With a focus on forex and CFDs, FXTM (ForexTime) has emerged as a major force in the online trading sector since its founding in 2011. Reputable regulatory bodies like UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), the Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) South Africa oversee the company’s operations. We will further talk about regulations in this FXTM review.
Although certain limitations apply to traders in particular regions, FXTM offers access to an impressive display of financial instruments, including forex, commodities, indices, and cryptocurrencies.
FXTM trading broker made a name for itself as a top broker for frontier and emerging markets. Improved MT4/MT5 trading platforms, as well as top-notch research and instruction, are provided to traders. One of the greatest commission-based Forex pricing environments is also provided by Forextime.
Testing & Review Methodology
This FXTM review is based on hands-on testing using demo and live trading environments, combined with publicly available regulatory disclosures and broker documentation.
FXTM Regulation & Licenses
FXTM operates through multiple regulated entities across different jurisdictions, allowing it to serve clients globally while complying with local financial regulations.
During our FXTM review, the ForexInfoHub team verified the broker’s regulatory status using publicly available regulatory disclosures and official regulator registers.
Key Regulatory Authorities
- Financial Conduct Authority (FCA – United Kingdom)
FXTM’s UK entity is authorized and regulated by the FCA, one of the world’s most respected financial regulators. UK retail clients are protected by strict conduct rules, negative balance protection, and are eligible for compensation of up to £85,000 under the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) in the event of broker insolvency.
- Financial Services Commission (FSC – Mauritius)
FXTM maintains an entity regulated by the FSC in Mauritius, which serves international clients outside the UK and EU. This entity allows for higher leverage and a broader range of trading conditions, although investor protection standards differ from those in the UK.
- Financial Services Authority (FSCA – South Africa)
FXTM is authorized by South Africa’s FSCA, enabling it to legally provide trading services within the region and strengthening its presence in African markets.
FXTM Pros
Let’s dive into this FXTM review to examine whether FXTM stands out as a dependable forex broker.
- FXTM is known for its fast and reliable customer service.
- They offer support in many languages, ensuring you can communicate comfortably.
- The support team is well-informed, so they can provide accurate and helpful answers to your inquiries.
- They provide a demo account, which is a great way for you to practice trading without risking real money before moving on to actual trading.
- FXTM is excellent at providing educational resources.
- They offer a range of tools and webinars designed to help you build the knowledge and skills necessary to improve your trading performance.
Opening an account with FXTM is quick and straightforward, as the entire process is digital, making it convenient and efficient.
FXTM Cons
There are some drawbacks to using FXTM. They apply fees for withdrawing funds and for periods of account inactivity. Additionally, they don’t support trading in bonds, ETFs, or mutual funds, which limits the variety of products they offer.
FXTM Tools and Resources
Trading Platforms
FXTM provides various platforms tailored to different trader needs. MetaTrader 4 (MT4) and MetaTrader 5 (MT5) are well-liked for their dependability, offering a stable trading experience. With the FXTM Trader App, you can trade on your mobile device, while WebTrader allows trading directly online without downloads.
During our FXTM platform testing, the ForexInfoHub team observed stable performance across both MT4 and MT5, with no platform crashes during normal market conditions.
Trading Tools
FXTM offers a range of educational and trading tools, though some content is due for an update.
- Webinars and Seminars: FXTM used to host live webinars and seminars globally, but there are no current live sessions, with the last update in 2020. Although future webinars are planned, only older recordings are currently accessible.
- Video Tutorials and eBooks: To compensate for the absence of recent live sessions, FXTM has a library of video tutorials from previous webinars and a selection of eight e-books. These materials cover essential forex trading strategies, market analysis, and cryptocurrency topics, although they could benefit from newer content.
Trading Practical Tools
FXTM equips traders with practical tools such as an economic calendar, a signal center powered by Acuity, and FXTM signals that are refreshed three times daily. These resources help traders stay informed and provide trading ideas.
- Community Engagement: FXTM fosters interaction through forums and social media, enabling traders to share insights and strategies.
- Educational Content: The FXTM website consolidates educational resources, featuring market analysis, a glossary, and beginner guides on various trading subjects, which are especially useful for new traders starting with forex or CFDs.
- Copy Trading with FXTM Invest: FXTM Invest allows less experienced traders to copy trade from seasoned professionals, making it ideal for those who want to learn or earn without actively managing their trades.
FXTM Costs and fees
1. Advantage Account: You pay a commission for each batch of trades, and the amount depends on what you’re trading.
For major forex pairs, the spread (the difference between buy and sell prices) starts at 0.0 pips.
2. Advantage Plus Account: There are no commission fees, but the spread is wider, starting at 1.5 pips.
3. Micro (Beginner) Account: This account is like Advantage Plus with no commission fees and wider spreads.
4. Islamic Account: This account offers swap-free trading, meaning you don’t pay fees for keeping trades open overnight. However, if a trade is open for more than 7 days, you might have to pay additional fees.
5. Extra Costs: If your account isn’t used for three months and has a positive balance, you might be charged an inactivity fee.
Swap fees for trading forex, metals, indices, and commodities can vary.
FXTM Account Types
- Standard Account: Free of commission fees, ideal for novices.
- Advantage Account: Designed for active traders who want to cut costs by trading on commission.
- Advantage Plus Account: Perfect for traders seeking fee simplicity, this account offers tight spreads without commissions.
- Stocks Account: Used to trade more than 600 cash stocks.
- Islamic Account: Trading without swaps for people who follow the rules of Islamic finance.
- Demo Account: A demo forex account is a risk-free setting for practice and education.
While reviewing FXTM, we saw that only Advantage and Advantage Plus live accounts are available to customers in the UK.
FXTM Trading Experience Score
Tradeable Asset Classes
FXTM offers a wide range of 700 CFDs across multiple asset categories. These include:
- 47 Forex pairs
- 3 Spot Metal CFDs
- 1 Futures CFD for NAS100Z4
- 13 Commodity CFDs, 18 Indices CFDs
- Over 600 Stock CFDs (with regional variations)
- 17 Cryptocurrency CFDs
- 3 Indicative CFDs
Note that trading certain assets like stocks and cryptocurrencies may be restricted depending on local regulations.
Lot Sizes
For most accounts, the smallest trade size is 0.01 lots. Mini lots are set at 0.10 lots, and standard lots are 1 lot. The maximum size per order is 100 lots, but if you have a Micro Account, each trade is limited to 10 lots. Advantage and Advantage Plus accounts offer flexibility with unlimited positions per order, though each trade is still capped at 100 lots.
Leverage
Leverage at FXTM varies depending on your region and the asset you’re trading:
- Forex: In the EU and UK, leverage for major pairs can go up to 30:1, and 20:1 for minor and exotic pairs. Outside these regions, leverage can be as high as 1,000:1 for major pairs and 500:1 for others.
- Metals: In the EU and UK, leverage for gold is capped at 20:1 and silver at 10:1, but it can reach up to 500:1 in less regulated areas.
- Commodities and Indices: Leverage is limited to 10:1 in the EU and UK, but can extend to 100:1 in other regions.
- Stocks: In the EU, stock leverage is up to 5:1, increasing to 10:1 in other areas. Stock CFDs with leverage beyond 1:1 are considered fractional.
- Cryptocurrencies: For crypto CFDs, leverage may be limited to 2:1 or even banned for retail clients in certain regions, while in others, it could go up to 1,000:1.
Professional clients may have access to higher leverage, potentially reaching 200:1 or 500:1, depending on both the asset type and regional regulations.
Quality of Trade Execution
FXTM provides an impressive average execution speed of approximately 71 milliseconds, catering to traders who require rapid trade completion. Although actual execution times can occasionally be a bit longer, they remain efficient for handling market orders. Variations in server performance and market conditions can influence execution speed, but overall, FXTM maintains a commendable standard.
FXTM is known for its ability to minimize slippage, ensuring that trades are executed at prices close to what traders expect. This consistency is vital, highlighting FXTM’s dependability in managing trades effectively.
In a practical test with the EUR/USD currency pair using a limit order, the trade occurred at a slight -0.00005 premium, and the stop limit was triggered at a small +0.00005 discount. These minor fluctuations are negligible and essentially balance each other, having little impact on the trade’s outcomes.
Market order execution speeds ranged between 373 and 435 milliseconds. While these speeds don’t reach FXTM’s peak average claim, they remain competitive within the industry, showcasing efficient order processing capabilities.
FXTM Customer Service and Support
Support Schedule and Response Times:
Support is available 24 hours a day, Monday through Friday, with more limited hours on weekends.
For urgent issues, live chat and phone support provide quick help, often within minutes.
Email support handles less urgent inquiries, typically responding within 24 hours. For FXTM UK, you must submit a support ticket via a contact form, which can lead to longer wait times.
FXTM UK does not offer a direct agent live chat. Instead, you fill out a ‘raise request’ form, resulting in longer response times, averaging about 6 hours and 11 minutes. This delay may be due to the complexity of the issue or the availability of the support team.
There was a case where an FXTM UK support ticket was closed without resolving the issue, indicating a need for better ticket management and customer follow-up.
When the ForexInfoHub team contacted FXTM customer support, response times varied depending on the region, with UK-based queries taking noticeably longer due to the ticket-based system.
Languages Offered:
The FXTM website is accessible in English, Arabic, Spanish, Portuguese, and Chinese. They offer support in 18 languages, including Arabic, Chinese, Czech, English, Farsi, French, Hindi, Indonesian, Italian, Korean, Malaysian, Polish, Russian, Spanish, Urdu, and Vietnamese.
Is FXTM Legit and Safe?
FXTM is a legit and secure broker, with strong regulation and licenses in key locations such as London, a top financial hub. In the event of bankruptcy, UK account holders can receive up to £85,000 in state compensation.
FXTM is also acquiring a license in Kenya as part of its expansion in Africa. On February 26th, 2021, FXTM ended its retail operations under the CySEC regulation, due to non-competitive rules from the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA). Clients in the European Economic Area (EEA) can still trade through other FXTM branches.
FXTM broker provides traders with good conditions and protection. As a member of the Financial Commission in Hong Kong, traders are safeguarded up to €20,000 per claim by a Compensation Fund, similar to CySEC but without additional limits.
Their performance statistics are audited by PricewaterhouseCoopers Limited (PwC), which enhances their transparency as a broker.
Conclusion
The broker offers a solid trading experience, especially for traders who value regulation and favourable trading conditions. The process for adding or withdrawing funds is straightforward, enabling traders to concentrate on market analysis.
However, new users should anticipate potential delays during account verification, particularly in the UK, due to reliance on a contact form instead of direct live chat or phone support, which can slow down resolving issues.
FXTM provides a broad selection of trading tools and robust platforms, including MT4/5 and their proprietary mobile app. The trading environment is competitive, with spreads and commissions that cater to both novices and seasoned traders. While the ECN/STP execution model is designed to be transparent, execution speeds might occasionally not meet expectations.
For those exploring various trading strategies, such as scalping or swing trading, FXTM offers the necessary tools and conditions. Previously, they had a large library of recorded webinars for trading and market education, but these were phased out around 2022, leaving an educational gap.
FXTM should consider updating their content offerings to fill this void. Nevertheless, they maintain active community spaces for traders to exchange knowledge and experiences.
Overall, FXTM is a comprehensive trading platform with robust regulatory oversight, making it a trustworthy option for those who prioritize security. Although setting up an account may require some patience and customer service may not be as swift as desired.
Those who overcome these initial challenges will find FXTM to be a reliable broker in the forex and CFD markets, with advantages that suit a variety of trading preferences.