In 2006, AvaTrade was formed in Dublin, Ireland. The organization has offices in ten countries. It presently has more than 300,000 registered users and executes over 2 million monthly transactions. These elements add to AvaTrade’s reputation as a dependable and trustworthy broker. They are one of the market leaders and are authorized on five continents. The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC), the Japanese Financial Services Authority (FSA), and the South African Financial Services Conduct Authority (FSCA) regulate the broker. The Central Irish Bank, the Abu Dhabi Financial Services Regulatory Authority, and the British Virgin Islands Financial Services Commission have granted AvaTrade certification. AvaTrade enables the trading of equities, securities, indices, cryptocurrencies, and currency pairings. Customers get access to over 1,200 tools in total. This article will provide in-depth information to assist you in selecting the right broker.
List of contents
AvaTrade Broker : Website
Country of regulation: Ireland, Australia, Japan, South Africa, Abu Dhabi, British Virgin Islands, Israel
Trading fees class: Low
Inactivity fee charged: Yes
Withdrawal fee amount: $0
Minimum deposit: $100
Time to open an account: 1 Day
Demo account provided: Yes
Products offered: Forex, CFD, Crypto
Privately owned online forex and CFD broker AvaTrade was first established in 2006 under the name AvaFX. Its website is “committed to empowering people to invest and trade with confidence in an innovative and reliable environment, supported by best-in-class personal service and uncompromising integrity.”
Broker is an international company with its main office in Dublin, Ireland, with satellite offices spread out over Europe and Asia-Pacific. AvaTrade, like many other forex brokers, does not allow American traders.
AvaTrade offers a “wide selection of trading platforms for both manual and automatic trading, across many device types” and provides a comprehensive range of tradable products, including forex, equities, commodities, cryptocurrencies, and indices, with industry-standard spreads.
With the broker’s specialized teaching and research tools, novice traders should be able to come up to speed rapidly. New traders may create accounts for as low as 100 units of the base currency. Additionally, AvaTrade asserts that all accounts have negative balance protection and also provides AvaProtect, which enables customers to purchase insurance on trades.
AvaTrade is not regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), which is a highly regarded regulatory body with a reputation for making sure that market practices are fair for both individuals and businesses. The FCA is known for being strict in making sure that market practices are fair for both individuals and businesses.
Customer Service
A detailed FAQ will answer the majority of questions. The broker provides chat and phone service 24 hours a day, seven days a week, as well as social media portals and online form submissions. After a long wait, a live operator may respond to chat requests at various times of the day.
The broker maintains overseas offices, providing consumers access to local contacts as required. They offer an international phone number and a laundry list of local phone numbers for their multiple jurisdictions and EU member states.
Products
AvaTrade offers access to more than 1,250 financial products across a vast array of asset types, including:
- Forex
- Indices
- Commodities
- Stocks
- Bonds
- ETFs
- Options
- Cryptocurrencies
Adding cryptocurrencies to the range of forex, CFD, and options trading products provides new opportunities for high-risk speculators in line with industry regulations. CFDs consist of a basic range of commodities and bonds while every liquid US large-cap technology firm dominates share and ETF offerings. After completing a comprehensive selection of investment products, traders from the United Kingdom and Ireland may create spread betting accounts.
Pricing
AvaTrade generates most of its revenue from client trades “crossing” the bid/ask spread, as the broker advertises commission-free trading. The spreads charged to retail traders are higher than those assigned to professional traders, but only some clients qualify as professionals.
Experienced traders can qualify for a “professional” account that increases their maximum leverage from 30:1 to 400:1 while maintaining the same spreads. To qualify, investors must meet a minimum of two of the following requirements:
- Conducted transactions of significant size on the relevant market (OTC derivatives such as leveraged CFDs, forex, and spread betting) with AvaTrade and/or other providers at an average frequency of 10 per quarter over the previous four quarters.
- Have worked in the financial sector for at least a year in a job that required them to know about the transactions or services in question.
- Their portfolio of financial instruments exceeds €500,000 (including cash savings and financial instruments).
“Trading Conditions & Fees” under “Trading Info” outlines AvaTrade’s spreads, leverage, and margin requirements. Minimum advertised spreads for FX majors are 0.9 for EUR/USD, 1.1 for USD/JPY, AUD/USD, GBP/USD, 1.6 for USD/CHF, 1.8 for NZD/USD, and 2.0 for USD/CAD. As usual with FX, overnight positions incur swap fees.
AvaTrade requires only $100 to open an account and does not provide volume discounts or guaranteed stop losses. They assess a $50 inactivity fee after three months and a $100 administration fee after one year of account inactivity. As mentioned, there are no withdrawal or closure costs included in marketing materials. However, bank transfer and credit card transaction fees are documented in legal papers. It may take up to 10 business days to receive wire transfers, and withdrawal procedures might be lengthy. Islamic accounts are available, but they incur higher spreads.
Trade Experience
AvaTrade still provides a wide range of platforms to accommodate manual and automated traders even though it has discontinued the social trading programs RoboX and Mirror Trader and AvaTradeAct, their dedicated platform and an alternative to Metatrader.
Its default user interface, WebTrader, is reachable through a browser. Although simple and intuitive, it lacks some fundamental features that rival products offer. Clients utilizing conventional technical or fundamental trading strategies may also select the more recent Metatrader 5 (MT5) or the industry-standard Metatrader 4 (MT4).
AvaTrade customers have access to third-party platforms for copy and social trading, including AvaSocial, ZuluTrade, DupliTrade, and MQL5 Signal service, which provide most of the discontinued programs’ features. Additionally, AvaTrade joined forces in 2020 with Trading Central, a free service that provides trading signals and analyst recommendations.
The web versions of Metatrader and AvaOptions offer desktop platform integration, and AvaTradeGO, which includes AvaProtect, now offers an Android and iOS alternative to the basic Metatrader 4 Mobile.
The rebranded and updated MT4-based app has a limited feature set that has drawn dozens of negative reviews on Google Play but improved social trading capabilities. Additionally, the app caters to novice and less experienced traders by offering “step-by-step guidance on opening trades” and a feedback system they are unlikely to use.
Security
What happens if Ava is unable to pay you? This is the most often asked question by customers, and AvaTrade addresses it in their KID.
You might lose the value of your investment if Ava cannot pay you due to insolvency. However, in compliance with the Client Asset Regulations, we keep all retail client funds separate from Ava funds. The Investor Compensation Scheme (“ICS”) offers you some protection. Since this product falls under the ICS’s definition of an investment product, qualifying claimants are protected up to the first €20,000 in losses. Visit www.investorcompensation.ie for further details on the compensation plans.
Although the business maintains a segregated account for customer assets. It also operates a dealing desk, which could present a conflict of interest risk, particularly given that AvaTrade is not subject to Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) regulation. The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) oversees a major Australian operation. The broker also touts AvaProtect and negative balance protection. But it offers no further assurances regarding the security of client cash.
Although the user will be logged out for inactivity and account holders can use MT4’s one-time passwords. AvaTrade does not support two-factor authentication (2FA) or biometrics.
Education
According to its website, Sharp Trader offers trading courses and other educational materials. The tutorials are divided into beginning, intermediate, and advanced topics, providing logical pathways for skill development. In addition to training on trading platforms, a wide range of general publications covered all market-related issues. The materials were divided into five primary sub-topics, enabling customers to get answers quickly and efficiently. A malfunctioning search tool diminished the learning experience by excluding several articles and subjects.
In addition, the broker provides an e-book and a “Key Information Document” (KID) that describe each accessible instrument and the risks associated with trading it. The Sharp Trader site does not have a submenu for education or a range of valuable items.
Pros and Cons
Pros
- Full range of forex, CFD, and cryptocurrency products
- Exceptional social trading attributes
- Outstanding educational opportunities
- Negative balance defense
Cons
- Not governed by the FCA
- Investing platforms lack news and research capabilities
- Does not accept U.S. customers
- No guaranteed loss limit
Pros Clarified
- Access to financial instruments spanning a variety of asset classes, such as FX, indices, commodities, stocks, bonds, ETFs, options, and cryptocurrencies, is made available through AvaTrade.
- AvaSocial, ZuluTrade, DupliTrade, and the MQL5 Signal Service are third-party platforms for copy and social trading to which AvaTrade gives its customers access.
- Sharp Trader provides well-structured tutorials divided into beginning, intermediate, and advanced topics, providing logical pathways to skill development.
- Negative balance protection and AvaProtect, which enables the customer to purchase insurance on a trade, are both provided by AvaTrade.
Cons Clarified
- AvaTrade is not regulated by the FCA, a well-known regulatory body with a reputation for being strict about ensuring that market procedures are fair for both people and businesses.
- WebTrader, AvaTrade’s default user interface, is less functional than its competitors’ FX online brokers.
- Due to regulatory restrictions, AvaTrade is unable to accept customers from the United States, which—combined with the fact that it is not FCA regulated—raises specific questions.
- Guaranteed stop loss orders (GSLO), which shield traders from market gap risk, are unavailable on AvaTrade.
Is AvaTrade A Worth Broker to Get?
AvaTrade is for first-time investors who want to learn the fundamentals of FX and CFD trading. AvaTrade is the best option for beginner and undercapitalized traders looking to expand on their limited skill sets because of its product suite, which offers variety, average spreads, and a selection of user interfaces.
The broker offers ordinary to competitive spreads and sufficient learning resources depending on the type of account. It is perfect for novice and undercapitalized traders who want to develop their limited skill sets due to its cheap account minimums.
Although the website and marketing materials strive for clarity, potential clients seeking details on account kinds, spread schedules, and cost lists may need clarification.
Large-scale and professional traders may find better value elsewhere due to the lack of volume discounts, high-end trading platforms, and extensive news and research resources.
Large-scale and professional traders may find better value elsewhere due to the lack of volume discounts, high-end trading platforms, and extensive news and research resources.
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Source: Investopedia