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Is FXCM good for beginners?

Your expert
Réka H.
Fact checked by
Gyula L.
Updated
Jan 2024
Personally tested Personally tested
Data-driven Data-driven
Independent Independent

Things to consider

Forex Capital Markets Limited: FCA registration number 217689 (www.fxcm.com/uk)

Disclaimer: CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 70% 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.

FXCM EU LTD: CySEC license number 392/20 (www.fxcm.com/eu)

CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. Between 74-89% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.

All references on this site to "FXCM" refer to the FXCM Group.

There are many aspects to assessing a broker’s services in general, maybe even too many to list. Below, we’ll focus on the most important criteria that should be taken into account when determining whether a broker is good for beginners.

A beginner-friendly broker should have:

  • an excellent web and mobile trading platform
  • low fees
  • great educational tools
  • good customer service
  • an easy account opening process
  • low minimum deposit

Legitimacy is also very important, but since we recommend only legit brokers regulated by top-tier financial authorities, this is one thing you don’t have to worry about.

More and more people are looking to become a player on financial markets either as traders or investors. However, when researching the basics, it can be easy to feel overwhelmed by the sheer amount of information available online.

This is where BrokerChooser offers a helping hand. The reason is simple: choosing the right service, especially when you are taking your first steps in trading, is highly important.

In this article we’ll check whether FXCM is the right choice for a starting trader.

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70% of retail CFD accounts lose money

Disclaimer: 70% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.

BrokerChooser score
4.4 4.4 /5
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70% of retail CFD accounts lose money

Is FXCM good for beginners?

Based on our scoring methodology, FXCM is not considered good for beginners. If you'd like to see alternatives, check out our picks for the best brokers for beginners.

Let's take a look at its services one by one, following the criteria we set above, to get the whole picture.

  • 💻 FXCM's web platform has some good things to offer: Good search function. Good customizability (for charts, workspace). Good variety of order types. However, some things may not be suitable for beginners. Areas of improvement: No two-step (safer) login. No price alerts.
  • 📱 The mobile platform of FXCM is reasonably well-designed: User-friendly. Good search function. Good variety of order types. This may be helpful for the first steps in your trading journey.
  • 🕖 An account opening process is great when it is seamless from the get-go. FXCM does an excellent job in this area: Fully digital. Low minimum deposit. User-friendly.
  • 📚 FXCM's education materials are a great place to start: Demo account. Trading platform tutorial. Educational videos. This makes FXCM's material worthy reading.
  • 📞 When you need help, one thing you should have immediate access to is customer service. FXCM's customer service generally scored well on these points: Phone support. Fast response time. Live chat (depending on jurisdiction).
  • 💰 Low minimum deposits and low-cost transactions are attractive for new traders. FXCM's deposit and withdrawal processes have some good things to offer: Credit/Debit card available. No deposit fee. Free credit/debit card withdrawal. Nevertheless, its services could be improved in other areas: High bank withdrawal fees. No minor account base currencies are accepted.

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70% of retail CFD accounts lose money

Overview of FXCM's services

Let’s take an overall look at how FXCM compares to its peers when it comes to platforms, fees, account opening and education tools. Our scores are on a scale of 1.0 to 5.0, from worst to best.

FXCM services vs. similar brokers
Web platform score
3.3 stars 4.5 stars 2.8 stars
Mobile platform score
4.5 stars 4.5 stars 3.3 stars
Fees
Low Low Low
Account opening score
4.4 stars 4.4 stars 5.0 stars
Education score
5.0 stars 5.0 stars 5.0 stars
Customer service score
4.5 stars 3.6 stars 4.5 stars
Deposit and withdrawal score
3.8 stars 4.4 stars 4.8 stars

If you wish to read more about FXCM, click 'Visit Broker' to go to the broker's website. We also have a detailed review of the broker that you can read by clicking on the 'More' button.

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70% of retail CFD accounts lose money

More

Is FXCM legit?

We hear more and more stories each day about clients who lost their money to scammers from Telegram or through unregulated services. BrokerChooser only features brokers that have top-tier financial regulators. As such, FXCM is a legit and trusted broker.

If you’d like to know more, check out our deeper dive into FXCM's legitimacy.

Where can I find more information?

If FXCM is not the right broker for you, go ahead and check out our picks for Best Brokers for Beginners in 2024 for some alternatives.

Also, if you feel that some things weren’t clear when it comes to the brokerage world, no worries. We have lots of content to cover your questions. You can find our articles in the Education section of our site.

For example, if you want to know how to buy shares online and how the whole process works, there’s an article about that. If you’d like to learn more about investing in stocks or what short selling is, we have articles about these topics too.

We have also written a few materials that focus on recent events in the news, like what a short squeeze is.

We hope you found all of the information above useful. If you have any questions, we’d love to hear from you, just write to us at [email protected]. See you there!

Check out this short video for a behind-the-scenes peek into how our experts personally test and evaluate brokers.

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Author of this article

Réka Hidas
Réka Hidas

Réka is a former Junior Broker Analyst for BrokerChooser. She attended the International Business and Economics bachelor program at Corvinus University in Budapest. She's eager to help investors find the best investment providers, through writing extensive reviews, while also developing her skills and growing professionally in this field.

Everything you find on BrokerChooser is based on reliable data and unbiased information. We combine our 10+ years finance experience with readers feedback. Read more about our methodology.

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