Fortrade Broker Review

Fortrade is regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in the United Kingdom, the Australian Securities and investments Commission (ASIC), the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC), the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada (IIROC) and was included by the National Bank of the Republic of Belarus (NBRB) on the Register of Forex companies in 2018. A well-regulated broker, Fortrade will not manipulate market prices.

Ugandans will be trading under the subsidiary, Fort Securities Belarus, authorised and regulated in Belarus by the NBRB.

The NBRB’s rules are not as strict as those of the FCA or CySEC, but it does allow Fortrade to provide its clients with higher leverage. However, default leverage is set to 100:1 for all clients. This is a responsible move on the part of the broker to avoid over-leveraging because higher leverage carries a higher level of risk.

In accordance with NBRB regulation, Fortrade holds all client funds in segregated accounts at top-tier banks. It also offers its traders negative balance protection, which means that clients can lose all, but not more than the balance of their Trading Account. 

Overall, because of its strong international regulation, long history of responsible behaviour, leverage restrictions, and provision of negative balance protection, we consider Fortrade a safe broker to trade with.

The account opening process at Fortrade is user-friendly, fully digital and accounts are ready for trading immediately.

All Ugandan residents are eligible to open an account at Fortrade but have to meet the minimum deposit requirement of 100 USD, although Fortrade recommends a minimum starting deposit of 500 USD.

Creating an account is straightforward, the process is fully digital, and accounts are usually ready immediately. Fortrade offers individual, joint, and corporate accounts, but we will focus on opening an individual account:

1. New traders will have to click on the “Sign Up” button at the top of the page where they will be directed to fill in their personal details, including name, surname, telephone number, and email address.

2. Next, traders will have to fill in their country of residence, preferred trading account currency (USD, EUR, GBP, and TRY) identity number, date of birth, physical address, and choose a password. 

3. Once this step is complete, traders will complete a form detailing their financial status, including employment status, the reason for trading, annual income, source of funds, and check that they have read and understood the Terms and Conditions, Order Execution Policy, and OTC Transactions Agreement.

4. Traders will then be able to deposit funds.

5. In order to complete the registration process, Fortrade requires at least two documents:

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

   • Proof of Address – 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. 

After the application is approved, traders can log in and fund their accounts.

Overall, Fortrade’s account-opening process is fully digital and hassle-free and accounts are generally ready for trading immediately.

Fortrade offers trading on a broad range of tradable assets, including Forex pairs, commodities, energies, metals, indices, stock CFDs, stock DMAs, bonds, and cryptocurrencies.

Fortrade has a simple account structure, but trading costs are significantly higher than the industry average. Although Fortrade states that its revenue is derived from the spread, it is not transparent about how the spreads are derived. Trading costs are built into the spread, which is variable and can get wider or tighter depending on trade volume and market volatility. 

The average cost of trading one lot of EUR/USD is 20 USD, which is significantly higher than other similar market maker brokers. Most other good market maker brokers have an average trading cost of 9 USD per lot of EUR/USD traded.

Swap Fees

Another important cost to consider is the swap rate charged on positions held overnight.

Fortrade provides a Swap Rates Calculator for traders to calculate these costs. For example, the swap rate for holding a long position of EUR/USD open for one night is -7.5 USD, and a short position is -1 USD.

Overall, Fortrade offers only one live commission-free account with high trading costs.

A market maker, Fortrade offers trading on multiple assets, including Forex, energies, cryptocurrencies, indices, commodities, metals, and share CFDs. Fortrade offers a single live commission-free account for Forex and CFD trading.

Standard Account

In order to open an account, traders must deposit at least 100 USD. Spreads average at 2.00 pips (EUR/USD), which is significantly wider than the spreads at other brokers, but no commissions are charged. 

Demo Accounts

Traders who sign up for a demo account receive a virtual currency balance of 10,000 USD. Fortrade’s demo accounts never expire and allow traders to trade risk-free on all of its available platforms.

Due to Anti-Money Laundering regulations, ForTrade only remits funds back to the source – the amount that was deposited using said bank card can only be withdrawn to that same card, and only for the amount deposited. Likewise, if funds were deposited via wire transfer, funds must be withdrawn back to the same bank account.

Withdrawals can be made from within the client area by filling out the online withdrawal form. Requests are processed within 2 days of being submitted.

Please note that if you request a withdrawal with a value higher than your Free Margin, you will be notified of the maximum amount you can withdraw based on your current Free Margin calculation. Free Margin is the amount calculated from the value of the equity of the account less the used margin of open positions. This is a dynamic calculation that changes with the changing values of the open positions.

Fortrade offers a limited number of base (trading account) currencies compared to other similar brokers.

Trading accounts can only be denominated in four base currencies – EUR, USD, GBP, and TRY, which is limited compared to other brokers. Most other brokers denominated accounts in at least five to ten currencies. Additionally, Fortrade does not offer UGX trading accounts, which is a disadvantage for Ugandans who will likely have bank accounts denominated in UGX, and who will have to pay currency conversion fees on deposits and withdrawals.

For traders that trade in large volumes (more than 10 lots a month), it is better to open an account denominated in USD at a digital currency bank, especially for trading on assets such as the EUR/USD. This is because when trading a USD quoted currency pair with another currency account, there will be a small conversion fee for every trade made.

Overall, Fortrade offers fewer trading account currencies than most other large international brokers and doesn’t offer accounts denominated in UGX.

Fortrade offers both MT4 and the Fortrader platform on both Android and iOS.

Mobile Fortrader

Mobile Fortrader allows you to stay connected and manage your account from anywhere. You can easily turn your Android or iOS device into a virtual trading desk, making smart and successful trading decisions from the palm of your hand.

MT4 Mobile

MT4 is also available on both Android and iOS, but traders should be aware that there is some loss in functionality when compared to the desktop trading platform, including reduced time frames and fewer charting options. However, traders can close and modify existing orders, calculate profit and loss, and trade on the charts.

ForTrade offers traders the industry-standard MT4 platform and its proprietary platform optimized for desktop or mobile use. These platforms allow immediate and accurate access to international financial markets and deliver feature-rich, user-friendly interfaces to fulfil all trading needs and boost trading performance. Customer service is available 24/7 to answer questions about the software and help set it up.

MetaTrader 4

Whether you are a novice or a seasoned trader, the MetaTrader 4 (MT4) platform is an award-winning favourite. The platform hosts a selection of features that provide a powerful trading experience to suit a variety of strategies.

Users benefit from 30 built-in technical indicators and 24 graphical objects, plus nine timeframes and three charting types. Automated trading is available through Expert Advisors (EAs) along with multiple order types and one-click trading. MT4 also provides access to full trading histories.

Web Fortrader

Fortrade offers its proprietary platform – Fortrader Webtrader, accessible from any PC with an internet connection. The platform delivers real-time data with high speed and precision. The One-Stop-Shop function allows traders to track, analyse, and trade using a cross-device platform, saving time and hassle.

Fortrade’s trading tools are limited to Trading Central and several trading calculators.

Trading Central

Trading Central is available to clients who register a live account. A third-party tool, Trading Central’s professional analysts use the most advanced technical analysis tools in the industry to curate relevant information. This tool essentially supports traders without the technical know-how in making trading decisions. Trading Central is one of the most popular trading tools available and provides excellent market analysis, and Fortrade does well to offer this service to its clients.

Trading Calculators

Fortrade offers four trading calculators:

Currency Converter Tool: Fortrade’s currency converter tool uses real-time market rates as presented in the Fortrader trading platforms and applications. 

Margin Percentage Calculator: With Fortrade’s Margin Calculator, traders can calculate exactly how much margin is required in order to guarantee a position that they would like to open and adjust its size accordingly. 

Swap Rates Calculator: The Swap Rate Calculator helps traders calculate the fee they will be charged based on the instrument they are trading, the account currency, and trade size. 

Pip Value Calculator: The PIP Calculator allows traders to find out the exact value of their trading positions in the currency of their trading account. 

ForTrade’s research and analysis section provides an up-to-date morning and evening market preview, a weekly analysis, and a microanalysis. Daily stories are related to future market movements. Its team of in-house analysts curates all materials. Other sections include an economic calendar for planning and historical overviews, which assist clients in identifying trading opportunities.

Fortrade’s Academy comprises online seminars/webinars, eBooks, training courses, tutorial videos, trading strategies, and more. Traders do not need to register an account to access this material.

Forex & CFD eBooks

Fortrade offers four free downloadable ebooks. Topics include CFDs and Stocks, Commodities and Futures, Advanced eBook, and the Forex eBook.

Courses

Fortrade’s core educational courses are divided into beginner and advanced trading courses. The content is presented in downloadable PDF and video formats, and includes a variety of topics.

Videos

Fortrade offers 6 trading videos to help traders find their footing. Topics include Advanced Technical Analysis, Basic Technical Analysis, Market Analysis, Trading Psychology, Capital Management, and The World of Global Trading. The tutorial videos delve into the basics of using the platforms, order types, trading strategies, chart trading, and more on technical analysis.

Trading Webinars/Online Seminars

Fortrade’s trading webinars are run by its team of in-house analysts who cover real-time market analysis, Forex strategies, and recent market events. Webinars are run every Wednesday, and archives of previous webinars can be found on the website.

Live chat support is particularly good with short wait times and staff that are able to help with a range of queries, from withdrawal problems and apps not working to how to close or delete an account. Alternatively, Fortrade provides an FAQ section for self-service assistance.