Important Facts
- Regulation: Regulated by CySec
- Instruments: Forex, Indices, Stocks, Commodities, Metals and a number of Bonds
- Features: Ability to trade bonds, a range of platforms, demo accounts and social trading.
- Leverage: Up to 100:1, though maximum leverage varies instrument to instrument.
- Minimum Deposit: $100
The Platform
Markets.com offers the world famous MetaTrader 4, which is much beloved by many. The Markets.com version of MetaTrader 4 operates as one would expect and will be familiar to anyone who has previously used a MetaTrader platform. However this isn’t the only platform that is on offer for those who wish to trade with Markets.com. Alternatively customers can use the Srix WebTrader which is a web platform that you can use in your browser. This rather impressively syncs with your MetaTrader account which can be particularly useful in a number of ways. The Srix WebTrader is a pretty decent piece of kit its own right and allows you to use various charting techniques with ease. While not quite as comprehensive as MetaTrader, Srix WebTrader is still a welcome addition. Markets.com also offers a mobile trader in the form of the Market Mobile Trader, the market mobile trader is written in HTML 5 meaning that any using a smartphone can access it by simply by visiting the relevant address. And as you can see the mobile trader is a pretty decent bit of kit:
In further addition to this Markets.com offers a downloadable CFD platform. This platform while not as complicated or sophisticated as MetaTrader is still a pretty decent bit of kit, though I personally wouldn’t opt for it over MetaTrader. It may be more suited to those who don’t wish to use the MetaTrader software.
Special Features
There some things that are pretty unique about the offering from Markets.com. For one I haven’t seen another CFD provider offering the ability to trade Bonds, while there is a very limited selection of bonds available it is still a nice touch. As you would normally expect there’s the option of opening a demo account which is something that is pretty standard feature among CFD providers these days. However having the chance to try out the service before depositing real money is always a welcome feature. Another feature which is pretty neat while unique is the social trading features available at Markets.com, the Contracts for Difference industry has recognized this as a real growth area. The Market AutoTrader allows customers search for live signals as well as copying strategies from other traders. You are then able to create a trading portfolio of strategies which you can implement which will lead to you automatically mirroring these strategies. Of course you can set various risk management strategies to control the risk of these automated strategies. While not as complex as the copy trading system at eToro, it is a pretty interesting feature of Markets.com and is something that many people might be interested in.
Spreads
When I recently took a look at the spreads offered by different Contract for difference providers I found that Markets.com was relatively competitive. While it wasn’t up their with the most competitive providers, it was competitive with a number of highly well regarded Contract for difference providers. Beating a number of properly regulated providers quite significantly including easyforex, eToro and Plus500. It should also be noted that some of the spreads offered at Markets.com cannot be compared with rival providers this in part due to the fact that Markets.com offers a number of products that aren’t available at other providers, for example I haven’t seen Bonds offered at any other Contract for difference provider. I would say all in all Markets.com offers pretty good decent value for money, though you can find tighter spreads out there.
Customer Service
Customer services at Markets.com appears to be pretty good, with 25 different telephone numbers offered allowing people from a number of different countries to get into contact with the company at a relativity low price. However it is a bit of a shame that it costs money to get into contact with them. Though it should be pointed out that the phone numbers aren’t the only way to get into contact with Markets.com. For, example a number of different email addresses are available for customers to contact the various departments of Markets.com. There is also the option of contacting the team through the 24/5 Live Chat feature, when I attempted to do so the staff were quick and responded helpfully. In general people seem pretty satisfied with the customer services provided by Markets.com though there do seem to be a few complaints. However I haven’t seen anything truly damaging said about Markets.com.
Regulation
Markets.com is the subsidiary of Safecap Investments Ltd. whose primary seat of regulation is with CySec the regulatory authority of Cyprus. However it is also regulated by the the South African regulatory authority the FSB, which isn’t something I have seen from a European broker before. After a long search I was unable to find any record of Safecap Investments Ltd. having received any fines or penalties from any of the regulatory authorities that they are registered with. While not everyone is satisfied with CySec regulation it appears that one shouldn’t have any serious concerns about the regulation of Markets.com.
Overall, I contend that Markets.com makes for a pretty good offering for those interested getting into CFD trading.
