IC Markets Review 2023 - Verified Customer Reviews
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IC Markets Review
Updated January 20, 2023
Risk Warning: CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 73% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with IC Markets (EU) Ltd. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
- Low spreads, commissions and trading costs
- Fast execution speeds and low latency times
- Regulated in the EU, Australia and Seychelles
- High customer ratings
Regulations and Money Protection
5.0
| Entity Name | Licence & Regulation | Client Money Protection | Deposit Compensation Scheme | Negative Balance Protection |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Raw Trading Ltd (SC) | Seychelles FSA Licence | ✔️ segregated client money |
❌ | ✔️ |
| International Capital Markets Pty Ltd (AU) | Australia ASIC Licence | ❌ | ✔️ | |
| IC Markets (EU) Ltd | Cyprus CySEC Licence | ✔️ up to €20,000 |
✔️ |
Entity/Regulation
- International customers: Raw Trading Ltd will be the counterparty for International customers. This entity, registered in the Seychelles with company number 8419879-2 and trading as IC Markets (SC), is regulated by the Financial Services Authority of Seychelles (FSA) with a Securities Dealer Licence.
- Australian customers: International Capital Markets Pty Ltd, (ACN 123 289 109), trading as IC Markets, is licensed by the Australian Securities & Investments Commission (ASIC). International Capital Markets Pty Ltd is registered to carry out financial services business in Australia, limited to the financial services covered by its AFSL licence. The trading name, IC Markets, used by International Capital Markets Pty Ltd, is also used by other entities.
- European customers: IC Markets (EU) Ltd is a Cyprus Investment Firm (CIF) authorized and regulated by the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC). IC Markets (EU) Ltd registered office is at 141 Omonoias Avenue, The Maritime Centre, Block B, 1st floor, 3045 Limassol, Cyprus. The CySEC licence allows IC Markets (EU) Ltd to carry out brokerage activities in Europe, as an intermediary in the financial markets, respecting the MiFID obligations.
Client Money Protection
- IC Markets complies with the highest safety standards for client's funds. For this reason, IC Markets client's funds are kept in top-tier international banks, such as the National Australia Bank (NAB) and Westpac Banking Corporation (Westpac), both top-tier banks, fully segregated from the company's funds.
- IC Markets also complies with the client money handling rules and employs strict policies and procedures regarding the maintenance and operation of these accounts. IC Markets holds client's money separately to the company funds and does not use these funds for any operational expenses or purposes.
Deposit Compensation Scheme
IC Markets (EU) Ltd is a member of the Investor Compensation Fund (ICF), an investor compensation fund for CIF clients and its functions are regulated by the directive DI87-07 of the CySEC. If IC Markets (EU) Ltd is unable to meet its obligations, clients might be entitled to compensation (up to the value of €20,000) per claim, irrespective of the number of accounts held, currency and place of offering of the investment service (within Europe).
Negative Balance Protection
For customers of IC Markets (EU) Ltd and IC Markets (AU) there is a default NBP mechanism in place, protecting traders from any losses bigger than their original investments, in compliance with 2018 ESMA and 2021 ASIC's new CFD trading regulations.
Customers of Raw Trading Ltd (IC Markets Seychelles) are also offered Negative Balance Protection to prevent clients from keeping their accounts balance below zero. This means that in case of extreme market volatility, and without an adequate stop loss in place, a losing trading position cannot cause a negative account balance.
Customers of Raw Trading Ltd (IC Markets Seychelles) are also offered Negative Balance Protection to prevent clients from keeping their accounts balance below zero. This means that in case of extreme market volatility, and without an adequate stop loss in place, a losing trading position cannot cause a negative account balance.
Professional Indemnity Insurance
For customers of IC Markets (AU) a Professional Indemnity Insurance is maintained with the Lloyd's of London. For customers of IC Markets (SC) a Professional Indemnity Insurance is maintained with H Savy Insurance Co Ltd in the Seychelles.
Accounts, Instruments and Platforms
| Accounts | Instruments | Platforms | Social trading | Maximum Leverage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ✔️Standard ✔️Raw ✔️cTrader Raw ✔️PAMM ✔️Islamic Accounts |
✔️Forex ✔️Indices ✔️Stocks ✔️Futures ❌ETFs ✔️Bonds ✔️Commodities ✔️Cryptos |
✔️MT 4 ✔️MT 5 ✔️cTrader |
✔️Myfxbook ✔️ZuluTrade |
30:1 Europe 30:1 Australia 500:1 Rest of World |
Account types and currencies
- IC Markets has only two types of trading accounts available; Standard and Raw Spread (also available for cTrader as cTrader Raw Spread). IC Markets also offers swap-free accounts for traders of Islamic belief.
- IC Markets allows for social trading, including copy trading, through Myfxbook, ZuluTrade and MQL Signals.
- IC Markets has PAMM accounts alternatives for money managers.
- IC Markets maximum leverage is 30:1 for accounts opened within Europe and Australia, and up to 500:1 for accounts opened in other countries around the world.
- Currently, IC Markets trading accounts are only available in AUD, CAD, CHF, EUR, GBP, JPY, NZD, SGD, USD and HKD.
Financial instruments
Trading with IC Markets can be done via the Metatrader 4, Metatrader 5 and cTrader, available on web, desktop terminal and mobile versions. IC Markets offers an excellent selection of more than 250 assets to trade, including Forex, indices, stocks, bonds, futures, commodities and cryptocurrencies.
- FX market - 65+ currency pairs (including Minor and Exotic crosses).
- Indices - 23 world indices including UK 100, S&P 500 and AUS 200.
- Stocks - 120+ stocks CFDs from worldwide top companies and banks, such as Apple Inc, BHP Hilton or Facebook.
- Bonds - 17 bonds CFDs based off highly rated government issued debt securities including governments of the United States, Japan and Europe.
- Commodities - 15 commodities CFDs; 3 metals (Silver, Platinum and Palladium), 5 energies including UK Oil, US Oil and Nat Gas and 7 soft.
- Futures - 4 futures contracts; DXY, VIX, WTI and Brent.
- Cryptocurrencies - 10 CFDs crosses, including BTC/USD, DSH/USD and EOS/USD.
Pricing
5.0
| Pricing/ Account |
Standard | Raw Spread | cTrader Raw Spread |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spread EUR/USD | from 1.0 pip | from 0.0 pip | from 0.0 pip |
| Commissions (1 lot) | ❌ | from 7 USD | from 6 USD |
| Minimum Deposit | from 200 USD | from 200 USD | from 200 USD |
Spreads
IC Markets spread for the most traded pair, the EUR/USD, starts at 1.0 pip, with a typical spread of 1.1 pip and no commissions. We consider this spread, for the Standard account to be average when compared with other top brokers.
With a IC Markets Raw Spread account, the EUR/USD minimum spread is 0.0 pip (typically 0.1 pip). To benefit from the lower spread of the Raw Spread account there's a cost to pay: a commission. For the EUR/USD, the standard lot commission for 1 lot (100,000 units) is 7 USD commission (3.5 USD per side/per lot). We consider this commission to be quite in line with other top brokers.
With a IC Markets Raw Spread account, the EUR/USD minimum spread is 0.0 pip (typically 0.1 pip). To benefit from the lower spread of the Raw Spread account there's a cost to pay: a commission. For the EUR/USD, the standard lot commission for 1 lot (100,000 units) is 7 USD commission (3.5 USD per side/per lot). We consider this commission to be quite in line with other top brokers.
Rollover Rates
IC Markets swap rates, as of 03-09-2020, for 1 lot EUR/USD (100,000 units) stands at an average rate of -5.07 for holding overnight a long 1 lot contract and at -0.16 for holding overnight a short 1 lot contract. We consider IC Markets swap rates to be average, compared with the rollover rates offered by other top Forex brokers.
Deposits/Withdrawals and Other Fees
- Deposit fees - Trading accounts can be opened in 10 different currencies and maintained via 15 different funding methods, including cards, bank wires and e-payments such as Neteller, Skrill and PayPal. Deposited funds are available almost instantly. IC Markets does not charge any fees for deposits.
- Withdrawals fees - Same policy applies for withdrawals (processing times vary from instant to 1 working day). IC Markets does not charge any additional fees for withdrawals. However, deposits/withdrawals may incur fees on payments to and from some international banking institutions. For more information, please visit the IC Markets deposit and withdrawals dedicated page.
- Inactivity fee - IC Markets does not charge an inactivity fee or any account maintenance fees.
Popularity
5.0
| Forex Education |
Deposit Options |
Deposit/Withdrawals Fees | Non expiring demo account | Customer Support |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Web TV Analysis Video Tutorials |
Cards Bank Wire E-payments |
❌ | ✔️ | Multi language 24/5 Support Live Chat |
The popularity of this excellent Australian broker is on the rise. Trading can be done with a good range of platforms (MT4, MT5 and cTrader) to suit all kind of traders. But the key factor for IC Markets raising popularity is their competitive trading conditions and spreads, particularly with a RAW spread account.
Offering cutting-edge trading technology, IC Markets has super-fast trading servers, maximizing order execution speeds on all three trading platforms. IC Markets also provides traders with direct access to inter-bank price feeds, from more than 50 banks and institutional liquidity partners. With those conditions, slippage is minimized when trading.
- Trading accounts - The IC Markets Raw Spread account is a popular choice with traders looking to save on trading costs, with a lower spread and a competitive commission of $7.00 per lot traded. Extra points for IC Markets' policy of no fees on deposits or withdrawals.
- Forex education - IC Markets also gets extra popularity points for their extensive range of Forex education materials, available through the Education tab. IC Markets clients can find a market analysis blog, video tutorials and the IC Markets Web TV with market comments. The Web TV is recorded daily from the floor of the New York Stock Exchange and presented in association with Trading Central. Web TV offers unmatched coverage on global equities, currencies and commodities.
| Funding Methods | Bank Wire, Broker to Broker, China Union Pay, Credit Card, Neteller, PayPal, Skrill (Moneybookers), Webmoney |
|---|---|
| Support Languages | Arabic, Chinese, Czech, English, French, German, Indonesian, Italian, Korean, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Thai, Vietnamese |
- Minimum deposit - Opening a trading account with IC Markets is easy, fast and can be done online, taking around 5 minutes to complete all the required forms. The minimum deposit requirement to topen a live account with IC Markets is 200 USD for all accounts.
- Customer support - IC Markets' multi language customer support service is available 24 hours, 5 days a week, in 14 languages. IC Markets' support is available via phone call, contact form, email and live chat directly from the broker's website.
Broker Profile
IC Markets is a Forex broker providing trading solutions for active day traders, scalpers and beginners. This Australian-based broker offers its customers a good choice of trading platforms, competitive trading costs, low latency connectivity and superior liquidity.
Established and incorporated in Sydney, Australia, in 2007, by a team of professionals in the financial services industry, IC Markets is currently Australia's largest CFDs and Forex brokerage service provider.
As an ASIC regulated entity, IC Markets is required to meet strict financial standards. These include capital adequacy and audit requirements. Built by traders for the traders, IC Markets is dedicated to offering unbeatable spreads with their Raw Spread accounts, execution speed and top customer service.
The broker aims to create the best and most transparent trading environment for retail and institutional customers, allowing traders to focus on what matters - their trading.
Overall, on our IC Markets review, the broker scores a superb 4.9 out of 5.0. IC Markets is a very reputable choice for traders looking for a highly regulated broker (in the EU and Australia), and above all, for those looking for an FX broker with low trading costs. Also a positive note for their excellent ECN environment trading conditions, with fast execution speeds, and low spreads.
Data supplied in partnership with CashBackForex - Forex Rebates places IC Markets on the top 3 brokers for popularity with traders opening an account in 2022.
Was this review helpful? Share it with a friend!
Established and incorporated in Sydney, Australia, in 2007, by a team of professionals in the financial services industry, IC Markets is currently Australia's largest CFDs and Forex brokerage service provider.
As an ASIC regulated entity, IC Markets is required to meet strict financial standards. These include capital adequacy and audit requirements. Built by traders for the traders, IC Markets is dedicated to offering unbeatable spreads with their Raw Spread accounts, execution speed and top customer service.
The broker aims to create the best and most transparent trading environment for retail and institutional customers, allowing traders to focus on what matters - their trading.
Overall, on our IC Markets review, the broker scores a superb 4.9 out of 5.0. IC Markets is a very reputable choice for traders looking for a highly regulated broker (in the EU and Australia), and above all, for those looking for an FX broker with low trading costs. Also a positive note for their excellent ECN environment trading conditions, with fast execution speeds, and low spreads.
Data supplied in partnership with CashBackForex - Forex Rebates places IC Markets on the top 3 brokers for popularity with traders opening an account in 2022.
Was this review helpful? Share it with a friend!
IC Markets User reviews
IC Markets Account types user rating
(386)Standard
(499)Raw Spread
(337)cTrader Raw Spread