FXCM Review

FXCM Account Types

FXCM has a very simple account structure for its clients. The majority of clients will use their Standard Account which is designed for retail traders high volume traders will prefer their Active Traders account to save on costs.

If you are a trader with FXTM Friedberg Direct which serves the Canadian Market then you will be offered a commission-based account instead of a standard account. Other account types available include Professional account for FXCM UK clients and Interest-free account which is designed for traders Islamic traders who can’t pay swaps.

FXCM Standard Account (Available To All Clients)

Most FXCM clients (outside Canada) will be using FXCM’s standard account. This is FXCMs offering to all clients outside Canada who don’t qualify as an Active Trader or Professional Trader. This account is a commission-free account which means the trading costs are included in the spreads. This explains why spreads are wider than commission-based accounts such as the Active Trader account.

New traders may appreciate a standard style account as no commissions mean a simpler cost structure. Long term or discretionary traders may also like this account as the simpler costs structure combined with costs saving compared to a commission account may not be significant to worry about savings from an STP/ECN style account which can have significant commission costs due to frequent trading despite lower spread and overall costs.

The FXCM Standard Account had no minimum deposits to open an account but does have a minimum requirement of $50 when making an account deposit. The broker recommends a minimum balance of $1000 in your trading account. When trading, you will still need to meet initial margin requirements to open trading positions.

FXTM Friedberg Direct (Canadian traders only)

In Canada FXTM trade through Friedberg Direct, a division of Friedberg Mercantile Group Ltd. Canadian traders do not have the option of a Standard Account with no commissions. With Friedberg Direct, spreads are much tighter than the Standard Accounts as traders pay the trading costs through a commission of $3.50 side trip ($7.00 round-turn) for each 1k lot (standard lot).

With this account, there is a minimum $5,000 (CAD/USD) required to open an account.

FXCM Active Trader – good for high volume traders

If you are a high volume investor, then the Active Trader account may be for you. This account, like the Friedberg Direct account, offers FXCM’s lowest spreads but has the added benefit of discounted commission, dedicated support and depth of market.

Active Trader commissions

FXCM Active Trader offers savings up of up to 62.4%. The Active Trader account uses a tiered commission structure which means the more you trade, the lower your commission cost will be.

To be able to take advantage of these discounted commissions, you will need a minimum $25,0000 in equity in your trading account so will not be a serious consideration for most retail traders.

Other Accounts

Interest-Free Account – for Islamic traders

An Interest-free account targeted at Islamic traders who are forbidden from earning (or paying interest) as it is forbidden by Sharia law. FXCM add an extra 0.4 pips to the spread for Standard accounts and $2.00 commission per lot (per side for commission-based accounts in place of overnight fee or swap rates.

Professional Account – Only for traders with FXCM UK

Clients of FXCM UK may apply for a professional account if they fulfil two of the following 3 criteria.

• The client has executed an average of at least 10 transactions of notable size over previous 4 financial quarters
• Manages a portfolio of at least $500,000
• Work in the finance industry

The advantage of a professional account means increased leverage of 400:1 however guaranteed negative balance protection will no longer be provided.

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FXCM Spreads And Costs

In the module below, the Compare Forex Brokers team compiled the average spreads from brokers that provide the data on their website. This is updated each month.

FXCM Standard Account Spreads And Costs

FXCM standard spreads generally fall in the midrange when compared with other brokers with the most competitive spreads on offer appearing to be for AUDUSD and AUDJPY currency pairs.

FXCM Standard Account Spreads	EUR/USD GBP/USD EUR/GBP USD/SGD AUD/USD AUD/JPY EUR/JPY USD/JPY USD/CAD	EUR/USD GBP/USD EUR/GBP USD/SGD AUD/USD AUD/JPY EUR/JPY USD/JPY USD/CAD	EUR/USD GBP/USD EUR/GBP USD/SGD AUD/USD AUD/JPY EUR/JPY USD/JPY USD/CAD	EUR/USD GBP/USD EUR/GBP USD/SGD AUD/USD AUD/JPY EUR/JPY USD/JPY USD/CAD	EUR/USD GBP/USD EUR/GBP USD/SGD AUD/USD AUD/JPY EUR/JPY USD/JPY USD/CAD
	1.40	1.80	2.40	N/A	0.90
	0.70	1.40	1.30	N/A	1.90
	0.80	1.80	1.70	N/A	0.90
	1.10	1.80	1.20	N/A	0.70
	1.20	1.80	1.80	N/A	1.30
	1.10	1.40	1.40	N/A	1.20
	1.58	2.39	1.74	N/A	1.96
	0.40	0.70	0.60	1.80	0.70
	1.20	1.50	1.40	N/A	1.40

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Freidberg Direct Spreads and FXCM Active Trader spreads

Spreads with Freidberg direct and FXTM Active Trader are the same. The only difference is the commission cost structure. Spreads for this account could be best described as STP or ECN pricing. The broker uses what they call ‘enhanced execution mode’ which is a hybrid execution model. FXCM dealing desk determines the best execution means which can result in FXCM acting as a market maker to offset your orders or pass it on directly to liquidity providers which is likely through Straight Through Processing (STP), Electronic Data Communication (ECN) or Direct Market Access (DMA).

When comparing the spreads to other brokers, FXTM at first glance appears to have only average spreads. While FXCM is competitive when looking at the EURUSD, USDJPY and even AUDUSD with other brokers and poor when comparing EURGBP, GBPUSD and EURJPY, there are some unique considerations to keep in mind.

• Active Traders commissions are less than most other brokers. Commissions with most other brokers are $7.00 round-turn while Active Traders can be as low as $5 round-turn.  This represents a saving of 0.2 pips. If you subtract 0.2 pips from each spread then the spreads appear to be more competitive.
• Canadian traders don’t have many IIROC regulated brokers to choose from. So Canadian traders may lack better options.

FXCM Standard Account Spreads	EUR/USD GBP/USD EUR/GBP USD/SGD AUD/USD	EUR/USD GBP/USD EUR/GBP USD/SGD AUD/USD	EUR/USD GBP/USD EUR/GBP USD/SGD AUD/USD	EUR/USD GBP/USD EUR/GBP USD/SGD AUD/USD	EUR/USD GBP/USD EUR/GBP USD/SGD AUD/USD
	0,2	0.90	0.90	n/a	0.40
	0.70	1.40	1.30	N/A	1.90
	0.80	1.80	1.70	N/A	0.90
	1.10	1.80	1.20	N/A	0.70
	1.20	1.80	1.80	N/A	1.30
	1.10	1.40	1.40	N/A	1.20
	1.58	2.39	1.74	N/A	1.96
	0.40	0.70	0.60	1.80	0.70
	1.20	1.50	1.40	N/A	1.40

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Leverage FXCM Forex Broker Comparison

Leverage with FXCM varies country or territory. While FXCM offers the maximum available leverage when trading forex in FCA regulated countries such as the UK and Europe and keep their required margins in line with the floating amount permitted by the IIROC, traders from Australia and other countries not regulated by FCA and IIROC don’t offer the maximum available.

Leverage in the UK and Europe

FXCM in FCA regulated territories offers leverage of 30:1 for major currency pairs and 20:1 for minor and exotic currency pairs. This is in line with the maximum amount most brokers in Europe will offer. If you qualify for a professional account then you will be able to trade with leverage of 400:1 for all currency pairs.

If you trade with other CFDs then leverage can be as high as 20:1 and as low as 2:1 (cryptocurrencies). Professional traders can access leverage up to 200:1.

Leverage in Canada

The Canadian investments regulator IIROC periodically release via their website the initial margin requirements for forex and CFD trading. When trading forex, this effective leverage can be as high as 50:1 (2% margin)  however the table shows that as of July 1st 2020 the margin was lower. It is a similar story for trading commodities and indices.

Leverage in Australia, South Africa (and rest of world)

FXCM permit maximum leverage of 400:1 for all forex pairs, this is lower than the maximum 500:1 ASIC permits and offered by many brokers. Clients who have more than 20,000 CCY ($20,000) equity in their trading account will only be allowed to trade with 100:1 leverage.

While leverage offers by FXCM is on a par with other brokers in Europe and Canada, it fares poorly when compared to other brokers offering brokerage outside where regions.

When trading with a leveraged product, it is important to keep in mind that while leverage can be a powerful tool for profitable gains,  high leverage can exaggerate your losses when currency movements don’t work in your favour and should be used responsibly.

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FXCM – Transparency. Trust through Performance.

FXCM list statistic regarding their performance when it comes to execution and slippage. Transparency gives their clients a level of assurance and trust that the broker is meeting the client’s expectation when it comes to trading. FXCM to deliver on the client’s requirement of fast order execution with no slippage, competitive pricing and no re-quotes.

FXCM Slippage And Execution Speed

Slippage can make a big difference to your trading success. Lag time which naturally occurs due to the time taken between placing your order and completing your order can see prices change. The changes are called slippage and can be positive or negative. As a trader, you want pricing certainty and execution certainty.

In the first quarter of 2020, FXCM had the following performance highlights

These stats show that FXCM completes your orders with no slippage more than 60% of the time. This is made possible thanks to an average execution speed of 28ms and good till cancelled market orders speed of 29 ms.

When slippage does occur, FXCM trading infrastructure is generally favourable for traders with slippage being positive nearly 30% of the time and over 70% of the time for limit orders.

FXCM Platform Review

Our FXCM review found the forex broker offers one of the extensive choices of trading platforms from all online brokers. Not only does FXCM offers a choice of 4 trading platforms (2 of them social trading platforms), the broker also offers 7 speciality platforms.

Trading Station

FXCM’s in-house developed proprietary trading platform built from feedback from FXCM traders and 10 years of trading data

Trading Station Desktop

FXCM is especially proud of their own Trading Station II (not to be confused with another platform TradeStation). It was built based on the feedback from FXCM traders and trading data accrued from over 10 years to meet the needs of their clients.

The Trading Station forex platform is generally hard to fault, it has a very user-friendly design and comes with has become FXCM’s hub for investment advice. One of the key features of the platform is the free professional charting tool known as Marketscope 2.0 which consists of price alerts, chart and a wide selection of indicators. One of the key features of Marketplace is the ability to open and manage all your trades directly from the charts. This means you can perform all your trading analysis, opportunity identification and order execution all in one place.  This simplified trading process makes the platform a great took for beginner traders.

Trading Station Web

The recent upgraded Trading Station Web 2.0 migrated from Flash to HTML5 now offers a cleaner, more modern and intuitive user interface. The new platform incorporated many of the features found on Trading Central Desktop including

• FXCM Cloud: Ability to store profiles and chart setting in the cloud
• Chart – Detachable charts for use on second browsers
• 50 customisation technical indicators
• 20 advanced drawing tools
• Enhanced trading analytics tools available directly from the trading platform

Trading Station Mobile

• Trade with 56 forex currency pairs
• Wide range of charts with the following timeframe – m1, m5, m15, m30, H1, H2, H3, H4, H6, H8, D1, W1, M1
• Chart Indicators
• Trend Lines
• Real-time Market News
• Economic Calendar
• Range of Orders Types

MetaTrader 4

This platform is the most widely used platform by traders and the most offered platform by brokers, many consider MetaTrader 4 to be the the ‘gold’ standard when it comes to platforms. While you can find platforms with more indicators, more charts, faster speed, as a whole, MetaTrader 4 offers one of the most complete packages because it does everything really well. MetaTrader 4’s reputation and reliability make it a sound choice for all traders.

NinjaTrader 8

This platform is a worthy alternative to Trade Station and MetaTrader. NinjaTrader is perfect for scalpers thanks for its Advanced Trader Management feature (ATM) which allows semi-automated features so you can manage your positions through orders such as entries, stops, targets and exist and trading automation with C#.

It is also a great option for active traders who benefit from an abundance of technical analysis tools including over 150 analytical tools and wealth of customisable charts and drawing tools.

Zulu Trade

If you prefer to social or copy trade then Zulu Trader might be your preferred choice of trading platform. This type of trading allows you to copy the trades of experienced traders making it a great choice for beginner traders wanting to learn the trading strategies of successful traders. One of the key features of Zulu trade is the social element. The feature gives users the ability of traders to share ideas and strategies and help other traders. Zulu Trader has over 1 million in users making it one of the larger social trading communities available,

FXCM also offers a range of speciality platforms to enhance your trading experience. Most of these tools are exceptionally useful for algorithmic traders and high volume traders. These tools are useful for both forex and CFD and include

• QuantConnect – This is a cloud-based and open source algorithmic engine used for trading. It allows the client to build and test their algorithms directly via FXCM platforms.
• MotiveWave –  This tool provides charting for both technical and also algorithmic traders.
• AlgoTerminal – Users can use a terminal for back-testing and execution of algorithmic trading approaches.
• AgenaTrader – This advanced trading tool gives professional traders access to 130 indicators along with 14 chart types for automated trading. AdenaScript(C#) allows for sophisticated automated trading.
• Sierra Chart – A multi-asset trading platform for financial markets that is compatible with external trading services
• SeerTrading – Another trading platform that can assist with automated trading.
• NeuroShell Trader – This is a point and clicks GUI that assists with technical analysis indicators.
• StategyQuant – This platform uses machine learning and genetic programming for automated trading. Its simplicity means no programming experience is needed.

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FXCM – CFDs products

Clients of FXCM (outside Canada) have the option of the following contracts for difference (CFD) products

• 39 Forex currency pairs
• 13 Stock indices
• Shares CFD
• 9 Commodities
• 3 Metals
• 7 Cryptocurrencies (Bitcoin, Ethereum, Ripple, Litecoin and Bitcoin Cash, Stellar, EOS)
• 3 Types of baskets (forex, stocks, cryptocurrency)

All CFD option are commission-free which means costs are included in the spread.

The range of markets available with FXCM is quite broad however you can find other brokers that offer more choices for each financial instruments. 39 currency pairs, for example, would put FXCM at the lower end of the broker for currency choices.

Cryptocurrency

FXCM offers a choice of 5 cryptocurrencies. The broker claims to offer some of the tightest spreads on the market when it comes to trading BITCOIN.

FXCM Specialised Baskets

One feature FXCM offers that is not commonly found with other brokers is trading of specialised indices. FXCM offers 3 types of baskets of trading:

• 3 Forex trading baskets (Dow Jones FXCM Dollar Index Basket, JPYBasket (Yen), EMBasket (Emerging Markets Index)
• 6 Stock Baskets – BioTech, Cannabis, eSports, FAANG, CHN.ECOMM, CHN.TECH)
• Crypto Basket (Bitcoin, Ethereum, Ripple, Litecoin and BitCoil Cash)

Trading with Indices allows you to reduce the risk of your exposure when trading volatile instruments.

Note: Clients with FXCM Friedberg direct are not able to trade cryptocurrency, shares CFD or FXCM baskets

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FXCM review – Customer Services and Support

FXCM offers 24/5 award-winning customer services with customer support contactable via live chat, email, phone and even SMS text message. If you wish to call FXCM, there are 42 country based numbers one can call from. Countries range from South Korea, United Arab Emirates to Venezuela.

If you prefer to place orders by phone, FXCM offers a trading desk line which can be handy should your internet go be down.

Should you prefer to solve your issues yourself, there is a search feature on their website which should be able to point you to relevant pages to solve your question however the website doesn’t have a devoted FAQ page.

Customer Services – Knowledge

FXCM has a knowledge section that consists of research or market analysis tools and education.

Education

The education section of a wide range of educational tools that help their clients understand forex better, navigate FXCM features and accounts and master their trading platforms. Education tools include

• A comprehensive guide explaining what Forex is
• A video library covering information topics such as the FXCM trading platforms, order types, forex trading and FXCM account features
• Free daily online trading course – a live webinar to enhance your trading skills and discuss economic events around the world and understand how they impact your trading decisions
•  Trading guides – a learning course covering all topics about forex. The online content is split into 2 sections, for beginners and for successful traders.

While there is a wealth of material for forex, education is lacking when it comes to CFD education.

Research Tools

Market analysis tools consist of the standard tools most brokers offer. This includes an economic calendar, live forex charts and the latest market news. Additional trading tools are available such as a market scanner, market data signal however to get to the really useful information such as trading signals, technical analyser, trading analytics requires a sign up with FXCM.

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Minimum Deposits and Funding Methods

FXCM has the following minimum deposit requirement to open an account

• Standard Account – $50 CCY
• FXCM Friedberg Direct (Canada) – $5000 in CAD or USD
• Active Trader Account account – $25,000 to open an account

Deposit Methods

When making a deposit into your account with a credit card or debit card (Visa or MasterCard) there is a minimum of $50 per deposit and limit of $30,000 per month for all FXCM clients except Friedberg Direct clients in Canada where the limit is $10,000 per month (USD or CAD).

All other deposit methods do not have a minimum deposit requirement however may have limits on how much can be deposited each month.

Internation Funding Options

• Bank Wire – No monthly limit
• Skrill / Neteller – 20,0000 CCY limit per month

Australia

• BPAY – no monthly limit
• POLi – 20,000 CCY limit per month
• Union Pay – 20,000 CCY limit per month

The UK and Europe

• Klarna – 5,000 CCY limit per month
• Rapid Transfer- 5,000 CCY limit per month

Most deposit methods take up to 1 business day to complete however bank wire can take 1-5 working days. FXCM charges no fees for deposits.

Withdrawal methods

Withdrawal can be done by card, Bank Wire or Skrill, Neteller and in Australia by Electronic Funds Transfer and Union Pay. While there are no withdrawal requirements there are fees when using Bank Wire and Union Pay.

The table below summarises the fees

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Regulation

The FXCM group are part of the Leucadia Investments group and have the following regulations:

Canada

• Friedberg Direct (a division of Friedberg Mercantile Group Ltd) and under the regulatory supervision of the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada (IIROC)

The United Kindom / Europe

• Forex Capital Markets Limited is regulated in the United Kingdom by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) with the registration number 217689

South Africa

• FXCM South Africa (PTY) LTD and is regulated by the Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) under FSP No 46534

Australia

• FXCM Australia Pty. Limited (“FXCM AU”) and is regulated by ASIC under AFSL 309763

Other (Malaysia etc)

• FXCM Markets Limited (“FXCM Markets”) incorporated in Bermuda. Bermuda does not require FXCM Markets to a financial services license offer its products or services

FXCM does not accept residents of the following countries – United States, Russian Federation, Ukraine, Singapore, Turkey, Japan and the Virgin Islands.

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Editors FXCM Review Conclusion

As a global player, originally founded in America but now headquartered in the UK due to regulatory restrictions in the US, Forex Capital Markets (FXCM) has targeted market share in Australia for some time with a very competitive Australian forex broker offering, including standard accounts as well as an active trader account for those budding Forex enthusiasts.

Experienced Australian forex traders that require a very specific niche forex platform should consider FXCM. Those that require high leverage or are looking for low spreads/fees should review our Australian forex broker comparison table and a provider like Pepperstone for advanced traders.