Read this article for a definition of the different European Financial Regulators.
On this page we review various forex brokers based on regulation, usability, platforms, minimum deposit, spreads, customer support and other criteria. Start by browsing our top list of recommended and trust worthy brokers below and continue by reading the individual reviews of each broker on the respective review pages that are linked from the top list. All forex brokers below accept UK traders and also traders from a number of different countries. Here we look at ten different factors that we believe are of significant importance when you consider choosing a Forex Broker, whether you are a beginner or advanced trader.
The significance of each will differ depending on your needs, which in turn will depend on your trading style, your knowledge level and your type of trading. So similarly why would you deposit with an FX Broker unless you were confident your funds and profits are safe? In the UK, this would mean looking for a broker that is regulated by the financial conduct authority FCA. Brokers do not provide their services for nothing, so they charge either commission per trade or more likely by the spread between the bid and offer prices.
The wider the spread, effectively the more the trader has to pay to get into and out of each trade. So the narrower the spread, effectively the better off for the trader. Sometimes brokers offer fixed spreads, but often the spread will be variable depending on the volatility of the market. Brokers have differing policies with regard to depositing, funding and withdrawals.
Are you able to fund the account from a bank account via wire transfer, via credit card, via PayPal? When withdrawing, is this done via wire transfer, back to your bank account or credit card? Are there any withdrawal fees?
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Any initial deposit requirements? Some brokers charge a debit or give a credit for daily interest. This would be a consideration for any traders thinking of holding open positions over night. Many FX Trading accounts are based on the concept of margin and leverage. Leverage is basically the ability to increase the possible return on an investment or trade. A margin account allows the trader to use leverage by trading larger amounts than deposited in their account.
This is because only the potential short term losses on the accounts need to be covered, not the full amount of the underlying asset. How much leverage any forex broker offers and the margin requirements may be a consideration when opening an account with a particular forex broker. There are different types of FX trading accounts which include more traditional cash exchange accounts, spread betting type accounts or CFDs Contracts for Difference.
The choice of which account to open will depend on your very specific needs and potentially even depend on your tax liabilities. Most also offer currency cross rates, ability to trade a large selection of currency pairs against each other. In addition, many brokers offer the opportunity to trade other financial markets and assets. These would include equity indices, government bond markets and commodities such as oil, gold and copper.
Why Pepperstone?
Practically all brokers offer a trading platform, whereby the trader can access the various markets available to trade. Some brokers provide their own developed trading platforms, whilst others suggest downloading free platforms offered by third-party providers.
Many markets are now open 24 hours a day, five days during the week. So a strong customer support service would be open at all times during this time. Also, the speed of access to a live individual rather than an automated service should certainly be considered. Inevitably, when calling customer service it is usually with an issue, which as a trader you will likely want resolved as soon as possible. When reviewing the forex brokers operating in the country we have taken this aspect into consideration.
Apart from regulation, other aspects to be considered when choosing best forex brokers in UK are as follows:. This is definitely not an exhaustive list of things that you should look into when choosing the best forex broker in the UK. There are a few other aspects as well. These include customizations options, order entry types, automated trading options, trading alerts, strategy builders and backtesting options, among others.
Top Brokers in UK [ COMPARISON] |
Further, it is better to look for brokers that offer free demo accounts so that you can try out their platforms prior to opening an account and funding it. FXOpen UK, a popular metatrader ecn forex broker in the UK , offers several helpful features on their platform including expert advisors, technical analysis tools, indicators and professional graphics. The forex broker offers leverage up to and makes available floating spreads starting from 0 pips. The forex broker services both institutional customers and retail investors and offers No Dealing Desk currency trading facility. The minimum position size offered by the company 0.
Spreads can be as low as 0. XM, an online currency trading platform provider, was founded in The forex broker offers MetaTrader trading platform and more than instruments from asset classes such as currencies, CFDs on stocks and precious metals.
UK Forex Brokers List
XM which serves both institutional as well as retail customers in more than countries has established over 4 offices around the world. While the minimum position size offered is 0. XM broker offers low spreads From 1 Pips. Any Forex trader will tell you that the first and most important step in successful Forex trading is choosing a trusted broker.
The right broker will provide you with the required advice, and platform to make Forex trading a profitable venture. FCA UK forex brokers are the best option to give you what you need before you can start trading. These firms meet all the requirements set by the FCA for safe Forex trading. All Forex brokers that are regulated by the Financial conduct authority FCA are required to submit financial reports to the regulatory body. This body scrutinizes the reports to make sure they are in line with set policies for secure and efficient Forex trading.
This, therefore, means that regulated brokers are always credible since they are monitored.
Also, another role of FCA is to fairly resolve disputes between Forex traders and brokers. So, trading with FCA UK forex brokers means that you are protected in case any disputes arise between you and your Forex broker. The fee structures differ from one forex broker to another, and even from one account type to another.
There are two widely used basic setups. Of these two forex broker fee arrangements, the second one is arguably the more transparent. The spread can be fixed or variable. Fixed spreads are always constant. ECN broker may even deliver zero spreads. Variable spreads change, depending on the traded asset, volatility and available liquidity. Daily spreads may only differ slightly among brokers, but active traders or even hyper active traders are trading so frequently that small differences can mount up and need to be calculated to compare trading costs. Some brokers focus on fixed spreads.
There are indeed 1 pip fixed spread forex brokers out there too. Forex brokers with low spreads are certainly popular. Forex positions kept open overnight incur an extra fee. This fee results from the extension of the open position at the end of the day, without settling. The rollover rate results from the difference between the interest rates of the two currencies.
The first of the pair is the base currency, while the second is the quote currency. While most forex brokers offer impressive-looking selections of currency pairs, not all of them cover minors and exotics. Does the broker offer the markets or currency pairs you want to trade?
UK Forex Brokers
If you want to trade Thai Bahts or Swedish Krone as the base currencies you will need to double check the asset lists and tradable currencies. Some will even add international exotics and currency markets on request. Such flexibility is obviously a major asset, positively impacting the overall quality of the service. Cryptocurrency pairs are quite ubiquitous nowadays.
The massive volatility associated with these products makes scalping a viable strategy for profitable trading. Some traders are in the forex game specifically to trade the crypto volatility. Such operators obviously need a forex broker that features as many crypto pairs as possible. Not everyone trades forex on a massive scale. In fact, many forex traders are small-timers. Some forex micro accounts do not even have a set minimum deposit requirement. Such cheap trading options certainly make sense for those looking to dive deeper into real money trading, without risking their life savings.
It is however, a cheaper introduction to a complex market similar to cfd accounts — and trading for real beats a demo account for genuine experience learning how to trade. They provide traders with technical analysis tools, live news feeds, diverse order types, automation, advanced charting and drawing options etc. Some may include sentiment indicators or event calendars.
Integration with popular software packages like Metatrader 4 or 5 MT4 or MT5 might be crucial for some traders. Many brands offer automated trading or integration into related software, but if you are going to rely on it, you need to make sure. TradingView is also a popular choice. Proprietary solutions are often interesting, though in some cases less than optimal.