Markets.com Broker Review

BVI FSC Regulation: Ugandan traders of Markets.com will be trading under the subsidiary, Finalto (BVI) Ltd, authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Commission of the British Virgin Islands (BVI FSC). Unlike regulators in the EU and UK, the BVI FSC does not require Forex brokers to keep a minimum level of capital, segregate client funds, participate in a compensation scheme, or provide customers with information concerning an execution policy.

Safety Features: Ugandan traders can take comfort in the fact that all client funds are held in segregated accounts at top-tier banks, and traders receive automatic negative balance protection.

London Stock Exchange: Safecap Investments Limited operates Markets.com in Cyprus and is a part of the Playtech plc Group, which is traded on the London Stock Exchange and constituent of the FTSE 250 index. This adds to the company’s credibility, as companies listed on major exchanges need to be transparent.

We found that opening a trading account at Markets.com took less than 24 hours and that it was easy to upload our documents.

We tested the account opening process, which took approximately 10 minutes to complete, and once our documentation had been submitted, our accounts were ready for trading within about 24 hours. 

As a Ugandan trader, you are eligible to open an account at Markets.com but will need to meet the minimum deposit amount of 100 USD/EUR/GBP to do so.

How to open an account at Markets.com:

1. We first clicked on the “Create Account” button, which directed us to Markets.com’s intake form.
2. Markets.com’s intake form required us to fill in our personal details (including name, country of residence, email address, birth date, and level of education). 
3. Conveniently, Markets.com allows Ugandan nationals to be electronically verified, if they provide their ID number.  
4. We were then required to fill in our financial information and answer questions about our trading knowledge. 
5. The next step required us to submit a copy of our National ID or Passport with the signature page, as well as a copy of a recent utility bill or bank statement.  Documents can be scanned or sent through as a high-quality digital camera picture.
6. We advise you to read Markets.com’s risk disclosure, customer agreement, and terms of business before you start trading. 

Our accounts were ready for trading within one day, which is about the industry average.

Markets.com’s range and depth of trading instruments are more comprehensive than many other brokers, and it excels in its cryptocurrency and commodities offerings.

Market.com’s Basic Account tier has a minimum deposit requirement of 100 USD, making it accessible to most traders, while its highest tier account (the Platinum tier) is accessible to traders with a 50,000 USD deposit. Spreads are much tighter than other brokers across all account tiers, with spreads that start at 0.6 pips (EUR/USD) on its lowest account tier, and lower still on its Platinum Account.

We opened and tested markets.com’s account and found that as advertised, spreads are 0.6 pips on the EUR/USD:

Professional Accounts

Professional Trading accounts benefit from increased leverage, preferential trading conditions, and premium research and commentary. Professional traders can also request specific assets be added to the platform. 

However, please note that as a professional trader, you do waive some protections that are in place to protect retail traders, which do not apply to professional traders.

To open a Professional Account, you must fulfil at least two of the following three criteria:

• The size of your financial instrument portfolio, including cash deposits, exceeds 500,000 USD.
• You work or have previously worked in the financial sector for at least one year in a professional position.
• You have carried out transactions, in significant size, on the relevant market at an average frequency of 10 per quarter over the previous 4 quarters.

A well-regulated broker, Markets.com ensures that all Anti-Money Laundering rules and regulations are followed. As such, all non-profit funds are returned to the original deposit source. 

Accepted Deposit Currencies: The Markets.com client portal allows traders to deposit funds in 9 currencies, including USD, EUR, GBP, PLN, SEK, DKK, NOK, ZAR, and AUD. Unfortunately, Markets.com does not offer accounts denominated in UGX. Markets.com charges a Conversion Fee on some trades. This is a small charge (0.3%) deducted for the currency conversion when the trading account currency and the quoted currency of the underlying asset are different. This is a disadvantage for Ugandans who will likely have bank accounts denominated in UGX.

A convenient way to save on conversion fees is by opening a multi-currency bank account at a digital bank. Digital banks offer great exchange rates in addition to free or cheap international bank transfers. 

Funding Methods and Fees: Deposits and withdrawals can be made securely at Markets.com using major debit and credit cards, bank wire transfers, and leading payment services such as Neteller, Skrill, and PayPal. Markets.com does not charge deposit or withdrawal fees.

Markets.com offers support for the Markets.com App, and MT4, and MT5 mobile trading apps for Android and iOS. 

Markets.com Mobile App

We found that the app has a sleek design and intuitive interface. We could easily transfer, withdraw and deposit funds, search for instruments, and create watchlists. It also displays the market sentiment for all instruments. We were also pleased to find that the app has an integrated news feed:

MT4 and MT5 Mobile Trading 

The advantage of using the MetaTrader platform is the cross-device and multi-broker functionality, making it easier to change brokers or use multiple brokers. The markets.com MT4 and MT5 apps allow traders to work from anywhere, with nine timeframes, 30 indicators, and interactive currency charts. Functionality to close and modify existing orders, calculate profit/loss in real-time, and tick chart trading further empowers traders while on the move.

Markets.com offers support for MT4, MT5, and the markets.com trading platforms, which is a wider range than is available at most other brokers.

Markets.com

The markets.com trading platform is known for its ease of use and excellent features. We found that it offers advanced charting, making it easier to spot trends and identify new trading opportunities, and comprehensive drawing tools to plot trendlines, channels, pitchforks, Fibonacci Retracements, and much more. We were also impressed to find that the platform allows you to add up to five types of indicators to the chart at once, overlay multiple assets, or compare up to eight instruments side-by-side.

The search function on the markets.com platform is excellent. We were able to search for specific instruments or use filters to navigate asset classes and subcategories to find new trades. In addition, markets.com highlights the hottest instruments and the biggest movers with the Featured tab:

One drawback of the platform is that it does not allow automated trading, but Markets.com offers MT4 and MT5 for these purposes.

MetaTrader 4

Having established itself as the industry-leading platform, Metatrader 4 (MT4) is considered the most reliable and popular platform in existence. Its intuitive interface and user-friendly environment provide essential tools and resources for successful online trading. However, markets.com only offers support for the most basic version of MT4, which means that it lacks essential trading features. There are thousands of add-ons available for free, but traders may have to pay extra to take advantage of the platform’s full functionality. 

MetaTrader 5

MT5 is more powerful and faster than MT4 when it comes to back-testing functionality for automated trading algorithms. It also has a built-in news feed, market depth indicator, and economic calendar, and trades can be made on the charts. 

Its powerful suite of decision-supporting tools is one of the main strengths of the markets.com online trading platform. The trading tools menu features several tools that crunch big data from leading analysts, hedge funds, and commentators to give you better insight into the market. Each tool has integrated buy and sell buttons, so you can quickly act upon the information presented. Tools include:

Fundamental Analysis: These include customisable trading alerts, in-platform financial commentary, including central bank statements, earnings announcements, and national budgets available through the platform’s newsfeed. 

Analyst Recommendations: See what top Wall Street analysts think of leading US stocks. Get price targets and buy/sell ratings on industry leaders like Microsoft, Boeing, Alphabet, and more.

Insider Trades: See how executives at companies like Apple, Facebook, and Tesla are trading their own stock. Each trade is marked as informative or uninformative so that you can get a clear picture of insider sentiment.

Hedge Fund Confidence: Follow the smart money with the Hedge Fund Confidence tool, which shows you which stocks the world’s top money managers were buying and selling in the previous quarter.

Bloggers Opinions: See how top financial bloggers feel about a stock thanks to the Bloggers Opinions tool, which aggregates the latest commentary to tell you if analysts feel bullish or bearish on leading US stocks.

News Sentiment: Have the latest headlines been bullish or bearish? Cut through the noise with the News Sentiment tool, which distills the latest news into simple insights you can use to inform your trading decisions.

Alerts: Traders can easily stay on top of market movements and changes in sentiment thanks to the highly customisable alerts function. Set alerts for any instrument based upon price targets or swings, as well as changes in sentiment data (where available). These alerts can be delivered by email or push.

Markets.com offers excellent research materials compared to other brokers, including advance charting, an economic calendar, exclusive analysis and commentary, and an updated news section.

Top financial analysts and industry leaders deliver exclusive analysis and commentary on the web platform’s integrated video streaming service. Traders can access the latest news and views on the major markets and biggest economic developments, technical analysis, company earnings, and more. Markets.com account holders often get exclusive access to the latest training and strategies from top educational providers.

News: On top of a packed schedule of regular shows, Markets.com brings you exclusive live coverage of key events, such as central bank decisions and the US nonfarm payrolls reports, as well as political news and breaking market developments.

Knowledge Centre: The Knowledge Centre contains video tutorials on using the platform’s features and tools, as well as MARKETS View – where you’ll find the latest commentary and analysis.

Notifications: Traders can also stay on top of the events and market developments with rolling market coverage via push and in-platform messages and email.

Week Ahead Briefing: Prepare for the coming week’s trading with the Week Ahead briefing, delivered to your inbox every Sunday, and download in-depth guides on top markets to bolster your knowledge.

Charting Tools: Markets.com provides excellent charting tools, to which traders can add over 80 technical indicators.

Economic Calendar: Markets.com’s economic calendar allows traders to access predictions, trends, and analyses.

The Education Centre is packed full of content to help traders get the most out of the platform and find more trading opportunities, offers a range of downloadable in-depth guides,and a great blog packed with articles that cater to beginner traders. Its videos are presented by industry experts and offer great advice on risk management, how to choose a trading strategy, and fundamental analysis, among other topics. 

Markets.com also offers free webinars run by some of the top minds in the world of financial markets. Its expert presenters are on hand to answer questions and guide traders through a range of topics, from using its platforms to understanding the ins and outs of the markets.

Demo Accounts

Traders can also open a Demo Account, which allows them to learn the platform’s functionality and understand how the markets work. Demo accounts come loaded with 10,000 USD in virtual funds. The demo account lasts for 30 days but can be extended upon request. It is also fully mobile compatible, so you can learn how to trade across all your devices.

Markets.com aims to deliver a premium trading experience, and VIP support is a large part of its offering. 

Technical support and customer service are available 24/5 in various languages over the phone or in-platform with the Live Chat feature. Traders can also get help via email.

We found the customer service via live chat responsive, polite, and knowledgeable – they were able to answer all our questions.