FP Markets Review 2024

Is FP Markets regulated?

Yes, it is regulated by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC), the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC), the Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) in South Africa and the Financial Services Authority of St. Vincent and the Grenadines.

The broker's license with the UK's Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is expected to become active in September 2024.

Is FP Markets safe?

To be certain that a brokerage is safe, we highly advise that you check two facts:

• how you are protected if something goes wrong
• the background of the broker.

How you are protected

FP Markets operates several subsidiaries. This matters because the amount of investor protection you're eligible for differs from entity to entity.

FP Markets does not provide negative balance protection for clients under ASIC and the Financial Services Authority of St Vincent and the Grenadines, though it does so under CySEC.

Our brokerage experts put together a comprehensive guide on the safety profile of FP Markets.

Background

FP Markets was established in 2005. The longer the track record of a broker, the more proof we have that it has successfully survived previous financial crises. FP Markets has no banking background and is not listed on any stock exchange; both would provide an added layer of security and transparency.

Find your safe broker

Account base currencies

At FP Markets, you can choose from the following 12 base currencies:

FP Markets offers a great base currency selection when compared to its closest competitors.

Why does this matter? For two reasons. If you fund your trading account in the same currency as your bank account or you trade assets in the same currency as your trading account base currency, you won't have to pay a conversion fee.

A convenient way to save on currency conversion fees is by opening a multi-currency bank account at a digital bank. These usually offer bank accounts in several currencies with great currency exchange rates, as well as free or cheap international bank transfers. Opening an account only takes a few minutes on your phone.

Deposit fees and options

FP Markets charges no deposit fees.

However, in some cases, it does charge deposit fees, and it may vary based on the trading platform and the way you want to fund your account. You can choose from several options when it comes to funding your account. FP Markets keeps up with its closest competitors in this field.
FP Markets's deposit fees may vary based on the trading platform and the way you want to fund your account.

*This means you can deposit your funds from another broker to FP Markets.
As a slight annoyance, FP Markets's client portal logged us out several times when we were trying to make a deposit.

Here's all you need to know about depositing money at FP Markets and key info on minimum deposit requirements.

A bank transfer can take several business days, while payment with a credit/debit card is instant. You can only deposit money from accounts that are in your name.

FP Markets supports the following electronic wallets:

FP Markets withdrawal fees and options

FP Markets charges a withdrawal fee, except for domestic bank transfers and withdrawals to credit cards.
You can use bank transfer, credit cards, and electronic wallets for withdrawal. The same electronic wallets are accepted for withdrawals as for deposits, except PoliPay, PaySec, and BPay.

Read this guide with all key info on available withdrawal methods and related fees.

You can only withdraw money to accounts in your name.

Withdrawal fees also vary based on the method you want to use.

*This means you can withdraw your funds from FP Markets and transfer it to another broker.

How long does it take to withdraw money from FP Markets? We tested withdrawal by credit card and it took 1 day.
You can only withdraw money to accounts that are in your name.

How do you withdraw money from FP Markets?

• Log in to the 'Client Area'
• Go to 'Funding' and then 'Withdrawal'
• Select the method and amount of withdrawal
• Initiate the transaction

Can you open an account?

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72.5% of retail CFD accounts lose money

FP Markets accepts customers from all over the world, although with a few notable exceptions: you can't open an account if you are from the US, Japan, New Zealand, Belgium or a handful of other countries.

Read this article on how to get your account started with FP Markets.

What is the minimum deposit at FP Markets?

The required FP Markets minimum deposit is $50.

The minimum deposit depends primarily on what assets you want to trade. You can either open an account using the MetaTrader platforms for forex trading, or go for CFDs and stocks on the Australian Securities Exchange and open an account using the IRESS platform. The minimum deposit for MetaTrader standard accounts is AUD 100, while the same standard account on the IRESS platform needs to be funded with at least AUD 1,000.

Account types

FP Markets has two trading platforms, MetaTrader and IRESS, each coming with separate account types that involve different fee structures. There's also a difference between accounts based on ownership. Sounds complicated? Let's clear that up for you: for forex, we recommend MetaTrader, while for stocks and CFDs you should use IRESS.
With MetaTrader, you can have two account types:

• Standard Account: higher spread, zero commission
• Raw Account: lower spread, but also charges a commission

On the IRESS platform, you can choose from three account types:

• Standard
• Platinum
• Premier

Going from Standard to Premier, expect higher minimum balance requirements but lower fees.
On IRESS, you can choose from three platforms:

• IRESS Investor: a simple platform
• IRESS Trader: an advanced platform
• IRESS ViewPoint: an advanced platform with an enhanced design

Based on ownership, FP Markets has further options:

• Individual: the account is owned by a single individual
• Joint: the account is owned by two or more individuals
• Corporate: the account is owned by a legal entity
• Trust/SMF: the account is owned by a trustee

To have a clear picture, see the following table listing the various account types and the most important fees.

*Unless you generate at least AUD 150 commission per month, or maintain AUD 50,000 balance
**Unless you generate at least AUD 50 commission per month
For the purpose of this review, we used the Raw account on MetaTrader.

If you open a forex account, you can convert it to an Islamic Account. This is a swap-free account, because instead of swaps, a so-called administration fee is charged.
Another great feature is the possibility to open sub-accounts. It means that you can assign different base currencies to each account, for instance, by opening a USD, a EUR and a GBP sub-account.

How to open your account

The account opening process is easy and fully digital. It took us roughly 10-15 minutes to complete, and our account was approved on the same day.
Let us guide you through FP Markets's four-step account opening process:

1. Enter your name, email address and country of residence
2. Provide further information about yourself, such as your date of birth, address and occupation
3. Select the account type, trading platform and base currency
4. Fill out a brief questionnaire to demonstrate your understanding of various financial products

In January 2021, FP Markets announced a new mobile app, available for both iOS and Android. It is a well-designed, easy-to use application available to anyone with MetaTrader login credentials. In this review, however, we cover MetaTrader 4, as we feel it is more popular among clients at the moment.

Similarly to the web trading platform, FP Markets offers MetaTrader 4, MetaTrader 5, cTrader, TradingView and IRESS Mobile as mobile trading platforms, for both iOS and Android. In this review, we tested the MetaTrader 4 mobile trading platform for Android.
After you download the MT4 mobile trading platform, you have to access the FP Markets-Live server.

The mobile trading platform is available in several languages.

Changing the language is a bit tricky on Android devices, though, as you can do it only if you change the default language of your mobile.

Look and feel

FP Markets has a great mobile trading platform, we really liked its design and user-friendliness. You will easily find all the features

Login and security

FP Markets provides only a one-step login for its mobile platform. A two-step authentication would be more secure and adding this feature should be high on any company's list of security changes.

As an added safety feature, the broker provides a static pin made upon creation that you can use when logging in and there is fingerprint authentication for the app.

You can log in using biometric authentication, which is a convenient feature.

Search functions

The search functions are good.

You can search by typing the name of the product or by navigating the category folders.

Placing orders

You can use the following order types on the mobile trading platform:

• Market
• Limit
• Stop

There are also order time limits you can use:

• Good 'til canceled (GTC)
• Good 'til time (GTT)

Alerts and notifications

You cannot set alerts and notifications on the FP Markets mobile platform.

However, you can set up mobile push notifications on the desktop trading platform. It would be much easier if you could set these notifications on the mobile app itself.

Our analysts personally tested FP Markets's mobile app, check out their verdict.

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72.5% of retail CFD accounts lose money

FP Markets offers MetaTrader 4, MetaTrader 5, TradingView, cTrader and IRESS as desktop trading platforms. In this review we tested the MetaTrader 4 desktop trading platform.
MetaTrader 4 desktop trading platform has the same design, is available in the same languages, offers the same order types (plus Trailing Stop), has the same search functions, and offers the same portfolio and fee reports as the web trading platform.
The major difference is that you can set alerts and notifications on the desktop trading platform, in the form of mobile push and email notifications. To set email or mobile notifications, you have to add your email address and mobile MetaQuotes ID (you can find it in the MT4 app's settings). You can do this by going to 'Tools' and then 'Options.'

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72.5% of retail CFD accounts lose money

FP Markets has a great product portfolio in these asset classes:

• Forex instruments
• CFDs (especially on stocks)

FP Markets employs a mix of order-routing practices. While forex products are traded via ECN (Electronic Communication Network), CFD products use different channels in the form of DMA (Direct Market Access). The advantages of DMA CFDs are lower spreads and faster execution, because orders are passed directly to the underlying market without any intermediate participant, such as a dealer or a market maker.

FP Markets beats its immediate competitors with its strong stock CFD and ETF CFD offering. Its forex pairs selection is also fairly competitive, but its selection of stock index CFDs, commodity CFDs and cryptocurrency CFDs is much less impressive.
You can also trade bond and futures CFDs.

Disclaimer: CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 72.5% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.

The UK's Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) banned the sale of crypto-derivatives to UK retail consumers starting January 2021.

The default leverage level of products can be changed on the MetaTrader platforms, which is great if you want to lower the risk of your trade. Unfortunately, you can't change the default leverage on the IRESS platforms.
Always be careful with forex and CFD trading, as preset leverage levels may be too high.

Social Trading

FP Markets introduced its social trading service in 2021. It is a copy trading feature: you can either be a Copier or a Provider. As a Copier, you can choose among traders to follow based on their ratings. As a Provider, you can make yourself available for other traders to follow. Read more about the service here on FP Markets's website.

We recommend FP Markets for forex and CFD traders familiar with the MetaTrader and IRESS trading platforms.

Below you can find links to all aspects of FP Markets in this comprehensive collection.

Lower fees, lower costs?

We detailed this in our FP Markets fees article.

What about the minimum deposit?

Our ultimate guide to the FP Markets minimum deposit is updated regularly.

How to start your FP Markets account?

Look no further than our evaluation of the FP Markets account opening.

How's their trading app?

Here's our expert view after checking the FP Markets trading app.

Is the quality of customer service satisfactory?

All you need to know about FP Markets customer service.

Legit or scam?

Is FP Markets legit features all the key aspects you need to look at to see if a broker is safe and legit.

Free or premium? Or both?

A glance at actual costs and whether FP Markets is really free.

Is this broker good for beginners?

We checked it in Is FP Markets good for beginners.

Should you buy your silver bullets on FP Markets?

Research for silver bugs in the Silver buy on FP Markets guide

I want to trade options, are they available at FP Markets?

We explored the topic in Can you trade options on FP Markets?

What is the minimum account balance at FP Markets?

Check out the current account balance requirements at FP Markets in our What is the minimum account balance at FP Markets article.

Looking for commission and fees data for FP Markets?

We collected them in FP Markets commission and fees.

How do you withdraw money from FP Markets?

We tested it and collected the options and costs in How to withdraw money on FP Markets.