ADSS Broker Review

Nigerian traders will be onboarded through the UAE-based entity, regulated by the SCA. SCA regulation ensures that ADSS segregates its client funds from company funds, but unfortunately, ADSS does not provide its traders with negative balance protection. This means that traders can lose more than their initial deposit.

The account-opening and verification process at ADSS is seamless, fully digital and accounts are ready within 24 hours, which is about the industry average. 

Nigerian traders are eligible to open an account at ADSS, as long as they meet the following minimum deposit requirements:

• Classic Account: 500 USD
• Swap-Free Account: 500 USD
• Elite Account: 100 000 USD

ADSS offers corporate and individual accounts.  For the purposes of this review, we will outline the process for opening an individual account:

1. From the ADSS homepage, you will have to click on the ‘Create an Account’ tab where you will be directed to register an account with a name, email address, telephone number, date of birth, and country of residence.  

2. You will also have to select your preferred platform, account, and base currencies (although for Nigerian traders there seems to be no choice – the only available platform is MT4, you can only select to open a Classic Account, and the only available base currency is USD).

3. Traders will have to then detail their residency, create a password, and fill in their tax number.

4. Next, traders are required to fill in their financial details, employment status, and trading knowledge.  Depending on the information you provide, ADSS may need to ask you further questions once you have completed the application form.

5. Traders will then have to verify their identity and residential address:

   1. Proof of Identification – ADSS accepts all government-issued identification documents such as Passport, national ID card, driving license, or other government-issued ID. 

   2. Proof of Address – Traders can upload a Bank/Credit Card Statement, Utility Bill or Statement, or a Rental Agreement. The proof of residence/address document must be issued in the name of the account holder within the last 6 months and must contain a trader’s full name, current residential address, issue date, and issuing authority. 

6. Once all the documents have been uploaded, ADSS requires traders to digitally sign a declaration stating that they have read all the relevant documents.

Overall, ADSS’s account-opening process is fully digital and hassle-free and accounts are ready for trading within 24 hours.

ADSS offers trading on Forex, indices, shares, commodities, cryptocurrencies, and bonds.

Trading conditions at ADSS are generally poor, with high minimum deposit requirements and high trading costs on all accounts. Spreads start at 1.60 pips (EUR/USD) on its entry-level account, which requires a minimum deposit of 500 USD. Not only is this spread wider than most other brokers’ entry-level accounts, but the minimum deposit is also higher. Most brokerages will offer an average spread of 1 pip (EUR/USD) and a minimum deposit of 100 USD or less on their entry-level accounts.

It is difficult to find any advantages with ADSS’s accounts, either for experienced or beginner traders. As mentioned above, the entry-level account has both higher initial and ongoing costs than similar accounts at other brokers. In addition, ADSS’s Elite Account requests a very high minimum deposit and doesn’t deliver the lower ongoing trading costs that more experienced traders would be looking for.

ADSS offers three live accounts and a demo account.  Spreads tighten, and traders have access to more benefits with increasing deposit amounts.  See below for more details:

Classic Account

ADSS Classic account has a minimum deposit of 500 USD, spreads start at 1.60 pips on the EUR/USD and no commissions are charged for Forex trading. As mentioned previously, these trading fees are significantly higher than other brokers.

Elite Account

The Elite Account requires a minimum deposit of 100 000 USD, putting it only within the reach of professional traders. However, spreads start at 1.1 pips on the EUR/USD, which is still wider than other brokers, especially considering the high minimum deposit requirements. However, traders have access to expert support 24/5.  

Swap-Free Account

Swap-Free accounts are available on FX and precious metals to traders who do not want to pay or receive overnight charges. Traders can open a Swap-free account with a minimum deposit of 500 USD, but in exchange for the swap-free privileges, traders will have a starting spread of 2.1 pips on the EUR/USD. 

Demo Account

Those afraid to risk real money on trading will be glad to learn that ADSS has introduced an unlimited MT4 demo account. Traders can test strategies and analyse data on all its instruments. Demo accounts do not expire and come preloaded with 100 000 USD in virtual funds. 

A well-regulated broker, ADSS ensures that all Anti-Money Laundering rules and regulations are followed. 

ADSS offers a limited range of deposit and withdrawal methods, including bank wire transfers, credit cards, debit cards, Skrill, Neteller, and Cashu transfers. Unfortunately, these 

Deposits for all payment methods are free, although clients will have to absorb the fees charged by their various banking institutions.  Deposits by credit cards and debit cards, Skrill, and Neteller are instant, but bank wire transfers are processed within 30 minutes.

All withdrawals incur a charge of 15 USD, which is relatively expensive. Additionally, expect 2 to 5 working days for funds to reach you, subject of course to the processing and clearing of your bank/Skrill and Neteller. Credit/Debit card withdrawals can take up to 10 business days. 

Deposits are processed between 08:30 and 17:30 GMT and withdrawals are processed between 08:30 and 13:00 GMT.

Other methods may be available, but these methods are not available to view (nor the fees involved) until you have opened a live account and logged in. This is unusual and not consumer-friendly, as most brokers publish all their deposit and withdrawal fees on their websites.

ADSS only allows clients to open trading accounts denominated in USD, which is extremely limited compared to other brokers – most other brokers offer trading in 5 – 10 currencies. 

Having accounts denominated only in USD is a disadvantage for Nigerian residents who will likely have bank accounts denominated in NGN. While this may not affect occasional traders, high volume traders (who trade more than 10 lots a month) should consider opening an account denominated in USD, because a conversion fee will be charged for every trade made on a USD quoted currency pair.  This can be done by opening a multi-currency bank account at a digital bank.

Overall, having trading accounts denominated only in USD is a disadvantage for traders who have trading accounts denominated in NGN. 

ADSS offers MT4 and OREX on mobile trading platforms, available for both Android and iOS. As with web trading platforms, traders can choose from multiple languages. Although there is limited functionality compared to the desktop version of the platform, with reduced timeframes and fewer charting options, traders will still have access to analytics with technical indicators, graphical objects, and a full set of trading orders.

Although MT4 is now showing its age, it is still considered one of the best CFD trading platforms globally. It is especially prized for its algorithmic trading abilities, allowing traders to install automated trading robots and indicators downloaded from the MetaTrader Market. Unlike MT4, the OREX trading platform is available for spread betting and CFD trading.

MT4 is also widely recognised for its trade execution speeds, charting tools, and customizability, and it is available in many languages. The benefit of using a third-party platform such as MT4 is that traders can use the same platform should they choose to migrate to another broker. However, proprietary platforms such as OREX are often easier to use and set up.

ADSS Metatrader 4 (MT4)

MT4 has great customisability, which means that the size and position of the tabs can be easily moved. Traders can also trade on a variety of CFDs, including Forex, commodities, and indices. Other features of MT4 include:

• Four types of order execution, including Market, Limit, Stop, and Trailing Stop orders.
• Superior charting tools in nine timeframes
• 30 technical indicators
• 23 analytical objects
• Algorithmic trading, which allows any trading strategy to be formalised and implemented as an Expert Advisor. 
• Backtesting capabilities
• Dedicated customer support

OREX Trading Platform

ADSS’s flagship OREX web platform has a greater product range compared to its MT4 platform offering and is simple, minimalistic, and generally easy to navigate. It is also easy to set up and has a range of charting tools, and a number of indicators.

ADSS offers a few additional trading tools, including an Economic Calendar and Autochartist. However, unlike many other brokers, it does not offer any VPS hosting services, copy trading platforms, or PAMM/MAM accounts.  See below for more details on the various tools:

• Economic Calendar: ADSS offers an economic calendar highlighting various events that will impact market movements. An economic calendar is also available through MT4.
• Autochartist: Free for all ADSS clients, Autochartist is an award-winning automated technical analysis tool that plugs into MT4 and scans all available CFD markets for trading opportunities. Autochartist’s advanced pattern recognition engine identifies the strongest potential trading opportunities and predicts future price movements. Some of Autochartist’s key features are:
  • Chart pattern recognition
  • Fibonacci pattern recognition
  • Key level analysis
  • Pattern quality indication
  • It recognises trade set-ups based on support and resistance levels.

The market scanner provides statistically significant market movements and identifies important price levels that are catalysts for market movements.

ADSS provides a daily, updated market analysis blog featuring all the latest market movements. It also provides daily technical analysis articles and fundamental analysis articles that take an in-depth look at the most popular tradable instruments. 

Additionally, ADSS has some basic features, such as an economic calendar and client sentiment data. 

Overall, ADSS’s market analysis section is good, but it could improve the materials by providing more comprehensive and multi-format content.

ADSS caters to beginner traders with its range of platform tutorials, beginner videos, and webinars that run weekly:

• e-books: ADSS offers three E-books written by the broker’s experts on ADSS’s services and tools etc. They are well-written, but not particularly helpful for beginner traders.
• Video Library: ADSS provides 10 video tutorials for novice traders.
• Webinars: Webinars are run several times a week and cater more to beginners than experienced traders. 

Unfortunately, the educational content does not cater to more experienced traders and does not cover all the important topics one would need to begin a profitable trading career. Better learning materials can certainly be found at other brokers.

The customer service team is available during business hours, 5 days a week. For individuals who are comfortable finding their own answers, the FAQ section is especially helpful.

For the purposes of this review, we found the customer service was polite but unable to answer some of our questions. They also often only responded in 10 – 20 minutes, which is much longer than other brokers.