Summary

First Prudential (FP) Markets was founded in 2005. Aside from its Australian headquarters, regulated by ASIC, it has other offices regulated by CySEC and the SVG FSA. Its assets include 70+ currency pairs, 18+ indices, 10,000+ shares, 10+ commodities, 10+ cryptocurrencies, 45+ ETFs, and 2 bonds. 

The broker has PC and mobile trading options on its proprietary and third-party platforms, Iress and MT4 & MT5, respectively. The customer support and account selections are pretty broad in scope. Now, let’s get into more details of the FP Markets review. 

Available Assets

FP Markets has a very vast portfolio of tradable instrument CFDs, especially shares. With 10,100+ such instruments to choose from, including bonds, commodities, indices, forex pairs, cryptocurrencies, ETFs, and shares, there are many options for traders to choose from. All of these options come from some of the best-traded markets across the globe, and they are available at competitive spreads and leverages. In this section of the review, we will explore each of these available assets. 

Stocks/Shares

FP Markets has a very robust portfolio of tradable share CFDs from all the biggest global markets on 4 continents. With 10,000+ of these share CFDs to offer, traders gain exposure to a variety of markets. This includes different numbers of shares and equities derivatives from various exchanges. For instance, on the NASDAQ and ASX exchanges, traders can access up to 1,380 and 2,829 equities, respectively. The stocks and shares CFDs are accessible to traders on both Iress and MT5 platforms.   

Indices

Traders on the FP Markets platform can also take their pick from a total of about 18+ index CFDs, which are tradable at convenient contract sizes and zero commissions. These assets include options such as Australia 200 Index vs. Australian Dollar Cash, China A50 Index vs. US Dollar Cash, Hang Seng Index vs. Hong Kong Dollar Cash, and US Tech 100 Index vs. US Dollar Cash. The leverages for these assets may vary according to the asset itself and the jurisdiction under which the trader operates, although there is an overall margin of 1%, allowing you a leverage of up to 1:100 for indices. For example, within CySEC jurisdiction, you can only use up to 1:20, and in ASIC jurisdiction, leverages are limited to up to 1:30.

Forex

There are 70+ major, minor, and exotic currency pairs on the broker. The forex market is open 24/5, and the spread starts from 0 pips, while the leverage is up to 1:500. The forex pairs on the platform include AUD/CAD, AUD/NZD, EUR/NZD, and GBP/AUD; and with their variety, they offer a great way for traders to diversify their risk portfolio. 

Commodities

FP Markets offers commodity CFDs at great leverage of up to 1:500 and spreads from 0.0 pips. They range from agricultural produce vital for industries (such as coffee, corn, soya beans, wheat, and coco) to base metals (such as copper, steel, and iron). There are also some energy commodities, such as natural gas and crude oil. However, as these are CFDs, the traders don’t actually own these commodities outrightly. 

Cryptocurrencies

Blockchain technologies have been making waves in many financial sectors, and cryptocurrencies based on these technologies now represent a sizable asset class. Cryptocurrencies are highly volatile and they are very risky. But they are available on the FP Markets for any interested traders. The broker offers 10+ cryptocurrencies as CFDs with competitive spreads. Major cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, Ethereum, Ripple, and Dogecoin are among these digital assets.

ETFs

By enabling trades in a variety of exchange-traded funds, FP Markets enables traders to further diversify their risk profile and increase exposure to several financial instruments and market sectors. These funds, 45+ in total, offer an alternate method of investing in technology, sustainability, energy, and the blockchain. They are offered by some of the largest providers in the worldwide ETF market.

Bonds

In terms of volatility, the market for bonds is more favourable than that for stocks or other traded assets on the platform. For traders who wish to venture into the market for all kinds of government and corporate bonds, including treasury and agency bonds, FP Markets offers a portfolio of bonds from both emerging and existing markets. These include bonds such as the US 10yr T-Note and UK Long Gilt, with average spreads from 0.4 pips.

Stock Trading at FP Markets

One slight disadvantage the platform has is that it does not offer any real share options, so share CFDs are all a trader can get. Furthermore, the availability of shares depends on which of their platforms you are trading on. To begin with, stock trading is only available on the Iress and MT5 platforms. And then, there is the fact that each offers access to differently sized portfolios of tradable stocks CFDs, with the Iress platform having a whopping 10,000+ share CFDs, while MT5 only has 1000+.

However, on the bright side, there is a massive boatload of these share CFDs, so traders who want to trade stocks have no shortage of options here. There are about 10,000+ of these instruments and a large library of educational resources to help beginner traders on how to trade them. Additionally, there is a considerable set of advanced trading, charting, and analysis tools to enable clients to trade better. In any case, we will now take a closer look at stock trading in this section of the FP Markets review. 

Available Stock Exchanges at FP Markets

Stock CFDs on FP Markets are from some of the biggest market and corporate interests across the globe. These include interests and exchanges like NASDAQ, NYSE, HKE, and IDK. These are the exchanges available on the broker and their respective country. 

Stock Trading Fees & Commission at FP Markets

The fees for trading stocks on FP Markets depend largely on the type of account the trader is operating on. While FP markets offers a number of different account types, stock trading is only available on the Iress Platform through the Iress accounts. And when trading stocks on these accounts, the platform charges commissions that may depend on the market you’re trading in. However, the commission for stock CFDs is 0.05%. 

Stock Trading Leverage at FP Markets

Stock trading leverage on FP Markets depends primarily on the jurisdiction of the trader. However, overall, the FP Markets shares are leveraged at up to 1:20. However, traders from Cyprus and Australia are under CySEC and ASIC jurisdictions, respectively, and are limited to leverage up to 1:5.

Regulations

FP Markets is a group of companies with four main entities. One of them being its head office in Sidney, Australia. This section of our review will overview them, including their regulators and licence numbers.

First Prudential Markets PTY Ltd.: This is the global headquarters of the broker, and it is situated at 10 Bridge St L 5, Sydney, New South Wales, 2000. The regulating body responsible for this entity is the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC).

• ABN: 16 112 600 281
• AFS License No: 286354

First Prudential Markets Ltd.: This EU entity is covered by the FP Markets regional office located in Cyprus at Aigeo Court 2nd floor, 109 Griva Digeni, 3101, Limassol. It is regulated locally by the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CYSEC). 

• Registration Number: HE 372179
• Licence No: 371/18

FP Markets (Pty) Ltd.: This entity is located in South Africa and it is authorised and regulated by the Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA). 

• FSP Number: 50926

FP Markets (SVG) LLC: This office of the FP Markets platform operates out of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and it is located at Kingstown, on the first floor of the First St. Vincent Bank Ltd building on James Street. It operates under the legal jurisdiction of the SVG Financial Services Authority.

• Authorisation No. 126 LLC 2019

Fees and Commissions

We can safely say that FP Markets generally has smaller fees than most brokers. For services other brokers charge a brokerage fee, they either don’t charge any at all or simply charge a minimal fee. This implies that you can use the broker even if you trade frequently, such as many times per week or every day, and you don’t have to worry about much of your money being sunk into fees. In this review section, we will closely examine the fees and commissions, which are generally grouped into trading and non-trading fees. 

Trading Fees

FP Markets charges fees on trading activities executed by clients on the platform, and such fees are usually on a per-transaction basis. These trading fees generally include spreads, rollover costs, and trading commissions.

Spread

Defined as the difference between the ask and bid prices of any tradable instrument, the spread is a feature of trading in virtually any asset class. It is usually expressed as a decimal number in pips, with favourably low spreads typically starting from fractions of 1 and the highest spreads starting from as high as 30.0 pips. The spreads vary mostly by the assets, the broker, and the market. 

FP Markets spread generally starts from 0.0 pips, though various assets come with different spreads. The spread is also affected by the nature of the trader’s account. For example, the spread on the standard account starts from 1.0 pips. 

Commissions

Charged on a per-trade basis, this type of fee generally depends on the volume of a given trade. It also varied according to the nature of the client’s trading account, with higher accounts usually being charged the bigger commissions, though the reverse can also be the case on some platforms. 

The commissions on trades by FP Markets clients also vary according to the exchange, especially when trading share CFDs. For instance, any trading dealing with the Australian exchange has to pay a commission of 0.06% per side. This is quite low, compared to the Hong Kong exchange, where you incur a commission of about 0.10% per Side. For the NASDAQ exchange, it’s 2 cents per share. Furthermore, each transaction is charged a $6 commission per lot unless you trade stocks on the Iress accounts. In this latter case, your commission will be 0.05%.

However, all of these are for users of the Raw account type, as standard account users have the commission built into their spreads as a markup of 1 pip, as we have mentioned previously in this review.

Rollover Rates/Swap Fees

Holding positions overnight usually comes with fees known as rollover fees or swaps. It is charged when a client deigns to borrow one currency to purchase another as part of forex trading.

If you are purchasing EUR/USD, for instance, you might borrow US Dollars and use the money to purchase Euros. You will have to pay interest on the borrowed US dollars while also earning interest on the purchased Euros. The swap rates depend on a few factors, including the interest rate differential of the asset at the time, the price fluctuations of the currency pair, and the liquidity provider’s current position on the market hierarchy.

Non-Trading Fees

These make up a different class of fees charged not based on trading activity but on all activities deemed as non-trading in nature. We will go over each of these non-trading fees in this part of the FP Markets review. 

Deposit and Withdrawal Fees

Depending on which of the available methods of payment you are using on the FP Markets platform, you may either have to pay no fees at all, or you may have to pay some. Although, the transaction processor or network provider may charge a small fee of their own. 

Generally, credit card and debit card withdrawals and deposits are free of charge, at least from the FP Markets side of the equation. The same goes for domestic and international bank wire transfers. However, other methods, such as e-wallets, come with charges generally within the vicinity of 1%, plus other surcharges that may apply. We will dive into these in greater depth in the payment methods review section.

Conversion Fee

If you perform any trades in a currency different from your account base currency, most brokers will charge you a fee known as the conversion fee. However, FP Markets does not seem to charge any fees for such currency conversions.

Inactivity Fees

Inactivity fees are typically charged when a trader abandons an account for an extended period of time, typically a year (or less, in the most stringent cases). However, FP Markets will not charge you any inactivity fees, so even if you leave your account dormant for extended periods, you don’t have to worry about it slowly bleeding funds in the form of dormancy charges.

Financing Rates

The broker charges base financing rates of 3% and 2% for the Iress retail and wholesale accounts, respectively.

Administrative Fees

FP markets charges Islamic clients administrative fees instead of swaps and interest rates, and these vary from asset to asset, especially when trading forex. The value of the administrative fees may vary from as low as $1 to as high as $30. Furthermore, trades in some currency pairs are not subject to this fee until the tenth night. 

Account Types

FP Markets seems to have a rather complex account system, with there being three subsets of account types traders can use. First, there are the forex account types; then there are the Iress and Islamic accounts. In this section of our review, we will examine these types, beginning with the demo account, then the two forex accounts, before moving on to the Iress and Islamic accounts. 

Demo Account

The demo account is designed to be a training space for traders new to trading. The account comes with $100,000 in virtual funds and a replica of the live market. This enables clients to practise their trading strategies and gain some degree of experience in trading before moving on to the live market.

Standard Account

The FP Markets standard account is a zero-commission account designed for new traders with less than professional-level experience in trading. It has ECN-pricing execution, and its leverages cap at up to 1:500. However, the spreads on this account type begin from 1.0 pips. The minimum deposit is quite high; at least, it’s high compared to what other platforms charge for an equivalent account. But with an initial deposit of $100 AUD or equivalent, you can trade forex pairs, commodities, precious metals, and indices.

Raw Account

The Raw account is like a slight upgrade on the Standard account, as its only major differences from it are its spreads, which begin from 0.0 pips, and the commission per lot. While the commission per lot for the standard account is $0, the Raw account is $3 per side. Raw account has virtually everything else in common with the standard account, including the minimum lot size (0.01 lot), minimum deposit ($100 AUD or equivalent), the max leverage (1:500). They also share the same range of assets, namely forex pairs, commodities, indices, and precious metals. Both account types also seem to operate entirely on MT 4 and 5.

Retail Account

The Iress platform, which offers thousands of different stocks via Direct Market Access (DMA) execution, as well as superior charting and analytic tools, is Australia’s main equities trading platform. Opening an FP Markets retail account on this platform avails you of competitive margin commissions and DMA rates. However, the minimum account balance is $1,000, and the minimum brokerage rate is $6. 

Wholesale Account

As the name implies, this account type is for wholesale traders. It has roughly the same perks as the retail account type. However, it also has some extra advantages, such as a base financing rate of 2%. Additionally, it offers some very competitive DMA and margin rates that you can further negotiate with your account manager, depending on how much you deposit and/or make on average monthly.

Islamic Account

Islamic accounts, also known as swap-free accounts, are best suited for Muslim clients due to the demands of Islamic law to the effect that they steer clear of swaps or interests. Instead, an administration fee is applied to positions and subtracted from the account’s remaining value. 

Trading Platforms

In this section of our FP Markets review, we will turn our attention to the broker’s trading platforms. It operates on both desktop and mobile through the Iress and MetaTrader (MT4 & 5) platforms. Additionally, it operates a proprietary mobile platform: the FP Markets trading app. 

Desktop Trading Platform

FP Markets clients who wish to trade on a desktop platform can do that through the MT4 & MT5 Webtrader platforms. However, we will be spotlighting the Iress platform as it carries some of the best features available to an FP Markets trader. 

Platform Overview

The Iress trading platform is a popular package in Australia, and it is the primary stock trading platform of FP Markets. Its desktop option comes in two packages users can choose from, namely the Iress Viewpoint and Iress Viewpoint Essential. We will focus on the Iress Viewpoint package here, beginning with its key features.

Technical Indicators

With about 59 RSI technical indicators made available through the Ichimoku cloud, the Iress platform allows traders to spot significant trends, price steps, and trading opportunities on time.

Drawing Tools

There are 50+ drawing tools available on the Iress platform, and they enable clients to make detailed annotations on their charts across timeframes.

Price Quotes

With the presence of real-time price quotes on the platform, traders can make informed decisions on their asset trades based on real-time data on its price movements. 

Multi-Asset Price Comparison

This capability provides traders with a central point from which they can compare prices and price trends across multiple assets over a given timeframe. 

How to Open an Account and Trade on the FP Markets Desktop Trading Platform

Let us now turn our attention to the account opening process for the Iress platform. One key thing to note, though, is that while you can open your account within minutes and submit your details for ID verification within minutes, it will take a longer time (maybe up to a day) for FP Markets to finish verifying your ID and give you access to trading on the platform. That being said, here’s how you open an FP Markets account for this platform.

1. Open the FP Markets URL and find the Iress option on the website’s dashboard. Clicking it should take you to a page where you can click “Open an account” to begin the procedure.
2. The registration process has five stages. In the first stage, you must supply your personal details, including your name, country, and phone number. This is also where you choose your account type and verify your phone number through an OTP code that will be sent to you. Then, click on ‘save and next’ to proceed.
3. The next stage involves providing some more info about yourself, such as your postal address, zip code, and financial information, such as your occupation, annual income, and source of that income.
4.  Next is the account configuration stage, where you must now determine the parameters of your account, such as how much leverage you want, your preferred platform, base currency, etc.
5. After clicking ‘save and next,’ you can proceed to the declaration stage, where you must state your prior trading experience and agree to the platform’s terms and conditions.
6. You will be redirected to your new platform page and dashboard.
7. To be able to trade, you must complete your verification. To do that, click ‘complete application’ and supply snapshots of the required documentation on the next page. Once you have done these, you can now fund your account by following these steps.
8. Click on ‘fund now’ on your platform client page. The next page will show you all the available payment options you can choose from. Select your preferred option by clicking on ‘deposit’ next to it.
9. On the next page, specify the amount of money with which you’d like to fund your account.
10. Next, provide your relevant payment details, then click ‘Deposit’ to proceed. Once you have verified your identity using either an email link or a token number (which will be sent to you), you can authorise the transaction and wait for it to reflect.
11. Having funded your account, you can now trade. All you need to do is log into the Iress platform using the details that FP Markets will send to your email. Then, you can use the asset search function to find a tradable instrument of your choice, click on it, select the relevant option (buy or sell), set any such parameters as ‘stop loss’ or ‘take profit’ that you may want, and authorise the trade. 

Mobile Apps

Next, we will explore the mobile trading option in this section of our review. Mobile trading on the platform is available through the Iress, MT4, and MT5 mobile apps. However, we will be talking about the platform’s proprietary mobile app for the purposes of this section. Here are some of its key features for mobile.

Trading Instruments

On the mobile platform, the clients can access a wide range of assets available through the other platforms.

Array of Trading Tools

Traders on the platform can access a range of trading tools, including charting and technical analysis tools. 

Broad Functionality

On the FP Markets mobile app avails clients of a broad range of functionality, including various degrees of customization. 

How to Open an Account and Trade CFDs on the FP Markets Mobile Trading App

The procedure for opening a mobile account is the same as opening a desktop account. You can open one by entering the site and registering for the Iress platform. A set of login details will be sent to you via email, and you can now use those to access the main market on mobile by following these steps. 

1. Download the FP Markets mobile app from your app store and launch it.
2. When the app opens, tap on ‘Start trading’ to access the login screen.
3. On the login page, supply the details from your email, select ‘live,’ and tap ‘start trading’ to access the platform.

Payment Methods

FP Markets deposits and withdrawals can be executed through a number of payment methods, and we will examine those in this review section. 

Deposit

FP Markets allows traders to make deposits using credit cards, debit cards, e-wallets, and local and international bank transfers. Methods like crypto are also usable, with multiple crypto payment solutions among the platform’s payment options. In any case, here are the available payment methods and their fees and transaction processing times. Note that  the FP Markets minimum deposit is the same for all these methods at $100.

Withdrawals

Withdrawals can be executed using all of the same methods as for deposits. However, the BPay and PoLi options are replaced with PayTrust and OnlinePay. All withdrawals are processed within one business day, but most are not free of charge. While no withdrawal charges apply when using bank cards, PayPal, and local/international bank wire transfers, charges do apply for every other method. For instance, Neteller withdrawals come with a charge of 1% up to $30, in addition to any country fees that may be applicable per $45,000 transaction. Finally, FP Markets does not appear to have a minimum withdrawal amount, which means you can fully withdraw your funds on the platform. However, while a few methods like Asia Banks, Mybux, and INR will withdraw your funds instantly, all the rest will take at least one business day to process your withdrawal.

Account Base Currency

When opening an account, you must specify a base currency, the underlying currency in which all your financial data will be rendered. Now, any transactions done in a different currency would typically be charged a conversion fee. However, the FP Markets trading platform does not charge any conversion fees. As such, you won’t have to worry about any such charges. All major traded currencies, EUR, USD, GBP, AUD, CAD, NZD, and JPY, are base currencies on the platform, including other currencies like HKD, SGD, and CHF. 

Research and Education

As we have mentioned previously in the review, the broker has a pretty robust research and education package for its clients. Its main research and education channels are the podcasts, platform tutorials, trading guides, and a trading glossary. There is also a library of educational e-books, video tutorials, some trading courses, as well as live webinars and other events. 

In addition, the platform offers other useful tools in its traders’ hub, such as the forex calculator, economic calendar, and technical analysis tools. . 

Customer Services

The FP Markets customer service system is quite commendable, especially given its omnichannel coverage. Any traders in need of some assistance can always check out the FAQ section, which covers a relatively broad range of questions clients frequently need answers for. However, should that prove insufficient to help, clients can also reach the customer service team,  which seems to be active 6 days a week. For the first five days, the entire team is available. However,  on the 6th, there is usually one agent on standby, though there are none on Sundays. Any queries on Sunday will be handled by the chatbot.

In any case, the channel can be reached through their phone lines and email, as well as the following social media platforms: Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Whatsapp, LinkedIn and Youtube.

Online Reviews

Let’s now focus on user reviews of the broker posted online. Reddit, Quora, Trustpilot, and ForexPeaceArmy are the four main online communities from which we will be gathering user feedback.

What Reddit Users Say About FP Markets

The FP Markets reviews on the Reddit platform are overwhelmingly positive, with most commending the execution type and speed. For instance, this user finds it better compared to his previous broker.

There are also other users, like this one, who like the overall experience, especially the spreads and the seamlessness on the MT 4 platform. He also likes the fact that the platform is ASIC-regulated.

What Quora Users Say About FP Markets

Just like in the Reddit space, the reviews for the broker are entirely positive. Different users find different things particularly appealing about the platform. For instance, this user’s general comment finds the platform the safest place to invest. 

There are also those who, like the other users from Reddit, are very impressed with the spreads and execution. 

TrustPilot Users’ Review About FP Markets

Overall, the Trustpilot rating for FP Markets is excellent. There are a total of about 4,162 reviews, and the emergent rating is 4.9. Most users (94%) give the platform a five-star rating, such as this user who is very satisfied with the withdrawals.

There is also this other user who finds the customer service awesome. 

However, there are still a few bad comments from some users, such as this client who claims his profits were deleted.

ForexPeaceArmy Users’ Review About  FP Markets

In slight contrast to the situation on Trustpilot, the comments from the ForexPeaceArmy community are average. There are a total of 141 reviews of the platform on ForexPeaceArmy, and the average rating is 3.1. On the most positive side of the spectrum, there are users like this one who find the withdrawals flawless. 

And on the most negative end, there are users like this one who could not withdraw their funds due to difficulties on the broker’s end. 

Other Products and Services

In addition to all the services we’ve covered in our review, the broker also provides a number of additional services that merit discussing here. It is important to remember that despite the platform’s presence of some great trading services and features, it does not provide API trading. Let’s now examine the additional services it does provide.

Copy Trading

Naturally, not everyone has the expertise or time required for complex trading analysis and other more technical activities that go into investment in these CFD assets. For such traders, FP Markets has social or copy trading functionalities that allow one trader to trade (or learn) by observing and replicating the trading moves of their pick out of hundreds of pro traders. With virtually all the complexities of trading bypassed, the client can still trade without necessarily being an analysis buff. However, monkey-see-monkey-do has the strong potential to result in monkey-lose-big when the pro trader makes any mistakes, as they will occasionally do.

VPS Hosting

Clients don’t need to be concerned about servers failing or unstable broadband connectivity. To minimise slippage, FP Markets has teamed up with Liquidity Connect to provide clients with a tailored, ultra-low-latency, server-side VPS solution. The FP Markets VPS package uses cutting-edge technology to connect traders to the Equinix NY4 grid, guaranteeing the execution of transactions in milliseconds.

Algorithmic Trading

Fundamentally, forex algorithmic trading, also known as algo-trading, is the practice of trading using a computer program or algorithm that follows a set of rules to carry out a given activity. The FP Markets trading platform offers an algorithmic trading service with a view to increasing trading convenience and efficiency for its clients.

Autochartist

Clients can use the robust technical analysis tools provided by FP  Markets’ Autochartist to quickly comprehend the trade possibilities as they arise. It is ideal for both novice and seasoned traders, and it offers real-time trade setups.

MyFxBook Autotrade

Clients of FP Markets have access to the most cutting-edge copy trading strategies using AutoTrade, the platform’s cutting-edge mirroring solution. 

Is FP Markets Safe?

In this section of our review, we will address the issue of FP Markets safety. A few metrics must be taken into account in this regard, and the platform performs better on some criteria than others.

For starters, FP Markets is very well-regulated by two high-trust regulators: CySEC and ASIC. This makes it a very trustworthy broker, especially with its additional licensing from the FSA of St Vincent and the Grenadines. It also does well by having multi-factor authentication available to boost account security. 

The platform appears to take the security of customers’ money seriously. To protect client cash in the event that the platform experiences financial difficulties, said funds are kept segregated in a secure bank account. Also, trading accounts are protected from negative balances, and the broker is subject to ongoing audits and has considerable indemnity insurance. Thus, overall, FP Markets is a very safe and trustworthy broker.

Bottom Line

This FP Markets review finds that the broker’s spreads are pretty great insofar as you are using a Raw account, as are the leverages. And in terms of regulation, the platform does well enough with two high-trust regulators on its list of licensing agencies. 

Although signing up is quick, accessing the live market and finishing the verification procedure may take longer. The account security is also great, given the presence of multifactor security, and it does even better in terms of securing customer funds. Customers at least have the assurance that their money won’t likely get entangled in any financial mess that FP Markets may likely encounter.

As far as research and education go, FP Markets performs pretty awesomely as well. The platform has a robust repertoire of educational materials and channels for clients to use. And as for customer support, the broker’s chatbot may not be very robust in its capacity to handle customer complaints, and there may be no agents available on Sundays. Still, the support team is timely and helpful in its responses, and it helps that the platform can be interacted with through a broad range of social media channels.