Pros & cons of Abshire Smith broker

Abshire Smith Fact sheet

The safety and security of your funds is the most important factor to consider when choosing a Forex broker. FX trading involves financial transactions and brokers are gathering lots of personal information during registration, meaning that traders need to be able to fully trust their broker. 

The best way to tell whether your broker is trustworthy or not is to check its regulations. Abshire Smith is regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) of the UK under firm reference number 590890.

The FCA is responsible for overseeing the financial markets and firms in the UK, including those involved in FX trading. The FCA’s main goal is to ensure that financial institutions and companies operate fairly and that consumers are protected from financial fraud and misconduct. 

The FCA is recognized globally as a top-tier financial regulator body and therefore, Abshire Smith is a safe broker. In addition, the broker keeps funds in segregated bank accounts and is a part of the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS). The FSCS resolves disputes between brokers and traders. 

Abshire Smith offers live, demo, and swap-free accounts to its customers. The live account offers up to 100:1 leverage for beginner traders and 400:1 leverage for professional traders. The minimum initial deposit required to open the account is 500 USD. Account base currencies can be set to AUD, GBP, EUR, JPY, or USD. It’s always best to open a live account in a currency that you use regularly, as this will save you some money on currency conversions. 

Demo accounts enable traders to trade risk-free. Demo trading is very similar to live trading, however, the main difference is that trading is conducted using fake money. This form of trading helps beginners to get familiar with trading platforms and develop trading strategies before risking real funds. 

Swap-free accounts, also known as Islamic accounts, enables traders of the Muslim faith to trade without going against their religious beliefs. 

Pros & cons of Abshire Smith account types

Fees and commissions with this broker are low. Spreads on EUR/USD start from just 0.7 pips and there are no inactivity fees or fees on deposits and withdrawals. 

Comparing Abshire Smith fees with other brokers

Below you can see the comparison table of Abshire Smith and its major competitors. 

Abshire Smith fees compared to Interactive Brokers fees

*Inactivity fee was eliminated by IB in 2021, it used to be $20/m

Abshire Smith fees compared to CM Trading fees

Abshire Smith fees compared to plus500 fees

Abshire Smith fees compared to XM fees

Abshire Smith fees compared to AvaTrade fees

Abshire Smith fees compared to Capital.com fees

Abshire Smith offers 3 different types of trading platforms for desktop computers, as well as mobile and web trading terminals. 

VertexFX 10

The platform was first released in 2002, and in 2012 VertexFX received a major upgrade. VertexFX 10 offers various benefits. The platform enables traders to:

• Trade spot FX and precious metals, as well as CFDs on indices, gold, silver, crude oil, etc.
• Tight fixed spreads and good liquidity
• Integrated news and inbuilt charting
• A USD-only denominated trading account
• 85+ technical analysis tools
• Downloadable platform and web trader
• Swap-free trading accounts

MetaTrader 4 (MT4)

MT4 is the most popular currency trading platform of all time. The software was released in 2005 by MetaQuotes and the key benefits of using this platform are:

• Trade FX, metals, and CFDs on indices, gold, silver, oil, etc.
• Tight fixed spreads with good execution speeds
• Accounts in AUD, GBP, EUR, JPY, and USD
• Swap-free trading accounts are available*
• Free MT4 iOS and Android mobile apps
• Trade with standard, mini, and micro lots

Straticator

Straticator is a premier multi-asset trading platform. The software enables traders to easily build trading robots and automate their trading processes. The main benefits of using this platform include:

• Direct Market Access (DMA) FX
• ECN/STP, no dealing desk trading
• Broker neutral, no conflict of interest
• Bank and non-bank aggregated liquidity
• Multiple order types
• Market execution
• Market depth to see liquidity
• Integrated pricing, charting, and reporting
• Spot FX, CFD, and exchange connectivity

Quality education is crucial for successful trading because the Forex and CFD markets are highly competitive and complex. FX trading requires knowledge and skills in risk management, trading psychology, fundamental and technical analysis, and the use of trading platforms. 

Abshire Smith offers very limited educational and research tools for trading. Traders have access to using an economic calendar but there are no seminars, webinars, or other similar materials available. 

Customer support is not great with this broker. While most competitors are offering live chat options, this feature is missing with Abshire Smith. Traders can contact the broker using an email or over the phone. 

To sum everything up, Abshire Smith is a tightly regulated broker in the UK by the Financial Conduct Authority and therefore can be trusted. The broker offers various asset classes and 3 different trading platforms to choose from. In addition, swap-free and demo accounts are available. Account opening is fast and fully digital, on the downside, education materials are sparse and there is no live chat option for potential customers to get in touch.