TMGM Review 2020

TMGM has low forex and CFD fees. In addition, non-trading fees are low and the broker doesn't charge fees for inactivity and withdrawals.

How we ranked fees

We ranked TMGM's fee levels as low, average or high based on how they compare to those of all reviewed brokers.

First, let's go over some basic terms related to broker fees. What you need to keep an eye on are trading fees and non-trading fees.

• Trading fees occur when you trade. These can be commissions, spreads, financing rates and conversion fees.
• Non-trading fees include charges not directly related to trading, like withdrawal fees or inactivity fees.

In the sections below, you will find the most relevant fees that TMGM charges for each asset class. For example, in the case of forex and stock index trading the most important fees are spreads, commissions and financing rates.

We also compared TMGM's fees with those of two similar brokers we selected, Pepperstone and Fusion Markets. This selection is based on objective factors such as products offered, client profile, fee structure, etc. See a more detailed rundown of TMGM alternatives.

To have a clear overview of TMGM, let's start with its trading fees.

TMGM trading fees

TMGM's trading fees are low. There are different cost structures for different account types. We tested the 'ECN Edge' account.

We know it's hard to compare trading fees for forex brokers. So how did we approach the problem of making their fees clear and comparable? We compare brokers by calculating all the fees of a typical trade for selected products.

We chose popular instruments in each asset class usually provided by forex brokers:

• Forex: EURUSD, GBPUSD, AUDUSD, EURCHF and EURGBP
• Stock index CFDs: SPX and EUSTX50

A typical trade means buying a leveraged product, holding it for one week and then selling. For the volume, we chose a $20,000 position for forex and a $2,000 position for stock index and stock CFD transactions. The leverage we used was:

• 30:1 for forex
• 20:1 for stock index CFDs

This catch-all benchmark fee includes spreads, commissions and financing costs for all brokers. Let's see the verdict for TMGM fees.

Forex fees

TMGM forex fees are generally low and in line with main competitors.

CFD fees

TMGM has low CFD trading fees.

Non-trading fees

TMGM has low non-trading fees. There are no inactivity, deposit or account fees.

There is no fee for withdrawing funds using credit/debit cards or electronic wallets.

The account opening process at TMGM is user-friendly and fully digital. It was also very quick, as our account was approved within a day.

Can you open an account?

Open account
74-89% of retail CFD accounts lose money

TMGM accepts customers from all around the world. One notable exception is the United States.

What is the minimum deposit at TMGM?

The required TMGM minimum deposit is $100. This is considered low since there are brokers that require a minimum of $2,000 or more.

Account types

TMGM provides two account types, with different pricing.

*Round turn means that you open and close the position.

**Also called swap-free accounts.

How to open your account

The TMGM account opening process is easy and fully digital. The online application takes roughly 10-15 minutes, while our account was approved within one business day. 

The five steps of TMGM account opening:

1. Provide some contact information, like your email address.
2. Fill out your personal information, like your date of birth and address.
3. Choose the account type and the base currency.
4. Verify your identity and residency by uploading a copy of your passport or ID, and a bank statement or utility bill. 

TMGM's depositing and withdrawal services are great. Many options are available for moving your money in and out, and they are free of charge.

Account base currencies

At TMGM, you can choose from 5 base currencies. These are: AUD, USD, EUR, GBP, NZD.

This account base currency selection is a bit more limited than at the compared brokers.

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 don'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 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.

Compare digital banks

Deposit fees and options

TMGM deposits are free of charge. Besides bank transfer, you can deposit funds in your account using credit/debit cards or the following electronic wallets:

• Paytrust
• Neteller
• Sticpay
• Skrill
• Fasapay

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.

TMGM withdrawal fees and options

TMGM charges no fees for withdrawal. However, you should calculate with a $20-30 bank processing fee if you use bank withdrawal outside Australia.

Similarly to deposits, you can use bank transfer, credit/debit cards and electronic wallets to withdraw funds from your account.

How long does it take to withdraw money from TMGM? We tested the debit card withdrawal and it took 1 business day.

You can only withdraw money to accounts in your name.

How do you withdraw money from TMGM?

• Once logged in to your account, select 'Funding Management' in the menu.
• Select 'Withdrawal'.
• Choose a withdrawal option. 
• Fill out the form and click 'Submit'.

Compare to other brokers

TMGM uses the MetaTrader web trading platform. It is highly customizable and has a clear fee report, but its design is outdated and it lacks a two-step login and price alerts.

TMGM doesn't have its own self-developed trading platform, it offers two third-party platforms, MetaTrader 4 and IRESS. We reviewed MetaTrader 4 because it is the most widely used. 

MetaTrader 4 is available in an exceptionally large number of languages.

Look and feel

The MetaTrader web trading platform has great customizability. It is easy to change the size and the position of the tabs.

However, the platform feels outdated and some features are hard to find. For example, it took some time until we found how to add an asset to the watchlist.

Login and security

TMGM provides only a one-step login. A two-step authentication would be more secure.

Search functions

The search functions are OK. You can find the assets listed by category. However, we missed the usual search function where you can type in the asset's name manually.

Placing orders

You can use the basic order types, but you will not find very sophisticated orders like 'one-cancels-the-other.' The following order types are available:

• Market
• Limit
• Stop-loss
• Trailing Stop

Trailing Stop is available only in the MT4 desktop platform.

If you are not familiar with order types, read this overview.

There are also order time limits you can use:

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

Alerts and notifications

You can't set alerts and notifications on the MetaTrader web trading platform available at TMGM. This feature is available only on the desktop trading platform.

Portfolio and fee reports

TMGM has clear portfolio and fee reports available on MetaTrader 4 web trading platform. You can easily see your profit-loss balance and the commissions you paid. These reports can be found under the 'History' tab, but we didn't find a way to download them.

Open account
74-89% of retail CFD accounts lose money

TMGM has a great mobile trading platform, provided by MetaTrader 4. It is well-designed and user-friendly, but lacks a more secure login.

Similarly to the web trading platform, TMGM offers MetaTrader 4 as a mobile trading platform. MetaTrader 4 is available for both iOS and Android, and we tested it on both. It can be also downloaded by QR code from the App Store and Google Play.

After you download the MT4 mobile trading platform, you have to access the TradeMaxGlobal-Live3 server. 

Just like at the web trading platform, you can choose from many languages on the mobile trading platform too. Changing the language is a bit tricky on Android devices: you can do it only if you change the default language of your mobile.

Look and feel

TMGM has a great mobile trading platform in MT4, we really liked its design and user-friendliness. You will easily find every feature.

Login and security

Similarly to the web trading platform, the app provides only a one-step login. A two-step login would be more secure.

You can't use fingerprint or Face ID authentication. Providing this feature would be more convenient.

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 same order types and order time limits as on the web trading platform. 

Alerts and notifications

You can set alerts and notifications, although only on the desktop trading platform. It would be much easier if you could set these notifications on the mobile trading platform too.

Open account
74-89% of retail CFD accounts lose money

In design and functionality, TMGM's MetaTrader 4 desktop platform is almost the same as the web trading platform. One major difference is that you can set price alerts.

TMGM offers MetaTrader 4 as a desktop trading platform.

It has the same design, languages, order types plus Trailing Stop, same search functions, and portfolio and fee reports as the web trading platform.

The major difference is that you can set alerts and notifications in the form of mobile push or email notifications on the desktop trading platform. 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 add them if you go to 'Tools' and then 'Options'.

Portfolio and fee reports

TMGM has clear portfolio and fee reports available on MetaTrader 4. You can easily see your profit-loss balance and the commissions you paid. These reports can be found under the 'Account History' tab: right click on one position, then choose 'Save as Detailed Report'.

Open account
74-89% of retail CFD accounts lose money

At TMGM, you can trade only forex, CFDs and cryptos. This means that many popular asset classes, like real stocks and ETFs, are not available.

TMGM is primarily a forex broker, but it also provides some CFDs and cryptos for trading. To learn more about CFDs please read our CFD trading tips.

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

TMGM's stock CFD selection is extremely great, while forex, crypto, and other CFD product offerings are in line compared with the competitors.

*Stock CFDs are available only on the IRESS platform.

You cannot change leverage at TMGM. This is a drawback.

Changing the leverage is a very useful feature when you want to lower the risk of your trade. Be careful with forex and CFD trading, as the preset leverage levels are high.

TMGM has limited research tools. There are no trading ideas, quality news or fundamental data available. As a plus, there are good technical analysis tools, like MT4's charting tools or its Strategy Tester.

We tested the research tools available on the MetaTrader platform.

Trading ideas

There are no trading ideas in the MetaTrader platform available at TMGM.

Fundamental data

There are no fundamental data in the MetaTrader platform available at TMGM.

Charting

MetaTrader has OK charting tools. You can use 35 technical indicators and other tools, such as trendlines, Fibonacci retracements and channels.

News feed

There is no news feed in MetaTrader 4.

Other research tools you may enjoy

You can use a great research tool for testing your strategy with relation to automated trading. It is called Strategy Tester and you can find it by clicking on 'View' and selecting 'Strategy Tester'.

Compare research pros and cons

TMGM has great email and live chat support. On the negative side, support is not 24/7 and phone support was not very helpful.

You can contact TMGM via:

• Live chat
• Email
• Phone

TMGM has great live chat support. It is fast and we always received relevant responses. We also liked that they asked for feedback about the support.

Email support is quick and helpful. We sent three emails and got helpful and relevant answers for all of them within a day.

Phone support was mixed, as our calls were picked up relatively quickly but we had problems connecting to the experts who could answer our questions.

We missed 24/7 availability, as support is only 24/5.

Open account
74-89% of retail CFD accounts lose money

TMGM does not have any education tools, such as tutorial videos, general educational videos, webinars or articles. On the other hand, you can use a demo account.

TMGM provides only a demo account as an educational tool.

Open account
74-89% of retail CFD accounts lose money

TMGM is regulated by two financial authorities, including the top-tier ASIC. On the negative side, there is no investor protection by regulators and the company does not disclose its financials publicly. However, there is an AUD 2.5 million single insurance coverage.

Is TMGM regulated?

Yes, it is regulated by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) and the Vanuatu Financial Services Commission (VFSC).

Is TMGM safe?

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

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

How you are protected

Depending on your country of residency, your account will be opened at one of TMGM's two legal entities.

TMGM does not provide negative balance protection. If the balance on your account goes into negative, you will not be protected.

Background

TMGM was established in 2013. The longer track record a broker has, the more proof we have that it has successfully survived previous financial crises.

Find your safe broker

TMGM's forex fees are low and account opening is fast and easy. Deposits and withdrawals are free of charge and the process is user-friendly.

On the other hand, the product portfolio covers only forex and CFDs. In addition, clients are not covered by any investor protection.

Feel free to try TMGM, as you will have an account within a day and there is no inactivity fee.

Open account
74-89% of retail CFD accounts lose money