FP Markets Review 2024

Key Takeaways

• FP Markets offers traders a competitive, commission-based FOREX cost structure and 61 currency pairs. It also upgrades the core MetaTrader (MT4) trading platform with 12 plug-ins, generating a competitive edge for its clients.

• Founded in 2005 in Australia, FP Markets is a multi-asset broker with more than $1 billion in daily trading volume. The company currently serves clients from over 80 countries scattered around the globe.

• FP Markets shines as a low-cost broker for trading FOREX and Contracts for Difference (CFD).

• FP Markets is considered average-risk. It is regulated by a couple of tier-one watchdogs and one tier-three regulator. These are, respectively, the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC), the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC), and the Financial Services Authority (FSA) in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.

• As far as assets on offer are concerned, FP Markets’ MetaTrader portfolio is limited to roughly 130 tradable symbols. By sharp contrast, the Iress platform suite offers a far more extensive range of CFDs to global clients, including 8,884 shares, 61 FOREX pairs, four metals, 12 indices, five cryptocurrencies, and three commodities.

• FP Markets’ traders can either opt for the commission-free Standard Account or the commission-based Raw Account.

• Distinguishing it from other brokers in the market today, traders at FP Markets can open unlimited MT4/MT5 demo accounts. These are ideal for algorithmic traders to test Expert Advisors (EA), as well as to fix bugs.

• FP Markets maintains 18 primary funding methods. At the same time, the withdrawal process remains swift and mostly hassle-free, earning FP Markets a top ranking in this category.

• For FOREX traders, the maximum leverage offered through the FP Markets St. Vincent and Grenadines subsidiary is 1:500. By contrast, the Cyprus- and Australian-regulated units limit retail leverage to a much more conservative 1:30.

• FP Markets offers MT4/MT5 trading platforms to all traders. Meanwhile, select clients may qualify for the Iress trading platform, which is nevertheless restricted by geographical location. MT4/MT5 is available as a desktop client, a Webtrader, and a mobile app.

• FP Markets delivers an adequate selection of mobile apps for FOREX and CFD traders.

• Most of FP Markets’ research is found under the “Traders Hub” section on its Website, where it is broken down into separate technical and fundamental analysis sections. However, if we were to compare this to other leading brokers in the area of research, including IG, Saxo Bank and CMC Markets, FP Markets has lots of room to improve.

• The educational content available at FP Markets is limited and mostly confined to a few platform tutorials, an investor glossary, as well as archived content on its YouTube channel.

Overall Summary

Two key features distinguish FP Markets. On the one hand, the broker offers traders a competitive, commission-based FOREX cost structure, in addition to 61 currency pairs. On the other, it upgrades the core MT4 trading platform with 12 plug-ins, ensuring an edge for its clients. 

Founded in 2005, FP Markets is an Australian multi-asset broker with more than $1 billion in daily trading volume, serving clients from 80-plus countries. FP Markets has grown into a trusted brand over the better part of two decades, with more than 100 employees as of this writing.  

FP Markets offers a range of value-added services. These consist of Virtual Private Service (VPS) hosting for automated trading solutions; the MT4 Myfxbook service for copy trading; and the MT4 MAM/PAMM module for retail-account management, which is the newest development of the broker’s in-house social-trading service, back by popular demand from retail traders. Indeed, an argument could be made that investing in social trading represents an intelligent management decision at FP Markets and shows a fluid broker seeking to offer the best services to its clients.

While traders should always work with a well-regulated broker, they should also ensure that the trading environment remains competitive. Australian clients will deal with the subsidiary regulated by the ASIC, First Prudential Markets Pty Ltd, which remains among the best tier-one regulators worldwide. Indeed, Australian clients are shielded from potential unforeseen losses by the Scheme for Compensation for Detriment caused by Defective Administration (CDDA Scheme).

FP Markets Ltd is the entity authorized by the CySEC, also a tier-one regulator. European Economic Area (EEA) traders get an investor compensation fund limited to €20,000 per client. All other global clients will deal with FP Markets LLC, an unregulated entity with the least client protection. Though this unit remains registered as an international business company (IBC) with St. Vincent and the Grenadines FSA, brokers remain unregulated in that country. Every broker that operates out of St. Vincent and the Grenadines is unregulated, which is helpful to know as you seek a trading partner. Clients must rely solely on the reputation and goodwill of FP Markets, as no additional mechanisms have been put in place to ensure client protection. While they are available and implemented by other brokers, their absence at FP Markets lowered the overall score we gave this broker, as only Australian and European traders have access to a well-regulated and highly competitive trading environment.

The above notwithstanding, FP Markets is an experienced enough broker with a relatively clean track record. Therefore, traders can rest assured that their deposits, segregated from corporate funds, are kept safe. Meanwhile, the No Dealing Desk (NDD) execution model allows for conflict-free trade execution, and while external financial audits exist, FP Markets does not provide public information about the auditor. Overall, FP Markets is a transparent and trustworthy broker, remaining one of the best out of Australia and also highly competitive in Europe.

For whom Is FP Markets Good?

FP Markets shines as a low-cost broker for trading FOREX and CFDs, insofar as you use the MetaTrader platform. Meanwhile, the Iress platform suite offers well over 8,000 tradable symbols, but it is mostly a share-trading platform – and is generally a much pricier option.

Though FOREX and CFD traders will find a versatile, affordable MetaTrader offering at FP Markets, this comes without the research and educational content offered by industry leaders.

Is FP Markets Safe?

Offering of Investments

Account Types

Traders can either choose the commission-free Standard Account or opt for the commission-based Raw Account. We highly recommend FOREX traders to go for the Raw Account, as trading costs remain notably lower. FB Markets minimum deposit on both accounts is $100, with a maximum leverage of 1:500 for non-EU traders. All other trading conditions are the same. 

FP Markets offers highly competitive pricing through its MetaTrader offering, making it one of the most cost-competitive brokers available to traders globally – at least for its commission-based Raw Electronic Communication Network (ECN) Account offering. By contrast, the Iress ViewPoint account option is less affordable and is geared toward more active traders who maintain high-balance accounts.

MetaTrader Standard Vs. Raw ECN account: FP Markets’ Raw ECN account features competitive spreads, averaging 0.1 pips as of October 2021. Its Standard Account is a pricier option due to its significantly higher spreads (averaging 1.2 pips as of October 2021 for the EUR/USD).

Iress ViewPoint Accounts (Australia): The FP Markets Iress platform suite offers three account options with varying minimum deposit requirements: “Standard” (AUD1,000 minimum deposit), “Platinum” (AUD25,000), and “Premier” (AUD50,000). To avoid platform and data fees, you must either qualify for the Premier Account or spend at least AUD150 in commissions each month. 

Iress Investor Account (Australia): As for traders seeking a basic, low-cost experience, FP Markets also offers its Iress Investor trading platform. Monthly fees are waived for this less expensive account option, but with the reduced price come some significant  drawbacks. For example, there is no streaming data by default, and so you must click to refresh quotes. At the same time, the charting package is far more limited than its ViewPoint platform counterpart. 

FP Markets Demo Account

In a somewhat unique feature, traders can open unlimited MT4/MT5 demo accounts at FP Markets. These are ideal for algorithmic traders to test EAs and fix bugs. Given the flexibility of the MT4/MT5 demo accounts, traders should select a deposit size roughly equal to their intended real-money deposit to ensure demo trading conditions and results reflect reality as much as possible. 

Account Opening

While the online account-opening process remains standard, FP Markets does collect more data than other brokers. You must start the account opening process via a Google or Facebook account, which is a departure from many other brokers. Your account, once approved, gives you access to a back office space from which you can manage all your trading accounts and financial transactions. Account verification remains mandatory, but is a swift process at FP Markets. Most traders will satisfy Anti-Money Laundering (AML)/Know Your Customer (KYC) requirements by submitting a copy of their ID along with one proof of residency document.

Bonuses and Promotions

At the time of this review, FP Markets did not provide any bonuses, nor did it grant special promotions. 

Deposits and Withdrawals

Customer Service

Commissions and Fees

It is pretty standard to say that trading fees have the most notable direct impact on any investment decision, and in this regard FP Markets offers two pricing models. The commission-free Standard Account shows an average mark-up of 1.15 for the EUR/USD. FP Markets also delivers a very competitive commission-based alternative with raw spreads of 0.0 pips for a commission of $6.00 per round lot. Commodities, indices and cryptocurrencies remain free of additional costs, which the mark-up includes. Equity CFDs and Direct Market Access (DMA) traders face a fee of 0.10%, with a minimum of $10 or a currency equivalent. The equity-trading charges depend on the country of the listed underlying asset, and the pricing environment remains average compared to other brokers. Regrettably, FP Markets does not maintain a volume-based rebate program, like other competitive brokers with a commission-based cost structure.

Other costs FP Markets’ traders must consider are swap rates on leveraged overnight positions. One of the benefits of trading FOREX is leverage, which in the world of FOREX allows for the borrowing of funds from the broker to manage more significant trading positions. It incurs financing costs, known as swap rates, and the longer a trade remains open, the higher the fees. Third-party withdrawal charges may apply, but there is no inactivity fee at FP Markets.

Our review focused on the MT4 trading platform, because it is available to all clients at FP Markets. The Iress trading platform can only be accessed from certain countries and concentrates on global equity trading. You should note that this account type comes with numerous additional costs. While these can exceed $200 per month for low-frequency traders, FP Markets has a program in place for active traders to receive reimbursement for most costs. In contrast to non-equity trading costs, which remain very competitive, equity trading tends toward the industry average.

Leverage

The maximum retail leverage offered through the FP Markets St. Vincent and Grenadines subsidiary is 1:500 for FOREX traders. With negative balance protection in place, scalpers and traders seeking highly leveraged trading accounts can enjoy ideal conditions. By contrast, the Cypriot- and Australian-regulated units limit retail leverage to a maximum of 1:30.

Platforms and Tools

Unique Features

Mobile Trading

Research and Development

Education

Final Thoughts

Conclusion

FP Markets in Brief

Review Methodology

The team at Arincen collected more than 120 pieces of data covering in excess of 100 licensed FOREX companies. Data collection was done in three ways:

1. Companies’ Websites.

2. Other Websites that have ranked FOREX companies.

3. A survey questionnaire (referred to here as Survey “1”) we had sent to the companies invited to participate in the exercise. 

We have identified 12 criteria for our assessment, each containing several aspects and carrying its own relative weight. These include licensing, deposits and withdrawals, number of assets etc.  
Afterward we validated the data by:

1. Registering with FOREX companies as a secret shopper and/or as Arincen.

2. Survey number “2,” in which we asked these companies’ customers for important feedback and past experience. 

The next step saw us evaluate and rank each company, relying on the hard work of 15 Arincen employees. We were very careful in ensuring the most accurate assessment possible, including taking into account different languages, as well as the various mobile-app operating systems, e.g., Apple, Samsung etc.

To add credibility to our research project, we sent a final and third survey (referred to here as Survey “3”) to enable participating FOREX companies evaluate our own research and whether it accurately reflects the realities on the ground. We were fortunate enough to receive a mark of 9.9 out of 10! We have kept to a minimum the margin of error, which stood at a measly 1%. To learn more on how we came up with the evaluation, please click here.