Before we delve into the top high leverage brokers, it’s important to make sure we understand what leverage and margin really means. As already mentioned, leverage is a tool for increasing purchasing power for customers. Typically leverage is offered as a ratio, for instance 500:1, or 1:500. This simply means that by depositing 100 USD, traders get to manage 100 X 500 USD worth of assets. This is achieved through borrowing funds from the brokers. 

At this point, you’re probably wondering, but what happens when the trade goes wrong? When market conditions change and become highly volatile? Do brokers lose the money they lend to their clients? All of these questions are super legitimate. Which naturally brings us to our next topic, Margin. Margin is the amount of money traders need to deposit to open and maintain their trading positions. 

In order to make sure that traders do not lose more than what they have deposited when trading using high leverage, brokers provide negative balance protection and achieve this goal through Stop Out levels. The way Stop Out levels work is that brokers close trades, or start closing trades partially, once the Margin levels reach a certain percentage, also referred to as Stop Out levels. However, it should be mentioned that this is not always guaranteed, sometimes the sudden market moves are so huge that the automatic Stop Out level closes the trade in higher losses than the amount of funds that was on the trading balance. As a result, traders are required to cover the debt to their broker. To avoid this scenario, brokers provide negative balance protection, which is simply a guarantee that traders will never lose more money than the amount on their trading balance. If the Stop Out level fails to activate properly and close active orders on time, the broker will cover for the negative balance and revert the trading account back to zero. It should be noted that not all brokers offer negative balance protection, and it’s important to select the brokers that do. All of the brokers that you can see in this guide provide their clients with negative balance protection. 

Now, let’s take a look at top Forex/CFD brokers with highly leverage. It’s important to note that leverage is only a single component of a decision making process. Traders need to make sure that their broker is properly regulated, offers the trading platforms that they are used to, and offers a range of instruments with low trading fees. In addition, it is important to note that there are many international brokers that offer high leverage globally, but if you are registering from a country where there are leverage restrictions imposed by your financial institution, you won’t be able to get the highest leverage. 

Choosing a reliable and reputable broker is essential for success. XM is one of the safest brokers out there that offers great trading conditions and often gets recommended to our readers. The broker offers 1000:1 leverage to its clients from around the globe, a wide range of instruments and low trading fees. 

The broker was established in 2009, and since its creation, has amassed over 5 million clients from more than 190 countries. The broker offers a wide range of trading instruments, such as Forex, Cryptocurrencies, Stock CFDs, Commodities, Equity Indices, Metals, Energies, and Shares. 

The broker is well regulated in multiple jurisdictions. This guarantees that the broker is safe. In addition, the company is highly experienced and has a large base of customers. XM enjoys a high reputation all over the globe. Financial regulators that oversee XM include: 

• Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC);
• Australian Securities & Investments Commission (ASIC);
• Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA);
• Financial Conduct Authority, UK (FCA);
• International Financial Services Commission, Belize (FSC).

To meet the needs of different trader types, XM offers various account options. In addition, there are swap free accounts for Muslim traders that follow Sharia law and demo accounts. The broker offers:

• Micro account: best suited for testing trading strategies live
• Standard account: best suited position and swing traders
• XM Ultra Low Account: best for high speed traders, intraday and active traders
• Shares Account: dedicated account for trading shares

Let’s take a look at the comparison table to see which account type can best suit your trading needs. 

FBS was founded in 2009, in Cyprus. The company has grown dramatically since and now serves clients from over 150 countries. The company has a record number of traders. There are over 23 million people registered with the broker. 

FBS offers access to trading various instrument classes such as Forex, Metals, Indices, Energies, Stocks, Forex Exotic, and Crypto. Traders are offered 3000:1 maximum available leverage, which is massive. 

FBS is authorized and licensed in various jurisdictions and therefore, can be trusted. The list of the regulatory bodies include: 

• The Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC)
• The Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC)
• The Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA)

In the past, FBS had a wide selection of account types, and very recently limited this number to only one. Only a Standard account is available for trading at FBS. There are no commissions on this account and spreads start from as little as 0.7 pips, which is very low compared to competitors. Some more details about this account type include:

• Minimum deposit: 5 USD
• Maximum open positions and pending orders: 500
• Order volume: from 0.01 to 500 lots (with 0.01 step)
• Market Execution: from 0.01 sec, STP

Avatrade is one of the best online Forex and CFD (Contracts for Difference) brokers that you can find today. The company was established in 2006 and serves more than 400,000 customers globally. The broker offers approximately 1000 instruments for trading that include different asset classes such as currency pairs, indices, commodities, Shares as CFDs, and crypto derivatives. Traders are offered the most popular MetaTrader platforms (MetaTrader 4, and MetaTrader 5). In addition, there are AvaTraderGo, AvaOptions, and proprietary WebTrader.

The broker is one of the safest in the industry as it has acquired licenses from multiple jurisdictions and is regulated by: 

• The Central Bank of Ireland. (No.C53877)
• The B.V.I Financial Services Commission
• Australian Securities and Investment Commission ASIC (No.406684.)
• The broker is licensed and regulated in Japan by the Financial Services Agency (License No.: 1662), and the Financial Futures Association of Japan (License No.: 1574).
• The Abu Dhabi Global Markets (ADGM) Financial Regulatory Services Authority (FRSA) (No.190018).
• The Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (No. 347/17).
• The Israel Securities Authority (No. 514666577).

In the past, Avatrade was offering multiple account types to its traders, and now there’s only Standard account available. In addition there demo and swap free versions of the Standard account also offered. The swap free account is for traders that follow Sharia law that prohibits use of interest. Indeed, there are no interests charged on this account for keeping positions open overnight, on the other hand, traders are charged with increased commissions and administrative fees on Islamic accounts. 

Maximum available leverage is 400:1 on this account. It should be mentioned that 400:1 is the smallest available leverage compared to the other brokers in our top-list, however, 400:1 is still considered to be a high leverage. We had to include Avatrade in this list not because it offers particularly super high leverage, but because it offers high leverage coupled with great trading conditions. The trading fees are low, customer support agents are highly professional, and there’s a wide selection of tradable instruments. 

HFT Markets is a good Forex and CFD broker regulated in 7 jurisdictions and providing financial service to over 2.5 million clients worldwide. The company offers professional customer support via online chat, over the phone, and email. The support is available in 27 languages. 

Regulatory bodies that have licensed and regulated HFM include: 

• HF Markets (UK) Ltd is authorized and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) (No:801701).
• HF Markets (DIFC) Ltd is authorized and regulated by the Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA) (No:F004885).
• HF Markets SA (PTY) Ltd is authorized and regulated by the Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) in South Africa, (No:46632).
• HF Markets (Seychelles) Ltd is regulated by the Seychelles Financial Services Authority (FSA) (SD015).
• HFM Investments Ltd is authorized by the Capital Markets Authority in the Republic of Kenya (No:155).

The company has over 13 years of experience, it is regulated by established regulatory bodies and has a large customer base, these factors indicate that HFM is a trustworthy broker. 

There are many different traders and to meet their needs, HFM offers different account types. Let’s take a closer look at each to see which one can fit you best. 

Exness group was established in 2008. The broker offers unlimited leverage and serves approximately 700,000 clients from all over the world. The broker is well regulated by top-tier regulatory bodies, such as: 

• The Seychelles Financial Services Authority (FSA) with license (no: SD025).
• The Central Bank of Curaçao and Sint Maarten with license (no: 0003LSI).
• The Financial Services Commission (FSC) in the British Virgin Islands (no: 2032226).
• The Financial Services Commission (FSC) in Mauritius (no: GB20025294).
• The Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) in South Africa (no: 51024).
• The Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC) (no:178/12).
• The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in the UK (no: 730729).
• The Capital Markets Authority (CMA) in Kenya (no: 162).

To meet the needs of various trader types, exness offers 5 accounts to choose from:

Trading Forex wouldn’t be possible without leverage, as currency prices generally change very little intraday. Leverage gives traders an opportunity to exploit even the tiniest price changes. In addition, leverage is used for trading CFDs (Contracts for Difference) on various asset classes.

Leverage is often referred to as a double edged sword, because it comes with its pros and cons. Leverage helps traders amplify returns, and on the downside, it can also increase losses. Traders that do not have an experience, a well put together risk management strategies, or fail to manage their emotions, often misuse leverage and open oversized positions. This can lead to a ruined trading balance. To counter this, and protect traders, many regulators put restrictions on the maximum amount of leverage brokers can offer. 

The limitations set by regulatory bodies differ from country to country. It should be mentioned that most international regulatory bodies have loose regulations when it comes to cap on leverage. But there are places where leverage is strictly limited. Access to limited leverage means that traders need to have greater trading balance to access trading markets with sensible purchasing power. Let’s find out more about these areas. 

European Union (EU)

In Europe, leverage limits for retail and professional traders working for institutions are set by the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA). The regulator covers countries that are in the European Union. ESMA updated the leverage limits in 2018 for retail traders, and the result is following: 

• Retail traders are allowed to trade major currency pairs with maximum 30:1 leverage. 
• For non-major currency pairs, gold and major indices, maximum available leverage is 20:1.
• For commodities other than gold and non-major equity indices the allied maximum leverage is 10:1.
• Available leverage for individual equities and other reference values is 5:1.
• As for the cryptocurrencies, the leverage limit is 2:1. 

United States

Forex trading in the USA is regulated by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), and by the National Futures Association (NFA). The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) sets the leverage limits in the country. Leverage trading of stocks, commodities, and indices is regulated by CFTC and SEC (Securities Exchange Commission). 

• The maximum allowed leverage for major currency pairs is 1:50
• The maximum allowed leverage for minor currency pairs is 1:20
• The maximum allowed leverage for other commodities is 1:10

Japan

Speculative trading and investing in Japan is overseen by the Financial Services Agency (FSA). The FSA is even stricter than European and American regulators. The maximum available leverage for retail Forex traders is 25:1.

Australia

The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) sets the rules and guidelines for Australian retail traders. Brokers are allowed to offer the following leverage:

• Maximum leverage that can be offered to retail traders for trading major currency pairs is 30:1.
• Maximum leverage brokers can offer to their retail clients that trade minors is 20:1. 

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom is home to one of the world’s financial capitals, London. The country used to be a European Union member state, and therefore, was regulated by ESMA, but after Brexit, the only major regulator in the country is the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). Similarly to Australia and Europe, maximum available leverage in the UK is 30:1. 

It’s important to note that many brokers are international and offer financial services in accordance with local rules and regulations. One broker can be offering different trading conditions to traders registering from different locations. Before opening a live trading account, it’s best to learn about your broker’s policies particularly for your country in advance. You can simply contact the brokerage from their main page. Most of them offer live chat options and almost all of them can be reached by email or social media platforms. 

Sound risk management is essential for successful trading. Most beginners lose money because they fail to manage their risks. High leverage is typically used by beginners, and professionals that trade intraday and aim to have significant gains from the smallest price moves, such traders are usually scalpers.

As we’ve mentioned in this article a couple of times, misuse of leverage can lead to disaster. To limit the risks, traders use various strategies:

• Always place a stop loss (SL) order: to limit the risks, traders use SL orders that automatically closes the trade. 
• Always calculate your risks and rewards before going into trade: it’s crucial to size trading positions properly as oversized positions can degrade account balance fast when trade doesn’t go according to prediction. Brokers offer specific calculators for this very purpose, in addition, some trading platforms have built in calculators that help traders select proper size. 
• Always take into account volatility and other market conditions before going into trade: there are trading instruments that are highly volatile, and there are assets with low volatility. In addition, there are periods of high volatility and periods of low volatility. For instance, before and during significant news releases or political events, the market volatility increases. Placing highly leveraged orders in highly volatile markets is like lighting a candle in a hurricane. 

To sum everything up, leverage is an essential component of trading CFDs. However, traders need to use it cautiously as it can amplify returns, as well as magnify losses. The maximum available leverage traders can get depends on not only what brokers are offering, but also on regionale restrictions. There are countries where leverage is capped by regulatory bodies. 

When selecting a Forex/CFD broker with high leverage, traders need to take into account other important factors too, such as regulations, trading platforms, available assets, and customer support. In our guide, we have picked the most notable brokers with great reputation such as XM, Avatrade, and others. XM and Ava in particular offer a great mix of high leverage and good trading conditions.