IC Markets is considered by many in the online trading business to be a safe and low-risk brokerage. The firm is also lauded for its offering of third-party educational tools and a number of plug-ins that are of great help to traders who had chosen to lodge transactions with the brokerage. It is to this effect that IC Markets had been recognized as one of the leading MetaTrader brokerages of recent times.
IC Markets’ services are also noted by many for the competitive costs and the kind of trading execution conducive for those delving in algorithmic strategies through MT and cTrader.
With these services and provisions included in IC Markets’ conduct of business, it is easy to see why enlisting with the firm might be a wholly good idea. However, looking at the brokerage’s key offerings would still prove integral despite the published highlights of IC Markets’ competencies.
The review team had assessed IC Markets’ core capabilities based on the asset classes that it gives access to, the available live accounts, and the software for trading within each.
Getting Acquainted with the Brokerage Firm
Operating off of two economic bases, one in London and another in New York, IC Markets is a brokerage operating since 2007.
It finds its regulation through high profile financial authority, the ASIC as it had opened its doors to trading its assets Down Under. The regulation and its strong server bases are a testament to IC Markets’ strong industry standing. These assure its clients that they are guaranteed safe, legal trading transactions subject to good trading conditions.
The Services Open to the Brokerage’s Clientele
What Can be Traded
The assets that can be traded through IC Markets amount to 291.
The Foreign Currency pairs that are available through the firm total 61. Actual cryptocurrencies are not traded here, only its CFD counterparts. While numerous, the amount of CFDs available would be greatly enticing should the firm allow for the trading of the underlying assets.
One glaring limitation regarding the CFD offerings is that these are not available through IC Markets’ United Kingdom arm.
Accounts Allowed to be Opened
IC Markets has 3 types of trading accounts namely, the Standard, the Raw Spread, and the cTrader Account.
Naturally, the fees that are charged differ within the context of each account. The Standard is Spread-Only and free from commissions, whereas the others are combinations spread offerings and commissions.
The cTrader and the Raw Spread Account share the same commissions. These only differ with provided software. While both enlist the MetaQuotes software, the former employs MT4 and the latter makes use of MT5.
The Spreads for EUR/USD is pegged at 0.1 pips. The whole is 0.7 pips with commission already factored-in. In the Raw Spread’s MT, 0.8 pips is the total.
Discounts are also up for grabs for traders with 100 standard lots a month. The only thing that does not appear to be enticing to traders is the spread of 1.1. pips within the Standard Account on the aforementioned currencies.
Available Software
IC Markets provides its clients 3 software for trading.
As already mentioned, MT4 and MT5 are given as options which is reliant on the user’s account. The MetaTrader platforms are common choices for traders in that these are seen as highly efficient and fast-working. This is especially true for the MT4 iteration as it is the top pick among other platforms for sheer function and navigation. The user interface is commendable for its neatness and the available tools are numerous. All these factor into the positive image of the software.
The MT5 is equally functional, but then it takes a lot of getting used to. The functions are not entirely intuitive despite being wholly helpful.
The cTrader platform is the third among the set of options. Rendered in a suite, it is furnished with both the web and the desktop applications of the software. It also has cAlgo which is utility for automated trading and cTrader Copy for social trading. One thing that we can notice however, (something seen by the review team as a setback for the firm) is that the cTrader Suite had not been made available through IC Markets’ arm in the European Union.
To Trade or Not to Trade?
If one would decide to enlist with IC Markets, he or she would find the trading conditions (which comprise of the costs and the trading software through which the financial instruments are transacted) decent and even highly competitive.
The only thing that IC Markets can improve on is its offering of trading assets. The firm might want to look into offering the actual assets as well to allow its clients to build more well-rounded investment portfolios. Should this be considered, IC Markets just might be one of the most formidable brokerages in the industry.