ICM Capital Review 2024

Key Takeaways

• ICM Capital Limited, a London-based broker with several support offices worldwide, is a wholly-owned subsidiary of ICM Holding SARL (Luxembourg).

• Established in 2009, ICM Capital is a global trading platform operating in 194 countries.

• Key features of this broker consist of a wide product variety: Over the Counter (OTC) Spot FOREX, OTC Precious Metals, OTC US Stocks, OTC Energy Futures, OTC Index Futures, Cash CFDs etc.

• ICM Capital Ltd. is regulated and authorized by the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), which means it is a transparent and secure firm.

•  ICM Capital offers three ways to trade: FOREX trading, spread betting and share dealing.

• Although ICM Capital targets institutional traders, it also caters to retail traders, allowing them to start trading with as little as a $200 deposit.

• ICM offers four account types: Standard Account, its signature ICM Direct Account, Demo Account and an Islamic Account.  

•  ICM Capital supports a wide range of languages, including English, Arabic, Chinese and Spanish, among others. This makes it an excellent provider of customer support.

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Overall Summary

ICM Capital Limited, a broker based in London, operates as a wholly-owned subsidiary of ICM Holding SARL (Luxembourg). Further, support and operation offices have been established in Dubai and Shanghai, among other major cities. Established in 2009, ICM Capital is a global trading platform operating in 194 countries, including those in Europe, Asia, Oceania, and Africa. Major countries that ICM Capital covers include the UK, Germany, Australia, South Africa, Thailand and China. Estimates put the total number of current ICM Capital users at more than 10,000.
Main features of this broker consist of a wide product variety: OTC Spot FOREX (with more than 30 currency pairs, according to data collected by Arincen), OTC Precious Metals, OTC US Stocks, OTC Energy Futures, OTC Index Futures, Cash CFDs etc.
Meanwhile, markets are accessible via several account offerings with tight spreads (Electronic Communication Network (ECN) Spreads starting from zero pips), speedy no-requotes market execution with live Trading Central reports, deep liquidity provided by a tier-1 bank and more. As a testament to its global reach and top-notch services, various international awards juries have recognized ICM Capital as a leading institution within the UK, as well in the MENA region and beyond.

Is ICM Safe?

Because the regulatory standing of any broker is crucial to its trustworthiness, ICM Capital is focused on compliance with the laws governing its activities in the different jurisdictions. ICM Capital is regulated and authorized by the FCA in the UK, which means it is a transparent and secure firm. To obtain a license from this authority, UK-based brokers must hold at least $730,000 net in tangible assets to ensure they are financially viable.
All FCA-licensed firms must adhere to strict procedures and rules set by the UK industry watchdog. Among other things, ICM should keep clients’ money in separate accounts from the company’s own funds, and report these to the FCA regularly. Further, FCA regulation provides extra cover to the traders because it falls under the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS), whereby clients are entitled to a compensation of up to £85,000 if ICM becomes insolvent. To exceed this, ICM enhanced its security offering with additional protection of up to £1,000,000, backed by substantial global capital and available to all live account clients at no additional cost.
Any payments funneled to ICM Capital accounts by traders are held in segregated bank accounts. For added security, ICM Capital uses tier-1 banks for this (tier-1 is the official measure of a bank’s financial health, strength and prudence).

Who Is ICM Recommended For?

ICM Capital offers three principal ways to trade: FOREX trading, spread betting and share dealing. With ICM Capital, there is no minimum deposit. While you can register for a demo account to familiarize yourself with the ICM Capital platform, ICM Capital is also able to accommodate various levels of traders in live accounts, whether they are experienced or beginners.

Offering of Investments

Account types

Although ICM Capital crucially targets institutional traders, it has not completely ruled out the possibility of catering to retail traders as well. As noted earlier, its accounts start with a $0 minimum deposit, which is a bit high when you consider the modern-day industry norms, but it is still reasonable. This deposit will give you access to the following accounts:

1.ICM Standard Account

The Standard Account is provided for people living outside of mainland China and Europe. Inter alia, this account provides trades access to shares, commodities, futures and FOREX trading and is a Straight Through Processing (STP) account. For Standard Accounts, the spreads range from one to four pips, and traders can swap freely. However, you might face the risk of a re-quote, thus possibly hindering your trading experience.

2.ICM Direct Account

The Direct Account is provided for all traders, no matter where they live (except for the US, of course). Just like the Standard Account, the Direct Account provides access to futures, commodities, shares and FOREX trading and is a dedicated ECN account. The spreads still range from one to four pips, but clients will enjoy tighter spreads when they trade on the ECN platform. 

Although customers won’t face any re-quote when they swap, they will need to produce the swap cost. One of the benefits of this account is that there is no commission charged when a trader opens it using the ECN platform.

3.Demo Account
There is also a demo account for traders to open and learn the basics of trading.
In addition to the three accounts outlined, ICM Capital offers Islamic accounts to clients following Shariah Banking. FOREX Islamic accounts are also known as swap-free accounts, as they imply no swap or rollover interest on overnight positions, which is against the Islamic faith.
ICM Capital allows executing a minimum trade of 0.01 per Lot. This may vary depending on the account type you open. The maximum trade requirements differ, based on the trader and the instrument. Because ICM Capital offers ECN and STP execution, you can expect very tight spreads with more transparency over the price you are paying to execute your trades.
As a “Market Maker,” ICM Capital may have lower entry requirements compared to an ECN broker, which, in turn, benefits from a higher volume of trades and typically has larger capital and minimum trade requirements. Market makers typically have a lower minimum deposit, smaller minimum trade requirements and no commission on trades
As an extra bonus, ICM Capital is one of a very few brokers claiming to have no requotes, so you don’t have to worry about slippage (your trades being ordered at a different price than that which you executed). As with most brokers, margin requirements vary depending on the trader, accounts and instruments.
As a UK-based regulated broker, ICM Capital follows strict guidelines set by the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA). Accordingly, a recent development saw the European industry watchdog set a new limitation on the maximum leverage brokers can offer to traders. Thus, clients of ICM Capital may use leverage up to 1:30 for FOREX products, 1:5 for CFDs, and 1:10 for commodities.
With ICM Capital regulated by the UK’s FCA, every new client must go through basic compliance checks to ensure that they understand the risks of trading, and that they are actually allowed to trade in the first place. Thus, when you open an account with ICM, you will likely be asked for the following, so it is good to have these details and/or documents handy:

1. A scanned color copy of your passport, driver’s license or national ID.

2. A utility bill or bank statement from the past three months, showing your address.

3. You will also need to answer a few basic compliance questions to confirm how much trading experience you have. It is therefore best to allow at least 10 minutes or so to complete the account-opening process.

Though you might be able to explore ICM Capital’s platform directly, it is important to note that you won’t be able to make any trades until you fully pass compliance. This could take up to several days, depending on your status.

Deposits and Withdrawals

Customer Support

Commissions and Fees

Platforms and Tools

ICM Capital clients can enjoy the widely popular MT4, which is the industry-leading platform and is preferred by traders because of its impressive charting package, automated trade options with a professional advisor, extensive back-testing environment and one-click trading.
The ICM Capital trading platform – powered by MT4 – allows traders to track their portfolios, focus on current market trends, locate trade ideas, and place trades. The ICM Capital platform also enables traders to filter the financial marketplace for trade opportunities that match a certain criterion.

Mobile Trading

Research and Development

Final Thoughts on ICM

Conclusion

ICM 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:

Companies’ Websites.

1. Other Websites that have ranked FOREX companies.

2. 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.