FP Markets Broker Review

BVA FSC Regulation: FP Markets clients in Uganda will be trading with FP Markets LLC, registered in St Vincent and the Grenadines (BVA FSC).

For all intents and purposes, the BVA FSC is not considered a forex broker regulator and applies no supervision of any CFD trading-related activities. Clients must rely solely on the reputation of FP Markets, as no additional measures exist to ensure client protection.

Safety Features: However, in a show of good faith, FP Markets segregates all funds from the company’s operating capital at AA-rated Australian banks, and it offers negative balance protection to all its clients. 

While Ugandans may be apprehensive about trading under a subsidiary that is essentially unregulated, FP Markets’ subsidiaries in Australia and Europe are also regulated by ASIC and CySEC, which are both top-tier authorities. Additionally, FP Markets offers its clients account statements that external audit firms regularly audit. 

The account opening process at FP Markets is fully digital, fast, and hassle-free compared to other brokers. 

All Ugandan traders are eligible to open an account at FP Markets as long as they meet the minimum deposit requirement of 100 USD (or equivalent).

Creating an account is straightforward; the process is fully digital, and accounts are usually ready within one day. FP Markets offers joint and individual accounts, but we will focus on opening an individual account:

How to open an account at FP Markets:

• New traders will have to click on the “Start Trading.” button at the top of the page, where they will be directed to register an account.
• FP Markets’ intake form requires clients to fill in their personal details (including name, country of residence, email address, birth date, and level of education). 
• Prospective traders are then required to select the account type, trading platform, and chosen base currency.
• Once this step is complete, traders are asked to complete a short form that will help FP Markets assess the state of their finances and trading knowledge. While most brokers don’t include this step in the account-opening process, it is a responsible move in an industry that is often accused of an irresponsible approach to consumer protection.
• FP Markets needs at least two documents to accept you as an individual client:
• Proof of Identification – current (not expired) coloured scanned copy (in PDF or JPG format) of your passport. If no valid passport is available, a similar identification document bearing your photo such as an ID card or driving licence will work.
• Proof of Address – a Bank Statement or Utility Bill. Please ensure, however, that the documents provided are not older than 6 months and that your name and physical address is clearly displayed.

We advise you to read FP Markets’ risk disclosure, customer agreement, and terms of business before you start trading. 

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

FP Markets’ account opening process is fast, generally hassle-free, and fully digital compared to other similar brokers. Accounts are ready for trading in one day.

FP Markets offers a variety of trading instruments, including more than 60 Forex pairs, a significant number of Share CFDs, indices, commodities, as well as all the major cryptocurrencies.

The Standard and Raw MetaTrader accounts require a minimum deposit of 100 USD and have trading costs around or below the industry average. The three IRESS Accounts have much higher minimum deposits, starting at 1000 USD for the Standard Account and up to an eyewatering 50,000 USD for the Premier Account. These accounts are aimed at experienced or professional stock traders and will charge commissions per trade.

Trading costs at other brokers tend to be around 9 USD per lot of EUR/USD, so the trading costs on the Standard Account are about average. But the costs are low on the Raw Account, which has a round turn commission of 6 USD and much tighter spreads.

Standard Account

The Standard Account is the best option if you are looking for commission-free trading. Spreads are wider than on the Raw Account, usually starting at 1.0 pip, although they can come down to 0 pips with high trade volumes. The minimum deposit is 100 AUD (or equivalent), and 60+ Forex pairs, metals, commodities, and indices are available for trading. Note that traders can’t trade on this account on the cTrader platform.

Raw Account

This account has tighter spreads (0 pips on the EUR/USD), but a commission of 6 USD round turn per standard lot is charged. The minimum deposit is also set at 100 AUD (or equivalent), so the only real difference between this account and the Standard Account is whether the broker’s fee is charged on the commission or in the spread, although the costs on the Raw Account are substantially lower. Raw accounts are generally more suited to scalpers and day traders. Traders can use this account to trade on cTrader.

Islamic Swap-free Accounts

Also known as swap-free accounts, Islamic accounts are ideally suited to Muslim clients, and in line with Islamic law, they incur no swaps or interest charges on overnight positions. Instead, the account holder is charged an administration fee that is deducted from the account’s balance.

How to open an Islamic swap-free account at FP Markets:

• Open a MetaTrader 4 or MetaTrader 5 account.
• Send a request to customer service to convert your account to an Islamic swap-free option.
• Include an official document showing confirmation of your faith (e.g., a Proof of Faith document from your local mosque) if the evidence is not already included in your ID document.

An admin fee of 5 USD per lot on major currency pairs is charged per night. However, fees are not charged for the first ten nights of trading and will only be applicable from the eleventh night.

Due to Anti-Money Laundering policies, FP Markets does not accept payments from third parties and only accepts funds received directly from the named trading account holder. The first time you make a withdrawal, you must complete a downloadable form and return it with a photographic ID. 

Accepted Deposit Currencies: The FP Markets client portal allows traders to deposit funds in 10 currencies, including AUD, USD, EUR, GBP, SGD, CAD, CHF, HKD, and JPY. Ugandan traders will be disappointed that UGX is not an option, as they will have bank accounts denominated in UGX and will have to pay conversion fees, which may affect profitability.

High Withdrawal Fees: FP Markets does not charge fees for deposits but has high withdrawal fees for e-wallets and bank transfers. The first time you make a withdrawal, you must complete a downloadable form and return it with a photographic ID. 

FP Markets Mobile App

We found that the FP Markets Trading App connected to our MT4 account easily, and its clean interface made it very simple to use. It ran smoothly, even on older Android phones, and beginner traders will like the simplified layout compared to the MT4 and MT5 apps.

Key Features:

• Deposit and withdraw funds.
• Make, monitor, and review trades.
• Use the ‘Favourites’ menu to create a faster and seamless trading experience.
• Change settings via the Client Portal
• Access real-time pricing
• Conduct research and analysis using a range of trading tools
• Log in to their MetaTrader 4 account using the same credentials

MT4 and MT5 Mobile Trading

FP Markets offers support for MT4 and MT5 mobile trading apps for Android and iOS. Traders should be aware that there is some loss in functionality when compared to the desktop trading platforms, including reduced time frames and fewer charting options, but traders can close and modify existing orders, calculate profit and loss, and trade on the charts. 

cTrader App

cTrader is one of our favourite trading platforms, and we are glad that FP Markets has added it to its offering. FP Markets is one of a handful of brokers that supports it. Its clean design makes it easy for beginners to pick up, but it also has the advanced order types and automation options required by more experienced traders. The FP Markets’ cTrader app keeps most of the best parts of the desktop version, including the complete range of order types, price alerts, trade analysis, and symbol watchlists.

TradingView

TradingView is not only a trading platform with detailed information to help you make trading decisions: it also includes one of the biggest social trading communities, with plenty of EAs (Expert Advisors) that beginner traders, or those too busy to trade manually, will appreciate. This addition to FP Markets’ tech portfolio and we believe traders of all backgrounds will enjoy TradingView access

There’s a lot you can achieve with TradingView, but these are just a few of its advantages:

• Unmatched charting capabilities, suitable for beginners and advanced traders
• Large social trading community of more than 50 million users
• The ability to design your own indicators and strategies using TradingView’s Pine Script
  programming language
• The option to validate trading ideas using TradingView’s bar-by-bar replay function
• Wide selection of fundamental data
• Real-time global news coverage

On the whole, the toolbox is sophisticated yet simple to use and allows traders to analyse the fast-moving global financial markets with accuracy.

With MT4, MT5, cTrader and TradingView all available, FP Markets offers support for more trading platforms than most brokers.

FP Markets used to only offer traders MetaTrader 4 (MT4), MetaTrader 5 (MT5), and cTrader, each of which offers Expert Advisors, automated trading support, strategy backtesting, customisable charting, indicators, and copy trading functionality.

All platform choices are free to use, all can be downloaded to your PC or Mac, and all have web versions of the platform. Traders who want more EAs to use, and don’t mind the dated interface, should consider using one of the MetaTrader products. cTrader is often a favourite for beginner traders as it requires less setup, has a more modern interface, and offers more advanced order types. 

However, that’s not all. FP Markets partnered with TradingView in January 2024, a top tool that is now available to all traders with a live account on FP Markets. From Forex, Equities and Indices to Commodities, Bonds and Digital Currencies, TradingView is a world-renowned charting provider that delivers the financial markets from one platform and unlocks the door to the largest social trading community in the world. Combining Trading View with FP Markets’ consistently tight spreads, rapid market execution, and Institutional-grade liquidity, will help FP Markets clients maximise their trading potential. 

All four trading platforms offered are considered among the best in the industry. FP Markets does not have its own trading platform, but most traders will be satisfied with the four major third-party platforms.

FP Markets’ range of trading tools includes Autochartist, a free VPS service, MAM/PAMM accounts, Myfxbook Autotrade, and a Traders Toolbox consisting of 12 online trading tools. Most of the tools are free of charge, except for the VPS and Traders Toolbox, which require traders to deposit a minimum of 1,000 AUD (or currency equivalent).

Autochartist

Free for all FP Markets clients, Autochartist is one of the best technical analysis tools on the markets. It is an automated technical analysis tool that plugs into MT4 and MT5 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

VPS

FP Markets offers a free VPS service to traders who deposit a minimum of 1000 USD or currency equivalent. The service is also subsidised for high-volume traders who trade over 10 lots a month on the Standard Account, or 20 lots on the Raw Account. VPS services ensure trades are never disrupted by technological or connectivity issues. Other benefits of the VPS service include:

• 24/6 VPS email support
• 24/7 Redundant power to your VPS
• 24/7 Redundant internet connectivity to your VPS
• Low latency connectivity to FP Markets trading servers for precision trading
• Uninterrupted EA trading

Trader’s Toolbox

Only available on MT4, FP Markets offers a Trader’s Toolbox to clients who deposit more than 1,000 USD or equivalent. The toolbox is a suite of 12 online trading tools, including market insights, an economic calendar with relevant breaking news that impacts market prices, risk management tools, correlation matrices, tick charts, session maps, sentiment indicators, analysis tools, and more. A few of the tools are highlighted below:

• Mini terminal: Allows traders to adapt MT4’s deal tickets and charts to their preferences with a host of highly configurable new features.
• Session Map: A map that tracks the global financial markets and an economic calendar that offers the latest key information.
• Stealth orders: This allows traders to keep their trades anonymous.
• Correlation matrix: Enables you to see how correlated your watched markets are and limit your risk accordingly.
• Sentiment trader: This allows traders to analyse market sentiment or view a historic price vs. sentiment chart.

MAM/PAMM Accounts

FP Markets offers an account management service to its clients, which allows account managers to trade on their behalf. In order to perform this service, bespoke technology or software is required, also known as MAM/PAMM. 

MAM stands for Multi-Account Manager, which permits a range of customisable ways to sub-allocate trades. PAMM stands for Percentage Allocation Module Manager, which means investors can be part of a set of sub-accounts that are traded together by a money manager or trader who has permission from clients to trade on their accounts. Account Managers take a portion of the profits generated by the trades.

Managed accounts are great for beginner traders who have limited experience with trading. 

Copy trading

FP Markets offers an excellent copy trading service through third-party provider, Myfxbook Autotrade, available on MT4. It allows traders to find, follow and copy successful traders automatically.

In order to use the service, traders need to open a Standard Account and make a minimum deposit of 1,000 USD. Traders are charged a service fee of an additional 0.5 pips on top of the standard spreads, which is relatively high compared to other brokers.

With Myfxbook Autotrade, traders do not need to build their own strategy or conduct research on the forex markets. This tool provides the opportunity to copy a wide selection of systems directly to FP Markets MT4 trading accounts. One of the other benefits of FP Markets’ copy trading platform is its functionality. It offers multiple copy trading modes, and there is no limit on the number of Strategy Providers that can be followed.

Overall, copy trading is useful for traders who are interested in the financial markets but lack experience and knowledge.

The market research and analysis at FP Markets is comprehensive and in-depth, is available in both article and video format, and is published daily.

FP Markets’ analysis section covers both technical and fundamental analysis:

• Daily Report: FP publishes a daily market report covering all the financial markets and a weekly outlook (in video and text format). The daily market report is a brief look at the global markets, including commodities, indices, and Forex.
• Market Insights: FP Markets provides trading ideas for the most popular financial assets in various timeframes.
• Technical Report: A technical report is published weekly, covering the various market movements and how these affect the related financial assets. The report is in-depth and very detailed.
• Forex News: In this section, articles are published less frequently but cover all the major market events.
• Daily Analysis: Articles are published on a daily basis covering various global events and how they influence the markets.
• Currency Point: Articles are published on a weekly basis and cover the various currency movements.

FP Markets provides a range of educational materials, including ebooks, tutorials, video tutorials, webinars, and a glossary. The educational material focuses on the wider CFD industry, including tutorials on trading stocks, indices, and commodities:

eBooks: FP Markets offers a range of comprehensive ebooks that provide detailed information on the important aspects of forex, including money management, trading systems, and volatility. Other topics include technical and fundamental analysis, along with tips on how to spot trading opportunities. 

Video Tutorials: FP Markets provides a number of videos to introduce forex traders to the MetaTrader platforms. These videos serve as a step-by-step guide for those who want to learn to trade on MT4, MT5, TradingView and cTrader.

Glossary: The glossary provides comprehensive definitions and explanations of various financial terms.

Webinars: FP Markets hosts regular webinars that are held by its team of in-house professional traders. The webinars cater to traders of all experience levels and include topics such as Trading Psychology, Chart Psychology, Advanced Fibonacci Strategies, and How to Backtest a Trading Strategy. 

Trading for beginners: We expect that beginners will feel comfortable starting their trading career with FP Markets. The demo account never expires, the education section is varied, and market analysis is available both in video and article formats. Customer service is available 24/7, and we were impressed by the quality of support we received.

Demo Account

FP Markets offers a demo account that comes loaded with 100,000 virtual funds of your chosen base currency. The FP Markets’ demo accounts won’t expire unless they remain inactive for over 30 days.

Customer support is available 24/7 via live chat, email, and telephone. Weekend support is limited to 08:00 – 16:00. Available laguages include Italian, English, Russian, French, Arabic, German, and Chinese.

We found the customer service responsive (our questions were answered immediately), polite, and very knowledgeable.