Best CFD Trading Platform Singapore 2021

Saxo Markets: CFD Platform With Range Of Financial Instruments

After reviewing the best CFD brokers for Singaporean residents, Saxo Markets offers the most CFD markets. Saxo Markets is a gateway to over 9,000 CFD global markets, including stocks, foreign exchange currencies, indices and more.

Saxo Markets is a leading global Forex and CFD provider, which complies with stringent regulatory requirements in 15 jurisdictions across the globe, including Denmark, the United Kingdom, Australia and Singapore:

• Saxo Capital Markets Ltd is authorised and regulated by the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA)
• Saxo Capital Markets Pte Ltd, another subsidiary of Saxo Bank, is authorised and regulated by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS)
• Saxo Capital Markets (Australia) Pty Ltd is authorised and regulated by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC)

Among the top regulated brokerages servicing Singaporean clients, we reviewed, Saxo offers the most extensive range of financial instruments. The company provides access to more than 40,000 tradable instruments grouped in several asset classes through its award-winning trading platforms – SaxoTraderGO, SaxoInvestor and SaxoTraderPRO.

All these platforms can be accessed from a single trading account opened with the broker. Singapore-based traders have a choice of three account types:

• Classic Account, which has a minimum deposit requirement of SGD 3,000 and features tight entry prices and 24/5 technical and account support,
• Platinum Account, which has a minimum deposit requirement of SGD 300,000 and features up to 30% lower prices, 24/5 technical and account support and priority customer support,
• VIP Account, which has a minimum deposit requirement of SGD 1,500,000 and features the broker’s best prices, 24/5 technical and account support, priority customer support, direct access to Saxo trading experts, exclusive event invitations among other benefits.

Forex and CFD trading with Saxo Markets

Singaporean retail clients can choose from an array of tradable assets as follows:

• Foreign Exchange – 182 major, minor and exotic currency pairs with tight spreads of as low as 0.6 pips (Classic Account) and 0.4 pips (VIP Account) on EUR/USD. Pricing is derived from a wide range of top-tier institutions. Retail margin requirements range between 5% on majors to 20% on some exotic pairs.
• Forex Options – 44 vanilla options contracts with maturities from 1 day to 12 months and competitive spreads of as low as 5.0 pips (Classic Account) and 3.0 pips (VIP Account) on EUR/USD. Spreads will vary depending on maturity and strike price of options.
• CFDs on Stock Indices – 29 major and minor Indices with spreads of as low as 1.8 points (Classic Account) and 1.4 points (VIP Account) on Dow Jones 30 Industrial Average. Margin requirements range between 5% and 20%. Additionally, Saxo offers 15 Index Option CFD contracts.
• Stock CFDs – more than 8,800 individual Stocks. Margin requirements depend on the stock rating defined by Saxo – 20% on Rating 1, 50% on Rating 5. Stock ratings depend on the market capitalization, liquidity and volatility of the tradable asset. Trading CFDs on Equities is associated with certain commissions – 0.06% (minimum $7.00) for Stocks listed on NASDAQ and New York Stock Exchange for Classic Accounts and 0.04% (minimum $3.00) for VIP Accounts. Additionally, Saxo offers CFDs on 675 Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs).
• CFDs on Bonds – 5 contracts with spreads of as low as 0.030 points (Classic Account) and 0.020 points (VIP Account) on 10-Year German Bund. Margin requirements for Bond CFDs equal 20%.
• CFDs on Commodities – 19 contracts on Metals, Energies, Agriculture and Soft Commodities. The minimum spread on Gold is 0.60 for Classic Accounts and 0.50 for VIP Accounts, while the typical margin requirement for Commodity CFDs is 10%.

Note* The above table outlines the typical CFD spreads offered on the Classic trading account.

Other Leveraged Products Offered to Singapore traders

Saxo also offers its Singaporean investors access to industry-leading price to complex  and high-risk leveraged products, including:

• Futures – more than 200 Futures contracts from 23 exchanges across the globe that cover assets such as Energies, Metals, Agriculture Commodities, Stock Indices, Interest Rates and Foreign Exchange. Futures trading will incur a small commission – $6.00 (Classic Account) and $1.25 (VIP Account).
• Listed Options – more than 1,200 Options contracts from 23 exchanges covering a range of assets. Options trading with Saxo is associated with competitive commissions. For US Stock Options, for instance, the broker will charge a commission of $3.00 (Classic Account) and $1.25 (VIP Account). For US Cash Index Options, the commissions charged will be $6.00 (Classic Account) and $1.25 (VIP Account).

Final Words – Best CFD Brokers for Range on Tradable Instruments

Overall, with over 800,000 traders, Saxo Markets is a global leader in CFD trading. The proprietary CFD trading platforms offered by Saxo are user friendly and they come with powerful tools, integrated trading signals and a wide range of CFD markets.

View Saxo Markets Review >>Visit Saxo Markets >>

CMC Markets – Top Platform For ETFs And Stock Index

When we compared the best CFD platforms for trading indices like Dow Jones index, S&P 500 index, FTSE 100, China’s SHCOMP or the Singapore stock market index STI, CMC Markets offers the best technological solution. Based in London, CMC Markets is a reputable CFD and Forex broker with offices across continental Europe and the Asia Pacific region:

• CMC Markets UK and European operations are authorised and regulated by the UK’s FCA and Germany’s BaFIN
• CMC Markets Singapore Pte. Ltd. is authorised and regulated by the Monetary Authority of Singapore to provide financial services, including the offering of high risk, over-the-counter derivative instruments known as Contracts for Difference, to local clientele

Our review has concluded that CMC Markets offers Singapore-based clients the most extensive list of global Stock Indices and ETFs available to trade as CFDs.

Singapore clients can trade CFDs on up to 95 Stock Indices

The brokerage offers a total of 95 Stock Index CFD contracts on its two main trading account types – CFD Account and Corporate Account, traded with a maximum leverage of 1:50 and with no minimum deposit requirement. The Index CFD products are accessible through the broker’s MetaTrader 4 platform as well as through its award-winning CFD trading app, which features real-time charting and more than 35 technical indicators and drawing tools.

Singapore-based clients can trade the MSCI Singapore Free Index with spreads of as low as 0.3 points and the Dow Jones 30 Industrial Average with a minimum spread of 1.6 points. Margin requirements, trading hours and minimum spreads on other popular Stock Indices are presented in the table below.

CMC Markets offer CFDs on 1,000 ETFs

Additionally, the broker provides access to more than 8,400 global Stocks and 1,000 ETFs through Contracts for Difference. CMC Markets will charge a commission of 0.10% (minimum SGD 10.00) for opening and closing positions in Singaporean Shares CFDs, while for US Stocks the commission charged will be $0.02. Margin requirements range between 10% and 20%.

The following table visualises the minimum commission charged, the trading hours and other specifications associated with Stock trading.

Other CFD trading charges

It is essential to note that the broker offers certain risk management tools so that clients can protect their active positions and handle high leverage ratios. One such tool is the Guaranteed Stop-Loss Order, which sets an absolute limit on potential losses and closes the position at the specified price level with 100% certainty.

However, CMC Markets will charge a premium for using this tool. For example, when trading 5 CFD contracts in Dow Jones 30, Singapore-based clients will be charged a premium of SGD 6.61 for placing a Guaranteed Stop-Loss Order. If not triggered, the broker will refund the full amount of the original premium.

Final Words – Best Brokers for Stock CFD Trading

At CMC Markets, Singapore clients can enjoy powerful trading technology through the award-winning Next Generation platform. The spread starts from 0.7 points on FX pairs and 0.3 points on the world’s most popular stock indices. Grab your free demo account by clicking the button below.

View CMC Markets Review >>Visit CMC Markets>>

Oanda – Good Broker with MetaTrader 4 Trading Platform

Oanda was awarded the prize of the best MetaTrader 4 broker due to 4 factors:

• MetaTrader4 platform is powered by Oanda V20 price execution engine
• Execution speed on market orders of 0.001 seconds
• Core spreads on +70 currency pairs with hedging capabilities
• MetaTrader4 bridge for desktop, mobile and web platforms

OANDA Corp, founded in 1995, is a registered Futures Commission Merchant and Retail Foreign Exchange Dealer with the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission. Additionally, the CFD and Forex broker is authorised to operate in several other jurisdictions:

• Canada – OANDA (Canada) Corp ULC, regulated by the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada (IIROC)
• Australia – OANDA Australia Pty Ltd, regulated by the ASIC
• Singapore – OANDA Asia Pacific Pte Ltd, regulated by the Monetary Authority of Singapore
• The United Kingdom – OANDA Europe Limited, regulated by the FCA

Among the top regulated CFD brokers in Singapore we reviewed, Oanda offers the most competitive MetaTrader 4 software solution. Oanda’s custom-built bridge combines the broker’s pricing and execution with the charting and analytical capabilities of the MetaTrader 4 platform.

Oanda’s MT4 offers a full suite of trading tools

With Oanda’s user-friendly MT4 solution, Singapore-based traders are able to take advantage of:

• Advanced charting package – more than 50 built-in technical indicators, 9-time frames and multiple displays
• Automated trading tools (Expert Advisors) by third parties, which allow clients to build trading algorithms and backtest trading strategies
• Superior technical analysis package, accessed as a plug-in on the MT4 trading platform – intraday market scanning, trade execution directly from the interface, automatic chart pattern recognition and pattern quality indicators, automated alerts for specified patterns
• Tight spreads that start from 0.6 pips on EUR/USD with the Depth of Market (DOM), accessed through the OANDA MT4 plugin
• Instant market access, with trade execution speed being 0.012 seconds
• CFDs on more than 70 currency pairs
• Independent market analysis webinars every week
• Variety of risk management orders, including Stop Loss orders
• MT4 open order indicator – traders can make their decisions based on retail pricing sentiment, view aggregate open orders and open positions by Oanda clients directly on the MT4 charts and benefit from clearly visible levels of support and resistance on the charts
• OANDA MT4 mobile app for Android- and iOS-based devices – features 32 overlay indicators, 11 drawing tools and 9 types of charts
• 24/5 professional customer support

Start trading with Oanda’s Free Practice Account

The broker also offers a free Demo Account with unlimited virtual funds, with which CFD traders can get a taste of real market conditions with live pricing. The Demo Account can be used for as long as Oanda clients want.

Final Words  – Best MetaTrader4 Broker in Singapore

The MetaTrader 4 (MT4) trading platform is the world’s most popular retail forex platform. In our proprietary star scoring system, Oanda won the most points as its custom-built bridge connects Singaporean traders to the best technological solution for MT4. Oanda doesn’t enforce any minimum deposit amounts, so you’re free to start your trading journey with no financial commitment.

View Oanda Review >>Visit Oanda >>

Interactive Brokers – Platform Offering 105 Forex Currency Pairs

Based on our star scoring system, the leader in forex trading platforms in CFD currency trading is Interactive Brokers. The US-based brokerage trading firm is the biggest US broker. IB Singapore offers the best forex retail investor accounts due to 5 factors:

• Range of spot FX pairs (105)
• Multi-award-winning platform (Barron’s 2018 Best Online Brokers Ranking)
• Direct market access (DMA) to interbank FX quotes
• A specialised platform for the forex market
• ECN liquidity

With over 40 years of business history, Interactive Brokers Group is a global brokerage that provides direct access, trade execution, and clearing services for a range of financial markets. IB Group is the parent company of:

• Interactive Brokers LLC, regulated by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC),
• Interactive Brokers Canada Inc, a member of the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada (IIROC) and of the Canadian Investor Protection Fund,
• Interactive Brokers U.K. Limited, regulated by the FCA,
• Interactive Brokers Australia Pty. Ltd, regulated by the ASIC,
• Interactive Brokers Hong Kong Limited, regulated by the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission,
• Interactive Brokers Securities Japan Inc, regulated by the Kanto Local Finance Bureau

Note* The broker also adheres to regulatory standards in Luxembourg and India.

Forex trading with Interactive Brokers

With IB, Singapore-based traders are granted direct market access (DMA) to interbank quotes from 17 of the largest Forex dealing financial institutions in the world. The broker offers a total of 105 major, minor and exotic currency pairs comprised of 23 trading currencies – USD, AUD, CAD, CHF, CNH, CZK, DKK, EUR, GBP, HKD, HUF, ILS, JPY, MXN, NOK, NZD, PLN, RUB, SEK, SGD, TRY, ZAR, KRW.

Traders can take advantage of the best bid and ask prices derived directly from a number of liquidity providers, with spreads being as low as 1/10 pip.

The broker will charge a small commission of 0.08 to 0.20 basis points depending on trade size, with the minimum commission being $2.00 (or currency equivalent) per trade.

FX Trader is the optimised trading software offered by Interactive Brokers. It features trading tools designed by the broker and supports more than 20 order types,  including trailing stop limits, brackets, one cancels all, limit if touched and scale. The platform also offers an easily customizable layout, with every currency pair’s “trading cell” showing the position, the average cost as well as the Profit and Loss data.

Final Words – Best Online Platform for Currency Trading

Overall, Interactive Brokers offer the best online trading service for experienced traders that seek to take advantage of the price movements in the foreign exchange market. On top of that, forex traders also have access to +6,100 CFD instruments.

Plus500 – CFD Platform With Risk Management Features

The CFD provider Plus500 a company listed on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) offers a complete risk management software solution. Due to the regulatory frameworks, brokers are required to offer solutions for limiting the trading risks. The risk management tools offered by Plus500 allow CFD traders to automatically manage their risk.

Plus500 risk management solution includes the following features:

• Guaranteed Stop Loss Order (GSLO) – helps minimize CFD losses by eliminating slippage
• Negative Balance Protection (NBP) – safeguards your deposit funds (you can’t lose more than your account balance)
• Advanced order tools – trailing stop loss, stop limit and stop-loss orders
• Real–time alerts – for changes in the price of your favourite CFD instruments, percentage changes and market sentiment notifications
• Pop up notifications about the latest news events

Plus500 operates in Singapore through its subsidiary Plus500SG Pte Ltd, which abides by the regulatory frameworks imposed by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS). Additionally, Plus500 is licensed to provide online CFD trading by another 3 tier-1 regulatory bodies in the UK, Cyprus (UE) and Australia.

Note* In trading, risk management tools are built-in features that come with your trading software. The risk tools are designed to protect and help traders better manage currency risk and CFD risk.

Plus500 Bonuses and Trade Rebates

Plus500 is the only MAS regulated CFD provider that offers its clients welcome deposit bonuses. Plus500 clients can be compensated with a deposit bonus of up to SGD 13,000 which can be used as a margin for future trades.

The onetime CFD bonus can range in size, depending on the initial deposit made by Singaporean residents. To be eligible to receive the minimum deposit bonus of SGD 80, you need a minimum deposit of SGD 300. For a completed list of the welcome bonuses offered by Plus500 study the table below.

Note* The deposit bonus is available for withdrawal after 90 days only if the trader has completed a certain trading volume as stipulated in the Plus500 Bonus Terms & Conditions.

Additionally, Plus500 clients can also automatically join the Rebates Program within the first 12 days from your first deposit. The CFD rebates rate are credited to your account at the end of each week.

Note* The trading rebates are a way to increase your profits by gaining cashback each time you place a trade. Usually, the trading rebates can come in the form of reduced spreads. 

Final Words – Best CFD Platform with Risk Management Tools

Overall, Plus500 offers robust and reliable risk management tools, which is a real account saver. You can start trading on the most popular CFD instruments in Singapore (USD/SGD, Singapore 25 and Singapore Shares) by clicking the button below.

View Plus500 Review >>Visit Plus500 >>

*Your capital is at risk ‘76.4% of retail CFD accounts lose money’

IG Markets – Best CFD Platform For Cryptocurrency Trading

We compared the top CFD platforms that allow you to trade Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies and found that IG Markets offers the best solution. At IG, Singaporean residents can trade 8 major digital coins (Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Ethereum, Litecoin, Ripple, Stellar, NEO and EOS) with zero commissions and do electronic wallet. IG Group Holdings Plc, established in 1974, is a reputable multi-regulated CFD and Forex broker operating in 16 countries across 5 continents, including:

• IG Markets Ltd is authorised and regulated by the UK’s FCA
• IG Markets Limited is authorised and regulated by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC)
• IG Asia Pte Ltd is licensed and regulated by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS)
• IG Asia Pte Ltd is licensed and regulated by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS)
• IG Europe is licensed and regulated by BaFIN in Germany

IG Markets provides its more than 178,000 clients access to a vast range of markets through several online trading platforms, including:

• IG’s proprietary Web-based platform (Webtrader)
• MetaTrader 4
• Advanced platforms (L2 dealer, ProRealTime)
• Mobile Trading Apps

Our review has concluded that IG has the best Cryptocurrency CFD offering for Singaporean traders.

Cryptocurrency trading with IG Markets

The broker offers 8 of the most popular digital currencies, which can be traded as CFD contracts on all of its platforms with no commissions charged (traders pay only the spread). These products are also available on IG’s Demo Account.

Singapore-based clients can trade Bitcoin with:

• A minimum spread of 36 points
• A minimum margin requirement of 20%
• Trade cryptocurrency directly from the broker’s MT4 trading platform

We should note that larger position sizes will require more margin, as per IG’s tiered margin policy. Tiers depend on the number of contracts included in a trader’s position. For example, trading 70 or more CFD contracts in Bitcoin will require a margin of 30%, while 140 or more contracts – a margin of 75%.

Cryptocurrency CFD specifications for all digital coins available on IG Markets’ MT4 trading platform are presented in the following table. It also shows the risk premium the broker will charge if a trader’s Guaranteed Stop Loss order is triggered.

Final Words – Best Cryptocurrency Platform for CFD Trading

Overall, IG clients can benefit from advanced trading platforms that are compatible with cryptocurrency trading. Singaporean residents can speculate in rising and falling crypto prices without the need to open an exchange account, along with attractive leverage and improved liquidity. Grab your 30-day Free demo account by clicking the button below.

View IG Markets Review >>Visit IG >>

Swissquote – Trade With MetaTrader 5 CFD Trading Platform

Swissquote was awarded as the best broker that features that MetaTrader 5 platform and allows CFD trading. Swissquote Bank Ltd is not just a Forex broker, but also holds banking and transferable securities trading licenses, granted by the Swiss Federal Banking Commission in 2001. The company is regulated by the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA).

SwissQuote Ltd is registered in England and Wales and regulated by the UK’s FCA.

SwissQuote Pte. Ltd., a subsidiary of Swissquote Bank, is authorised and regulated to conduct business in Singapore by the Monetary Authority of Singapore.

Among the top regulated CFD brokers in Singapore we reviewed, SwissQuote offers the most competitive MetaTrader 5 trading platform. It comes with a full analysis & charting suite, complimentary plug-ins and has unrestricted automated trading capabilities.

SwissQuote’s MT5 – the next-generation Forex platform

With SwissQuote’s MT5 solution, Singapore-based CFD traders are able to take advantage of:

• Automated trading – use Expert Advisors or copy automatically the trading activity of hundreds of successful traders
• Advanced analysis and charting tools – use 80 built-in indicators or create their own, use 44 analytical objects on highly customizable charts with 21-time frames
• Competitive spreads that start from 1.1 pips (on the Prime Account) on Forex pairs such as EUR/USD
• Instant access to global markets, with average trade execution speed being 27 ms
• Reliability – 97% fill ratio, 63% of orders filled with no slippage
• Full mobility – a platform available as a Web Trader version compatible with any browser and as a mobile app for all iOS and Android devices
• Range of Plug-ins, including:
  1. Autochartist – continuously scans markets, automatically recognises trade set-ups and sends alerts based on three main technical analysis options: regular chart patterns, Fibonacci patterns and key levels
  2. Trading Central plug-in that consists of three indicators, which overlay onto live charts – Analyst Views, Adaptive Candlesticks, Adaptive Divergence Convergence. Once installed, they appear in the platform’s indicator list. Trading Central’s pattern recognition software combined with TC’s Daily Market Report enables clients to make better trading decisions based on expert analytics
  3. MetaTrader Master Edition – adds 12 advanced tools, including Correlation Matrix, Trade Terminal, Mini Terminal and Stealth orders (suitable for scalpers) as well as 15 new indicators, including Keltner, Renko, Pivot and Donchian Channel

Final Words – Best MetaTrader 5 Platform for CFD Trading

Overall, SwissQuote is able to offer a superior technological solution for the MetaTrader 5 (MT5) platform. SwissQuote MT5 is available across multiple devices including desktop, web and mobile. Upgrade your trading and start taking advantage of advanced plug-ins and trading tools by clicking the button below.