FXTM Broker Review

Written by Emmanuel Ifeanyi

Emmanuel Ifeanyi

Emmanuel Ifeanyi Ekwomadu is a financial content writer specialised in Forex, Stock and Crypto trading. He is the person behind most of the brokers reviews that you will find on BestBrokers.com

, | Updated: December 3, 2024

Forex Time, FXTM for short, is an award-winning brokerage firm that provides traders with all the necessary resources they need to participate in the global financial markets. It allows traders to buy and sell over 250 financial instruments across different asset classes, including forex, commodities, cryptocurrency, stocks, shares, indices, metals, energies, and CFDs.

This broker review focuses on the most important aspects of FXTM that you may want to consider before deciding whether to trade with it or not. The broker’s aggregated Trustpilot score of 3.1/5 is also a factor to take into account whenever evaluating FXTM’s services. The average rating of the broker is based on 839 customer reviews, with 54% of them giving FXTM a score of 5 stars and 16% believing it deserved 1 star. Trustpilot score of FXTM is updated by our team as of Oct 30th, 2024.

Key Pros and Cons

First, let us briefly look at FXTM’s merits and demerits.

Company Information

FXTM is comprised of the following corporate entities with their respective regulated offices:

• ForexTime Limited, regulated by the CySEC: office address: Cyprus
• ForexTime Limited, regulated by the FSCA: office address: South Africa
• ForexTime UK, regulated by the FCA: office address: United Kingdom.
• Exinity Limited, regulated by the FSC: office address: 5th Floor, 355 NEX Tower, Rue du Savoir, Cybercity, Ebene 72201, Mauritius

However, the FXTM brand does not provide services to residents of the USA, Mauritius, Japan, Canada, Haiti, Suriname, the Democratic Republic of Korea, Puerto Rico, Brazil, the Occupied Area of Cyprus, and Hong Kong.

Why Trade with FXTM?

Now, let us provide a quick list of the key features that we like about FXTM.

Regulation

FXTM is a regulated and licensed broker that is authorized in multiple jurisdictions:

In the United Kingdom, FXTM operates as Forextime UK Limited, which is authorized and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in the United Kingdom with firm reference number 777911. The FCA is a strict regulatory authority that ensures that brokers practice fairly and protect their clients.

The European arm of FXTM — ForexTime Limited — is regulated by the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC) with CIF license number 185/12.

In South Africa, ForexTime Limited is licensed by the Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) of South Africa with FSP No. 46614.

FXTM’s international operations are also handled by Exinity Limited, which is regulated by the Financial Services Commission of the Republic of Mauritius with an Investment Dealer License bearing license number C113012295. However, this regulation by FSC is not as strict as F.A. or CySEC.

A breakdown of the various regulatory regimes is presented below.

The various financial authorities, including FCA, CySEC, FSCA, and SFC, provide FXTM with a solid regulatory standing.

However, CFTC regulation is absent; as a result, FXTM cannot provide its services to citizens or residents of the United States.

KYC Procedure for Account Creation and Depositing

Signing up with FXTM involves a simple process, which can be completed in a few minutes. It complies with the industry-standard procedure and follows these steps:

1. Creating your secure login: This is an important stage during account creation; you should enter your email address and create a strong password to secure your trading account.
2. Completing the application form with your details: You input your names, date of birth, city of residence, address, postcode, and phone number
3. Choosing your trading account: Choose your preferred trading platform and account type
4. Checking your suitability status: This involves disclosing information about your employment status and sources of income, as well as your trading experience. If you are approved based on your answers, you can proceed to the next step of the process, but if any of your answers do not match the broker’s internal requirements, your application will be rejected;
5. Agree to the terms: You need to tick the box at the bottom of the account registration form to indicate that you agree to FXTM’s Terms and Conditions
6. Verifying your documents: You provide your proof of ID (Passport, national ID card, or Driver’s License) and proof of residency (utility bill or bank account statement that is less than three months) for FXTM to verify your account.

After creating your live account within a few minutes, you will be required to wait for about 24 hours to verify your live account. Upon verifying your account, you will have to fund it using any available payment methods before you can start trading.

Account Types

FXTM provides traders with a choice of three live trading account options. The available account types are denominated in multiple currencies to save traders the cost of paying currency conversion fees. Traders can choose the account type that best suits their individual needs and trading style. The available trading account options include the following:

Islamic Account (Swap-Free)

FXTM offers swap-free trading on all the available live trading account options. The swap-free account is designed for clients of the Muslim faith who cannot receive or pay swaps due to religious beliefs. While this account type does not incur any swaps or interest charges on overnight positions, the account holder may be charged an administration fee on trading positions.

Demo Account

The broker provides traders with MT4 and MT5 demo account, which they can use to practice their trading strategies before implementing them on the live trading accounts. The demo account often comes preloaded with virtual funds for practice purposes.

Trading fees and other costs

Every trader should always consider a broker’s trading fees and other costs before deciding whether to trade with it or not. As a CFD broker and forex broker, FXTM offers two types of trading fees, namely:

• Trading fees – spreads, commissions, and overnight financing rates;
• Non-trading costs – account management fees, deposit and withdrawal fees, non-activity fees.

Let us take a quick look at the trading fees that are available at FXTM.

Spreads

FXTM offers the following spreads across all its account types:

• Micro Account — Spreads start from 1.5 pips with no commissions
• Advantage Account — Tight spreads from 0.0 pips and a commission of $4.0 per round turn.
• Advantage Plus Account — Spreads start from 1.5 pips with no commissions

Now, let us take a look at the average spreads offered on the three account types:

There seems to be a mark-up (of 1.2 pips) to the average spread on FXTM’s Micro Account and Advantage Plus Account to cover the costs of trading the EUR/USD pair.

Let’s now compare the trading costs for the three account types. To do so, we will use a 1 Lot trade on EUR/USD (one pip movement equals $10) and assume that the trade is opened and closed at the same price. By using the average spreads, the trading costs for the three accounts will be:

Micro Account

• Spread – 1.5 pip
• TOTAL COST – 1.5 x $10 = $15.0 per side or $30 per round turn

Advantage Account

• Spread – 0.4 pips
• Spread cost – 0.3 x $10 = $3.00 per side and $6.00 per round turn
• Commission – $2.00 per lot per side or $4.00 per round turn
• TOTAL COST – $6.00 + $4.00 = $10.0 per round turn
• TOTAL COST – 1.5 x $10 = $15.0 per side and $30 per round turn

Advantage Plus Account

• Spread – 1.5 pip
• TOTAL COST – 1.5 x $10 = $15.0 per side and $30 per round turn

We can see from the above comparison that the Advantage account is the cheapest of the three accounts, thanks to its tight spreads and competitive commission fees.

Finally, let us compare FXTM Micro Account average spreads with those other major brokerages offered on the three most actively traded Forex pairs.

From the table above, the spreads offered by FXTM MT4 Accounts are quite higher than those offered by the big names in the industry — for example, IC Markets, IG Markets, and Fusion Markets.

Commissions

FXTM offers zero commissions on the Micro and Advantage Plus accounts.

However, a commission fee of $2.0 per lot per side ($4 per round trip) is charged on the Advantage account.

This means that on the Advantage account:

• for a 1 Standard Lot trade (100,000 units), you will pay a $4.0 commission to open and close the position;
• for a 1 Mini Lot trade (10,000 units), you will pay a $0.4 commission to open and close the position;
• for a 1 Micro Lot trade (1,000 units), you will pay a $0.04 commission to open and close the position.

Interestingly, a $4.0 commission for a 1 Lot trade on the Micro account is very attractive. It is even cheaper than that of the Zero Spread Account with Fusion Markets (a $4.50 commission per round turn), which is, at present, considered the most competitive in the industry.

Financing charges

There’s a rollover interest (swap) charged or received for holding positions overnight. FXTM’s institutional partners calculate the daily swap rates using risk-management analysis. So, each forex currency pair has its forex swap charge, and interest is paid on currency sold and received on currency bought.

You can see the swap charges for a currency position by logging into your MT4 platform and taking the following steps:

1. Go to your product in the ‘Market Watch’ window. Then, right-click and select ‘Symbols.’
2. Click on the product you wish to view from the list and select ‘Specifications’.
3. Here, you can view the Forex swap rates for long and short positions.

Deposit fees

FXTM will not charge any deposit fees, just like most online brokerage firms, as this is now the standard practice for brokers.

Withdrawal fees

FXTM does not charge any withdrawal fees on all payment options available. However, payments that involve overseas banking institutions may attract intermediary transfer fees from either party, which is independent of FXTM.

Inactivity fees

The broker charges a fee of $5 monthly after six months of inactivity.

Overall on Fees

FXTM’s trading cost is mixed. On one hand, its spreads on the Micro Account and Advantage Plus Account are very high compared to its peers, but on the other hand, its commission charges on the Advantage account are among the cheapest in the industry. Also, while there are no additional fees on top of overnight financing charges, it charges inactivity fees.

Overall, FXTM deserves a good pass mark on fees: their commission fee of $4 per round turn is among the cheapest in the industry.

Desktop Trading Platforms

FXTM provides traders with various advanced trading platforms, including the MT4, MT5, and a proprietary trading platform.

MetaTrader4

The broker provides traders with the intuitive MetaTrader 4 trading platform, which was developed by MetaQuotes Software. Trading on MT4 via FXTM provides access to a range of markets and hundreds of different financial instruments, including foreign exchange, commodities, CFDs, and indices. It’s completely free to download and provides you with everything you need to analyze the markets and manage your trades.

The MetaTrader 4 platform offers easy-to-read, interactive charts that allow you to monitor and analyze the markets in real-time. You also have access to more than 30 technical indicators, which can help you identify market trends and signals for entry and exit points.

Other benefits of MT4 include its powerful security system and multi-device functionality, which enable you to trade with complete confidence and at your convenience. FXTM offers Multi Account Manager (MAM) on MT4 for easy management and ultimate convenience for traders with multiple accounts. The broker makes the MT4 trading platform available in desktop, web, and mobile versions.

MetaTrader 5

The broker also provides traders with the MT5 trading platform, which is a more advanced trading platform developed by MetaQuotes Software. Being a multi-asset trading platform, MT5 provides users with access to more financial markets, including stocks and futures.

The platform features fundamental and technical analysis tools, copy trading tools, and automated trading EAs, equipping you to trade all the available instruments seamlessly. The trading platform also offers more chart types and timeframes than MT4. It has 44 graphical objects, 9 chart types, 21 timeframes, and an integrated economic calendar and email system.

Other benefits of MT5 include a multi-threaded strategy tester, fund transfer between accounts, and a system of alerts to keep abreast of all the latest market events. Traders can also communicate through the embedded MQL5 community chat to feel more empowered and confident. The MT5 trading platform can be freely downloaded as a desktop application for Windows and Mac computers, and there is also a WebTrader version, as well as a mobile app that is compatible with Android and iOS devices and can be downloaded from the respective app stores.

FXTM Trader

The FXTM Trader is the broker’s proprietary trading platform. It is developed in-house by the broker’s team of fintech experts to ensure seamless trading of over 20 financial instruments. The FXTM Trader is available as a mobile app that is designed for mobile smartphone devices running on Android and iOS. The platform allows traders to place trades anytime and anywhere from the convenience of their mobile handheld devices. It comes equipped with numerous features for superior mobile trading, including cross-platform trading, order placing and managing, one-click trading, trader’s dashboard, real-time updates with live quotes, and charting tools.

Copy-trading with FXTM

FXTM Invest provides an innovative way to access trading opportunities without having any technical skills. You choose to copy FXTM traders — Strategy Managers — who make their trading strategies available to follow. Copy-trading with FXTM Invest lets you retain full control of your money, and you’ll only pay a fee to your Strategy Manager when they make a profitable trade. The process is simple and involves the following steps:

• Select a trader who best matches your goals by using the tools provided by FXTM Invest to filter the available traders.
• Decide your investment amount and how you will share it among different managers. Be balanced and don’t put all your eggs in one basket, so choose how much to allocate to each chosen trader if you have selected more than one person to copy.
• The copy trading platform will automatically replicate all the selected trader’s positions in your trading account.
• Add more funds if you like how the trader is performing. Or, reduce your exposure to one trader and keep your portfolio diversified by not investing too much in a single trader. You can replace your existing ones at any time; just keep in mind that you will need a separate Invest account for each trader you decide to follow.
• There are no special fees to use the copy trading function, apart from the ones you pay the Strategy Manager whenever they profit. However, note that any brokerage fees that would apply to a normal trade will be applied to copy trades.

Mobile Trading Platforms

FXTM understands the importance of mobile trading platforms in making things easier for traders. So, it provides traders with the mobile version of all the available trading platforms — MT4, MT5, and FXTM Trader.

The mobile versions of the MT4 and MT5 trading platforms are designed to suit people who want to monitor the market on the go. They allow traders to buy and sell various financial assets from the convenience of their mobile handheld devices. The platform is replete with a suite of advanced trading tools, such as technical indicators, trading signals, and more. There is nothing to lose when you trade with the mobile versions of the MT4 and MT4 since the mobile apps offer the same features and functionalities as the desktop platforms.

Also, the FXTM Trader is available as a mobile app that is compatible with Android and iOS devices. This brings a whole new level of convenience to the entire trading process, as traders can access their trading accounts and place trades on the go as long as they are connected to the internet. Some of the FXTM Trader mobile apps include:

• Open, close, and modify positions on all 250+ forex and CFD instruments on both live and demo accounts
• Live currency rates 24/5
• User-friendly trading dashboard
• State-of-the-art charting tools
• Unlimited access to MyFXTM, meaning you can withdraw, deposit and monitor your funds in mere seconds
• 1-click trading for faster market action and much more!

Trading Instruments

FXTM offers over 250 financial instruments across different asset classes, including forex, commodities, cryptocurrency ( Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, etc. ), stocks, shares, indices, metals, energies, and CFDs. Their range of available financial assets compares fairly to other big brokers, such as OANDA, IC Markets, and Fusion Markets.

Let us now take a closer look at the product list.

Forex

With FXTM, traders can trade the various major, minor, and exotic currency pairs 24/7. The forex market is reputed for having the highest liquidity, with around $5 trillion exchanged daily.

FXTM clients can trade more than 70 FX pairs on the available trading platforms — MT4, MT5, and FXTM Trader. Forex trading at FXTM comes with tight spreads starting at 0.0 pips. The spreads may vary depending on your account type. The broker also offers leverage of up to 1:1000. However, EU retail clients are limited to leverage of 1:30 due to the MiFID II directive from ESMA.

Metals

FXTM offers various metals for online trading with competitive trading conditions. For example, you can trade gold against the dollar with spreads as low as 0.0 on the broker’s most popular account — the Advantage account. The gold broker allows up to 1:500 leverage for non-EU retail traders.

Stocks

FXTM allows clients to trade stocks from top stock exchanges in the world, such as the NASDAQ, NYSE, HKEX, and others. Stocks trading are available on the sophisticated MT5 trading platform. You can trade these stocks directly (not CFDs) without the risk of leverage, and you can even trade fractional shares — for example, 0.3 of one Apple share. Stocks trading at FXTM also come with zero commission fees.

Commodities

FXTM allows clients to invest in various commodities from the world’s biggest natural gas markets. You can trade WTI Crude Oil or Brent Crude Oil and Natural Gas and speculate on their prices through CFDs.

Forex Indices

FXTM offers up to six different FX indices that are specifically designed around the largest currencies in the world. Forex indices are best suited for traders who are looking to diversify their risk instead of investing in the price movement of a single or currency pair. The available FX indices include the British Pound Index, the U.S Dollar Index, the Euro Index, and more.

Indices

FXTM allows you to trade over ten equity market indices. Some of the offered indexes include Dax 30, Dow 30, S&P 500, and so on.

Stock CFDs

Apart from offering real stocks, the broker offers over 100 stock CFDs, and you can even trade fractional shares — for example, 0.3 of one Apple share — as CFDs. Trading CFDs allows you to use leverage to increase your profit potentials.

Stock Baskets

There are various stock baskets at FXTM. These financial assets are designed to help you diversify your portfolio easily, as you do not need to open multiple positions on individual company shares. With the FXTM stock baskets, you can trade price movements of multiple companies based on industries and global trends in a single trade. Another benefit of trading stock baskets is that they allow you to enjoy cheaper holding costs.

Trade Execution

FXTM combines a market-making model of trade execution with the ECN execution model. For the Advantage Account, the broker offers ECN execution. However, for the Micro Account, it uses a market-making model, which means that it matches trades in-house and sometimes becomes the counterparty for the trade. One benefit of this model of execution is that it offers ultra-fast execution speed, as the orders don’t wait for a counterparty order to be executed — the broker becomes the counterparty.

With the award-winning speed of execution in milliseconds and state-of-the-art technology that is exclusively designed to deliver unsurpassed trading capabilities, FXTM offers one of the best trade executions in the market. Its ECN operation gets its price feeds and channels its orders to top-tier banks with deep liquidity, world-renowned exchanges, and major financial institutions.

At FXTM, transparency in trade execution is not considered an advantage or a promise but a standard because it commits to facts and deliverables. FXTM trade execution is not just promises but facts and numbers. The records of the broker’s trade execution performance statistics are shown below:

• Millions in Traded Volumes
• Milliseconds in Speed of Execution
• Lowest Spreads from 0 Pips
• Deep Liquidity
• 180 U.S. share CFDs priced directly from the NASDAQ and NYSE

Deposits

FXTM offers a variety of payment methods, including credit and debit cards, e-Wallets, Bank Wire transfers, and local payment solutions. The broker does not charge any deposit fees, and it allows clients to open accounts and deposit funds in the following base currencies: AUD, USD, EUR, GBP, NZD, SGD, JPY, and CAD.

The account funding involves the following simple steps:

• Open the Deposits page within the My Money section in MyFXTM.
• Choose your preferred deposit method and click ‘Deposit.’
• Select the MyFXTM account or wallet you wish to deposit funds into and complete the necessary fields.
• Confirm your deposit details on the next page.

FXTM does not accept third-party payments, so all funds deposited into your trading account must be under the same name as your FXTM trading account. Payment from joint bank accounts or credit cards is accepted if the trading account holder is one of the beneficiaries. The minimum deposit is $10.

The broker offers a generous selection of deposit methods, including:

Currently, there are no deposit bonuses available with this brokerage.

Withdrawal Methods

You can withdraw funds online by navigating to the Withdraw page within the ‘My Money’ section in MyFXTM. Then, follow these steps:

• Select the payment method and click ‘Withdraw.’
• Select the MyFXTM account or wallet you wish to withdraw funds from and complete the necessary fields.
• Select a reason for withdrawal and click ‘Submit.’

Please note that your profile must be fully verified to request a withdrawal. Your withdrawals must be to the same card, e-wallet, or bank account used for the deposit and must be made in proportion to the deposits.

For Example:

Initial deposit – 600 USD – Credit Card *3989
Second deposit – 300 USD – Skrill
Total deposited: 900 USD

Initial withdrawal – 200 USD – must be made using Credit Card *3989

Second withdrawal – 500 USD – 400 USD must be withdrawn using Credit Card *3989, and 100 USD must be withdrawn using Skrill.

Total withdrawn: 700 USD

Please note that in some cases, Credit Card withdrawals can only be made within 12months of the initial deposit.

The broker’s Back Office Department processes all withdrawal requests within 24 hours. However, the time required for the funds to be transferred to your account will depend on the payment method used:

• Bank Wires: Between 3- 5 business days.
• Credit/debit cards: Between 3 – 10 business days.
• E-wallets: Within one business day.

FXTM does not charge any internal fees for deposits or withdrawals. However, payments to and from overseas banking institutions may attract intermediary transfer fees from either party independent of FXTM.

Due to AML/CTF laws, FXTM cannot deposit funds to third-party accounts. As a result, all money withdrawn from your account must go to a bank account in the same name as your FXTM trading account.

Customer Support Contacts

FXTM provides traders with a reliable client support team that responds to their general, technical, and account-based inquiries. The support team is available 24/7 and can be reached via the following contact channels:

1. Live Chat: This can be accessed via the message icon that is located at the lower right corner of the broker’s website. It is an efficient channel that allows you to chat directly with the broker’s support team live. When you click on the icon, you will be required to choose how you would want to be contacted: Live chat, Whatsapp, Telegram, Viber, Messenger, and more.
2. Telephone contact: The broker’s support team can be contacted via this phone number: +44 20 3734 1025. There is also the call-back support channel where you input your country of residence, email, and telephone for the broker to contact you.
3. Email Contact: The support team can also be reached through email. The email contact channel is available 24/7 and offers swift responses within a few hours.
4. FAQs: This is a comprehensive list of Frequently Asked Questions. They answer some of the most common questions traders have, and they are arranged in the following categories: About Fxtm, Account Application, Account Management, Fund Management, Trading with FXTM, and Trading Platforms.

Research and Educational Materials

FXTM offers a good selection of educational resources. The learning resources can be grouped into the following:

• Articles and Tutorials: They are created to help expand your trading knowledge and confidence. They cover a wide range of topics suitable for beginners and advanced traders.
• Short educational trading videos: These can help you learn more about trading and the different concepts involved.
• Webinars: These are freely available to all clients and available in multiple different languages.
• Glossary: This is a collection of various trading terminologies and their detailed explanations.
• Ebooks on various trading topics

Security and Money Guarantees

At bestbrokers.com, we are committed to ensuring that traders trade with only regulated online brokers, and FXTM is one of such. Our key findings include:

• A decade of business history and growth
• Top-tier CySEC and FCA regulations
• Award-winning brokerage

Being regulated by strict regulatory authorities like the FCA and CySEC makes FXTM a reputable broker that keeps to regulatory and ethical requirements.

FXTM has won over 25 industry awards, including Best Trading Experience (World Finance 2021), Best Forex Education Provider Nigeria (World Business Outlook 2021), Best Online Leveraged Trading Specialists (Global Business Awards 2021), Best Online Trading Platform Nigeria (World Business Outlook 2021), Best ECN Broker (DayTrading 2020), Best Education Provider (FXDaily Info 2020), and more.

Conclusion

Putting it all together, our team of experts at BestBrokers.com believes that FXTM offers some of the best trading conditions for Forex trading among peers due to its. Some of the reasons to use this broker include:

• Copy-trading via FXTM Invest
• High liquidity, flexible Leverage
• Innovative trading technology
• Advanced trading platforms
• Award-winning customer service
• Free education to sharpen your skills
• Fully licensed and regulated since 2011

Written by E. Ifeanyi