Pros & Cons of Maxco broker

Maxco Fact sheet

Maxco holds multiple licenses providing its traders with a safe environment. At least that is what the broker emphasizes, so we decided to check their claims thoroughly, and here are our findings. 

The broker is regulated in Indonesia by the BAPPEBTI, the PT Bursa Berjangka Jakarta (JFX), and PT. Kliring Berjangka Indonesia (Persero). 

All three licenses are given by different regulatory entities within Indonesia's regulated futures and foreign exchange markets. All this information is transparently available on the broker’s website adding to its legitimacy.

All client funds are kept in segregated bank accounts, meaning the broker employees can’t touch client money. 

Maxco is a member of an investor compensation fund offering compensation in case of insolvency further ensuring investor protection. 

Unfortunately, as a primary futures broker, Maxco does not offer negative balance protection, meaning its clients can get into minuses or lose more than their initial investment. This feature is essential for Forex traders as FX brokers usually offer much higher leverage to their clients. In the case of Maxco, the broker offers up to 500:1 leverage, meaning traders can open positions with 500 times their account balance, which significantly increases the risks of excessive losses. 

We advise traders to exercise caution when dealing with brokers with high leverage and no negative balance protection. 

Only one live trading account is offered to all Maxco Broker clients. This is very disadvantageous for traders as some traders prefer different specs than others. There is a trading commission from 1 USD per lot meaning swing traders and day traders will not be happy to pay so much commissions for trading. While scalpers prefer this account for its low commissions and low spreads. Because of this, Maxco is not recommended for everyone, the broker is mainly a good choice for Indonesian traders who focus on futures trading with low leverage.

Maxco is shy of indicating exact spreads on their website because it is from 2 pips on major pairs starting at EURUSD. 2 pips spread plus the trading commissions from 1 USD per lot makes brokers very expensive for Forex trading. 

Maximum leverage is set at 1:500; base account currencies are USD and IDR.

The account opening requires several complicated steps of receiving a verification code on your mobile and email. 

Pros & cons of Maxco account types

Comparing Maxco fees with other brokers

Maxco fees compared to Interactive Brokers fees

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

Maxco fees compared to CM Trading fees

Maxco fees compared to plus500 fees

Maxco fees compared to XM fees

Maxco fees compared to AvaTrade fees

Maxco fees compared to Capital.com fees

The broker offers MetaTrader 4 trading platform for both Windows and macOS. MT4 offers advanced functionality to Maxco clients and traders can fully analyze markets or trade with automated trading systems. 

Mobile apps for both Android and iOS are also provided for download and additionally, there is a web trading platform. Web trader offers all the basic features of opening and closing trades and setting timeframes and chart types. There are no technical indicators on the Maxco web trader. 

No educational resources are provided of any sort to Maxco traders. This is disadvantageous for beginners. No market research tools or indicators are offered either, only trading platforms for download or web trading are available. 

Phone support, email support, and office address are all provided by Maxco. However, the broker does not offer the live chat at the moment. The trader will have to call the support center or send an email if there is an issue to be resolved. The lack of live chat support is disadvantageous for the broker as it will scare away many traders. 

As we have researched, Maxco is suitable for Indonesian traders who are trading primarily futures and metals. This is because the broker only accepts local bank wire transfers, making it almost impossible for global traders to access its platforms. Additionally, the regulatory licenses are all from Indonesian futures, commodities, and Forex regulators. 

Forex trading is not advisable with Maxco as the broker only offers one trading account with 2 pips spreads on major pairs and 1 USD commission for each lot traded. For Indonesian traders, the broker is a safe option because of its strong regulatory compliance and oversight, but for global traders, it does not offer enough value to consider.