MagnumOptions

Launched in April 2013, MagnumOptions.eu was now owned by by Solaris Vision limited which registered at the following address: Sofia, Mladost 4, BI. 428, Entrance 1, Floor 1/3. This company is not regulated. MagnumOptions is available via 2 international numbers, for North America/Canada: 1-800-990-9228 and UK +44-800-680-0683, or email via [email protected]. Be Advised: This Broker is most likely closed.

Is Magnum Options a Scam?

So far nothing leads us to believe they MagnumOptions is a scam. Several reports from CommuniTraders members approve that withdrawals are being handled on time and the support service is great. They are a legit company, very transparent compared to others but they haven’t been in the business for a long time; however, this alone is not a reason for concern. What is however the most alarming sign, discovered in 2017, is the multiple warnings from various authorities including FSC in Bulgaria where Magnum Options claims to be located.

Update January 2017, what’s not a speculation is that Magnum Options owners, Solaris Vision Ltd, also owns Redwood Options, another broker with not a great reputation.

Looking at traffic data for MagnumOptions.com and .eu, we can see a major drop in traffic in the past 6 months from 2016 August to 2017 January. The drop is about 3 to 4 times their usual traffic which could be considered alarming and also related to the various warnings they have received from authorities.

Editor’s Note – Why MagnumOptions doesn’t Suck in 50 words?

I can give the answer to that question in 5 words, not 50: They try to be different. In the binary options industry, finding a broker that is “different” is almost like finding an oasis in a desert. Of course, all brokerage websites offer the same product – binary options – and it’s pretty hard to come up with something that’s never been done before. Magnum Options offers plenty of webinars, at the moment of viewing, they offer 7 webinars within 10 days!

Why does MagnumOptions Sucks in 50 words?

What sucks is the many warnings against them by several authorities but it’s not the warnings alone that are the worse part but the fact that one of their victims is confirmed by the MSC. This person was refused a withdrawal and made the client lose money by giving out bad trading tips until the account was wiped out. The authorities further mentioned that it’s not likely she will ever get her money back due to the lack of regulation for Magnum Options.

Should I Open an Account with Magnum Options?

The platform appeals to different types of traders: although they use SpotOption 2.0 – which is a very good platform to start with – they have added a few extras. At the bottom left corner of each chart you have something called a Strategy Advisor. When you hover with the mouse over it you get the option to choose between RSI, Moving Averages and Bollinger Bands. Clicking on any one of them will automatically generate a trading suggestion based on the technical indicator you clicked. A countdown starts and in 10 seconds you will get your prediction: Call or Put. Of course, you can then check the other two indicators and trade only if at least 2 out of 3 agree. However, I don’t know what settings are used for these indicators and I cannot vouch for their accuracy, but it’s something I haven’t seen on other websites and I think it’s a sign that Magnum Options is aiming high.

On the same note of aiming high, they offer Ladder Options which is quite interesting and I believe we will see more of it in the future. Here’s how it works: the further the asset moves from the strike price (price where you opened the trade), the more you can profit. Also, if the asset is in an uptrend and you trade Puts, the payout is huge, but of course so are the risks. Same goes for a downtrend if you trade Calls, so in other words, counter trend trading is better rewarded. Here’s an example: price is 1.5232 and the payout for an option below 1.5240 is 2.97% (in this case I had less than 2 minutes until expiry). That payout is not impressive to say the least, but – and this is the good part – if it expires above 1.5240, I can get 401.55%. Now that’s impressive in my book. If my option expires above 1.5250, the payout is 773.47%. The further away the expiry price is, the more you can profit (they offer predefined levels). That’s why I like Magnum Options, because they have a different approach and they realize that you cannot be a true leader by doing everything the same as others.

Reviewing Magnum Options was actually a pleasant experience because – and I don’t want to sound corny – they gave me hope that other brokers will step up their game. When everybody is offering the same thing, there’s no real competition among brokers and we get a mediocre service at best, but when one of them introduces something new and exciting, others will soon follow or will start losing clients.

Update August 2016: Although the features above are now common among most SpotOption brands, they still remain useful to traders. However, except for some minor changes, Magnum Options are the same as they were last time we reviewed them. They had a good start but faded soon after and couldn’t move ahead of the pack. They still claim to offer “unique characteristics” such as: “100% web based” (wow, unique just like 99.9% of the other brokers), “no download required” (again, so unique…), “no requirement of previous trading experience” (show me a broker that actually requires you to have experience before opening an account!). To sum it up, Magnum Options doesn’t have anything special and are not a monument of professionalism but that doesn’t mean they are bad, just that we expected more from them.

Update 2017 – Finding all the warnings and scam reports it gives Magnum Options the image of another scam broker. Another sign of being of a lack of professionalism is poor, misleading inormation about the minimum deposit being 200 in the FAQ section but 500 under account packages. It is a sign of a lazy broker and it has been like this since the last time we checked on them months ago!

Magnum Options Complaints

We do the search, you need to read! You can do a similar search at home, do it yourself style. Search for MagnumOptions scams, fraud, complaints, etc and visit forums and review websites. Remember! some websites only using words like scam/fraud to get you in, but they are not really uncovering any secrets! So better look inside comments and forums posts made by users.

Our “Comments” section below this review has a surprisingly low amount of comments and complaints. Magnum Options have been in the business for a relatively long time now but people don’t talk about them as much as they talk about other brokers. This could have 2 reasons: either traders are not interested in this brokerage or Magnum are doing a good job and everybody’s happy.

Update February 2017 – Checking our comment section below we see many complaints regarding blown accounts and shady account managers. We also mentioned the extreme drop in their traffic lately which kind of confirms our earlier theory about traders not being interesting in this brokerage. In addition, there are numerous warnings from various regulators, especially the one from MSC which is most likely the tip of the ice berg.

Magnum Options Regulatory Announcements and Warnings

13.05.2016 The BCSC (Canada) warns against Magnum Options for allowing Canadian citizens to use their services without proper authorization. Source: BCSC 5/16.

2.06.2016 MSC (Canada) warns against Magnum Options after a 61 year old woman was defrauded for $10,000. Source: MB Securities.

17.11.2016 The NSSC (Canada) warns investors about Magnum Options because the company is not registered in Nova Scotia. Source: NSSC 11/16.

20.11.2016 The FSC in Bulgaria, where Magnum Options claims to have an office says the company is not authorized in the country. Source: FSC(BG) Warning List.

29.11.2016 The French AMF adds Magnum Options to its list of illegally operating brokers. Source: AMF 11/16.

Magnum Options Bonus

The Bonus policy is pretty straightforward according to their FAQ section: “If you choose to accept a bonus, you will be required to execute trades to the value of thirty times your initial bonus funds. Therefore, in order to withdraw any funds, the preceding stipulation must be fully met and fulfilled.” Also, the bonus percentages are mentioned under “account packages” and the minimum deposit of 500 gives you 25% bonus.

According to their Terms and Conditions, the withdrawal of any funds is impossible before a trading volume of 30, 40 or 50 times has been reached (this applies if the client has received a bonus). Keep in mind that your own money cannot be withdrawn before the bonus turnover is reached. We consider this a very unprofessional tactic of tying your money to their platform.

Magnum Options Withdrawal

Withdrawals are pretty standard: you can use credit cards, debit cards (the money will go to the same card which was used for deposit) and wire transfer. Minimum withdrawal is 100 EUR or USD, depending on the account currency. For wire transfers, you get one free transaction per month and additional withdrawals will be charged a $30 fee.

It takes Magnum Options up to 4 business days to process the request and additional 5-7 business days will pass until the money reaches you.

Magnum Options Extras

In this section I would like to mention of course their Ladder style options and the Strategy Advisor feature which is not guaranteed to bring you profits, but it increases your chances of a successful investment.

Update February 2017 – these features are now pretty common with SpotOption brokerages.

Magnum Options Ratings

User Friendly 18/20

The platform is easy to use and has enough features to satisfy even the most experienced traders. The website is easy to navigate and well structured. Update August 2016: US clients are no longer accepted and I couldn’t find the option to change language so I can only assume that only English is available and that’s not very user friendly for someone who doesn’t speak or understand the language.

Number of assets and expiry times 18/20

Their basket of assets is composed of 74 stocks, 33 currency pairs, 8 commodities and 36 indices. All this is more than enough for any trader and you should find good trades at most times. The expiry times will also satisfy all types of traders since they range from short term (60 seconds) to medium term (hourly, 4 hour, end of day) to long term (end of week/month/year).

Commissions, Support and Effective return 17/20

There are no commissions or fees for deposit or withdrawal except a $30 fee which is charged if you want to make more than one monthly wire transfer withdrawal. The payout is either 81% or 82% as they don’t seem to be sure about it themselves. 81/82% is average-to-high for the industry and the refund for unsuccessful trades goes up to 10% which is very good. The support is quite helpful and polite but at times it took a bit too long for them to answer my questions.

Deposit, Payment and Bonus 13/20

Minimum deposit is $500 which is rather high for the industry and can be done via credit/debit card or wire transfer. Withdrawals usually take up to 3 business days to process and additional 5 to 7 days will pass until the money will reach your account. For exact bonus conditions you should talk to one of their representatives but according to their FAQ section, the wager is 30 times the bonus amount.

Update August 2016: The account structure has changed, with the lowest account starting at $500 (Mini). The minimum deposit is still $200 and the two statements seem to contradict each other but that’s what they list on their website (we assume than an account manager will clear this up). Processing time for withdrawals is 4 business days, the bonus scales up depending on the account type and the required turnover is 30, 40 or 50 times the bonus but they don’t specify the criteria on which the actual number is decided.

Website Extras 15/20

There are many scheduled live webinars on short term trading and candlesticks.

MagnumOptions Overall Ratings 80/100