IronFX

IronFX Forex Review

When it comes to forex trading, IronFX offers access to an impressive range of 120 currency pairs. The broker allows you to trade all major pairs and crosses, as well as some minor and exotic pairs.

Also offers zero-commission trading for UK residents with fairly competitive dealing spreads that can either be fixed or variable, depending on the account type you select.  The broker also has a commission-based zero spread account type.

Regarding leverage, their offshore entity offers a maximum ratio of 1,000:1, although the maximum leverage for RUB, TRY, CNH and BRL crosses is 100:1 and 200:1 for CHF, CZK and DKK crosses. If you prefer to deal through the broker’s UK or EU offices, then FCA and EMSA regulations reduce those maximum leverage ratios substantially to 30:1.

You can trade forex in lot sizes as small as 0.01, and the broker supports MetaTrader 4 (MT4), which is the most popular platform among retail forex traders.

IronFX CFD Review

IronFX offers an extensive choice of Contract for Difference (CFD) instruments. The broker’s wide range of CFDs include those based on an extensive list of forex pairs, in addition to commodities, indices, futures and over 100 individual stocks.

In terms of its client coverage, broker caters mainly to retail traders,  also have features that will appeal to account managers, such as a personal multi-account manager (PMAM) platform that lets traders handle several financial trading accounts at the same time.

When it comes to learning material, they provide educational assistance, literature and tutorial videos aimed at beginners, as well as demo accounts and expert market analysis that can be helpful for traders of any experience level.  Broker also allows you to use third party trading robots and automate your own trading plan, which you can implement using MT4.

IronFX Social Trading Review

Social trading currently consists of the broker’s collaboration with the developers of other software and the associated community of traders that use them. This allows clients to access the live trades of others within the trading community to better inform their own trading efforts.

IronFX’s support for the Sirix Social WebTrader platform lets you access financial markets and recent trades. You can also access a network of other traders so you can review their past performance and copy their trades in your own account if you wish. The Sirix Social WebTrader software comes in a web version for desktops, as well as mobile apps for smartphones and tablets. It lets you execute CFD and forex trades easily, which then get reflected automatically on other platforms.

Also works with the Myfxbook AutoTrade platform that was created to help inexperienced traders make better trading decisions by connecting them to a community of experts with a known and verifiable track record. AutoTrade lets you automatically “mirror” or copy another trader’s transactions who then gets paid a small part of the dealing spread. Only live clients can access Myfxbook AutoTrade directly.

In addition, web-based Trader’s Dashboard features a social sentiment indicator that gives hourly updates of client positions for a selection of forex currency pairs and CFDs, although it does not directly interface with the various MT4 trading platforms supports.

IronFX Cryptocurrency Review

When it comes to cryptocurrencies, IronFX recently partnered with EmurgoHK in 2018 to create a new cryptocurrency exchange called IronX. The IronX Exchange is a world-class, regulated cryptoexchange that lets you trade a variety of digital coins. You can also perform fiat-to cryptocurrency conversions, and leverage options are available for traders.

The IronX Exchange charges different fees depending on whether you are a “maker” who places limit orders or a “taker” who deals at the market price. The maker fee for exchange transactions is as low as 0.20%, while the taker fee is as low as 0.28%. Those fees tend to be higher than average among cryptocurrency exchanges.

The cryptocurrencies available for trading on the IronX Exchange include: Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), EOS, Litecoin (LTC), Ripple (XRP), NEO, Cardano (ADA), Stellar Lumens (XLM), Tezos (XTZ), PumaPay (PMA) and the exchange’s native coin known as IRX.  You can trade these coins against each other, as well as against fiat currencies like the USD, JPY and EUR. Unfortunately for UK-based traders, trading cryptos against the GBP is not yet supported.

To start trading on the IronX Exchange, you will need to verify an account by showing proof of your address and identity. There is also a referral bonus that starts at 20% of the trading fees incurred by anyone you refer to the exchange via a referral link, which goes up to 40% if you hold 12,500 IRX and to 50% if you have 25,000 IRX.

Fees

Most clients pay away the dealing spread on a transaction when they enter and exit a position. They offer a spread-free account, although it does charge a commission on each lot transacted instead.

Furthermore, spreads on some IronFX accounts are variable, while other accounts have fixed spreads in normal conditions, so you can choose which type of account seems preferable for your particular trading style. The broker also warns on its website that spreads during overnight trading might be wider.

Although broker does not typically charge withdrawal or inactivity fees, additional fees do come in the form of rollovers or swaps, which can involve being charged to hold a position overnight when long the lower interest rate currency in a pair. While day traders and scalpers should not have to worry much about swaps, those who use longer-term trading strategies can incur this potential extra charge.

Account Types

Offers an unusually broad variety of trading account types that should suit most traders, and traders can register multiple account types. All account types allow traders to access a Dedicated Account Manager on a 24/5 basis and the Dealing Department Transaction Hotline.  All of the accounts currently supported by IronFX allow dealing in minimum lot sizes of 0.01.

Furthermore, although UK clients can only use up to 30:1 leverage when dealing with the FCA-regulated arm that you can open an account with here, the maximum allowed by IronFX’s offshore entity linked here is significantly higher — even up to 1,000:1 in some cases.

In addition to a free demo account funded with virtual money that you can use to practice trading and test strategies, you can choose among the following list of live account types:

For Live Floating and Live Fixed Accounts:

• Micro Account: Requires a $100 minimum deposit and has an indicative minimum spread of 1.8 pips with no commission. Leverage is as high as 1,000:1.
• Premium Account: Requires a $1,000 minimum deposit and has an indicative minimum spread of 1.6 pips with no commission. Leverage is as high as 1,000:1.
• VIP Account: Requires a $10,000 minimum deposit and has an indicative minimum spread of 1.4 pips with no commission. Leverage is as high as 1,000:1.
• Zero Fixed Account: Requires a $500 minimum deposit and has no dealing spread, but the broker does charge a fixed commission per lot. Leverage is as high as 500:1.

For ECN/ STP Accounts:

• No Commission: Requires a $500 minimum deposit and has an indicative minimum spread of 1.7 pips with no commission. Leverage is as high as 200:1.
• Zero Spread: Requires a $500 minimum deposit and has no dealing spread, but the broker does charge a commission on each trade. Leverage is as high as 200:1.
• Absolute Zero: Requires a $500 minimum deposit and has an indicative minimum spread of 0.3 pips with no commission. Leverage is as high as 200:1.

The reviews posted on some websites suggest that the broker may offer an Islamic swap-free account, although that option was not listed among the available options when this reviewer attempted to open a live trading account.

Platforms

While IronFX claims to support ten trading platforms, it does rather lack the variety in trading software that other online brokers typically provide and that would result in a better review.  All platforms come without charge, however, broker provides educational material on how to get them running.

Most notably, the broker offers its own version of the popular, straightforward and sophisticated MT4 platform. In addition to its desktop platform, MT4 has mobile and web-based versions. IronFX also offers a free research mobile app shown in the screenshot below.

In addition, they offer a PMAM platform for traders looking to manage multiple accounts. Social trading is also supported, although only via third-party solutions like Sirix Social WebTrader and the Myfxbook AutoTrade platform.

Usability

Official website has an easy-to-read format with links to all the basic areas you might find useful or have questions about.  In addition to a helpful FAQ and some educational material, the website offers the latest market news and in-house expert analysis, as does its free mobile research app. The main usability issue is with the lack of communication between IronFX’s CFD and cryptocurrency trading platforms.

Customer Support

Broker provides its customers with standard contact options on its website that can be used to make general enquiries and get support on technical issues. These include telephone, live chat and an email contact form with staff available on a 24/5 basis during the trading week.  Over the weekend, you can leave a message for when support resumes, as shown below.

Payment Methods

As a global broker, allows clients to make deposits and withdrawals using various payment channels, including the following:

• Credit and debit card payments: Card transactions are processed quickly with a limit of $50,000 per transaction.
• Bank wire transfer: Wire transfers can be sent from banks anywhere without transaction limits, although banks may charge for such transactions, and processing can take several days.
• E-wallets: supports Neteller and Skrill, but not Paypal.

UK traders can make deposits directly in pounds sterling (GBP), as well as in USD, EUR, AUD, JPY, CHF, PLN, RUB and HUF. Deposits made in different currencies are converted to the base currency of your trading account at prevailing exchange rates.

Best Offers

Currently runs trading competitions and offers some decent initial deposit bonuses you can choose among that are subject to the broker’s terms and conditions.  Bonuses include:

• 100% Unlimited Sharing Bonus: Lets you double your initial deposit.
• 40% Power Bonus of up to $4,000: Get a substantial deposit booster.
• 20% Iron Bonus up to $2,000: This bonus boosts your account’s value.

In addition, IronFX offers expert fundamental and technical analysis, as well as a news feed and a good selection of video tutorials and written educational material. You can even get a free VPN server to make running automated Expert Advisors (EAs) safer during overnight sessions and other unattended times.

Broker also has several active social media accounts,  Facebook Page presently has over 200,000 followers, while its Twitter account has almost 2,500 followers, and its YouTube channel has 1,720 subscribers.

Regulation and Deposit Protection

Based in Cyprus and regulated by CySEC in the EU under the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive II, so it must segregate its funds from those of its clients and restrict leverage to 30:1 at its EU offices. The broker also maintains offices and is regulated in the UK by the FCA, in Australia by ASIC and in South Africa by the FSB.

U.K. traders enjoy protection against broker defaults of up to GBP 50,000 via the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS), and provides extra insurance for UK clients of balances up to GBP 1,000,000. The accounts of EU traders are protected up to EUR 20,000 via the Investor Compensation Fund (ICF) of Cyprus.

As a warning note, IronFX is related to FXGiants, which had a regulatory issue with CySEC several years ago and was rebranded.

Awards

IronFX has received over 20 awards for its trustworthiness, educational materials, research, broking service and customer service, although most were given from 2014 to 2017, so other brokers may be getting these awards in recent years, perhaps due to less favourable reviews.