Pepperstone originated in Melbourne in 2010, and with offices around the world, it offers award-winning multi-lingual customer support 24/5. Regulated in many countries, it segregates client funds in Tier 1 banks and supports more than 300,000 users. With over 1,200 trading instruments across forex, indices, gold and US shares, beginners can get support thanks to Pepperstone’s educational resources and tools. Spread bets and CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 78.8% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading spread bets and CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you understand how spread bets and CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money. It offers a 20% welcome bonus up to $10,000, according to regulation and a free 21-day demo account with $100,000. Instruments include:
Metals Commodities Stocks FX Options Oil ETFs Options Crypto currencies CFDs Indexes Shares Spread betting Indices Forex Bonds
AVATrade EU Ltd is regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland. (No. C53877) Ava Trade Markets Ltd. is regulated by the B.V.I Financial Services Commission. It is also highly regulated in Australia, South Africa, Japan, Middle East, Cyprus and Israel You can not trade with AvaTrade in the US, North Korea, New Zealand, Iran or Belgium. Mínimum deposit of $100, no withdraw limit and no fees.
Its strong points include:
No minimum first-time deposit No commissions Several payment methods for deposits and withdrawals Tight spreads from 0.5 pips
It offers one of the best execution speeds in the industry with low latency below 0.004s. It utilizes the most advanced technology to improve users’ trading efficiency – users can automate trades, build integrations and create trading apps using ActivTrades’ market-leading CFD and spread betting technology. Exceptional trading infrastructure is available on ActivTrader and MetaTrader 4 and 5. ActivTrades invests deeply in specially developed educational materials for its clients – including webinars, regular outlooks, manuals, etc. Type of offers: ActivTrades focuses on well-developed products in its trading portfolio. Customers can choose from over 1,000 CFD or spread betting instruments across forex, indices, shares, commodities, financials and ETFs. It also offers investing solutions for its institutional partners. Spread betting allows UK residents ONLY to trade the prices of financial instruments, including forex, indices, commodities and LSE shares. Spread betting and CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 76% of retail investor accounts lose money when spread betting and/or trading CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you understand how spread betting and CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money As a broker, Vantage Markets is well-regarded and considered safe thanks to regulation by ASIC and the FCA. Vantage Markets offers access to the markets through the popular MT4 and MT5 platforms, and a feature-stuffed mobile app. There are three account types:
Standard STP. Perfect for novices, this is a commission-free account that works across all trading instruments, with a minimum spread of 1.4 pips. The minimum deposit is $200. Raw ECN. Designed for more experienced traders, this account charges commission at $3 per lot per side but the low spreads start at 0.0 pips. The minimum deposit is $500. Pro ECN. This is for professional, high volume traders, and offers commission at $2 per lot per side, with spreads from 0.0 pips. The minimum deposit is $20,000.
Vantage Markets is seen as a good, reliable broker that offers social and copy trading – without being prohibitively expensive in terms of non-trading costs or commission. Trading on MT4 with Vantage Markets is simple and easy. The interface is almost entirely customisable – you can change the layout, size and position of tabs and charts, with access to all basic order types available on both the desktop platform and the WebTrader application. Vantage Markets offers fast execution of trades on MT4, making it suitable for use with EAs and other algorithmic trading robots (automated trading). Vantage Markets is also integrated with the MT4 mobile trading app for iOS and Android too so you can place trades wherever you are. Trading Forex and CFDs involves significant risk of losing of your invested capital and is not suitable for all investors. 64.86% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. You should not invest more than you can afford to lose and should ensure that you fully understand the risks involved. Before trading, please take into consideration your level of experience, investment objectives and seek independent financial advice if necessary. Although it does not offer services to traders in the USA, Hong Kong, New Zealand and a few other countries, FXCM is well regulated by FCA, ASIC, CySEC and FSCA. FXCM has a long history, founded in 1999 – and although there have been some legal problems in the past, it is considered to be a reliable broker. With FXCM you can trade the following instruments:
45 currency pairs 15 stock index CFDs 7 cryptocurrency CFDs 12 commodity CFDs 219 Stock CFDs 1 bond CFD
There are two types of account – a Standard account with a minimum deposit of $50, or an Active Trader account that must maintain at least $25,000. The only real difference between these account types is that the cost of the spread is slightly better for the trader with an Active Trader account. FXCM does not charge a commission, and the cost of trading is built into the spread. There are also no fees to open an account, deposits are free from bank accounts as well as credit and debit cards, and although there is an inactivity fee, it doesn’t kick in until the account has been untouched for more than 12 months. Withdrawals are free to a credit or debit card, but you can expect withdrawal fees if you are moving funds to your bank account. FXCM works with some of the most popular trading platforms, like MetaTrader 4, ZuluTrade and NinjaTrader, but it has a decent proprietary platform that is available as a web and desktop trader as well as a mobile app. The Trading Station web platform is simple and user-friendly, with great customisation and search facilities. You can make several different order types on this platform, including time orders. However, you cannot receive any price alerts or notifications, and the research tools are not integrated – you need to open another web page to use them. The desktop platform is just as easy to use, but there are a lot more order types available and you can set price alerts and notifications. The mobile version of Trading Station is available for both iOS and Android. It too is simple to use, but the search function is a bit clunky and doesn’t have the most intuitive interface – and surprisingly, it does not support any notifications or price alerts. One of the best parts of the FXCM platform is the wealth of educational materials. Alongside the useful demo account, there is an extensive library of video, webinar and downloadable PDF content that has all the information a beginner needs to feel confident in trading. The research provided includes charts, technical analysis and a news feed. There is also a market screener and great trading ideas. FXCM might have limited instruments, but with low fees and no commission with good education and research, it is a great broker for beginner traders.
XTB claims to be one of the largest stock exchange-listed brokers in the world. With more than 15 years of experience in trading, XTB offers exceptional customer support and education. It offers multiple trading options, including forex, indices, commodities, stock, ETFs and CFDs, as well as for cryptocurrencies like bitcoin. CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 74% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money. In practice, Admirals is a broker that offers several forex and CFD trading instruments in most currencies. Founded in 2001, Admiral Markets is regulated by JSC, FCA, EFSA and CySEC, and offers traders access to both MetaTrader 4 and 5, with the opportunity to have several active accounts with different base currencies to take advantage of price instability. There are several account types available, depending on the platform that you want to use. On MT4, you can choose a standard account known as Trade.MT4. The minimum deposit for this account is 100 USD/EUR/GBP or equivalent, and you can trade 37 currency pairs as well as metal, energy, future, stock and bond CFDs. In this account, the trading fees come from the spread, apart from with single share or ETF CFDs, which have a standard commission of 0.02 USD. The Zero.MT4 account offers tighter spreads, with more currency pairs (45) but fewer CFD options. The commission on forex and metal CFDs is 1.8 to 3 USD per lot, cash indices are 0.5 to 3 USD per lot, and energy CFDs are 1 USD per lot. If you prefer the upgraded MT5, you can also have an Invest.MT5 account, alongside the Trade.MT5 and Zero.MT5. MetaTrader 5 accounts have access to more trading instruments in both Trade and Zero, but the Invest.MT5 is designed purely for buying stocks and ETFs, with more than 4,350 stocks and 200 ETFs available and a minimum deposit of 1 EUR/USD/GBP. Deposits are free using bank transfer, card, PayPal or Klarna, but there is a 0.9% fee (or $1 minimum) for deposits made using e-wallets like Neteller or Skrill. You can have one free withdrawal a month as a bank transfer, but two if you use PayPal or e-wallets. Admirals is available as a trading app on mobile as well as web and desktop, and the user interface and real-time trading that is available across platforms offer a seamless user experience. The research and analytics are extensive, with technical and fundamental analysis alongside trading news, market sentiment and a market heat map. Access to MetaTrader Trading Central and a weekly trading podcast is also provided. Admirals takes learning seriously with two separate courses aimed at beginner traders.
The Zero to Hero course consists of 20 video lessons, a Q&A and a live session as well as a well-crafted trading strategy. Forex 101 is a three-stage course to take beginners through to experts using a structure that includes a video lesson with detailed notes and a quiz to check knowledge.
Admirals offers simple access to MetaTrader 4, but also has a Supreme Edition available which has upgraded tools for a better trading experience with advanced analyst inidicators and global opinions. The mini terminal allows in-window trades to take place simply, and you can get real-time news updates directly to your dashboard. This is an upgraded version of MetaTrader 4. Forex & CFDs are complex products, not suitable for everyone and come with the high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money. When you are considering the best forex broker for beginners in the UK, choosing a popular trading platform makes it easier to access the markets. Designed by MetaQuotes in 2005, MetaTrader 4 (MT4) offers a simple user interface combined with advanced technical analysis that is most often associated with forex trading. MetaTrader 4 remains popular as it is straightforward to use – even for beginners – and allows a high level of customisation including third-party scripts and expert advisors. MetaQuotes created a proprietary scripting language (MQL4/5) which is used to help support algorithmic trading – the ability to automatically trade using predetermined parameters – as well as a standalone system that brokers can use to manually manage trades. The multi-platform capabilities also allow users to work on PC, Mac, iPhone and Android. MetaTrader 4 offers the highest security standards, including encrypted data exchanges between the client terminal and platform servers, and support of RSA digital signatures (a form of public-key cryptosystem). MetaTrader 4 is considered the gold standard among trading platforms. Even though an updated version (MetaTrader 5) is now available, MT4 is the preference for both experienced and beginner traders.
Why Should I Use the MT4 Trading Platform?
The MT4 trading platform is perfect for beginners because of its multi-functional trading abilities and technologies that allow for additional services like expert advisors. Alongside the technological ease of use, there are thousands of tutorials and lots of information available, including open-source software, making it simple for the beginner to get started in trading. The platform’s interface is easy to read and understand. The main reason that MT4 is the perfect platform for the beginner trader is that almost every major forex broker provides it as part of their offering.
How Is MT4 Different to MT5?
MetaTrader 5 (MT5) is an updated version of the trading platform, so it may seem strange that it is less popular than MT4. The differences introduced in MT5 are mainly aimed at more experienced traders who are interested in additional features. MT4 is a 32-bit mono-threaded system, whereas MT5 is 64-bit multi-threaded and uses multiple servers for resource optimisation. A separate server for access, trade, history and backup makes MT5 more versatile. MT5 allows traders to trade in both centralised and non-centralised markets like stocks and futures as well as forex, while MT4 does not. The embedded chat function could be useful for experienced traders to discuss strategy. Having access to the history of trades means that backtesting becomes simpler. In MT5 you can see the real volume of lots that have been traded, rather than the number of changes (tick volume), and then you can download the tick history for backtesting.
Things to Consider When Choosing an MT4 Broker
Almost all brokers offer MetaTrader 4, so how do you choose the right one for you? Although we have rounded up some of the best brokers below, your choice should be based on the specific benefits they can offer you. There are a few things that should inform your decision:
Security
There are two security factors that you need to be sure of with your chosen broker:
Make sure they offer the right level of encryption and online security. To protect your money, it is important that your chosen broker is regulated by agencies throughout the world. These might include the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in the UK, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) and the National Futures Association (NFA) in the US. Credible brokers will be regulated by one or more of these agencies.
Some charge commission Some have a transaction cost Others charge you for withdrawing
Although it might seem prudent to choose the cheapest, you may find that the low-cost options might be lacking in other departments like security or what solutions they can offer. Try and find a brokerage with a good balance of costs and features.
Ease of Deposits and Withdrawals
When you are making trades, you want to be able to get money in and out of your account simply – and without crippling fees or wait times. In some cases, there might be a long wait, a charge or a minimum balance for withdrawals, so it is always wise to check that the broker makes it easy for you to access your money. The same goes for deposits – look for brokers that accept deposits in multiple ways (card, bank transfer, etc.) for ease.
Trading Platform
While MT4 is the perfect trading platform for beginner and expert traders alike, there are other platforms available, including proprietary platforms created by the brokers themselves. The option to trade on other platforms as well as MT4 gives extra flexibility. Choose the one that best suits your needs. Some brokers offer an extensive collection of educational materials like seminars, tutorials or how-to guides – and some even offer one-to-one tuition. Pair education with a demo account to try out new methods without risking your capital, learning as you go.
Fast Execution
When making trades, you want to get the best price straight away. Any delay could be the difference between a winning trade – and a loss. This can be mitigated by offering multi-platform options so that you can make trades wherever you are, or by offering a VPS (virtual private server) service for areas with a poor internet connection.
Customer Service
Even as an experienced trader, there will be times when you will need extra support. Finding a broker that offers excellent after-sales attention is important. For the best experience, look for 24/5 customer service in both account and technical support issues. Some providers also offer multi-lingual support.
MACD On-Balance Volume CCI
The brokers that are more suitable for a new trader will have lots of education materials available like tutorials. More experienced brokers will want to look for different research materials like charting and tighter spreads for bigger trades.
Is the broker well regulated? Regulated brokers are more trustworthy and a better choice for your finances Minimum deposit, withdrawal costs and limits, and whether there are any other non-trading costs Types of trading instruments offered (forex, cryptocurrencies, CFDs, etc.) Availability of educational materials (like tutorials or a demo account) Trading costs – is there a commission charge or is the cost of the trade built into the spread? Are there benefits for trading larger numbers? Access – do you need to use a desktop computer or a laptop to make trades, or is the mobile app well crafted and easy to navigate?
MetaTrader 5 offers broader options for trading (including stocks and CFDs), whereas MT4 is primarily aimed at forex trading. MT5 is faster and has more options for trading, but MT4 is familiar and simple, and so it remains the most popular choice for most traders. They also need to be able to provide research and education resources, and not charge too much for trades and in non-trading fees. The best MT4 broker in the UK really is a personal choice based on the circumstances of the user. The popular online forex trading platform still outperforms its successor (MT5) because it is simple and easy to use. The highly customisable Windows-based application works well with third-party scripts and expert advisors to create a personalised algorithmic trading experience. When it comes to choosing a broker that works on MetaTrader 4, the choice is more personal as so many brokers use the platform. When deciding on the right broker for you, consider how secure they are, how much it will cost to use them and how much the broker themselves can support you to become a better trader. Looking into the security and regulation of the broker will give you confidence that they are trustworthy. You may be looking for a low-cost broker, but the cheapest may not be the most appropriate for your needs. Choose the best brokerage for you to make the most of your trading experience on MetaTrader 4. WikiJob does not provide tax, investment, or financial services and advice. The information is being presented without consideration of the investment objectives, risk tolerance, or financial circumstances of any specific investor and might not be suitable for all investors. Past performance is not indicative of future results. Investing involves risk including the possible loss of principal capital.
