Here Are the 9 Pros and Cons

FP Markets Fact sheet

Every professional trader knows that trading is risky. In order to remain profitable, traders manage their risks by setting limits for themselves. Managing trades through stop-loss orders and keeping a check on your emotions is not enough to live a risk-free life as a trader. As such, it’s important to be well-informed before you entrust your hard-earned money to financial institutions. 

The biggest indicator of whether a broker is trustworthy or not is how well-regulated the institution is. FP Markets is regulated by ASIC (Australian Securities and Investments Commission) and CySEC (Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission). 

The broker offers a huge amount of CFDs (10 000+) and more than 60 currency pairs.

Policies that FP Markets follows

FP Markets is mainly focused on keeping its customers’ satisfaction levels very high. They are achieving this by providing professional customer service, low fees, high execution speed, a wide range of tradable CFDs, and providing extensive educational material.

FP Markets keeps investors' funds in segregated accounts. The importance of having segregated accounts can not be understated. When a trader deposits money, it must go somewhere. Unreliable brokers keep these funds mixed in with the company's funds, thus making it easier to have control over their clients’ money. This leads to problems down the line if the company goes bankrupt or its accounts get frozen for some reason.

The financial accounts of FP Markets are audited by external auditors and regular account statements are issued. External auditors contribute to making the company more reliable.

FP Markets offers a large number of CFDs to its customers to choose from. Trading CFDs gives investors opportunities to profit from price fluctuations without owning the asset. For example, you can trade crypto CFDs and not worry about where to store the tokens. CFD stands for Contract for Difference, and these can be great tools for trading but they are not useful for long-term investors. 

Forex trading on FP Markets

Forex trading is a very popular activity around the world, however, only a small percentage of traders make profits. It may seem like an easy way to make a quick buck, but becoming a profitable trader requires hard work, great educational material, and supportive technical tools. Most beginner traders start trading to make easy money but most traders, who are actually making money consistently, are very hard-working.

FP Markets offer over 60 FX pairs to its clients. You can trade all major pairs. Major pairs are the most liquid ones and offer lower spreads. Some examples of major pairs are EUR/USD, GBP/USD, JPY/USD, etc. 

Leverage on FP Markets is 1:500, meaning you can get up to 500 times exposure to the FX markets using “borrowed” money. It’s important to take into account that the higher the exposure to any single trade, the higher the risk of blowing your trading account, so choose the amount of leverage wisely.

FP Markets offer raw spreads if you open a “Raw account” and the spreads start from 0 pips. Spreads are the difference between the bid and an ask price. Keep in mind that the higher the liquidity in the markets, the lower the spread. Usually, liquidity decreases before major financial news, as most investors base their trading decisions on this.

Spreads are higher in exotic pairs, as those pairs are less liquid. Beginner traders should be more careful when trading exotic pairs as trading these assets requires in-depth knowledge about the currencies in question and traders will face more risk due to higher spreads. Examples of exotic pairs: Euro/TRY (Turkish Lira), USD/NOK (Norwegian Krone), USD/DKK (Danish krone), etc.

Stock CFDs trading on FP Markets

FPMarkets offers 10 000+ tradable Shares and stock CFDs. Traders can profit from price movements in any direction. You can find a wide range of CFDs coming from NYSE, NASDAQ, London, Hong Kong, Paris, Frankfurt, Madrid, and Amsterdam. Leverage goes up to 500:1.

It’s important to take into account that stocks move very differently than currencies. Some traders that fail to become consistently profitable currency traders, find success in trading stocks and vice versa. By providing share CFDs, investors get an amazing opportunity to test themselves in different markets.

Indices trading on FP Markets

FP Markets provides a wide variety of indices. Trading index CFDs allows investors to benefit from price movements in both bullish and bearish markets without actually owning the asset. The most popular indices are S&P 500, Dow Jones Index, NASDAQ 100, etc. 

It’s important to note that even if you avoid trading indices, keeping an eye on their movement is beneficial if you are investing in any asset. For instance, S&P 500 or Standard and Poor’s 500 is an index that tracks the movement of America’s 500 largest listed companies. If the S&P 500 is bullish, it’s very plausible that the American economy is doing well and this might translate into a stronger USD. 

Cryptocurrency trading on FP Markets

For some, cryptocurrencies are the future of money, for others, they are just another example of a pyramid scheme. Whether you believe in the future of cryptocurrencies or not, you can still make money trading crypto CFDs on FP Markets. 

FP Markets offers the 5 most traded cryptos on its platforms: Bitcoin, Ethereum, Ripple, Litecoin, and Bitcoin Cash.

Leverage is up to 500:1 for all CFDs on FP Markets. Keep in mind that high leverage can increase your profits, but it can increase your losses too. Managing risk is one of the most important features of a consistently profitable trader.

Commodities trading on FP Markets

Commodities are raw materials from which consumer goods can be created. FP Markets offers more than 10 commodity CFDs, such as crude oil, gold, silver, platinum, palladium, copper, aluminum, steel, iron, coffee, natural gas, soybeans, corn, and wheat.

When choosing a commodity to trade, it’s important to choose an asset that’s liquid, meaning there are a large number of buyers and sellers. Trading highly liquid assets can ensure that the difference between the ask and bid price will be minimal, making it cheaper for you to enter and exit trades. 

Leverage is 500:1 when trading commodities on FPMarkets’ platforms. You can trade the CFDs 5 days a week, 24 hours a day, from 5 PM EST Saturday to 4 PM EST Friday.

In general, brokers offer different types of accounts for different kinds of investors. Some investors are day traders and make 100 trades a day. Some prefer making 1 or 2 trades every 2 to 3 days. Therefore, some prefer accounts with raw spreads, while for others fixed spreads are more attractive. 

FP Markets offers 2 account types for FX traders: Standart account and Raw account. Both accounts are supported by the MT4 and MT5 platforms as well as their mobile apps. The minimum initial deposit is 100 AUD for both and they both offer the same amount of instruments and up to 500:1 leverage.

However, there are some differences between the two and we’ll discuss them in a bit more detail. 

Choosing an account type can make or break a trader, as fees, asset variations, and policies are linked to certain accounts.

Pros & cons of FPMarkets account types

FP Markets Demo Account

Demo accounts are an essential part of learning the ropes of trading. They are also very useful after you become a professional trader as a tool to test your new strategies. Almost all Forex brokers provide free demo accounts and FP Markets is no exception to this rule.

In order to demo-trade the huge amount of assets offered by the broker, you need to install MetaTrader 4 or MetaTrader 5 on your PC. Keep in mind that MetaTrader 5 offers a larger amount of tradable assets while MetaTrader 4 is a more efficient platform for trading currencies.

For many traders using a demo account might be a challenge as there’s no emotional connection between the trader and the outcome of his/her trades. When real money is at stake, the whole game changes. Greed, fear, and frustration come into play. That being said, these problems are the only ones you want to have when opening a live account. Can you imagine how difficult live trading would be if you didn’t have a reliable trading strategy on top of these problems? 

For refining strategies, demo trading is the best. But, if you are struggling to motivate yourself to sit in front of a computer trading with fake money, you can open a 100 AUD account and test your trading skills for real. Remember to only trade with money you can afford to lose.

FP Markets Standard Account

Standard accounts are preferred by many professional and novice traders as they offer prices and execution that meet the needs of many kinds of traders.

FP Markets' Standard account charges no commission and requires a small opening balance of 100 AUD. The account offers access to 70+ products and the leverage goes up to 500:1. Customers have access to a vast variety of products across Forex, commodities, and indices. Moreover, the broker allows you to open multiple trading accounts.

On the other hand, spreads are higher compared to other account types for the Standard account. Spreads start from 1 pip.

FP Markets Raw Account

Usually, raw accounts keep low spreads and charge commissions on each traded lot. Raw pricing might be more attractive for active day traders, due to the fact that they offer real, uninterrupted prices, sometimes raw trading is called ECN (Electronic Communication Network) trading. Raw trading provides very tight spreads. Sometimes spreads can be as low as 0.0 pips, especially when highly liquid assets are traded. 

The Raw account offers up to 500:1 leverage and access to more than 70 assets, across commodities, Forex, and indices. However, commissions start from $3 per lot each way.

FP Markets Iress Account

For more seasoned traders, FP Markets provides access to the Iress accounts. The Iress platforms provide direct order execution for trading CFDs without the participation of intermediaries. However, leverage is limited to a max of 20:1. If you decide to use the Iress platform you can choose from the 3 account types. 

Iress accounts might be the perfect fit for intraday traders who value speed of execution and direct access to the markets. 

In addition, knowing that your trades are directly executed, can give many traders a sense of security.

FPMarkets Islamic Account

For Muslim traders, interest rates go against the Quran’s teachings and many brokers offer swap-free accounts to make trading accessible for them. Swap-free accounts charge no fees for overnight positions, instead, an administration fee is issued for the Islamic account holder.

For Muslim accounts, FP Markets offer the MetaTrader 4 and MetaTrader 5 platforms. Keep in mind that the broker does not provide swap-free accounts on its Iress platform.

Getting started on FP Markets - Main steps

Opening a live account is a big decision for every trader. You can register and start trading from FP Markets’ webpage. 

In order to open a live trading account on FP Markets, you need to follow these simple steps.

Step 1: Register on their website

The first step is to open FP Markets’ webpage and click on “Open Live” at the top right corner. You will be sent to the registration page, where you can use your Google account, Facebook account, or email address to proceed with the sign-up.

Step 2: It’s time for providing personal information

The personal information part has 2 steps and includes providing information regarding your identity, your employment, and your income level. The information helps brokers to better serve their customers. 

Step 3: Time to choose a platform and account

You can choose between MetaTrader 4 and MetaTrader 5. Both platforms are very similar, however, MetaTrader 4 is more dedicated to trading currencies, while MT5 is more of an all-in-one platform.

While choosing between the account types, keep in mind that Islamic accounts are also called swap-free accounts.

Choose your leverage and set a password. 
 

Step 4: Make your deposit

The final step is depositing funds into your trading account. Keep in mind that the minimum initial deposit is 100 AUD for this broker and processing time differs between the funding options.

After completing the final step, you will be able to start trading. 

You must be feeling excited and ready to get started, just keep in mind that trading is not an easy way of making money. You will need to work on your strategies and on your emotions in order to become a successful trader.

FP Markets offers reasonable prices. In general, prices are linked to the account type you choose. The Standard account has a 1 pip markup on every trade but requires 0 commission. The Raw account on the other hand offers spreads from 0 and asks for 6 USD commission per lot traded. At the end of the day, you will still have to pay the broker for your trades but in general, fees are not high. 

In addition, there’s no inactivity fee with FP Markets.

Comparing FP Markets' fees with other brokers

Low fees are very important when deciding which broker to choose. A 1 pip difference after 100 trades means 100 pips, therefore it’s important to learn more about what other brokers have to offer. 

To better understand the differences in pricing between FP Markets and other brokers, let’s compare their prices. 

FPMarkets fees compared to Interactive Brokers fees

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

FPMarkets fees compared to eToro fees

FPMarkets fees compared to IG fees

FPMarkets fees compared to XM fees

FPMarkets fees compared to AvaTrade fees

FPMarkets fees compared to Capital.com fees

FP Markets offer the 2 most popular platforms to its customers; MetaTrader 4 and MetaTrader 5.

MetaTrader 4 is the most popular trading platform throughout the world and is mostly used for trading currency pairs.

MetaTrader 4 was created by a Russian company named MetaQuotes in 2005. MetaTrader 5 is a newer version and it offers access to more trading assets. 

In general, both platforms are widely used and have all the necessary tools to trade profitably. However, it’s worth mentioning that there are other trading platforms, offered by other brokers, that are more user-friendly for novice traders, such as cTrader. 

Mobile trading tools are important to keep in touch with your trades and can be a lifesaver in emergency situations. In general, most profitable traders know their stop-loss and take-profit targets before they go into a trade, however, some prefer to get out of the position manually and a great mobile app is really important in cases such as these. 

In addition, a mobile app is your plan B when the power goes out or your laptop suddenly faces internet problems.

FP Markets offers a user-friendly mobile app that can be helpful for depositing funds into your account, opening and closing trades, and keeping track of your trading.

Most new Forex investors lose money and blow up their accounts. The biggest reason why there are so many failing traders is a lack of education, lack of discipline, and inability to control their emotions.

FP Markets offers trading courses, webinars, podcasts, event news, video tutorials, ebooks, economic calendars, and technical and fundamental analyses to its traders.

The Forex market is never static, it’s always evolving and in order to stay at the top of your game as a trader, you will need to work hard and stay dedicated.

Having good customer support is a super important feature when considering which broker to choose. Great customer support can save you precious time, energy, and money.

FP Markets provides customer support in 12+ languages, live chat is available 24/7, and you can always send them an email, call them, or request a callback. In addition, you can contact them using several social media accounts.

The customer support is very friendly and helpful. The FP Markets’ Trustpilot rating is 4.9 stars. You don’t get such a rating without a professional team of customer support agents.

To sum it up, FP Markets is a great company if you’re looking for a broker that can provide you with a wide range of tradable CFDs. 

The fees are reasonable and the platforms FP Markets uses are very popular around the world. However, the number of platforms and trading account types is limited. 

The broker is regulated by CySEC and ASIC and has earned a very good reputation and a great rating on Trustpilot.