FXTM: Review and Guide to Getting Started

FXTM has been around since 2011. It serves over 3 million clients and operates in over 180 countries. It has established itself as a solid, competitive choice and a global leading in the online trading platform industry. 

FXTM has won several awards recently, including the 2021 World Finance “Best Trading Experience” award, the 2020 “Best Forex Broker in Nigeria” award, the 2020 “Best ECN Broker” award, and the 2020 “Best Education Provider” award. Their list of over 25 awards stretches clear back to 2013. 

But is FXTM right for you? Here’s what you need to know. 

Account Types Offered

FXTM offers three account types. 

The Micro account starts with a $50 minimum deposit. It allows you to trade FX, FX Indices, Metals, Commodities, and Stock Baskets. It offers zero commissions, tight spreads, and access to MT4. The Micro account also offers leverage of 1:3 to 1:1000 fixed on FX or 1:500 on metals. Micro accounts offer instant order execution, a 60% margin call, and a 40% stop-out. You’re allowed a maximum of 30 orders with this account type.

The advantage is the most popular account. For a $500 minimum deposit, you can choose between MT4 and MT5. You also gain access to the full range of FXTM’s trading products. There are commissions on these trades, but the spreads are ultra-tight, starting at 0.0. Advantage offers up to 1:2000 floating leverage on all products. Advantage plans offer Market Execution, 80% margin call, and 50% stop out. You can make unlimited orders with this account type.

Finally there’s the Advantage Plus platform that also has a $500 minimum deposit. The only difference between Advantage and Advantage Plus is there are no commissions on the Advantage Plus plan. 

It’s not easy to find it on the website (it’s tucked away on their “Forex Trading for Beginners” page), but like most brokers FXTM does offer a demo account on their website. 

Trade Types Offered

FXTM offers traders the opportunities to trade or speculate on a number of different hot markets. This includes Forex and Forex indices trading, precious metals, stocks, commodities, indices, stock CFDs, and stock baskets. Their exciting array of products offers traders many options for pursuing a strategy that’s comfortable for them. 

For example, their stock baskets trades allow you to follow the trends of entire industries. You can invest in baskets of companies that are working to address climate change, or trade on the entire aerospace industry. Quite a few of these baskets are particularly hot: the Vegan Index, for example, offers the opportunity to purchase a basket of stocks that includes Beyond Meat, Ingredion Incorporated, Bunge Limited, and Archer-Daniels. As people grow more concerned about the effects of meat on the environment these stocks are only likely to get hotter. 

Trading Platforms & Tools

Depending on which account type you choose, you can either get access to MT4 or MT5 when you trade with FXTM. Both are available on your PC, Mac, or Mobile. Web Trader is available for those who don’t want to download any new software. Commercial traders may take advantage of Multi Account Manager. 

FXTM is one of the platforms that offers copy trading, though you’ll need an Advantage or Advantage Plus account to use it as it’s only available on MT5. The copy trading platform is especially powerful because FXTM takes the time to rank each trader on a minute-by-minute basis. You’ll be able to see who is on top, what their return rate is, and how much money they’re managing. You can also sort each trader by trading style, which means you can find a trader who trades the way you want to trade. This is an invaluable tool for helping you learn and helps to ensure your success by letting you profit off of the experience of others. However, if you choose to copy trades you’ll share a percentage of your profits with the Strategy Manager. 

Both come equipped with a full suite of technical analysis tools. These include the Daily Market Analysis news portal, the FXTM trading signals technical analysis tool, and the Pivot Points Strategy Tool, which provides 5 pivot point calculations across three popular technical indicators. The Economic Calendar lets you keep track of major economic indicators, news, and alerts, and the Forex News Timeline lets you receive live market news from the most reliable sources available. 

You also get tools to help you manage your profits. These include a Margin Calculator to help you manage risk, a Pip calculator to estimate profits and losses, and a simple Profit Calculator that lets you simulate a trading position’s profits and losses at different market prices. 

Customer Support

FXTM offers dedicated multilingual customer support, as well as multilingual personal account managers. Traders may get in touch during 8 AM to 8 PM in European time. They offer chat options like Whatsapp, live chat, Viber, Telegram, and Messenger. You can also call +357 25 558 7777, or email info@forextime.com. 

Deposits & Withdrawals

FXTM offers a variety of payment methods including credit cards, debit cards, bank transfers, and a variety of eWallets. eWallet providers include Skrill, VLOAD, TC Pay Wallet, Neteller, WebMoney, Yandex Money, Qiwi Wallet, Perfect Money, and Konnexone. 

They also include a number of local solutions in a wide variety of countries. 

You must withdraw to the same solution that you deposited to, so it tends to pay to pick one method and to stick to it. 

FXTM processes all withdrawals within 24 hours, but it may take you longer to get your money depending on your payment method. eWallets are fastest with a 1-day turnaround. Bank wires take 3-5 business days and credit or debit cards can take 3 to 10 business days. 

Your withdrawal may be declined if there has been no trading activity since your last deposit. You should only deposit funds into FXTM if you intend to use that money as operating capital for your trades.

There is a small withdrawal fee of $3 per withdrawal if you’re using bank transfers, so be aware when you decide how often you’ll withdraw your profits, or by what method.

Spreads, Fees, and Commissions

Commissions and spreads are kept competitive, though will vary based on the volume of your trades and the products you’re trading. Use the available profit tools to help determine whether a proposed trade will help you meet your trading goals.

Note there are fees for inactive accounts. At 5 EUR this fee is relatively low though, and only applies if an account has been inactive for 6 months. 

Regulation

FXTM is regulated by the Financial Services Commission (FSC) of Mauritius, with an investment Dealer License of C113012295. 

Licensing in Mauritius is cheap for brokers like FXTM, but they are known for being severe on brokers who fail to operate in an open, honest, and transparent way. They’ve put together an anti-corruption framework in the hopes of operating a highly honest body. 

Fortunately, the FSC is not the only regulatory body providing FXTM with oversight.

They are also regulated by CySEC under license 185/12 and the Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) of South Africa with FSP No. 46614. Finally, they are registered under the Financial Conduct Authority of the UK with number 600475. 

Of these, the strongest is, of course, the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority. Knowing the Financial Conduct Authority is keeping watch over this trader can help put your mind at ease when it comes to determining whether or not your money is safe with them. 

Reputation

FXTM has a 3.2 star rating on Trustpilot but has just 20 reviews. Those who enjoy the platform enjoy the low spreads.

Those who don’t cite withdrawal concerns that traders really need to be aware of before making FXTM their broker of choice. Here’s the text of a 2-star review:

“Getting money onto the platform was easy enough. Getting it back to you is a massive headache. I have no idea why they create so many hurdles and crazy restrictions if you want to cash out to your BTC wallet. (The other options for withdrawal are not available in all countries, hence cryptowallets are the obvious choice that should be available without the silly limitations). Boggles the mind since I went through the full identity and address verification process on their site and the exchange where I have my wallet. Get with the times, guys. Everyone else has multiple crypto cashout options.” -Oroku Saki

Here’s another 1-star review that again cites withdrawal frustrations.

“I just had my first withdrawal from FXTM through African Solutions. But I don’t know why I had to go through hell before I finally got my money transferred to my mobile money wallet. I hope they resolve whatever issues they have to regain the trust of their customers.” 

FXTM does reply to most of its reviews and it does look like they try to put unhappy customers in touch with customer service agents who might help them. Worth noting that some of their issues come from “local payment solutions” in African countries. Using bank transfers or eWallets may not come with the same problems. If you choose to use this broker, make sure you read the terms and conditions of the payment type you want to use so that you don’t have major headaches.

There are no major scandals or news stories about FXTM. 

Accepted Countries

FXTM is legal in most countries of the world. It is not available in the United States, Canada, Japan, Puerto Rico, Haiti, Suriname, or Hong Kong. Ironically, considering they are regulated there, they also are not available for use in Mauritius. 

Alternatives

Consider AvaTrade and AXI for comparable educational resources. You might also look at AvaTrade for comparable copy trade features, as well as VantageFX. Consider Forex.com for a broker regulated in the United States and which is available to US traders. 

Bonuses & Promos

FXTM offers a modest $50 referral bonus to both you and the friend you refer. The bonus is subject to the usual terms and conditions about trading volumes. 

FAQs

Is FXTM a safe, legitimate trading platform?

FXTM is a legitimate platform. It’s been around long enough that you can feel safe working with them. It’s also regulated by multiple oversight organizations, including the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority. This should give any trader peace of mind knowing that this broker is adhering to some very strict standards. 

It has remained free of major scandals, has been around for quite some time, and has impressed enough customers that you can probably feel safe enough trading there. 

The platform has invested in good cybersecurity, using encryption software and other IT security measures. Your money and personal information should be as safe there as with any other online broker.

In short, FXTM is probably one of the safer bets among online trading platforms. 

Is FXTM properly regulated?

As mentioned, FXTM is regulated by an authority that is not particularly known for its toughness. That said, it is regulated and does operate under some oversight. You do have some recourse if you feel they’ve been guilty of wrongdoing. 

What is FXTM’s minimum deposit? 

Traders can get started with as little as $50, but it may be more advantageous to deposit the $500 required for the Advantage account. 

Is FXTM good for beginners?

FXTM’s status as a 2020 “Best Education Provider” award winner makes it a promising platform for beginners. They do go out of their way to offer a great many educational resources: a point in their favor. 

They offer a wealth of free eBooks on a wide variety of topics, including trading habits, the Elliot Wave Theory, and more. Periodically they run Forex trading seminars and webinars which allow you to ask questions of leading traders and strategists. 

They’ve taken the time to explain different Forex trading styles such as day trading, scalping, swing trading, position trading, and more. They don’t stop at the basics, either, but take you into mathematical trading strategies that can help you be successful in the long term. They also have an in-depth guide to CFDs. 

Beginners can educate themselves with an impressive library of videos and articles, as well. 

In short, this trading platform is a pretty good bet for beginners who take the appropriate precautions of understanding all the terms and conditions before they start trading, and who take the time to work with a demo account and really learn the ins and outs of successful trading strategies before they “go live” with their own money. 

Does FXTM give a bonus? 

Loyal clients get to take advantage of a cashback program, as well as other promotions. Traders can also enter various Forex contests where they compete both for prizes and for titles. 

What leverage does FXTM offer?

For Forex you’ll see available leverages of 1:30 on most major pairs. Some lesser-traded pairs go down to leverage of 1:20. Commodities and metals are set at 1:10. On CFDs, you can take advantage of 1:5 leverage. Leverage isn’t offered on all indices, but when it is it’s usually set at either 1:5 or 1:10.

Keep in mind that using leverages makes trades riskier. If you don’t know what you’re doing you could end up owing FXTM a considerable sum. 

Who owns FXTM? 

FXTM is refreshingly open about who their leadership team is. FXTM was founded by Andrey Dashin. Dashin was the co-founder of Alpari, a premier Russian Forex broker, in 1998. He went on to found FXTM over a decade later. In 2020 he launched the Exinity World group, a business that’s “on a mission to bring financial opportunity to a new generation of global customers.” 

FXTM has a Co-CEO in Dr. Olga Rybalkina. Rybalkina has a Ph.D. in Economics and was also one of the founders at Alpari. She helped to co-found FXTM as well. She actively leads company operations and is credited for the majority of the company’s success story. 

Both are supported by an impressive executive team. 

This kind of leadership is an excellent sign, as is the transparency. It speaks to a group of people who are willing to be held accountable for their actions. Their experience and track record suggest a platform that will continue to go the distance, displaying stability and longevity alike. 

Is FXTM a market maker?

Yes. Though this means it does make money on trader losses, it also means some benefits for traders. Being a market maker is the reason that FXTM can offer much lower minimum deposits for example, as well as offering its competitive commissions and spreads.

Is FXTM right for me?

FXTM is a solid bet for traders at any stage of their career. Its combination of profitable spreads and commissions, intuitive platforms, educational resources, tools, accountability, and longevity all make it an attractive choice. It’s easy to see why they’ve continued to be an award winner throughout their lifespan. If you like all the features FXTM has to offer there’s absolutely no reason not to take the leap.