FP Markets Review – Hoes Does This Forex Broker Compare?

First Prudential Markets is a well-reputed financial services authority with an international presence. It provides wide access to the global financial markets and a variety of features and trading tools that may bring many benefits to its forex and CFD traders, including the best available market prices.

If you want to find out if this broker is right for you, check out our following FP Markets review to discover FP Markets’ pros and cons, features, trading account types, and more.

About FP Markets

First Prudential Markets Pty, abbreviated as FP Markets, is a financial services authority headquartered in Sydney, Australia, founded in 2005. The company received several awards for forex and CFD trading, including the forex and CFD broker with the best quality of trade execution in 2019 and the best global forex value broker.

It is regulated by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission and by the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission. If you live in Europe (including the United Kingdom), you need to access the FP Markets Cyprus entity, or the FP Markets Australian entity if you reside in Australia. FP Markets accepts clients from other regions, too, including Canada and China, thanks to its Australian financial services license.

FP Markets is a market maker which provides direct market access to forex and CFDs instruments. These can be highly affected by market volatility, so they are riskier than regular financial assets, such as real stocks or bonds.

In terms of markets, the forex and CFD broker has an international presence, offering access to currency pairs, digital currency, metals, commodities, bonds, and stocks on global markets. As these are only available as CFDs, you don’t own the actual asset (such as cryptocurrency), but only trade on price movements of the underlying asset.

Have a look at the FP Markets review below to find out what FP Markets offers and whether it is a good broker for your needs.

FP Markets Features

FP Markets is a rather complex broker providing forex and CFD trading as the only types of financial instruments. Apart from regular trading, you can also use automated and copy trading for forex and CFDs (derivatives that lead to losing money rapidly if you don’t manage your risk efficiently).

In the following FP Markets review, we cover some of the main features, trading platforms, and trading accounts, so you can make an informed decision.

FP Markets Trading Platforms

FP Markets offers plenty of choices in terms of trading platforms, depending on your trading strategy:

• MetaTrader 4 (download required)
• MetaTrader 5 (download required)
• WebTrader (online trading via browser)
• Iress Trading Platform (online trading via browser)
• Mobile trading apps

Each trading platform comes with a separate type of FP Markets account that enables you to access different features, tools, and assets for trading CFDs. Trading forex is supported via MT4 and MT5 (including copy trading) and comes with either a standard account or a raw account. Both retail investor account types require a minimum deposit of AUD$100 or equivalent, have a minimum trade size of 0.01 lots, maximum leverage of 500:1, and more than 60 forex pairs, indices, metals, and commodities.

Copy trading is available on both MT4 and MT5. MT4 is the most popular forex trading platform in the world and boasts a flawless trading experience. The interface is customizable and comes with many tools and benefits, including Expert Advisors (EAs) for automated trading options, market news, and advanced charting tools.

MT5 is designed for advanced forex and CFD traders who want to take advantage of multiple technical analysis tools. Compared to MT4, which is dedicated mostly to forex trading, MT5 is a more diverse platform for trading CFDs, but some may prefer the more straightforward interface of MT4.

While MT4 and MT5 must be downloaded, WebTrader is the equivalent web trading platform. On this web trading platform, you can access many of the features available on MT4 and MT5, and you have access to more assets, including the ability to trade stocks (CFDs). The web trading platform boasts the same execution speed and functionality as the downloadable MT4 and MT5.

Iress trading platform is most recommended if you want to trade shares. However, keep in mind that, unlike Robinhood and other brokers, the FP Markets platform does not allow you to buy real stocks, only CFDs.

Iress provides access to more than 130 financial markets, has an intuitive interface, and doesn’t require any download. In addition to this, all the charting options on this trading platform are powered by TradingView and include about 100 technical indicators and a watchlist.

All of these features and options are also available via several mobile trading apps. First, there’s the proprietary FP Markets mobile trading platform that enables forex trading with more than 10,000 financial instruments and 60 forex pairs.

MT4, MT5, and Iress are also accessible via mobile trading platforms for both iOS and Android users. Each mobile trading app has similar functionality compared to its relevant provider (MetaTrader or FP Markets).

Trading Tools

Trading tools enable both technical and fundamental analysis and are specific to trading platforms and trading accounts. If you are looking for the most advanced tools on the market, you may be satisfied with the MT4 Traders Toolbox. This suite encompasses 12 trading tools, including Correlations Trader, Correlation Matrix, Trader Tools Alarm Manager, tick charts, Trade Terminal (for assessing market volatility), and more. The Trader Toolbox is perhaps best suited for advanced day traders.

Some other powerful tools include:

• Forex Virtual Private Server, which is used to automate trading strategies (on MT4 and MT5)
• Managed retail investor accounts, which means that you are assigned an experienced portfolio manager that will handle trading on your behalf for a percentage of your profits, ideal if you are seeking more than just investment advice or guidance
• Autochartist, which helps you identify chart patterns using technical indicators; this feature is available on MT4 and MT5 and alerts you when there is a trading opportunity
• Forex trading calculator, which helps you assess your forex risk, and includes swaps, margin, and even a pip calculator to assess your risk for each trade

Education & Research

This market leader has an average educational section that covers all the essentials. You can find relevant research in the Traders Hub, which is neatly split into technical and fundamental analysis. However, compared to other brokers like CMC Markets, FP Markets may still improve its offering, especially in terms of daily research articles.

Beginners can access multiple videos on YouTube and written articles to familiarize themselves with different concepts and features. There’s also an investor glossary and a range of platform tutorials, along with approximately 60 webinars and videos. It’s worth noting that FP Markets also provides a demo FP Markets account for beginners or traders who want to check all the features and tools before depositing real money.

Overall, FP Markets still has room for improvement in terms of education and research. One reason may be that it seems quite difficult and cluttered for a beginner to get access to specific information, so FP Markets could further organize its content based on experience level or knowledge to compete with education leaders like IG.

FP Markets Fees & Trading Account Types

It’s worth noting that FP Markets has direct access to its liquidity providers, which means it is a true ECN broker. ECN pricing (Electronic Communication Network) refers to high-end technology that allows FP Markets to tap directly into liquidity providers’ funds and provide the most competitive prices.

FP Markets trading fees depend on which type of retail investor accounts and trading platform you opt for. Keep in mind that all of these account types are used to trade CFDs and forex, and these instruments may lead to losing money rapidly unless you practice good risk management.

For forex and CFD instruments on MT, a standard trading account comes with zero commission but has a minimum spread of 1.0 pips (0.0001 of a currency). The raw account has spreads starting from 0.0 pips, but there is a commission of $3 per lot per side (so $6 for a total round turn). For commodities and cryptocurrencies, a standard account holder only needs to cover the spread, while the raw trading account incurs zero costs.

If you opt for trading CFDs on equity via MT5, there is a minimum charge per side of 10 AUD, and a variable commission, depending on which stock exchange you choose. For example, shares listed on the Australian Securities Exchange have a commission per side of 0.10%, while NYSE is $0.03 per share.

For CFDs on stock, there’s also the option to open an account on the Iress platform. There are three retail investors accounts available if you want access to these complex instruments :

• Standard Iress account trading fees: a minimum commission of $10 AUD (or 0.1%), and a minimum deposit of $1,000
• Platinum Iress account trading fees: a minimum commission of $9 AUD (and 0.09% thereafter), and a minimum deposit of $25,000
• Premier Iress account trading fees: no minimum commission (but 0.08% of trade size), and a minimum deposit of $50,000

FP Markets’ withdrawal fees are zero for most payment methods, including credit/debit card and bank transfer. However, you will have to cover conversion fees as charged by your provider if you use a different currency. Some examples of payment methods that incur withdrawal fees include Neteller (2% or a max of $30), Skrill (1%), and PayLivre (1.5%).

For Muslim clients who want to trade complex instruments, FP Markets provides the possibility to open an Islamic account for MT4 or MT5. The Islamic standard account and the Island raw account have the same costs and features as regular retail investor accounts but without the swap or interest charge. To open one, you need to open a regular account, then contact FP Markets’ customer service to convert it to Islamic. You may also need to provide proof of faith if your religion is not mentioned in your ID.

Customer Service

Customer support is highly competitive, especially compared to other brokers. FP Markets offers live chat, email, and phone customer service that you can contact 24/5. This is a huge benefit for many traders, especially if you need urgent guidance or you need to solve an issue without delay.

Who Is FP Markets Best For?

FP Markets caters to the needs of novice and advanced traders with just about any trading strategy because of the rich offering. More advanced forex traders will be satisfied with the range of analysis tools available, such as the Trader Toolbox available on MT.

This forex broker may suit any budget as long as you want to trade forex on MT, but it may not be a suitable choice if you want to trade real assets or to trade stocks. FP Markets is a CFD broker, so there’s no access to real assets, while CFDs on stocks are mostly available on the Iress trading platform, which is quite expensive in terms of minimum deposits and commissions.

How Does FP Markets Compare?

FP Markets may be difficult to compare with other forex and CFD brokers because of the many different options in terms of pricing, trading platform, and account type. This flexibility makes it superior to other CFD brokers like eToro, for instance, which provides only one account type and only its proprietary trading platform, with no access to the advanced MetaTrader.

The broker is only regulated by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission and the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission, while Plus500 also provides CFDs and is regulated by six different regulatory authorities around the world.

In terms of trading forex, FP Markets offers about 60 currency pairs, while Saxo Bank provides access to nearly 200 forex pairs.

FP Markets may still need to improve its education and research section, especially as industry leaders like IC Markets have a much better offering. The cost structure is also quite competitive, but only if you opt for the standard or raw accounts compatible with MT4 and MT5. At the same time, IC Markets has a lower average spread of 0.1 pips, which is cheaper than FP Markets’s trading options.

Finally, if you want to trade stocks, you will find the FP Markets trading platform lacking in terms of accessibility, required deposit, and costs. Webull may be a better choice because of its much cheaper cost structure without compromising on trading tools.

FAQ: FP Markets Review

Final Verdict: FP Markets

According to our FP Markets review, it is a well-rounded CFD and forex broker regulated by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission and the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission.

For MT4 and MT5, the pricing is extremely competitive, but stock traders on a budget may find it difficult to cover the high required minimum deposit to open an account on the Iress trading platform.

Overall, forex traders will be highly satisfied with the varied array of tools, plugins, and opportunities for automated trades, but the research and educational resources are quite scarce compared to other industry leaders.