Summary

Markets.com is a CFD trading company that has provided services to clients across different countries for over 15 years. Their assets listing is very impressive. There are 500+ instruments listed by the broker, including 55+ currency pairs, 290+ share CFDs, 20+ commodities, 25+ indices, 23+ cryptocurrencies, 75+ ETFs, and 4 bonds. However, as they are strictly a CFD broker, they do not provide real shares or other non-CFD instruments. Shares are available from top-rated companies across 20 countries, including the United States, United Kingdom, Germany, France, Spain, and Hong Kong. Also, leverage on stocks with this broker depends on the client’s country of residence. While clients in the British Virgin Islands who are under the jurisdiction of the FSC will enjoy leverage of up to 1:10, UK, EU, and AU customers will have access to leverage of up to 1:5.

With respect to regulation, Markets.com is authorised by the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC), Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC), Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA), and Financial Services Authority (FSC) in the British Virgin Islands.

This Markets.com review presents a comprehensive overview of all the broker’s services. It covers their available assets, payment methods, trading platforms, customer service, regulations, and account type.

Available Assets

This broker has 500+ assets, including  55+ currency pairs, 290+ share CFDs, 20+ commodities, 25+ indices, 23+ cryptocurrencies, 75+ ETFs, and 4 bonds. Unfortunately, they only offer CFD instruments. Therefore, customers cannot invest in real stocks or other non-CFD assets. This section of our Markets.com review shines the spotlight on each of the available assets listed on the broker’s platform. We will also provide you with all the available information regarding leverage and spreads on these instruments.

Stocks

Stock CFDs represent the majority of the broker’s financial asset offering. They have 290+ stocks from well-known companies such as Tesla, Amazon, Google, and Deutsche Bank. Clients will be able to hold long or short positions and have access to leverage up to 1:10.

Indices

There are 25+ indices available on this broker. Traders can speculate on the performance of the global economy and hold long or short positions on instruments such as US30, DE30, US100, and SA40. Also, spreads for this asset is from 1 pip.

Forex

Markets.com’s forex offering is considerably large, with 55+ major, minor, and exotic pairs. Traders can speculate on the prices of these currencies and place open orders via any of the broker’s trading platforms. Spreads on this financial instrument are variable. However, clients can enjoy spreads from 0.6 pips on major currency pairs such as EUR/USD and AUD/USD.

Commodities

Traders will have access to 20+ commodities on the Markets.com trading app for mobile and desktop. They offer CFDs on spot and futures commodities and commodity CFD stocks and ETFs. Clients can trade instruments such as cocoa, corn and many more. They will also be able to open positions on energies and metals such as oil and gas, gold, and silver. Furthermore, spreads can start from 0.5 pips on assets like gold.

Cryptocurrencies

Opening an account with this broker provides traders with access to 23+ crypto CFDs, including Bitcoin, Litecoin, Ethereum, and Ripple. Customers will not need a crypto wallet and will have access to leverage up to 1:20 if they fall under the jurisdiction of the FSC. Users in regions regulated by ASIC or CySEC will have leverage up to 1:2. They will also be able to trade 24/7, depending on the specific instrument.

ETFs

Markets.com offers 75+ ETFs. This offering cuts across a broad range of assets, including currency, commodity, bond, inverse, and industry ETFs. Examples of available instruments include FTGC, Invesco, Delltech, and McKesson.

Bonds

Bonds are also available on Markets.com. This broker lists 4 instruments under this asset class. They are Gilt 10Y Bond, US TNote 10Y, US TBond 30Y, and GER 10Y Bond.

Stock Trading at Markets.com

Stock trading on Markets.com is limited to CFD stocks only. There are no real shares or fractional shares. Below, we discuss the available stock exchanges at this broker and outline its stock trading fees, commissions, and leverage.

Available Stock Exchanges at Markets.com

There are 20 exchanges listed by this broker on its platform. These exchanges offer a variety of CFD shares from leading global companies across different sectors. We outline all of them in the table below.

Stock Trading Fees & Commission at Markets.com

Markets.com does not charge a commission on orders placed on stock CFDs. They only earn from the spreads on these assets. Furthermore, this broker operates a floating spread model. Therefore, spreads can vary depending on liquidity and current market conditions. In addition to spreads, customers will also have to pay a swap fee if they hold positions overnight.

Stock Trading Leverage at Markets.com

Markets.com offers margin trading. This means that their clients can hold larger long or short positions than their available balance. The leverage on stock CFDs with this broker depends on clients’ location. Customers who fall within the FSC’s jurisdiction can access leverage up to 1:10. However, those in the UK, EU, or AU will enjoy leverage up to 1:5.

Regulations

Regulations are an essential aspect to consider before opting for a broker. This is why, as part of our Markets.com review, we have examined their regulatory and licensing information. Markets.com is authorised by financial and investment oversight organisations in the United Kingdom, Cyprus, Australia, South Africa, and the British Virgin Islands. These organisations include the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC), Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC), Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA), and Financial Services Commission (FSC).

Below, we provide you with details about this broker’s subsidiaries across various countries, including their licence numbers.

Finalto (BVI) Ltd: This entity is located at 6th Floor Luna Tower, Waterfront Drive, Road Town, Tortola, VG110, British Virgin Island. It is authorised and regulated by the B.V.I Financial Services Commission.

• Licence Number: SIBA/L/14/1067

Finalto Financial Services Limited (FFS): They are a subsidiary of Finalto Group Limited and reside on the 11th Floor, Broadgate Tower, 20 Primrose Street, London, England, EC2A 2EW. They are regulated by the FCA.

• FCA Registration Number: 481853
• Company Number: 06557752
• VAT Registration Number: 991 2210 32

Finalto (Australia) Pty Ltd: This company’s office is located at Level 36, Governor Phillip Tower, 1 Farrer Place, Sydney NSW 2000 Australia. They are regulated by ASIC.

• Australian Company Number: 158 641 064
• Licence Number: 424008

Safecap Investments Limited: This EU entity of Markets.com is located at 148 Strovolos Avenue, 2048, Strovolos, P.O. Box 28132, Nicosia, Cyprus. Furthermore, it is authorised and regulated by CySEC.

• CySEC Licence Number: 092/08
• Company Number: HE186196

Finalto (South Africa) Pty Ltd: This entity is the South African subsidiary of the Finalto Group. They are regulated by the FSCA and located at Boundary Place, 18 Rivonia Road, Illovo Sandton, Johannesburg, Gauteng, 2196, S.A.

• FSCA Licence Number: 46860

Fees and Commissions

This broker does not charge any commissions. However, there are other trading and non-trading fees that their clients are expected to pay. Next in our Markets.com review, we take a deep dive into each of these fees to give you an overview of the costs and charges to expect while trading with them.

Trading Fees

Markets.com fees for trading activities include spreads and overnight fees (swap fees). There are no fixed commissions on any of its listed financial assets. We discuss both trading costs below.

Spreads

This broker offers floating spreads. This means that clients can enjoy much tighter spreads than what may be available on many other brokers. However, spreads typically vary depending on liquidity and volatility of the market. On some instruments such as forex pairs, Markets.com spreads start from 0.6 pips.

Overnight Fee

There are charges attached to positions held overnight. They vary depending on the size of the trade and swap rate.

Non-Trading Fees

This broker does not charge a deposit or withdrawal fee. However, clients will pay a currency conversion fee and, where necessary, an inactivity fee.

Inactivity Fee

Markets.com has a $10 inactivity fee for accounts that do not have any open or closed positions, deposits, or trades placed for 90 days. This fee is deducted each month until trading activity resumes on the account.

Currency Conversion Fee

Clients who wish to engage in transactions involving a currency that is different from their account base currency will be subjected to a 0.6% conversion charge.

Account Types

Markets.com offers a wide range of account choices, including demo, retail, professional, and islamic account types. In this section of our review article, we explain each of these options in greater detail.

Demo Account

Markets.com has a demo account that enables clients to trade with virtual currency. Upon opening a demo account, users will be provided with a $10,000 virtual balance which they can use to test out their trading strategies and familiarise themselves with the broker’s platforms. However, these funds cannot be withdrawn.

Retail Account

Retail accounts are the most common account type. They are available to all users and enable them to trade with real money. They also provide access to the complete range of financial assets listed by this broker. Customers who operate this account type will be able to run a regular, joint, or corporate account set-up.

Islamic Account

Markets.com offers an Islamic Account by providing swap-free trading status to its Muslim clients. To access this, clients can open a regular account and choose to opt to trade without paying overnight charges.

Professional Account

This account type is similar to a retail account. A Professional Account has access to exclusive VIP bonuses and higher leverage than regular accounts.  However, it is only available to users who have experience working in the financial sector and a portfolio size exceeding $500,000. In addition, only clients under FCA, CySEC, or ASIC jurisdiction can open this account type.

Trading Platforms

One of the most essential aspects we consider in our Markets.com review is the broker’s available trading platforms. They offer a proprietary trading platform that is available as a web and mobile application. In addition, they are also compatible with MetaTrader 4 and 5. Here, we examine the features of their desktop and mobile trading apps. We also offer a detailed guide on how to open a live account with this broker through its platforms.

Desktop Trading Platforms

On desktop, clients can use this broker’s proprietary web application or download MT4 or MT5. Here in this section we focus on the web application as we discuss some of its features and provide you with a step-by-step guide for opening an account with Markets.com on desktop.

User Interface

A quick glance at the Markets.com web application reveals an intuitive user interface. There are limited functionalities compared to many other trading applications and popular platforms such as MT4 and MT5. However, this broker’s proprietary app on desktop offers a seamless interface with features that are easy to understand and navigate.

Design

The design of this application is simple. First-time users can find it easy to locate the functionalities they need. Also, the colour scheme is great, the charts are easy to look at, and all essential features are visible in a single view.

Watchlist

The watchlist feature allows traders to aggregate their preferred CFD instruments into a single list for easy observation. On this tab, traders can view an asset’s sell and buy price, percentage change in price, and 24H trend.

One-Click Trading

One-click trading enables users of this broker to place trades slightly faster by eliminating the need for confirmation after placing a market order entry.

Financial Commentary

This feature provides clients with up-to-date information regarding current happenings in the financial markets. These articles are offered from various sources and enable customers to make better-informed trading decisions.

How to Open an Account on Markets.com Desktop Trading Platform

1. Visit the Markets.com website and select “Start Trading”.
2. Enter your email and preferred password.
3. Select your country of residence.
4. Fill in your personal information.
5. Provide your residential address, employment status, and profession.
6. Select your annual income, proposed investment amount, and the purpose and nature of your trading.
7. Indicate your source of funds.
8. Read and agree with the terms and conditions, privacy policy statement, risk disclosure statements and other relevant legal documents.
9. Once you agree with the legal documentation, your account is created. You can then deposit funds immediately or opt to fund your account later.
10. Finally, verify your account by uploading a passport, national ID, or driver’s licence.

Mobile Apps

Apart from their exclusive web application, this broker also provides a native mobile application for iOS and Android devices. Below, we cover the features of this app and outline the process for opening an account via this platform.

User Interface

The Markets.com mobile trading app has an easy-to-understand user interface. It is customer-focused and user-friendly and has minimal lag times.

Design

The design of this application is straightforward. It has just three tabs – trade, portfolio, and account. Also, users can easily access their charts and view all the relevant information about their preferred assets such as spreads, percentage change, and daily range.

Alerts

The Markets.com app for mobile allows users to set price alerts. This feature notifies clients when the price of a particular financial instrument reaches a predetermined point.

Indicators

Traders who use the mobile application will have access to many indicators to aid their technical analysis, including Coppock Curve, EMA Cross, Klinger Oscillator, and Bollinger Bands.

How to Open an Account on Markets.com Mobile App

1. Search for Markets.com Trading App on your device’s app store.
2. Enter your username and password.
3. Indicate your country of residence.
4. Fill out your personal information, including your name, date of birth, and phone number.
5. Enter your residential address.
6. Provide information about your employment status.
7. Indicate your financial and trading information, including annual income, savings and investments value, source of funds, and purpose for trading.
8. Review all the terms and policies outlined and agree with the stipulated conditions.
9. Now, your account has been created. You can then proceed to add funds or verify your account by logging in and selecting the Accounts tab on the mobile app.

Payment Methods

There are various ways clients can make deposits and withdrawals at Markets.com. Below, we discuss each of these options and their processing times. We also list out the minimum deposit and withdrawal fees for all listed payment choices.

Deposits

This broker provides its clients with an extensive range of deposit options. Customers can add money to their live accounts via bank wire transfers, credit cards, debit cards, Skrill, Neteller, PayPal, ZotaPay, Ideal, and Sofort. It is also important to note that they do not accept third-party deposits. All funds entering into a client’s trading account must be from a source bearing their name.

The minimum deposit amount at Markets.com is set at 100 USD/GBP/EUR, regardless of the payment method used. However, processing times may vary for each of these methods. For example, while credit card deposits may typically take about 24 hours after processing to reflect in a client’s account, bank wire transfers may extend to 48 hours.

Withdrawals

Withdrawal methods are similar to the deposit options listed in the above section. However, there are variable minimum withdrawal amounts, depending on the withdrawal option used by a client and their location.

Credit cards, debit cards, and PayPal (for European clients) are allowed a minimum withdrawal of 10 USD/GBP/EUR. The lowest amount withdrawable with Wire transfers and Skrill/Neteller is set at 100 USD/GBP/EUR and 5 USD/GBP/EUR, respectively.

For customers resident in Africa, wire transfer withdrawals have a minimum of 10 USD, while credit cards and skrill are set at 5 USD.

Finally, withdrawal processing times may vary depending on the method used. While Credit cards, Debit cards, and e-wallets are usually processed in less than 24 hours, wire transfers may take up to 48 hours.

Account Base Currency

Available account base currencies on Markets.com include USD, EUR, GBP, DKK, NOK, SEK, PLN, CZK, and AED.

Research and Education

Learning resources are available on Markets.com’s Education centre. These materials largely include blog posts and beginner-friendly articles that cover a wide range of essential trading concepts. This broker also provides video tutorials that explain commonly used trading terminologies.

Market.com offers re-watchable webinars in English and Italian. In addition to these options, clients can have access to a glossary where they can see the meaning of terms that they may encounter frequently during trading. Finally, this broker has up-to-date news and analysis to help their users to make better-informed decisions.

Customer Services

Next in our Markets.com review, we consider this broker’s customer support options. They provide a wide range of platforms for users to register their complaints and receive efficient solutions, including email, phone calls, live chat, and an online query form.

Customers who wish to reach a customer service agent via email can forward their complaints to support@markets.com. To speak directly with support staff, clients can dial +44-2080-979-794. However, the call lines are only active from 10 pm on Sunday till 10 pm on Fridays, UK time. In addition to these media, this broker also provides an FAQ section that offers detailed responses to common queries shared by most users.

Also, Markets.com traders can reach out to them for assistance via their social media handles on different platforms. Currently, this broker has an active online presence on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Threads and Linkedin, where individuals can ask questions and find solutions.

Online Reviews

As we wrap up this Markets.com review, we take a look at what people are saying about this broker on various websites and discussion forums. We provide you with a detailed summary of users’ opinions of their services to enable you to have an idea of what to expect when you open a live account. In this section, we specifically discuss comments from Reddit, Quora, TrustPilot, and Forex Peace Army.

What Reddit Users Say About Markets.com

On Reddit, there are a few questions about this broker. Most of these queries are related to the broker’s reliability. Although these posts have not received many responses, all answers so far have claimed that Markets.com is a trustworthy company.

What Quora Users Say About Markets.com

Despite typing different search queries with the term ‘Markets.com’ on Quora, we could not find any posts with comments about this broker’s services. Although users have asked questions about them, there have been no responses so far.

TrustPilot Users’ Review About Markets.com

Markets.com has an average rating of 4.8 from 936 reviews on TrustPilot. The general overview of this broker on this platform is very positive. A large percentage of the comments praise them for their fast and responsive customer support. Another aspect of their services that consistently stood out for praise was the speed of their deposit and withdrawal process. Many people mentioned that the addition and retrieval of funds was a seamless and hassle-free experience.

ForexPeaceArmy Users’ Review About Markets.com

On ForexPeaceArmy, Markets.com has an overall rating of 1.965 based on 52 reviews. However, most of the comments about this broker on this website are not very recent, with the vast majority being from 2017 and below.

Comments about their deposit and withdrawal processing times were mixed as some people claimed that they were unable to withdraw their funds while others said the payment process was fast and seamless. Furthermore, there were positive comments about Markets.com’s customer service. Finally, their trading platforms received some criticism as one user claimed that the app was non-responsive and frequently produced lags.

Other Products and Services

In this section, we discuss any additional products and services offered by this broker which may not have been covered in the previous segments. Apart from its CFD trading offering, Markets.com only offers an Affiliate program. We provide useful information about this service below.

Affiliate Program

The Markets.com Affiliate program enables individuals to make money by becoming a partner. Partners can earn a commission when they refer a client who opens an account and trades with the broker. They offer competitive, tailor-made commission plans and a highly efficient Affiliate System Platform to promote easy monitoring of conversion rates and statistics. In addition, they will also provide constant customer support and advanced marketing tools.

MarketsClub

MarketsClub is a special membership offer that allows clients to access unique bonuses such as market trends, webinars, and daily reports and analysis. In addition, members will also enjoy benefits such as bonuses, spread rebates, and a dedicated account manager. There are different membership tiers in MarketsClub, each with its deposit requirements. Basic, Silver, Gold, and Platinum memberships require a deposit of $100, $2,500, $10,000, and $25,000, respectively.

Loyal Bonus

Markets.com rewards its customers with a 20% bonus on their first deposits. To access this special offer, all you need to do is open your live account and make a deposit of any amount, and you can enjoy an additional 20% bonus for trading, subject to the broker’s terms and conditions.

Is Markets.com Safe?

One of the most common concerns regarding brokers is their credibility. Our Markets.com review indicates that they are a trustworthy brokerage company as they are regulated across several countries. They hold authorization from the FCA (UK), CySEC (Cyprus), ASIC (Australia), FSC, and FSCA (South Africa).

In addition to their compliance with regulatory standards, they have also put in place several security measures. Markets.com safety protocols are designed to ensure that their customer’s funds are protected. In the event that something happens to the broker, clients under the jurisdiction of CySEC will be eligible for a €20,000 compensation courtesy of the Investor Compensation Fund (ICF). Also, depending on the unique circumstances, UK clients may be eligible for an £85,000 compensation as per the Financial Services Compensation Scheme’s (FSCS) requirements.

Clients in certain parts of Europe, the United Kingdom, and Australia will be able to make use of electronic verification to provide an extra layer of security to their accounts. This broker also operates segregated bank accounts, meaning that their customer’s funds are kept separate from the company’s money. Finally, they provide negative balance protection to guarantee that any losses incurred do not exceed the client’s available account balance.

Bottom Line

This Markets.com review explored all the pros and cons of the broker’s services. Overall, they are a reliable broker as they are regulated by many reputable bodies, including the FCA, ASIC, FSCA, FSC, and CySEC. They also provide tight spreads as they operate a floating spread system. Furthermore, their CFD assets listing is very extensive. They are one of the few brokers that offer cryptocurrencies. However, there are still a few drawbacks to trading with them as some users consider their $100 minimum deposit to be relatively high.

There are 20 exchanges available to trade CFD stocks. Also, this broker does not charge a commission on its share CFDs. Instead, it earns from the spreads on its assets. Customers will be able to operate a demo, retail, Islamic, or professional account. They will also have access to Markets.com’s proprietary trading platform, MT4, and MT5.

Online, there are mixed reviews of their services as they have an excellent 4.8 rating on TrustPilot and an unimpressive 1.965 rating on ForexPeaceArmy. There are also limited comments about them on Quora and Reddit. To reach out to this broker, you can send an email to support@markets.com or dial +44-2080-979-794.