FXPIG Review – What Sets This Forex Broker Apart

About FXPIG

History and Regulation

FXPIG was founded in the year 2010 in New Zealand, after operating for around 6 years with an immaculate track-record under FSPR (Financial Service Provider Register of New Zealand, FXPIG was deregistered and decided to register in Vanuatu under a Principal’s License for Dealing in Securities (VFSC Company Number 014578).

Vanuatu – is one of the most popular offshore destinations, with cheap and fast registration procedure for forex brokers. Capital requirement for Forex Brokers in Vanuatu is as low as $2000 which is often a cause for a lot of concerns. Usually inadequately low capital requirements indicate lack of proper, if any monitoring or supervision by a regulating body. Nevertheless, unlike other offshore destinations, such as Marshal Islands or Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Vanuatu already enacted rules regarding financial and AML audits, as well as comprehensive internal activity reports.

FXPIG is not your typical Forex broker, it is instantly evident from their website, numerous reviews and most importantly responses to reviews, which are available online. Whilst having a very mild regulation, throughout the years of operations FXPIG has demonstrated a lot of effort to win the trust of traders. On April 4th 2017, following the approval of membership application by FinaCom PLC’s board, FXPIG became a Member of the Financial Commission. The Financial Commission covers up to 20,000 USD of coverage on each and every claim. 

FXPig Client Funds Security

FXPIG keeps client funds in segregated accounts, meaning that trader’s fund should never be used for anything by the company itself – for instance, your funds will never be used to cover company related expenses or overheads. Statement on their website states, that FXPIG does not trade on own accounts, they do not run a dealing desk, nor do they put company assets at risk at any time.

According to the Liquidity Provider information available on the site, FXPIG has 17 FX Banks and 4 Non-Bank Market Makers providing them with liquidity. This means that technically, they are able to allocate  client funds with 21 different Liquidity Providers, but since we wanted to get an up to date information for you, we have actually asked FXPIG Support to confirm, whether they have 21 Liquidity Provider or not, and this is the response we got for you:

More information with some witty comments and details about Safety of Funds is available on FXPIG site, if you follow this link: https://www.fxpig.com/forex-trading?tab=tab-button.tab-safety-of-funds. 

FXPIG is one of few brokers with the best source of detailed information about their own Liquidity Providers, and how they actually work.

FXPig Registration Process

Something else that sets FXPIG apart from most of other brokers is the registration process. The registration itself is actually quick, but Live Account application process looks more like a loan application. It is not uncommon with some brokers, but it certainly is not something traders are used to with lightly-regulated offshore brokers.

Initial step is to click ‘Create an Account’ and provide your email address once requested. Once you have provided your email, you will get a link allowing you to confirm your email and sing into your Client Area.

Live Account Application process consists of 6 total steps

• Step 1 – Client Identification. Nothing unusual here, traders are required to provide their personal information including their address and document details. If you would like to change your email address during registration, you would first have to setup a PIN during this step, save the application, and only then approach customer support with your request. We were advised by the support, that request of this nature might take up to a day to process.
• Step 2 – Financial Information. Trader has to let the broker know about current employment status, income, net worth, financial status and provide information about liquid assets.
• Step 3 – Trading Experience. Now, a trader has to chose levels of trading experience with different assets. 
• Step 4 – Compliance Questionnaire. This is when the process becomes more interesting, traders are presented with 5 questions, thankfully you only have to answer ‘yes’ or ‘no’.

 

 

 

 

 

 

• Step 5 – KYC (Know Your Client Identity Verification). Finally a familiar request – traders have to upload their ID and Proof of Address Document – Utility Bill or Bank Statement Showing the Name and Address of the Applicant dated no more than 3 calendar months from today’s date.

 

 

• Step 6 – Agree to Terms & Conditions. Another familiar step, but FXPIG dedicated a whole separate page to it, even allowing applicants to comment on their application. But of the whole application this is actually the most important step. After all you are about to make a commitment, and have to get acquainted and accept the Terms & Conditions, AML Policy and Privacy Policy of the company.

Important Note

FXPIG’s AML Policy has not been reviewed since the 31st of March 2017. Next review date was set to be at the end of June 2017, but, according to the information on the website it did not happen. We will refrain from commenting about the severity of such oversight, however, we have already informed FXPIG’s Management about this matter, and will report back if we receive an update.

Up to Date Vanuatu AML & CTF Act is available on Vanuatu Financial Intelligence Unit’s website: https://fiu.gov.vu/docs/Anti-Money%20Laundering%20and%20Counter-Terrorism%20Financing%20(Amendment)%20Act%20No%2016%20of%202017.pdf 

Brief summaries of AML & CTF Act Amendments are available by following this link: https://fiu.gov.vu/docs/Press%20Release%20No.%204%20of%202017.pdf

Live Account Approval

Verification of our personal account type took approximately 8 hours, the only documents needed to be verified were a passport and a utility bill – we can say that it is slightly above average time for verification. It is possible that FXPIG had an unusual flow of new account openings at the time of our application, especially taking into account the response of the chat operatives, which was couple of minutes each time. At the same time, it would be safe to assume that, delays and slow processing times are caused by lack of support representatives.

Once a live account is approved, FXPIG sends a cheerful email thanking the trader and confirming account approval. Trader is now able to create live accounts and start trading with the ‘pigs’,  we will tell you everything there is to know about available funding methods a little bit later, please bear with us.

Account Types

Traders can choose between two default account types – SPA or MPA, and the third option is request a customized feed.

Minimum deposit with FXPIG is set at 500 USD or an equivalent amount in one of allowed base currencies – EUR, GBP, AUD or JPY

SPA Account

SPA stands for ‘Single Point Aggregation’ – a single hub aggregation of leading FX liquidity providers customised to our clients trade flow. FXPIG’ explanation of SPA feed tells us that it is a pre-aggregated, single flow, prime broker style feed that is made up of the top makers in the industry. The SPA technology ensures that no single provider is hit more than one on a single ticket, this ensures a better overall pricing flow and execution quality.

SPA HIGHLIGHTS

 

• Pricing from 16 tier1 FX Banks & 4 large non-bank MMs
• Sub 80ms execution
• High tick counts
• No Double Tapping of Providers
• Conflict free trading, no ‘b-book’
• Tighter Overall Spreads
• Available to all traders
• Filter free trading
• Zero margin hedge Trading
• No dealing desk
  

MPA Account

MPA accounts provide traders with direct access to the market where you can trade with other traders. What this means is that all orders are actually sent to the market and are made available to all the market participants, thus, allowing client orders to be matched with each other. MPA is mainly comprised of non-bank liquidity and pending orders of all the market participants, this method of liquidity aggregations allows an increase of liquidity pool, which means better filling prices.

MPA HIGHLIGHTS

• Multiple Aggregation Points
• Price filters at various levels to protect against spread spikes
• Liquidity from other retail and institutional traders 
• Higher level of anonymity due to ‘layered’ liquidity
• Liquidity networks changing frequently
• 100% STP feed, no dealing desk, no ‘b-book’
• Larger liquidity pools due to ‘layered’ liquidity
• Possibility to trade non-FX securities (Equities/Oil/Nat Gas)
  

Which trading account is right for you?

MPA model is best suited for traders who need more anonymity due to their trading style, and a more unconventional stream of liquidity. FXPIG Recommends MPA Accounts for range and channel traders, as well as those who open larger trades.

SPA model is the best choice for scalpers, because it offers larger top of book availability, consistent pricing, tighter spreads, and higher tick values.

Spreads

FXPIG Offers relatively competitive spreads, if we were to compare their spreads with most popular brokers, they would be right in the middle.

 Myfxbook allows to add commission into the spread for a more precise evaluation.

Available Instruments

Traders are able to choose from over 60 Forex currencies to trade, as well as few indices.

Available Platforms

FXPIG offers two of the most popular trading platforms to choose from – MetaTrader 4 and cTrader. One of the perks that is offered by FXPIG is FIX API 4.4 connection. FIX API connection is a direct connection between the trader and the liquidity provider who will be executing your orders. 

Brief Intro to FIX API: Main difference between FIX API and ‘default’ platform trading is the speed of order execution. Execution speed differences occur because the platform has to first receive your order request, then transmit the order to the broker, who will then forward your order to a Liquidity Provider. Everything happens within milliseconds, but seasoned scalpers with own trading systems and platforms will never go for a ‘default’ platform, as even a millisecond matters.

Client Area

Client Area of FXPIG is probably one of the least prominent features of the broker, the design in minimal, yet pleasant, the same can be said about functionality of the Client Area.

All the traders have access to is a list of Live and Demo accounts, as well as the ‘Cashier’ tab of the client area, which is designated for your financial operations.

‘Cashier’ section allows you to manage your funds, you can create eWallets, make deposits, request withdrawals, initiate internal transfers and check your ledger log under ‘History’ tab. 

eWallets – “eWallets are similar to bank accounts, they are not used for trading, but rather holding funds in different currencies. eWallets can be used to convert funds from one currency to another and both receive incoming deposits and payout outgoing withdrawals.” – explanation from FXPIG

What would be practical application of eWallets? First and foremost, just as FXPIG explained – keeping your funds separately in different currencies. If you have multiple trading account denominated in various currencies, sometimes it might be useful to withdraw the profits in the same currency and keep them somewhere, before you request a withdrawal. You can also separate profits from different trading accounts, if you are not into compounding of profits, or put some profits aside for different purposes – like a piggybank.

 

Deposits – Different available methods for deposits.

 

Withdrawals – Available methods to withdraw your funds.

 

Credit Cards – Allows you to keep all your credit cards within your client are for easy access.

 

Internal Transfer – Provides traders with an option to move funds between own trading accounts, eWallets,  and commission accounts. Most importantly – FXPIG allows transfers between different platforms.

 

Wire Notification – If you don’t want to wait for your deposit to be noticed during a routine check, FXPIG allows to send a notification about your wire transfer.

Deposit and Withdrawal Options

Deposits

• BANK TRANSFERS
  ALL incoming SWIFT® wires priced at 25 EUR
• CREDIT & DEBIT CARDS
  The current rate is 3.75% + 0.50 on all deposits
• NETELLER®
  Deposit fees are set at 3% and 3.5%
• SKRILL®**
  Deposit fees are set at 2.5%
• UPHOLD®
  Deposit fees are set at 15 USD

WITHDRAWALS

• NETELLER® Withdrawals are FREE
• SKRILL® Withdrawals are FREE
• Back to your Credit Card for 10 USD
• Back to ANY Credit Card for 2% + 7 USD
• EURO SEPA Transfers for 35 EUR
• Worldwide SWIFT® Transfers for 50 EUR
• UPHOLD® transfers for 15 USD
• Latency Free Withdrawals* for 4 USD

LATENCY FREE WITHDRAWALS

FXPIG provides all of their clients with an option of getting their own PIGcard, which allows cardholders to make instant withdrawals from eWallet accounts. PIGCard is a good, low cost alternative to most of other withdrawal methods, and is a must-have for IBs.

PIGcard costs only 20 USD/EUR/GBP and includes standard airmail delivery, FXPIG offers a better alternative for delivery via a courier, however at an additional cost of 50 USD.

PAMM Accounts

PAMM – Percentage allocation management module is a an account used by Fund Managers, which allows investors to connect own accounts to be managed by the Fund Manager. FXPIG is promoting 4 of their best-performing PAMM Accounts, which are at the moment of writing this article are available for everyone.

Each PAMM Account has a detailed explanation of the strategy used by the PAMM Account, expectations, requirements, fees and rules. 

Historical performance provided by FXPIG lacks any specifics, but all of their public PAMM Accounts can be reviewed in detail on myfxbook: https://www.myfxbook.com/en/members/FXPIG

!NB: Please bear in mind that, it is impossible to withdraw your allocated funds unless Master Account is flat, meaning there are no open trades! On the bright side, FXPIG allows immediate deallocation of funds, which allows to seize any activity on a Managed(Investor) Account.

Introducing Broker Program

Just like 95% of retail forex brokers, FXPIG offers everyone a chance to earn money by promoting their firm to others. FXPIG offers below average remuneration and profit-sharing programs, and has quite an off-putting agreement in place. FXPIG IB will only be considered as an ‘Active IB’ once a minimum of 10 clients have been referred and approved. Furthermore, referred clients have to generate 50M or more in monthly trading volumes, otherwise, no IB commission is paid to the IB.

Besides IB Program, FXPIG provides additional partnership opportunities which include becoming a Money Manager, starting a Franchise, working as a Regional Manager or pulling Liquidity from FXPIG for your own brokerage. 

All FXPIG Reviews

It is impossible for a Forex Broker not to have any negative reviews, we have analysed over 100 different reviews on websites like FPA, Babypips, TrustPilot, and few lesser known websites. Most of negative reviews are very old,  at least couple of years old, this leads us to believe that FXPIG has been constantly improving. Most of latest negative reviews are referencing slippage, difference between demo and live performance, and withdrawal delays.

Because FXPIG is registered in Vanuatu, sooner or later banking issues will occur, because most of banks are less and less willing to cooperate with offshore entities, especially forex brokers. FXPIG offers deposits via Lithuanian Bank for EU nationals, and a bank in Slovakia, for deposits from the rest of the world. We are delighted to see that both banks are located in the EU, but we should not forget, that EU is increasing supervision of firms that provide financial services, which puts additional pressure on the banks who work with forex brokers.

Can You Trust FXPig?

Our answer is yes. FXPIG is not an ideal broker, but they are as transparent as a broker can be, of course they have their secrets, but they are very open, and are always happy to answer their clients. Their witty comments on the website, straightforward and honest responses are a breath of fresh air in Forex Community. 

Some time ago, last year one of our writers had the pleasure of an informal meeting with Kevin Murcko (CEO of FXPIG). Kevin left a very good impression about himself and appeared as a trustworthy and very down to earth person, who cares about all his clients, and runs his business as a family.