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IC Markets Review 2020 | Public Finance International

IC Markets is a forex and CFD online trading platform that was founded in 2007. IC Markets is an online broker is regulated by the FSA (Seychelles Financial Supervisory Authority), CYSEC (Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission) and AFSL (Australian Financial Services Licence).

Review Summary

IC Markets forex trading fees are low. Account opening, depositing and withdrawals are free, easy and fast.

IC Markets currently doesn’t provide negative balance protection. The product portfolio offered includes: FX, stock CFDs, cryptocurrencies, bonds CFDs, commodities and indices.

This online trading platform offers CFD products covering a decent range of financial assets including forex pairs, stocks, indexes, and commodities, and it is considered a safe broker as it is regulated by top-tier financial agencies around the world including the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC).

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The following is a list of the subsidiaries that this company uses to operate in the various markets it offers its brokerage services to:

Australia: International Capital Markets Pty Ltd
Seychelles: Raw Trading Ltd
Cyprus: IKBK Holdings Ltd / IC Markets (EU) Ltd

Why should you read this review?

There’s a large number of CFD trading platforms out there that you probably don’t have the time to screen out and review individually.

You probably want to concentrate your efforts in what you do best, which is trading, and that is the main reason why you should give this review a look, as we summarize the most important details you need to know about this broker and the way they work.

This guide will simplify the task of comparing between the different brokers available for your country of residence and we will cover most – if not all – of the important variables you should look out for including the number of CFD products available, the trading platform’s interface and features, the quality of IC Markets’ customer service, and the cost of trading with this broker.

This is a more detailed list of all the elements will we be addressing in this review:

Main advantages of trading them.
How safe it is to trade.
Opening an account.
Depositing and withdrawing money with IC Markets.
Financial products offered – CFDs, forex.
User experience and features of IC Markets trading platform.
Third-party platforms supported (MetaTrader 4, etc).
Trading fees charged by IC Markets.
Research tools available.
Educational materials available (demo account, tutorials, eBooks, etc).
IC Markets customer service review.

What’s the best about IC Markets?

IC Markets is generally seen as a good choice for forex traders who rely on algorithms and other advanced techniques to conduct their trades due to the advanced features offered by this broker.

The fact that they offer potential 0 pip trades is a great advantage for high-frequency traders and day-traders while the availability of third-party platforms such as Meta Trader 4, Meta Trader 5, and cTrader also makes this broker a nice alternative for more experienced traders.

Finally, even though the portfolio of CFDs offered is a bit limited compared to its competitors, it should suffice the scope of most traders, especially for forex pairs, indexes, and cryptocurrencies.

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IC Markets Trading Platform

This company is an online trading platform. This broker offers hundreds of Contracts for Difference (CFD) to customers in Australia, Europe, and Asia, among other locations. IC Markets provide a robust platform that supports advanced trading tools such as MetaTrader 4, Meta Trader 5, and cTrader, via web, desktop, and mobile interfaces based on MT4.

This broker’s main appeal is that it offers 0 pip spreads for certain CFDs, while commission fees and non-trading fees are on the low end of the industry as well. Additionally, IC Markets also offers fast order execution, relying on a low-latency fiber optics infrastructure with an average execution speed of under 40ms.

While this broker specializes in forex CFDs, this broker also offers CFDs that cover a selection of stocks, stock indexes, bonds, and commodities, making it an interesting choice for experienced traders seeking to take advantage of its robust trading systems while also having a wide range of financial assets to trade with.

Currently they don’t offer a proprietary trading platform. Instead, this broker provides Meta Trader as the default platform, which is a third-party platform.

This is a significant downside for amateur traders who may not be accustomed to using advanced trading interfaces and definitely a competitive disadvantage compared to other forex brokers.

The most popular version of Meta Trader used by traders is MT4, even though MT5 and cTrader are also supported.

MT4 comes in more 34 different languages and provides significant possibilities in terms of customization and reporting, even though it has various downsides as well.

Here’s a more detailed overview of the platform’s features.

WebTrader

The web-version of IC Markets trading platform is a bit rough around the edges and lacks a modern design and the intuitiveness commonly seen in today’s top-notch trading interfaces. However, the interface can be customized to a high degree.

The search function is one of those characteristics that lacks modernity, as the platform offers a drop-down list rather than an intuitive search box.

Additionally, no alerts or notifications can be set on the web version and the two-step login feature is not available either.

Desktop platform

The desktop version of Meta Trader 4 is fairly similar to the web version, which means that it lacks in design and user-friendliness.

However, a few features are different, including the fact that you can set alerts and notifications sent via mobile push or e-mail.

Mobile Trading App

The mobile trading platform of IC Markets is also supported by Meta Trader 4, but it is significantly better looking than the web version.

The app is available for both Android and iOS devices and comes in many languages as well.

The mobile app is very user-friendly and has a more modern look than the other versions, while it lacks extra security features such as the two-step login option. Additionally, no face ID or fingerprint ID are available.

Search functions in the mobile trading app are much more intuitive and alerts and notifications can be set but only through the desktop version, which is a bit inconvenient.

Order Types

IC Markets’ trading platform only allows for three different trade order types:

Market order – this order is executed at the current market price of the security.
Limit order – a limit order sets a maximum price at which you are willing to buy the securities or a minimum price at which you are willing to sell the securities. The order will only be executed at the limit price or better.
Stop-loss order – a stop order limits losses in case the market price falls below or goes above the stop price. The order will become a market order once that price is reached.

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Is IC Markets Safe?

IC Markets is considered a safe broker to trade CFDs with, as the company and its subsidiaries are regulated by one top-tier jurisdiction – the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) – and other regulators including the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CYSEC) and the Seychelles Financial Supervisory Authority (FSA).

Also, this online broker has been in business since 2007, which gives this broker a sufficient track record to qualify as a safe alternative for traders.

Insurance

(AU) – Professional Indemnity Insurance with Lloyd’s of London.

(SC) – Professional Indemnity Insurance with H Savy Insurance Co Ltd in Seychelles

Segregation of funds

Clients money is held separately to company funds at AA rated Australian banks.

Banking Relationships

They work with NAB (National Australia Bank) and Westpac (Westpac Banking Corporation) – two top-ties Australian Banks.

On the downside, they don’t provide negative balance protection.

How to Open an Account?

Opening an account is very easy and it only takes a few minutes.

The registration process can be done online and their services are available in most countries except those that have been sanctioned by the OFAC.

Additionally, clients from the United States, Canada, and Israel can’t trade with this broker.

Minimum Deposits

The minimum deposit required to open an account with IC Markets is $200, which is on the low end compared to other advanced forex brokers, while the fees and features available for each trader vary depending on the type of account selected.

IC Markets does not charge a deposit fee for any of its funding methods.

Traders can deposit money via credit or debit cards, electronic wallets, or bank transfer.

Bank transfers can take a few days to be cleared while payments made via credit or debit card are credited instantly.

Deposits can only be made from accounts and cards that are in your name.

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Account Types

There are three types of accounts traders can choose from:

Raw Spread Account – cTrader: this account offers trading fees starting at 0 pips and it is recommended for day traders and scalpers.
Raw Spread Account – Meta Trader: this account offers trading fees starting at 0 pips as well and it is the preferred choice for EAs and scalpers.
Standard Account – Meta Trader: the standard account offer trading fees starting at 1 pip and it is suitable for discretionary traders.

Each account is entitled to a leverage ratio of 500:1 and raw spread accounts generate a commission of $3 (cTrader) and $3.5 (Meta Trader) per lot, while the standard account does not generate commission fees.

Finally, all the accounts are allowed to trade with all of the products offered by IC Markets and micro lot trading is permitted for the three accounts as well.

There are 10 base currencies available for each of the accounts offered by IC Markets including EUR, USD, GBP, AUD, CHF, JPY, NZD, SGD, CAD, and HKD.

This is an advantage compared to other forex brokers as it allows traders to save money on conversion fees.

Range of Markets

In summary, there are 232 tradable CFD instruments offered by this broker including:

60 Forex pairs.
120+ Individual stocks.
23 Indicies.
6 Bonds.
4 Global Futures
19 Commodities.
10 Cryptocurrencies.

The cryptocurrencies offered by this broker include Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Ethereum, Dash, Litecoin, Ripple, EOS, Emercoin, NameCoin, and PeerCoin.

As for commodities, traders have access to a limited selection of precious metals, soft commodities, and energy commodities including WTI Crude Oil, Brent, and Natural Gas.

The stock indexes covered by this broker’s CFDs include the S&P 500, the Dow Jones Industrial Average, the FTSE 100, and the Australian S&P 200.

Finally, the selection of forex pairs offered by IC Markets includes the most popular pairs such as the EUR/USD, GBPY/USD, and USD/JPY, along with certain exotic pairs such as the GBP/TRY and the CHF/SGD.

One upside is that you can modify the degree of leverage you take when placing individual trades. This is not an alternative provided by many forex brokers.

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Trading Fees

IC Markets charges both commission fees and trading fees depending on the account chosen by the trader.

Raw spread accounts charge a commission fee, even though the spreads are lower, while the standard account doesn’t charge commission fees but the spreads are higher.

Overall, IC Markets trading fees are on the low end of the industry, even though its financing fees are reportedly on the high end.

The commission fee for cTrader raw spread accounts are $3 per each $100,000, while the commission fees for Meta Trader raw spread accounts are $3.5 per lot per side.

As a reference, the spread charged for EURUSD is between 0 and 1 pip for raw spread accounts and 1.1 for standard accounts.

As for commodities, WTI crude oil futures pay an average spread of 0.050 while the average spread of coffee futures is 0.900.

For cryptocurrencies, the average spread is 10 for the BTCUSD pair and 4.5 for the ETHUSD pair.

Finally, for stock indexes, the S&P 500 index pays an average spread of 0.600 while the European STOXX50 index pays an average spread of 1.850 pips.

A list of the spreads charged for each CFD is available on IC Markets website.

Finally, this broker does not charge inactivity fees.

Research Tools

IC Markets offer the research tools available within the Meta Trader 4 and 5 platforms. They also have a section where analysis is posted, called the WebTV.

The tools available include trading ideas based on technical indicators and a news feed featuring top-notch news outlets.

Additionally, the MT4 and MT5 platforms feature a set of 31 technical indicators.

Education

A demo account is available for traders who may want to test the trading platform before depositing money and there are also platform tutorial videos available for those starting out with Meta Trader or cTrader.

Additionally, IC Markets also provides educational videos and articles to learn more about trading, and they also host webinars periodically.

Customer Service

IC Markets offers 24/7 phone support, live chat, and e-mail support.

Phone support has been qualified as very good by most traders, as you can connect with a customer service representative quickly.

However, the live chat feature seems to be inactive most of the time and the average wait time is too long.

Finally, e-mail support is also decent, with most e-mails answered within 24 hours.

Withdrawals

Traders can withdraw money without incurring an extra fee as long as the funding method is a credit card, debit card, e-wallet, or an Australian bank account.

Meanwhile, bank transfers made to international banks generate an AUD$ 20 fee.

Bank transfers are typically received within 2 business days.

Summary

IC Markets is an Australian online broker with more than 13 years in business.
This broker serves more than 100,000 clients worldwide and processes around 500,000 trades a day.
They regulated by a top-tier jurisdiction (ASIC) and two other financial regulators.
IC Markets offers a wide range of CFD products covering various financial assets including forex pairs, stocks, stock indexes, commodities, futures, and cryptocurrencies.
There are three types of accounts traders can choose from with this broker.
The raw spread accounts offer 0 pip trades, while commission fees apply.
No commission fees are charged for standard accounts but spreads are higher.
The minimum deposit required to open an account is $200.
No deposit fees are charged by this broker.
The leverage ratio offered for all the accounts is 500:1.
There are 10 base currencies available for traders accounts.
The portfolio of CFDs available covers more than 230 different financial instruments.
IC Markets does not have a proprietary trading platform.
This broker supports MT4, MT5, and cTrader third-party platforms.
Meta Trader 4 offers a web-version, desktop, and mobile app trading platform.
IC Markets offers three types of trade orders: market, limit, and stop-loss.
Trading fees are on the low end of the industry.
Commission fees apply to raw spread accounts.
Research tools include a top-notch news feed, a trading ideas hub, and charting tools.
Educational tools include platform tutorial videos, blogs, and other trading-related educational materials.
Customer service includes phone, live chat, and e-mail support.
Withdrawals are free except for international bank transfers, which generate a commission of AUD$ 20.

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AvaTrade introducing 3 new crypto pairs

AvaTrade introducing 3 new crypto pairs – updating 3 others

AvaTrade has yet again improved their cryptocurrency trading offering.

AvaTrade is introducing three new cryptocurrency pairs: NEOUSD, EOSUSD & MIOTAUSD in addition to the 15 crypto assets already on offer.

These new pairs have been available since July 1st, 2019 and provide an excellent opportunity to diversify your clients’ portfolios and increase their exposure to this vibrant 24/7 market.

Asset	Typical Spread	Leverage	Margin	Min Nominal Trade Size
NEOUSD	1.5% Over-market	2:01	50%	10
EOSUSD	2% Over-market	2:01	50%	10
MIOTAUSD	1.5% Over-market	2:01	50%	10

To unify their cryptocurrency instrument labels, They are relabeling their existing Ethereum, Ripple & Litecoin instruments, by replacing the existing instruments with new USD labelled ones:

Asset	Old Symbol	New Symbol
RIPPLE	XRP	XRPUSD
ETHEREUM	ETH	ETHUSD
LITECOIN	LTC_Mini	LTCUSD

These new pairs have also been available since July 1st,

The trading conditions for each one is identical to those of the older respective assets they replace.

Effective immediately, new positions are only available on the new pairs.

Avatrade Clients will not be able to open new positions on the old assets, but those already open will remain unaffected until July 29th.

Existing positions on XRP, ETH and Litecoin-mini that remain open on July 29th will be automatically replaced with corresponding positions on the new pairs, , at the same opening price and at no cost to clients.

as any broker that values their clients would do , Avatrade makes sure that the clients will not be affected by the change.

Visit Avatrade NOW

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Neteller Launches Cryptocurrency Exchange Service

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Neteller Launches Cryptocurrency Exchange Service

Neteller one of the most known Digital fiat currency wallet provider , has started allowing its users to buy, sell, and hold cryptocurrencies including BTC, BCH, ETH, ETC, and LTC.

They do this on the large scale with a pilot in 10 countries and soon another 50 countries to join . They understand that if you do this effort it will only succeed if you can do this on a global scale.

Neteller and Cryptocurrencies

Neteller is a service which is operated by Paysafe Financial Services Ltd.,

paysafe

founded in 1999, Paysafe Financial Services entered the market with the mission to provide an online alternative to the known traditional payment methods.

Most of the traders aiming us now neteller as one of the companies through which we made our deposits and if we had any profits also our withdrawals. A couple of years ago they left the Forex and Binary industry behind since the charge-back issue became just too expensive.

But as any companies knows, if you do not adept you die. The binary option market is all but dead and the Forex industry has moved also into the directions of the cryptocurrencies. thus, neteller understands that this is where the future is.

So Lasts week they announced that they are now offering a wallet with buy and sell cryptocurrency options.

As of today, Neteller users can buy, hold and sell cryptocurrencies via a recognized cryptocurrency exchange including bitcoin, bitcoin cash, ethereum, ethereum classic and litecoin, purchased using any one of 28 fiat currencies available in the Neteller wallet.

It may not seem so exciting but for many users that love this service it actually is. More and more currencies will be added making them an true exchange in the near future.

Now one is able to fund their neteller account through many different means (Mobile, Epay, Paysafecard, local bank deposits, and bitcoin)

We think that will make the threshold for many people, who would want to buy or sell cryptocurrencies, lower. This in return is a good thing for the overall acceptance of the cryptocurrencies in the mainstream of every day life.

Conditions for buying and selling cryptocurrencies through Neteller

The rates offered are somewhat in the lower middle of the current market making them go for the save route. The average market rates on the major cryptocurrency exchanges differ all in all not that much anyways, as this is not the main reason to choose to buy Bitcoin through Neteller

The minimum cryptocurrency purchase or sale amount is “approximately equal to 10 EUR,” the firm clarified, adding that the maximum amount depends on the transaction limits associated with each account.

When You open an account with Neteller you have to choose your default currency. This is of course for most people in accordance on their geographical locations, people in Britain will go for the pound most Europeans go for the euro and pretty much the rest of the work goes for the US Dollar, thou other currencies are available

The fee is 1.5 percent for purchasing and selling cryptocurrencies from wallets with EUR or USD as the default currency.

The fee rises to 3 percent for wallets with other default currencies.

Neteller | Why is this a good move for neteller and one that we should expect from other online Payment providers as well ?

At this moment till last week Neteller users can pay, get paid on thousands of sites, and send money around the world through their system.

The company claims to have “millions of point-of-sale, ATM and online locations” for users to withdraw or spend their cash.

Last July 25, Paysafe ( which as you remember is the company that owns Neteller and Skrill) announced that another digital wallet provider in its group, Skrill ( formerly known as moneybookers), started allowing customers to “instantly buy and sell cryptocurrencies, including bitcoin, bitcoin cash, ether and litecoin, using any one of the 40+ fiat currencies available in the Skrill wallet.”

We could now see that this was like their test run on this concept.

We do not know the numbers that Skrill produced since they offered this service but it must have been encouraging enough for Paysafe to include their flagship brand in this endevour.

We will see where this leads but we are hopeful that this is the next step in global acceptance to the cryptocurrency revolution. Let me know what you think

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The basics of trading that one should know

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The basics of trading that one should know

Things you should be aware of before you start

The currency trading industry and now also the cryptocurrency trading industry have gone through enormous volatile times the last couple of years. Now with trump and its trade wars. The fast rise and somewhat recline of the cryptocurrencies and the fast pace of international politics and economies that create high rises and steep fall of the currencies.

So what does it all mean and what can you do before start to trade on these news headlines.

Good brokers like LegacyFX and UBCFX provide the traders with the latest market news and updates on a continuous basis but if you are new to trading you still have no idea what to do with this.

You start by understanding that the involves a high degree of risk, including the risk of losing you hard earned money. Besides the ones that were lucky enough to have bought Bitcoin a couple of years back and cashed in in the end of 2017, most people don’t get rich overnight.

You have to understand that you only trade with money that you are able to lose, going hungry because you want to open a trade is not the right wy to go about it.

So, What is Forex?

You should by now understand that the value of currencies goes up and down every day.

This in general becomes apparent the moment you go on vacation and what you bought last year with your money now is not the same amount you get today at the exchange.

This is on a large scale, what a lot of people do not know is that there is a foreign exchange market – or ‘Forex’ for short – or “FX” for even shorter, where you can potentially make a profit from the movement of these currencies.

The most known Trader is George Soros who made a billion dollars in a day by trading currencies. This is of course on a scale that we are not able to reach and you need a huge amount of money to begin with. Still he made a billion in one day!!

The internet has played a huge part in making trading in currencies accessible for the masses. You also do not need huge amounts of money to actually do this. Now keep in mind that if you make 10% profit on your investment but the investment was just $50 you basically just end up with $55. still no bank will give you 10% interest on your money.

Many people and I am talking millions are now trading every day, most do this on the side and don’t do this as a full-time job, but there are today enough people that are full time traders and making enough money to live comfortably.

Retail forex market needed Brokers

The Forex market for the retail market was born, it started around 15 years ago to become more serious as technologies advanced and the stream of information became almost instant, this is important for trading as one second can make the difference between profit or loss.

So, the moment the technology was there the people that wanted to trade were there all that was needed were the Forex brokers that offered the platform for trading.

There are latterly hundreds of companies of not thousands that offer this service and there are good ones like LegacyFX and there are scams (these tend to not last long)

Forex explained in short

The Forex market is the largest financial market on the planet and has been for many years now.

Its average daily trading volume is more than $4 trillion. (just let that number sink in for a second). Of this total amount around 5% is the retail market meaning traders like you and me. Still 5% of 4 Trillion is still a number with a lot of zeros behind it.

If you compare that with the New York Stock Exchange, which only has an average daily trading volume of $55 billion. You truly see the size.

To give you another example:

if you were to put ALL of the world’s equity and futures markets together, their combined trading volume would still only equal a 25% of the daily Forex market. Insane right?

Why does this even matter?

It matters because there are so many buyers and sellers that transaction prices are kept low. To explain how trading the Forex market is different than trading stocks, here are a few major benefits.

Most Brokers don’t charge commissions – you pay only the bid/ask spreads.
There’s 24hour trading – you decide when to trade and how to trade.
You can focus on your currencies and become experts in only those pairs that you follow instead of following and selecting out of 5000 stocks
You can trade on leverage, (something to be very aware of as it can magnify potential gains but also your losses).
Forex is accessible for almost everyone– you don’t need a lot of money to get started
In the Forex market you can trade on Demo accounts to learn before you commit your money

How is Forex traded?

The mechanics of a trade are virtually identical to those in other markets. The only difference is that you’re buying one currency and selling another at the same time.

This is also the reason as to why the currencies are quoted in pairs, like EUR/USD or USD/GBP.

The exchange rate represents the purchase price between the two currencies.

Example:

The EUR/GBP rate represents the number of GBP one EUR can buy (relevant now with all the Brexit issues going on) . If you think the Euro will increase in value against the British Pound, you buy Euros with British Pounds. If the exchange rate rises, you sell the Euros back, and you cash in your profit.

Now the same works for strading Bitcoin, ethereum, Litecoin or other cryptocurrencies. this has become an entire new market and has introduced many people to Forex . you should here be also aware that trading cryptocurrencies is like regular trading so you will be able to lose great sums of money.

the Best thing i found about trading cryptocurrencies is that the Leverage by default tends to be very low which makes the risk of losing it all much smaller.

Sounds simply enough?

Why does not everyone Trade.

The same could be asked as to why not everyone plays poker, you can make money. The comparison between the 2 is actually closer than you might think.

All traders that are successful will tell you that 80% of successful trading is psychology and the other 20% is research. It takes time to get the research down, but it can take a lifetime to master the psychology.

People tend to do things differently when real money is on the line and are accepting losses in the hope that the trend will reverse or taking out profit too early because they don’t want to lose what they just have gained. In short, the psychology is the hard part.

One should be aware that you can loose real money and a lot of it very fast if you don’t know what you are doing.

Now most Good Forex brokers offer some educational tools, some more than others that will teach you how to trade. There is also something that is called social trading that will allow you to follow other traders and see what they are doing in order for you to learn and make money at the same time.

So here are some ground rules for those that look to start trading

Get involved in the market, watch read and listen to the news to understand what is happening
Go through a trading course ( a good one is here)
Open a demo account and trade at least a month (my advice to do this even longer)only on this before you even think about trading with real money.
Check out social trading, there are some options for this, this broker offers this also.
Try with an amount that you are able to afford losing. See this as your tuition money.
Take it slow, don’t become greedy and follow the basic rules