FxOpen Review

Today we will take a look at a forex broker which named itself FxOpen. There is not too much hype online about them so we decided to evaluate this forex broker a bit closer and see if we can find features we really like about them and can’t find anywhere else. So far, we still have PaxForex as our primary choice for new traders so let’s see if FxOpen can steal the show or nestle below them.

When you first visit the corporate website of FxOpen you will see that for 2011 they were awarded, or at least they claim that they were, ‘Best Awarded Trading Terminal’. This is very strange and already raised our eyebrows. The reason behind it is that they offer their clients the MetaTrader 4 platform which is the most widely used trading platform for forex traders.

Every single forex broker offers this platform which means there is nothing unique about it at first sight. Before we judged them on it, we took a second as well as third look and they do offer one unique add-on for their MT4 platform:

• ECN Currency Trading One Click Trading Level 2 Add-On

This allows clients who open an ECN account to enjoy ECN trading from their MT4 platform through this add-on. This add-on is rather nice for their ECN clients, but overall we would have preferred that they offer a unique platform for ECN clients who need to have a $1,000 minimum deposit in order to be allowed to trade from an ECN account. We do have to admit that offering ECN trading through the MT4 platform is unique and we like unique forex brokers. The also allow ECN traders to trade as little as 0.01 lots which is also a nice feature and definitely boosted their rankings in our book.

FxOpen does offer PAMM accounts which is a nice feature especially for those new forex traders who rather have another person manage their trading accounts. Spreads they offer in their accounts are acceptable and they offer 28 currency pairs as well as gold and silver in their Standard Account. Another positive is that they are regulated in New Zealand which offers an additional layer of security to forex traders.

They offer an analytical service which we have to dismiss as non-sense as the analysis provided is not beneficial to any trader. They offer you some basic analysis and it appears that it is written by an individual which is either not a direct member of FxOpen or they have a lousy policy on it as he gives his personal opinion which appears not to be supported by the broker. A big negative for FxOpen; either offer an analysis you support or don’t bother at all.

FxOpen did a lousy job with their website design, which of course is nothing major but appearance is important when you try to establish yourself as a top tier forex broker. They should invest the capital and give their online presence a complete overhaul.

They claim they offer the same terms and conditions to retail traders as they offer to institutional clients. I am not sure that too many institutional clients even have an account with FxOpen so they try to talk themselves bigger than they are, which is another negative for them. It is obvious this company caters to retail clients which is perfectly fine, just don’t act like you are bigger or different then you are.

Conclusion

FxOpen is a decent choice as a forex broker and would have ranked much better if they did not try to claim they are a different broker that what they are. Their ECN add-on is great and innovative, but their analytical service drags them through dirt. Currency pairs offered as well as spreads are good, their design knocks them down again. In general we give them one claw up and one claw down, The Last Bear has roared!

Posted in: broker, ECN. regulation, forex, fxopen, MT4, PAMM, paxforex, review