IC Markets is an ASIC, CySEC, and FSA regulated forex CFD broker that provides day traders and scalpers, as well as new traders, with an opportunity to trade CFDs. They offer their clients cutting-edge trading platforms, low latency connectivity, and superior liquidity. IC Markets is one of the leading online brokers who continuously revolutionize the online forex trading world by allowing traders to gain access to pricing and liquidity within financial markets. Their mission is to create the best and most transparent trading environment for retail as well as institutional traders, allowing them to focus solely on their trading. As IC Markets was built for traders by traders, they are dedicated to providing the best possible trading conditions, including spreads, execution, and other services.
About IC Markets
IC Markets is a leading Forex and CFD broker located in Sydney, Australia. They were founded back on the 7th of May, 2007, and are run by their CEO, Andrew Budzinski. IC Markets allows traders to enjoy favorable trading conditions by offering very tight spreads and acceptable commission fees while also being able to choose between different account types. You will be able to trade a wide range of trading instruments, which include forex pairs, CFDs, and cryptocurrencies. IC Markets’ management team has significant expertise in Forex, CFD, and Equity markets in Asia, Europe, and North America. With all the experience within the team, they are able to select and provide the best possible technology solutions and choose the best possible liquidity that is available within the financial markets to retail as well as institutional traders.
Account Types
IC Markets provides retail and institutional traders with the opportunity to choose between three account types:
- Raw Spread cTrader Account
- Ultra-fast order execution
- No restrictions on trading strategy (Scalping allowed)
- Spreads starting at 0.0 pips
- Excellent market depth (Level 2 pricing)
- Raw Spread MetaTrader Account
- Ultra-fast order execution
- No restrictions on trading strategy (Scalping allowed)
- Spreads starting at 0.0 pips
- Excellent market depth (Level 2 pricing)
- Standard MetaTrader Account
- Ultra-fast order execution
- No restrictions on trading strategy (Scalping allowed)
- Excellent market depth (Level 2 pricing)
Trading Instruments
IC Markets offers traders a carefully selected range of trading instruments, allowing them access to the most popular and liquid financial markets across the globe for the absolute best trading opportunities 24/7.
| Trading Instrument | Number of Trading Instruments |
|---|---|
| Forex CFD | 61 Currency Pairs |
| Commodity CFD | Over 20 Commodities |
| Index CFD | 25 Indices |
| Bond CFD | Over 9 Bonds |
| Stock CFD | Over 2,100 Stocks |
| Futures CFD | 4 Futures |
| Crypto CFD | 21 Cryptos |
Trading Platforms
IC Markets offers three trading platforms that could be considered the most popular on a worldwide scale. These platforms are MetaTrader 4, MetaTrader 5, and cTrader, which are all available as desktop and mobile trading platforms, allowing the trader high flexibility of available devices he can operate from.
MetaTrader 4
MetaTrader 4 stands as an advanced trading platform that has established itself as a standard tool for experienced Forex traders, facilitating trade execution even in the absence of an active device. It is characterized by its intuitive user interface, an extensive array of technical analysis tools for prognosticating market trends, live updates on currency prices, and a host of additional features. Noteworthy components of MetaTrader 4 encompass mobile trading capabilities, access to trading signals, and comprehensive financial market insights, all of which serve to elevate and enrich the overall Forex trading encounter. Furthermore, it provides support to traders in more than 30 languages globally, along with three distinct trade execution modes, instant execution, execution on request, and execution on the market.
MetaTrader 5
MetaTrader 5 stands as a robust automated trading platform, providing sophisticated tools for meticulous trading analysis and execution in the realm of financial markets. Beyond its ability in Forex trading, the MetaTrader 5 platform extends its capabilities to trade Stocks, CFDs, and Futures. It boasts a diverse array of order types and execution modes, affording traders the capacity to implement tailored trading strategies even in offline settings. With the capability to simultaneously open up to 100 charts and access 21 distinct timeframes, the platform empowers users to conduct in-depth analysis of price movements, even based on minutes. Additionally, it offers a comprehensive suite of 80 technical indicators and 44 analytical objects, allowing you to enhance your trading experience.
cTrader
cTrader represents a comprehensive trading platform solution tailored for forex and CFD traders. It encompasses an array of sophisticated features, including robust charting tools, advanced order options, level 2 pricing insights, customizable coding capabilities, and rapid entry and execution functionalities. With a stunning user interface, it is seamlessly integrated with cutting-edge backend technology, rendering it accessible across desktop, web, and mobile platforms. The underlying mission of cTrader is to provide a balance between simplicity and complexity, thereby catering to both novice and experienced traders. Moreover, it empowers traders to execute advanced order strategies while gaining a more comprehensive understanding of the intricacies underlying their trade placements.
Safety
IC Markets is a broker that was founded back in 2007 while also being regulated by several financial authorities worldwide. These include the following three:
- ASIC – Australian Securities and Investments Commission
- CySEC – Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission
- FSA – Seychelles Financial Supervisory Authority
IC Markets offers the option to open a trading account with one or multiple of their authorized entities, dependent upon your country of residence. This aspect holds significance for individuals seeking to establish an account with IC Markets, as the level of investor protection and regulatory oversight varies depending on the specific entity you are affiliated with.
| Country of Clients | Legal Entity | Regulator | Protection Amount |
|---|---|---|---|
| Australia | International Capital Markets Pty Ltd | ASIC | No protection |
| EEA countries, except Switzerland, Belgium, Latvia | IC Markets (EU) Ltd | CySEC | €20,000 |
| All other countries | IC Markets (SC) Ltd | FSA | No protection |
Furthermore, it’s important to note that IC Markets also offers negative balance protection. This safeguard ensures that if the balance in your trading account falls into negative figures, you will be shielded from any further losses.
Customer Support
IC Markets ensures its clients have access to top-notch customer support through various channels, including phone, email, and live chat, all of which are available around the clock, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. This comprehensive support system is designed to assist clients in a timely and efficient manner, no matter the time zone or location. Whether you prefer direct conversations, written correspondence, or real-time chat interactions, IC Markets is dedicated to providing exceptional customer support service tailored to your needs.
- Phone Support
IC Markets offers outstanding phone support, ensuring clients receive prompt responses to all their inquiries within a minute of contacting them.
- Email Support
IC Markets also provides exceptional email assistance, with clients receiving replies to their emails within a day of reaching out.
- Live Chat Support
Furthermore, IC Markets offers a live chat option where a robot chat initiates the conversation and, if needed, connects you to a live agent in case the initial response doesn’t address your query.
Exclusive: When Is Using a VPS & Trade Copier Beneficial?
Using VPS and Trade Copier services in financial market operations can prove highly beneficial in specific situations. Before going into specifics, it’s essential to first understand what a VPS and a Trade Copier actually are and the advantages they offer.
VPS
A VPS, short for virtual private server, is a system that houses the necessary software and data for operating an application or website. The term virtual indicates that it utilizes only a fraction of the underlying physical resources of the server, which are overseen by an external provider. Nevertheless, you have exclusive access to your allocated resources on this hardware.
When is Using a VPS Beneficial?
- When trading with Expert Advisors (EAs)
- When trading with multiple Brokers/Proprietary Trading Firms through a Trade Copier
- When trading through a Mac device
Trade Copier
A trade copier is essentially a software tool employed to duplicate trades across numerous trading accounts. It stands out as the most convenient and effective method for simultaneously managing multiple trading accounts, allowing for the execution of identical trades across various trading platforms.
When is Using a Trade Copier Beneficial?
- When trading with numerous Brokers
- When trading with numerous Proprietary Trading Firms
- When looking to spread risk between numerous trading accounts
Why should you connect a VPS and Trade Copier with numerous trading accounts?
As stated above, incorporating a VPS and Trade Copier into your trading activity can provide a wide range of advantages. For example, when pairing them with multiple trading accounts, you can strengthen the benefits they offer to an even larger extent.
Example of connecting five trading accounts, a VPS, and a Trade Copier
| Device | Benefits |
|---|---|
| VPS (Forex VPS) | Provides Low Latency & 24/7 Connection |
| Trade Copier (Local Trade Copier) | Provides Connection Between The 5 Trading Accounts |
| Trading Account | Account Size | Account Type |
|---|---|---|
| Broker Account #1 | €5,000 Account | Master Account |
| Prop Firm Account #1 | $100,000 Account | Copier Account |
| Prop Firm Account #2 | $50,000 Account | Copier Account |
| Broker Account #2 | $8,000 Account | Copier Account |
| Prop Firm Account #3 | $300,000 Account | Copier Account |
| Trading Account | Account Size | Risk per Position |
|---|---|---|
| Broker (IC Markets) | €5,000 Account | 2% per trade (€100) |
| Prop Firm (FundedNext) | $100,000 Funded Account | 0.6% per trade ($600) |
| Prop Firm (Funding Pips) | $50,000 Evaluation Account | 0.5% per trade ($250) |
| Broker (Pepperstone) | $8,000 Account | 4% per trade ($320) |
| Prop Firm (The Funded Trader) | $300,000 Funded Account | 0.8% per trade ($2,400) |
By utilizing a VPS server, you’ll ensure yourself a consistently low latency and a robust connection, ensuring uninterrupted operation of your Trade Copier 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. When integrated into your network of trading accounts linked by a Trade Copier, this can lead to substantial improvements in your trading outcomes. This is because you will no longer need to manually execute trades across all your accounts. Instead, simply execute the trade on your Master account, and the Trade Copier will automatically replicate it across all the connected Copier accounts. By employing this approach and configuring specific risk parameters for each linked trading account, you can enhance your risk management for each position, regardless of the current balance available in any of your trading accounts.
Education
IC Markets offers its clients a wealth of valuable educational resources. These include a demo account, informative trading platform videos, a range of educational videos covering various topics, engaging webinars, and a plethora of high-quality educational articles.
- Advantages of Forex
The primary advantage of forex lies in its continuous operation, available 24 hours a day, five days a week. This grants traders the ability to engage in buying and selling activities from Sunday night through Friday night while also providing access to leverage for speculating on global currency movements and reacting to news events. Additionally, the forex market stands out as the largest and most liquid financial market globally. This distinction strengthens its status as one of the few remaining arenas where genuine market competition and authentic price discovery succeed.
- Advantages of CFDs
The main advantage of CFDs is that they offer a versatile investment opportunity that is gaining popularity for short-term strategies. They serve as an effective means to optimize capital utilization, enabling diversification of your current investment portfolio or hedging of positions.
- Web TV
Web TV delivers actionable trade insights and market commentary through brief video segments. Filmed daily from the New York Stock Exchange, IC Markets’ Web TV, presented in collaboration with Trading Central, provides unparalleled coverage of global equities, currencies, and Commodities CFDs.
- Webinar
IC Markets’ webinars offer clients the opportunity for live analysis, allowing them to gain insights from industry experts and immediately apply new skills. It’s important to highlight that all these webinars come at no cost, meaning you can participate and access them without any financial commitment. Furthermore, it’s worth noting that these webinars span a wide spectrum of topics, catering to individuals of all experience levels in the financial markets, from beginners to advanced practitioners. This inclusivity ensures that participants can benefit regardless of their level of expertise.
- Podcast
In addition to webinars, IC Markets provides clients with access to a variety of free podcasts from the ICYourTrader series. These podcasts delve into current events, exploring the potential advantages and challenges arising from pivotal themes affecting the markets at present. Through meticulous examination of data, the series aims to equip you with the insights needed to make informed trading decisions. However, it’s important to remember that this podcast does not serve as explicit advice on how to navigate the financial markets. Those who engage with the podcast content should conduct their own thorough research and execute trades in alignment with their established trading strategy.
- Getting Started Tutorial Videos
IC Markets provides a selection of educational videos designed to assist novice forex traders in becoming proficient with the MetaTrader 4 platform. These instructional videos offer a comprehensive guide on installing MetaTrader 4, navigating the market watch, using the navigator, trade terminal, and executing various order types.
Conclusion
In conclusion, IC Markets shines as a well-regulated forex CFD broker, catering to a diverse community ranging from retail to institutional traders. Their dedication to advanced trading platforms, low latency connectivity, and top-notch liquidity is noteworthy. With a focus on transparency and a mission to innovate, IC Markets separates itself in the industry. The array of account types, including options with tight spreads and level 2 pricing, reflects their commitment to accommodating various trading styles. The robust regulatory framework, coupled with the flexibility to choose authorized entities based on residency, offers an added layer of security. The inclusion of complimentary educational resources, such as webinars, podcasts, and tutorials, underscores their commitment to enhancing traders’ knowledge. The potential integration of VPS and Trade Copier services, along with negative balance protection, further demonstrates their commitment to risk management. In conclusion, IC Markets emerges as a reputable and client-centric broker, equipped to serve traders of all experience levels and positioned as a competitive force in the forex CFD brokerage sector.
