Here Are the 8 Pros and Cons:

ADSS Fact sheet

The biggest thing you should look for in a broker, other than fees and available platforms, is safety and security. There are many signs that can tell you whether the broker is safe or not. The first and foremost is the level of regulations. 

ADSS is authorized and regulated by a top-tier regulator - the Financial Conduct Authority of the UK (FCA). In addition, the broker is regulated by the Securities and Commodities Authority in Abu Dhabi (SCA). It’s worth mentioning that the SCA is less strict when it comes to licensing brokers than the FCA.

Policies that ADSS follows

ADSS increases safety by providing Negative Balance Protection. Both account types offer up to 500:1 leverage, which means that traders can get 500 times the buying power when placing orders. These extra funds are called leverage which is borrowed from the broker. Using leverage can be risky as you can incur large losses very easily. To counter this, the broker implements a 50% margin Stop Out level. Which simply means that your position will automatically close once the margin level breaches 50%. 

In addition, ADSS keeps clients’ funds in segregated accounts. Some low-trust brokers mix traders’ funds with their own, which makes the funds easily accessible for themselves, but as a result, the safety level gets damaged. 

The huge variety of assets offered by this broker is the biggest reason why traders might be encouraged to open trading accounts with them. The total number of tradable assets is more than 2,200, out of which most are stock CFDs. CFD stands for Contract For Difference and is a preferred asset class for short-term traders. As for long-term investors, real stocks and real assets are more attractive. 

CFDs are perfect for speculating on the markets due to lower short-term trading fees. What’s more, liquidity for CFD assets is much higher, making spreads tighter. Let’s discuss each asset class in more detail. 

Forex

The broker offers 61 available forex pairs to its clients. The pairs are categorized into majors, minors, and exotic pairs. It’s worth mentioning that the major pairs such as EUR/USD, USD/JPY, GBP/USD, etc. are more liquid and offer tight market spreads. It’s recommended for novice traders to trade major and minor currencies and avoid exotics such as USD/TRY, EUR/NOK, and others in order to save on spreads.

The maximum leverage offered to trade Forex pairs is 500:1. Please be aware of the risks associated with leverage. High leverage is one of the top reasons why most traders lose money and blow up their accounts. High leverage can increase your balance dramatically or decrease it really fast. For this very reason, traders call leverage a double-edged sword. The Stop Out level offered by this broker is 50%. 

As for the fees, there is no deposit or inactivity fee. On the other hand, traders are charged a $15 withdrawal fee. In addition, spreads vary across different account types. For trading Forex pairs, Classic account holders pay a 1.6 pip markup per order. The fee is very high compared to the industry average. While it’s true that Elite accounts are offered much tighter spreads starting from 0.3 pips, most people will not be able to open such accounts as the minimum initial deposit required to open an elite account is $100,000.

Shares

ADSS offers a wide range of stock CFDs. Covering Europe, the USA, Asia, and the Middle East. As already mentioned stock CFDs are a more preferred way of speculating on the markets' short-term price changes rather than real stocks due to lower short-term fees. What’s more, usually CFDs can get higher amounts of leverage from brokers. ADSS provides up to 20:1 leverage for stocks on the MetaTrader 4 platform. 

CFDs enable traders to benefit from price changes in both directions by going long or short. Among CFDs offered are famous companies such as Tesla, Google, Amazon, Meta, Microsoft, Boing, and so on. 

Indices

ADSS offers access to 28 indices. Among which are the most popular ones, i.e the S&P 500, DOW 30, FTSE 100, German DAX, and more. Maximum leverage for trading indices is 333:1. Which is pretty high compared to competitors. 

Indices are following the performance of certain publicly traded stocks that represent a sector or whole economy. For instance, the UK 100 or FTSE 100 displays the collective performance of 100 top British individual stocks. Therefore, many traders use indexes as tools to measure the strength of certain economies and sectors. In addition to the vital role of indexes, they can be traded as CFDs. 

Commodities

ADSS offers access to both soft and hard commodity CFDs. Traders have access to trading hard commodities such as gold, silver, copper, natural gas, and crude oil. In addition, traders can buy or sell soft commodity CFDs such as coffee. 

There is no commission charged for trading commodities. What’s more, maximum leverage is different for each asset. For instance, leverage for gold and silver is up to 50:1, while crude oil offers 100:1 leverage. As for coffee, natural gas, and copper, the maximum leverage offered is 20:1. 

Commodity prices tend to be influenced by global demand and supply. For example, if global warming makes farming difficult, soft commodity prices will increase. Wars, natural disasters, pandemics, rise in population, and other aspects can change the prices of certain commodities. 

Cryptocurrencies

ADSS offers the 4 most popular crypto CFDs. These include Bitcoin, Bitcoin cash, Litecoin, and Ethereum. Maximum leverage for each varies. Bitcoin cash, Ethereum, and Litecoin have up to 2:1 leverage. While Bitcoin comes with 4:1 leverage. 

As already mentioned, CFD trading comes with certain short-term benefits such as better liquidity, tighter spreads, higher leverage, and simplicity. In addition to these benefits, traders do not have to worry about crypto wallets and cashing-out issues since they’re not actually owning the assets.

To match the interests of various traders, ADSS offers Classic and Elite account types. In addition, the broker provides a free demo version of each account and a swap-free account type for Muslim traders. 

Let’s discuss each in more detail and see which one can best suit your needs.

Pros & cons of ADSS account types

Demo account of ADSS

The vast majority of Forex brokers offer free-of-charge demo accounts to their clients and ADSS is no different in this regard. 

The demo account versions are available for both Classic and Elite account types. Traders can benefit from demo accounts in various ways:

• Get accustomed to broker policies.
• Get used to trading software, MetaTrader 4 in this case. 
• Check assets and fees before opening a live account.
• Test and develop trading strategies.

Classic account of ADSS

The classic account type is the most accessible for most traders as the minimum initial deposit required is only $100. 

Account currencies for UK and European customers are USD, EUR, and GBP. As for clients from South East Asia, account currencies are USD and AED. By selecting the currency you use the most you can save a lot on conversion fees. 

There’s no commission charged. However, spreads are starting from 1.6 pips, which is very high. Keep in mind that the 1.6 number is just a broker markup and in live trading environments, spreads can get even higher due to a lack of liquidity. 

Elite account of ADSS

As the name suggests, the account type is aimed at VIP clients and offers much better spreads, starting from 0.3 pips. There are many similarities with other account types such as account currencies, 500:1 maximum leverage, 50% Stop Out level, and the number of available assets. The main difference between the Elite and Classic accounts is that the Elite account has lower fees and requires a much higher minimum initial deposit of $100,000.

Islamic account of ADSS

A swap-free or Islamic account is offered by this broker to enable people of the Muslim faith to place orders without going against Sharia law. The brokerage is based in the United Arab Emirates and tries to meet the needs of its Muslim clients. 

The minimum initial deposit required to open this account is $500. Leverage is up to 500:1 and the account shares a lot of similarities with other account types. The difference starts when we’re comparing spreads. Spreads are much higher and start from 2.1 pips as there’s no interest rate charged for keeping an overnight position. 

Getting started on ADSS - Main steps

In case you have already decided to open a trading account with ADSS, we’ll guide you through the entire process in detail. The registration process is fully digitalized and the broker’s web page is user-friendly. 

Step 1: Choose & create your account

First things first, go ahead and open the broker’s home page. You’ll be able to see a Get Starting button in the top right corner. By clicking on the button you’ll be transferred to the sign-up page. By pressing the sign-up button in green, you’ll be able to fill in the application form.

Step 2: Verify your account

Verification of your documents is extremely important as the process increases trust between you and your broker and you get access to fully using your client area. 

The broker will ask you to provide proof of ID and proof of residence. Both documents can be scanned or sent as photo versions by taking a picture of said document and then pressing the Browse button in green to navigate to the file. In case you’re sending a photo version, make sure there are no shadows or light reflections on your photos. 

In addition, the broker gives you the option to register, transfer funds, and start trading right away and verify your account later. But it’s highly recommended to pass the verification first.

Step 3: Deposit funds

After passing the verification process, you’ll be able to fund your account. Unfortunately, there are limited funding options available. Keep in mind that depositing is free of any charge, however, you’ll be charged a $15 withdrawal fee each time you decide to withdraw money. 

Step 4: Start analysis & trading

As you pass the funding process, you’ll be able to start trading using MetaTrader 4. Keep in mind that trading is risky and that good risk management can increase your chances of success. 

The fees offered by ADSS are high compared to other brokers. It’s worth mentioning that if you are going to deposit $100,000, your fees will start from 0.3 pips on major currencies which is low considering there’s no commission. On the upside, there are no deposit or inactivity fees, however, the broker charged withdrawals with a $15 fee. 

Comparing ADSS fees with other brokers

To avoid confusion and get a clearer view of ADSS's fees, let’s compare the prices with other brokers. For the comparison, we have picked the Classic account fees.

ADSS fees compared to Interactive Brokers fees

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

ADSS fees compared to eToro fees

ADSS fees compared to IG fees

The MetaTrader 4 trading software is well-known in the trading world. The software comes with a tablet and mobile version and is user-friendly. MT4 was created in 2005 and is mainly utilized by traders for Forex trading. MetaTrader 4 is the preferred choice by many novice traders as it’s simpler to use than MetaTrader 5, which was developed in 2010. While MT4 is a great platform, most other brokers offer a variety of software to choose from. 

ADSS broker offers a mobile version of MT 4 to its traders. The app is available in more than 39 languages. In addition, traders can receive trading signals and news articles via the app. 

Mobile apps can keep you close to the markets to monitor your trades, fund and withdraw money, and place orders. However, it’s recommended to use a computer screen for conducting technical or fundamental analysis. 

The broker provides various educational materials including beginner’s guides, video tutorials, webinars, weekly market updates, an economic calendar, news and analysis, and a trading glossary. However, it’s worth mentioning that industry leaders offer a wider range of resources and more user-friendly websites to their clients.

Traders can get in touch with customer support using various methods. You can send them an email, call them, or chat online straight from their main page. 

In terms of quality, ADSS truly fails to deliver. When you press the online chat option, the window informs you that the broker’s usual reply time is under 4 minutes. You start thinking that the 4 minutes is a long time until you actually send them a question and wait for half an hour to get a reply. 

To sum everything up, there’s nothing special about the broker. The only reason why anyone would consider opening an account with ADSS is the huge variety of trading instruments. Trading software is limited to MetaTrader 4 and spreads for the Classic account type are high. The $15 withdrawal fee is also high compared to other brokers and let’s not forget, customer support is not really useful.