ActivTrades Review 2023
ActivTrades is one of the leading forex brokerage firms founded in 2001. The company provides retail and institutional trading services across multiple financial markets, including forex, stocks, commodities, indices, and cryptocurrencies. In addition to offering a diverse selection of user-friendly trading platforms, the company is well known for its excellent trading conditions. With flexible account types, advanced research tools, and rich educational resources, the company entices newbies and skilled professionals to sign up with it. In this piece, we discuss the broker in detail.
Regulation and Security
ActivTrades holds regulations in the Bahamas and the United Kingdom. Let us enlist the name of entities and their respective regulators below.
- Bahamas: ActivTrades Corp is registered in the Bahamas bearing company’s registration number 199667 B. The firm is fully authorized and regulated by the Securities Commission of the Bahamas (SCB).
- United Kingdom: ActivTrades PLC is registered in England and Wales under the company’s registration number 05367727.
ActivTrades employs advanced security protocols like SSL web encryption and two step-authentication to safeguard clients’ personal and confidential data.
Negative Balance Protection
ActivTrades offers negative balance protection, ensuring its clients don’t incur negative balances in their accounts. That means your liability is limited. All you can only lose is your capital invested with the company at max and nothing more.
Funds Segregation
In compliance with respective regulations, the broker keeps clients’ investments in segregated bank accounts and doesn’t use them for personal purposes. Clients can rest assured of their access to their funds on a run-time basis. You can find more information about ActivTrade’s security and safety measures by clicking here.
Is ActivTrades available worldwide?
Yes, ActivTrades has a global presence in more than 140 countries worldwide. With its head office in London, the company serves its clients through its regional offices in various jurisdictions across the globe, including Milan, Sofia, Italy, Bulgaria, Nassau, Luxembourg, and the Bahamas.
However, the broker doesn’t accept clients from a few regions, including but not limited to Japan and the United States.
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Supported Platforms
Whether you prefer exploring the markets using your desktop or surfing the web appeals to you more. ActivTrades has every solution to your trading needs. The custom-built ActivTrade web terminal provides rich trading tools to help you trade markets confidently, while the industry standard MT4/MT5 trading platforms don’t need any introduction. A mobile trading app is also available for on-the-go clients at ActivTrades.com.
Online trading
The company’s proprietary trading platform appears to be the prefered choice of investors who prefer web-based trading. Even though it offers a reasonable selection of tools and features needed for a meaningful trading experience, the in-house platform does not support automatic trading. Consequently, the only traders who might consider using it are those who trade manually.
Desktop trading
Clients can upgrade MT4’s standard installation to a robust trading environment using the Smart Tool suite, which includes all of the platform’s other features. It is also fully compatible with automated trading solutions, making it a superior option overall. Moreover, investors can customize it further with thousands of plugins developed by third-party developers.
Traders now have access to a gateway that is superior to the one offered by the proprietary ActivTrader, thanks to the upgraded version of MT4, which was recently released. The automated chart pattern recognition tool is beneficial, particularly for retail traders who might not have access to sufficient resources or a professional trading team.
Mobile trading
Those who do not wish to compromise the need for mobility can download the respective version of mobile trading platforms from the Google PlayStore or App Store on their iOS or Android-based mobile phones and tablets.
The ActivTrades mobile trading platform brings lightning-fast execution, comprehensive functionality, and a seamless trading experience to the power of your palm. You can efficiently respond to changes in the market and obtain an overview of different financial instruments wherever you are and whenever you like. The mobile-based trading platform allows you to control your trading account, stay up to date on the latest financial information, and manage your positions via single-click trading.
Account Types
ActivTrades facilitates all its clients through a standard account. The company employs minimal trading restrictions. Therefore, clients can trade mini and micro lots using the same account. The broker allows its customers to access one-to-one trading sessions with its expert professionals without additional cost. The broker also has the option of professional accounts reserved for eligible clients only.
Should you wish to open a professional account, you must meet at least two conditions per the following criteria.
1. You have significantly traded the financial markets in one year with an average frequency of 10 trades a quarter.
2. The size of your investment portfolio, including cash deposits, exceeds $500,000.
3. You have one year of work experience in the financial sector.
Considering the needs of all stakeholders, the broker also offers swap-free accounts for shariah practising traders.
Demo accounts are also available for new and existing clients to practise different trading strategies without risking their real funds. If you’re a new trader, you must practice through a trading account before putting real money at stake. Click here to initiate a demo account.
Signing Up
Signing up with the company is as easy as following four simple steps. The account registration process doesn’t take more than a couple of minutes to complete. However, the company need its clients to complete the KYC process and verify their accounts before being allowed to trade. The verification process may take up to a day or two. Below are the steps you need to follow to open a live account with ActivTrades.
1) Enter your details, including your name, email ID and password.
2) Provide relevant work experience to confirm that you understand the risk involved in CFD trading.
3) Confirm your financial details, such as the source of funds, average annual income and estimated deposit.
4) Read terms and conditions and mark your acceptance to proceed to account setup.
You can use a copy of your National ID Card, Passport, or Driving license to verify your identity. The broker will also need your bank statement or a copy of your utility bill for address verification. Once your account is verified, you can add funds to your account and start placing trades immediately.
Trading Dashboard
As soon as you log in to your account, a sleekly designed dashboard welcomes you on board. The platform seems to have kept things as simple as possible. You only have a handful of options available on your right side. For instance, the accounts tab allows you to manage your active accounts with the company, while the tools tab provides access to available tools and indicators. Using the Profile button, you can edit your profile and set up your login credentials. The platforms tab display links to download supported trading platforms, while the insights tab provides access to available research and educational resources.
Deposit and Withdrawals
ActivTrades offers multiple payment options to add funds to your accounts, including Debit Cards, Credit Card, e-wallets (Skrill, Neteller, PayPal), wire transfers, Sofort, etc.
The minimum amount is $500 to open an account with ActivTrades. Clients can fund their accounts in four currencies: USD, CHF, EUR, and GBP. While the company allows a maximum of 20 transactions in a month, the total deposit amount should not exceed EUR 35000 in 30 calendar days for card deposits. There is no set limit for bank transfers.
The company doesn’t accept third-party payments in compliance with ALM directives. Therefore, the source of funds must be in your name only.
ActivTrades processes withdrawal requests via the same methods used for account funding. Clients can withdraw up to EUR 50,000 in a month using cards. The broker doesn’t specify the minimum withdrawal amount.
All payments are processed within 30 minutes, except for bank transfers. The average time for bank transfers is 24 hours.
Instruments
ActivTrades offers various financial instruments across multiple markets, including forex, indices, shares, commodities and cryptocurrencies. For instance, clients can trade 1000+ shares, 50+ currency pairs, 16+ commodities, 14+ indices, and 9+ cryptocurrencies. However, the product range may vary from country to country. For instance, crypto CFD are unavailable in the UK amid the FCA band on crypto derivatives. Therefore, it is best to confirm the availability of a specific instrument directly from the broker before opening an account with it.
Commissions and Fees
Clients are likely to incur trading and non-trading fee while trading financial markets on ActivTrades. The company claims to keep its pricing in line with average industry standards. However, clients might find the non-trading cost slightly higher than other brokerage firms. For instance, most brokers do not charge any fee on deposits and withdrawals.
However, that’s not the case with ActivTrades. The company charges up to a 1.50% fee on deposits via cards. On the other hand, withdrawal requests might cost up to 9 GBP when processed via bank transfers.
Regarding trading fees, the company charges a commission of up to 0.10% of the transaction value for trading shares.
Trading fees play an important part in determining your profitability; you must have a comprehensive idea about the spreads and commissions. Click here to evaluate ActivTrades’ trading costs.
Spreads
ActivTrades’ average spread on major currency pairs like EUR/USD is 1.02 pips. Clients can trade indices like UK100 for an average spread of 1.5 pips, while commodities like Crude and Brent oil are tradable for an average spread of 0.07 pips. The average spread for trading cryptocurrencies like BTC/USD and ETH/USD is 43.33 and 2.49, respectively.
Available Leverage
Leverage refers to trading on margin. It involves borrowing funds from your broker to fill large orders with a fractional investment. For instance, using the leverage of up to 1:30 means you can control a position as big as 30 times your capital. ActivTrades offers a leverage of up to 1:200 for trading FX pairs metals. Professional account holders can even unlock higher leverage levels depending upon their account size and experience.
Please be informed that leveraged trading carries excessive risk exposure and can be detrimental in highly volatile market conditions. It not only maximizes your profit earning potential but also magnifies the risk of loss. Therefore, you should carefully select leverage for your account, especially if you are new to trading.
Analysis and Education
ActivTrades offers rich educational resources to its clients to help them learn and grow. Featured content comprises one-to-one training sessions, webinars, analysis, educational videos and corporate news. The company’s in-house staff is responsible for researching and providing trading ideas daily.
One-on-one instruction is offered for those interested in furthering their trading education, which is a beneficial service for new traders. The video library covers introductory topics related to MT4, while the webinars are online presentations that cover more in-depth subject matter and are accessible through the website.
In addition, ActivTrades organizes seminars in major financial hubs, and the company’s educational division delivers exceptional service. A glossary is also available to help clients become familiar with different trading terminologies. Overall, the educational section seems well maintained. However, the quality of the content is not so impressive and needs a slight improvement, especially the in-house analysis part.
Customer Service
ActivTrades offer round-the-clock services five days a week. Clients can reach the company via telephone, email and live chat. A dedicated FAQs section is also available to help clients find a quick resolution to their queries. The broker is also accessible on social media channels, including Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Youtube. Should you wish to talk to the company’s representatives over the telephone or email? Please use the listed below details to do so.
Tele: +1 242 603 5200
Email: englishdesk@activtrades.bs
Web: www.activtrades.com
Reputation amongst Traders
ActivTrades is one of the top-rated brokerage firs we’ve reviewed so far. People hold excellent views about the company. There have been more than 700 reviews posted on the Trustpilot, and 79% of clients showed extreme satisfaction with the company’s services. The majority of traders liked the broker’s seamless trading conditions. However, about 3% of unhappy clients reported withdrawal issues with the company.
The situation is not the same on Forexpeacearmy. FPA clients report the company to be of average level. The company could only secure a 2.77 rating out of 5 after 147 reviews. On the FPA, people denounced the company mainly for its practice of closing accounts without sufficient justifications.
Awards
ActivTrades have won dozens of awards for its excellent services over the years.
- Most Trusted Global FX Broker 2022 by International Investor Magazine
- Best Forex Broker in the UK 2022 by Brokertested.com
- Best Customer Service 2022 by International Investor Magazine
- Best Forex Broker Europe 2022 by Forex-Awards.com
- Best Trading Platform 2022 by Deutsches Kundeninstitut (DKI)
Can beginners trade with ActivTrades?
Yes, ActivTrades has many reasons to become a prefered choice for beginners. First, it offers user-friendly trading platforms with flexible trading conditions. Secondly, it provides rich educational resources with unlimited virtually funded demo accounts to help them learn and improve trading skills without committing their real funds.
Summing Up
ActivTrades is a multi-asset brokerage firm providing exceptional trading services across various financial markets for over two decades. While diverse trading platforms allow clients to select the one that fits their trading needs, the SmartTool feature enhances the user trading experience. However, the initial deposit requirement and the pricing structure aren’t impressive. Setting aside the cost factor, the company has a lot to offer. Rich educational resources, flexible account types and a great product portfolio make the company suitable for trading CFDs, especially for clients looking for value for money.