IC Markets is regulated by three different major bodies across more than 100 countries. They offer more than 236 financial instruments in several asset classes. Their accounts are varied and designed to cater to almost everyone. To find out how suitable this broker is for you, read our IC Markets Review today and find out what’s best.
International Capital Markets is a regulated forex CFD and ECN broker with headquarters in Australia. They offer more than 236 financial instruments. The instruments span Forex, Commodities, Stocks, Futures, Cryptocurrency, and Bonds. In our IC Markets Review, we will take you through everything you need to know, to make a great decision.
Traders use the MetaTrader 4, MetaTrader 5, and cTrader. All these platforms are available on mobile, browser, and desktop.
IC Markets was founded in 2007 and is now regulated by ASIC (the Australian Securities and Exchange Commission), CySEC (the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission) and FSA (the Seychelles Financial Services Authority.)
In our IC Markets review, we found that they offer traders three core trading accounts. The accounts are:
Their spreads start from zero pips on the Raw Spread accounts with commission included. The Standard Account offers commission-free trading with the spreads starting at one pip. In addition to these accounts, they also have demo trading accounts and swap-free Islamic accounts.
If you are a high-volume trader, you’ll be glad to know that IC Markets promote themselves as the best choice. Their services are designed for both pro traders and beginners. Scalpers will find this broker quite convenient.
Traders who prefer to use algorithms will like this broker too. Because of their New York Equinix data center, they can process over 500,000 trades every day. The broker has additional features for those who would like something more.
Social traders can use ZuluTrade and MyFXbook to get better results.
Pros
Cons
IC Markets is a safe broker, as they have regulatory oversight from ASIC, CySEC, and FSA. Their auditing, bank relations, and insurance are a bonus in making them transparent. IC Markets is globally registered under the major regulatory bodies we mentioned.
We confirmed their registration by checking out their registration number on the regulation websites.
The regulation by FSA of Seychelles started in July 2019 due to the changing global laws for brokers that provide CFDs. Because of the regulatory scheme, some of the clients who are not based in Australia can continue to trade with conditions that would otherwise only be available to Australian clients.
For example, higher leverage; without it, traders would not make as much money.
To provide even more safety and regulation, IC Markets offers the following options:
Under the existing regulatory obligations for the FSA and ASIC, there is no investor-compensation plan for clients if it becomes insolvent. However, there are plans in place to ensure that this is made possible in the future.
IC Markets has many financial instruments you can trade. At the time of writing this IC Markets review, they have over 236 products in CFDs, Forex ECN and Futures with 120 stocks, 60 forex pairs, 17 indices, five bonds, 19 commodities, and 10 cryptocurrencies.
This table shows just some of the markets available to traders who would like to use IC Markets.
IC Markets allows the traders to trade for 24 hours a day, five days a week, in one of the most liquid financial markets. With tight spreads, superior execution, and deep liquidity, traders can access all 60 pairs and make money.
With access to the world’s largest equity markets through IC Markets, traders can enjoy:
Trade 24/5 across the major markets.
IC Markets offers access to metals, energy and agriculture products like a currency pair, against major currencies like the USD or futures CFDs. They provide:
IC Markets combines tight pricing, flexible lot sizes, and 10c per point for this product.
IC Markets Review
Traders using IC Markets have access to over 100 large-cap stock CFDs from NYSE, NASDAQ, and ASX stock exchanges. Enjoy:
They select the most popular companies globally to ensure that the traders have the best trading opportunities.
Bonds give traders the opportunity to speculate on interest rated and global risk-on/off sentiment. They can also speculate on hedging equities exposure and diversify their portfolio. IC Markets bonds have the following perks:
You can now choose from a range of bonds from different governments that include Japan, Europe, the U.K., and the U.S.
You can choose to go long or short across a range of the world’s most popular cryptocurrencies. IC Markets give traders the chance to trade against other retail traders. The price movements here are specifically driven by fear and greed, prevailing sentiment, and the news. Get:
You can also rest easy as the cryptocurrency exchange risk by trading with an FSA-regulated CFD provider, is removed.
Futures stand out as one of the most popular forms of CFDs in the world. At IC Markets, you get:
The futures include the ICE Dollar Index and the CBOE VIX Index. The online futures-based CFDs are offered exclusively on the MetaTrader 4 platform.
Here is a table summary of some of the markets.
IC Markets offers its traders three main types of accounts. They are:
They also have Islamic swap-free accounts and provide the use of free demo trading, using a separate account.
Each of the accounts you will find has unique features. To break it all down, we will draw a table and use it to show you all the features. With this table, you should be able to figure out which of these accounts is the most suitable.
With this features list, we think you will have no trouble finding where you will be most comfortable. It does not matter if you are a beginner or an expert; there is something here for everyone.
The IC Markets’ raw spread account has access to liquidity from over 50 different banks and other dark pool sources.
Opening a live account or a demo account for those who want to learn is a quick and easy process that you can find on the website. Just click where it says ‘Start Trading’ or ‘Try a Free Demo’ on the IC Markets website.
You will be directed to the account registration page. Here, you will find four steps that will lead to the creation of your account. It has the following parts:
After you fill in the spaces as required, you will be allowed to fund your IC Markets account and start trading.
Once you are done registering your account, you will have access to the IC Markets Client Portal area. To access the full suite of services offered by IC Markets, you will need to upload proof of address and identity.
It is an easy process that will require you to upload government ID, driver’s license, or passport for the Identity Confirmation part. For the Address Confirmation Part, you will have to upload utility bills or a bank statement and other indicated documents, so long as they are relevant.
Clients of IC Markets can fund their accounts using ten different base currencies and many services. Traders can fund their accounts using:
There are many options, as you can see. Keep in mind that the time you have to wait to deposit or withdraw, varies, depending on what services you use. All the waiting times and other details are clearly shown on the IC Markets website.
The 10 base currencies available on IC Markets include USD, EUR, AUD, NZD, HKD, JPY, CAD, CHF, GBP, and SGD. Using the ‘Secure Client Area,’ the traders can fund their accounts in real-time using their credit cards or Skrill.
The ‘Secure Client Area’ is where you will find the options available to you if you want to withdraw funds.
All the withdrawals will vary depending on the method. Instant withdrawals are possible using PayPal, Skrill, or Neteller. The other methods take 3-5 business days if you withdraw to your credit or debit card.
You will not be charged additional withdrawal or deposit fees.
IC Markets Web, Mobile, and Desktop Trading Platforms
IC Markets gives traders access to excellent platforms for web and desktop options. They include:
Using the ‘Secure Client Area,’ IC Markets clients can download and use the software available. Let’s look at some of the details you need to know about them.
IC Markets MetaTrader 4
The MetaTrader 4 platform is available for download on the IC Markets website. Both Windows and Mac users can download and install it on their devices. With it, you will get features like:
MT4 is a world-renown platform that will give traders the best features and ease-of-use benefits.
IC Markets MetaTrader 5
The IC Markets MetaTrader 5 platform is also available for download or use on the Web. Both Mac and Windows users can install it on their devices. This platform will give you access to additional features like:
MT5 is not very different from MT4, but it has several added features aimed at appealing to new traders and even experienced traders who may want to try something different.
IC Markets Web Trader from MetaTrader
On IC Markets, you can access your MT4 or MT5 trading accounts from any web browser. It has everything that the desktop apps have, including access to ECN pricing.
On the Web Trader, the users will have:
For users of the Web Trader version, there is no need to feel like they may be missing anything by not installing the software. They get the same things that clients who have installed MetaTrader 4 or 5 gets.
IC Markets cTrader
cTrader is the combination of speed and high performance to get you access to the deep liquidity markets. The cTrader platform on IC Markets will let you trade 64 currency pairs and 16 major equity indices.
If you are looking for superior functionality and a way to stream prices from several global banks, use cTrader.
You will need a PC with the following minimum requirements: Dual Core CPU processor, 2GB memory, and Windows 7 operating system and above.
Users of cTrader will enjoy:
IC Markets has some of the tightest spreads of all Forex CFD providers in the world. The Spreads on their EUR/USD are usually at 0.0 pips during their North American and European trading sessions.
The average spread on this pair among other providers is 0.1 pips all well. IC Markets has the tightest spread on this pair globally.
IC Markets has a server at LD5 IBX Equinix Data Centre in London. It is a financial ecosystem that houses over 600 buy and sell firms, exchanges, ventures in trading, market data, and service providers.
With it, clients enjoy the fast execution of their orders.
Scalping, hedging, and other methods of trading are all allowed. They have some of the best trading conditions that traders can enjoy. There is no minimum order distance, and the ‘freeze level’ is 0.
Orders are filled in the bridge against the full order using Volume Weighted Average Price (VWAP). There is complete transparency of each pair’s liquidity, and by showing the volumes of each price level, clients get to see everything that happens behind the scenes.
Smart Stop Out logic is available on cTrader, to provide the customers with maximum protection. The logic gives better significant benefits for the users by using a more advanced algorithm than the previous one.
To recap, these are the features you will enjoy on this platform:
There is so much you will be able to enjoy with cTrader. There is no dealing desk intervention, allowing you to save money with the low costs. When it comes to risk control, you can pick your leverage and know how much you are at risk.
IC Markets Trading Features
When it comes to finding value for money, we always look at every additional feature that a broker has. In our IC Markets review, we found many additional trading features to make your trading even better.
They offer social integration with MyFXbook and ZuluTrade, for starters. They include an Advanced Trading Tools package for MT4 and give clients access to Trading Central.
Let’s look at some of the additional features you get when using IC Markets:
IC Markets accounts allow you to integrate them with excellent social trading platforms. These platforms can be a godsend for beginners or professionals who just want to make comparisons with their favorite traders.
For high net worth individuals and institutional traders who want direct access to the liquidity providers, IC Markets offers a FIX API.
Automated analytics and other ideas are featured here.
IC Markets Commissions and Spreads
Some IC Markets accounts are commission-free, and some of them are commission-based. To know your cost, you need to know your account. Each of them costs different rates to trade. Because IC Markets offer institution-grade liquidity, the spreads tend to vary as the prices you pay are derived from different liquidity providers.
To get some sense of the cost of trading with IC Markets for our review, we looked at the current pricing and spreads. With this information, you will be able to decide what you would like to do and what account you would like to get.
Forex Spreads
These are the spreads for some of the currency pairs.
IC Markets offers traders commission-free on Indices, Bonds, Crypto, and Futures across all account types and the Standard Account for ECN forex trading. As for swap rates for holding positions overnight, they vary. They can be found on both MetaTrader and cTrader trading platforms.
IC Markets Bonus and Promotions
At the time of writing this IC Markets review, no promotions or bonuses are being offered. There is a possibility that this situation could change over time, provided the regulations do not prohibit promotions or bonuses.
Customer Service
IC Markets offers customer support 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The service is multilingual on Live Chat support, email and phone. These are the three ways you can get into contact with the customer support at IC Markets.
The multilingual service supports languages that include English, Vietnamese, Chinese, Thai, Italian, Indonesian, Spanish, and Portuguese.
Before getting into contact with the customer support, the clients are asked to type in their questions in the Help Centre for an instant answer.
If this does not yield anything useful, you can then proceed to use the live chat function.
Here is a comprehensive listing of all the ways to get in touch.
Phone
Address
International Capital Markets Pty Ltd, Level 4 50 Carrington Street, Sydney NSW, 2000 AUSTRALIA
Live Chat- Available 24/7 on both weekdays and weekends
Social Media
There are separate contact options for the IC Markets Chinese Support Center with their Live Chat option that you can find on the website. You can call them via +86 400 609 6783 or send an email using this address; support.cn@icmarkets.com.
IC Markets Research
IC Markets offers its clients access to detailed market analysis and commentary. You can find all this on their blog page, named the ‘Information Hub for Serious Trader.’ Traders will always be up to date on the market developments through this blog page.
There are several categories to browse through. They include:
Using the IC Markets blog, traders can have an easier time with their trading activities. They enjoy regular updates on the market as well as the Weekly Outlook and the Review posts. On the IC Markets homepage, traders will find an economic calendar and a forex calculator page.
All these are tools that help the traders research their numbers and come up with the best information for their decisions. The IC Markets market analysis section is also available through the trading platforms.
IC Markets Education Provision
IC Markets has one of the most comprehensive educational resources you can find. All you need to do is go to the blog page and click on education. The topics include:
These are all written in the form of blog posts and produced in video content. Many of the important topics are covered within every category.
If you are a complete beginner, IC Markets has a wide range of cTrader and MetaTrader video tutorials to help you navigate the platforms. For any trader, information is a useful tool.
Education is a big part of any trader’s life, the best brokers ensure that you are provided with an education that guides how you trade.
Trading Experience
IC Markets is a broker suited to beginners and experts alike. With access to a wide range of platforms, a free demo account, a large library for education, great support, and video tutorials, it is easy to find your way around.
The advanced traders will particularly like the multi-platform features that work on mobile, Web, and desktop. cTrader, MetaTrader 4 and MetaTrader 5 are all available with the additional value from platforms like ZuluTrade and MyFXbook.
Users have access to commission-free and commission-based trading accounts. It is up to each trader to choose what they want to use.
The ‘no-requote’ and ‘no-restriction’ policies are all great news for algo traders and scalpers. This environment provided by IC Markets’ ECN account is advantageous because of the average 0.1 pip spread on the EUR/USD pair.
The server’s location is a big plus. Traders with high-frequency automated orders can enjoy the best possible executions.
In Conclusion
IC Markets is a great place where advanced traders and beginners can flex their trading knowledge. With a great selection of accounts and features galore, it is easy to see why they rank so highly on many lists.
The regulation by ASIC, FSA, and CySEC is a great way for clients to know that they will be signed up with a safe broker. IC Markets is the best broker for algo traders, high-volume traders, and scalpers.
This is due to their New York Equinix NY4 data center, where over 500,000 traders are processed each day. After looking at all these details for our IC Markets review, we have to agree that they are a good contender and worth checking out.
