Top 3 UK Regulated Brokers
The United Kingdom is referred to as a prominent financial center and economy hub in the world. Therefore, it is not surprising to find out that there are a ton of forex brokers that you can find in the UK. After all, the forex market is the largest financial market in the world with impressive trading volumes of $5 trillion. The financial operations in the UK are overseen by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), which was formed due to the Financial Services Act of 2012. It effectively replaced its predecessor, which was known as the Financial Services Authority (FSA). Today, the FCA supervises the financial investment activities in the country, which includes brokerage houses, exchanges and a number of other parties for ensuring the financial markets continue to operate smoothly.
If you are in search of a broker for trading forex or CFDs, you will want to opt for a well-regulated one that has a good reputation in the market with its current as well as previous clients because you will be entrusting them with your investment when you start trading. However, it is also essential to remember that not all regulated brokers can be relied upon either. Even if they are regulated, they may not offer quality services that you are seeking.
If you are interested in establishing a relationship with the best brokers in the UK, the top 3 are mentioned below:
- FxPro
In 2006, FxPro began operating as an online forex broker. Since then, it has used a client-centric approach for enhancing the services it offers. As a matter of fact, FxPro is currently serving both retail and institutional traders spread across 170 countries via 870,000 trading accounts. This has enabled it to become one of the leading brokerages in the United Kingdom. While FxPro may have begun as a forex broker primarily, it has expanded its offerings and now enables traders to invest in more than 280 instruments and continues to add more on a regular basis.
One of the most recent additions made by FxPro was the introduction of cryptocurrencies, which have become a hot trading instrument nowadays. The broker has earned numerous awards over the years for providing excellent services to all its clients. While the headquarters of the FxPro Group are located in the UK, it has its offices spread out in various other areas, which include the Bahamas, Dubai and Cyprus. Therefore, not only is FxPro subjected to the laws of the FCA in the UK, but it also has to comply with the laws of DFSA in Dubai, CySEC in Cyprus and FSCA in South Africa.
This ensures the legitimate status of the broker and also provides security to the clients. According to the rules of the respective authorities, all client funds are kept in segregated bank accounts by the broker and it uses European investment-grade banks for this purpose. It provides negative balance protection and is also a participant in the compensation of investors in case the broker goes bankrupt.
In regard to trading platforms, FxPro has incorporated the market-leading MetaTrader 4 and has also added its newer version MetaTrader 5. If you are after a technological platform, the broker also offers you cTrader or you can also use their proprietary platform called FxPro Edge. These platforms can offer you fast executions and plenty of liquidity. There are different limit or stop loss levels for ever platform and it also varies for every instrument. You will find a wide array of tools, add-ons and measures available with automatic trading, pre-tested trading strategies, no limitations on scalping and risk management features as well.
Traders are also given the option of using a VIP package, which comprises of no deposit fees, free news reports, free VPS-server, SMS-notification of the margin and lots more. In terms of accounts, you will find the FxPro account, Micro accounts and also Swap-free accounts. Each of these has a leverage of 1:500, an initial required deposit of $500, fixed or variable spreads and customer support. If you are a beginner trader, you can use the broker’s demo account to test their practices. Overall, it is a very customer-friendly broker that offers you everything you need at one stop.
- Admiral Markets
Admiral Markets is a well-known brand, which has been working in the field of financial services since 2001. The company has its headquarters in the United Kingdom, but provides its services worldwide and has also established offices in Estonia and Cyprus. The broker’s aim is to enable their clients to access quality offerings and functional software through transparent execution and pricing. Their trading process is built for high trading frequency and low latency, which provides a great deal of liquidity to the traders.
The broker is also able to offer competitive spreads and has imposed no restrictions on trading strategies or styles, with low rejection rates and slippage and very high speeds. With Admiral Markets, you don’t just have the option of trading currencies, but can also use their services for trading metals, indices, stocks, energies and even popular cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, Zcash, Dash and Monero.
An advantage of signing up with the broker is that it is regulated by multiple, reputable authorities all over the world. This includes the FCA in the UK, the CySEC in Cyprus and the EFSA in Estonia. In accordance with their rules and regulations, the company is required to follow a particular operational model and offers secure trading services, which provides a lot of financial confidence. This means that all client funds are kept segregated from that of the broker and their data is kept in a secure environment and under encryption.
Other than that, the broker is also known to offer extensive educational materials and support, along with analytical data and various seminars. When it comes to trading platforms, Admiral Markets has kept up with the trends and has offered the popular MetaTrader 4 and MetaTrader 5. These are very powerful and user-friendly platforms that can be installed as desktop versions, can also be accessed via the web browser or be used on mobile devices, both for Android and iOS. This mobile plugin is very intuitive and boasts innovative features and includes a number of features, such as trading widgets, tick chart trader, indicator package and mini terminal with management options amongst others. Admiral Markets has also included flexible accounts to suit the needs of their clients and they are different for both the trading platforms. Convenient funding ways have been introduced, which includes traditional methods like bank wire transfers, e-transfers and Visa and MasterCard etc.
- City Index
Located in the heart of London, one of the largest trading providers with over 30 years of experience is none other than City Index. Its parent company is GAIN capital, which is well-trusted and renowned and this adds further credibility to the broker. There are more than 150,000 traders all over the world who have chosen to use City Index for their trading needs. The broker is known to offer low margins, competitive pricing, quality execution, supportive relationship management and tight spreads. When you decide to use the broker’s services, you will gain access to 12,000 global markets.
Some of the instruments you can trade through City Index include foreign currency pairs, global indices, shares, commodities and even cryptocurrencies. Other than the wide range of markets that you can enjoy through the broker, it has also gained recognition for its platform features and also for offering some of the leading trading technologies and solutions. If you are someone who likes a web-based platform, City Index has plenty of options to help you deal with that. This includes the Advantage Web platform or the AT Pro. Likewise, there are mobile and tablet apps that you can use.
Last, but not the least, the broker also offers the popular MT4. The most appealing fact about the broker is that its trading platform comprises of some powerful technology for whatever trading you wish to do. You can find 80 indicators, 16 types of charts and also actionable trade ideas through research portal highlights. The account types have been made as simple as possible so traders do not get confused. You will find three account options at your disposal, Trader, Premium Trader and Professional Trader. There is also a Private Client Service, an exclusive program that has been developed for active traders.
There is also a demo account that can be used for practice purposes, which can help new traders. You can enjoy both fixed and variable spreads with City Index and you can choose the ones that suit your trading strategy the most. The broker hasn’t implemented any minimum deposit requirement, which is another plus, and it offers high leverage when required. Common payment methods are available and you can choose the one that seems most convenient. No charges are incurred when you make deposits and transfers through cards.
These are the three top brokers in the UK and you can use any one of these to meet your trading goals.
