IFC Markets is an international online broker that offers services for Forex and CFDs, heavily focusing on its social trading platform. Founded and established in 2006 as the main hand of the IFCM Group, IFC markets have offices set up in Cyprus, Latvia, and the British Virgin Islands.
Since then, IFC Markets has provided quality services to over 120,000 clients worldwide and has continued to develop and implement many new and innovative features to its own trading platform.
However, its vague beginnings and the assuming nature of offshore brokers have led some to believe the broker as nothing short of an online scam.
Therefore, in this review, we will look into the structure of its services and its overall performance. In addition, we will investigate the legitimacy of IFC Markets and determine whether the broker is a scam or not.
IFC Markets: Services and Offerings
• Offerings
IFC Markets offers over 140 instruments where traders can invest in currencies, commodities, and stocks. While there can be other IFC Market reviews complaining about a lack of cryptocurrencies, it should be noted that it was only recently in 2018 that the broker made BitCoin futures available. Another thing the online broker draws flak for is the unavailability of Cross and Exotic Pairs for its Forex offerings. This can be disappointing to seasoned traders as it limited their portfolios to Major pairs. However, for novice traders interested in participating in the Forex market, IFC Markets has a great selection of Major currency pairs to choose from.
While the number of IFC Markets’ offerings may seem relatively small (albeit growing) compared to much larger brokers, the broker makes up for it in the quality of its services. One of the first things many would come across when researching the online broker is the praise it gets from clients over its trading platform. This owed to IFC Markets’ sister company, NetTradeX, under the IFCM Group.
As mentioned earlier, the IFC Markets broker is under the IFCM Group, which consists of a number of companies that are in charge of handling other aspects of the firm. One of the companies is NetTradeX Corp and is mostly known for its development of innovative projects in the field of financial technologies. One of these projects is the development of IFC Markets’ main trading platform, NetTradeX.
• Trading Platform
The broker implements the use of the popular MetaTrader4 (MT4), MetaTrader5 (MT5), as well as on its web-based for its trading platform. However, IFC Markets frequently showcases its most advanced platform, NetTradeX. Often called a Trading-Analytical Terminal by its developers, NetTradeX offers some of the most impressive performances and features than a majority of other self-owned trading platforms. The NetTradeX platform allows for traders to find great opportunities with its flexible financial instruments options and creation, lightning-quick execution, and advanced technical analysis tools.
• Account Types and Options
Signing up in IFC Markets’ login page may be overwhelming to some as the broker offers a vast array of account types and rates and can differ greatly on which of the three platforms one had chosen.
One of the biggest differences that will be noticed right away is IFC Markets’ minimum deposit for each account type, with fees ranging from $3,000 to just $1 for a Beginner or Micro account. IFC Market’s minimum deposit is mostly dictated by the trading platform chosen by the client.
In addition, clients from Islamic regions can open an Islamic Trading Account for those following the Sharia Law.
Each account type has its own advantages and disadvantages. So in order to pick one that best suits your trading strategy, it is recommended to check out IFC Markets’ demo account option.
• Deposit/Withdrawal Options
IFC Markets’ withdrawal and deposit options are industry-standard, where they can be made through wire transfer and bank cards. Deposits and withdrawals can also be made through WebMoney, Skrill, Neteller, Skrill, OKPAY, China UnionPay, MyBitWallet, and UniStream.
Withdrawal fees can go to a minimum of $10 for bank transfers, while the use of services such as CashU would have no fees.
• Fees and Leverage
IFC Markets offers competitive spreads with the ability to between fixed or floating spreads depending on your trading strategy. Just like its fees, its spread offering also changes according to the account type chosen.
Other fees include rollover or overnight fees.
IFC Markets’ leverage levels are determined by the client’s location as well as restrictions from regulatory bodies. European clients can trade with a maximum leverage of 1:30 while others abroad can trade to a maximum of 1:300.
More details can be found on IFC Markets’ official site: ifcmarkets.com.
IFC Markets: Is it safe?
Above all its advanced systems and quality services, it is of top priority to make sure that the online broker in question is up to par with industry standards and follows regulation. In order to determine if there is a thing such as an IFC Markets scam, it is best to look at what financial entity it is governed by.
IFC Markets’ regulation is under various entities according to the offices’ location. It’s British Virgin Islands’ office is registered under the British Virgin Islands Financial Services Commission (BVI-FSC). In addition, its office in Cyprus is registered under the regulation of trustworthy CySEC.
Generally, since some of its offices are established offshore, many would not be comfortable with it due to the murkiness of its jurisdiction. However, since IFC Markets is regulated by other trusted entities, it can be safe to consider it as a legitimate broker.
IFC Markets: Conclusion
With more than 13 years of service, IFC Markets is held in high esteem for its approach to client transparency and trust. Their contribution to the field of financial technology is one that needs mentioning as well.Though overwhelming at first for beginners, IFC Markets is a good online broker that provides great services and a secured trading environment.