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LCG Broker Review: A Forex and CFD broker with competitive spreads and commissions

lcg.com
nika
Written by:
Nika
Av
konstantinrabin
Edited by:
Konstantin Rabin
Calendar
Written on:
11 April 2023
Date
Last edit:
15 June 2023
Our rating:
6.12

6.12

Summary
Safety & Security of LCG
3.4
3.4
Account types available for traders on LCG
8.8
8.8
Fees & commissions review of LCG
4
4.0
Trading platforms and mobile trading reviewed at LCG
10
10.0
Education and research tools offered by LCG
6.4
6.4
Customer support of LCG
6.4
6.4
Conclusion

LCG Broker Review: A Forex and CFD broker with competitive spreads and commissions

lcg.com
nika
Written by:
Nika
konstantinrabin
Edited by:
Konstantin Rabin
Calendar
Written on:
11 April 2023
Date
Last edit:
15 June 2023
Our rating
6.12

6.12

Visit broker
FDs and spread bets are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 71% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.
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Main summary

LCG is a regulated Forex and CFDs broker that offers 100+ instruments in several asset classes including Forex, commodities, indices, ETFs, futures, and bonds. Regulated in two jurisdictions, namely the UK and Cyprus, LCG is a legit broker that offers trading services to international traders. With 20 years of experience on the brokerage scene, LCG seems no newcomer to financial markets and offers competitive spreads and commissions. We will look at each aspect of the broker and provide you with all the most important data in this review.

Pros & cons of LCG broker

  • Ability to deposit and withdraw with $0 fees
  • Offers access to MetaTrader 4
  • Fast and digital account opening/verification
  • Offers access to 61 Forex pairs
  • The initial deposit required for a standard account is low from $1
  • There are accounts without spread markups
  • Initial deposit requirements are not clear and 10,000 USD is the minimum for an ECN account
  • No cryptos are offered

LCG Fact sheet

Main features
Regulations Cyprus, UK
Fees on deposits 0 USD
Fees on withdrawal 0 USD
Inactivity fees 15 GBP, EUR 18, USD 20, CHF 20, PLN 75, Other Currency 25. After 180 calendar days of ianctivity
Minimum deposit 1 USD
Minimum account activation 1 USD
Number of available assets 97 30 more ETFs,bonds, and futures
Leverage up to 1:500
Available trading markets -
Account currencies USD
Demo account Yes
Live account types Standard, ECN
Islamic account Yes
Security
Negative balance protection Yes
Part of compensation fund Yes
Keeps funds on segregated bank account Yes
Assets
Forex 61
Shares 0
Cryptocurrencies 0
Indices 15
Commodities 4
Total 97
Fees & spread
Forex From 1 pip
Shares N/A
Cryptocurrencies N/A
Indices From 0.09 pips
Commodities From 0.2 pips
Software
Platforms MetaTrader 4
Mobile trading support Yes
Mac device support Yes
Commodities Yes
Payment systems
Payment methods Bank Transfer, Credit/Debit Card, Neteller, Skrill, UnionPay
Minimum deposit Bank Transfer, Credit/Debit Card, Neteller, Skrill, UnionPay
Minimum withdrawal Bank Transfer, Credit/Debit Card, Neteller, Skrill, UnionPay
Withdrawal processing time Instant
Time to open an account -
Show all

Safety & Security of LCG

LCG is regulated by the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC) and by the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). Furthermore, the broker offers negative balance protection to prevent clients from going into a negative balance when trading with leverage. All client funds are kept in segregated bank accounts making it impossible for LCG to access your funds for their own purposes and the broker is part of the investor compensation fund in case of insolvency.

lcg.png

Account types available for traders on LCG

There are two account types available, Standard and ECN, and the difference is between the spreads charged and the minimum required trading capital you need to get started. For Standard accounts, spreads start from 1 pip, and the minimum deposit is not limited as it starts from just $1. For the ECN account, the trader will need a 10,000 USD minimum to switch to zero pip spread trading. This makes it hard for beginners to trade with 0 spreads, but since the 1 pip spread on the Standard account is the industry average, it still offers value. 

Pros & cons of LCG account types

ProsCons
There is a very low minimum deposit of $1ECN account requires a minimum 10,000 USD
Enables traders to use demo and Islamic account typesWebsite does not clearly define full trading terms
There is an account without spread markupsTrading commissions on ECN are not clearly given and there is no live chat available

Fees & commissions review of LCG

Comparing LCG fees with other brokers

LCG fees compared to Interactive Brokers fees

Type of FeeLCGInteractive Brokers
EUR/USD SpreadFrom 1 pipFrom 0.6 pips
Fees on Deposits0 USD1%
Inactivity feeGBP 15, EUR 18, USD 20, CHF 20, PLN 75, and other currency 25 of the base currency after 180 calendar days of inactivityNo*

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

LCG fees compared to CM Trading fees

Type of FeeLCGCM Trading
EUR/USD SpreadFrom 1 pipFrom 0.9 pips
Fees on Deposits0 USDNo
Inactivity feeGBP 15, EUR 18, USD 20, CHF 20, PLN 75, and other currency 25 of the base currency after 180 calendar days of inactivityYes, 15 EUR/USD per month after 60 days of inactivity

LCG fees compared to plus500 fees

Type of FeeLCGplus500
EUR/USD SpreadFrom 1 pipFrom 0.8 pips
Fees on Deposits0 USDNo
Inactivity feeGBP 15, EUR 18, USD 20, GBP 15, EUR 18, USD 20, CHF 20, PLN 75, and other currency 25 of the base currency after 180 calendar days of inactivityYes, 10 USD per month after 3 months of inactivity

LCG fees compared to XM fees

Type of FeeLCGXM
EUR/USD SpreadFrom 1 pipFrom 0.6 pips
Fees on Deposits0 USDNo
Inactivity feeGBP 15, EUR 18, USD 20, CHF 20, PLN 75, and other currency 25 of the base currency after 180 calendar days of inactivityYes, 15 USD after 12 months, +5 USD/m

LCG fees compared to AvaTrade fees

Type of FeeLCGAvaTrade
EUR/USD SpreadFrom 1 pipFrom 0.9 pips
Fees on Deposits0 USDNo
Inactivity feeGBP 15, EUR 18, USD 20, CHF 20, PLN 75, and other currency 25 of the base currency after 180 calendar days of inactivityYes, 50 USD after 3 months, 100 USD administration fee after a year

LCG fees compared to Capital.com fees

Type of FeeLCGCapital.com
EUR/USD SpreadFrom 1 pipFrom 0.9 pips
Fees on Deposits0 USDNo
Inactivity feeGBP 15, EUR 18, USD 20, CHF 20, PLN 75, and other currency 25 of the base currency after 180 calendar days of inactivityYes, 50 USD after 3 months, 100 USD administration fee after a year

Trading platforms and mobile trading reviewed at LCG

LCG offers MetaTrader 4 (MT4) as the main trading platform and it is available for all device types, including desktop and mobile. LCG Trader is the company’s proprietary platform and comes with useful features and a modern design, but it is not as advanced and professional as MT4. MT4 offers multiple inbuilt indicators and Expert Advisor (EAs) support that can be used to automate the whole trading process. 

Education and research tools offered by LCG

The educational materials provided by LCG include tutorial videos, FAQs, and glossaries. Trading videos are sorted for beginners and advanced traders to appeal to all audiences and will provide all the basic trading knowledge necessary to open and manage positions with MT4 and the LCG Trader platform. As for research tools, economic calendars and market news gives traders the ability to stay informed and up to date with all important events taking place in financial markets. 

Customer support of LCG

Support includes all the popular methods including phone, email, and live chat. Unfortunately, live chat is not always available and sometimes due to traffic, there are no online representatives to help traders resolve the issues that may arise during the trading process. There is no online form to leave a message, which is another downside and potential red flag. There is only phone support and email available at this moment, and all traders who want to use LCG as their broker should exercise extra caution. 

Conclusion

Regulated by the FCA and CySEC, and being on the market for more than 20 years, LCG is a legit Forex and CFD broker offering 100+ trading instruments, including Forex, commodities, indices, metals, energies, ETFs, and bonds. Support is limited and live chat is not always available, but they have some educational resources, even though these are average. Spreads start from 1 pip on major pairs and 1:500 is more than enough leverage to trade with while being protected by negative balance protection.

Ready to open an account with LCG? Click the button below to get started.
FDs and spread bets are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 71% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.
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FAQs about LCG Forex broker

Is LCG a trustworthy broker?

LCG is regulated by the UK’s FCA which is a top-tier regulator. Because of this, the broker seems legit and not a scam or fraud. But there are issues with client support and there are no online forms and the live chat facilities are not always available. LCG does provide negative balance protection though, which is a good thing. According to all the data we have gathered, LCG seems somewhat reliable as it is regulated by reputable financial authorities. 

What else can I trade with LCG except for the abovementioned asset classes?

In addition to Forex, commodities, indices, and stock CFDs, there are bonds, futures, and ETFs available at LCG. There are also 17 futures available with a minimum of 0.1 lot and 0.01 pip spread. Along with this, there are 9 bond spreads starting from 0.2 pips, and for the 4 ETFs commission starts from 0.20%. These spreads are what's called additional spreads, meaning they are added to the basic ask and bid price from liquidity providers and therefore can be higher than what's mentioned here. Make sure to check spreads before opening any position on these additional asset-class instruments.

Can I withdraw funds within the same day of the request?

Since LCG supports electronic online payment systems, it is possible to withdraw money within 24 hours, depending on the working day and hours. Make sure you read the withdrawal processing policies before submitting a withdrawal. Supported payments include bank transfers, credit/debit cards, Neteller, Skrill, and UnionPay. 

There is a catch though, depending on the regulatory jurisdiction your account falls under it may require 2-3 business days for traders to get things done. For FCA-regulated traders, 1 day is enough for withdrawals.