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Editor Rating
- 4/5 – Good
Account
- Vantage FX review
- Website: www.vantagefx.com
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Review Summary:
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Vantage FX is one of the leading forex brokers in Australia and allows you to trade on cryptocurrencies, commodities, and indices in addition to the forex markets. Vantage FX has tier-1 licenses with the ASIC (Australia) and FCA (UK).
Table of contents
Forex trading is a high-stakes, high-risk endeavor. But it can pay off big-time. It’s crucial, then, to know that your forex broker is stable, trustworthy, and reliable. With the number of forex brokers available, it can be a challenge to sort through them all and find the one that’s best for your needs.
One prominent option is Vantage FX. Vantage FX is one of the leading forex brokers in Australia and allows you to trade on cryptocurrencies, commodities, and indices in addition to the forex markets. Vantage FX has tier-1 licenses with the ASIC (Australia) and FCA (UK).
Over the last ten years, this forex broker has become one of the leading options in Oceania. But who, exactly, is Vantage FX? And why should you trust them to be your broker of choice?
Follow along, and we’ll break down everything they offer, including the history of the organization, their particular strengths, and where they could improve.
Background on Vantage FX
The company was founded in 2009, initially known as MXT Global, before ultimately rebranding as Vantage FX six years later in 2015. They are primarily a MetaTrader broker, using the powerful suite of platforms provided by MetaQuotes software (MT4 and MT5).
The founding team had backgrounds in finance and technology and set out to provide a unique customer experience in the financial trading market. Rather than just building out the platform as they saw fit, they put the customer first. The team asked themselves what customers most wanted out of a forex broker that they couldn’t get elsewhere, and worked backward from there. That led to some of their strongest advantages, which we will explore shortly.
As they enter their second decade of existence, Vantage FX does everything they can to avoid complacency. They strive to constantly evolve, continuing to put their best foot forward and grow as the market does.
Vantage FX has an Australian Financial Services License from the ASIC, and maintains the highest compliance standards, while frequently being audited to ensure the protection of client money. Read on for a more thorough breakdown of Vantage FX’s array of features.
Vantage FX Features
Vantage FX has a wide array of features, some of which set an industry standard while others lag behind. Let’s work through them now:
Vantage FX accounts
Vantage FX has three different account tiers. The Standard STP account is great for beginners who are new to the live trading environment. You can start trading with a $200 minimum deposit, and there are no commissions on this tier. Standard STP offers some of the tightest spreads available and features up to 500:1 leverage.
The next level up—Raw ECN—is the most popular account tier on the platform. It was designed for more experienced traders who need deeper, institutional-grade liquidity from the world’s largest banks. The Raw ECN account features no spread markups and $3.00 commissions per standard lot.
Finally, the Pro ECN account is the option of choice for money managers or professional traders who consistently work with high volumes. It features top-of-the-market execution speeds, deep liquidity, and $2.00 commissions per standard lot. Another perk is that Vantage FX offers accounts for Muslim traders that are fully compliant with the rules for finance and trading according to Islam; they are one of the only major forex brokers to offer this option.
All account types feature MT4, MT5, Webtrader, and access to 40 currency pairs, 20 commodities, and 13 indices. Signup is super simple; fill out the application, then use one of ten different methods to fund your account. You can start trading within minutes.
Trading Platforms
The primary platform on Vantage FX is MetaTrader 4 and MetaTrader 5, the most popular global platform for forex trading. MetaTrader is widely respected in the industry and is available with 24/5 market hours. MetaTrader is available on desktop (Windows and Mac) and has a mobile app as well.
Vantage FX also supports WebTrader, MAM/PAMM, MyFxBook AutoTrade, and ZuluTrade. MetaTrader is definitely Vantage FX’s signature program, though.
Research
Vantage FX began with a very narrow scope of its research but focused on thorough quality and a gradual increase in quantity over time. It features a blog on technical analysis written by in-house writers and also features the occasional high-profile guest post. There are also several social trading features that analyze trading opportunities.
Vantage FX also provides live sentiment data, along with an economic calendar powered by MetaQuotes. As of 2017, Vantage FX integrated Trading Central to provide trading signals. Finally, clients who maintain a $1,000 balance have access to the MT4 Smart Trader Tools suite of research plugins.
The research options aren’t as broad as some competitors, but they’ve been consistently improving and adding to their selection of options; look for that to continue.
Liquidity Partners
Vantage FX features over 30 liquidity providers overall, and 14 leading liquidity partners. Those include many of the largest banks in the world, including J.P. Morgan, CitiBank, Goldman Sachs, Bank of America, BNP Paribas, KCG Hotspot, NAB, UBS, Credit Suisse, HSBC, RBS, Westpac, Nomura, and Societe Generale.
Regulation
Vantage International Group is licensed with several major international regulatory agencies. Vantage International Group Ltd is authorized and regulated by the SIBL under the Cayman Islands Monetary Authority, with the number 1383491.
In Australia, the ASIC authorizes and regulates Vantage Global Prime Ltd with the number 429801. And in the United Kingdom, the FCA authorizes Vantage Global Prime LLP with the number 590299.
Vantage takes pride in striving to maintain and uphold the absolute strictest standards of compliance. That allows traders to rest assured knowing their funds are secure and protected. There is enough risk in trading without having to worry about your broker; with Vantage FX, this isn’t a concern.
Leverage
Vantage FX offers competitive leverage in most markets. In the forex market, they offer leverage of up to 1:500. For indices, they offer 1:200, and for CFDs they offer 1:20. Vantage FX does not offer leverage in the commodities or cryptocurrency markets.
Leverage gives traders more buying power for each dollar they invest (1:500 leverage offers $500 of buying power for each $1), meaning traders can potentially amplify profits in these areas with the proper investments. It is common not to offer much leverage for cryptocurrency trading, and the rates for forex, indices, and CFDs are highly competitive.
What We Like About Vantage FX
One of the traits that really sets Vantage FX apart from competitors is their emphasis on transparency. That is at the core of Vantage FX’s philosophy and identity; they understand that forex trading is often cloudy and can be particularly intimidating for traders with less experience. The idea that trust is earned, not given, has guided much of the decision-making for Vantage FX.
Building off of this, we are impressed with Vantage FX’s strict regulation and compliance. The broker maintains the highest possible compliance standards with the ASIC and FCA. They also undergo regular audits to ensure that client funds are properly segregated. Thanks to these features, you can rest easy, feeling confident that your money is safe.
We love that Vantage FX has a variety of tiered account options, making it an accessible option for traders of all backgrounds, experience levels, and trading objectives. No matter your trading goal, Vantage FX has an account that can fit your needs. We also like that Vantage FX is one of the only major brokers that is fully accessible for traders of the Muslim faith.
We like that the standard account is commission-free and that Vantage FX comes with a growing array of research features, including Trading Central. MT4 and MT5 are leading platforms, and you can trade from your desktop or from your phone just the same. However, like any broker, Vantage FX isn’t perfect. It does have a few areas for improvement as well.
Where Vantage FX Could Be Better
Vantage FX is focused heavily on reliability and compliance, but they aren’t licensed in Europe, Japan, or in the U.S.A., meaning Vantage FX simply isn’t available to traders throughout large swaths of the world.
Further, there are no fixed spread accounts available at Vantage FX. Fixed spread helps stabilize investments and allows traders to know their spread cost no matter the conditions of the market. While this certainly shouldn’t be a dealbreaker (unless fixed spread was near the top of your priorities), it does mean there is a bit more risk involved.
Overall, Vantage FX is an excellent trading broker known for trust, transparency, and versatility. They offer support for traders with nearly all goals, offering a wide array of forex trading, cryptocurrencies, indices, and commodities, as well as three different membership tiers for traders of all experience levels.
If you live in the United States, Japan, or Europe, unfortunately Vantage FX is not yet licensed there. And if you prioritize a fixed spread, then this isn’t the broker for you. But if you prioritize versatility, transparency, and top-tier technology including the MT4 and MT5 backgrounds, then you can’t go wrong trading with Vantage FX.
