MetaTrader (and TradingView) platforms, then the cTrader platform will likely be fine for trading Forex, especially with high leverage. Just make sure you appreciate the risks of using an unregulated broker.
Trading fees are one of the most significant costs you will pay when buying and selling CFD derivatives. The main trading fee is the spread, so we think it is worthwhile taking a look at what Fondex charges when trading. Fortunately, Fondex publishes its average spread on a daily basis for all its currency pairs on its Website. As you can see in our module below where we compiled the average spread fees broker publish on their website, spreads with Fondex are market-beating (and by some margin).
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Standard Account Spreads
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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0.28 | 0.51 | 0.70 | 0.71 | 0.50 |
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1.12 | 1.22 | 1.40 | 1.69 | 1.47 |
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0.62 | 0.77 | 1.27 | 0.83 | 0.74 |
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1.10 | 1.30 | 1.30 | 1.30 | 1.30 |
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0.90 | 1.10 | 1.50 | 1.50 | 1.00 |
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1.20 | 0.90 | 1.50 | 1.80 | 1.80 |
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1.20 | 1.40 | 1.50 | 1.60 | 1.50 |
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1.10 | 1.20 | 1.40 | 1.50 | 1.20 |
Avg. spreads are taken from each broker's website and updated monthly. Last update on 01/09/2023
We’ve never seen average spreads quite as low as what Fondex lists on their website for no-commission trading. We checked with the Fondex customer support on live chat and they insist the spreads are the average for a Standard account. They even claimed to have the best spreads on the market.
We will have to trust the feedback live chat gave but given the broker advertises spread “from” 0.5 pips on their website which is higher than their average, we have good reason to be sceptical.
We did some more sleuthing and the broker does have a page devoted to trading execution transparency. On this page, the broker does list their average spreads for 15 minute intervals and try as we might, we couldn’t capture any internal with a spread close to 0.45 pips.
When we look at the graph for EUR/USD, we can see their average daily spread doesn’t come anywhere close to the 0.45 pips daily average they claim to have. The tightest spread we could find was 0.64 pips with most intervals hovering between 0.68 pips and 0. 75 pips with spikes at a particular time each day (most likely when the New York Forex market opens).
We have tested the average spread for over 20 Standard accounts so we have a fair idea of what to expect for spreads with no commissions. We’re more comfortable recommending IC Markets who we have been able to test for ourselves in our tested broker’s standard spreads initiative.
Fondex uses a hybrid agency model which means they use a mix of execution types. This may mean Fondex may use a market maker model and be your counterparty. At other times, Fondex may connect you with their liquidity provider (or providers – they wouldn’t reveal) based in New York.
Fondex Standard Account
Fondex offers just one trading account type which is a Standard account. This account has no commissions when trading Forex and spreads from 0.5 pips (but more likely to be around 0.70 pips or higher which is still competitive.).
This is interesting given you will be trading via the cTrader platform which in our experience, is nearly always using a commission-based (aka RAW, ECN or STP) trading model.
To get started with Fondex, there is no minimum deposit requirement and you can choose from 10 base currencies including Bitcoin.
Indeed, Fondex also used to have a commission-based model, which is why we found the broker’s website has contradictory (more specifically outdated) information in parts of its website. For example, their homepage advertises zero commissions but in the FAQs, it states that Fondex charges a dynamic commission starting from $2.5 per lot (per side), decreasing according to trading volume.
Clearly, this isn’t helpful as far as the user experience with the broker’s website goes. We reasonably would expect any broker’s website to be up-to-date and consistent throughout.
Leverage and negative balance protection
Fondex offers fairly high leverage, this being up to 1:500 for both retail and professional traders when trading any Forex pairs. While having access to leverage can be a useful tool for increasing profits, the opposite is also true and losses can quickly chew through your trading account. So it’s fair to say, trading with such high leverage is only recommended if you have sound trading experience and can afford to take on any risks should markets move against you.
Taking these risks of unfavourable movements into consideration and the potential losses that may result, we think it is a good thing that Fondex includes negative balance protection. Generally, these protections are provided due to requirements of the regulator, so we found it surprising (but in a good way) given Fondex is an unregulated broker.
Order execution and execution speed
Fondex uses market execution rather than instant execution. This means if slippage occurs, you will get the next best available price and there will not be requotes.
According to Fondex customer service, execution speeds tend to take 100 to 200 ms once the order has been processed by the cTrader platform and sent to the liquidity provider. We have tested the execution speeds with 20 different brokers, and agree this speed falls in the normal range however you can find brokers with average speeds under 100ms for market orders and limits orders such as with BlackBull Markets and Pepperstone.
Variable or fixed spreads
Fondex spreads are floating spreads (also called variable spreads) not fixed spreads. This means spreads can change from your order price, due to slippage.
Islamic Account
Fondex offers an Islamic ‘swap-free’ account option however we should point out that there will be an administration fee applied for each day you hold an open position. So really Fondex is just replacing the rollover fees or swap fee with an admin fee so we do question if their swap-free account is truly Sharia-compliant. We however are not experts on this subject so do your own research.
| Currency Pair | Admin Fee (USD) Per lot |
CFD | Admin Fee (USD) Per lot |
|---|---|---|---|
| EUR/USD | 3 | US 30 | 2.7 |
| EUR/AUD | 4 | Natural Gas | 50 |
| AUD/USD | 2 | DSH/BT | 1 |
| EUR/GBP | 4 | BTC/USD | 7.5 |
| GBP/USD | 2 | XAG/USD | 2.5 |
| AUD/USD | 9 | XAU/USD | 5 |
To get set up an Islamic account you will need to email the broker with ‘proof of faith’ and request this account.
Our verdict on account types
We didn’t mind that Fondex has only one account type available but you will pay for this with higher spreads (even if there are no commissions). We just wish Fondex were more consistent on their website with their trading cost information such as commission and spreads. We also wish it was easier to find detailed information about the Islamic account.
Fondex also has a fairly limited range of funding options, but it does offer the ability to fund your account using either cryptocurrency or fiat currency.
Fiat accounts
For fiat accounts, you can fund your account via a SEPA wire transfer (a bank transfer) which takes 1-3 business days. This obviously isn’t ideal if you’re in a rush to get your account funded quickly but on the plus side, there are no fees charged by Fondex.
The alternative option is B2B in Pay, but this can only be used to fund your trading account with cryptocurrency. Using this option will automatically convert your crypto to the fiat currency your account is denominated in.
Cryptocurrencies that can be used to fund your account include Ethereum (ETH), Litecoin (LTC) and Tether (USDT).
Fondex states they don’t charge fees for this funding option either, but from our research, it looks like B2B in Pay possibly does, so do check before funding your account.
Bitcoin accounts
One of the things we do like about Fondex is you can choose to denominate your trading account in Bitcoin. Again, there are two options to fund your account, either directly using a Bitcoin address, or via B2B in Pay.
Deposits are processed almost instantly if funded directly from a Bitcoin wallet but take a little longer when using B2B in Pay. With this option, there are no conversion fees and the Bitcoin is stored securely in ‘cold storage’.
Minimum deposits
When it comes to minimum deposits, Fondex states in various places on its website that they don’t have a minimum, but this appears to be contradicted elsewhere.
For example, on their funding page in small fine print, it clearly states there are certain limitations including a €100 minimum deposit via bank transfer and a 250 USDT minimum deposit.
After speaking with customer service, it turns out that Fondex does indeed have minimum deposits, so the branding which is used extensively across their website appears to be disingenuous and misleading.
Deposit bonus
While Fondex does offer a deposit bonus when you first deposit funds into your account, it’s important to recognise that these sorts of strategies have been banned by many regulators.
It should go without saying that it’s always important to focus on the quality and features of a forex broker, rather than any incentive they might be offering to entice you to deposit funds.
If you are planning on taking up the offer, be aware that the deposit bonus is credited to your account only after you deposit funds and request it from the broker directly. The bonus is provided in the form of credit and is capped at $2,000 which isn’t withdrawable, so it is effectively used to increase your total trading account size.
Our verdict on funding options
While you can fund your account with Bitcoin and a range of fiat currencies including USD, EUR, GBP, and more (including with cryptocurrency conversion), we think the funding options are pretty limited overall, especially considering they are missing some key providers like PayPal, NETELLER and Skrill.
It’s also unclear what the minimum deposit amounts are and whether processing fees are charged using their third-party crypto payment provider. These aren’t specified by the broker and the onus is put on the trader.
Fondex only offers trading via the cTrader platform which is developed by a third party called Spotware Systems. It is a popular free/mainstream alternative to MetaTrader 4, MetaTrader 5, and TradingView. The trading platform is particularly designed to meet the needs of no-dealing desk brokers meaning is The trading platform is popular with scalpers due to its fast execution speed and depth of market (DoM).
Like all platforms, it has strengths and weaknesses. We have compared MetaTrader 4 with cTrader in the past.
| cTrader | MetaTrader 4 | |
|---|---|---|
| Programming Languages | C# | MQL4 & MQL5 |
| One-click trading | ✔ | ✔ |
| Online community | Small | Huge |
| Built-in technical indicators | +70 | 30 |
| Experts Advisors (EAs) or trading robots | +270 | +15,000 |
| Custom indicators | +860 | +7,000 |
| Execution Model | ECN+STP | ECN |
Compared to MetaTrader 4, the cTrader platform has more advanced trading and analysis capabilities, offering the ability to assess market depth in greater detail, access a larger number of indicators and timeframes, and use various sophisticated order types. It also has an inbuilt trading performance dashboard and is generally suited to more experienced and professional traders who adopt scalping and day trading strategies.
You can access the cTrader platform via the webtrader, the desktop app and the mobile/tablet app.
Fondex cTrader Trade – Web, Desktop
The Fondex Trade platform offers over 70 pre-installed indicators and provides you with trading ideas from Autochartist which we think is a helpful feature.
They also provide you with a market sentiment gauge, a depth of market order book, advanced order types including advanced take profit orders, advanced stop loss orders, one cancels the other (OCO) orders, and trailing stops.
The Trade platform is also accessible via the webtrader, mobile app and desktop app.
Fondex cTrader Mobile
Fondex cTrader Copy
Fondex’s copy trading platform has won a couple of awards for best trade execution and platform, and provides you with access to a wide range of other traders’ trading strategies.
We checked out the platform and the user interface is fairly decent, allowing you to easily browse and assess each strategy by its profitability/equity curve.
You can also allocate to multiple copy strategies and combine them with algorithmic trading and manual trading which is a cool function.
Each copy trading strategy is automatically placed in a separate account from the other strategies, allowing for better risk management. Additionally, if you want to increase or reduce exposure to a specific strategy, you can do so without needing to close the position entirely.
The Copy trading platform is accessible via the webtrader, mobile app and desktop app
Fondex cTrader Automate
The Automate platform (formerly called cAlgo) provides you with the option of using a range of trading robots accessible via the cBots library. There are a range of pre-packaged cBots to choose from including trend-based and range-based automated trading strategies. Alternatively, you can create your own if you have the programming skills.
Importantly, you can use automated MetaTrader robots and expert advisers (EAs) with Fondex cTrader, which is a big plus, but it does require some technical knowledge. You can only access the Automate platform via the desktop app.
Demo account
Fondex does offer a demo account which lets you test the cTrader platform using real-time market data. Simply click ‘start trading’ from the top-right of the broker’s website or ‘open a demo account’ from the homepage and it will load the cTrader workspace. You can start to get a feel for the platform and if you like it, you can easily set up a client account by adding in your KYC details.
The demo account is good for 30 days and is easily transferable into a real account. We think this is a good call from Fondex, especially as many traders are used to using MetaTrader rather than the cTrader platform.
Our verdict on Fondex trading platforms
Overall, we think the functionality offered by Fondex via cTrader is good, but the lack of a proprietary platform combined with no integration with MetaTrader 4 and TradingView did see the broker lose marks based on out scoring methodology.
Fondex offers a wide range of financial instruments to trade including over 80 currency pairs which is a substantial range, but they are fairly limited across other markets.
While their shares offering is decent with more than 500 to choose from, there’s no way to purchase the underlying shares.
Likewise, their indices offering is good with all the majors you would expect including the US Tech 100, US 500 and Aus 200, but they don’t offer any bonds, interest rates or options. Additionally, their commodities and energy CFDs are fairly limited.
Fondex allows leverage up to 1:500 when trading currency pairs which is pretty high. It should be said however that while excessively high leverage is never a good idea, we like the flexibility and choice it provides, leaving it up to you to select whatever leverage suits your risk appetite.
Our verdict on products and leverage
As mentioned, we like the 1:500 leverage provided for forex pairs, and with 80+ pairs to choose from, there is plenty of selection.
We scored Fondex highly for this but we felt the overall offering was lacking across other asset classes which detracted from the overall rank.
Fondex is slightly shifty or vague about its regulatory status. Their website states the following “Fondex Global Limited is an exempted Company incorporated and registered under the law of Bermuda with registration number 54010.”
We asked Fondex customer service via live chat if they are regulated and they just repeat they are registered and incorporated under the law of Bermuda. So there is no confusion, we checked the Bermuda Business Registry and we can indeed see they are registered as a company in Bermuda.
After checking the business registry, we then checked the Bermuda Authority Website (BMA) and there is no mention of Fondex so we can confirm the broker is not regulated. To hold a regulatory licence to offer Forex trading services with the BMA the broker needs to hold a “Class F” licence meaning the broker can operate as a digital asset derivative exchange provider.
We think it is a shame Fondex chose not to hold a regulatory licence with the BMA and operate purely as an offshore broker since it would add a lot of credibility. IG Markets one of the world’s largest and most regulated CFD brokers holds this “Class F” licence for example.
Two final points to note – we found some suggestions on some other broker review websites that Fondex is regulated by the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC). While this may have been correct at one time, they no longer are.
We also received a popup when we checked the Fondex website that would be taken over by TopFX Ltd., a broker regulated by the Financial Services Authority (FSA) in Seychelles. We asked Fondex customer support about this and this does not appear to be happening any now.
While this idea appears abandoned, we do wonder about the longevity of Fondex as a company.
Our verdict on broker trust and safety
Given the above, we ranked Fondex very poorly when it comes to broker trust and safety.
Fondex has live chat support and response times are very fast, but they don’t seem to be overly forthcoming with any helpful information and constantly refer you back to pages on the Fondex website.
Additionally, while they do have some FAQs, they aren’t very detailed and don’t provide that much useful information.
With that said, they are available around the clock (24/5) and they also offer support via phone and email with numerous supported languages including Arabic, English, French, Greek, Russian, and Spanish.
Education and research
Fondex has a decent range of educational-related articles and the content is fairly good, although there isn’t any way to filter or search for something you’re specifically looking for.
Additionally, there aren’t any trading courses, webinars, or other events, and their Market News section is no longer being updated with the last post dated 6th April 2022. Likewise, the last update on the Fondex News section is from 2021.
Our verdict on customer service, support and education
Despite the somewhat lacklustre responses from the customer support, we actually scored Fondex well given response times are quick and you get to speak to a real person almost immediately. Additionally, the multi-lingual support and 24/5 accessibility earnt Fondex even more points.
While we think the nature of the Educational Articles section is decent, we would have liked to see different content types including courses, training sessions, and webinars.
Also, given there is no way to filter the existing articles by topic, this makes it a little cumbersome to scroll through until you find what you’re looking for.
Considering the above, in combination with the relatively ‘lite’ FAQs and the outdated Market News and Fondex News section, we ranked Fondex as average.
Setting up an account with Fondex is easy, quick, and straightforward. To open an account, we selected “Start trading now” via their home page, at this stage you can choose between a demo account or a live account.
Should you choose Demo account, you just enter a user name and password, you can even use your Gmail sign in. There is no need to enter further details like your credit card. At this stage, you will be directed to the web version of cTrader.
To activate a live account, you can choose ‘create a live account’, instead of demo account or Activate Account if you are on the Demo account.
Here are the steps you need to take:
We wanted to add that while the questionnaire might be considered as an annoying extra step by some, we think it demonstrates Fondex’s responsibility to only serve customers who have the required knowledge to begin trading. As such, we scored Fondex highly for the account opening process. Despite this minor annoyance, the sign up process is pretty straightforward.
For us, the big issues with Fondex are that they are unregulated, and are not always clear when presenting some of the information on their website. All that said, the broker does have a few features going for them that make them stand out among many no-dealing desk brokers who can be slightly generic at times.
The most obvious difference is that you will be using the cTrader trading platform along with cTrader Copy and cTrader Automate rather than MetaTrader 4, MetaTrader 5 or even TradingView. While cTrader is overshadowed by these other platforms, it’s a strong trading platform in its own right and comes with a Depth of Market (DoM), fast execution and useful analysis tools which make it popular with scalpers and swing traders. Other features include decent spreads with no commission, leverage of 500:1 and account funding with cryptocurrencies.
Overall, we can’t deny that Fondex has a decent offering, we just wish they were regulated, preferably with a tier 1 broker.
