ICMarkets CFD Broker Review 86

Overview/Background

Born and bred in the land down under, ICMarkets.com is Australian through and through. This CFD trading brokerage was established in Sydney in 2007 and it ranks as one of the most respected Forex and CFD providers in the industry. The platform successfully bridges the gap between institutional traders and high net worth traders. Thanks to the choices available to FX traders today, ICMarkets has been able to position itself at the top of the pile by offering tight spreads, rapid executions of trades, world-class customer service and quality trade frills. EA traders, day traders and scalpers enjoy the wide range of features available at ICMarkets. This online brokerage is fully regulated by the ASIC (Australian Securities and Investments Commission) with the following license #335692.

Account Types

There are 3 unique types of accounts available at ICMarkets. These include the cTrader ECN account, the True ECN account and the Standard Account. These 3 account types confer different benefits on traders. For example, the standard account charges $0.0 commission, and offers spreads from as little as 1.0 pips. It uses the MetaTrader 4 platform and the server location is Equinix NY4, New York. The starting deposit with a standard account is $200 and a maximum leverage of 500:1 is available. A standard account offers micro lots and 64 currency pairs. Full CFD trading is available along with one-click functionality. The standard account offers CNS VPS cross connection and Islamic accounts. You can use all types of trading styles and the programming language used on the standard platform is MQL4. The Islamic Account option is available on the Standard and True ECN platforms.

The True ECN platform charges $3.50 per lot. The spreads range from 0.0 pips and the trading platform is MetaTrader 4 just like the standard platform, the minimum deposit is $200 and the maximum leverage is 500:1. Micro trading lots at 0.01 are permitted and there are 64 currency pairs. Index CFD trading, one click trading, CNS VPS cross connections, Islamic account and all trading styles are permitted. It is ideally suited to scalpers and EA’s. The cTrader ECN offers spreads from as little as 0.3 pips for Forex trading. There also inverse spreads available with no minimum spread on the cTrader platform. Orders are filled by using the volume weighted average price and there is high liquidity and tight spreads. Scalping is also allowed on this platform and accommodation is made for flexible lot sizing. In total, there are 13 CFDs and 64 FX pairs. 10 currencies are supported on this platform including the HKD, GBP, EUR and USD. Some 10 funding options are available including e-wallets, debit cards, credit cards and bank transfers.

Deposit Options

Traders have access to 10 unique deposit methods at IC Markets. These include bank transfers or wire transfers. No fees are levied for incoming wire transfers to the segregated client trust account at IC Markets. Outside of Australia, local bank transfers do not levy fees on incoming wire transfers provided they are processed by Global Collect and its network of 59 banks. Debit cards and credit cards are available with no deposit or withdrawal fees. Skrill, Neteller, and WebMoney are available, although the latter charges a 3% fee for deposits. Other options include branch deposits, China Union Pay, BPay and broker to broker transfers.

Markets

ICMarkets is primarily a CFD trading brokerage. It offers multiple assets including commodities, indices, Forex and futures.

Forex: multiple currency pairs are available including the USD/JPY, EUR/USD, USD/CHF, GBP/USD, USD/CHF, AUD/USD and USD/CAD.

Indices: indices include the China 50, US 2000, ES 35, Nikkei 225, FTSE 100 index, Dow Jones EuroStoxx50 PR index, Hang Seng index, Dow Jones Industrial Average and the CAC40.

Commodities: these include soft commodities such as soybean, sugar, wheat, coffee and corn, metals such as palladium, platinum, silver and gold and energy commodities such as Brent crude oil, natural gas and WTI crude oil.

Futures: As a CFD trader, the futures markets are packed with options. These include the CBOE volatility index, the US dollar index, Brent crude oil futures and WTI crude oil futures. The pricing for CFD futures is derived from the underlying futures markets. The spread will include all the finance charges, commissions, and dividend adjustments. With futures markets, there are zero commissions on CFDs.

Bonuses

IC Markets considers itself to be a true ECN brokerage. To this effect, it does not offer any deposit bonuses. It defends this position by claiming that brokerages that offer bonuses are market maker brokers.

Customer Support

The customer support options at this online CFD trading brokerage are varied. The easiest way to get in touch is the LiveChat Option. You’ll be able to talk to a support agent in real time, and resolve your queries as quickly as possible. There are several other ways to get answers, including the self-service option. This is powered by nanoRep technology and it works well. There is a database of questions which is continually updated. The AI technology understands the nuances of user questions.

The company is registered to International Capital Markets PTY Limited in Sydney Australia, and the telephone number is +61 0 280144280. By clicking on the Contact Us button at the bottom of the page, you will be directed to the customer support options. The hours of operation for the office are from Monday through Saturday from 7 AM through 9 AM and from Sunday through Friday from 10 PM to 10 PM. The support address for email inquiries is [email protected] Details are provided for the head office in Sydney, the postal address, global telephone numbers, company registration information, the Chinese Support Center and Chinese contact details.

Safety

IC Markets maintains watertight security controls on all accounts. Client funds are securely locked away in segregated trust accounts at Westpac Banking Corporation and National Australia Bank. This online brokerage is fully compliant with the Australian Client Money Handling Rules. Additionally, IC Markets is fully regulated by the ASIC with a license #335692.

Ease-of-use

We found this CFD trading brokerage really easy to use. The customer support options are particularly helpful and support representatives are ready to respond to your questions. Besides that, the layout of IC Markets.com is easy on the eye. You will find all necessary information listed in the toolbar at the top, with things like WebTrader, live chat, contact us, deposit funds, language options and your registration. For Forex trading features are available under the Forex trading tab with a live account and a demo account available. The Forex trading platform provides details of each of the 3 platforms as well as the different trading software that is available to you. The IC Markets education section includes all the advantages of CFD trading and FX trading. If you’re looking for information on the company, the About Us tab provides concise information about the company and its operations.

Final Thoughts

ICMarkets.com is a respected Australian CFD brokerage. It provides less options than other big brokers such as EasyMarkets.com, but it is reputable and fully regulated. You have access to a demo trading account and a live account, and it’s easy to make deposits with 10 available deposit methods. The education centre provides useful resources on CFD trading, such as being able to profit in rising and falling markets, hedging, flexible contract sizes, and leverage.