Pros & cons of Blackwell Global

Blackwell Fact sheet

Safety begins with proper regulatory oversight, making it one of the most crucial factors to consider when assessing a broker. The more tightly the broker is regulated, the better it is for its clients. Blackwell Global is authorized in multiple jurisdictions and therefore, can be trusted. The complete list of regulators includes: 

• Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) of the United Kingdom 
• Securities and Futures Commission of Hong Kong (SFC)
• Securities and Exchange Commission of Cambodia (SECC)
• Securities Commission of the Bahamas (SCB)

Policies that Blackwell Global follows

In accordance with regulations, Blackwell Global implements negative balance protection, is a member of the compensation scheme, and keeps client deposits in segregated accounts. 

Account segregation increases the level of safety and security, as in the event of Blackwell going bankrupt, traders will still have access to their funds. 

Due to leveraged trading, traders are vulnerable to losing more money than what’s on their trading balance. To prevent funds from going into a negative, Blackwell provides negative balance protection by implementing 50% Stop Out levels across all account types. Furthermore, it should be noted that the margin call level is at 80%. 

Forex trading on Blackwell Global

There are more than 50 currencies for trading with Blackwell Global and traders have access to major, minor, and exotic pairs. The maximum available leverage is 200:1. This means that by choosing the maximum leverage, traders’ funds gain 200 times the purchasing power on deposits. It should be mentioned that the leverage offered by this broker is not too high. Most competitors offer 500:1, or even 1000:1 leverage.

Trading fees depend on the account type. On the standard account, where there are no commissions, fees start from 0.8 pips. 

Commodity CFD trading on Blackwell Global

Blackwell Global offers precious metals such as gold and silver against USD and energies for trading. Commodities are raw materials that later turn into consumer goods. Commodity prices are impacted by inflation. Typically investors use precious metals as a hedge against inflation, so during periods of high inflation the prices of gold and silver increase, while oil prices are mostly affected by global supply and demand. Even if you are not planning on trading commodities, it’s wise to keep them on your watchlist as some currencies such as the Canadian dollar, New Zealand dollar, and Australian dollar are highly correlated with certain commodity prices. It should be noted that the number of tradable commodities is quite limited with this broker. 

Indices trading on Blackwell Global

Indices, also known as indexes, follow a basket of publicly traded stocks. For this reason, indices are a great indication of the health and wellness of certain economies or industries. For instance, the UK100, more commonly known FTSE 100 index, follows the performance of the top London-listed companies. Consequently, keeping an eye on the UK100 index helps traders predict not only the stock market direction but also currency markets. In this case, the UK100 impacts the valuation of the GBP. It should be mentioned that the indexes can be traded as CFDs. Blackwell Global offers more than 10 global indexes for trading with a maximum available leverage of 200:1. 

Depending on their trading preferences, available funds, and other factors, each trader needs a particular type of account. In order to meet the needs of different traders, Blackwell Global offers ECN, Standard, Premium, and TURBO accounts. In addition, for traders of the Muslim faith, there are swap-free accounts, aka Islamic accounts, available. Furthermore, traders have access to demo versions of live accounts. Demo accounts are perfect for testing strategies in a risk-free environment as trading is done using virtual money.

Pros & cons of Blackwell Global account types

Despite many differences, there are many similarities across all the account types offered by Blackwell Global. Traders can choose between USD, EUR, and GBP as their account currencies, with a Stop Out level of 50%, and margin calls occur at 80%. In addition, the minimum trade size is 0.01 lots for all accounts. 

ECN Account

ECN stands for Electronic Communications Network and gives raw prices on instruments. The account type is best suited to intraday traders as there are no spread markups. On the other hand, traders are charged 4.5 USD per traded lot per side. This is a bit higher than what other brokers are charging. The maximum available leverage is 200:1 with the minimum initial deposit required to open the ECN account being 500 USD.

Standard Account

The Standard account is aimed at beginners and swing traders as both these groups typically make less frequent trades and care more about low commissions. There are no commissions on this account type. However, traders are charged 0.8 pips spread markups. Similarly to the ECN and Tubo accounts, the maximum available leverage is 200:1.

Premium Account

The Premium account is very similar to the Standard account, but offers better trading fees, with spread markups on this account starting from 0.2 pips. It should be noted that the maximum available leverage is set to 100:1 and traders need to make an initial deposit of at least 500 USD to be able to open the account. 

TURBO Account

The Turbo account offers lower commissions than the ECN account, as traders are charged 2.5 USD per traded lot per side. There are no spread markups and the maximum available leverage is 200:1. There are no minimum deposit requirements for opening this account type.

Getting started on Blackwell Global – Main steps

For traders that have already decided on opening a live trading account with Blackwell Global, we offer a step-by-step guide. The registration and account opening process is fully digital and the broker’s main page is very intuitive and user-friendly. 

Step 1: Open an account

The first step is to open Blackwell Global’s main page and press the “START TRADING” button in yellow. You will be transferred to the registration page, where you are required to fill in your personal information. You will receive a PIN code via email from the broker to confirm your email. 

When you register as a trader, there are a couple more application forms to fill in, including:

• Personal details
• Employment information
• Financial background
• Knowledge and experience

Simply follow the instructions and provide the broker with honest information as your details will be verified. Your details are confidential and will be used for increasing the safety and security of your account. 

Step 2: Time to verify your account

The next step in the process is identity verification. This verification is fully digital. All you need to do is to upload a copy of your ID card, passport, or driving license as proof of your identity. You can use scanned documents or take digital pictures with your phone. However, it should be noted that the pictures need to be of good quality. In addition, you need to upload documents that prove your residential status, which you can do by uploading a copy of a utility bill or bank statement. 

Step 3: Make your deposit and start trading

The final step is to make a deposit and start trading. The broker accepts payments through various methods, including bank transfer, credit/debit card, Neteller, and Skrill. Both withdrawals and deposits are supported using these methods. There are no fees on funding methods from the broker's end, however, when doing a bank transfer, some intermediaries might charge you service fees. 

Blackwell Global offers fairly low trading fees. Spreads on EUR/USD on the Standard account start from 0.8 pips. In addition, on the Premium account spreads are even lower, starting at 0.2 pips. What’s more, the broker offers both spread-free and commission-free accounts. On spread-free accounts, traders are not experiencing market spreads, but account holders are charged commissions. On the downside, traders are charged monthly inactivity fees of 25 account currency per month after a year of inactivity.

Comparing Blackwell Global fees with other brokers

To better understand how low Blackwell Global’s fees really are, let’s compare the fee policy with other brokers. For the comparison, we picked Standard account fees. 

Blackwell Global fees compared to Interactive Brokers fees

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

Blackwell Global fees compared to CM Trading fees

Blackwell Global fees compared to plus500 fees

Blackwell Global fees compared to XM fees

Blackwell Global fees compared to AvaTrade fees

Blackwell Global fees compared to Capital.com fees

Blackwell Global offers MetaTrader 5 (MT5) to its clients. MetaTrader 5 was released in 2010 and quickly became wildly popular. Even to this day, the software is believed to be one of the best multi-asset trading platforms ever developed. MT5 is very reliable and offers various tools for research and analysis. MT5 comes with 21 timeframes, 38 preinstalled indicators, and 6 pending order types. The platform enables traders to trade various asset classes, including shares, bonds, FX, and futures. However, Blackwell’s offerings are limited to only FX, commodities, and indices. 

In addition to the web-based and desktop platforms, the broker offers a mobile app to its clients. The app is equipped with all the necessary features such as the ability to place various order types and analyze markets. 

Blackwell Global offers well-put-together educational material to its clients. There are tools for both, education and market analysis which can be found under the following headings:

• Experts Corner
• Tutorial Videos
• Webinars
• Cryptocurrency Guides
• eBooks
• News
• Market News
• Company News
• Product News
• Economic Calendar

Overall, the educational material is great with this broker. 

The customer support of Blackwell Global is accessible through live chat, email, or phone. Traders need to make a callback request in advance to receive a call from the broker. Customer service agents are available 24 hours a day, during workdays. 

It should be mentioned that when we contacted the support, the information we received was not correct. For instance, they told us that Blackwell Global doesn’t offer Islamic accounts (also known as swap-free accounts) even though they do offer this. Overall, the support needs some improvement. 

To sum everything up, Blackwell Global is regulated in the Bahamas, Hong Kong SAR, the UK, and Cambodia and therefore can be trusted. Trading fees are low and there is a wide range of account types to choose from. On the other hand, customer support needs improvement, the assets offered are limited, and trading platforms are limited to only MetaTrader 5. Overall, Blackwell Global is an average broker.