In this review we are going to present you Markets.com, a fast growing Forex & CFD trading provider. Safecap Investments Limited, a company based in Cyprus operates Markets.com. Markets.com offers a variety of products and services in over 20 languages. Since 2014, the company is partnered with Arsenal FC, one of the most popular and most successful football clubs in England and beyond. In 2015, Markets.com was bought by Playtech Plc. Playtech Plc are one of the leading software companies, listed on the London Stock Exchange FTSE 250 Index. Read this review to get a full picture of Markets.com.
UK Regulation and Reputation
Since the company that operates Markets.com is based in Cyprus, Markets.com is licenced and regulated in this island country, by CySEC, the local authority in the country. Since Cyprus is a member of the EU, this means that the company is also licenced to work throughout the EU, including Great Britain. So, Markets.com is on the list FCA UK registered brokers. In addition to being licenced in the EU, Markets.com is also licenced in South Africa by FSB. Markets.com have a solid reputation and they have received the Best Customer Service award for 2012 as well as many other awards. After partnering with Arsenal F.C. Markets.com have a greater media presence.
Trading Offer
Markets.com offers the Forex trading and CFD trading. When it comes to Forex trading they offer over 50 currency pairs, including the most popular pairs- EUR/USD, GBP/USD, USD/CHF, USD/JPY, but also many other pairs, like: GBP/RON, AUD/NZD, NZD/CHF and many more. The trading starts on Sunday 22:00 and lasts until Friday 22:00, since this is the time when the Asian markets open and the American market closes, respectively. There certain periods that have additional limitations in terms of period of the day when they can be traded, or when the spreads may be widened. The CFD trading includes: indices, gold and silver, stocks, bonds, commodities and oil. Markets.com features all the major indices, such as: FTSE 100, Hong Kong Hang Seng, S&P 500, Dow Jones 30 and others. When it comes to oils and precious metals, they only feature crude oil, gold and silver. Stocks of numerous international companies can be traded in the hours when the respective stock exchange is open. You can also trade commodities such as: corn, wheat, coffee, soybeans, sugar, etc. As far as bonds are concerned, you can trade American bonds issued in US Dollars, British bonds issued in Pounds Sterling, Euro-bonds and Japanese government bonds issued in Yens.
Leverage and Lot Sizes
With the Forex trading you can get leverage of up to 1:200. In fact, for most currency pairs this is the set leverage. Certain pairs have lower leverages, for example the EUR/RUB leverage is 1:25, whereas for USD/INR the leverage is 1:50. The size of one lot is 100,000 for all currency pairs. In CFD trading the leverage may differ. When it comes to indices the max leverage that you can get is 1:100, although some, like MICEX have a 1:5 leverage. The leverage for gold, silver and oil is 100:1. With stocks the maximum leverage is 1:20, although some stocks have a lower leverage.
Spreads/Commission/Fees
Markets.com doesn’t charge any additional fees or commissions for Forex traders. The spreads (expressed in pips), depends on which platform you’re using. For example, for GBP/USD, the fixed spread is set at 3 in MT4 and at 2 in Markets Web Trader, whereas the typical floating spread is 2.8. For CFD Indices trading the spread is expressed in the respective currency of the index and it also depends on the platform. For FTSE 100 the spread can be as low as £2 in MT4 and as low as £1.2 in Markets Web Trader. Same goes for stocks; the spread is expressed in the respective currency.
Trading Platforms
At Markets.com they offer 4 different trading platforms, each tailored to suit the needs of a particular range of customers. They have Markets Web Trader, Markets Mobile Trader, Meta Trader 4 (MT4) and Sirix Web Trader. The Markets Web Trader could be called the basic platform. It offers fairly simple navigation with a search tool and real-time prices. In addition, by using the trading cubes you can view multiple instruments at once. The Markets Web Trader features advanced charting and indicators, as well as an up-to-date news ticker. Even though there is a separate mobile trader, you can still access the Markets Web Trader from your Android or iOS mobile device. The Markets Mobile Trader enables your phone to become your door to the online trading world. It supports iOS and Android devices and all you need to do is scan the QR code. It features all the required tools and enables you to do your account management. The Meta Trader 4 gives you access to world-class charting tools and powerful indicators, as well as database management and export/import functions. With Sirix Web Trader you can use pre-configured trading cubes, social trading and get access to live analysis and charts.
Banking
There is a range of different payment methods at Markets.com. Credit and debit cards, such as Visa, Diners Club or Mastercard are accepted deposit methods. WebMoney, wire transfer and fast wire transfer are also accepted. The minimum deposit amount is £100 and there isn’t a deposit fee imposed by Markets.com. Credit and debit card deposits usually take up to 24 hours, whereas wire transfer deposits can take up to 2 business days. Funds can be withdrawn either to your bank account or to your credit/debit card. There isn’t a withdraw fee and it may take up to 7 days.
Welcome Offer for new Traders
Each new trader at Markets.com is entitled to a £25 welcome bonus. All you need to do in order to receive this bonus is verify your mobile phone number and then type in the 3-digit code. You’re only entitled to one bonus per phone number/IP address/household. Once you receive the bonus you have to trade an amount 10,000 the bonus amount. So, if you receive £10, you’d have to trade £100,000 before you can withdraw the bonus. In addition, you’re also entitled to a bonus for every referred friend who opens an account at Markets.com and deposits money into it.
Support
If you have any issues before, or after you’ve opened an account and began trading, you can address them to the customer support team at Markets.com. You can address them via phone. They have a customer support line and an email, as well as a separate telephone line for 36 countries, including the UK. In addition, you can contact their staff via live chat which is available on the website. Their representatives are available 24/5. The website features a FAQ section where a lot of the questions concerning trading at Markets.com are answered.
Training Materials
Markets.com features a Research and an Education section, both of which can help new and experienced traders expand their knowledge and ultimately earn more money. The Research section features Forex daily briefings, stock markets, economic calendar, trading signals and Authochartist. In the Education section you’ll find a lot of materials on Forex and CFD trading, as well as fundamental and technical analyses. Moreover, you can read e-books, attend webinars and watch video tutorials. There are tutorials for beginners, tutorials for professionals, as well as trading strategies tutorials. You can even attend live seminars which take place in various cities throughout the world.
Conclusion
Markets.com aren’t a very old Forex and CFD trader, but they have managed to build a respectable reputation in the past 4-5 years. The website is quite educational and very informative and exploring their materials will certainly make you a more educated trader. They offer a quite low initial deposit limit, which is quite good, especially for newbies, and they have a reasonable large amount of instruments and markets on offer. The website is licenced and regulated and you needn’t worry about the safety of your funds. All in all, Markets.com is a website we would recommend, especially to beginners.