FP Markets Review
Why FP Markets Doesn’t Suck In 50 Words
FP Markets has received 38 industry awards including the Highest Overall Client Satisfaction and Best Trade Execution. I know a lot of brokers simply list their awards but you have no way of knowing if they actually received those or who awarded them. As opposed to that, FP Markets offers enough information about the entities that granted the awards, thus legitimizing them.
Why FP Markets Sucks In 50 Words
Unfortunately FP Markets doesn’t accept clients from the United States, Japan, and New Zealand. Although this definitely sucks for people in those regions, it shows that this broker is looking to abide by strict rules imposed by financial authority bodies.
Is FP Markets A Scam?
We’ve seen many times before that scam brokers usually survive 1 or 2 years (some even a bit more) and then disappear either because they cannot get any new clients (and the old ones leave) or because the authorities are closing them down. In some cases, they change names and re-emerge as a “new” broker.
However, this is definitely not the case with FP Markets as they’ve been active since 2005 and I’m sure that a scam would have been uncovered until now. That being said, there’s no 100% guarantee for the future so for all I know, they could turn bad tomorrow. Always prepare for the worst and hope for the best.
Should I Open An Account With FP Markets?
FP Markets is a regulated online broker that offers FX and CFD trading on a variety of assets, including indices, equities, commodities, and crypto. The broker has been in business since 2005 and is owned/operated by the group of companies FP Markets, which include:
• First Prudential Markets Pty Ltd. – regulated by ASIC under ABN 16 112 600 281,
• First Prudential Markets Ltd. – regulated by the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC), with license number 371/18 and EEA authorised by the British FCA with reference number 837633.
• FP Markets LLC., which is a registered company of St. Vincent and the Grenadines (Limited Liability Number 126 LLC 2019).
From the start it’s pretty clear this is a serious broker that covers all the bases: regulation, platform, trading conditions and banking (deposits and withdrawals). We’ve already covered their regulation so we will talk about the platforms: Meta Trader 4 and Meta Trader 5. As you probably know, Meta Trader is the most popular choice among FX/CFD brokers and the reason for its popularity is the fact that traders love it. FP Markets also offers WebTrader (web version of MT4) and mobile versions for iOS and Android, as well as a lesser-known platform called IRESS (provides Direct Market Access). The latter is a paid product ($55 per month) but the fee will be waivered if a certain commission is generated from the client’s trades.
Education is comprehensive and includes e-books, trading tutorials, platform guides, video courses, and Daily Market research/analysis.
Education is comprehensive and includes e-books, trading tutorials, platform guides, video courses, and Daily Market research/analysis.
Accounts start at $100 AUD for both Standard and ECN Raw. The main difference between the two account types is the way commissions are calculated: on the Standard account, you will pay a higher spread, while the ECN Raw has zero spreads and instead charges a commission per lot traded (3 USD per lot per side).
IRESS accounts start at 1,000 AUD for the Standard, 25,000 AUD for the Platinum, and 50,000 AUD for the Premier. Keep in mind these accounts will provide you Direct Market Access (DMA), which means you will get your prices right from major exchanges, thus the level of transparency is much higher.
Overall this looks to be a trustworthy broker but the final decision depends on your level of market understanding and of course, your needs. As you can see from the above information, if you need DMA (through the IRESS platform), then be prepared to commit a bigger amount for the first deposit. Otherwise, you can simply use the “classic” pricing model and skip all the other complicated (and expensive) stuff.
The registered address is Level 5, Exchange House 10 Bridge St, Sydney NSW 2000. Their St. Vincent and the Grenadines address is First Floor, First St. Vincent Bank Ltd Building, James Street, Kingstown. Their Cyprus address is Aigeo Court 2nd floor, 109 Griva Digeni, 3101, Limassol. FP Markets can be contacted at phone +44 28 2544 7780 and email: [email protected].
FP Markets Complaints
This broker enjoys a relatively good reputation among traders and we couldn’t find any major complaints, except a few about slow order execution and delayed payments.
The majority of clients are very content with the broker’s services, judging from all the positive comments and the 3.5 out of 5 stars rating on Forexpeacearmy.com but it must be noted there are very few posts in the FP Markets thread and that’s a bit weird for a broker launched in 2005. Also, according to FPA, in early 2020, multiple accounts were created to spam the FPA forums. Some of the IPs were the same as the ones of FP Markets representatives. Keep in mind, this info comes from the FPA and we are simply presenting the facts, we are not judging who is right or wrong.
FP Markets Regulatory Warnings And Announcements
So far we couldn’t find any warnings or fines issued by the ASIC or CySEC against FP Markets. If the situation changes, we will update it as necessary.
FP Markets Bonus
FP Markets doesn’t offer a bonus due to regulatory restrictions.
FP Markets Withdrawal
The methods for withdrawal are credit/debit cards, wire transfers, Skrill and Neteller, and more (these may vary depending on region). The processing time is 1 business day for most methods but additional time will pass until the funds reach your account, depending on the method used. The minimum amount is not specified.
FP Markets Extras
FP Markets offers the popular Autochartist for chart pattern recognition, as well as Traders Toolbox, which is a suite of instruments meant to help traders.
FP Markets Ratings
User Friendliness 15/20
The website is translated into 13 languages, information is relatively easy to find and they have lots of tutorials to help you get started. The trading platforms are not very easy if you are a new trader so expect a learning curve but nothing out of the ordinary. Mobile apps are available as well as demo accounts but US clients are not accepted.
Range Of Markets, Leverage And Spreads 17/20
The tradable assets are satisfactory, with over 50 Forex pairs but not a huge selection of stocks indices and commodities. Cryptocurrencies are not very well represented either – only 5 digital assets (Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Ethereum, Litecoin and Ripple). The leverage goes up to 1:500 but this will only be available for clients from certain jurisdictions (EU clients can use lower leverage). The spreads are floating and depend on market conditions but they are generally low.
Deposits And Withdrawals 16/20
The minimum deposit for an account is $100 (AUD). Withdrawals take up to 1 business day to process and more for the money to reach you. The methods are cards, bank transfers, Skrill, Neteller and more, depending on your region.
Fees And Support 16/20
There are no fees for card withdrawals but some of the other methods will carry fees: 10 AUD for international bank transfers, 2% for Neteller and 1%+ country fees for Skrill. Live support was reasonably helpful and fast enough to answer.
Extras 16/20
Autochartist, Traders Toolbox and a pretty wide collection of articles related to trading. Good overall but nothing to write home about.